#and an alternate name to red robin

[carcasstohounds]

stephanie brown dies at 16. at 16 and a quarter, she is woken up, screaming and thrashing and attacking, covered in acid green water. at 16 and three quarters, she has a young boy firmly attached to her side, calling her ukhti. she is learning what that word means, and what all the words spoken around her mean, from the woman who watched her rise from the water.

talia explains that she was not the one to retrieve her body, nor did she ask for it, but she did receive it. she explains that she knew bruce once, years ago. stephanie looks into the face of the boy curled up next to her and believes talia. talia says that she will not allow any more robins to be dragged to her doorstep, bodies cold and eyes closed. stephanie sees photos of a young man with the same green eyes as the rest of them, damian on his hip. she sees photos of him with a sword, with a gun, with nothing but his fists. she sees one photo of him as a child and— oh. the bright colors, the boyish grin, the shadow lurking behind him. at 17, stephanie understands.

at 17, stephanie decides that she won’t go back to gotham yet. she can’t. that’s where jason is, the other lost robin, talia tells her. at 17, she trains with staffs, swords, knives, guns, and whips. anything and everything she can get her hands on, even the things b would never let her touch. b thinks she’s dead, and whose fault is that? talia seems to think it’s b’s, but steph isn’t sure. she only knows one thing: this will not happen again. no more dead robins, she swears.

[giveemhales]

🦇 My Top 25 Batfam Fics of 2023 🦇

I try to maintain an annual tradition of shouting out some of my top fanfics of the year so that new/current writers can get some love and appreciation. This year I got really into Batfam and read literally hundreds of fics, so here is my first ever Batfam fic rec list! I read so many incredible fics, and these are just a few of my fav to come out in 2023. Most of these are Tim Drake-centric because he’s my fav, but there’s also a lot of Jason, Dick, Damian, and Bruce. If you like any of these fics, make sure to show the author some love! And from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all fic writers for making the world a bit more beautiful. Happy new year ❤️

Ordered by word count:

New Traditions by @kgraces (2.3k, tim & bruce, angst with a happy ending, bruce revives a family tradition only tim was unaware of)

Every Letter Counts by @laynaneedstherapy (2.4k, tim & jason, fluff and humor, tim asks robin to help him with his english homework) (i also recommend the rest of the series, which is very angsty but very good)

Owl Song by @ghost-bird (2.5k, dick & jason, fluff, talon!dick decides he’s going to take care of jason) (first part of a very sweet series)

“Thanks, Dad” by @selkienight60 + beautiful art by @ky-landfill (2.6k, tim & bruce, angst with a happy ending, tim accidentally calls bruce dad and it leads to revelations for both of them)

the back corner booth by @tarvek-sturmvoraus (4.1k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending, tim asks the red hood to kill his parents) *READ TAGS FOR WARNINGS

heat-seeking missile by @green-eyedfirework (4.1k, tim & jason (& bruce & dick), a/b/o dynamics, basically all fluff, tim is having a heat when jason comes to attack him at titan’s tower and this changes things)

A New Brother by @sishal01 (4.3k, tim & jason & bruce, angst with a happy ending, jason survives the joker’s attack but tim still joins the batfam) (also has an adorable little sequel)

what’s in a name by @envysparkler (4.5k, dick-centric, angst with a happy ending, dick and jason are kidnapped at a gala)

Maybe with a Shift in Planets by @sunflowersandink (4.5k, cass-centric, tim and cass join the batfam early, mute cass, fluff and angst, cass decides she will protect tim and bruce decides he will protect both of them)

all the small weights by @sparkysomething (6.4k, bruce & jason, hurt/comfort and some humor, bruce is hit with fear toxin and jason is the only one available to help)

Another Mirror by @byrambles (6.5k, damian-centric, reverse robins au, angst with a happy ending, good bruce saves the bat kids from evil bruce in an alternate dimension but mistakenly believes damian is evil) (i also highly recommend the sequel- the whole series is phenomenal and an all time fav) *READ TAGS FOR WARNINGS

Refuge of Last Resort by @wildsofmarch (7.4k, jason & tim, angst with a hopeful ending, tim goes to jason after killing the joker)

fallen angel//risen demon by @call-me-quill (7.6k, tim & bruce, fluff and angst, demon hunter!bruce adopts demon!tim) (i recommend reading the whole series which largely focuses on alfred and the rest of the batfam)

rafter of satin, roof of stone by @sardonic-sprite (8.1k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending, tim is buried alive and only jason can save him)

In Love With Justice by Jedi_Olympian (9.7k, dick & bruce (+ dick/wally and bruce/clark), fluff and humor, misunderstandings, the justice league think batman and nightwing are together)

Forgiveness by L_autore_Passionale (9.9k, jason & dick (& tim & bruce), angst with a happy ending, jason goes to attack tim at titan’s tower not realizing he switched bodies with dick)

Stranger than Fiction by @fox-muldest (11.8k, tim-centric, fluff and humor, tim writes fanfic about batman but wasn’t prepared for the batfam to actually find it) (this fic actually made me cackle)

oh my god are you guys homophobes? by @antebunny (14.3k, tim-centric, angst with a happy ending, jason arrives to save tim from the league of assassins but unfortunately tim has no memory of jason or his past life) (update: the fic has new scenes and is now 26.6k)

Luminous Beings by @banditywrites (15.8k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending, jason can see light surrounding people about to die and tim glows particularly bright)

the butler’s neighbor by @dear-galileo (16.6k, alfred & tim, fluff and angst with a happy ending, alfred begins taking care of the neighbor kid) (also has two very wholesome sequels)

Where sorrows live and raptures die by @dark-nymphs-fanfiction (22.5k, jason & tim, angst with a happy ending, tim is afraid of jason after the titan’s tower attack and jason struggles to forgive himself)

So…Rock, Paper, Scissors? by @misstuesday9 (24.7k, jason & tim & dick & damian, angst with a happy ending, jason is told to pick one of his brothers to kill)

All Things to All Men by @motleyfam (30.8k, tim & jason & dick & bruce, angst and fluff, jason gets sick and tim thinks he hates him but dick is there to save the day) (this is the fifth part of a series where tim joins the batfam early bc his parents suck, this can be read alone but I def recommend reading the whole series)

Signed Red Robin by Xrea354 (46k, tim-centric, angst with a happy ending, tim attempts to resign from the batfam but the bats are not okay with that)

A Stalker on the Rooftop by @stormpilot-obsessed (88.9k, tim & jason (and eventual tim/jason), tim joins the batfam early, fluff and angst, tim and jason become friends before jason goes to ethiopia) (the whole series is great and still ongoing, it is mostly focused on batfam but please be aware that tim and jason start as friends and develop romantic feelings for each other, so don’t read if you don’t like that)

+10 WIPs I hope to see more of in 2024!

Finders Keepers by @taralaurel (12k, tim & jason, fluff and angst, tim gets lost in crime alley and jason takes him home and then ends up staying)

Damian Drake by InkpotSprite (16.5k, damian & tim, mostly fluff and humor, damian is sent to gotham and mistakenly believes his father is jack drake leading to tim becoming his brother)

something just like this by @tarvek-sturmvoraus (19.5k, tim-centric, angst and fluff, tim is bruce and selina’s kid)

Christened by StoriesAreMagic (20.6k, tim-centric, angst with a happy ending, tim is joker junior and is there when the joker tries to kill jason)

To be Loved is to be Known by @loreoftheforgotten (27.2k, tim & jason & dick, tim joins the batfam early, fluff and angst and humor, tim is a wolf shifter kept in captivity until the batfam saves him)

In Gotham, Even The Birds Are Street Rats by @ao3time (57.1k, dick & jason & tim, angst and fluff, the boys live together on the streets until bruce adopts all three of them)

Tangled Web (and how it unraveled) by Covenyt2950 (61.9k, bruce-centric, angst with (presumably) a happy ending, bruce hides from his sons that he’s a vampire and this has dangerous consequences later on)

cards on the table by @wesslan (67k, tim-centric, angst and fluff and humor, tim is a fortune teller scamming the gotham elite when he gets mixed up with the batfam) (there’s only one chapter left to go, so i recommend reading even if you typically avoid WIPs!)

children of the stars by @silk-scarlet-ribbons (93.4k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending and hurt/comfort, the red hood basically adopts tim) (jason and tim have more of a father-son relationship than brother but it’s so fucking cute i highly recommend)

The Big Road Home by @crumpetz (119.5k, tim & jason, angst and fluff and humor and anything else you could want, tim and jason are homeless together before joining the batfam) (an all time fav)

[sanguineterrain]

for the dc prompts you reblogged:

can i request jason todd x reader "someone likes being pinned down" + A flirting with B while sparring to throw them off their tracks

where reader is also a vigilante??

thank you so much 🩷

very sexy prompts thank u 😌

jason todd x gn!reader. r and robin!jay were friends, r doesn't know jason is alive/red hood but jason knows r is a vigilante. r's alias is 'nocturne' (if that's already in use oh well lmao). fighting/sparring, jason is mega in love with you as usual!!

all fics at @sanguinelibrary

****

"Still blindly following the Bat, huh?"

You land in a crouch on the rooftop, just like how Nightwing taught you. The Red Hood doesn't look at you, digging through two duffel bags. He doesn't even draw his gun, like you've seen him do with virtually every other vigilante in Gotham.

You wait, ready to spring into action. But Hood doesn't stop what he's doing. Slowly, you rise.

"What... do you mean?" you ask.

"I mean, why are you traipsing around Gotham as a bat-adjacent? Who are you s'posed to be anyway? Goth Bat? Alternative Scene Bat?"

"I'm Nocturne," you say, shoulders rising to your ears. Rude. You thought the chunky boots and star over your suit's eye mask were inspired.

Red Hood lifts a hand. "Don't get me wrong, I dig the threads. I'm just surprised B didn't have an aneurysm over the sequins. Then again, Discowing did do it first..."

Your first two meetings with the infamous Red Hood have been similar in that he's never very concerned about you stopping him (ouch), but he also isn't callous or cruel with you like he is with the other vigilantes.

Case in point: the last person who cornered Hood on a roof was Red Robin. Hood shot him in the shoulder before he could land.

In short, he's perplexing as hell.

Batman's forbidden the rest of the team to confront Hood without backup. And you're technically not supposed to be on patrol tonight. But if you can intercept Hood, that'll be a huge win.

Hood keeps on packing the duffels. You hesitate, then step forward.

"Get away from the bags," you say. "I won't ask twice."

Hood looks at you. "Nocturne's a pretty cool name, I'll admit. And I like the boots. But I still think you oughta call it quits."

He zips up the bags, stands, and kicks them to the corner of the roof.

"Because you're just that unstoppable?" you ask, hands curling into fists.

"Yeah. But mostly 'cause I know you're made for so much more than this, sweetheart."

And that is the third and perhaps most bewildering thing about your encounters with Red Hood: you've gotten the creeping feeling that he... likes you.

Which is ridiculous, and if you ever breathed a word of that to anybody, Batman would probably check you into Arkham.

You take another careful step forward. Hood leans against the railing and folds his arms.

"This the part where you apprehend and hogtie me for innocently packing a duffel bag?" he asks.

You glare. "Innocent? I know you're making a weapons delivery because I know you've been waiting for Batman to be off-planet to make it."

"Clever. Told ya you're too good for this," Hood says. "Should be in college with those smarts, not playing maid for Batman."

"Are you lecturing me?"

"I'm advising you as your friendly neighborhood drug lord. Lecturing makes me sound like a guy who's got too much money and too big of a savior complex to understand that the way he fights injustice is fundamentally flawed."

"Sounds personal."

Hood laughs. "Honey, you have no idea."

You strike.

Hood parries your first attack easily, which you expect. The truth is that whoever trained Hood cut no corners and you're still relatively new at vigilantism. It's only by the grace of God that Hood hasn't left you to bleed out on a roof.

You kick his shin, but Hood turns on the instep and blocks. You go for his shoulder, where his armor separates to give him more movement. But Hood's ready for that too, and he catches your arm.

"Gotta keep that right arm up," he says. "Surprised no one's trained that outta you yet."

You elbow Hood in the throat. He coughs and lets go.

"Like that?" you ask, muscles tense with adrenaline.

Hood makes a sound that might be a laugh, still choked from your hit. "Just like that, honeylove. Good job."

"I don't need feedback," you snap, immediately going back in for another hit.

"Sorry. I'll make this quick then. I do have a delivery."

On the next strike, you advance, using a technique Nightwing drilled into your head for bigger opponents. Hood goes down and you land atop him.

"Oh, that's a Nightwing takedown if I've ever seen one," Hood says beneath you.

You're close enough that you can hear his breathing through the decoder. Pride swells in you at taking him down. Not even Batman has managed such a thing.

Hood is warm and big. His shoulder span alone dwarfs you. When you'd seen him from afar, fighting Batman or Nightwing, you'd been terrified.

But now, perhaps stupidly, you feel comfortable. Annoyed, but safe. Something about him reminds you of home. Makes your stomach flip in a good way.

Which is terrifying.

"You're coming with me," you say, reaching for your cuffs.

"If only. Unfortunately, you've forgotten a teensy weensy detail, dearest."

Hood bucks you off, legs first. Your feet fly into the air, which allows him to flip your positions. You wince, preparing for a concussion upon impact as you go down. But Hood cushions your fall and neatly rolls you over. Your back is pressed into the concrete, hands locked over your head. Hood's weight holds down your hips and legs.

He looms over you, easily holding you down. Your face grows hot.

"How did—" You squirm in his grip. "I had you!"

"Weight distribution, sweets. Tell Al—one of the Bats to add weight to your boots. They keep you light on your feet, but you were depending on them too much to hold me down, and we ain't evenly matched there."

You thrash in his grip. "Hood, I swear to fucking—"

"Easy. Don't sweat it, sweetheart. You haven't been doing this for very long. That was a good takedown, regardless. I'm impressed."

"Screw you."

He hums. You can tell he's smiling under the helmet. "Sorry, I forgot. You don't like feedback."

Hood strokes the inside of your wrist. You aren't sure he's aware he's doing it. His grip is firm but light. He's not trying to hurt you. Your pulse is in your throat.

For a moment, you're both still. Hood seems caught in a trance, like even Superman couldn't tear him away from this moment. From you. And it's not that you're afraid, you're just... you're...

"How do you know so much about me?" you blurt, because it's puzzled the whole team. "You been spying on me?"

"'Course not. Unlike your boss, I respect privacy. No, I did research. I recognized you from when you'd hang around that second Robin. Shrimpy little guy. What'd ya even see in him?"

The grief overtakes you before you can control your mouth.

"You don't know anything about me or him," you spit. "Don't fucking talk about him. He had more skill and goodness in his pinkie than you'll have in a lifetime. And you could learn a thing from him about changing a city. He'd tell you that fear alone never works."

Hood is quiet for a long moment. Then he speaks.

"Where's your distress signal?"

"Why would I tell—"

Hood shifts over you, cutting off your reply. He pulls a ziptie around your wrists. They're not even a little tight. You could probably slip out of them if you had five minutes.

"I know you're not s'posed to be out tonight," he whispers in your ear. "'S not your patrol night. Good thing you're my favorite."

You nearly swallow your tongue. "How do you—I don't—"

"Uh-huh. So you be good from now on, yeah? Wouldn't wanna have to keep tying you up like this."

You lift your chin. "We'll switch positions soon enough."

Hood snorts. "Okay, I know you heard how that soun—"

"I heard it," you say grumpily. "Just get on with it. Jerk."

"As you wish. Distress signal?"

"Collar."

Hood presses the button under your collar. Your breath hitches as his gloved fingers graze your neck.

"Oh? Does somebody like getting pinned down?"

"In your dreams."

Hood laughs. He zipties your ankles last, then sits you upright against the railing.

"Not too tight, are they?" he asks. "I know you've got a circulation problem."

You squint. "You seem to know a lot about me. Not fair that I don't know much about you, Hood."

"'S just business, honeylove," he says, scooping up his duffel. "Now I don't wanna see you in a suit anymore, comprende?"

"Or you'll what? Shoot me?"

Hood pauses, eerily still. He turns those glowing white eyes upon you. Your heart picks up.

"No," he says, so serious it startles you. "But someone else might. And I don't want you to face the same fate as your good friend Robin."

He vaults over the railing before you can respond. Your head thunks lightly as you lean back and wonder if you're really just business to the Red Hood.

(pt 2)

[bonchobrick]

Its raining birds! Literally.

Aka a DCxDP Prompt idea where a delrious injured vigilante (Tim cough cough) drops into an alternate dimension and lands in Amity Park. Somewhere in his muddled mind he understands he needs to: communicate, get help, and hopefully not die!

Luckily he dropped right beside a bewildered local group of friends around his age.

The local brave group of friends (definitely not Team Phantom or anything hahah) of course interogate him a bit out of worry for their town and for this mysterious vigilante. They ask—"who are you? what is your name?"

And of course being literally delirious with a shit ton of ‘dont tell people your real life identity’ drilled into him he opts to say instead—

His words slur into a somewhat legible, “…red r'bin.” “Red Robhim” “m’ Red Robin...”

Good news is that they’re eager to help.

Bad news is that they have no idea what to make of this odd vigilante’s response....

Like seriously why does this delirious half injured vigilante that fell out of the sky want to go to a Red Robin so badly?? the food there isn't even that good???

So, essentially, Team Phantom is greeted by a random half out of it injured vigilante teen who really wants some fucking burgers apparently.

(Basically Tim unfortunately lands injured and very out of it in a universe where the Red Robin restaurant exists but Red Robin and, evidently, the entire DC universe, doesn’t.)

[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt#61 Part 3

Danny was kind of in awe at the Batcave. Of course he hadn’t seen it, he never met his father either and really wasn’t looking forward to the conversations he was about to have with everyone here.

He looked around while Batman watched until he cleared his throat and motioned for Danny to follow him. They eventually made their way into a conference room where Red Robin was already sitting typing something away on his laptop. He smiled and stopped what he was doing when he noticed Batman and Danny walk into the room. 

“You do look just like Damian! Well I guess you are Damian in your universe, you said you came from an alternate world right?” Red Robin started as Batman and Danny took their seats at the table. 

Danny took a deep breath before he started talking, “Yeah, but I don’t go by Damian anymore.”

Batman and Red Robin seemed surprised at this, “Wait really?” Red Robin asked, looking genuinely surprised, “Your counterpart here really prides himself on being Bruce’s blood son.”

Danny remembered being told how great Father was by Mother but the fear of being found alive after he fled made it impossible for him to find out. He knew he should probably get back to his own dimension but the thought of getting to know Father even a little bit and even from another universe made him rethink getting back as soon as possible. 

“I… fled the League, I went into hiding, so I changed my name. I’m sorry but we’re strangers in my world.” Danny finally said after gathering his thoughts. He waited a moment but when no one said anything he continued, “You can call me Danny, I live in a small town called Amity Park in my world.”

“What else can you tell us about your world? If we can figure out what got you here we can figure out how to get you back,” Red Robin asked.

Danny thought about how much he should say after a moment. He could tell his counterpart here did trust his Father, he could tell from his body language from their brief encounter. He decided after a moment it would probably be fine to reveal himself here, if the him from this world trusted them then he would too. 

“This isn’t easy to tell you but I’m not getting back the way I came. The portal that got me here was one way.” Danny started, “There are natural portals that kind of pop in and out of all worlds that lead back to the ghost zone or Infinite Realms as I've heard it called by some of the ghosts.” 

He let them soak in the information before continuing, “The folks that adopted me built a portal to this realm and while I was in a fight I got thrown through a natural portal and ended up here”

Red Robin seemed to raise his eyebrow at him, “Ghosts?” he asked skeptically. 

Danny sighed again, “Yes, I don’t have an easy way to get back is what I’m trying to say”

Batman thought about things for a moment before speaking, “You're welcome to stay here until we can get you back home, I have a colleague through the Justice League that would know a thing or two about the supernatural. We can talk about things in the morning for now let's get some rest. It sounds like this will be a long term thing, so I will have Alfred take you in the morning to get some clothes and basic needs.”

Batman stood up and left the room probably to change out of the batsuit. A few seconds passed and then a knock on the door was heard and an elderly man wearing a suit walked in.

“Master Tim, Master Damian, Isn’t it time you both got ready for bed?” He asked.

“Oh right, Alfred, meet Danny, he’s Damian from an alternate world.” Red Robin said before standing up, “I’m headed out to change out as well. Danny, Alfred can show you to the room you’ll be staying in while you’re here.”

Danny turned to Alfred, “If you’ll follow me, Master Danny”

He followed the friendly butler out of the room and up some stairs before they got to the main floor. They turned down a few different hallways, honestly Danny would be more worried about getting lost if he didn’t have years of training navigating complex paths. 

When they finally got to Danny’s room they parted ways and Danny headed in.

It was a rather large room, larger than any room in the Fenton house that was for sure. Danny often forgot how rich his blood family was and now that he was here he was in awe of how different it was to his own life. The room even had its own attached bath. Danny took a warm shower before changing into some Pajamas that were left out for him. 

Eventually he drifted off to sleep. He’d explore the mansion and Gotham tomorrow.

Master Post:

Last:

Next:

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Tim Drake keeps getting kidnapped.

No one is sure how the culprit is doing it and no one has so much as seen them, but whenever Tim stays awake for even a second over the three day mark he disappears.

He always shows up back in the manor asleep somewhere and wakes up with no memory of anything occurring. The only reason the batfam even know that he's being kidnapped instead or mind control or other alternatives is the pictures on Tim's phone of him asleep and a notebook with handwritten notes on it usually making jokes or puns and telling Tim to take better care of himself. This is usually accompanied by a picture of Tim with one of those clay facial cleansing masks complete with cucumber slices over the eyes.

No amount of staking out Tim prevents him from vanishing. He simply disappears the moment no one is looking and it happens both as Tim Drake and Red Robin. The only clue they've gotten on the kidnapper so far is a glowing white glove that appeared in one of the pictures holding the container for the face mask.

In absence of a name, Steph has dubbed him "The Sleep Fairy"

[sanjisboyfie]

sanji has a crush you ♡

-> alternative title: sanji's ass is gay as fuck and you gotta deal with his flustered ass desperately trying to win you over.

-> kinda rushed aat the end

sanji is exhibiting normal sanji behavior, cutely obsessed with you and everything about you. he's soooooooooooooooooo obsessed. i'm sorry i couldnt help it. forewarning: if you are scared of obsessively in love men DO NOT READ THIS lmfao (that's a joke, but he is rlly in love w u and overwhelmingly so)

sanji x male reader

— just sanji crushing on you and acting like a whole ass middle schooler with a crush, but not in the "i'm gonna pull your hair because i like you, but i don't want you to know" type of way, rather a, "i, uhm, found this pretty flower that...i think you would like...do you like it :3"

you were lounging on the deck of sunny, basking in the sun beside robin and nami. the three of you were peacefully enjoying the breeze, while the girls were talking about their recent adventures and you happily listening on to their stories.

when suddenly, a shadow covers the sun from hitting your skin. lifting the glasses from your eyes, you grin when you notice that the figure is sanji. and he's looking everywhere but you.

"hi, [name]," he greets in a quiet voice, eyes darting everywhere but your bare torso. if he were to look at your glistening skin any longer, he might just get a really bad nosebleed...it was tempting for him, though. you were so handsome, he'd get as many deadly nosebleeds if he needed to just to stare at you longer. but for the sake of keeping you clean of his nosebleed, he continued averting his eyes.

robin and nami stopped their chatter and smiled at each other when they recognized the flustered look on sanji's face.

"hi, sanji," you said in return, leaning against your elbows to comfortably look up at him, "what's that you have there?" you ask politely,

the blonde jumped at the question, clearing his throat as he finally met your eyes, "oh, this, i thought you'd want a drink...it's your favorite," your eyes widened at that, making sanji's heart do leaps.

at moments like this, he loves being the ship's chef. there was no one else on board that could make you react like this, only his careful expertise as being a chef could do this to you. it made him feel important and his face got redder at that fact.

"wow! thanks! you're like a mind reader, i was starting to get a bit too hot-"

"do you want me to move the umbrella more to cover you?" sanji asked immediately, happy to be of service to you. you laughed at his eagerness, shaking your head.

"i think nami and robin are using it right now, i'll be alright. i don't want them to burn up,"

"oh..." sanji's voice trailed off as he lifted his head to bravely look towards the women on the side, "nami-san, robin-chan, is it alright if [name] uses the umbrella for now?" he very politely asked, shoulders square and head held high.

nami laughed at him while robin took it upon herself to answer, "no, it's alright with us," and sanji was bolting over to lift the umbrella and position it right above you, a meek, but proud smile on his face.

"sanji, you didn't have to," you said softly, but then you thanked him for his efforst in making you comfortable. that was enough to make him burst into a tomato red color. "and, by the way, this is delicious! i love it so much, sanji,"

"i love you so much."

"sorry?"

"oh, nothing!! i didn't say anything, [name]!! i said, nothing!!!" and he was running off before you could tease him further.

he slammed the door to the kitchen shut and then repeatedly hit his head against the wood as he muttered degrading words to himself, "idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!!!"

"well, you are an idiot, we knew that, but now you're acting borderline insane, what's up with you, pervy cook?"

of course, zoro had to be in the kitchen. sanji whipped his head around and screamed at the top of his lungs, "out of my kitchen, marimo!!!"

this made zoro laugh in his face and then leave at his request, muttering something about how love sick sanji was and how obvious he was about it.

— sanji carefully crafted each dish he makes for you, making it look pretty and extra nice. cooking is his speciality and acts of service are his love language. combining the two is the closest he can get to confessing his actual feelings to you.

the crew was lively in the kitchen and you were hidden away in the crow's nest. sanji had drowned you in treats throughout the day, leaving your appetite for the dinner not very big. you assured him (more than 20 times) that you indeed felt full, you weren't skipping meals, and you were already satisfied. that was the only way he let you skip out on dinner.

but while the crew was eating, sanji was still behind the stove. his fingers nimbly moved in decorating the platter very carefully, holding his breath every now and then in anticipation.

"whatcha making, sanji?! extras for me?!" luffy excitedly asked, coming bounding around the counter and standing beside the chef.

immediately, sanji kicked him away and warned him, "do not!! touch this, this isn't yours, luffy! i'm serious, don't even think about it!" sanji looked at the men of the crew, "that goes for the rest of you too, this isn't yours, filthy batards!" and his voice softened as he spoke with a smile to robin and nami, "if you want a dessert, ladies, i wouldn't mind making seconds for you two!"

"it's alright, sanji-kun, just focus on making [name]'s," nami said with a wave of her hand, a knowing look in her eyes.

"yes, i am quite full of the dinner you served already. it was delicious as usual,"

there wasn't a grand shift of emotion on sanji's face as he politely thanked the ladies for their kind words. but then his cheeks erupted in color when he finally caught on to what nami said, "ah! no, no, this isn't for [name]-"

"there's no denying it, sanji, just keep spoiling him rotten and leaving us to starve. even if he is a man just like us, for some reason he's not a "filthy bastard" but [name]~" usopp said in exasperation, eyeing the dessert sanji was making with longing, "we wouldn't expect you to spare us any of that...anyway..."

sanji's red face from embarassmnet instead turned into one of annoyance, "shut your mouth and quit complaining! i'm not spoiling him - he deserves this! he didn't come and eat dinner with you guys, meaning there was more servings for you! be thankful to him! ... and don't call him a filthy bastard!! he's very clean and neat, unlike you guys!"

"ah, yes, lord and savior [name]!" usopp said, clapping his hands together as if he were praying to the man, "i wish he were here right now, though, to save us from sanji's fury, ughh," usopp sighed at the end of his sentence, making sanji's eyebrow quirk in annoyance.

"calling me a god, usopp?" your voice rang in the dining hall, making everyone's heads snap to you. "that's a pretty hefty title,"

"woah, that was just like that enel guy - you came when we summoned you! do you have ears all around sunny, [name]?" luffy asked, wonder in his eyes as he walked towards the door, "you should teach us that sometime!"

you smiled at your captain, allowing him to pass you with ease as he went to blow off his energy on the deck. chopper and usopp grinned at you as they followed after luffy, going to entertain each other. robin and nami walked past with kind smiles, the orange haired girl winking at you. franky pat you on the back, a thumbs up being thrown at you, only making you more confused about what you possibly missed.

brook was singing on his way out, something about young, forbidden love. you didn't see it, but sanji threw his head in his hands in embarassment. zoro was the last to leave, whispering to you to, "fix the idiot cook already, it's getting tiring dealing with his bullshit everyday," and then leaving you with no other explanation.

"what was up with all that," you rhetorically asked, chuckling underneath your breath and making sanji just shake his head in response. "sanji, did you forget to serve that to robin and nami? if you want, i can give it to them?"

sanji shot his hand out, catching your own that was reaching for the plate he was just preparing. realizing his actions, he immediately released you from his hold and shook his head, "no, no, it's...um...it's not for them."

the blonde cursed himself in his head, wishing he didn't become so blubbery in his words whenever he spoke to you. but he couldn't control it! not when you were looking at him so gently, so patiently. god, just thinking about you looking at him made him weak in the knees. because that meant you were just focusing on him. sure, you could be thinking of others things that weren't him (his heart literally shatters at that notion), but in the moment, you were physically turned to and only paying attention to him.

it made him almost sigh dreamily. his heart was already beating faster and his stomach was filled with butterflies.

"they're not?" you leaned over the counter, taking a seat as you did so.

"no, they're," he took in a deep breath, fists clenched at his sides, "they're for you,"

your eyes widened. and sanji internally cursed you for being so effortlessly handsome, while tilting your head in confusion, "but, sanji, i told you you don't need to prepa-"

"i wanted to," sanji cut you off, quickly apologized for doing so, before continuing, "i wanted to make your favorite, just to give you something to eat before bed,"

you smiled, and sanji internally cursed you again for being so sweet, and gently rubbed his arm, "thanks, sanji, you're so kind,"

he bit his lip in content, trying to hide his happiness as he simply nodded his head. there was no way his voice wouldn't shake if he spoke now.

wordlessly, you moved your hand off of his arm and picked up the spoon from the plate. humming in content once the food hit your tongue to let sanji know that his expertise did, in fact, not fail him.

"it's so delicious, sanji!" he was going to thank you, but was cut off when the spoon you had just used was shoved into his mouth. you were grinning at the surprised look on his face, "let's share!"

sanji got a nosebleed. because the gears in his head quickly turned. the spoon in his mouth, which you just used, meant that you two just...indirectly kissed.

his head flew backwards and blood was streaming down his nose. the last thing he saw before passing out was your worried face above his own.

— sanji often times thinks he looks like an idiot pining over you. he just feels so awkward. he cannot mess this up or else his life might seriously just cease having meaning. he's never felt so serious about someone before. it was always fleeting thoughts of how someone was attractive in his eyes. now, with you in front of him everyday, looking like an actual angel (or handsome devil, both are fitting, he thinks with an odd smile). he just can't help his thoughts from running wild. what if after your pirate adventures, the two of you settled down together? happy. near some shoreline, not a worry in the world. sanji just catches himself thinking of a future with you in it, despite the two of you not even dating or being remotely romantic towards one another...not yet, at least.

it was nighttime and the both of you were on night watch. you were scheduled to be in the crow's nest and sanji confidently took it upon himself to join you out of courtesy. in the crow's nest, you were looking out at the calm sea while sanji was just looking at you, admiring you.

"sanji," you called out, your eyes still trained on the sea, "you've been staring at me for the past 10 minutes,"

the man gulped nervously, wondering if this would be the moment. the moment he finally confessed to you. it's been long enough for him to be sure of his feelings (he was in love with you), this was the perfect setting - just the two of you, and it was all calm.

but what if you rejected him? then his heart would be laid out in front of you, you wouldn't reciprocate, and then you'd have to sail together for however long needed, knowing in the back of your mind. he would know you didn't like him back and you would know that he one-sidedly liked you.

it was too painful of a loss. that was the main reason why he hasn't ever thought about pursuing his confession to you.

"make it 11 minutes now," you chuckled, finally turning your head to him and examining his confused features, "what are you thinking about, sanji?"

you. he bit his tongue to prevent that single word from slipping past his lips.

"nothing," he said quickly, maybe too quickly.

out of nowhere, your hand went to the back of his neck and pulled him in close. he turned rigid at the action immediately, turning into a stiff statue as you stared right into his soul.

"why're you lying to me?" you asked quietly and sanji almost collapsed into your lap and began begging for forgiveness. you, obviously, weren't actually mad or annoyed at him for his little white lie, but sanji didn't want you thinking he lied so easily.

that wasn't a good quality to have as your boyfriend, your lover. so sanji quickly said, "i'm sorry," with a weak tone and looked right into your beautiful e/c eyes with nothing but sorrow.

you could so easily spur an immense amount of strong emotions from sanji. he felt like he was being played like a toy. but, also, he didn't mind. not if it was you. he didn't mind a lot of things if it was you.

"sanji, why do you treat me so differently?" you just saying his name made him feel like he wanted to just collapse on your lap and stay there. be nurtured by you.

"i don't mean to," he answered, "i really don't. i can stop, if it makes you uncomfortable, i'll stop,"

you shook your head and sanji felt some strands of your hair brush against his skin. goosebumps formed at those points. even the strands of your hair made him react so vicerally to you.

"no, that's not what i meant," finally, you released your hold on his neck and leaned back to create a more comfortable space between you two. unconsciously, sanji leaned in towards you. "i mean, have i done some amazing thing to you before? it kind of feels like you're making some thing up to me, like you're repaying a debt..." your voice trailed off awkwardly, "you don't have to act so doting to me, sanji, for whatever reason - especially if it's to repay a debt. i don't want you stressing about something silly like that,"

what? sanji was confused. you thought, this entire time, he was just being nice to you to make up for something. there's no way. he wondered how oblivious you had been ot his advances. have you been unaware this whole time? was he perhaps not acting as obvious as he thought he was?

that was slightly comforting to think about, if that was the case. but also a part of sanji felt as if he failed. he was pursuing you. behind all his blunders of stuttering words, unhealthily red faces - he wanted you to know that he was pursuing you. he wanted to hint at his feelings so you could hopefully pick up on them.

"that's not why i act the way i do," sanji carefully said, watching your reaction. and when your face twisted into confusion, he urged himself to take this chance to continue, "i wanted you to know...want you to know, i mean, that i really, really, really..." he took in a deep breath, offering a weak smile, "i really like you, [name], and i was too scared to tell you like i am now, so i was catering to you to hopefully make it obvious. well, i see how ambiguous that my actions are now and i wish i had done it different so i could properly have wooed you, but, it's too late for that. i wish i had done it more-"

he was cut off when you suddenly moved forward and pressed your lips to his. he melted into your touch immediately, his body reacting so naturally to yours. his eyes fluttered shut, intenally sighing in relief at how his confession did in fact work out in his favor.

and it took a lot out of him to move away from you, but he did need air to breathe, unfortunately. if only he could just breathe you in and live off of you alone.

he sighed, chest heaving as he really wrapped his head around what just happeneed.

"i know," you said softly, a smile on your handsome face that was literally captivating him, "i knew, i mean. just wanted to hear you say it,"

sanji blinked. were you...taunting him? no, teasing was the more appropiate word because you weren't hurting him with your words. but your mischevious grin and glint in your eyes did tell him that you were in fact teasing him.

"uhm, you knew?" he repeated, making you chuckle and pinch his cheek lovingly.

"i wanted you to confess to me," you clarified, leaning forward and playing with the strands of his blonde hair around your finger, "i though you'd sound cute confessing," you leaned in further, lips ghosting over his, "and you did,"

sanji's face was exploding a dangerous shade of red. god, this was so embrassing. but, your lips were on his again and he wiped away any self preservation and completely gave himself to you.

you pulled away quickly, speaking in breathy tones, "i like you a lot too, sanji," his heart skipped multiple beats, then started racing even faster when you gently pushed him down onto the cushioned sofa, "been wanting to kiss you like this since i joined the crew,"

sanji was going to pursue more answers, but your hands carding through his hair made him speechless.

"been wanting to kiss you all over like this for so long," you peppered short kisses all over his skin, making him feel like he was on fire.

"why didn't you?" he quietly asked, making you pull away and grin down at him.

at this point, he was completely laid out on the sofa, his legs spread and hugged around your waist as you leaned yourself over him. the hands on either side of his head felt like a cage that he definitely didn't mind being in. with you looking down at him from above, he wouldn't mind staying there forever.

"i liked imagining you confessing to me," you grinned, "plus, i wasn't sure if you were even into me. i heard from the others that you were exclusviely nice to the women of the ship, so i didn't want to bother pursuing you either."

so, you were basically saying that you and sanji could have been together even sooner if he had just showed more obviously to begin with that he was deeply enamored by you.

sanji was cursing his past self very colorfully right now.

"sorry for being so mean to you, though," a bashful apology was enough for sanji.

and he missed the feeling of your lips on his, so he leaned up to meet you halfway, but you stopped him, "do you forgive me?"

"yes, yes, i do," sanji breaths were hitched from how excited and happy he was.

you grinned at his reaction, feeling proud that you were the cause of it, "aren't you glad we waited, though?"

sanji almost shook his head no on instinct. if he could have had this sooner rather than later, he would've taken the former over the latter any day. you saw the way his head stuttered in place, unsure of the right answer. so you leaned down, right next to his ear and sent shivers down his spine by whispering, "cause this is gonna feel so much better now after such a long wait, right, sanji?"

[dcxdpdabbles]

The ballad of Jane doe has me in a choke hold. The lyrics really feel to me and I had an idea of an alternative universe where Jason as Robin and beheaded by Joker as a way to avoid irl identification? Idk he’s insane. 

But the lyrics that really spoke to me were: Oh Saint Peter, let me in!

You must know where I've been

Won't you tell me at last who I am? 

(This can be either Jason revived and never getting his memories back and asking maybe maybe Danny someone who is kinda his minder who he is but Danny never knew him so he can’t say or Batman in a desperate but frustrated way when he’s all vigilante and stuff while fight and takes off his helmet for dramatic effect and maybe Jason never aged and still 15 or he just doesn’t have a head so Danny made one of ecto that is supposed to look like him) 

And I'm asking "why, lord?"

If this is how I die, lord

Why be left with no family

And no friends? 

(Jason never having his memories cries out for any information but maybe someone is blocking his search or some other factor, Jason not having any memories mourns the thought of family and maybe in a fight he’s yelling angrily about the unfairness of his situation and having no one, maybe even a vent to Danny if slimmed him spinned right) 

I’ve got no celebration

Just this consolation

Time eats all his children

In the end 

(Jason not remembering his funeral and his only consolation is his missing head or a scar on his neck from the beheading and this can also relate to clockwork and you know the Kronos correlation, how time has no favorites and everyone will be forgotten just like him in the end of their days wether it be their death or the last time their name is said) 

A melody floats through the air

When silence falls, does no one care? 

(frustration of no one telling him who he is and and maybe there will be a fight scene where he takes off his helmet and asks if anyone- anything cares about his existence in front of Bruce or the batfam) 

how Danny plays into his either this is alternate Jason and Danny being one person and Danny being in an accident which kills him half not and half did or Danny is dead Jason’s minder and they get teleported to another universe where canon is idk :)

I'm not going to lie. This song goes hard for Headless Jason.

I like what you wrote about this being Danny as his alt! Jason, but I also like the idea that Jason's family are descendants of the original Dullahan. He just didn't know it since he didn't know his bio mom.

Anyway, the family gets one extra life, which his bio-mom used up before, and that's why she died in the explosion that took Jason's first life. He wanders Gotham the first year as a zombie because he doesn't have his head until Danny finds it and helps reunite him.

But that year, Jason forgot who he was, and he was filled with nothing but questions and anger. Danny decided to be the bridge between worlds and stuck around to help him. Instead of Jason ending up with the League of Shadows, he is in Ghost King Phantom's court and is living in a small house on the outskirts of Gotham, trying to learn his new ghost powers.

Danny is super excited since this is the closest he's gotten to another Halfa since Vlad, and yeah, it's a little scary that they can't get his head to stick on his body since they've been apart for too long, but Danny is working on it.

In the meantime, they have Jason wear a red Biker helmet that he never takes off. Nothing can go wrong with that! The fact that Joker used to do the same thing as Red Hood meant nothing to Danny and his roommate, who enjoyed gardening, cooking dinner, and sitting together to watch a movie!

The occasional cuddle here and there! Slight domestic bliss sprinkled in!

No, Jazz, that isn't his undead boyfriend. That's just his roommate! So what if they are the same age? Danny is technically hiding from his parents, so he never ventures too far from his property!

Jason likes being in the boonies with him just fine.

[rebelspykatie]

While you all wait for the anticipated first date, here’s an alternate ending that I wrote before deciding to take this story in a different direction. This is in reference to my Soulmate AU you can find here. 

Soulmate AU Alternate Ending

They dance around each other for the rest of the year, and Steve quietly graduates, still never having spoken a word to Eddie. That is, until Steve’s father forces him to get a job over the summer.  

When Eddie wanders into Scoops one slow evening, he comes to a halt in front of Steve, looking between him and Robin with wild eyes, like a deer staring down the barrel of a hunters gun.

Robin is watching them, fascinated and a little intrigued by the absolute silence that they seem to be trapped in.

“You gonna order something, Munson?”

Eddie barely looks like he heard her, not looking away from Steve, but he mumbles out an order for one vanilla cone. Robin works around Steve, who is unmoving from his spot leaning against the counter, scooping up vanilla into a cone and holding it out over the freezer.

Eddie finally snaps out of it and goes to pay, which makes Steve realize how he was frozen in place, just watching Eddie. Steve shoves Robin aside and moves to take Eddie’s money. When their hands meet, you can almost see the electricity that passes between them, both pulling their hands back like they’ve been shocked.

“Enjoy your ice cream,” Steve says, looking at Eddie from under thick lashes and fiddling with the cuff on his wrist covering up Eddie’s name. He’s never been close enough to see the dark red stain of Steve’s lips but now it’s all he can focus on.

He can’t work up the courage to say anything back, just nods and takes his cone to a corner booth. It’s conveniently placed where he can see Robin and Steve working, the later routinely glancing in Eddie’s direction while he licks away at the cone, cheeks a faint pink color Eddie’s pretty sure he’s imagining.

Eddie wandered into Scoops close to closing, the regular mass of people dwindling down to just a few stragglers and mall employees. So it’s easy to pick up on the whispered conversation Robin and Steve are having behind the register.

Steve’s cleaning the counters and Robin is refilling the dispensers of spoons and napkins, but they’re arguing. Something about giving it a shot and what harm can it do. Robin receives a lot of bitchy little sneers that almost make Eddie laugh from his vantage point.

He almost chokes on his tongue when they stop arguing and Robin shoves Steve out from behind the counter with a bottle of cleaning spray and a rag. Eddie watches Steve make the rounds, cleaning the few tables that sat between him and the register, before he hesitantly shuffles over to Eddie’s table.

Who knew that Harrington could rock a dumb sailor uniform this well. If Eddie didn’t already have his name on his wrist, he’d scratch out whoever was there and get Steve’s name tattooed in its place from this look alone. No one can ever find out how hot he finds this getup. He’d never live it down.

“Hey sailor,” Eddie says, immediately wanting to slam his forehead onto the table and concuss himself, or maybe crawl under it and die there.

Steve freezes. And now Eddie can see that he was right. The pink color of his cheeks was very real and even cuter up close.

“You and your first mate done arguing?”

“You heard all that?”

“It’s not that big of a store, captain.”

Steve rubs at the back of his neck. “Sorry. She just thinks I’m being stupid.”

“About what? Is the USS Butterscotch sinking?”

A quiet huff of laughter escapes Steve. “You, actually.”

Eddie’s head whips back. “Me?”

Steve nods. He takes a step closer and gestures at the seat opposite Eddie, silently asking to sit. Eddie waves an inviting arm for him to join him.

Steve clears his throat, twisting the rag in his hand, looking down at the table. “She knows what’s on my arm. She’s the only person I’ve told. But she doesn’t understand why I haven’t talked to you, called me a dingus.”

“She brings up a good point. Why haven’t you talked to me?”

“I could ask you the same thing. You’ve known about this longer than I have. But I guess I was just scared,” Steve shrugs. “I’m no catch these days.”

Eddie reaches out and pushes a loose strand of hair out of Steve’s face, who finally looks up and locks eyes with Eddie. “Pretty sure the universe thinks you’re the exact right catch for me.”

They just stare at each other for a minute. Eddie’s never been good with silence, but he feels an odd sense of calm around Steve, like his presence is what Eddie was waiting for, and they barely even know each other.

“You would want that? To try being together?” Eddie nods. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.”

“You’re practically Hawkins royalty, Steve. I thought I was unworthy of even being in your presence, let alone being your soulmate. Our names showing up on each other’s arms is the most shocking thing that’s ever happened to me. I guess I just needed some time to process it.”

“And now?” He says it with this hopeful, shiny look in his eyes, still a bit cautious.

“I think I’m done processing. I’ve totally gotten over the whole jock thing-“

“Hey!”

“I’ve moved on because I think I can really get into this whole vibe,” he tugs gently on the red ascot of Steve’s uniform. “Never would’ve thought sailors were my thing, but you’re really making this work for me.”

A cackle carries across the shop and they both startle as if they forgot anyone else was here. Robin’s laughing as she goes through the register to close it out for the night, eyeing them and shaking her head.

“No one needs to know about your weird kinks, Munson.”

He flips her off. “Leave me and my soulmate alone, Buckley.”

A sharp intake of breath draws his gaze back to Steve. That hopeful look has turned to one of pure adoration. “Your soulmate,” he whispers.

Eddie pulls Steve a little closer and whispers in confirmation, “My soulmate.”

[iamumbra195]

I was thinking about alternate vigilante names for little Jason and I feel like Mockingbird just fits perfectly.

Mockingbirds are intelligent birds that can mimic and imitate the calls and sounds of various animals (which goes with that one post I saw about little Jason learning to mimic Nightwing and Batman's voices so criminals would be caught off guard when they got their ass kicked by Robin or Red Hood, later on). Mockingbirds are also great at hiding and can easily be overlooked, unlike let's say, a Robin. :)

A big part of little Jason's character was also family and wild Mockingbirds are some of the most vicious when it comes to safeguarding their family, symbolizing safety, family unity, and firm boundaries.

In To Kill a Mockingbird the death of a Mockingbird is a representation of the loss of innocence, specifically by coming into contact with evil.

Jason being killed by the Joker after doing his best to protect Sheila, destroying Bruce and their family unit in a way that they never fully recovered from, coming back with none of the hope and innocence he had once had.

Is that not perfect or am I just crazy?

I know the mysterious leader of the Secret Six is called Mockingbird in DC but I love this so much.

Also, the name Robin remaining a sole part of Dick's identity and him deciding to give that piece of himself to Damian rather than it being forcibly taken away like in canon makes me ridiculously happy

[boo-its-stress]

So I had a silly little idea about what if Danny was ghost king but he didn’t actually have to be in charge because he is baby. You don’t put a baby in charge you put an adult in charge until baby is ready. Vlad would be the most qualified. But he’s Vlad. So. It needs to be somebody else. Batman. I’m talking about Bruce Wayne. Death touched and not ready to rule the infinite realms in his stead. I’m full of big thoughts on this but instead of organizing them and sharing them I wrote a little Blurbo.

Bruce was on the bat computer writing incident reports on the night’s patrol. It was a quiet night and it looked like everyone might get at least 4 hours of sleep tonight. Well, quiet on the streets of Gotham. The cave was very much not quiet as Tim seemed to have had the stupendous idea to intentionally rile Damian up. Idle hands may be the devil’s playthings but apparently an Idle Tim was more likely to lose all sense of self preservation. He wasn’t too worried yet, he could hear Dick trying to keep the peace which had about 50/50 odds of working.

The sudden silence was the absolute worst thing he could be hearing right now. He spun around in that chair as fast as bathumanly possible and stood up. Prepared to deal with an attempted fratricide. But what he saw froze him in his tracks, though not quite as literally as everything else. Damian was frozen mid leap towards an equally frozen Tim who's laughing face was in the midst of shifting towards regret while Dick was reaching out to catch him. He was instantly on guard for whoever had done this, it would be an unlikely coincidence for him to be the only one (or even one of many) left unfrozen if this was a global event that had nothing to do with him. No this was likely a deliberate act but the question remained if the intent was hostile or not. Not that it really mattered because they froze his boys and he would not be relaxing until that was undone.

He felt a presence above him and threw a batarang even as he was turning to face them. And the batarang passed straight through a floating blue humanoid. A being who radiated an aura of power that was only somewhat ruined by the pendulum clock in their chest and a total lack of concern for the weaponry thrown their way. There was a beat of tense silence before they shifted into the form of a child and gave the impression of raising an eyebrow despite not having any above the unsettling wholly red eyes “Did I catch you at a bad time Bruce? I can come back.” And just like that his guard was up even further. An intruder in the batcave with this kind of power and he knew his name? That could not mean anything remotely good. He was mentally preparing alternative methods of attack should this turn to violence, as most forms of physical attack would be useless depending on what form of phasal shifting that just was.

“Oh there’s no need for any of that Bruce. I’m just here to congratulate you on your ascendancy to Kinghood.” That left him wrongfooted and before he could even muster up a response and begin with any proper Questioning, the being continued. “Well, King Regent at least. The rightful ghost king is still a child and you possess the familial relation necessary to stand in until they’re ready to ascend the throne. Should you choose to refuse this position you have 30 days to find a suitable replacement and contact the high council of the infinite realms with this information.” And just as suddenly as the… Ghost? Just as the possible ghost had appeared, they were gone.

All at once life returned to the world and there was an audible thump as one Robin collided with another. But it was Dick who screamed. For if one were to view things from his perspective, Bruce had teleported from across the room and he thought he was immune to the Batman jump scares now! With Dick and Tim briefly caught up in their own individual terrors it was Damian who noticed something was wrong. He shoved Tim aside with contempt, rising to his feet and dusting himself off as if he felt especially dirty after the physical contact he himself had initiated. “Father? What is it?”

Bruce let out the slightest huff of relief at seeing his boys in motion once more, most wouldn’t notice it at all, but the collection of current and former robins were not most people. They were all at attention, waiting to be told and willing to resort to trickery if he wasn’t in a sharing mood. “Something was in the bat cave.” All three stiffened, knowing this was serious. He returned to the computer to begin a profile on the (man? Ghost? clock?) and also to avoid looking his children in the eye. No need to give away how badly this had shaken him. “They were capable of freezing time selectively. And froze all of you while we spoke. Possibly everyone else. Oracle, is it still 1:27 outside the batcave?”

He could hear rapid fire typing before she replied. “Matches up with the time in Gotham and there’s no noticeable time delay between here and anywhere else on Earth. I’ll have to get back to you on if we fell out of alignment with other planets, but I can tell you there’s no gaps in the footage in the batcave either, it… it looks like you teleported.”

Well that was not comforting news in the slightest. Whoever this was, they were incredibly powerful. Possibly capable of stopping all of time with (hopefully) no consequences. Looks like he might actually have to take what was said seriously. For such a powerful entity would have little reason to lie about such a thing. But could he really? He might have had a few close calls with death but he was still living? His heart was still beating? How could a living man be the reigning king of ghosts? Even as a regent? And regent to who exactly? A child? Is that by human or ghost standards? Bruce seemingly didn’t qualify as a child but would Dick? The ghost had said familial relation which was incredibly vague and unhelpful. Did his adopted children count or was it only Damian? Could it possibly be some distant cousin? He didn’t know and unfortunately he had no leads to speak of. How was he even supposed to contact this High Council of the Infinite Realms? He got the sinking suspicion that was the point. That he wasn’t being given a choice in the matter.

His eldest broke him out of his thoughts with a hand on his shoulder, reading what he’d written before locking eyes with him. “And what exactly did he want to talk about B?”

He couldn’t help the slight downturn of his lips as he answered, “Apparently I’ve been named the Regent King of Ghosts.”

And with the widening of Dick’s eyes and a muffled curse from Tim as he missed a step and collided with a table he couldn’t help thinking he was right. The intruder hadn’t brought anything good.

When he later called Constantine asking if he knew how to contact The High Council of the Infinite Realms and the man promptly swore before hanging up? He was absolutely sure he had found himself tangled up in something that was bound to cause him at least one headache in the near future.

When he found the first green sticky note that appeared between one blink and the next he was ready to have words with whoever put him in this position. He sincerely hoped the King he was playing regent for wasn’t Jason.

[boggie-things]

At five years old, Robin Buckley says her favorite color is pink when asked by her kindergarten teacher.

It seems like the right answer, it's what all the other girls say (except for a few who say purple, but Robin thinks of the flowers at her grandma's funeral earlier that year that were a sickly shade a mauve), so it must be hers as well.

She doesn't mind wearing it, but she thinks it's bright, easy to call attention to. She gets scolded in second grade by Tammy Thompson when she says it's really just a shade of red, after that she decides she doesn't like it as much anymore.

In fourth grade she says it's green when her mom asks for a color to paint her room. It's the color of outside and Robin likes to play there.

Her favorite shoes are forest green and she sits in the green section at lunch with her best friend Barabra Holland. It's a good fit.

But in sixth grade Tommy Hagan tells her it's a boy color and if she likes it then she's a boy. And so Robin changes it again. This time it's yellow.

Yellow is a safe color, neither gender seems to claim it and it's the shade of the sheets on her bed where she spends most of her time now that Barbara seems to prefer hanging out with Nancy Wheeler.

Yellow is the color of the stray cat that she feeds eyes and the shade of the lamplight she likes to read under at night.

She changes it to red in tenth grade when she hears Tammy Thompson say she likes it (even though she got mad at Robin for her earlier suggestion of pink being a light shade of it), and she really thinks it's the right one too.

It's the color of her beloved converse and the shade of the only makeup she owns, the scarlet lipstick her aunt got her for her fifteenth birthday.

It's a color of her Scoops uniform and the dry erase marker she uses to mark down Steve Harrington’s numerous fails at flirting.

It's the color of blood staining her shirt and dripping from Steve's face on the Fourth of July, 1985. The color of fireworks being thrown at a monster made up of red flesh and the color of the ambulance lights that flash as she sits in it.

After that she doesn't have a favorite color. It changes whenever someone new asks, alternating between the ones of her past.

It's green to Steve and pink to the mother renting a movie for her daughter. Yellow for Dustin and for a project in English class.

It's never red though.

But then 1986 rolls around and it's suddenly blue. The color of the sky and her favorite shirt is navy. The color of a denim jacket and the waters of Lovers Lake.

The color of Nancy Wheeler’s eyes looking at her in the library. Cerulean in the sun and cobalt as they trek through hell.

Bright azure when reflecting fire and the sparks of flying bullets. Soft maya blue under hospital lights.

They're shining admiral when they meet hers outside the Wheeler house two weeks after it all. Her tears match the rain when they kiss. Baby blue when they finally part.

It's blue when Nancy asks as they lay together in their apartment just outside of Boston. She jokes it's for the ocean that they had visited that summer, but later she tells her it's for her eyes.

It's blue like the ring she proposes with, cheap but full of meaning. Blue like the lilies of the Nile and bellflowers of Nancy's bouquet she tosses in the air.

Sapphire like their daughter's name and the chair Robin sits in when she reads to her. The color of her cookie monster cake for her first birthday and the rims of Nancy's reading glasses.

Blue like the dress she's buried in.

Blue like the flowers on their side by side graves.

[flashfuture]

Jason Todd as Robin ... the first time

[I previously addressed how before the original Crisis Jason Todd was introduced to the world.] The world being Earth One and this Jason Todd is much different to the Jason of New Earth who smacked Batman with a tire iron. He has red hair

But this is the tale of how Jason was awarded the title of Robin the first time around.

It begins with Dick Grayson. Wally West has just quit the Titans because he's losing his powers. And Dick has an announcement of his own.

(New Teen Titans vol 1 #39)

Dick has been Robin since he was 8 years old but he can't be Batman's kid partner forever. "Costume, you and I have gone through a Lot together. Sure hope your new wearer doesn't abuse you as much as I did." He already has a successor picked out of course

But Bruce is maybe not so on board not at first.

(Batman #363)

Jason is rather peeved he isn't allowed to do anything in this new place he's been put and reminds Alfred he can just go back to the circus

(Batman #363)

Still Jason sneaks out to assist Bruce with his Batmaning which is Not appreciated. Bruce realizing that maybe the orphan he took in at eight shouldn't have been fighting crime and trying to stop his new child actually makes So So much more sense than fired an adult Dick Grayson to protect him and then hired a twelve year old to replace him

(Batman #363)

Anyways Jason is pissed and makes a break for it back to the circus. "... Not every conversation with a clown in funny." hilarious narration and excellent unintentional foreshadowing

(Detective Comics #530)

Bruce realizes Jason ran away and is like 'Let's go get him back before the police realize we are almost kind of holding a child hostage. And by we I mean you Alfred okay bye.'

(Detective Comics #531)

Then after a fight that was with some lions and other evil villains this circus has a rough time. Bruce agrees Jason can have a chance at being his partner.

(Batman #366)

Jason is bored waiting around for Batman partner training and goes and fucks around in Dick's room.

(Batman #366)

What he found was evidently one of Dick's costumes and hair dye? So to note Jason dyed his own hair black just to prove himself nobody made him.

(Batman #366)

Anyways SUPER important because I'm so Mad they changed this and the fandom gets in a tizzy about it to this day. But Bruce was pissed Jason dressed up as Robin. "But at the very first opportunity, you will remove that costume. You had no right to wear it in the first place. Becoming my new parter is one thing...stealing someone else's very identity is another-- and one I won't allow." Bruce was incredibly protective of Dick's claim to Robin.

(Batman #367)

Just want to say Jason's first suggestion of an alternative sidekick name was "Ishmael"

(Batman #368)

Jason is listing out other names he could be called and Bruce doesn't like any of them.

(Batman #368)

But here comes Dick Grayson and he comes bearing gifts.

(Batman #368)

He has a suit and a name for Jason Todd to use happy to give permission while also pleased with Bruce's protectiveness.

(Batman #368)

Like this meant a whole lot to Bruce and Dick as well as Jason. Dick was nearly crying from Bruce's sincerity and gratefulness.

(Batman #368)

And now it's time for Dick Grayson to take his leave.

"So long, Robin. Be great."

[jadedwolf18-blog]

Mini Phantom Invasion.

Hi, I plan for this to be a series of inter connected one shots based on some of my favorite prompts. I’m a huge Tim Drake/Red Robin x Danny phantom shipper, so for now most of my fics will feature them. Once I’ve end this series, I’ll try branching out to other relationships Danny could have with the bats.

I can’t remember where I got all of them but I’ll try to tag as I find them. If anyone notices a prompt or plot they’ve seen please let me know or tag the person it came from. I’m knew to posting on Tumblr so I’m still getting used to how to tag and insert links. Thank you.

🤍🖤💚💙💚🖤🤍

Chapter 1

Danny was not having a good day. He’d had a fight with his parents about ghost hunting, stating clearly that he had no interest in their bias views on an entire species based on one encounter when they were young. It had escalated to the point where they blamed his lack of interest on the fact that he was spending to much time with his sister and his female friends. 

He’d had enough! He left mid argument and was contemplating just packing up and moving into the Ghost Zone permanently. As he’d slammed the door he could hear his parents shouts for him to come back and once again blaming his behaviour on a ghost.

What did his sexuality have to do with ghost hunting? And what was wrong with wanting to be more feminine sometimes? He honestly didn’t understand why they found it so weird or wrong for him to swap between genders and pronouns? Jazz, Sam and Tucker accepted him as he was, they didn’t but an eye when he would randomly say ‘she’, ‘they’ or ‘him’, they just continued the conversation with the new pronoun and that was that. They understood and accepted that sometime he felt male or female or neither. He was lucky to have them. 

The day just seemed to continue down hill from there. It was summer vacation so Sam was forced to spend time with her parents at some rich holiday resort, Tucker had won a spot in some sort of tech camp and Jazz was still at College working on a finals thesis and was unable to come back for the summer. He was essentially alone for the summer. He could hang out with Val but she was working a lot and he didn’t want to bother her. He still felt guilty about her dad losing his job, even if it wasn’t entirely his fault.

*****

After leaving the house he’d found a place to transform and let the cool rings of light soothe him and took off into the sky. After finding out they could survive in space it became their favourite way to relax, they’d spend ours exploring space, even hang out on the moon. Thank you high speed and portal powers. Their Phantom form had changed in the last two years. People could no longer tell if they were male or female and he looked less human now. Thankfully, they looked nothing like their alternate future self. When their legs melded together their ghostly tail looked more eel like and their ears were longer and thiner, resembling delicate fins. Jazz and their friends had joked about how the acted like cat ears. Lastly their face was now a pale mint color, almost white and translucent, his eyes were still the same luminous ecto-green with deep blue pupils. The only similarity to Dan, that they could see, were the fangs and longer hair both of which were also present in their human form.

*****

They had been flying around Amity, a somewhat lazy patrol of his claimed haunt, it was a calm night. Ever since they had defeated Pariah Dark the other ghost had calmed down and came to Amity less frequently. A few still came to bug them, namely Skulker, Ember, Johny and Kitty. Young Blood and Boxy more frequently than the others and of course Cujo came by often. Their visits were more to do with fulfilling their obsessions than anything else. Danny’s obsession was Space but so was Protection. They needed to fulfil both to some extent or suffer from a form of ghost hunger. It was a win win situation even if they did go back… home? Was it really still a home? 

Before they could go down that dark spiral again their instincts took over and they narrowly dodged a bright green shot that had been aimed at their head. Whirling around and flying higher out of range they looked at their attacker and just stared.

“of course it’s them.” They muttered. Before repeating it with more venom than they thought they were capable of. Which was shocking because not even Vlad had receive as much hatred in the entirety of the time they’ve known him than in that split second they felt it towards their own parents. “Of fucking course it’s them!”

They blink away the shock of such an intense emotion and huffed. Not even bothering to acknowledge them they turned around to leave. That had been a mistake. They’d barely made it a few paces before pain bloomed across their back as an Eco-blast shredded the fins on their lower back and bit deep into their flesh. They bit back a cry of shock as they felt themselves plummet from the sky. It took a moment but they gathered enough concentration to open a portal. He didn’t care where they ended up as their only thought was ‘Somewhere safe.’

They fell through and just before they lost consciousness, they heard their parents yell after him.

“Get back here you ghost scum, so we can rip you apart molecule by molecule!”

“We won’t forgive you for corrupting our Danny!”

‘Of course… It’s always Phantoms fault…’ Danny’s world turned black as he continued to fall. Maybe when they opened their eyes again all of it would have been a dream.

*****

Somewhere in the infinite green a Grandfather clock chimed. A screen flickered. Time flowed on.

“All is as it should be.”

Chapter 2

(I'm Not A Cynic Song by Alec Benjamin)

Danny pulled their little floating ducks out of their personal pocket dimension and set them to gently drift in the hot spring. They had found it while wandering the forest. Their lower back still ached and they were a little worried about how it hadn’t healed completely yet.

*****

They didn’t know where they were or how long they had been in this dimension but they were safe and alone for the time being. When they’d woken up, the first thing they did was try to figure out where they were. thankfully no-one had discovered them, tucked away in the underbrush of the forest they had landed in. They’d let invisibility wash over them and flew high enough to get a view of the land. They recognised asian architecture and flew in the direction they had spotted a small farming village. With a closer look they determined they had landed in some version of Japan. Instinctually they knew they were not in their home dimension. Everything, even the air and feel of the atmosphere felt slightly shifted to the left. It was like that feeling of entering a hotel room, they were all essentially the same but there were the little details that told you it was a different hotel. 

*****

Brushing the thought, and everything associated with the reason they were injured and alone in a foreign dimension, aside. They coiled their tail in the centre of the spring and sank down until their lower back was submerged in the healing warmth of the spring. Closing their eyes in content they began to hum. Their eyes shot open when they felt a gentle nudge against his arm but smiled gently at the little wisp as it bobbed and drifted in the breeze. They continued to hum and watched in amusement as more joined the first. The little orbs of light ranged in color from soft pale blues to vibrant greens and warm reds, oranges and yellows.

They lost themselves in their song as they twirled in and played with the water, creating little floating ice crystals that caused mist to form around them as hot and cold air danced around each other. Humming soon gave way to words as they swayed to the rhythm only they could hear. 

“I'm just bein' realistic, bein' honest with myself

I've tried bein' optimistic but it doesn't seem to help

So I'll just have to admit this is the hand that I've been dealt

I'm not bein' pessimistic, just bein' honest with myself”

They were thankful to Pandora, who had taught them to sing in an effort to train his ghostly wail, for realising he was taking on the form and habits of a triton. 

“I'm not a cynic, oh, today's just not my day

I've tried to spin it 'bout a thousand different ways

But from every angle, oh, the outlook is the same

I swear that I'm not a cynic, my glass just has no water in it today”

They poured all the hurt, betrayal, anger and loneliness into their voice, allowing them to release it all in a more melodic call than his previous wail. That, as pandora explained, had been an unhealthy burst of emotion and they were lucky they hadn’t blown out their vocal cords the last few times they used it. 

“I swear that I'm not a cynic, my glass just has no water in it”

Through their practice they found they could influence emotions but not out right control them. They were glad, influencing them was bad enough, he didn’t want to manipulate anyone. They didn’t want to spend their life wondering if the people around them truly cared or if they had somehow manipulated them into caring. They may me a budding empath but they still struggled to tell the difference between a sincere emotion and a projected emotion.

“You only get that which you're given, it's not always up to you

Not every Sunday is a picnic 'cause the sky ain't always blue

You can't just change the weather by changing your point of view

Some days you have to wait until the storm just passes through”

Danny’s voice grew louder as their emotions poured out into the lyrics. They knew they still had their friend, their sister, Elle and everyone in the Infinite Realm. They were also the Half Ghost son of ghost hunters and scientist with a heavy bias against Ecto-entities. They will be the rulers of an entire realm in only a few short years.

“I'm not a cynic, oh, today's just not my day

I've tried to spin it 'bout a thousand different ways

But from every angle, oh, the outlook is the same

I swear that I'm not a cynic, my glass just has no water in it today”

They gave a bitter sweet smile as they watched the wisps duck and weave between the ice crystals. They looked around for their ducks and their smile turned a little more sad as they waved their hand and the little ducks joined the dancing lights and crystals. Each one was modelled after his favourite comic book vigilante. They’d had to save them from the dump truck once, they’d been looking for them when he’d asked his parents, their father had made an off hand comment about how he should throw out old toys and they’d panicked. They’d manage to find and save them all just before the truck arrived.

“So like a boat on the ocean, I'll rock with the waves

God, I'm so sick of this notion that I have to fake

Fake my emotions and pretend I'm okay

So like a boat on the ocean, I'll just rock with the waves”

Jazz had bought them for them, after they had told her about being gender fluid and pan, they were probably one of their most treasured possessions. Jazz had gone on a whole spiel about how it’s important that she show support and provide a safe and understanding environment. They hadn’t been listening, they’d been crying. To caught up in their overflowing emotions and happiness. It lasted a day, their parents had been less than understanding, with their passive-aggressive comments and actions. 

“I'm not a cynic, oh, today's just not my day

I've tried to spin it 'bout a thousand different ways

But from every angle, oh, the outlook is the same

I swear that I'm not a cynic, my glass just has no water in it today”

Their frown returned. They had shot them, that in itself wasn’t unusual, as Phantom. Isn’t that a sad thought. What was was that there had been no prior warning. It was a sniper shot, from their mother. Only their heightened hearing and instinct had saved them from ending up dead dead instead of a Halfa. That bothered him

“I swear that I'm not a cynic, my glass just has no water in it today”

They returned to humming the last notes of their song as the dunked under the water to rinse off. They popped back up and gathered their ducks, floated up out of the spring and laughed as the wisps twirled around him. They landed on the ground, allowing their legs to form and walked off into the forest, dancing lights trailing after them. Completely unaware of their watchers.

*****

The shadows slunk away to report their findings. While two birds hesitantly returned to their temporary nest, One worried and wanting to help the being that reminded him so much of his younger siblings. The other having felt a connection to a being that had shared similar experiences, someone they wanted to help and if they wanted to end the beings loneliness… that was no one’s business but their own. Both slept little that night, both determined to find the being again and offer what they could to help.

*****

@im-totally-not-an-alien-2

@alinmenttreasure

@blackroserelina

@blacksea21090

@seraphinedemort

[eddiemunsonspantschain]

Ruined - Pt.2

Pairing: Roommate!Eddie Munson x Reader

Warnings: Fallout from Ruined pt 1, jealousy, lots of kisses

Word Count: 5.6k

Part 1 - Alternate smut ending (coming soon)

By the time your shift was over you were feeling a lot better. Just as promised Steve and Robin pulled up in Steve’s maroon BMW to pick you up from work. Robin and Steve shared an apartment not far from yours and Eddie’s. Steve came inside first, taking your duffle bag from your hands to go put into the trunk. You grabbed the two orders you put in for your friends and walked out to the car. The drive to their place was short but just enough time for you to tell them about Michael. For a moment, you had your doubts. Wondering if this was such a good idea or not. After the whirlwind the past two days have been. Of course Robin and Steve both talked you out of that uncertainty saying this would be good for you in the long run. Robin ever so helpful adding: if Eddie wants to be an idiot and not see what he had; then let him be an idiot.

So you found yourself on a mission to sneak back into your apartment to get a dress since you hadn’t exactly packed for a date night but only to crash at Robin and Steve’s. You had no idea if Eddie was home or not. He shouldn’t be but you apparently didn’t know him as well as you used to. Robin and Steve both insisted on coming with you. Just in case. You had called Michael at Steve and Robin’s, finding out the name of the place you both would be having dinner and letting him know you would be dropped off. “Guys I don’t think that’s necessary. He shouldn’t even be…home.” You breathed the last word as your eyes fell on a familiar beat up van sitting in the spot designated for your apartment.

“You were saying?” Robin asked, taking your hand in hers and started towards the building. 

You led them up the stairs and unlocked the door, preparing for the worst. As you pushed the door open though Robin’s hands clasped over your ears and she shoved you forward. You could hear her shouting as she steered you to your bedroom. Only barely seeing a glimpse of Eddie as she directed your head away from him. She got you into your room and promptly slammed the door shut behind her. You looked at her as she scowled at the door, the expression melting away as she turned to look towards you. “Did he say anything?” You asked in a small voice.

“He tried to.” Robin answered and went to your closet. You moved beside her and sighed. “He can be a dumbass all he wants. You have a handsome man waiting to take you out to dinner tonight and if Eddie wants his head firmly shoved up his ass, he can stay there.” Robin spoke softly as she flipped through the options in your closet. —--------------------------------------------------------

Eddie was sulking on the couch. He had taken the day off, waking up feeling awful after the other night and already an hour late for work. The way you had screamed at him and threw things at him until he went away had replayed in his mind over and over again. Why did you have to kiss him? Why did you have to go and screw things up? He had thought he just managed to be able to live with you without dreaming of you every night and then you go ahead and do that. He was an idiot. He knew this. The sound of someone jamming a key into the door made him sit up a bit. Did you come home? He stood up but stopped when he saw you. Eddie hated that he made you cry. He had seen you cry before but this time it was because of him. Your cheeks were splotched red, your eyes no better from how many tears you shed over him the past two days. Eddie opened his mouth but just as he was about to say your name hands were put over your ears. He watched in confusion as Robin pushed you into the apartment and started steering you to your room.

“Robin, hey! Can I talk to her?”

“Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! FUCK YOU, MUNSON!” Robin screamed over his pleas to talk to you, slamming your door shut behind her as he tried to follow you both into the room. He sighed, thumping his head against the door.

“You screwed up dude.” 

Eddie looked up from the door and sighed. Steve stood in the doorway of the apartment, hands on his hips in the bitchy maneuver you and Eddie had seen before. He moved into the apartment and shut the door behind him. “No shit, man.” Eddie mumbled, moving back towards the couch. “Robin ever gonna forgive me?”

“Not if Y/N doesn’t.” Steve answered, moving over to the couch as well. Steve sat down heavily on the couch and looked at his friend. Eddie looked like he hadn’t slept at all, slumped into the couch cushion that seemed to have an Eddie shaped dent. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”

Eddie groaned, taking one of the decorative pillows you put on their couch and shoving it over his face. “Yeah, I know.” Eddie’s muffled response sounded from under the fabric.

“No, I don’t think you do.” Steve wretched the stupid throw pillow off of Eddie’s face and set it aside. He turned his body towards Eddie’s. “You ruined it. That’s what you told her and that’s what you did, really. She didn’t ruin shit.” He poked Eddie’s chest. He sighed and shook his head like a disappointed parent. Steve lowered his voice further. “You’re hiding from your feelings for her and instead of being a man, you push her away when she got a little too close.”

“I do not-”

“Do not bullshit me, man. I know you. And I know what an idiot in love looks like. Trust me.” Steve spoke sternly.

Eddie swallowed hard from the look on Steve’s face and the tone he took with him. He played with a stray piece of thread poking out of the couch cushion and sighed. Maybe Steve was right. He was afraid of taking the risk of losing you. If you were his friend, it felt safer. If he was dating you and shit went sideways he could lose you. Eddie couldn’t explain it. He had gotten angry at you for taking that step. For kissing him. All he had wanted to do was pull you into his lap, kiss you and fuck you til you had no brain cells left.

“And now you get to pay the price.”

Eddie froze. “Price? What price?” He asked quickly.

Steve stared at him. “She’s going on a date tonight. That’s why they’re locked in there.” He nodded to the door hiding you and Robin from them.

Eddie stared at the door hard. Like if he stared hard enough it would throw itself open and he could talk you out of going out with whoever the fuck it is. “A date?”

“Yeah. Ya know, that thing you could be taking her out on if you took your head out of your ass?” Steve smirked at Eddie and shook his head. He shuffled closer. “You,” His voice dropped as he addressed Eddie, “have a lot of groveling to do if you even want to preserve a friendship with her. You made her feel repulsive, Eddie.” Eddie’s head snapped towards Steve so fast he thought he might have broken his neck. “Oh, yeah. That’s the word she used. Repulsive. That’s how you made her feel.” Steve couldn’t lie that he took a little satisfaction seeing the hurt in Eddie’s eyes learning just how bad he made you feel. “Apologize. And maybe, just maybe she’ll give you a chance.” He warned Eddie, settling his back against the couch again as he looked at whatever Eddie had been watching before they came in.

Eddie sunk into the couch further as he thought about what Steve told him. How he had made you feel. You were far from repulsive. You were the most beautiful creature he knew. Those thoughts swirled around his head and he felt guilt chewing deeper and deeper at his gut almost like he’d puke. When the door to your room opened, Eddie shot up out of his seat only to be shoved back down by Steve’s arm. His head whipped around to level Steve with a glare so hard it might leave a hole in the former King. Steve looked at him and shook his head. Much like before Robin steered you out of your room with her hands clutched over your ears. On one of her fingers though was the hanger holding the dress you would apparently be wearing to a date tonight. Eddie’s jaw clenched at the sight of it and for a second he fought back against Steve’s arm. “What the fuck, did you take up working out?” Eddie hissed at Steve.

“Lifting boxes of VHS tapes helps.” Steve told him, patting him hard on the chest once Y/N and Robin were out of the apartment. Steve stood and sighed before looking down at Eddie. Eddie’s arms were crossed tight over his chest as he stared down at his lap. “542 Angel Grove Way. Place is called Minskey’s.” Steve quickly muttered before heading for the door. 

Eddie’s eyes flicked up to Steve’s retreating back, a smirk pulling at his lips.

—--------------------------------------------------

You’d never spent so much time worrying about your appearance before. After how you felt the past two days, you felt insecure. You turned every which way in front of the mirror until Robin had shoved you to sit on the edge of her bed and started to mess with your hair. Steve leaned against her desk as he flipped through some magazine she had. “Oh, what if you did something like this?” He turned the magazine and pointed at a woman with shimmery eyelids and rosy pink lips. Robin hummed as she looked at the photo.

“I think that would work!” She explained as she finished fixing your hair.

“Robin, Steve. This feels a bit much.” You mumble as she crawls off her bed. 

“Much? It’s a date, Y/N.” Steve shrugged and moved to sit beside you, pointing at the photo of the beautiful woman on the pages. “You look as good as she does, better even.” He told you before setting the magazine down. 

“Dingus is right. You should go all out. Impress Michael.” Robin said as she bent down in front of you with an eyeshadow in her hand and a brush in the other. “Close.” She poked your cheek with the rounded end of the brush. You sighed and closed your eyes, feeling her sweeping the eyeshadow gently over your eyelids. 

“Yeah and definitely pink lipstick. Don’t wanna leave stains on him.” Steve remarked beside you and you gasped, smacking at him blindly. “Hey! Hey! Listen, speaking from experience here!” He smacked your hand away. 

“You’re gonna be fine. Don’t listen to Steve.” Robin encouraged you, finishing with your eyes before moving to find some lipstick or gloss for you.

“I have the most dating experience between us three!”

“And how many of those were failed dates?” Robin asked, raising a brow at her room mate.

Steve fell silent for a moment. “Okay, you might have a point.” He grumbled beside you.

As the time inched closer to your date, the more nervous you became. You had told Michael you were being dropped off which was true. Steve offered to drive you to the restaurant as you hadn’t wanted Michael to come pick you up. Purely to buy yourself more time. Soon you found yourself in the passenger seat of Steve’s maroon beamer. He parked outside the restaurant and you stared up at it. Normally, you weren’t this nervous about a date. You’d been on a few in your life and you were a grown woman but after the rollercoaster of feelings you were left picking at your nails as you looked at the restaurant. 

“Say the word and I turn the car around and we have pizza and beer with Robin.” Steve spoke softly because you like he was afraid he might scare you.

You turn your head to find Steve watching you and you take a breath. “I’m okay, but thank you.” You smiled at him, “Raincheck on the pizza and beer?”

Steve smiled and nodded. “Raincheck. Go, have fun. Call me when you need to get picked up.” 

You nodded your head, pushing your door open and stepping out of the car. You took a deep breath before heading inside. Finding Michael had been easy enough. He was looking around, waiting for you it seemed. When he spotted you he stood up to greet you, thanking the hostess. He gently pulled your chair out for you and once you sat down he pushed the chair back in. He sat across from you and picked up his menu.

“So, no turkey clubs on rye here.” He chuckled softly.

You laughed and shook your head. “Doesn’t look like it.” You answered, looking over the menu yourself. 

“Do you like wine?”

You nod your head. “Yeah, wine is good. I’m not too picky.” You shrug and smile up at Michael.

He nodded his head with a smile and when the waitress came he ordered you both a glass of wine, checking what type you might want before ordering his food. You ordered your food, picking something not too messy so you didn’t risk your dress. Once the waitress was gone, conversation started to flow easily with Michael. However, you found your thoughts wandering to Eddie. How he would act on a date like this, if he would even choose this as a date for you both and things like that.

“Okay, okay. Steve and Robin sound like wonderful friends. But… I’m gonna hit you with a hard question.” You nod your head as you take a sip from your wine glass. By now dinner was done and a plate with a slice of chocolate cake sat between you two. “Who made you so upset?”

Your eyes flicked to Michael over your glass. You slowly took the dainty glass from your lips and set it back on the table as you swallowed down your wine. “My uh my roommate. He uh… we got into a fight.” You murmured.

Michael nodded his head slowly. “What was the fight about, if you don’t mind me askin.”

“I uh,” You swallowed hard and sighed, “I kissed him. By accident. And he kinda flipped out on me. Said I ruined things.”

Michael’s face remained unchanged. He nodded his head and hummed. “He sounds like an asshole.”

“No!” You shocked yourself with how fast and loud your response was. “No, he isn’t. Not usually.” You lowered your volume, “Eddie is one of the kindest men I know. Gentlemanly, respectful. Rough around the edges, yes, but he always made me comfortable. Never made me feel like an outsider. Just accepted, loved and trusted. It was only after I kissed him that he just changed. And I mean you usually expect it to be the opposite, right?”

Michael chuckled and shrugged. “Yeah, ‘suppose so. You normally would expect kissing a guy friend to go well. Accident or not.”

“Yeah… I guess so. I just… I didn’t intend to do it.”

“Do you like him? Your roommate?”

You stare at Michael. “I don’t think that’s fair to answer.”

He smiled softly. “Humor me.”

Your cheeks warmed as you thought over your answer. Eddie was handsome. Very handsome. Hot even. You were aware of this. He made you feel safe and secure. Never pressured you to do anything in your life. Always made sure you were alright. “I think that's enough of an answer.” Michael interrupted your thoughts. You looked back at him, feeling your heart drop to your feet. But his smile remained.

“I’m sorry,” You whisper but he shakes his head at you.

“It’s fine, sweetheart.” It doesn’t have the same pull as when Eddie says it. “I can tell you’re not in it. Not here with me. And it’s okay, trust me.” He reassured you with a smile. He clasped his hands together on the table. You barely catch his eyes flicking around the restaurant, resting somewhere behind you. “What does he look like? He must be handsome. As handsome as me?”

You snort, covering your face with your hand at the sound. You pick up your wine glass and drain it. “Yeah, as handsome as you.” You murmured. “He’s a metalhead. So his hair is long, curly and brown. He has tattoos and I swear he is attached to his leather jacket and battle vest.”

“Battle vest?”

“It’s a denim vest with a bunch of band patches and pins.” You shrug, “He has a Dio patch on the back of it.”

“Does he usually wear a chain attached to his beat up jeans?”

You almost choke on your own spit as you look at Michael. “I-”

Michael’s eyes move from you and over to someone behind you.

“Sorry to interrupt!”

A chair scrapes against the floor as a ring covered hand moves it into place beside you at the table. The lanky form of Eddie Munson falls into the chair, always too loud and always without a care in the world. Eddie picked up a spoon, taking a spoonful of the chocolate cake on the table and popping it into his mouth.

“Nice to meet you, Eddie.” Michael spoke and Eddie glanced at him.

“Guy I don’t know.” Eddie answered, eating another spoonful of chocolate cake.

You sat there, watching Eddie like he was some figment of your imagination as Michael dropped a few bills onto the table. You closed your eyes, dread tugging at you. “Oh, my god.” You whisper as you try to slump down into your seat to be hidden.

“He’s been watching us since we got here.” Michael pointed behind you.

You turned to look back and right at the bar sat his precious leather jacket and vest draped around the back of a bar stool. You looked back at Michael who smiled sadly.

“I had a great time. Even with him glaring at me from across the room. With how hard he was glaring I had to figure he meant something to you.” He shrugged his shoulders, “You’ve got your own thing going on. And again, I had a good time. I’ll see you at the diner, Y/N.” Michael stood from his chair and reached for your hand, kissing your knuckles briefly.

“Paws off, Romeo.” Eddie’s icy voice cut through, umber eyes no longer focused on the treat in front of him but instead on Michael. He was pulling one of his mean faces. The ones he did in high school to keep people away.

“Have a good night you two.” Michael dropped your hand and headed for the door.

“This is some good cake. Fancy place. Drinks were fuckin expensive.” Eddie mumbled as he took a spoonful of chocolate cake and held it to your lips.

You ignored the offered treat, eyes rolling over to Eddie. “Edward Munson, I am going to skin you alive.” You hissed, smacking the spoon away from your face sending it clattering to the floor. You pushed out of your chair and stomped off towards the door, heels clacking loudly against the floor as people whispered and stared after you.

—-----------------------------------------------------

Eddie ignored the eyes watching him as he shoved his chair back. “Sorry, sorry.” He mumbled as he picked up the spoon and returned it to the table before quickly bounding after you in an attempt to catch up. His hand snagged his leather jacket and battle vest off the back of the bar stool before he hit the brisk air outside. His head whipped around, finding you easily as you stomped your way down the street. Right towards his van. So Eddie ran. With his lanky legs he caught up to you in no time. The first thing he took in was the goosebumps spread over your arms and without a second thought he draped his jacket over your shoulders. A grunt left him as your hand collided with his tummy in retaliation. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N. Can we please talk?” Eddie asked, moving to match your stride beside you.

“No.” Came your icy reply.

Eddie huffed gently. “I’m trying to apologize! Please, just give me five minutes!”

“You have one.”

“One?!” Eddie supposed after how he made you feel he only deserved one minute of your time. His time was ticking though, so he did the first thing he could think of. The thing he had been craving for days now. Just as you walked past the van Eddie’s hands settled on your shoulders. What muscles he did have he used to back you up towards the van and push you against it gently, one hand leaving to cushion the back of your head as he pressed you against the metal. His lips met yours quickly.

—-------------------------------------------------------

You only wanted to give him one minute of your time. You were pissed. You just had a perfectly good date ruined with probably no chance of another one because of Eddie. What was he going to do? Follow you around so no one could ask you out? Was he feeling possessive over you or something? You expected Eddie to say something. Anything. Instead, you felt his hands on you. You stumbled as he moved you back. A small gasp left you when your back hit something solid but your head gently knocked against Eddie’s hand. Then his lips were on yours. You froze. You knew Eddie well enough to know he wasn’t mocking you or anything. He wasn’t the type. So, you kissed him back. You whimpered against his lips as he pressed his full body against you. Shielding you from the cool evening air as his lips moved with yours. Your hands lingered on his tummy, unsure what to do with them. You had a few ideas but then you remembered that you were upset. You didn’t want to forgive Eddie so easily. So you pulled away. Eddie whined, surging forward trying to find your lips again. Your hand moved up to block him. His eyes watched you, opting to press kisses against your fingers instead. “Take me home.” You breathed, moving your hand from his mouth. He nodded his head and stepped back before going for the passenger side door. He unlocked it and opened it up for you. You moved to the door and carefully climbed inside, being careful of your heels. 

The drive to the apartment was dead silent. Hell, even Eddie’s music wasn’t playing which was odd for him. The silence continued consistently as you both got out of the van, headed up to the apartment and got yourselves inside. You immediately moved to your bedroom, leaving the door open behind you. You carefully took your heels off and tossed them into the closet before peeling the dress off of your body. You were painfully aware of Eddie’s presence as he stood in the doorway and watched you. You could feel his eyes everywhere. Most likely eyeing the lacey underwear and bra you had put on in an attempt to feel sexier. There had been no intention of Michael seeing them, really. If it had happened, it would have but you hadn’t planned on it. When you looked up though you could see the hardness in Eddie’s eyes as he probably figured the lace had been for another man and not him. You shook your head at him and moved to your dresser instead. You dug around, pulling out a pair of cotton panties, a large t-shirt and a pair of shorts before moving to the bathroom. Eddie followed you like a puppy. You started your night time routine, what you could do without your things there since they were at Steve’s but when you opened the medicine cabinet you paused seeing your things back in the spots they usually sat in on your shelf. You glanced back at Eddie who had moved into the bathroom with you. Steve. You huffed. “Steve told you where I was.” You stated it. You didn’t ask. You shut the medicine cabinet after grabbing a makeup wipe and saw Eddie watching you through the mirror. He shrugged.

“Yeah. I brought your stuff home.” He murmured, stepping closer to you.

You began wiping off the makeup from your face wondering how long Eddie had been watching you that night. Did he make his way there after Steve’s? Had he been there the entire date? No, surely you would have seen him. As you wiped away the makeup from your face you felt Eddie begin to remove some bobby pins from your hair that Robin had shoved in there to gently style it. Once his task was done you heard him turn on the shower. He was used to this. Your night routine. You would take off your makeup, shower, finish your skin care, put your glasses on and get comfortable for the night. There was more to it than that but it usually happened in the privacy of your room so you doubt he knew that one. With your makeup off, you quickly washed your face at the sink before stripping off your bra and panties. You tossed them to the floor and climbed into the shower. It was a perfect temperature. 

What you hadn’t expected was for the shower curtain to open a minute later. You shut your eyes and sighed quietly as the hot water washed over you. Then you felt his hands on your waist. Those hands snaked around your body as he wrapped his arms around you and pressed himself against your back. You felt every inch of his naked form against you and for a second your brain short circuited. But you were still angry. You wanted him to know that, so you didn’t move. Instead you picked up your shampoo to wash the styling product out of it, nudging away from Eddie so you could do so without getting shampoo in his face. You watched his arm reach forward to grab his own shampoo. The one you insisted on for his curls, so he could wash his hair too. You both silently showered with one another. It was only when you had to turn to rinse your hair that you looked at him. He was massaging his shampoo into his scalp as you had taught him to do. Your eyes moved along his body, taking note of the muscle definition he had now that he worked lifting heavy shit all the time. You also let your eyes run to a forbidden part of Eddie. A part you’d thought about a few times but had quickly shuffled from your mind. Despite having done nothing he was half hard already and you swallowed hard trying not to think of how he would look fully erect. He was longer than you had gauged from the outline under clothing and from what you could tell he hung slightly to his right. You tore your eyes away, finding his eyes watching you. 

“Don’t worry. I looked too.” He murmured, grasping your waist to switch places with you under the water. Eddie insisted on washing you. You had rolled your eyes but he reassured you there was no ulterior motive. So you let him. He was gentle as he caressed your skin following the loofa, spreading the scented body wash over your body. He remained respectful as he washed you, taking the time to rinse you off too. So you returned the favor. You grasped the loofa from him and began to scrub his body down in return. With you both washed he stepped out first and wrapped a towel around his waist before handing you your towel. You took your time drying your body and your hair before pulling on your panties then the shorts. As you reached for your t-shirt though Eddie took it from you. He reached down, retrieving the one he had been wearing before and lifted it over your head. You shimmied his shirt on, turning to the mirror to take out your contact and start your skin care as you were surrounded by Eddie’s scent. Cigarettes, weed he probably smoked earlier and Old Spice. Eddie dried himself off beside you before adding the product you got him for his hair then left the bathroom, presumably for clothes. With your skin care done you shoved all the discarded clothes into the laundry basket and left the bathroom to return to your bedroom. When you walked in you stopped. Eddie was there. You presumed he’d go to his room and attempt to talk to you in the morning. Instead, he was lighting one of your candles on your bedside table, a glass of water sitting there. Your TV was on, stuck on a movie menu. Your pillows were fluffed and arranged how you liked them, with your stuffed bear waiting for you as well. Your eyebrows pinched as you watched Eddie, wondering what his plan was. Either way, you climbed into your bed and turned out the lamp. You laid the bear in your lap, picking up the water to sip on it as the bed dipped with Eddie’s weight as he climbed in beside you. He started the movie and settled back beside you with a small sigh. Somehow, he knew this routine. Water, cuddling your bear and putting something on to fall asleep to. Perhaps he’d seen you do it before. 

So the two of you laid there, watching a movie like the past few days hadn’t happened. Hell, this didn’t happen. Normally you watched movies together in the comfort of the living room. Not in the privacy of your bedroom. Yet, here you were. Halfway through the movie, your eyes began to droop as sleep tugged at them. You felt the bear being tugged from your grasp and whined softly, turning onto your side and fully laying down as the room was cast into further darkness once the candle was out and the tv was off. Eddie shuffled closer to you and you opened your eyes. He reached out, gently taking your glasses from your face and setting them on the bedside table. Eddie moved closer until your legs were tangled together and his arm was thrown over your waist. You pressed closer, hand on his chest and watched him.

“I ruined it.” He mumbled quietly. “You didn’t ruin shit. I ruined it. Me. And I made it worse by making you feel bad about yourself. I was afraid. Afraid of losing you.” He whispered his words, but to you it sounded as clear as if he was talking at his normal volume. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long and I thought I had gotten past my undying crush on you and then you kissed me. It just made me crave you like I had before. I convinced myself I was better as your friend than a boyfriend. But when Steve told me you had a date I just- I fucking lost it, sweets.” He swallowed hard and pulled you tighter against him. “I’m so sorry I did that to you. I was a complete douchebag.”

“You were.” You murmured and Eddie nodded gently. You leaned in and gently kissed his lips, pulling away before he could pull more from you. “You were a complete douchebag. And I am still mad at you. But you have to give me time, Eddie. Thank you for apologizing. One day at a time, yeah?”

Eddie nodded gently. “One day at a time.” He murmured in agreement. You closed your eyes, feeling the sleep tugging at you harder. It was silent for a beat. “Can I still get kisses though?” You breathed a laugh at his request.

“Yeah, you can still get kisses. Asshole.” You mumbled, feeling his lips eagerly press against yours.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” He murmured against your lips between lazy kisses.

“Goodnight, dingus.”

—-------------------------------------------------------

It took time. It took you a while to forgive Eddie fully but he had worked every day towards that forgiveness. The morning after his apology, it almost felt like things were the same. Things did change though. Eddie stole kisses every chance he could from you. He was like a man in a desert who just found water. The other change was that you never went to bed alone anymore. More often than not Eddie was in your bed. Sometimes you ended up in his but he claimed yours was better because it was bigger. Before you knew it his things began mixing with yours until one day you found him fully moving into your room. Now a room for the both of you. From there he started introducing you as his girlfriend. He never asked you but when you questioned him about it he claimed he didn’t know he had to before dramatically dropping to his knees and asking you to be his girlfriend in the middle of a busy street. You tugged him to his feet, reassuring him that your answer was yes and to stop causing a scene. His response was to dip you and kiss you like he’d never kissed you before. Eddie never needed confirmation he was forgiven. He figured it out as your relationship grew and changed together. Now every night he laid in bed with you, holding you in comfort knowing you were his and he was yours.

[imagines-all-day-everyday]

bat outta hell

chapter one: eddie munson always knew he was metal. or at least that's what he thought until he ends up in an alternate dimension fighting satanic bats and a certain hawkins sweetheart comes to his rescue.

warnings: swearing, s 4 spoilers, fluffffff <3

Notes: as if this is my first eddie fic omg.

Series Masterlist

Eddie Munson was metal.

He was the leader of the Hellfire Club, he played in a hardcore band, he had some sweet tatties. Yeah, he thought he was pretty darn metal if he said so himself.

That was until he watched two ladies jump headfirst into a freezing lake after Steve "the hair" Harrington without hesitation. Until he found himself surrounded by what he could only describe as bat-like creatures that seemed hellbent on eating the four teenagers alive.

"God damn it shit." He shrieked as he swung the oar clumsily at one of the creatures, the wood snapping clean in half as it made contact.

"Come on you son of a bitch!" He shouted as he held the broken oar up, his eyes glued to the sky as the bats continued to circle.

"Eddie watch out!"

Eddie turned just in time to see a flap of wings and sharp teeth gnashing and all he could do was squeeze his eyes shut as he prepared for the inevitable pain he was about to endure.

But it never came. Instead, an anguished squeal reached his ears followed by a slick thud as something hit the ground in front of him. He peaked an eye open to see the creature that was about to cause his demise lying dead at his feet, an arrow protruding from its chest.

Eddie stumbled back, his eyes wide as he watched arrows sail through the air, the red lightning illuminating them as they each found their targets with deadly precision.

Eddie's eyes darted from the sky in time to see another bat aiming for Steve, who was completely defenceless as he tried to get up onto his feet.

"Duck!" An unfamiliar voice called out.

Steve ducked instantly, just in time as an arrow wizzed over his head and lodged into the left wing of the bat, pinning it to the ground.

Eddie whirled around in time to see a figure run past him towards Steve. A baseball bat rose up into the air, metal encased fingers glinted back at him as they brought the bat down with full force. A squelching noise intermingled with the whining of the creature rung out.

Then, silence.

"Steve! Are you ok?" Nancy was at Steve's side in a second as the stranger extended a hand to help him up. Steve barely even registered Nancy's voice as he stared up at his saviour, his eyes wide as her soft hand enveloped his and tugged him up.

"Jesus H Christ!" Eddie shrieked, his chest heaving as he threw down the broken oar, his eyes scanning the sky. The sound of a soft chuckle made Eddie turn around once more to see that the anonymous stranger had finally turned around to face him.

His lips parted in surprise at the sight of a girl about their age, staring back at him. Her hair matted and down to her shoulders, dirt and grime smeared all over her face and body, with a backpack slung over one shoulder and a bow over the other.

They locked eyes as she slung the bat up to rest on the back of her shoulder blades, the end of it glistening in the blood of the bat creature. Ringed fingers curled around the handle tightly as an amused smirk remained on her features.

A spark of recognition coursed through him as he studied her face. She looked so achingly familiar but he just couldn't place it, he knew her, somehow.

All eyes were on her, wide and in shock, Steve, Robin, Eddie and Nancy's chests heaving up and down at an uneven rate as they combed every inch of her body. They all mentally reached the same conclusion. They'd been saved by a badass.

"*yn*?"

Their saviour turned to face Nancy at the sound of the name.

Then it clicked for Eddie. *yn*, as in *yn* *yln*. The editor of the school newspaper, captain of the volleyball team, on track for class valedictorian, all round Hawkins sweetheart.

He'd heard her name mentioned a few times in the hallways of Hawkins High but never bothered to really put a name to a face. He'd had more important things to do, like run Hellfire Club.

But now as he stared at her in awe, Eddie wondered why the hell he had never taken the time to notice her before.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing Wheeler." *yn* answered, brows raised in surprise.

"How did you-"

"Listen, while I would love to have a little catch up, there are a lot more of our little friends on their way so I strongly suggest we find cover."

"I'm sure we can take them." Steve answered her.

Nancy opened her mouth to also protest when a screech in the distance made all five teenagers jerk their heads around. Eddie froze when a black swarm of bats rose up through the red clouds, rising over the top of them and approaching fast. There must have been hundreds, if not thousands.

"I recommend the woods, personally." *yn* breathed out as her grip on the bat tightened.

"I endorse that recommendation, yep." Robin nodded her head frantically.

"Woods sound like a sweeeet idea to me." Eddie murmured.

"Good." *yn* nodded calmly. "Then let's go."

Eddie watched as she took off in the direction of the woods without as much as a second glance behind her. It was as if they didn't have demonic bat creatures hot on their heels, like she was just off for a morning jog before heading to school.

Yeah outside D&D, Eddie Munson was not metal.

*yn* *yln* though? Yeah. She was fucking metal.

-------------------

*yn* tried to catch her breath as she watched the bats fly overhead, having thrown them off their scent in the thick undergrowth. Her body was aching and her lungs were screaming as she pressed her back against the cool rock surface. She could feel Eddie Munson's hair brushing against her shoulder every so often as the five huddled together under Skull Rock.

The eternal senior, the leader of the Hellfire Club, band member of Corroded Coffin, part time drug dealer and full time social outcast. The self titled freak. Eddie "the freak" Munson's reputation proceeded him. Even if you lived under a rock like this one, you knew the name Eddie Munson.

However, *yn* had never paid much attention to him, she was far too busy to worry about some drop kick, too focused on getting into her dream college. She definitely never thought that she'd save his life and then be squeezed in next to him while they hid from alter-dimensional bats.

"Ok, I think we're good." Robin breathed out after a few moments as she slowly crept out from their hiding spot.

"We should be ok for a while now, it takes a lot to get their attention." *yn* explained as they all rose to their feet.

"Steve?" Everyone turned to see Steve slumped against the side of the cave, gripping his abdomen tightly.

"I'm fine." He squeaked out, wincing as he slid down to the ground.

"No, no, no. No you're not, you're losing blood." Nancy panicked as she crouched down in front of him, examining his wounds.

"Here, I've got bandages and antiseptic." *yn* spoke as she dumped her backpack on the ground.

Eddie peered over her shoulder to see the bag was full of supplies: arrows, bandages, water, food.

"Woah. You are fully stocked." He observed as she pulled out a roll of bandages and ointment.

"I have more back at my camp, not sure how much good it will do us though." She sighed as she handed the supplies to Nancy who quickly thanked her before beginning to dress Steve's wounds.

"Do you guys think these bats have rabies?" Robin murmured as she studied Steve's injuries.

"Cause like getting rabies is my number one fear and I really don't think I could handle it if Steve got rabies and went feral and all that stuff." Robin continued as *yn* took a seat and pulled out more bandages.

"I think we are in the clear for rabies, unless I've been foaming at the mouth and you guys haven't informed me." *yn* joked lightly as she patted her leg just underneath where her denim shorts ended, drawing everyones attention to the blood stained bandage wrapped around her thigh.

"Shitheads took a good sized chunk of me when I first got here."

"How long have you been here exactly?" Nancy queried.

"Well, I went to go check out the sight of Fred's murder the day after it happened and that was..." *yn* trailed off, her brow furrowing as she tried to piece together how long it had been. That was when she realised that she didn't have an answer. There was no day or night wherever they were, she had no way of telling how much time had passed.

"Three days ago." Robin interjected causing *yn*'s brow to raise.

"I've been in this shithole for three days?" *yn* let out a low whistle. "Thank god my parents are away or I would have been so grounded."

"You are scarily calm for someone who has been trapped in another dimension for three whole days." Robin observed as *yn* peeled off the blood soaked bandage.

"I'm good at compartmentalising." *yn* shrugged, "I'm sure once we get out of here I'll be in intensive therapy for the rest of my life but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Eddie studied her in disbelief, both simultaneously confused and incredibly impressed at just how calm she was being. It made him feel rather stupid about his several tantrums and freak outs since they'd gotten here.

"How the hell did you get here anyway?" Steve asked, wincing as Nancy applied some antiseptic to his wounds.

"Well after Fred got murdered I went to check out the site, see what I could find out. I thought the whole thing was strange, especially when my best reporter who'd been with Fred the day he died didn't show up for work, y'know?" *yn* explained, nodding her head towards Nancy.

"And that was when I saw this weird hole that was moving, like it was alive almost. Anyway, obviously I had to see what was on the other side and then-" *yn* gestured around. "Here I was. And I thought not only had I found the best front page story that Hawkins has ever seen but my god would this be a great story for my college application letters. I thought I couldn't be more lucky." She chuckled humourously, shaking her head at just how wrong she had been.

"But then you got stuck..." Robin murmured to which *yn* nodded as she gritted her teeth and pulled the fresh gauze tightly around her thigh.

"Yep, those little vermin guard that gate like their lives depend on it. But hey," She shrugged as she finished securing the bandage, "now you're all here maybe we've actually got a shot at getting out of here."

With that she rose to her feet and dusted herself off, surveying her surroundings with a determined glint in her eye. Eddie took this opportunity to scale a rock, his mind racing as he took in the dreary environment.

Robin wondered back over to Steve and Nancy, her eyes wide as she studied *yn*.

"Who'd have thought *yn* *yln* would be such a badass?" Robin whispered to them.

"Yeah..." Steve trailed off, his eyes glued to *yn*'s imposing stance in awe as he replied. "You'd think we'd be used to the unexpected by now, huh?" Steve continued before grimacing as Nancy unexpectedly pulled the cloth tighter, grating against his open wound.

"So uh, this place is like Hawkins but with monsters and nasty shit?" Eddie asked, glancing down at the others.

"Pretty much, yeah." Nancy nodded, getting up once Steve's wound was dressed. "Watch out for the vines." She warned as Eddie went to step down from the boulder. "It's all a hive mind."

"A what?"

"All the creepy crawlies around here dude." Steve chimed in. "They're all like one or something, you step on a vine you're stepping on a bat, you're stepping on Vecna."

"Who or what is a Vecna?" *yn* butted in, her brow creased as she glanced around the group.

"Oh boy." Eddie let out a low whistle. "Do you have a lot to catch up on sweetheart."

"What am I missing? Did you guys know about this place before?" *yn* asked, her eyes narrowing as she studied Nancy's face. "Have you been holding out on me Wheeler? This could be the story of the century!"

"Ok look I promise I'll tell you everything, but right now we've got to figure out how to get out of here." Nancy responded.

*yn* bit her tongue, forcing down the onslaught of interrogative questions she had waiting in her arsenal. "Fine." She nodded, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she racked her brains for a solution.

"Well I haven't dared to venture far from the woods while I've been here, just a few houses on the outskirts to get supplies." *yn* explained. "But if everything is the same in this version of Hawkins, theoretically we can go to the police station or something and grab more weapons to take on those bats guarding the way out of here."

"Oooh, grenades!" Robin exclaimed.

"I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades Robin but guns, sure." Steve nodded.

"Well we don't have to go all the way down town for guns. I have guns, in my bedroom." Nancy revealed.

"You." Eddie began as he jumped off the boulder. "Nancy Wheeler, have guns. Plural. In your bedroom?"

"Full of surprises isn't she?" Robin beamed.

"I don't know what's more surprising, that revelation or that the valedictorian can take down monsters with a bow and arrow." Eddie responded, an amused smirk on his lips as he glanced at *yn*.

*yn* quirked a brow up at his words, opening her mouth to retort back when the ground suddenly shook from underneath them, loud bangs echoed all around them.

*yn* stumbled, her back smashing into Eddie's front as they toppled over. Eddie was quick to react, ensnaring her in his arms to shield her from the fall as they fell backwards. He gripped onto her tightly, his ringed fingers digging into her side as he covered her body with his as rocks fell around them.

Almost as quickly as the earthquake began, it ended. As the ground stilled and *yn* and Eddie sat up, the loud bellow of an unseen monster rung out from afar. It was enough to make the hairs on their body stand on end.

Chills ran through *yn*'s body at the sound. She knew they were all thinking the same thing. No one wanted to stick around long enough to find out what made that sound.

"Uh, so guns sound like a good idea to me." Eddie swallowed.

"Yeah, me too." Robin breathed out.

It was then that *yn* realised that one of Eddie's arms was still looped protectively around her waist. His fingers pressed firmly into her skin as he held her against him. She swallowed thickly as she studied him, this was the first time she had been this close to him, to really take time to appreciate his features. Then his big brown eyes were on her too and *yn* felt her composure wobble ever so slightly.

In that moment *yn* wondered why the hell she had never taken the time to notice him before.

"So what are we waiting for?" Steve spoke up, his eyes darting between Eddie and *yn*.

Steve's voice caused *yn* to tear her gaze from Eddie and scramble to her feet. "Lead the way."

-------------------------

"So I'm going to take a wild guess that you didn't actually kill Chrissie Cunningham?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" *yn* continued, mild panic sweeping over her when she saw the look that crossed Eddie's face at the mention of the cheerleader.

"No no it's ok." Eddie waved his hand dismissively as he recouped his emotions. "I was there when it happened, the cops are right about that, but I didn't kill her."

"I'm sorry." *yn* repeated, "that must have been awful."

"Yeah it wasn't the greatest experience of all time. Might have to join you in that lifelong intensive therapy you were talking about." Eddie's words made a wry smile appear on her features as she gripped the strap of her backpack.

"I'm sorry about Fred too, I know he worked on the paper with you." Eddie continued.

"It's ok, we weren't that close." *yn* let out a small sigh at the thought of the shy boy.

The pair fell into silence as they continued to treck through the woods. Eddie swallowed as his eyes darted to *yn*'s face, studying her for a few moments before looking back ahead of him.

"You still play in Corroded Coffin?"

Her question made Eddie come to a sudden stop, his eyes lighting up at the mention of his bands name.

"Hell yeah I do." A disbelieving smile spread across his lips as he stared down at her. "I'm surprised you've heard of us."

"Of course I have." *yn* laughed. "I wrote a review of you guys for the paper... sophomore year I think."

Eddie racked his brain for a few moments, searching through his memories for one involving an article about his band.

"Oh shit yeah!" He exclaimed, his grin widening as it hit him. "About our set at the Spring Carnival. You gave us a rave review."

His words made *yn* tilt her head back and let out a laugh, one that made his heart flutter slightly. "I don't know if I'd call it a rave review" She answered as the pair began to walk again, "I think I said that while you were no Metallica, you were pretty damn good for a Hawkins bread band."

"You know Metallica?" Eddie queried, the backhanded compliment going completely in one ear and out the other as he stared at her.

A confused expression crossed her features as she looked at him, "doesn't everyone?"

Eddie had to withhold a squeak of excitement, calming himself down by inhaling deeply as he walked instep beside her.

"No they definitely do not." Was all he mumbled in reply, his head swimming with thoughts as they followed after the others.

"Listen, I still haven't had the chance to say thank you for saving our asses before." He spoke up after a few minutes of silence had passed.

"I mean that was a real Ozzie move you pulled back there."

It was only when he said it that he realised *yn* probably didn't have a clue what or who he was talking about. He opened his mouth to explain when her soft chuckle cut him off.

"I don't know if I'd go as far as biting a bats head off, but thank you."

She got the reference. This had to be some sort of mistake. A cruel, sick joke that the universe was playing on him.

"Well it was very metal of you, that's all I'm saying. Totally badass." His compliment made a small blush appear on her cheeks.

"Maybe my new nickname can be the Princess of Darkness." She grinned, her words almost making Eddie stop in his tracks again.

Another Ozzy reference. Had he died and gone to heaven?

"You like Black Sabbath?" This was a test. He couldn't get ahead of himself just yet, he had to be sure.

"They're no Led Zepplin or Deep Purple but yeah, they're cool." *yn* nodded.

Eddie thought he might pass out.

*yn* *yln*, the smartest girl in school and was probably, no, definitely was the prettiest girl in school, liked metal music. Liked his band. Was a bow and arrow using, baseball bat wielding, monster slaying badass.

Eddie had never believed in any of that soulmate crap before, but holy shit, maybe he needed to rethink that. Actually, maybe he needed to rethink everything he'd ever squirrelled away in his own personal Munson doctrine. Because right now, he was pretty convinced that he was staring down at someone who had been crafted right out of his own personal fantasies.

She smirked and raised a brow when she noted the stunned look on his features, "people like me can like metal too, y'know."

Her voice made Eddie break out of his thoughts, panic overwhelming him as he scrambled for something to say.

"It's not just reserved for self proclaimed freaks." She continued, enjoying seeing him squirm under her gaze.

"Uh shit yeah no of course I just-" Eddie began to ramble, running a hand through his unruly hair as he tried to think of a way to pull himself out of the grave he'd just dug.

"Hey *yn*! I'm bored, come here so I can catch you up on everything Vecna and Upside Down to pass the time." Robin called out from ahead of them.

Eddie had never been so grateful for Robin Buckley and her inability to stop talking.

"Saved by the bell." *yn* teased him.

"Yeah coming!" *yn* called back to Robin before glancing up at Eddie once more.

"Here." She extended the baseball bat out for him to grab. He studied her momentarily before cautiously taking the bat from her, a quizzical expression on his features.

"To replace your oar." She explained as she let go of the handle.

"Try not to break this one." She smirked, before jogging to catch up with Robin.

"I won't oh great princess of darkness!" He called out to her. The use of the nickname caused her to let out a laugh and turn around just in time to watch him bow dramatically, his mop of curls sweeping against the floor.

"I'll protect it with my life." He shot her a huge grin as he rose up with a sweep of his hands.

"I'll hold you to that Munson." She grinned, sending him a wink before turning around once more.

Eddie let the bat drop to his side, bringing up a clenched fist to his mouth to stifle the low and pining whine he let out as he watched her go.

"Jesus H Christ." He breathed out as he brought his other hand up to clutch over his heart dramatically.

"Marry me, *yn* *yln*."

chapter two

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I've really been on fire lately I have to say because I fucking love this fic so much. Potentially one of my favourites of all time, big call I know but!!! I just love writing for Eddie he's such a great character!!! Also feel like there could be a part 2 potentially or a stand alone fic so love that. As always, feedback would be super super appreciated and you can give it back HERE!