#⁽ ᶠⁱˡᵉᵈ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳ ⁾ . . . * closed starter .

[wh0dunit]

⁽ ʷⁱᵗⁿᵉˢˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵛⁱᵉʷ ⁾ . . . * featuring @lvebug ( andie )

living room is a fashion warzone of epic proportions.  cleanliness is next to something or other, but it's not like she's got a butler picking up after her here. its baseline is messy, and dragging out all of her makeover supplies from the bathroom has only worsened the problem. at least it's a colorful collage of clutter. and so worth the cleanup later!

" look! you'd look so radical in this color! " shade of pale amethyst nail polish is pinched between two of her fingers. steph spins it to show off the faint metallic sheen. " add some holo stickers and maybe an accent color . . . " sentence is torn off at the end by a squeal as she spots just the pack of heart stickers she'd been looking for.

[wh0dunit]

⁽ ʷⁱᵗⁿᵉˢˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵛⁱᵉʷ ⁾ . . . * featuring @ofsoul ( raven )

lavender, lilac, mauve, mulberry.  over half of the tubes of paint in the shopping bag are some sort or shade of her preferred color. but she's got a variety in the other four! and the world can always use more pops of purple. the flimsy plastic bags hanging off her arms strain with their rainbow of contents ( little did she know that all that extra gym time would pay off in the mundane, too ).

" so my mom told me about this thing where you take white sheets . . . " steph does her best to describe the enormity of her chosen canvas with a wide sweep of her hands, the bags rattling and stretching. " and you throw paint all over it. supposed to work out your stress or somethin'. "

grin turns sheepish and gaze wanders elsewhere. she's hardly a wallflower that wilts at first sight of direct inquiries, but this feels reflective of weakness. a roundabout admission to imperfection. " but it's no fun alone, you know? "

[wh0dunit]

⁽ ʷⁱᵗⁿᵉˢˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵛⁱᵉʷ ⁾ . . . * featuring @arcticrime ( the penguin )

she slices through the crowd, a clean cut through the fatty tissue of insignificance.  her cards fan out, carpenter ants milling with the rabble and hopefully burrowing their ways into the heads of a few potential new draws from the deck. alexis can feel gazes tracing over her perfect neon figure. they've probably never given their host a second glance, and now she has their attention held captive ( and for ransom ). how embarrassing! right on his home turf, too. 'course, she doubts he's ever been a looker. even back in his heyday of the what . . . 1940s? just look at him. old, boring, out of style.

her thumb scrolls through the options of digital makeup, cutouts of nearby landmarks . . . " ugh, no geofilter? " eyes end their roll on much more formally dressed form. burner phone subsequently disappears into pocket of her dress. useless if she can't advertise. then again, she didn't want him clogging up the background of her pics anyway. her arms spread wide, gesturing at the bigger picture of the lounge. " how are the masses supposed to know i'm at your 'berg instead of some chump's knockoff? you have got to get with the times! modernize! "

[wh0dunit]

⁽ ʷⁱᵗⁿᵉˢˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵛⁱᵉʷ ⁾ . . . * featuring @potpourris ( nightwing )

gloves on her hands don't stave off the urge to bite down nails.  not even the frankly disgusting taste and weird texture give her a second thought. not when she's this worked up. stephanie has almost chewed a hole through the thumb by the time her own brain quiets enough for her to get a word in edgewise. " guessing that oracle gave you a heads up. "

if she had her way, she'd have been in and out in hours and without having to tiptoe through all the red tape. who knew vigilantes had so many rules dictating their inner workings? but not an option! everyone seems to forget so easily how well she'd fared on the streets long before there were one too many bats breathing down her neck. it's a blow to already crumbling pride, even if unintentional.

" look, i know this is your turf and all. cross my heart not to cause structural damage. " finger does indeed trace marks over her chest. her other hand is behind her back with fingers crossed. not intentional deception, just a childish excuse in case things go sideways . . . or upside down, or topsy turvy. " but i'm sure there's someone out there that needs you a lot more than i do tonight. "

[wh0dunit]

⁽ ʷⁱᵗⁿᵉˢˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵛⁱᵉʷ ⁾ . . . * featuring @potpourris ( the batman )

chill of stainless steel table seeps through her clothes, under her skin, into her bones.  legs dangle off the side, idly swinging. focus is trained above, on a snoozing bat splashed with white patterns. her name is oddball. stephanie decided on it a few minutes ago. sometime between her taking up residence somewhere not intended as a seat and when the bubbles of anxiety began popping in her stomach. waiting, waiting, waiting. she's always left waiting on something, someone, herself.

question cuts cleanly through the usual din of the cave. " how will you know when i'm ready? " how will i know? a rarity that it isn't followed by statement of impatience or insistence that he isn't starting off from scratch with her ( but the breaking and restitching of her self - taught strategies may be worse of a foundation than nothing ). she'd taught herself so much, but so much of it was wrong.

a single, fluid movement as she swings her legs harder to get the momentum to sit up. fingers curl around the edge of the table, knuckles white. a mismatch of body language and lilting tone. " there supposed to be some big fireworks show when it happens? i'd settle for skywriting of ' spoiler rules ' over the city. "

[wh0dunit]

⁽ ʷⁱᵗⁿᵉˢˢ ⁱⁿᵗᵉʳᵛⁱᵉʷ ⁾ . . . * featuring @cathieves ( selina )

it's hard to track a single cat in a city like gotham.  especially, without fancy gadgets or hacking into big brother's camera system or whatever it is the real heroes do these days. but old - fashioned detective work has never turned her off of a case, not when it's as important as this one. the addition of her school backpack ( albeit with a few more holes ) to her nightly ensemble is cumbersome, but just as important to the plan. spoiler alert! this case is about to bust wide open!

" hey! wait, please! excuse me! " every phrase in the how - to guide to get someone's attention spills out of her in a frantic rush. inwardly she realizes her costume and phrasing probably give off a wannabe hero stench. which, stephanie supposes, isn't entirely unfounded but also isn't the point here! ( not right at this moment anyway ).

" i know this is probably a really bad time, but uh . . . hi. " cue the awkward wave that will haunt her for the next month. her mouth works faster than her brain, continuing its blabbering as she fumbles to get the backpack off. " you like cats. wait, sorry that's presumptuous. um, you like cats, right? " shaky fingers drag the butterfly zipper down. out pops a furry orange face that would put the cutest of dogs to shame. " i need help with one. "