crimephox

[crimephox]

🗡 ⸻ 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 𝙟𝙚𝙩𝙩 .

[crimephox]

daphne didn’t flinch.  not at his voice,  not at the truth laced into every word,  not even at the image of her own body discarded like collateral.  she’d thought about that — of course she had.  tantalus didn’t pretend to be kind,  only consistent.  but consistency had a way of feeling like safety when you’d grown up without any.  her jaw tightened as she looked at emil,  saw the rawness in him,  the way he stood cracked open like some wounded animal that still hadn’t learned when to stop fighting.  he was begging her to believe in a different kind of world — a better one.  but better had never been promised to girls like her.  only survival.  ❝ you’re right,  ❞ she said,  voice low but sharp.  ❝ they could kill me tomorrow.   &  maybe they will.  but they haven’t yet.   &  until they do,  i get to live better than i ever have.  i eat.  i sleep.  i matter.  ❞

she stepped toward him now,  close enough to feel the heat of his desperation.  ❝ you want to protect me? then what? you take me out,  we run,   &  i live in the cracks again? i watch my back every hour,  wait for them to find us,  wait for the world to forget me? you think i’m scared of dying,  emil? i died a long time ago — when no one came for us,  when no one cared.  tantalus didn’t bring me back to life,  but they made sure i didn’t rot in the gutter.  that hand you’re so desperate to pull me from? at least it held me.  you can’t save me from something i chose.  i’m not a prisoner here,  ❞ she said,  voice softening just slightly,  though the edge remained.  ❝ i’m exactly where i want to be.  ❞

his very ribs feel as if they are split open, pulsing, scarred-tissue heart on full display. and every word she says only makes it beat harder, sink lower. he know he can't save them all. but what sort of man would he be if he didn't try? he is already bloodied and war torn. there is no salvation for a soul like his, but he can make the scales a little lighter, he can make his damned life worth something. so he tires. he tries even as his knuckles grow bruised and his heart weary.

❝ we'll protect you, ❞ emil insists, taking a step closer. ❝ it won't be like it was before. you won't be alone. you won't be hungry. it won't be like that. ❞ he shakes his head slowly. he gets it. he understands the fear. the desperation to hold onto the hand which has given them so much. but that hand is also the one which beats, steals, cheats, strangles the humanity out of them until there is nothing left but a hollow shell where a person used to be. where a soul once rested.

❝ the 'power' they give you is an illusion, daphne. you only get what they give you. and nothing they give you can be worth letting them have the power to pull the plug any time they want. one click of a button and your heart stops. you do realize they might just do that anyway? no matter how good a soldier you are. if this spins out too far or they decide the profit is no longer worth the risk, you don't get to walk away. you get buried six feet under with the rest of their secrets. ❞

[crimephox]

daphne stood at the window,  looking out over the city that sprawled beneath her,  feeling the hum of power that radiated from the organization that had saved her —  &  kept her bound.  tantalus had given her everything: a roof over her head,  training in skills she never could have learned on her own,   &  most importantly,  the protection she’d never known in her early life.  there was no more cold,  no more living hand-to-mouth on the streets.  she had a life now,   &  it came with privileges.  from the luxury apartments to the endless supply of resources,  it was more than she could have ever dreamed of when she had been just another orphan.  sure,  the cost was obedience,  but that was a small price to pay for the comfort  &  stability she now enjoyed.  the whispers of freedom that emil kept murmuring to her fell on deaf ears — what could she have out there that she didn’t already have here? she didn’t need his brand of salvation. 

turning from the window,  daphne met emil’s pleading eyes,  her gaze steady  &  unwavering.  ❝you don’t get it,  emil, ❞ she said,  her voice calm,  almost cold.  ❝tantalus isn’t just an organization.  it's everything i’ve ever wanted.  i’ve got food,  shelter,  training. . .  security.  you think i’m going to throw that away because you think i should?  you talk about freedom like it’s this beautiful thing,  but freedom doesn’t come with protection.  it doesn’t come with power.  it doesn’t come with the safety of knowing i won’t be sleeping on a cold,  damp street tomorrow.❞

she stepped closer,  her eyes narrowing as she sized him up.  ❝i’m not some naive kid who thinks the world owes her anything.  i’ve learned the hard way that everything comes with a price.  yeah,  tantalus has control over me,  but what does that matter when i don’t have to look over my shoulder every second? when i’m not scavenging for my next meal? you’re asking me to give that up.  for what? a chance to be free,  but with nothing to back it up? i’ve been free before,  emil.  i’ve been free to starve,  to struggle,  to be ignored.   &  i’m not going back to that.❞

@klarsynt

[crimephox]

like for a daphne starter at some point this week

[crimephox]

daphne? daphne.

[crimephox]

🗡 ⸻ 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 𝙟𝙚𝙩𝙩 .

[crimephox]

Sophie Thatcher

[crimephox]

the city’s hum beneath her feet like a soft lullaby in the distance.  her stance was poised but not stiff,  as if the night's calmness could be just as dangerous as its chaos.  her sharp eyes flicked towards the silhouette of the dark knight,  the faint glint of his emblem cutting through the thick air. ❝the symbol, ❞  she paused,  turning slightly to face him,  ❝ ... is what matters,  isn’t it? it’s what you hide behind.  it’s what keeps them afraid.  but in the end,  everyone has their breaking point.  even you. ❞  her lips curved into a subtle,  knowing smile as she surveyed gotham,  the rooftops like old friends she could almost hear whispering in response. 

she shrugged slightly,  her gaze never leaving the dark horizon.  ❝i’m not here to sneak up on you,  if that's what you're wondering.❞  she added,  her tone unapologetically teasing,  yet tinged with something else—curiosity,  maybe,  or something more fleeting.  ❝as for oracle, i don't answer to her.  seems like you’ve got a habit of showing up in the same places as me,  batman.  can’t help it.  gotham has a way of drawing us together. ❞  she turned fully now,  her silhouette sharp against the night sky,  poised to leave,  but not yet.  ❝just keeping an eye out. . .  for you,  for gotham.  maybe a little bit for myself. ❞ 

"Untouchable? I never thought I was. The man underneath this suit is just that—a man—but the symbol," he touched the emblem on his chest," is incorruptible and everlasting. It'll be here well after I'm gone." He steps towards her, his cape dragging behind him. Gotham seemed to be calm tonight, in one of her moods that seemed to lull them into thinking it won't be chaotic later. The sounds of the train and cars lightly honking mixed with the cloudy sky above them. They were just two figures on a rooftop surrounded by spiraling buildings and smoke stacks.

He's just a few steps behind her, his hand reaching out to grab her shoulder. "I thought I told Oracle I was patrolling this side of Gotham tonight, why are you really here? Or did you really want to try and sneak up on me tonight?" The Bat questioned lightly, wondering why she decided to post up on the same roof top as him if she was just passing by.

[crimephox]

daphne leaned against the bar,  one elbow propped up as she swirled the melting ice in her glass,  eyes flicking up to meet nate’s with that signature,  knowing smirk.  the last time they were this close,  his hands had been on her waist,  his mouth hot  &  insistent against hers,   &  she hadn’t exactly stopped him.  now,  she tilted her head,  feigning casual interest,  but the glint in her eye was anything but.  ❝so, ❞ she mused,  dragging the word out just enough to be a tease,  ❝are we pretending that didn’t happen,  or are you planning on shoving your tongue down my throat again?❞

@vaultfrozen

[crimephox]

............. crimephox starter??

[crimephox]

𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐌, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄.

[crimephox]

009.   a run-down (or abandoned) motel room . / adam @omensdread

daphne’s eyes narrowed as she took in the rundown motel room,  the peeling wallpaper  &  flickering light above them almost adding to the tension that crackled between her  &  adam.  the air was thick with unspoken words,  the room was small,  amplifying the heat between them.  she could feel her need for control intensifying in this dingy,  forgotten place.  it was familiar — a setting both of them had known too well,  a place where power  &  dominance could be seized,  where vulnerability could be hidden.  she pushed herself off the chipped doorframe,  her steps slow,  measured,  purposeful as she closed the distance between them. 

❝you know,  i find it amusing, ❞ she said,  voice a quiet rasp,  yet cutting through the stagnant air with ease.  ❝how you can be so quiet when i know you’re not stupid.  i think it’s cute,  really.❞ she stopped just in front of him,  standing so close that his presence felt like a physical weight.  the peeling wallpaper,  the cracked mirror — it all seemed distant now,  almost irrelevant.  her hand rose,  fingers brushing his jaw with the gentlest touch,  a stark contrast to the simmering authority beneath.  ❝i can’t decide if you’re being stubborn or if you’re just trying not to let me see you break, ❞ she continued,  voice thick with controlled desire.  ❝either way,  i’m enjoying this little game. ❞ her fingers slid down his neck,   &  the pressure was almost commanding now,  a reminder that in this room,  in this moment,  she held the power. 

[crimephox]

🗡 ⸻ 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙣𝙚 𝙟𝙚𝙩𝙩 .

[crimephox]

if you think about it, all ships with daphne are poly because nobody's ever gonna know if she's daphne ..... or if she's switched out with laurel

[crimephox]

sometimes when im writing daphne im like, you really are the little shit I made you out to be ... which im proud of because initially i wasnt sure i could capture it how i intended

[crimephox]

daphne studied andrei closely,  her eyes narrowing slightly as his words registered.  she wasn’t sure if he was pretending to be indifferent or if he truly had no idea what was lingering beneath the surface.  he was good at hiding things,  though — she couldn’t deny that.  the way he looked at her,  that flicker of something unspoken,  said enough.  she almost felt sorry for him,  but not quite.  helena had been his,   &  now. . .  she wasn’t.  it wasn’t complicated,  yet andrei acted like he was still waiting for something to make sense. 

❝you’re right, ❞  she said,  her voice smooth  &  steady.  ❝ you’re not in her life the way you think you are. ❞  she let the words hang between them,  a challenge.  ❝ but maybe you’ll figure it out someday. ❞  daphne shifted her weight,  giving him a quiet,  almost knowing look.  ❝or maybe you won’t. ❞  she paused,  then shrugged.

Jaw tensed as he looked away for a moment before shifting attention back to the smaller figure. "People rarely surprise me." He replies. "If they did, I would most likely be dead in this line of work. Don't you agree?" Andrei questions with a small tilt of his head. Though he can see she doesn't entirely accept his own reception of the news, trying to hide the emotion behind it and the thoughts it spurred. There's a small roll of his eyes as position is copied. No wonder they were friends. And then she speaks up again, the first part making his brow furrow before expression soured for a slight moment. It doesn't take long for his normal, stoic look to appear soon after.

"I don't know what she would be trying to make sense of. " Andrei answers after clearing his throat. "And I wasn't thinking it was about me. It's clear where I am in her life." He says waving it off when in reality there was a part of him that always hoped maybe it was. Brow furrows once more but this time confusion stays. "What are you trying to say?" He questions, keeping his own emerald optics trained upon her person.

[crimephox]

daphne raised an eyebrow as he spoke,  she knew better than to let someone like him think they had all the answers,  the way he stood there,  all dark  &  brooding,  like a shadow wrapped in armor,  didn’t fool her,  she’d been through too much to be easily intimidated,  she could sense the weight he carried,  tucked behind those walls of his,  it was clear he wasn’t the man he pretended to be — there was more to him,   &  maybe,  just maybe,  she was the one who could figure it out. 

her smile was knowing,  almost teasing as he finally turned to face her,  ❝yeah,  you rattle rooftops, ❞ she repeated,  cool but playful,  ❝it’s not what you think,  it’s what i know,  you’re not as untouchable as you want everyone to believe,❞ she tilted her head,  reading him closely,  ❝i’m sure you’ll figure out the rest in time,  batman. ❞ she let the words hang in the air before turning her gaze back to the city,  whether he took the bait or stayed silent,  she wasn’t going anywhere.

He concedes on that front. She's not a kid. Hasn't been one in a long time. He doesn't know her full story—doubts he'll ever hear the full version either, but he knows she's had a hard life. You can't wash something like that off. He's tried. He still smells like the haunted halls of a mausoleum—an abandoned graveyard with stones left unkempt. He still remembers when Leslie slipped up and told him he acts like he's been raised by tombstones — she's right — he was.

"That's true. You're not. You haven't been for years." He doesn't turn around to look at her until he realizes she actually heard him. (She's got good ears.)

"Just a second ago, you said I rattled the rooftops?" The Bat finally turns to look at her again. He doesn't know what she means by 'worth his while'. It could be anything, but he does realize she'll try and scare him again and there's a rare chance she might succeed.

"Really? I'll look forward to it then."