#YOU WERE SUCH A GOOD BRUCE VA

[heliopixels]

Ooooo you wanna listen to Batman Unburied soooooo baddddddd

[youre-amazing-say-it]

Can i request avengers x teen!reader where she feels a bit left out because she's young and when they see it, they show her that they love her still and she's their baby? If you wanna write it ❤️

Left Out

Pairing; Avengers x teen!reader, Sam Wilson x teen!reader

Warning: IT IS SO SAD HOW THEY TREAT Y.N I CRIED

summary: the team always leaves you out of the celebration after the missions until a new team notices and brings it to there attention

"Great Job Team!" Tony said to 6 of his teammates: Steve, Natasha, Thor, Bruce, Clint, and Y/n. You were the newest and youngest addition to the team, this only being the 2nd mission you have been on with them. "And good job out there Y/n, the super speed sure came in handy today." You just nodded your head and smiled. "Thanks, Tony!" you responded.

"Usually Plan I assume?" Clint said looking at the billionaire. "Of course Katniss, the party starts at 8 so be there!" Tony said as he pointed at each of his teammates. "Um, party?" Y/n said as she looked at her coworkers. "Oh um," Bruce started to say before Natasha interjected.

"After big missions like these, Tony likes to throw parties to celebrate. Unfortunately, they are more adult parties so you can't come." the redhead stated as she sat down next to you on the bench of the Quinjet. "Oh," you said, "do these happen a lot?" you asked the group. "Not too often anymore now that you are here," Steve said giving you a warm smile. "Okay, sounds good," you said as you sent the group a smile. "I can give you company if you would like," Bruce said, the two of you were very alike in your introverted ways.

"that's fine, I still have some shows I want to catch up on." Thor came over and gave you a hug. "Thank you Lady Y/n, you are appreciated," he shouted. "Okay.. too much.." you tried to say until Thor finally let go. As the quinjet finally landed, Tony turned towards the team and clasped his hands together. "Let's get the party started."

It wasn't a one-time thing.

It turned into almost every mission that Tony was involved in or anytime the community wanted to celebrate the Avengers, excluding Y/n. You should have said something to someone, but as the youngest, you felt you didn't really have a say in the after-party. And it wasn't like they were ignoring you all the time, they were great friends and teammates. But the after-mission part just became routine that nobody noticed or asked how you felt.

The group just came back from another mission, this time with Sam Wilson with them. He was a new teammate and you didn't know him too well. But you knew that he worked at the VA and was a therapist of some sort.

"Seriously Y/n you did great on this mission, we couldn't have done it without you kiddo," Clint said as he patted your back. "Thanks, Arrow" you responded. "Hey Tony what time does the party start?" you asked. "Um around 9pm so you can go get your dinner quickly then head upstairs," Tony responded. You wanted to ask if you could all hang out as a team but with the way everyone responded to the party news, you didn't want to bring everyone down.

"You send Y/n upstairs for the party? Why doesn't she join?" Sam questioned looking puzzled. it wasn't a secret that you were one of the most helpful avengers. Your powers have helped a lot on a mission and saved countless lives, including your teammates. Before you could even speak, Steve spoke on your behalf.

"They like to spend after a mission in their room. It's routine for them." Steve said as he started to remove part of his mask. "You are okay with this Y/n?" Sam asked concerned. You put on a fake smile and nodded. "Yeah, as Steve said, it's routine," you commented. Sam could see you were hurt inside, but knew now wasn't the time to ask about it.

Later on, once the party was in full swing downstairs, you were in your room in your favorite pair of sweats and got a cupcake and a candle out of the fridge in the room. You had on y/f/m in the background as you sat on the bed with the cupcake on a plate. You were about to light the candle when you heard a knock on the door. "Come in," you responded. You were surprised someone even came to check on you.

Sam walked in and closed the door behind you and let out a sigh when he saw the image in front of him. "Please tell me they didn't forget your birthday or else I'll go down there and beat their asses." he quipped. You laughed as you shook your head. "No don't worry, it was just my 50th mission today," you responded as you lifted up your cupcake. "Want some?" you asked. Sam came and sat on the bed, "yeah why not." he responded.

The two of you ate in silence for a while before Sam spoke up. "Do you like spending your nights in here after missions?" he questioned looking at you. "Depends, most nights I don't mind, but on missions where I know I did a lot of help and they don't even include me in the celebration, that's when it sucks," you responded. "I thought that I would be invited tonight," you stated. You gestured to a short y/f/c dress that was in your closet. "I even had an outfit picked out." you laughed. It was stupid when you thought about it.

"Well go put on the outfit." Sam said with a straight face. "wait, really? I can come?" you asked with hope in your eyes. "I'm part of the team now, and I know it's no good for you to celebrate a big milestone alone," he said as he got off your bed. he extended his hand, which you took. "Now hurry and get ready, I don't want to wait all day." You turned towards Sam with a smile on your face. "Thanks, ill hurry I promise," you said as you locked your bathroom door.

Ten minutes later, the two of you were heading downstairs and the avengers and company were shocked to see you with Sam. Tony and the rest of the team were quick to approach you. "Hey, what are you doing down here kiddo? Thought you would be upstairs." Tony said with a glass of whiskey in hand. "She never wanted to be-" sam started before you put your hand on his arm. "Sam, I got this," you stated before turning back towards the group.

"I never wanted to be upstairs. During our first mission together, you guys kind of sent me upstairs because there was a party. And you promised that it would only happen every so often. And that didn't turn out to be true, and I was too afraid to say anything to correct you guys. But tonight was my 50th Mission, I was hoping that we can do something as a group to celebrate, and it seems you had all forgotten about it.” you stated to them. The group all looked incredibly guilty.

"It was your 50th mission?" bruce asked. "Yeah," you said with a laugh as you pulled back some hair. "I'm sorry Kiddo, we should have done better," Clint said with a sad face. "Yeah you should have." sam said annoyed. "How about this, I can kick these people out, give us an hour to clean up, and we can eat ice cream and watch a movie. sounds good?" Tony asked coming over to give you a hug. You looked up at him and smiled. "That sounds perfect." Tony smiled back before nodding toward Steve.

"Attention, everyone. Unfortunately, we are going to ask you all to leave so we can spend some team bonding time. But before you go," he said as you notice Natasha gave you a glass of your favorite drink and gave you a quick hug. "can we all raise our glasses to Y/n. Tonight was her 50th mission as an avenger, and we wouldn't be more grateful to have such an incredible person on the team. To Y/n." Steve said. The crowd responded as everyone cheered in your honor.

You wiped some of the tears from your eyes as you saw the guest leave down the main exit. Thor turned towards you and gave you a good pat on the head. "We are all very proud of you young one. Would you like some Asgardian Liquor to celebrate?"

"NOOO"

[brights-place]

Trollex X Rapper! S/O

Pairing: Trollex X S/O

Warnings: Lots of Fluff

A/N: Okay my first ever thought today to get me distracted was listening to music so I just shuffled some songs form one of my playlists and a rap song was playing while I was writing and I was like ‘Oh shit I gotta write this!’ Now here we are!

- Trollex with a Rapper! S/O YIPPEEE it was so fun to write this

- When you first met Trollex asked you all about your genre listening to how you explained everything and told him that a rapper is a musical poet technically your job was blending rhythm and rhyme to express stories, emotions, and ideas. They craft lyrics, hone their flow, and perform with energy that captivates audiences. Rappers often reflect on personal experiences or societal issues, becoming voices for their communities like what you did

- He couldn’t stop being interested in you after that and get pulled in more when you rapped into the microphone to show him an example with an random beat he gave

- He can’t help but raise a brow at you sometimes when you rock up to the studio and wait for creativity to strike, usually spending all night to work on your music he gets worried sometimes and tells you to relax and have some fun with him at the Techno reef Parties

- He would definitely make beats for your song and let you freestyle your way with the music he had given you.

- He love sit when you rap especially when you insult someone in an rap battle he finds it funny to see your smirk or smile

- He loves when you write and perform some of your rap songs or hip-hop music.

- He hates how your genre was criticised though sometimes… scratch that he hates when anybody discriminates and insults someone’s genre or music (it’s technically their race in Trolls)

- He loves you with all his heart but can’t help but notice how you and Prince D would vibe to hip hop together and rap he’s jealous of your bond since your technically in the same music genre even if your appearance was different your genre was the same

- Trollex though loves when you share your earbuds/headphones with him to show him some New rap songs or hip hop music you enjoy fucking falls in love with you all over again

- He had tried rapping once since you begged him to do it he was good like REALLY GOOD

- That mother fucker was good at it… not as good as Bruce though that man could go off (Bruce is VA is the guy who played my favourite character in Hamilton Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. NEHGEHE)

- He glows and has an bigger smile when you praise him as he quickly tackles you into an hug and snuggle into you which leads up to you holding him close to your chest and rubbing his back as he sleeps on your peacefully

- Trollex can’t help but admire how you hold your mic and go off at anybody or just have fun with it

- He loves how you send out messages through your rap speaking up and talking about issues and your own experiences while on stage.

- You know how I said he makes your beats? Well you also come by to his place and surprise him with an rap you wrote out of boredom without realising and asked if he could help make an beat for it

- he did and it was sold so fast 😭

- Trollex loves when you sing normally though even if you rap all the time he loves when you just sing in an slow pace and wants to dance with you slowly even if both of you were used to the loud techno and hip hop music

reblogs + comments are appreciated ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

©brights-place 2023 — do not repost on another platform, copy, translate or edit my works! if you fit my DNI list please don't interact

[simplydannie]

@kais-va no angst as you asked lol this is one I did awhile ago but forgot to post it! (I scrolled through my account and I swear I didn’t see this one anywhere!)

The twins have been doing community service under the watchful eye of the Trolls. This time their service takes them to Vacay Island where a day off means a day in the sun… unfortunately, for Vennie, that’s doesn’t turn out so great.

It was really bright and really sunny day on Vacay Island. On top of that, it was very busy. Tourists have been swarming in left and right; tourists of all species.

On the beach near the water were 3 figures: two tall with green hair and pale skin, one little purple one no bigger than a tennis ball. Velvet wore a two piece golden suit and a large sun hat. Her long hair tied in a flamboyant ponytail, bangs curled around her forehead. Round sunglasses shaded her eyes and rose pink lipstick on her lips. Her brother was to her left. He wore golden trunks to match his sister and black round sunglasses. His hair wasn’t styled in his normal updo. Instead he let the water take its role, allowing his hair to sweep in a type of faux hawk near his eyes. He no longer wore his green lipstick to match his sister; this time he was his own man.

In between them lay a small little purple Troll sprawled out on a small beach chair. Green rectangular sunglasses blocked his eyes, a smile across his face. The three sighed in unison.

“This...” said Floyd.

“Is...” continued Velvet.

“Perfect.” finished Veneer.

The three lay with their arms behind their head as they soaked up the bright, smiling sun.

“...Wow! Revenue up 40%. Let’s get some more cheese melted for some more nachos! Let’s get those drinks up and ready. We got more coming in.!” Bruce’s voice trickled and boomed as he got closer to the trio. “Velvet, your idea of opening our doors to Mount Rageons everywhere was Sp-ec-tac-U- lar!”

A sly smile crossed Velvets lips, “I know, I know.” She beamed.

“Ahem.” Floyd coughed, lowering his sunglasses side eyeing her.

“I mean, you’re welcome. Anything I can do to help.” She rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Maybe a little less attitude, but better.” Floyd beamed.

“I really don’t know why I am going through this behavior intervention. It’s really pointless.” Velvet said.

“I don’t know, you seem more barable now... fun even.” Veneer smirked. Velvet grabbed her towel smacking her brother across the face.

“And you’ve became a more smart ass than usual... I hate it.” She sneered.

“Love you too sis.” Her brother laughed.

“This conversation is going a lot better than most-oooohhhhh wow.” Floyd took off his small sunglasses and gasped towards Veneers direction.

“What?” Veneer gaped. Velvet turned towards her brother for a good look…. She then bursted out laughing.

“Oh my god- what?...What? ...WHAT!?” His voice began to grow shaky and nervous.

“ I don’t know, you tell me. Can I have some grilled cheese with the that tomato soup sir?” Velvet said between laughs. Tears began rolling down her eyes as the laughter continued. Veneer gaped at her clueless.

“What?! Tell me!?” He begged. Before Floyd could respond Poppy and Branch joined the trio… their eyes going wide when they saw Veneer.

“Omg Vennie!” Poppy exclaimed, “Like red is definitely your color but not like this!”

Branch joined Velvet in laughter…. Which made Veneer even more anxious… Why is Branch laughing too? He thought.

“Dude, have you ever heard of “sunblock”?” Branch asked with a smirk on his face.

“Duh! Floyd gave me some!” Veneer desperately tried to look around for something to see himself on.

“ Which one? I gave you two, and one was NOT sun lotion.” Floyd declared. Velvet continued laughing handing her brother her mirror.

“Priceless.” She sneered.

Upon looking at himself.... he saw it. His cheeks were flushed red. The redness flushed his face, neck, torso…all the way down to his legs. Velvet was right, he looked like he had jumped in tomato soup.

“No, no, no, no, no!!” He stammered. He reached for his towel and wrapped his entire body... well as much as he could. “No one said anything!”

“Well I didn’t get a good look at you until now.” Floyd said, “you better put something on before it starts peeling.”

“Oh Vennie, youll be fine! It doesn’t look that bad.” Poppy tried to say.

“I look like a freaking tomato, Poppy!” Veneer said.

He eyes the beach from side to side: it was jam packed with people. Anyone could’ve of seen and anyone was going to see if he walked out of there... a red glowing stick.

“Vels hand me your towel!” He demanded.

“You have your own!” She exclaimed.

“Ya but yours is longer. Covers more. Pleeeeeaaase!” He begged.

“I mean there’s not MUCH to cover anyways.” She smirked as she laid back closing her eyes again.

“Velvet.” She turned to see Floyd standing up right with his arms across his chest. He lifted one eyebrow giving her a stern look.

“Uuuuggghhh. Boys are much more drama queens than girls are yknow. Here moron.” She tossed him her towel.

“Thank you!” Attempting to wrap himself like a burrito, Veneer stood up and made his way toward the resort.

Leaving his sunglasses on, he twisted and turned, avoiding any eye contact that he could.

“Excuse me. Sorry. Coming through.” He said as he weaved his way around the crowd. ‘Almost there, almost there’, he thought to himself..….

OOF.

He accidentally ran into a Vacationer carrying a tray of food and drinks. Veneer tumbled to the floor loosing grip of his towel.

“Sorry my dude… whooooaaaa.” The Vacationers eyes widened upon seeing Veneers red glowing skin.… Everyone there gaped as they saw him….everyone.

“No, no thats my bad!” Veneer desperately reached for the towel and wrapped himself up again. “Uuuh have a good day!” He ran…. He ran straight toward the room he was staying in.

Once inside he went straight towards his bed, burying his face into his pillow…. He was NEVER going to show his face after that again.

“Stupid Veneer.” He told himself as he buried his face deeper into his pillow.

[amarriageoftrueminds]

Stumbled upon an old post about what awful lines were said about Bucky in TFATWS and holy fuck it is horrific.

"Your overextented life"

"Before you were his pet psychopat"

"Big cyborg brain of yours"

"They cleared the bionic staring machine and he killed almost everybody he's met".

Don't get me started on removing Bucky's arm without his consent. You DON'T take away someone's limb, especially not as a punishment for "bad behavior."

And people honestly wonder why some of us had issues with how Bucky was treated in that show. I remember people accusing us of not liking Bucky's story because "we don't want trauma survivors to find happiness and healing". Like I'm sorry but just because he's smiling at the end of the show doesn't mean his arc was written well. As a trauma survivor myself I don't have high expectations when it comes to Hollywood but Bucky's recovery arc (if you can even call it that) has been among the worst depictions of trauma and healing from it I've seen in recent years.

(I'd appreciate a link to that post so I can reblog it please, Anon! I was wondering the other day how many horrible lines there would be, if you put them all together. 😬 Yikes.)

.

*warning: this is gunna be salty af cuz I've been binge-watching House and have his acerbic voice in my head.

You're right not to call it a recovery arc, Anon. Bucky has never had a recovery arc, because that requires acknowledging he has something to recover from.

TPTB refuse to, because they want to paint Bucky as generic Crossbones dudebro villain, who needs to 'do better' after being a mind-controlled slave, and deserves to be verbally and physically abused.

As demonstrated by supposedly 'good' character X treating him like crap (ha! so hilarious! boys will be boys!) and/or not standing up for him when other character Y treats him like crap in front of them. (And yes I have to include Steve in this writing, too.)

Bucky in TFATWS is spoken of literally as Secretary Ross talked about Bruce et al in CACW. Comparing them to weapons. Things... not people. Just how a villain would talk about human beings. (And even badly-written!Steve was appalled by that, remember?) No alarm bells ringing in the TFATWS writer's room, tho? Hmm. Guess they were too lazy to watch the movies.

Although Disney skipped the actual arc towards happiness, to relegate SebStan to cheaper cut scenes, Bucky did have happiness and healing in the movies (thanks to Ryan Coogler, not the Russos. Thanks Ryan.)

But TFATWS had to shit on that, via the VA's Second-Worst Counselor. They wanted to take credit for what Coogler did -- by limp-dickedly retreading the exact same story beats (too lazy to come up with something original? too dumb? too reluctant to include Bucky in the first place?) Only with a different set of black people swapped in to replace T'Challa, Shuri, and the village people kids (because they're interchangeable? or because only black Westerners count, now? Ah but I'm forgetting that Arabic guy who came up to- uhh- thank the American Air Force? 😬 Genuinely jaw dropping. Gotta love those good clean Iron Man values.)

"I remember people accusing us of not liking Bucky's story because "we don't want trauma survivors to find happiness and healing."

I can't stand people who hijack that kind of therapy-speak to bullshit that that's why they like something.

IMO the truth is that fans don't want to admit that the writing sucks, that the writing of Sam has been sucking since CACW, because they like Sam and see TFATWS as his show -- when, jesus, is it really tho? Just because his name's on it?

Zemo and Walker got more attention and arc than Sam. Even Izaiah got the better speech. Steve got to demolish an American alphabet agency, what did Sam get to do in his show? Introduce the Flagsmashers when Sam is reluctant to dress in the flag, and he doesn't even get to lead them He gets stuck protecting the status quo?

That's the danger of 'media consumption' with Disney these days. Woke-washing.

It's... kind of like how fast fashion chains will greenwash their products, to pass off plastic fabric as organic material.

People who think of themselves as X-leaning, (or want to be seen as X), also want to believe they would recognise Y-leaning portrayals... but they lack critical thinking skills when it comes to media analysis.

So corps like Disney know they don't actually have to be left-leaning in their portrayals, because they can pass off any right-wing thing as a genuine progressive doodad just by cloaking it in the correct language or aesthetics.

(Hey, right wing writers! Want to make a dehumanizing ableist gag? Make a black woman do it! Ever wish sexual assault in the office could be shrugged at again? Make a white woman do it! (Make sure she's Upper Class and English, too!) Want to to make sure your protags can't be read as queer? Want to get away with basic locker-room homophobia without being nagged about it? Just play on the nostalgia of interracial 'buddy cop' movies, and - as usual - make a black guy do it! Want to portray the USAF as an heroic force in the Middle East? Make an Arab say thanks to a black American Airman! Wokewashing -- it covers all ills!)

Time was, Disney would only do this with their villains -- and you do get a hint of that Classic Disney long-coated predatory gay villain with Zemo.

Only now, instead of getting away with it because of widespread homophobia, Disney and fans can get away with it by accusing anyone who criticises of it being a homophobe.

But they're still writing the creepy gay scene-stealing villains. 🤔

Same with a shitty victim-blaming portrayal of a therapeutic 'arc'. The people who don't give a shit about that won't criticise it, and those that do- well, they must just hate trauma victims IRL, uwu. 😥

Insidious, isn't it?

Disney may be virulently allergic to giving SebStan anything significant to do these days, for fear of getting more gay cooties on Captain Comphet, or distracting from Captain Coloniser: Creator's Pet... but you cannot deny even those idiots M&M wrote a better arc for Steve and Bucky than the idiots that had a whole show arc to accomplish that for Sam and Bucky.

(Seriously, how do you fuck up in six attempts a thing you've already seen someone else manage in two? Oh- wait. Right. They haven't seen them manage it in two. They didn't watch the movies. 🤦‍♀️)

As far as friendship goes, I would have preferred Sam and Bucky ended as mutually-respectful frenemies (or even - imagine! both apologising for things they've actually voluntarily done to each other!)

Rather than just slapping some schmaltz onto a turd at the last second and calling it a rose. As you said: one instance of Mackie & Stan breaking character to smile at the end of a lazy montage does not equal a written arc. Let alone a well written one.

[jiabeewrites]

happy bday! can i request a kurt wagner x batsis?

THANKS ANON! sorry it took so long to write 😓

Awkward first meetings

SUMMARY: When Bruce Wayne finds out his daughter is dating, he demands to meet them. What he doesn't expect is a mutant that looks like, well... a blue demon.

TW: slight mutant slander, body image issues (for kurt this is being blue and stuff), language, use of she/her/hers pronouns, use of Y/N, overprotective batfam.

A/N: batsis's vigilante name is nightingale

"So what's his name again?"

Y/N sighed. Her family would never let this go, would they?

"I told you a thousand times, Dick, it's Kurt."

Dick frowned.

"Kurt what?"

"You'll find out, I'm not having you do a background check on my boyfriend!" She said, annoyed.

"Why are you so against it?" Jason asked. "If he was a good, normal person, then it wouldn't do any harm. Unless there's something that you want to keep from us."

"I won't tell you, and besides, he'll let you know when he'd ready. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go change my clothes."

Y/N Wayne and Kurt Wagner met about four months ago. She'd finally gotten to meet with her friend, Jean, and was surprised to find that she would finally get to meet the group of people that Jean talked about so much. They consisted of Jean's boyfriend Scott, two girls named Ororo and Jubilee, and three boys: Peter, Warren, and Kurt. He'd asked her out on a date after that, and the rest was history.

Y/N sighed, and put on her sweater. Most likely her brothers would do nothing less than interrogate Kurt.

Suddenly her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Y/N. Vat do I do? Do you just vant me to come and Bamf to your door?" Kurt asked.

She sighed.

"Listen, Blue, if you wanna then go for it. I mean... they'll find out tonight at dinner anyway."

"Alright." Y/N heard a familiar teleporting noise and then a voice.

"Here goes notzing."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

She heard a bell ring throughout the house, then came downstairs.

Y/N sighed. Hopefully her family wouldn't be stunned.

"Hey, Kurt."

The blue mutant grinned, and then walked up to her.

"Za professor vas a vittle against me coming here, but Jean convinced him," Kurt said.

"Eh, if I needed to I could just bribe him," she said flippantly. Her boyfriend chuckled, then looked at her brothers, who seemed... unsurprised, to be honest.

Jason was the first to speak.

"Of course Y/N/N goes for the metas," he said, laughing.

"Tt, wouldn't he know? F-Batman has a rule against metahumans," Damian said, frowning at the mutant.

"I'm...not a metahuman," Kurt said, looking at them.

"What are you, then?" Steph asked.

"A mutant."

"Look, it doesn't matter, because now he's here, and we can do introductions. Kurt, this is Babs, Dick, Jason, Cass, Steph, Tim, Duke, and Damian. Idiots minus Cass, this is Kurt," Y/N said, motioning to each Bat as she spoke. "And the person you met at the door is Alfred, he's basically our grandpa."

"It's nice to veet you all," Kurt said, smiling nervously.

"Where are you from?" Dick asked.

"Germany."

"Cool, I'm from Romania," he said.

The awkward silence returned, and they were all grateful that Alfred came in before it got too...weird.

"Master Bruce is here, and dinner is finished cooking, so please make your way into the dining room soon."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

A/N: I literally butchered his accent smh ToT

thanks for the request! sorry it was so short!

[abarbaricyalp]

Written for @sambuckylibrary Valentines Bingo. Free space fill (most of mine are gonna be free spaces) I guess it technically fills the Sam-Searching-For-Bucky fill too but not in spirit, so it doesn't count

Rated T/M, No Archive Warnings

Read on AO3 here

Bid Your Heart Goodbye

"You know why they put us up first, right?" Barton asked under his breath next to Sam.

Sam's gaze slid to him with only mild interest.  "Because we're the people's princesses?"

They were standing in the wings of a fancy stage with velvet curtains that smelled like they hadn't been cleaned since they were installed. Beyond the curtains, an audience dressed to the nines wined and dined. That same dinner was waiting for Sam if this charity auction would ever get underway.

No matter what Barton said about the order of the night, Sam wouldn't be made to feel less than grateful that he'd be sitting down and digging into an expensive steak in less than half an hour. Hopefully. Steve, the poor sod, was the last bid of the night.

Buy A Date With An Avenger had been a fundraiser since before Sam was involved with them at all. This was the first year he was participating in it. If he'd been asked the year before, he'd have been more than excited to join, take a break from the Ghost Hunt and relax in a fancy hotel for while. This year, he had other things he wanted to be doing with his time. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the Ghost Hunt was over and the ghost was accounted for, but Sam still felt like of he took his eyes off of him, he'd disappear into the night again. Perhaps it didn't. Who was to say.

"They're hoping people will bid high on us because they haven't spent big money on Steve or Tony yet," Clint said with some kind of sardonic glee. "Of someone spends million dollars to meet Steve, they're not gonna fork over anything else for us."

Sam rolled his eyes and elbowed Clint's arm. "Speak for yourself. I bet I hit 50k before the fifth vote."

The sardonicism melted away and Clint's eyes lit up. "I bet I make more than you," he countered.

"What're you gonna do? Strip?" Sam joked. Then he added, "Has Steve really gotten a million dollars before?"

"Couple of years ago," Clint confirmed. "Right after the whole thing in DC with you. That year. Super fan. They wanted the inside scoop on all of that for a book they were making someone ghostwrite."

Sam snorted. That sounded about right. There had been smaller opportunities for people to donate and win time with the heroes throughout the night. Steve was certainly a favorite. It might've dinged Sam’s ego a bit if he couldn't see how miserable Steve was with all of the attention.

Sam didn't mind this kind of thing. The VA held fundraisers all the time. He was used to the pleasant smiles and benign interest and the insufferable drone of rich people with money they needed. Actually, Sam was pretty good at it. Hell, he almost liked it, in a detached, out-of-body sort of way. He liked to be useful and he liked to be charming and gracious.

"Young man, you could've been a prince in another lifetime," an old woman had said to him once, patting his hand because she hadn't let go of it for five minutes.

"Only if you'd be my princess," he'd charmed back and gotten an extra donation towards their meeting spaces renovation for his time.

Tonight wasn't much different, though pocket books seemed to be a little fatter and held a little tighter. There were no promises made for nothing. Everything was about the spectacle of the bidding, the silent auction of memorabilia, the game of being allowed to tease time and attention from someone as important as an Avenger.

The proceeds weren't for the Avengers. They were all going towards charities around the nation. Each hero had picked one. Sam's was a housing program in Louisiana, to help people displaced after storms, year after year. 

"How much did your date go for last year?" Sam asked.

"About 20k," Clint said. "But I wasn't the worst of the night. A science lab got Bruce's date, but they didn't have to be very competitive about it."

Sam sucked in a breath through his teeth. "That's dirty, man."

"Hey, it worked out for them. He went to their lab, helped them through some results that weren't adding up, and they won some ridiculously prestigious award a month or so ago. Yet another paper with Dr. Bruce Banner's name on it too."

Sam had to give them that. That was a much better use of Bruce’s time than having dinner with someone who bought affection, someone who couldn’t be bothered to help people unless they got something in return.

This night could not be over quickly enough.

Sam was up first, as the newest member of the Avengers. He’d rewatched the livestream from last year to prepare himself, but there was still nothing like hearing his name echo throughout the room as the chatter of the evening lowered to a polite gust of whispers. The MC read off a list of Sam’s accomplishments as he walked on stage and gave a few easy-going smiles and waves. He listened as the MC explained what his charity was and how the money may be used.

And then the bidding began. It was a little slow going. It started at five thousand dollars, like all the dates would tonight. Someone upped it to seven, and then ten. A bright blue placard caught the corner of Sam’s eye. Everyone else had classy black and gold placards. This one was meant to stand out. It caught the MC’s eye too, apparently, because he gave a hearty chuckle and gestured to the man with the bright blue placard, sitting at a table with other event organizers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I neglected to mention that this year we are hosting the bidding online as well. We’ll entertain bids in real time from our website. What was the bid?” he asked the stand-in bidder.

“Fifty thousand, sir,” the man said. “From an anonymous bidder.”

A literal gasp went through the audience. Which, hey, a date with him was totally worth 50k, Sam thought. A little deliriously maybe. Fifty thousand dollars? From ten? Sam was absolutely not about to pass out on the stage. He just needed a lectern to hold onto for a few seconds.

The MC whistled appreciatively. “That is quite the statement. Does anyone want to say 55?”

The woman who’d been the first to bid raised her placard again.

“Great. 60?”

The blue placard went up again. “Sir, the same bidder has said 100,000.”

Someone was fucking with Sam. He turned to glare at Barton, because this was surely his doing. He’d just been telling Sam about how only Steve and Tony made any real money and him and Sam were just chum to get the sharks going. And somehow he had someone fuck up the online bidding site to do this.

But Barton looked just as confused as Sam was, and about fifteen times as gleeful.

The MC didn’t falter. He was a damn professional. Sam needed to send him a fruit basket or something. Sure, Steve and Tony’s dates went for more than half a million each last year. $100,000 was nothing compared to the rest of the night. But Sam wasn’t sure even he could’ve kept a straight face while talking about his company being worth more than a substantial downpayment on a house. But the MC just grinned at the audience and said, “Anyone willing to go for 110? $110,000 would change a lot of lives. Build a lot of houses, folks.”

Unbelievably, a whole new placard went up. Sam wondered if this was just someone trying to goad the online bidder into doing something even more outrageous.

Which they did. Before the MC could even decide on another number to challenge 110,000 damn dollars, the blue placard went up.

“175,” he said.

Sam blinked at him, feeling like a deer in the headlights while someone explained linear algebra to it. What the fuck was happening? Actually, was he in danger? Should he even meet someone willing to spend $175,000 just to have dinner with him? Was he going to end up tied up in a basement somewhere?

“Folks, I don’t know if anyone is going to be able to outlast our anonymous bidder. Do I hear 180? 180 on the room? How about 177? 176? 175-5? If not, Sam Wilson’s date has just been bought for $175,000. To our high bidder, you’ve helped a beautiful cause. Planning emails will be sent to the address on your bid form, so please keep an eye out for those. And now, please welcome Hawkeye himself, Clint Barton!”

Sam was only able to get himself off of the stage because he had Clint’s path to follow. Clint beamed at him, knocked the sides of their fists together as he whispered, “Bird bros,” and then waggled his eyebrows like that meant anything.

Backstage, Steve managed to find him before anyone who would need his help coordinating the date. He was cheesing about as hard as Clint was.

“I told you you’d be nothing but good for this,” he teased, giving Sam a half hug. “I wonder whose eye you caught so strongly.”

“Hopefully not a Christian Grey,” Sam muttered, which made Steve blush but laugh. Over the years, the number of pop culture references Sam was able to get away with had dwindled to mostly the obscure. Evidently Christian Grey was not obscure.

“Maybe it’s someone who wants to know more about the Falcon tech?” he suggested. “Or someone who just knows you’re a really great guy. I’d pay 200k to have lunch with you.”

Sam rolled his eyes and elbowed Steve’s ribs lightly. “Lucky for you, you get me for free.”

“Well, sometimes the price of a burger.”

“Only when we go to that fancy place you like.”

“Mr. Wilson?” an event organizer said, interrupting them and looking very apologetic for it. “We’d just like to go over your preferences very quickly before we begin drafting emails. It should only take a few minutes.”

“Of course,” Sam said with a nod. He gestured for her to lead the way and then shot a look at Steve, trying to convey a suave ‘guess this is my life’ kind of energy. Steve’s laughter was not helpful in determining if he hit the mark or not.

. . .

The date was at a rooftop restaurant, near the beach. It was New York, so the hustle and bustle of the city was ever present, but the crash of the waves and the calling of the birds was a nice addition. Sam hadn’t forgotten how much he liked the peace of the beach. No amount of time away from home would ever pull the saltwater out of his bones. But perhaps he underestimated it until he was in the sand and the water again. Assuming his date was not obsessive and willing to follow Sam around, he was definitely going to get down on the beach before heading back to Steve’s for the night.

The restaurant was the kind of place Sam would never go on his own. He couldn’t picture a single reason to be at some place like this. He hadn’t even gone to Stark events like this yet. True, the rooftop part was his idea. ‘Get a bird's eye view with the Falcon.’ It was a stupid gimmick that he’d thrown down on paper at the very beginning of the planning for the auction. But, evidently, his anonymous bidder had been into the idea as well. Sam had expected some slightly upscale bar where young people looked at him like he was decrepit, but the bidder had suggested this place, which was definitely beyond upscale and had very few hip-young-person patrons.

Then again, this person had spent almost $200,000 to even get this date. What was several hundred more for food?

The foundation was paying for Sam’s food, so he was two glasses of a very good red grenache wine into the night when the waiter stopped to let him know his date was checking his coat.

A man? Sam was surprised. Everyone in the room who had bid on Sam’s date had been women. Even the last instigator had been a woman. (She had continued to instigate throughout the night. Sam kind of thought she might’ve been a plant by the foundation to drive up bids.)

He kept his eyes on the entry way onto the roof. In theory, he could’ve peered through the glass windows of the kitchen, but there was far too much going on in there for him to be able to see anything important. Instead, he kept an eye on the archway covered in roses and ivy, where a maitre d’ waited to guide people to their reserved seats–or fuss at her waitstaff.

It did not take long for Sam’s date to arrive. He knew it was him as soon as he came through the roses.

He was wearing a beautiful black on black suit, a black silk tie gleaming in the decorative fire light. His hair was pulled back in a slick, tight ponytail, sitting just a little higher than the nape of his neck so he could still tuck it into his shirt collar. Everything about him was powerful, the long sprawl of his legs, the breadth of his chest and thighs, even the curl of his gloved fingers as he circled one set around his other wrist. His blue eyes were impossibly piercing as they found Sam before the maitre d’ could even gesture over. And then he was smiling, wide and enamored. It made him look so much younger.

Sam scrambled to stand up as he made his way over, having to pause to let the maitre d’ know he could handle it on his own. By the time he did get to their little corner table, Sam still hadn’t convinced himself this wasn’t a dream.

Where have you been? Sam wanted to ask. Why would you spend $175,000 to see me?

“You could have just called,” is what he said in the end.

Bucky Barnes had not stopped smiling. It was really killing the whole mafia boss vibe he otherwise had going for himself. He brought his hands up to Sam’s face and then kissed him in front of every damn one at the restaurant. Sam’s hands went to his wrists, thumbs slipping below his sleeves and under his gloves to rub the inside of his wrists, his pulse point.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else getting this time with you. Talking to you. Maybe even touching you, even if it was just your hand or kicking your foot under the table,” he admitted under his breath, a confession just for the two of them.

“You spent almost $200,000,” Sam breathed back. “That’s more than a little jealousy.”

“Sam, you’re worth every damn dollar I’ll ever be able to find.”

Sam wanted to tuck himself against Bucky’s chest, hiding his face between his collar and jaw and just breathe in the other man. This addiction had grown faster than he’d thought possible. It hadn’t been long, in the grand scheme of things, since he’d last seen Bucky, but this moment felt like water after a drought anyway.

“I know you woulda made sure you were untraceable, but it's still very hot that you risked getting caught to make the bid,” Sam eventually said, pulling away and then pulling out Bucky’s seat for him.

Bucky gave a silly half bow and sat, waited for Sam to do the same before he said, “Someone else was bidding for me. Don’t look at me like that. I have friends.”

Sam rolled his eyes good naturedly. “I don’t know if I should be flattered or worried,” he  joked.

“Well, I think the metric is: if I’m this handsome, you should be flattered.” Bucky grinned at him and it took off about two decades worth of suffering.

Sam looked suitably appalled. “Who taught you about pretty privilege and double standards?” he asked.

Bucky laughed again and hooked his ankle against Sam’s under the table. Sam didn’t let himself react visibly, but he did run the toe of his most expensive shoes up the side of Bucky’s other leg.

“I heard the Bluefin here is exquisite,” he said instead of answering.

“We are not ordering Bluefin Tuna,” Sam nixed instantly.

“Okay, okay, what about the salmon?”

Salmon wouldn’t be so bad.

. . .

The date had not included a hotel room. Obviously. Even exploitation of superheroes hadn’t hit that feverpitch yet. However, Bucky had an expensive hotel room and Sam had nothing else to do with the evening. He’d texted Steve earlier that he wasn’t about to be part of a Misery remake, so there was no one on standby waiting for his return.

Even if there had been, he was pretty sure he would have forgotten about them by the time Bucky, a little shyly and endearingly, had suggested Sam come back with him for the night. He was perfectly gentlemanly as he greeted the doorman and bragged on his date a little bit and then led Sam to the elevator. He managed to keep his hands to himself for the upwards climb and the intentionally slow walk down the hallway.

“I hope your friend isn’t sharing a room with you,” Sam said as Bucky fiddled with his keycard, crowding Sam against the door like the sexiest predator cat the world had ever seen.

“Nah,” Bucky agreed, putting his forearm against the door next to Sam’s head as he curled his whole body inwards towards Sam. “She’s not even in the country.”

He unlocked and opened the door before Sam had even seen his hand move, then caught Sam up in his arms before Sam could fall back into the apartment. His feet barely touched the ground as Bucky carried him through the room. The door shut behind them with a soft click. The hotel room was basically bigger than the lower floor of Sam’s place in DC and definitely bigger than his room at the Avengers Compound, which is where he would’ve otherwise ended up tonight.

Surprisingly, the bed was near the window, blinds down but not all the way closed. The city lights twinkled outside and bathed the white sheets in a smear of intangible watercolor. Then, when Bucky dropped him on the bed, those lights painted over Sam too. He only got to stare at them, turning his hand this way and that, for a moment before Bucky was straddling his lap and staring down at him with an open hunger. Sam could do nothing but stretch out beneath him.

Bucky’s long fingers came up to the top of his dress shirt and slowly, carefully, undid the buttons. There was none of the frantic rush that always followed them when they came together. There really wasn’t even anyone who was expecting them in a certain place. Right now, the entire scope of their existence was this room right here.

Sam shivered pleasantly as his shirt fell open. Bucky settled back against his hips, running his hands down Sam’s chest–a contrast of warm and cool fingers.

“You’re so Goddamn beautiful,” he breathed. “It’s like something new every time.”

Sam rolled his eyes to distract himself from the blush racing down his cheeks and neck. “You could take a picture,” he suggested. “Would last longer.”

“Yeah, with my memory, that’s probably true.”

Sam snorted, he couldn’t help himself, and dropped his arm over his eyes. “How do you find the most supremely unsexy things to say while you’re undressing me?”

Bucky shifted over him and a few seconds later, Sam heard the shutter of his phone’s camera. “Goddamn piece of artwork,” he reiterated before throwing his phone aside and refocusing on Sam. He leaned over Sam’s body, resting his weight against Sam pointedly. He mouthed at Sam’s neck, traveling up to his earlobe, sucking it between his lips before he whispered, “I’m gonna take you apart all night long, doll.”

Sam shivered roughly and curled one hand against the back of Bucky’s neck, turning his head to catch Bucky’s mouth on his. “You’ve gotta put on a $200,000 show, Barnes,” he taunted.

Sam felt Bucky tense up for a rebuttal. Technically Sam ought to be putting on the show, he knew. But then he felt it all ease back out of Bucky as he decided to pursue better endeavors. With one last lave of his tongue over Sam’s, he sat back against his hips again, grinding against Sam in a subtle, smooth, teasing move, and began to unbutton his own shirt. Sam took the opportunity to shrug out his own clothes quickly.

He didn’t know who had taught Bucky to strip, but the man could do it like a professional. Sam was pretty sure he’d never been more turned on in his entire life. When Bucky reached for Sam’s zipper–his own pants already undone and hanging loose around his hips in a downright sinful tease, Sam couldn’t wait any longer. He flipped them over, pinning Bucky down to the bed so they could each shove their pants out of the way while Sam fell right back into kissing Bucky like it was the only way he could breathe.

“When you walked out onto the roof, I almost dragged you right back down,” Sam breathed, grinding his thigh between Bucky’s. “You looked so good, it was like a mirage. Like a magazine spread come to life.”

“Yeah?” Bucky asked, a cocky grin coming to his lips. “The suit do it for you, doll?”

“The suit. Your hair. The fact that it was you. I’d been dreading that date. And as soon as I saw you…”

Sam could practically feel Bucky’s self-satisfaction radiating. “As soon as you saw me, what?” he prompted, wiggling his hips until Sam ground down on him again.

“As soon as I saw you, nothing else really mattered,” Sam admitted with a slow, pleased smile of his own. He felt like he’d been holding his breath all night, waiting for Bucky to disappear out of this daydream. And finally something had slotted into place and he decided this was all real.

“Right now, nothing else matters,” Bucky promised with a kiss, then flipped them over again. “Now, about taking you apart,” he purred before putting his mouth back to Sam’s body.

. . .

“What if I just never let you leave?” Bucky suggested late the next morning. Room service was about to stop serving breakfast, which was a shame because they hadn’t made it all the way through the menu yet. Bucky traced a strawberry around Sam’s mouth, dragging his lip down with it before he replaced the strawberry with his own mouth and then started all over again.

Sam was more interested in the powdered sugar on Bucky’s fingers and lips, but he was being remarkably incapable of getting any of it onto his tongue. He’d have thought Bucky got all of the teasing out of his system the night before, but evidently not. “Eventually someone would come looking for me. I only gave Steve the all-clear for one night. And the world’s probably gonna try’n implode soon, so I’ll definitely be missed then.”

Bucky hummed, dragging the strawberry over Sam’s cheek and across his jaw. “$200,000 is a lot of money. I should get two dates, y’know?”

“You only spent $175,000. And I think I earned it last night, huh?”

“Now that’s a high end date,” Bucky teased. He tossed the strawberry back onto the fruit platter and crowded over Sam’s body again, hiding his face against Sam’s warm neck.

They were getting nowhere fast this morning. At least last night had had a plotline, no matter how often they distracted each other. There was a goal to be reached. Several times. But this morning? They were just lazing around, eating more food than room service should ever send to one room, and getting lost in pointless, teasing touches.

“In another world, this is our life,” Bucky pointed out against Sam’s shoulder. “In another world, I’m just wining and dining you all the time. We live in an expensive penthouse and we just have sex all day.”

“In this scenario, where are you getting all your cash for these nights?” Sam amused.

“I dunno. Trading stock. Investing in the 40s and not touching it,” Bucky said with a shrug that jostled Sam’s entire upper body.

“You didn’t know shit about the stock market in the 40s,” Sam argued. “You don’t know shit about it now.”

He felt Bucky grin against his skin and another monumental shrug shook the bed. “Who cares? It’s a fantasy. You’re the important part of it.”

“I live an expensive life, Barnes,” Sam defended simply.

“Oh yeah,” Bucky agreed, squeezing Sam’s hips until he had to stifle a laugh and shift until Bucky. “I know all about your all-organic fruits and veggies diet. I can handle it.”

“It’s a pretty thought,” Sam conceded when he’d freed his hips and gotten Bucky’s hands away from undiscovered tickle spots. “We could get close. If you came back. If you stayed.”

“I can’t,” Bucky sighed. He turned to lay on his side next to Sam, put a hand over his chest so he could circle Sam’s nipple with his thumb as he spoke. “Not yet. There’s too much to do. It’s better if no one knows where I am yet.”

“I could help. You don’t have to do any of this alone.”

Bucky pressed three kisses to Sam’s cheek and jaw. “You do help. You’ve helped so much, Sam. I used to run right towards precipices. Didn’t care how sturdy the ground was. Now I’ve got an anchor behind me. And a guy with wings who can catch me.”

“I ain’t catching you,” Sam argued quickly. “Do you know how much you weigh?”

Bucky laughed and shook his head. They laid there in that quiet for a moment, hearts beating together as their fingers tangled and came apart.

“I will be,” Sam eventually said. “I’ll be your anchor or your wings or whatever you need. You just need to remember that we’re connected. Every anchor has a line. You go down, I’m going down too. And, when you’re ready, you follow that line right back to me. Got it?”

Bucky shifted over him, held his face gently and adoringly. “Sold, doll,” he promised and kissed Sam again.

If you enjoyed this, please consider leaving a kudos or comment on AO3

[luvly-writer]

“You are my sunshine”

Part 19: Save me from this sorrow

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Jason Todd x Latina! Reader

Social Media Au

Status: Finished

Warnings: none

Author’s Note: AHHHHH!!! Seeing your feedbacks make my day so much!!!! Thank you so so so much for reading. Hope you enjoy!

Taglist: @lorosette @milas-teapot @izukuisbaby @screeching20s @alecmores @writing-for-the-hell-of-it @unofficial-jaytodd-wife @graywrites5567 @addictedtothefictionalworld @randobeetlehouse

Series Masterlist:

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“Dime cuánto va a dolerme la verdad,

tampoco se muy bien si la quiero ir”

(tell me how much will the truth hurt me, i’m not even sure i want to listen to it)

You were listening to “Amigos” by Pablo Alborán and Maria Becerra on your way to Jason’s apartment.

Your nerves were going to kill you. They were almost suffocating at this point, oh how you related to the song. You wanted to get this over with, you wanted the truth and yet at the same time you weren’t sure if you ACTUALLY wanted to hear it cause it would confirm everything.

You had never gone to Jason’s apartment seeing as he was constantly at yours. Your gps was giving instructions of the pin he had sent you.

You finally get there and park your car. It’s a nice ass complex, you wouldn’t expect less of Bruce Wayne’s adoptive son.

“Aquí vamos, Yn, with your head held high”

you get out of the car and head to the lobby. You are buzzed in seeing as Jason had already announced you’d be visiting. The trip up the elevator was slow. You tug on your work clothes.

Today had been a good day so far, you had a meeting where it was announced that you’d be promoted to head architect and director of designs of the company. You’d wish you could celebrate in ways other than discussing your potential heartbreak with the cause of it.

The elevator dings and you walk towards his apartment. 27B.

Just as you raise your hand to knock, the door opens. Lo and Behold, Artemis Grace, stands there just about to exit his apartment.

Of course.

Because of your shock, you miss the way Artemis looks at you up and down, licks her lips and slightly smirks. If only you knew that she desired you more than she ever could Jason.

“If you excuse me, χαριτωμένο μικρό πράγμα, I have to take my leave. Please do enter.

(translation: pretty thing in Greek)

You are stunned for a sec and suddenly Jason comes into view, looking panicked.

He gulps and brings you inside.

You both are left standing there in an awkward silence. Not knowing what to do

Alfred’s lessons on manners suddenly come to Jason, “would you like something to drink? water? juice? wine?” he asks gesturing to the kitchen

“just water” you reply, knowing that you’d like to be as sharp minded as you can at the moment.

you both walk towards the kitchen and you sit in one of the seats in the islet/counter. You place your bag on the seat next you and face Jason, placing your hands on the table.

he hands you a water bottle and you both open your mouths to speak at the same time:

“I swear it is not-“

“Did i truly have-“

you both look at each other and laugh a little, easing them tension. You gesture for Jason to go first and he gestures for you to go first. Both look at each other exasperated and Jason clears his throat. “May i go first?” he asks and you nod.

Listening to him was going to be easier than sorting the mess you were feeling right now and putting it to words.

In a sense, Jason was relieved that you let him speak first, he had time to actually sort what he wanted to say and how. Even though he felt as if he somehow had an unfair advantage since he knew how you felt because of the drunk night in the car.

“It’s not what it looks like, it never was how it looked like and it never will be how it looked like” he starts. You raise your eyebrow at the cliche response and open the bottle. You gesture for him to carry on.

“Artemis and I are just friends, we always have been. Yes, there have been times where things have happened, but none of them have meant anything, just two friends.” You look at him skeptically and he noticed that the last part might have sound odd so he clears it up.

“Yes, she and i have slept together before but none of that matters, she and I have never wanted to carry out something other than a friendship. She’s one of my business partners and closest friends and I would never desire her in any way.” you nod and take another gulp of water.

“That and there are more chances that she would want to bed you right now than she’d want me”, at that, your eyes open wide and you choke on the water you were drinking and start coughing. Jason comes from the other side of the count and starts patting your back. When it subsides, you are breathing a little heavy and you stare at Jason,

“You could have told me that after i finished drinking, Jason, frankly i don’t think the surprise did any favors to my lungs at the moment” you say and both of you start to laugh.

He apologizes and waits for you to be normal again so that he continues.

“As I was saying, we met up and we posted that, thinking nothing of it. I would have never thought that it would be blown out of proportion-“

“-you both are ‘celebrities’, the fuck did you expect?”

he narrows his eyes at your response and you smirk lightly, “the point is, she is not a threat to us”

“oh there is an us? last time i checked, we didn’t wear labels”

“you can’t possibly believe that there wasn’t an us” Jason said. His eyes longingly looking at you wanting nothing other than to hold you and kiss you. You were sitting at the chair, your back to the counters and he was standing next to you, one hand on his hip and the other on the counter, facing you.

“that every caress, every date, every call, every encounter, every moment, every minute and second with you meant nothing” he finishes.

“i don’t know what to expect Jason, that is the problem. At the beginning, you made it abundantly clear that it was just for fun, so I took it for fun, then it started to get more intimate as time passed and you never clarified. I had asked a month after the first date, and you said the same thing. You treat me like your lover and your plaything at the same time, what was i supposed to believe?” you retort

“My play thing?!?!? Whatever made you believe that you were just a play thing to me?” He responds, getting slightly agitated

“Your siblings, Jason! Do you think it doesn’t fuck with the mind or raise any warning bells that they wanted to meet me before i met you? Do you think it doesn’t make it questionable? Could you honestly blame me for having assumptions at things i asked and you never clarified and stay paranoid?” Yn answered, finally letting her frustration be displayed. She had had it. Ok, fine. Jason wasn’t taken or interested in someone, but those were still things that troubled her and finally she was done and needed answers.

Jason stays quiet through her rant. He watched as Yn stood up and walked back and forth frustrated. He knew that before anything was further explained, he needed to let her say it all because even if he knew, she didn’t know he knew.

Yn passed her hand through her hair.

“I was fine playing the part of secret lover to the public but it’s no longer fun Jason. What do they want from me and more importantly, what do you want from me!?!” she said sternly as she stood in front of him looking directly to his eyes challenging him to respond.

“I want you. I want your time, I want your attention, I want to be the object of your desires and the focus of your love, I want to be yours wholeheartedly and completely, just as I want your heart to belong to me and only me. I want dinner dates and waking up in the morning, I want to see your night routine in person, i want to drive you around in my bike and take you anywhere as long as I’m with you, I want you only you.” he answers, taking you face in his hands and rubbing your check with his thumb.

You wanted to accept that answer, yet you couldn’t because there were still other questions to be answered. Most of the time this is how he got you to forget them, romancing you into his arms, but you needed to know.

You take his hands of your face, “What about the rest? How did they know me before you, why are they searching for me? Make it make sense, Jason. Was it a challenge? Did you pick some random person to toy with, is that why you’re so desperate? Get a kiss out of me, lead me to your bed, fuck me and leave for your next conquest?”

Jason was hurt at the accusations. He swears that he will fucking give them one hell of a earful tonight in patrol for not understanding simple boundaries.

“you know that’s not it-“

“oh! I KNOW?!?!? I KNOW!?!? DO I JASON!???”

your frustrating was beyond limits, Why was he avoiding it so much

“Yes, Yn! You know damn well that my fucking feelings are not fake! Or did you honestly think that i place so much effort and time and i give so much love and attention to ANY person that comes to my life?!?”, now Jason was frustrated as fuck. When did this get so complicated? The original plan was she comes, they fix the misunderstanding with Artemis and everything would have been fine. Since it was a drunk confession, he through he had more time to come up with a well thought of explanation for her accusations and his siblings actions, yet she didn’t come to simply talk about that, she wanted to know everything and he short circuited.

She closed her eyes and said, “we should calm down and breathe for a moment. We are getting too riled up and we aren’t fixing shit if we both can’t think straight” as she breathed heavily.

Jason agrees and gestures to the living room. They both walk towards the sofa and sit down. Jason at one end facing her and Yn, at the other facing him.

Yn speaks first, “I feel like a plaything and a joke to all of you. You treat me as your girlfriend and give me exclusivity, yet you refuse to admit that there is a romantic relation in any of the things we do until today. Your siblings treat me as a rare species in need of investigation and find me a challenge. You all seem to know me before even meeting me and took me as a target before speaking to me. Finally, one day you fill me with love and champagne and the next, you are seen with another woman that media confirms as your girlfriend. Tell me, am i insane for feeling conflicted?”

Jason shakes his head no and answers, “Not at all sweets, frankly, if it had been the other way around, I don’t think I would have had much class dealing with it.” he validates your feelings

“but, I would love for you to let me speak and explain everything, can you let me, my love?”

and you nod, getting more comfortable in the sofa.

Here comes nothing

“You are my soulmate.” he throws it out the and you swear you feel the air leave your lungs. You stare at him dumbfoundedly….you are his soulmate?? you knew that soulmates existed in this world, but weren’t both people supposed to know? Like at the same time?

“Like legit? you ask and want to scold yourself for sounding stupid. He nods in response. “How do you know?”

fuck

the one explanation he was waiting to avoid.

He stayed quiet for a moment, thinking and calculated. Finally, he opens his mouth,

“A few days before the Scholar’s Charity Gala, we were….at…an activity, yeah, and encountered some strange light blue beings-“

“-the Anima populi?!?!?”, Yn interrupts mesmerized, “they are real!?!?”

Jason nods and she continues, “That’s impossible! I thought they were only a myth to make kids believe in love”

“Well, sweets, turns out they are very much real and the legends are true. One of them had contact with me, and suddenly all of my family and I black out and images and memories of you flashed before our eyes. Once we regained consciousness they explained who you were to me. And coincidentally, you appear at the gala. Their excitement to getting to know you and the bet are a result of that” He finished, looking at her uncertainly, hoping she’d believe him.

Yn stayed quiet, processing everything. Suddenly, she looked at him, eyes wide.

“We haven’t kissed” she says and Jason, not understanding where she’s getting with this, raises an eyebrow and nods

“According to legend, once the two souls kiss they are bound to be sealed as one. Meaning that if we had kissed, I would have known it was you. I had feeling it was you and all but….wait wait wait, how did you encounter the Anima populi? They are not easy to be found!” Yn questioned and Jason swore he was fucking sweating in his seat. Yn please for the love of everything, stop asking questions.

He clears his throat and looks anywhere but her. He tries to avoid the answer by asking her a question, “You had a feeling it was me?” he smirks and looks at her. She flushes and opens her mouth to speak yet she can’t, she looks anywhere but him and he can’t help but huff out a laugh. He moves to sit closer to her, trapping her between the sofa and her body, and takes her face gently with one hand and turns it towards him, forcing both of them to make eye contact.

you want to look anywhere else, and you try, but this blue - green eyes keep on pulling you back to them, almost hypnotizing you

“Maybe once or twice, don’t let it get to your head”

He places his hand on you waist and pulls you on top of him. you sitting in his lap

Both of you, comfortable in your position, his hands on your waist, yours on the sofa on each side of his head staring down at him

“I feel like your lying to me, love” he smirks looking up at you.

“is that so, Mr. Todd”

“Yes, because you see, that’s the thing about this whole ordeal. When one person gets lost in their imagination about one person, the other is bound to do the same” he answers as he grabs one of your wrists and kisses the inside whilst looking at you through his eyelashes. Fuck me, Jason Todd is a beautiful man and there is no room to argue.

“Have you gone crazy thinking of me?” you ask leaning down a little

He huffs and rolls his eyes, “Have i gone mad thinking of you! the audacity of you to ask such question” he uses the same wrist he is holding and tugs you so now your faces are inches apart, “i’ve thought about you so much my head can go dizzy with just a whisper of your name. I’ve thought about you alright, so much that it is impossible not to” he brushes his lips to yours, barely touching them, and yet you can feel a small spark in you chest.

“i’ve thought about you in the morning, noon, and night, in my bed, here, in my bike, i’ve though of wanting to wake up and go to sleep with you, of going anywhere with you, i’ve thought of cooking for you and taking care of you, i’ve though of surrendering my entire being is yours so much that if you were to need for the moon, the moon you’ll get, you see what you don’t get is this, i knew we were soulmates but i felt that we were when you first looked at me. I have known for so long that i understand you are the ruin of my restraint, the object of my downfall and the lighter of my revival. You are that flame that never ceases to end and that breeze that cools the burn. Yn, what else do i have to say for you to understand, I burn for you, most ardently” he says softly and you have to pull back to look at him in the eyes.

Those are not words to be taken lightly and you want to see, you NEED to see if it’s true.

You take his face in your hands and look into his eyes. In return, you found sincerity, vulnerability and complete, utter, raw honestly and emotion.

“I have opened my heart and soul to you with only hopes that you do that in return” he says and his eyes water a little

Jason felt his chest tighten. He entertained a thought that never had crossed his mind, where the Anima Populi wrong? Her silence was killing him.

Instead, knowing that words had failed her and emotion was too much to express with them, she took one look at his lips and decided.

She smashed her lips to his and it was almost as if something exploded and bloomed inside of her at the same time. Her chest was filled with warmth, and almost as if someone had injected something, a cool sensation ran through her veins. It felt as if she had died and been born again.

One of Jason’s hands hugged her waist instead of just holding it whilst the other held the back of her head.

The kiss was passionate and intense, leavening them truly out of breath after it. As they tried to catch their breath, they look up and noticed that each had a faint almost transparent flame above their heads, one red (Jason) and one blue (Yn) and both started to twist around the other leaving a purplish trail behind. They finally connected and created a purple fire heart, that glowed and then vanished into thin air. Yn looked down at him and smiled, nuzzling her nose to his.

“Looks like you are stuck with me now, Jason” she remarked lovingly looking at him.

Jason couldn’t keep his eyes of her. Their soulmate connection had been established and their souls were bound to one another. He had a soulmate, a legit soulmate. Someone destined love him and only him even with the darkness he brings, a darkness she had yet to encounter. At that thought, a small amount of guilt became present in his heart. His beautiful girl, soon you’ll find out, as for now, the only thing he could respond with was:

“Wouldn’t have it any other way” and pulled her in for another kiss.

“tu me curas esta soledad, soledad

tu me curas esta soledad”

(you cure this loneliness of mine”

——————————————-

Author’s note: INTENSE CHAPTERRRR!!! But Fret not, it isn’t the last one. I kinda want to write a smut chapter but i’m nervous toooooo

[dorkofclanlavellan]

Displaced Friends

Notes: I will be getting to the smut soon but rn I'm just in the mood to hurt people's feelings lol Pairings: Bruce Wayne (Batfleck) x gn!reader (Sweetie), Sweetie x male!OC (platonic) Warnings: Mentions of past abuse, lots of swearing, character death, hurt-comfort, violence (not sure what else to put, feel free to let me know)

Joseph Backer. Born March 30th, 1950.

He had been cantankerous towards everyone, including Sweetie, in the beginning. From the moment they'd found him, camped out beside the dumpster behind the bakery, with only an old coat to protect him from the rain.

He'd brusquely shooed Sweetie away when they asked him to at least come inside to get out of the rain. But Sweetie didn't give up. They brought him a thermos of soup, the only unused tarp left from renovating the bakery, and some fresh bread.

He'd shooed them away again but had accepted everything they brought. It became a pattern for the next two weeks.

Then one evening while Sweetie was walking to their car with the bank deposit, some guys tried to mug them. Tried being the operative word, they barely managed to draw their weapons before Joseph came up behind them and knocked them both out with a piece of wood.

After that day he wasn't as ornery towards Sweetie. At their insistence, he accepted a tent they'd gotten him and started using the fire escape to stake out on the roof. He would even cave in and sleep on their couch when the weather was particularly harsh.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

With each passing day, Sweetie and Joseph grew closer and he became a friend and father figure. They bonded over similar childhoods. Both had abusive fathers. He'd surprised Sweetie with how liberal and progressive he was underneath that grumpy exterior.

Joseph's father had forced him into the Marine Corps and into Vietnam. And when he returned home, Joseph never spoke to or saw his father again. He didn't need to since his mother had died when he was 10.

He had gotten married and while his trauma had made the marriage rocky, his wife Lily had stuck by his side. For 30 years they were together. Unable to have children but they were happy to have each other. Then Lily was diagnosed with cancer. She'd gone through treatments, that seemed to do more harm than good. And in 2001, Joseph lost his wife, his house, everything.

He ended up on the streets. Until he met Sweetie, Joseph stopped caring about anyone.

He was a big man. And surprisingly strong. He would help Sweetie around the bakery, refusing to take money. Sweetie would feed him and insist on taking care of him if he wouldn't take cash.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

That first day Bruce Wayne had visited the bakery, Joseph had been in the back, lugging in bags that he refused to let Sweetie bring in themself. "That boy's gonna be trouble." He'd grumbled the second Bruce was out the door. It was a sentiment he repeated with each visit from the billionaire.

After Bruce asked Sweetie out Joseph had warned them, "He's got a reputation of being an absolute slut. Just be careful. That fucker hurts you and I'll kick the shit out of him."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

By late November, Sweetie had convinced Joseph to seek aid at the VA. They found work for him and he would have his own house at the beginning of December.

When Thanksgiving came, neither Sweetie nor Joseph celebrated the holiday. So while Bruce Wayne had to make a public appearance at a Gala or two, Sweetie and Joseph gave out free meals all day and evening. Along with supplies to those who needed anything.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Black Friday, 2011. Joseph had been carrying some trash out of the bakery for Sweetie. When two assholes at the store next door came stumbling out of the store, fighting each other over a discounted microwave. They were so loud that Sweetie came out to investigate. Right about that time, one of the men pulled out a gun. Before he could fire on his rival though, Joseph tackled him to the ground.

There was a gunshot. Followed by a scream that Sweetie would later learn came from them. Other bystanders sprang into action then. Disarming the gunman, while Sweetie ran to Joseph.

They applied pressure to the wound while demanding someone call an ambulance. Tears streaming down their face. But Joseph was calm, in fact, he was smiling.

"I'm glad I met you, kid." He whispered to them, just as paramedics arrived.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Sweetie had ridden in the ambulance with Joseph and had called Bruce in hysterics while in the hospital waiting room after giving their statement to police. Bruce was at their side within a few minutes. Holding them the whole time they waited on news from the surgeons.

Joseph hadn't made it, in the end.

And Sweetie had been a wreck for the next few days. They'd stayed with Bruce the whole time. Not wanting to be alone and not wanting to return to their loft.

Bruce was very supportive of Sweetie and didn't leave their side until they were certain they were okay enough to go back to work.

He made sure to check in and be ready to get to them at the drop of a hat, should they need him.

All of this was greatly appreciated and made Sweetie endeared them to Bruce all the more.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

Sweetie smiled softly to themself after hanging up the phone after Bruce's latest check-in call.

They could practically hear Joseph grumbling, "Hmph. Guess I was wrong about that one."

(Faceclaim for Joseph is Ron Perlman)

[radiantlyrey]

Thoughts on Uprising eps9&10 Scars

Part One

- cold open: well this is all about Dyson from the start, huh? that dude has the pointiest possible chin, I’ve gotta say. also the scan results on his ship “highest security clearance; by sovereign order of Clu” like DAYUM somebody’s top dog, huh???? and why am I not surprised that Tron has a bug on the port scanners specifically for this guy??

- speaking of the port scanners: where the fuck even is Argon? what is the local geography? like there’s a big ocean like thing? and a mountainous snowy area??? the hell??? things I want/need: a map of the whole ass Grid!!!!!! damn!!

- for once our heroes and villains agree: Dyson fuckin sucks. can’t say that I disagree with that assessment; he is a smarmy bastard at the LEAST. love his VA, though; the voice has just the right balance of danger on the one hand, and whine on the other. and meanwhile Tron is……… not handling this well. Obviously. What with the torture and all. That said, Beck’s plan to get Dyson’s disc and spare his life is a good one, which… good for Beck, sometimes his plans kind of suck. Wish Tron was in a mood to actually listen to him, tho….

- flashback 1: okay even here Dyson feels like a bit of a tryhard/sycophant. I do love seeing a bit more of the tensions between Isos and programs. it seems like a really fundamental part of the whole story of the Grid; here are these programs without Users, without makers, without base functions beyond their own existence, and…. they just want to be a part of things. the Grid is their home, too. and programs don’t seem to like that, for the same reason anyone anywhere can be xenophobic. it sucks, but damn does it make for good storytelling. the riot is a mess, as riots usually are, but it’s damn good for story reasons.

- meanwhile at Tron’s place: nicely done on the simulation, Beck, you’re improving all the time!!! sucks that, uh, Tron is……….. not doing well… or trusting you………. and stuff………..

- flashback 2: so Dyson has gone from eager puppy to hardened bigot pretty damn quick, huh?? also nice to see that I have been hitting the mark on anti-Iso sentiments in some of my fics. Clu’s grandstanding on his lightcycle is painfully him, especially with all those Isos around… and then Flynn!!!! good to see you! wish you were a little more understanding about……… everything to do with the Iso-program tensions, tho!! like. for real…….

- then Beck tries to show Tron that he can get Dyson’s disc without having to capture him, and he does a damn good job!! I love that he is sticking to his principles here, good for him. it’s just a shame that Tron is…. not very receptive right now. UGH. PLEASE STOP TRON. I LOVE YOU. PLEASE STOP.

- then as Pavel and Paige are giving Dyson the tour, Dyson twigs on Beck’s trap and is…. a smarmy bastard as usual about it. Beck barely manages to get out unseen. (also I see Dyson using that tracking thing Rinzler uses in Legacy!!! What is up with that!!!!!!!!) love that Pavel is trying to get in Dyson’s good graces while Paige is protecting Tesler’s reputation—very in character for both of them!!

- flashback 3: WELP. love how we see a new perspective on what wasn’t shown in Legacy. also love how Clu has leveraged Dyson’s anger and turned him into an ally. there is that line about perfection, which is unsurprising, it’s Clu. and Clu is following his directive as he sees it, and there is no room for disfigured programs in a perfect system.

- and then Beck goes back to Tron and JESUS FUCK TRON!!!!! FUCK. SHIT. WHAT WAS THAT. HOLY SHIT. WHAT. WHAT. STOPPPPPPP

- (tho Bruce Boxleitner’s delivery of “I don’t need your permission” was fucking BONE-CHILLING. DAMN.)

Part Two

- cold open: Beck sweetie, you’re doing amazing, but the mere fact that Tron isn’t even talking to you is…. a Bad Fuckin Sign. the lightcycle chase here is really well done, though, love action sequences like this. (and they were probably trying to get more action sequences in this episode because the fights are few and far between this episode.)

- love that Tesler et al are (badly) trying to pretend that the Renegade is No Big Deal, though Dyson has cottoned on pretty quickly that the Renegade is a perennial thorn in Tesler’s side. Still, watching them all kind of flail around the facts is mildly hilarious, and I’ll take whatever levity I can get in this episode….

- flashback 4: getting in some psychological torture before the actual torture starts, I see! the programs in tubes thing while they’re repurposed is Creepy as FUCK and I do not like it. and they just put Tron in there to make him watch and it’s awful and I hate it and uGH

- Tron + Beck fight: fdsj;dajk;adgj;dfjk;dgj;kadjk; HELPPPPPPPPPPP THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGGGGGG (AGAIN) (HELP) and poor Beck, he’s trying really hard to make Tron see sense and it’s not working and ugh, poor bb. also this feels like one of those plots that would be solved if everyone sat down and TALKED IT OUT, tho I completely understand why Tron does not want to. like. completely. still tho.

- Paige and Pavel scene: again, grateful for whatever levity I can get here. Paige’s loyalty to Tesler is kind of admirable, whereas Pavel is grasping for whatever straw of power he can find, even if it means deliberate sabotage. thank god Paige isn’t falling for his bullshit. (also Pavel’s “Maybe?” to Paige’s question fuckiin SENT ME, lol)

- flashback 5: buckle up kiddos, it’s time for TORTURE!!!!!! IN A KID’S SHOW!!! THAT THEY RATED FOR FLIPPING SEVEN YEAR OLDS!!!!!! I couldn’t believe it 10 years ago and I can’t believe it now. well….. um. what I want to know is HOW they got THIS past BS&P (aka the Board of Standards and Practices, aka the people who basically say what is and is not appropriate for a given audience). it’s torture. it’s not even disguised or called something else. it isn’t CALLED torture, but it’s torture. Dyson is hurting Tron in an attempt to get him to give in and change sides. it’s torture. the frickin guards outside the door even talk about how “why doesn’t he scream? everyone else does.” like seriously. WHAT THE FUCK. and Dyson destroying Tron’s face is just…….. eeeh. yikes, my guy. maybe stop. maybe you have a complex? about your supposedly perfect fixed face and the injury you got?? maybe STOP????

- Tron + Dyson fight: this was good fucking shit. just well made action, good cuts away to Beck’s dilemma (one edit where it cuts from Beck’s disc to Tron blocking Dyson was SO GOOD I EXCLAIMED ABOUT IT). and then Tron is totally bout to kill a dude, but Beck is there in the background and idk if Tron spots him or not, but fdsajk;dfasj that moment when he drops Dyson was just UGH. GOOD SHIT GOOD SHIT

- flashback 6: HO SHIT CYRUS!!!!!! I DID NOT REALIZE!!!!!!!!!!!! (seriously I only watched up to The Stranger 10 years ago and I don’t think Cyrus was named in that ep??? I can’t remember!!!) saying the same thing as Beck about not letting the revolution die before it gets started!! WHAT!!!!!!!

- the ending: Tesler’s glad Dyson’s gone, so yay for him, I guess? and then Tron FINALLY apologizes to Beck (doesn’t tell him shit, as usual, but I’ll take an apology) which made me feel good, and then—

- the coda: Dyson returns to Clu with a message: TRON LIVES. and just casually derezzes a guard so no one else knows. and UGHHHH WHAT MIGHT HAVE COME OF THIS!!!!!! I haven’t even finished the show and I am upset there was never a second season!!!! UGHHHHH

in conclusion:

THIS WAS GOOD SHIT. EASILY THE BEST EPS SO FAR. MY GOD. 1000000/10 WOULD WATCH AND FEEL ALL THE EMOTIONS AGAIN.

[sourlemonsz]

More Musician!Vance because my hc's are too strong to stay in my brain

W.C: 1,035

It was a cold thursday night, Vance and his band are at their own afterparty. It's late, and they're all drunk, and unfortunately for Vance he's usually a sad drunk, crying into his bassist Gwen's shoulder about some guy that broke his heart that month. She always comforted him but always yelled at him for getting so attached and the type of guys he picked. Sure they were assholes but they were enough for him.

The after party was held at some rich dudes mansion, it was huge, and decorated to the brim. A ton of people flooded the place, Vance and his band being the center of attention, they were nearing the end of their tour and it had been a goddamn journey, they were exhilarated and exhausted, all of them tired of jumping from hotel to hotel.

Though he was never tired of the fans the screamed over them just to get a picture with, or a picture signed. They even surprised a fan at her birthday party, she cried and hugged all of them, which-that birthday was probably the best performance they'd ever had.

Now the people who were awake were just milling around talking to each other, the big celebrities who had attended already left in fear of a scandal taking place. Most of the minor celebrities had left but some stayed behind either too drunk to leave or just didn't care.

The guy he was crushing on this month was Bruce Yamada, star baseball player for the Chicago White Sox, arguably the best player on the team. The kid from his hometown, how fucking different they ended up being, he did crush on him when they were teens too. He was perfect, always got the girls and caught Vance's attention, though he never acted on it because he didn't want to be more outcasted than he already had been.

He shoved those feelings down. He kept up on Bruce's endeavors, happy that he had made it from a small baseball team to the big leagues. The first time Bruce came up to him, Vance was surprised to even see him there at all. Bruce excitedly told him how he had been keeping up with Vance's work, and Vance told him how he'd been keeping up with Bruce's work. It was an easy conversation, with Bruce being a playful flirt, and genuinely great to talk to.

They gave each other their contact info and went on their way. They called each other a couple of times after that, usually to congratulate each other on a big milestone in each others career. And it was about a year before Vance started to feel something for Bruce. True heartache, Bruce was too amazing at everything he had done.

At that point they had become great friends, often seen together in public. The band had even acknowledged them which was a damn hard thing to do.

Which brought Vance to now, drunk in some guys mansion playing on his piano to a crowd of about 15 people, some awake, some half-awake, and some passed the hell out. He was sure that Bruce left some time ago, so he wasn't worried about him hearing him pour his heart out to a Queen song, Love of My LIfe, a bit dramatic, but when you saw how Vance saw Bruce, it all made sense to his drunken mind.

Hitting the keys on the piano, missing some notes, and singing aloud, some people clapped, and there he poured his heart out.

Love of my life, you've hurt me You've broken my heart and now you leave me

He hiccups, in the middle missing multiple keys.

Love of my life, don't leave me

You've taken my love, and now desert me Love of my life, can't you see?

He forgets the next keys and gives up, drunken claps and hollers and hoots could be heard through the echoing mansion, "This one's for Yamada, he's too good for this world." He slurs his words as he plays some notes from the song he could barely remember in his staticky brain.

After a while he gets sleepy and bows the crowd of 2 conscious and walks off. He sees Bruce with rosy cheeks and his hair tousled, Vance swayed toward him messing his hair up some more, "Nice song there." Bruce smiled at Vance, Vance took a second of looking up at Bruce before it finally clicked.

"I'm too good for the world huh?" A playful smirk overtook his face, as Vance stilled, "Oh shit. I thought you left?" Bruce walked Vance over to a spare couch in one of the many hallways and set him down, "Nope, still here." He shrugged as he grabbed a water from nearby and gave it to Vance, who slapped it out of his hand.

"No water til morning, that's the rules." Throwing all caution to the wind, he would say anything now and blame it all on the alcohol later. He leaned himself against Bruce who was all too welcome to it, "Also-Love of My Life? Not a bad song, but for me? I'd think you were confessing to me." Bruce said easily, the blush on his cheeks spreading to his ears, Vance wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or what but Bruce was blushing a lot.

"Of course it was, you're too hot to be walking around single like that." Vance plops his head in Bruce's lap, his eyelids weighing heavily. Bruce chuckled a bit nervously, "Am I now?" Bruce began to play with his hair, calloused hands massaging his head, and braiding pieces of his hair.

"You need to get a girlfriend before I get to you first." Vance said, looking up at Bruce's soft face, god he wanted to kiss him. Vance nearing the edge of unconsciousness he heard Bruce say, "You already got me. Don't need a girlfriend." It was mostly muttered under his breath but Vance heard, his body too tired to react. The last thing he said was,

"Good." And he was out cold. Leaving Bruce carrying his body to a spare bedroom, his own heart wrenching, they would need to talk about this in the morning.

[irisbaggins]

After finishing the main story as Nightwing, and doing all of his missions and villain side-quests, I have this to say:

Gotham Knights is a proper, wonderful Batfamily focused game that has some stellar character writing, incredibly fun interactions with the other characters, and a lived-in world. It's genuinely become one of my favourite games after playing it, even with all my minor complaints. Because it understood what its audience wanted, they understood how to write their characters and environment to create a wonderful story. The characters feel complete, even if it leaves a hunger for more. It's fun, and it's worth all the issues that comes with being an open-world WB game.

My favourite part, funnily enough, is the character we barely see; Bruce. I was left sobbing at several of his voice logs from the absolute emotion in them, from how you could feel what Bruce felt. This is where I have to praise the choice of VA, Michael Antonakos. He was a wonderful cast (and if you know the ending, and know of Deimos from Assassin's Creed Odyssey...perfect casting I swear), with a wonderful understanding of Bruce. His voice logs describe things that, he himself, admit are things he never could say to anyone, because he struggles with words. He struggles, but he manages to make these voice logs as a way to work through some of his issues. It's great, and it shows the flawed yet good side of the man behind the mask. It shows a Batman who's imperfect, who knows he is, but who continues to move forward no matter what. A man who looks at his children with love and pride, whose last actions were to stand in front of the suit cases of his family to die with them. God, they really wrote a wonderful Bruce.

I also cannot stress enough how much I love all of the Bats. Whilst I played mainly as Dick, every interaction with the other characters made me love them more. I especially loved Jason, and how certain scenes with him you could feel the fact he's going through therapy and is starting to feel good again. As an example, the second Tim personal mission is excellent to showcase this, where you really notice how Jason's grown from being able to get the help he needs. They made all of their characters feel real, and I honestly cannot wait to play as them to discover more of their stories.

But, I do have to address some of the downsides, because whilst I will heartedly recommend this game to those who enjoy Batfamily content, I will have to warn about its...quirks. It's an open-world game, which means tiring, exhausting missions and quests, a lot of running around in confusion, certain mechanics not communicated properly, and a very specific combat system. A fun system, from my personal opinion, but very different from a lot of other AAA WB games. It's grindy, but if you can handle that...a definitive recommendation. Just...be prepared for what you're getting in to.

But honestly, after 35 hours and counting... I love this game. And I wish people didn't judge it for not being the Arkham game they expected it to be. It's not, and that's why it's good. Because it's its own thing, with its own story and its own world. It's not Arkham, and that's why it's great.

[darsynia]

I Know No Other Way Than This | Ch 1

(Bruce Banner/OFC, Tony Stark & Bruce Banner Friendship, post-Avengers 1 Soulmate AU multichapter)

MCU Masterlist | Tony Stark Masterlist | Next

Summary: Bruce tried to forget he had soulmate words entirely, but on the day of the Chitauri attack, he returned from his stint as the Hulk to find that his black words had turned silver. His soulmate must have watched him shift from the Other Guy into himself and said them while he was unconscious.

Tony made it his mission not only to find her, but to present Bruce with compilations of surveillance footage. They showed her working as a nurse, searching his name at public libraries, and generally being a lovely person who didn't deserve to have her life ruined by his affliction. The more Bruce watched, though, the more he was captivated. Was there a chance he could have a future with her? Did he have the right to find out?

Length: 1,536

Tags: @starryeyes2000 @arrthurpendragon @ronearoundblindly @themaradaniels

Chapter One: First Impression

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so, I love you because I know no other way

than this: where 'I' does not exist, nor 'you,'

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. 

Sonnet XVII, Pablo Neruda

just after the Battle of New York

Bruce regained consciousness in the middle of a city street. He vaguely remembered making it back to the tower with Tony and Steve as the Other Guy, but that brief flash of memory faded as soon as he was forced to take the stairs down from the penthouse. He guessed it was a good thing so much was wrecked around him anyway, because there was zero chance that his alter ego didn’t take out his frustration on the smashed cars.

He hoped Hulk hadn’t broken anything in the stairwell of the tower.

He stood up, dusted himself off, watching the concrete powder and glass particles hit the pavement in a distinguishable arc around him. Bruce reached for his waistband, squeezing the communicator Tony had sewn into his special expandable shorts.

“Awake, on my way in.”

“Glad to hear it, Brucey Bear,” Tony said. Bruce rolled his eyes, leaning over to dust more crap from his hair. “We’ll get you patched up and then it’s off to the Shawarma place.”

“You sure you didn’t hit your head on the way down?” he asked, his fingers squeezing the transmission button.

“If I did, it’s on you, Banner. You’re the one who caught me.”

Bruce stopped at the corner across from the tower on hearing that. He remembered seeing Tony falling, but only in a flash, as usual for his time as the Other Guy. The next flash was Tony on the ground, along with a sense of relief. Did neither of them remember the moments that took Stark from unconscious freefall to safe landing?

Once inside the tower, Bruce headed straight for the medical floor in the basement. He was grateful it was there, though he hadn’t expected to be showing up so soon after learning of its existence. The doctor on duty documented the places on his body which signaled a healed injury, since a little smeared blood was often the only indication anything had even happened.

“Hey, Bruce,” Tony said, poking his head in the door to the exam room.

Somewhere in their consent forms there had to be one that allowed Tony permission to nose around like that. Bruce wondered if he ought to check, for HIPAA compliance sake, at the very least.

“Are you that hungry?” Bruce asked mildly. “You could always go without me.”

“Star of the hour? No way. Just checking in,” Tony said. “Need me to grab your clothes?”

“Would you?”

When the door shut, Bruce smiled to himself. A stressed-out Stark seemed to soothe sooner with a task. He made a mental note to watch the video of Tony’s fall. It would either come up in conversation some random time while they were working together, or it wouldn’t, and Bruce would need to bring it up. Their friendship was new, but he valued it.

The door opened again as the doctor whose name Bruce had already forgotten was examining his lower back and torso.

“I may have added some flair,” Tony told him. Bruce doubted it, but he’d check, to be sure.

“Dr. Banner, are you aware that your Soulmark has changed?”

“What?”

Both Bruce and Tony spoke.

“Saving my life and getting the girl? You’re a regular hero, Banner,” Stark said.

Bruce looked down, smoothing his hand out along the words on his left flank. Sure enough, the words were silver instead of black. “There was no ‘getting.’ There will be no ‘getting.’ He shook his head at Tony.

“There’s a mirror--” the attending physician suggested, gesturing to the full-length mirror along the wall in the corner of the room.

He almost didn’t want to check. Actually finding his soulmate was the last thing Bruce wanted to happen. He’d had the words for thirteen years at that point, a number that he ordinarily wouldn’t care much about, but which felt symbolic.

“Hulk doesn’t have any, does he?” Tony asked.

“No,” Bruce murmured.

They were silver, all right. The words, ‘ Something tells me you almost certainly have a vitamin deficiency!’ were a little less obvious than they had been that morning, the color lightened as if touched by a real-life photographic filter.

“Can you confirm that you have no memory of them being spoken?” the doctor asked him.

“Yes.” He only ever spent a few minutes unconscious after transforming back anymore. The woman must have been there to see the actual shift. His soulmate-- a person he’d never really pictured meeting as much as running away from, at least for the last few years --had probably watched him shrink, his body adjusting to the size differential, and commented on one of the many logical medical consequences.

“I’ll find her for you, don’t worry,” Tony said, standing beside Bruce, his hand coming down in a solid, collegial clap on Bruce’s opposite shoulder.

“Please don’t,” Bruce said immediately. He crossed the room and started pulling on his change of clothes. Ordinarily he would have taken off the shorts and changed to new ones, but today? After what he’d just learned, it would be safer if he just left them on. Tony’s reaction to his rejection showed that Bruce might have a fight on his hands.

“Oh no no no no,” Tony said. “Soulmates are good. Don’t do the manfully alone thing about this. Whoever this woman is, her existence is meant to make life better for you. You could use some of that. A lot of that.”

“Even if that’s true, there’s nothing about my situation that would improve that woman’s life. Nothing,” Bruce reiterated.

“You can’t possibly know that,” Tony argued.

“Tony. Find another post-alien-attack hobby, okay?” Bruce finished buttoning up his shirt and, just in case Tony decided to expose his new condition against his will, tucked it in.

“Even if I promised you not to, you wouldn’t believe me, so I’ll spare us both the lie,” Tony said. “Besides, it’s Shawarma time.”

Tony surprised him by saying nothing else about it for the rest of the day. Bruce made the mistake of assuming this meant his friend had decided to meddle without involving him. There was no chance Tony had decided not to meddle at all.

That night in his Tower apartment, there was a StarkPad waiting for him with a sticky note telling him the temporary password. Bruce sat down and tapped in the code, and immediately, a video began to play.

It showed a scene from the streets of New York. On the sidewalk a group of people were crouched next to an older man whose head was cradled in an older woman’s lap. Kneeling beside the man was a young woman with her hand on his wrist, clearly taking his pulse. She stood, speaking to the older woman for a few seconds before an ambulance pulled up. A group of around four bystanders helped the older man onto the gurney while the young woman comforted the older woman.

The young woman walked up to the ambulance, spoke to the EMT for a second, and then the camera followed her walking about a block, the view changing in quality and angle. It was obviously a stitched-together series of surveillance videos.

The woman herself seemed to be wearing scrubs, which didn’t surprise Bruce, given what he’d observed so far. Her hair was black, held back in a ponytail. He couldn’t clearly see her face in any of the videos so far shown. She turned a corner, and the video quality improved a great deal, probably because she was walking past a parking lot. Suddenly, she stopped, backed up a little, and then stopped again.

Despite himself, Bruce was curious. He wouldn’t put it past Tony to have the camera pan over to a fully-integrated scene of Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up at some point-- but what he saw instead was himself, or rather the Other Guy, stumbling to the ground and rolling on one side, only feet away from the black-haired healthcare worker.

Bruce hit pause, meaning to put the device down, but it didn’t pause. The woman walked closer, covering her mouth with a hand as the Hulk started shrinking down into Bruce. Again, he tried to pause the video, turn it off, something, but it continued playing.

There was no sound, but her head bobbed as if speaking. As she crouched down and reached for his wrist, he saw her draw back in shock. The woman leaned over, looking closely at his left side. Then, to Bruce’s complete shock, she reached out and touched his hair almost tenderly before standing up and running back the way she came.

“Yeah, I bet,” he said, when the video finished. The black-haired woman was his soulmate, and the second she’d realized that fact, she had run in the other direction.

Next chapter, Tony finds surveillance footage of Bruce's soulmate as she visits a public library and googles who Bruce is.

[thefangirltreehouse]

gotham knights | thoughts…

good

cast did eventually grow on me, there’s a couple of really good scenes, especially the ending when they’re trying to get bruce to have dinner with them

bruce looked so ✨p r e t t y ✨ in that cgi ‘code black’ trailer

babs’ arc regarding her dad

harley was brilliant, love her new design and general maturity

arkham was as creepy as ever

bruce’s scenes were great

suits were great, personal favourite is definitely jim lee’s robin suit, and also robin’s year one.

gotham looks real pretty.

team levelling!

the bad (oh boy…)

lack of world building externally. this game feels like it exists in a vacuum, particularly with the villains, there doesn’t feel like much of a rogues “gallery” to indulge in and you never really get to know the city’s relationship with this version of batman and same goes for the villains. (same with even the main cast)

where’s kate?

gothamities dialogue is weak and limited as fuck, miss the thug chatter so much (they also re-use most of the main cast va’s for npcs around the city and it’s really noticeable

crafting system is a hot mess and they don’t really try to explain it, bet the entire story and i’ve only unlocked like one colour swatch.

there’s only like six villains in the whole thing? harley, clayface, freeze, court and league and they feel like such a hodge-podge despite being some of the most iconic

jason’s mystical powers

i think the story really suffers when it comes to only to solo-play but also being able to pick your characters (honestly, i’m conflicted on this, playing as dick & jason wasn’t fun for me) because every situation has to be the same except for a few dialogue changes, despite the fact i think they could’ve gone deeper with court storyline regarding dick and the league with jason, or harley and jason.

i commend wbm for not having the joker, especially since what happened with origins but it’d be nice to know what happened with him, especially since the villains don’t know bats is dead until the game starts pretty sure the only time he’s mentioned is (“her ex” - tim) & (“my greatest/worst enemy” - note in harley’s profile from bruce)

dick’s design grew on me, but jason and tim’s never did, which is why i think lee’s tim design is my fave, his hair looks so good

why is jason so angry, like all the time? he’s just written so stand-offish in a lot of scene and it plays like tim especially is walking on eggshells with him

missed opportunity to go undercover in the court party for a mission

every boss battle was the exact same

gliding shouldn’t have been locked

the game grew on me and i’m glad the batfam are getting more recognition but i don’t love it and i just can’t wait for rocksteady’s game

[themculibrary]

Flower Shop AU Masterlist

Links Last Checked: December 17th, 2023

Aloe You Vera Much (ao3) - mollus steve/bucky N/R, 2k

Summary: Revenge is a dish best served... flowery?

A tattoo shop AU/flower shop AU crossover drabble with added fluff and humour.

A Very Good Place to Start (ao3) - Ribbonsflying steve/bucky G, 3k

Summary: Bucky arrives at Steve's flower shop in a nervous panic to buy flowers for his brand new niece.

Believe Me, I Love You (ao3) - WhenInDoubtSleep steve/bucky N/R, 2k

Summary: When Steve Rogers stumbles into veteran Bucky Barnes' flower shop, he doesn't expect to meet the love of his life (who may or may not be a green witch)

This is just tooth-rotting fluff.

Camellias, Forsythias, Orange and Lavender Roses, and White Violets (ao3) - Ralkana clint/phil T, 4k

Summary: It was just a regular day in Clint's shop, and a flirty encounter with a handsome customer.

Now, how can Clint make sure it happens again?

flowers upon the soul (ao3) - halfwheeze bruce/bucky G, 1k

Summary: “If I wanted to give someone a bouquet of flowers to apologize for being the worst big brother in the world, what would you recommend?”

Bucky runs full tilt into a flower shop, and he may just fall on the way in.

In Bloom (ao3) - CloudAtlas bucky/natasha, bucky/clint/natasha T, 3k

Summary: “Quit your grouching, Barnes,” Natasha says, elbowing him in the side. “We’re here.”

Here is Violet Tendencies, a garishly painted building in Bed-Stuy which by rights shouldn’t contain the best (and hottest) florist in New York, but somehow does anyway.

In Which Clint Owns a Flower* Shop (ao3) - DoctorTrekLock clint/phil G, 1k

Summary: “Your dreamboat’s here,” Natasha told Clint with amusement as she walked past him on her way to the storeroom.

“Who?” Clint asked reflexively. Then his eyes widened in realization. “Oh shit, really?” He started brushing off his apron, hoping he looked passable. “You’re sure it’s him?”

Natasha was standing by the entrance to the storeroom, shoulder braced against the wall. She was laughing at him, he could tell, but in her Russian sort of way which meant the whole thing was conveyed in microexpressions.

“You waxed poetic about his eyes for quite some time, yastrebka.” Her smile was indulgent. “Also, he asked for you.”

Language of the Flowers (ao3) - latinacap steve/bucky N/R, 3k

Summary: Every day, like clockwork, Steve walks in with five dollars and buys a single flowers

And gives it to Bucky

Lime Blossoms (ao3) - hawksonfire bucky/clint G, 5k

Summary: Bucky runs a flower shop. KaBloom is his pride and joy. He's not expecting to fall for the hot tattoo artist at the new tattoo place next door, but Bucky figures he can just shove acacias and daffodils at the Hot New Guy until Bucky gets over him.

On Wings of Ink and Petals (ao3) - butterflyslinky, watcherofworlds wanda/sam T, 10k

Summary: Sam Wilson runs a flower shop and volunteers at the VA in his spare time, living out his days in peaceful solitude. Then comes the day Wanda and Pietro Maximoff open up a tattoo parlor next door to his flower shop. With her borderline goth manner of dress and her bold personality, Wanda shakes up Sam's quiet world, and as they get to know each other, Sam finds himself falling for her.

Passive-Aggressive Flowers (ao3) - Crystalline_Witch bucky/clint T, 967

Summary: Bucky thought he'd seen everything until one day, a man named Clint Barton walks into the shop he works at and asks "How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flowers?"

S2- Petal to the Metal (ao3) - thudworm clint/tony T, 1k

Summary: Tony loved his job running his own flower shop. He really did. But there were times it took its toll, like today. It was hard not to let the constant stream of happily-in-love customers remind him of what he didn’t have. Doubly so after the sting of being rejected, sight unseen.

Small Business Saturday (ao3) - Oddree13 steve/bucky G, 15k

Summary: Steve is a tattoo artist who lives above his shop. Bucky is a florist who lives above his. I wanted an excuse to make a flower shop AU where the store is called the Hydrangea because puns!

So if I survive, then I'll see you tomorrow (ao3) - spectralarchers clint/natasha G, 7k

Summary: Fill for the prompt of Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor with Natasha as the tattoo artist and Clint as the florist:

Clint Barton is a veteran with hearing loss who has opened a flower shop opposite the street of an existing tattoo parlor, owned by former Olympic skater Natasha Romanoff. The issue with it is that although he likes Natasha, he can't stand needles. What will happen when he finally sets foot inside the tattoo parlor?

Succulent Therapy (ao3) - howdoyou_write steve/bucky T, 4k

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a veteran who runs a flower shop. Steve Rogers walks in one day.

Things spiral from there.

Sunflowers for the sun in my life (ao3) - Windfighter steve/tony T, 1k

Summary: Tony works under Nick in a flower shop. It’s great, especially when Hot Stuff comes in and Tony gets an opportunity to train his flirting skills.

Until the Last Rose (ao3) - ElisabethMonroe bucky/sam T, 7k

Summary: Flower shop owner Sam Wilson meets chaotic and chronic holiday flower buyer Bucky Barnes

[riddlemebitch]

just finished batman unburied, thoughts under cut for spoilers

overall really liked it! the batman voice was kind of funny, but other voices were good, particularly all the main cast. immediately know it’s hugo strange from the voice alone—not a bad thing at all lol. was genuinely wondering if they had decided to switch up batman’s backstory, which would be super bold but honestly? for a small podcast? cool. but then of course it becomes clear that no he’s being controlled, and then it goes on for wayyy too long. the show is a good length, but they should’ve cut some bruce hypnosis for other things.

barbara and edward have a great dynamic and im thrilled bc i’ve always wanted a story of the two of them purely bc rival hackers. their banter was actually enjoyable. would’ve liked more conversation between them near the end, or at the very least a promise of “i’m not through talking to you” from bab. it was set up like it was kind of a two side story, batman and them, but ed disappeared. should’ve had alfred take him to the manor to patch him up bc they can’t trust the hospitals, they get attacked at the manor, and edward is either brought or follows them there to the final showdown and escapes during the collapse so i don’t spend the entire last episode going where tf is the riddler.

poison ivy was AWESOME, great take on her backstory and powers and her hatred of men. good way of setting her up for more later on. i think she is often poorly done and as of late is just a prop for harley quinn so this was 👌

not sure if barbara quit batgirl or what, but she knows who bruce is so i’m probably just being stupid lol. i would say she definitely was—she’s familiar with batman, alfred, and ace, but also bruce gives her the little speech about there being other ways of helping people at the end which threw me off the trail a bit. ending was intentionally vague—which is normally fine, but i would like just a bit more from this one. i do think it suggests bab will become a vigilante, and i would’ve liked for it to hint at edward rehabilitating. all in all his ending was weak.

liked that they gave bruce an arc about batman starting to become about more than punishing himself! and that they let him and alfred have a moment!

also cornelius stirk was done SO GOOD. and his va popped off in that final episode DAMN