#cycling jersey city

[lazycats-stuff]

The New Heir - Prologue

Alright, the awaited multichapter, actual plot series! I'm excited, feedback will be greatly appreciated, don't hold back. I don't know how many chapters there will be, so everyone, including me, will be taken for a ride. It's also Batfam & male!reader, so I'm excited! There are also OCs here, so if you don't like them you can stop here. Also, first time making this aesthetic Warnings: child birth, hints towards a backstory, hints towards the potential father,

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9

20.5.2011.

The state of New Jersey, Gotham City. It was the dead of night and screams ripped the usually quiet halls of the hospital. It all came from the maternity ward, where Natalia Rose Callahan was giving birth. This baby wasn't an easy one and it seemed like it didn't want to leave the Natalia's womb. The baby seemed quite content to stay there forever, seemingly knowing that the world was a cruel place.

Natalia was alone, the only company nurses and doctors, who were making sure that the baby coming out of her was healthy. There wasn't anyone outside of the room for Natalia. Natalia was in a world of pain, but she was used to it. For the last 20 years of her life, pain and healing was all she was doing.

She was the bringer of pain and death and yet, she was giving birth to a new life.

How ironic.

Her head was swimming, not a single coherent thought inside, only get this baby out now and my God help me. She let out another scream and she let her head fall down onto the pillow. Her sweaty hair was stuck to her forehead, evidence of the fight she is going through. She was going to get through this, she did go through this before, but she was put under.

Maybe she should have opted for a C-section too. Or an epidural. But not this.

She heard the doctor tell her, just one more final push. She took a deep breath through her teeth and when she felt a contraction she pushed, nurses holding onto her hand, helping her through this with soothing and encouraging words.

Natalia Rose Callahan closed her eyes as she heard a baby's cry. She heard shuffling and the doctor was telling her about the placenta and the umbilical cord, but she didn't care at this point.

She just wanted to hold her son. She heard him somewhere else in the room, crying and then silence.

Would he turn out like his father? Would he be ruthless as his father? Merciless? Sadistic? Evil?

She barely opened her eyes. It felt like her eyes were taped shut and she was fighting against it. She smiled as she took her son into her hands. She cried as the nurse helped her place her infant son on her bare chest, the baby calming down instantly.

Natalia cried for a long while. Some were happy tears and some were tears of sadness. Her son was finally here, in her arms, thousands miles away from her old life and back in the place where he belongs.

But at the same time she wondered how did she allow him to get her pregnant once more. Did she love him? More than anything. And she knew, that deep down, he loved her too. But was that the life for her son? A life of pain? A life of destruction?

A life full of grooming to take over?

Only purpose to be an heir?

When Natalia stopped crying, she looked down at her son. He opened his dark blue eyes and Natalia knew that she was going to break the cycle. One way or another.

Her son wasn't going to be born into her old life. When she gets out of the hospital, her son will step into the new life. And with his step into a new life, she will shed her old self, like a snake.

She will adapt. She was surviving before, but she won't anymore. She will live. She will do whatever it takes to protect her son. He won't live in fear.

She won't let it happen.

" Do you have a name mom? " The nurse asked as she came in to see how the duo was doing.

" Elias Spencer Callahan. " Natalia said, smiling down at her son.

" Such a beautiful name mom. But I'm afraid that I have to take little Elias. " The nurse said as she wrote the full name down.

Natalia nodded and with a last kiss, she handed her son over. The nurse cooed at Elias, putting him into the special crib, just near her.

" Rest up mom. You will need it. " The nurse said with a smile, leaving the room.

Natalia closed her eyes, ready to fall asleep, but woke up when she heard the door opening.

" Hello Aseel. " Natalia said tiredly, smiling at the old friend.

Aseel chuckled, walking towards the bed, giving her a kiss on the forehead. He gripped her hand for a moment, before letting go. He walked up quietly to his nephew. Although not related, Natalia looked at Aseel as an older brother.

He looked down at the baby. The baby fell asleep. Aseel felt a tear fall down on his face. He wiped the tear away.

" What's his name? " Aseel asked, watching as the baby's face scrunched up a little bit.

" Elias Spencer Callahan. " Natalia said, turning her head to the side.

Aseel nodded, gently caressing the baby's face with his pointer finger. He washed his hands before this. Natalia could smell the scent of soap. Something... Floral?

" I can see that something is bothering you Aseel. What is it? " Natalia pressed, making Aseel sigh.

" He kind of looks like his father. "

" But he has my eyes. " Natalia said softly, making Aseel smile. She did have gorgeous blue eyes.

" I don't doubt it. I took care of everything. You and little Elias are going to be fine. " Aseel said, moving back to Natalia. He took a chair and sat down next to the bed.

" Something else is bothering you. " Natalia said, closing her eyes for a moment.

" I love my unofficial nephew, but... Was it wise to have him? You gave the bastard an heir. A male heir. " Aseel said, jaw clenching at the thought of Elias' father.

" The baby isn't at fault. And he never will. He didn't ask for this. And I will do whatever it takes to make sure that he is safe. " Natalia said, clenching her fists.

" Does that include that you will teach him how to fight? "

" Yes. But it will be more fun. "

Aseel snorted quietly, rubbing his eyes.

" You should sleep Nat. You look almost dead. " Aseel joked, standing up from the chair.

" I will don't worry. "

" I will go to your apartment to get it ready. "

" Thank you Aseel. For protecting us and for helping me. " Natalia said, finally falling asleep.

" Always my sister. Dayiman akhti. " Aseel said, giving her a kiss to the forehead. He walked over quietly to the little baby. Elias was so untouched by the world and its cruelty.

" And I will always protect you. " Aseel whispered softly. Aseel chuckled quietly after a funny thought. The kid is going to have a year round tan. And very good skin complexion.

But there was something else that entered Aseel's mind. The sheer protective feelings and a feeling he thought he would never feel. Paternal love. This baby, this boy was going to be loved so much.

Elias Spencer Callahan was going to be okay. Aseel al-Dawood swore to whatever deity was listening.

Translations: Dayiman akhti - Always my sister

[stawpny]

more ny/ca hc’s, as another treat for you heathens

- I feel like Yorks that type of guy who would give cal his umbrella like if it was pouring in NYC, since I’ve heard it doesn’t rain in California. He would just stand there, watching Cal be obsessed with this city while he’s fucking drenched, but who cares? If Cal’s happy then he’s mildly content. He’s a wet angry cat in NYC.

-New York used to sit in the Northeast area between Mass and Jersey, but ever since he’s fell in love with the golden boy, he sits right next to him. He had to kick Oregon out of the seat though, and also forced everyone to move over a chair. Cal was clueless.

-York loves sitting ontop of skyscrapers in NYC. He finds it calm and peaceful up there. Cal, not so much. He just usually plays with the pigeons that nest up there to calm his nerves.

-I deadass believe York feeds the pigeons, and when they all flock up around him, eating all of the food, he just snatches one and adds it to his collection. Rats too.

-this adorable mf can only sleep with Cal by his side or he will panic and stay up the whole night. He needs his glowing golden boy, his nightlight 😭.

-Cal calls York when he misses him, and york always answers to reassure him that he could live without him. Cal gets upset and says it’s not true, hangs up the phone out of anger, then totally forget about the situation and call him back to say he misses him again. Cycle repeats.

-York smiles every time Cal does something stupid. Not a smirk, nor a grin, a full blown smile, which is weird for him. Don’t tell York that Cal sometimes does it on purpose to make his partner smile and laugh.

-(not CA/NY) I swear Gov has a board for each and everyone of the states that have OLD pictures of them and adds the most recent one and the oldest one. He changes it every time they get a new look.

-California is a helicopter mom. New Yorks like that dad who is there for you but doesn’t give a shit what you do outside. He might even join you.

Songs I think represent this ship:

Somethin’ Stupid by Frank Sinatra (Both)

Delicate by Taylor Swift (both)

From the Start by Laufey (CA pov)

Hell N Back by Bakar (I can’t decide)

VALENTINE BY LAUFEY (THIS ONE) (NY pov cause he’s new to this kinda stuff)

Paper Rings by Taylor Swift (CA POV)

Mastermind by Taylor Swift (NY POV)

Wonderland by Taylor Swift (both maybe)

Maroon/Paris also by Taylor Swift (I don’t know honestly 😭)

—

they’re so silly

I had to stop with the songs there or I would start connecting songs to them even if it was only one lyric that sounded like them in that song

im sick rn.

I was forced to take a covid test and I now have Covid?? I dunno the test expired in February 😭

anyways, I hope u liked them

ILY byeee!!

[tkachukz]

How is Matthew Tkachuk as a boyfriend

-Matthew is an extremely competitive person, so since you agreed to be his girlfriend, he works hard to be the best boyfriend in the world

-That means he's always researching things to do, bringing you gifts without special occasions, and planning dates in detail

-But he also loves spending the day with you cuddling on the couch watching a movie

-For dates, he likes to take you to fancy places, where you can dress up and he can watch you in a pretty dress

-He loves playing sports, and is always planning to play them with you

-You've already joined him in golf, tennis, cycling, mountain climbing and scuba diving

-He still intends to make you play hockey eventually, but for that he still needs to teach you how to skate

-And of course the game would only be between close friends so you don't get hurt

-He can be quite overprotective, but only because he cares about you a lot

-At parties and events, he likes to have one hand behind your back

-First because he knows that big events make you nervous

-And secondly, because he want to make sure that everyone knows that you are accompanied

-If any guy approaches you, he will loudly introduce himself as your boyfriend, maybe shake his hand or pull you closer

-But it won't take you out of the conversation if you want to stay

-He likes to be present at your side, but also he likes that you feel comfortable talking to whoever you want

-Things change if the guy tries to hit on you, makes a pass at you, or makes you uncomfortable

-Matt will put himself in the middle, pulling you behind him

-He prefers to resolve things by talking, intimidation, or simply getting you away from there

-But wouldn't mind punching someone if the situation called for it.

-He wouldn't let anyone hurt you

-When you are alone, he allows himself to show his most vulnerable side

-Matt has always felt very pressured into what people expect of him, and having you by his side, someone who loves him entirely for who he is, makes him immensely happy

-And he has no problem showing it

-He never hangs up a call, leaves the house, or goes to sleep without saying 'I love you'

-Little kisses on top of the head, holding your hand whenever you leave the house, opening and closing doors, offering your arm when you're in heels or needing to deal with stairs. Before you met, you didn't know he could be such a gentleman.

-You lost count of how many times you ended up with his suit over your shoulders at the end of parties because of the cold

-And he loves to see you wearing his clothes, be it a t-shirt or a coat, but mostly, his jerseys

-with his number and last name stamped very large

-When he is traveling, you can expect a call from him every night

-Sometimes it comes with a complete analysis of the game, a gossip about a teammate or something that happened in your day

-But sometimes it's just you looking at each other for a while, mumbling longing, and often sleeping listening to each other's laughter

-You've fallen asleep on too many phone calls while Matt had the camera on, because watching you so relaxed made him feel good

-When he comes back from his trip, he always brings a gift

-Often from the city he was in, some cap or teddy bear

-Or when he felt that no gift was good enough, he resorted to flowers

-Lilies, your favorites

-He loves watching you do everyday things

-Watches you out of the corner of his eye as you're getting ready to go out, doing your makeup and humming Taylor Swift

-He secretly likes the songs but likes to pretend they're not a big deal just to watch you take a deep breath and start a ten minute monologue explaining why Taylor is the music industry

-And you secretly know he likes the song, but you love talking about Taylor

-He is not very good at cooking, but he is always committed to helping you

-You tend to leave him with simpler tasks that don't involve fire

-Like cut vegetables or decorate cookies

-One day he surprised you with a wonderful mac and cheese

-You let out a sincere smile when you saw that he had looked up the video step by step on youtube

-And it was very good.

-He loves to give little love bites

-all affectionate

-And he doesn't mind when you call him a little pest or teddy bear

-Only when you're alone

-Matthew wants  to be the best boyfriend in the world and so far, you definitely have nothing to complain about

-He is doing a great job

[maccreadysbaby]

A Hundred Ways to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: small amounts of blood & gore

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

i’m actually excited about this extremely creepy supervillain chick i’ve just made

part seven

❝ THE SECRET KEEPER ❞

TUESDAY — AUGUST 4 — 11:00PM

THE SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL WAS JUST LIKE THE FIRST, EXCEPT DUKE DROVE THEM FROM THE MANOR. He walked Bentley in and around. Alfred had packed Bentley a lunch that day so he wouldn’t have to go through that dreaded line, and Duke taught him how to use the school microwave. 

First block, they learned about the water cycle. Which Bentley found interesting, because he found out that when it rained there wasn’t actually any new water coming down, it was all water that had already been on Earth, just recycled.

Asten and Nico were quieter — due to the classwork — but they still tried to include Bentley in their conversations. They talked about lots of things, from different rivers to the young woman that had gone missing the previous night. (Bentley knew about it because Tim had returned to the cave to do some research regarding it. Then Damian got in a screaming match with him, again, and Tim left before patrol.)

Second block was the same — sitting in the library and doing nothing. He didn’t mind it. He didn’t have any homework yet, but if he had, he would’ve done it in there.

In US Geography, they started by talking about the different regions of America — Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Northwest, and West. They had worksheet where they had to label a map of the states and color the regions. He enjoyed it, and he also learned that New Jersey, where they lived, was in the Mid-Atlantic. 

In Spanish, they learned about the origins of the language. Apparently, at first, it was a type of Latin that separated more over time. He thought it was cool that one language could turn into another. Asten talked to him, too, about when he lived in Brazil. (Mostly complaining about how America was so expensive and he’d rather starve to death than pay their exorbitant prices.)

All in all, school was good, just like it had been the day before. Nico and Asten walked out together, into the city for a bus stop, Bentley assumed. (He was just checking incase Nico needed a ride.) Bruce was happy to hear that Bentley had another nice day, and he made sure to tell him about the water cycle and the region they lived in.

The Manor was quiet when they got home. It wasn’t a surprise that no one was around, everyone had been avoiding the place since Damian fell into whatever rage filled funk he was currently in. Everyone but Dick, who showed up randomly. Bentley was starting to get worried. Because when Dick spoke to Damian, he usually drew more out of him than anyone else. But now, even the renowned Dick Grayson was getting curt one-word answers and words tinged with venom.

It was strange, given that Dick had practically raised Damian back when Bruce was away a few years ago. (Missing? Dead?) Bentley never thought there could be any real bad blood between them — they seemed to have the most stable relationship in the family. (Well, as stable as you can call a baby assassin and a circus performer turned brothers, turned guardian and kid, turned Batman and Robin, then turned brothers again?)

Bentley had pretty much given up on keeping communication with Damian and was in hardcore avoid him mode now. He wasn’t sure what happened to make him so upset, or why it was lasting so long. He just wished he could fix it. When Damian was mad, the world tilted on its axis. Everyone in the Manor either left or, in Dick’s case, tried to help. Even Duke had been disappearing for daytime patrol or to friend’s houses earlier than usual.

And as much as Bentley loved Dick, he was too preoccupied by trying to help the young assassin, so he hadn’t even spent that much time with him. And Bentley was starting to miss everybody else.

Well, at least he had Barbara to talk to.

It only took a few minutes for Bentley to convince Bruce to let him sit in on patrol on a school night. (It really only took some puppy-dog-eyes and a line about how Damian stayed up for patrol and he went to school, too.) 

Now it was nearing eleven-thirty at night, and Bentley was beside Barbara, next to the Batcomputer in the cave, spinning side to side in an office chair that was moved there just for him. Damian and Bruce had just left for patrol about an hour ago. It was a gamble who would show when they didn’t stay at the Manor (Tim hadn’t come out for patrol a few times since he’d been gone, and Bentley wasn’t sure what kind of pattern Jason was on, but it was definitely a pattern.)

He watched the aerial view of Gotham on the screen. Over the next fifteen or twenty minutes, comms crackled to life and trackers appeared on the map. Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Spoiler, Orphan, and Red Robin were out tonight. (aka Bruce, Damian, Dick, Steph, Cass, and Tim.)

“Why isn’t Jason out?” Bentley wondered aloud. Barbara brushed her red ponytail over her shoulders, her glasses reflecting the screens in front of her so much that Bentley couldn’t really see her green eyes.

“He hardly skips. Sometimes he just doesn’t connect to the comms,”

Bentley shrugged. That sounded like something Jason would do.

An alert popped up on the left side of the massive screen, next to the map, and Barbara sat up straighter and went to typing. “Oracle to everyone; There’s been reports of a new metahuman heading this way from the North — articles were published by reporters and bloggers in the Drew area.”

Bentley involuntarily shivered. It’s been a long time since anyone had talked about Drew.

“Any details?” Tim’s voice sounded from the other end of the tech.

Barbara went to click-clacking on the keyboard, pulling up a few news articles and blog reports in different places on the screen. Bentley scooted closer and scanned the photos that came with them — it was a girl in a bright yellow cloak and black jumpsuit, platinum hair, and… her mouth was messed up? He couldn’t really tell what was wrong with it — in the picture she was just walking down the sidewalk, and the camera was too far away to tell.

“None except for the fact that it’s a woman. Apparently she goes by the name Secret Keeper. She wears a yellow cloak and… oh, seriously?”

“What, Oracle?”

The walking on the sidewalk picture switched to a closer one. The girl had deep amber eyes (not a normal color) and a piercing gaze (she was staring right into the camera), and her mouth…

Her mouth, it was… it was sewn together. It was a grisly sight — they looked… recent, the stitches. The thick thread looked like it had once been white, but it was now a deep crimson, nearly black instead, and each puncture was red and irritated and bloody looking. The stitches went out beneath her bottom lip and went in above her top, unevenly spaced and painful looking. The stitches trailed up her cheeks in a curve to create a twisted, sickening smile made of thread and half-dried blood, in and out from the inside of her mouth.

Barbara wasted no time removing the close-up from the screen when Bentley made a small, strangled noise of discomfort in the back of his throat.

“You okay, squirt?” Barbara broke her trance on the computer to glanced over at Bentley momentarily.

The girl looked like something out of a horror movie, and while the picture was gone now, it was forever burned in his brain and Bentley’s skin was crawling. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair so he could bring his knees up. “That was scary looking.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have made it so big,” She said quietly, then went back to talking to all the vigilantes on her comms. “Her mouth is sewn shut. Like literally sewn shut. I’ll send you guys pictures so you can look out for her while I try to ping her location,” Bentley watched Barbara drag one of the tabs off of the screen while her polished fingers danced across the keys at a speed he could only imagine. 

“No reports of her abilities or any crimes committed?” It was Bruce’s voice now. Sorry — Batman’s.

More tabs popped up and went away on the screen. “No. It’s… I don’t know. It’s like all of these reporters are scared of her for no reason. None of them point back to anything she’s done, all the photographs are of her just… walking around.”

Dick’s telltale tenor voice came: “Then how do they even know she’s a metahuman?”

“I don’t know, I’m looking into it,” Barbara replied. The Batcomputer beeped, and another tracker appeared on the map. “Facial recognition software pinged her on the Northern outskirts of Gotham. Nightwing, you’re closest, but I’m sending her coordinates to everyone. Stay sharp.”

“Always am,” Dick replied.

After a few minutes of silence, during which Dick’s blue tracking dot moved across the map, Barbara spoke again:

“Lots of these reports say they saw her in a dream-like state before they ever saw her in person. One from the blog Drew Confidential says: I’d never seen the girl before in my life, until I fell asleep that night. I could hear her voice and see her botched face. It was like I could feel her in my head, and I knew she had to be stopped. I didn’t know, however, that I would see her, yellow hood tugged over her head, walking right by my office building the next day. I knew her name without ever speaking a word to her — Secret Keeper. Several of the first hand accounts talk about dreams coming first, and then seeing her for real.”

Bentley cringed. This was starting to freak him out a little. A girl called Secret Keeper whose mouth was sewn shut and appeared in your dreams before appearing for real was nightmare fuel for sure.

Apparently, Steph agreed. “Okay, weird. I’m just going to be busy walking elderly people across the road.”

“She’s moving to the East, Nightwing. Slowly — looks like she’s just walking down the street. Keep your head on your shoulders.”

Dick responded with a quick:“Gotcha.”

Bentley watched Nightwing’s blue tracker drift across the map, toward the red flashing one in the top corner. 

“Red Robin, standby to assist,” Barbara ordered.

“Standing by,” Tim replied.

Bentley shuddered again when he imagined that girl talking to him in his dreams like the reporter said. Talking to him with her mouth like that — it would hurt, like the threads ripping through her skin every time she opened her mouth. Was that why it looked like she was always bleeding?

He flinched with a pitiful little squeak when Alfred (the residential medical expert.) moved something in the medbay across the cave with a loud, metallic clack. And Bentley flinched again when a hand landed on his shoulder, whipping around to see Barbara looking back at him.

“Maybe you should go see if Agent A needs any help,” She murmured.

Bentley had learned that Agent A was what they called Alfred when they were on comms. Bentley didn’t have his own nickname yet, because they never talked about him, but if Barbara was ever talking to him while she was on comms, she’d taken a liking to using squirt.

“No, I’m okay,” He replied, wrapping his arms around his knees. “I want to watch.”

“Oracle, I’m closing in on her position,” Dick’s voice came, and Barbara turned without responding to Bentley. She moved all the tabs to the sides of the screen so she could focus on the map. Tim’s gray dot was going in the same direction Dick’s was, but farther behind.

When Barbara pushed all the tabs to the side, a big one landed right in front of Bentley’s face. So naturally he had to read it.

It was like a fever dream — I didn’t know where I was or who was around, but I could hear a voice, a girl’s voice. She kept laughing and laughing.

Oh God. This really sounded like a horror movie.

Then I saw her face. Her distinctly terrifying eyes that nearly glowed in the dark, the crooked smile sewn across her bloody face. The voice told me not to worry, that she wouldn’t tell my secrets. And she brought her pointer finger up to her mouth like a little kid telling me to shh.

I chalked it up to being a weirdly vivid nightmare. I went on a run after the fact to clear my mind — and then I saw her. Walking down the street in my neighborhood. Yellow eyes, cape, stitches and all. Real stitches, not halloween fakes. She waved at me, but said nothing, and made no moves to attack. I ran home, and she didn’t follow. 

I’ve seen more reports of others seeing this same girl, and my question is… why did she choose us? Is she human? And what’s going to happen to the people she chose to reveal herself to?

Is this a metahuman playing with our minds? Or is it something else, something-

The tab disappeared before Bentley could finish it. He glanced over at Barbara, who sent him a look that combatted Bruce’s dad look. “It’s probably not the best idea for you to be reading this stuff. Especially so close to bed.”

Bentley didn’t argue. That stuff was creepy anyways.

“I’ve got eyes on her,” Dick said through the comms. “And she’s… got eyes on me?”

Barbara creased her brow. “Elaborate, Nightwing.”

“She’s waving at me. She was waving as soon as I walked up, like she knew I was coming,”

Barbara sighed. “Well, she hasn’t done anything yet, so the most we can do is monitor from afar. I’ll let the police know where she was and keep her pinged on the Batcomputer, for now.”

“Alrighty,”

Bentley glanced down at his socked feet. The idea that a creepy girl was just wandering Gotham made him a little nervous to go to school.

“I’m also going to set up the system to alert us when she gets near large public gathering places — schools, the library, malls, the bank, county buildings,” Barbara stated, fingers darting all over the keyboard as though she literally read Bentley’s mind. 

“Roger that, Oracle. Should I-“

Dick’s voice was cut off by a sudden, sharp gasp. Not a surprised gasp, like he’d seen something shocking, but a gasp like… like…

Like he was in pain.

“What was that, Nightwing?” Barbara questioned gently. Bentley straightened a bit in his chair, hoping and praying Dick would come back and say he hit his head on a pipe or something.

He didn’t say anything.

“Nightwing, status,”

The only response she got was a faint static noise, and silence.

“Nightwing, we need a status report. Can you hear me?”

Silence.

“Red Robin-“

“I’m going,” Tim replied hastily, and his dot started moving faster.

Bentley stared intently at the little blue dot (Dick) and the little red flashing dot (creepy mouth girl). They were on opposite sides of the road, and neither were moving. Dick’s tracker was even in the middle of a building, probably because he was on the roof. The creepy girl wasn’t close to him at all.

“Nightwing, report,”

No response. Tim’s dot got closer to his.

“I have eyes on him. He’s alone, the girl is still across the road, walking on the sidewalk,” Tim stated, his dot bouncing from roof to roof until he was on the same one as Dick.

“Careful, Red,” Barbara ordered.

A few silent moments passed. “Red Robin, what’s Nightwing’s status?”

Bentley hoped it was perfectly fine. Perfectly fine and normal.

“Unconscious and unresponsive to external sound or touch,” So, notperfectly fine and normal. “Heart rate and breathing is extremely elevated, excessive sweating and minimal twitching. No signs of trauma or injury. It’s… like he’s having a nightmare, but I can’t wake him up.”

Barbara clicked around for a few moments.

“He’s… shoot. Okay. Nightwing, buddy, can you hear me?”

“What’s going on, Red?”

“He’s crying. It’s, uh… similar reaction to when he gets hit by fear toxin,” Tim said. 

“B, what’s our next move?” Barbara questioned. 

Bentley heard Bruce hum to himself. “Red Robin, take Nightwing back to base, then return to your route.”

“On it,”

Bentley sighed heavily, picking at the hem of his pajama pants. So, either Dick was having some kind of super sudden breakdown thing right in the middle of patrol, or the Secret Keeper had done something to him without touching him. It might sound bad, but Bentley hoped it were the former.

Both Tim and Dick’s dots started to move, but the red flashing one, the girl’s, stayed in place.

“My God — she’s waving goodbye like a creep,” Tim muttered.

“How are you feeling, Red? Stable?” Barbara questioned. She had a document pulled up that she’d been typing in for a few minutes now, Bentley could see her listing Dick’s symptoms into various slots.

“Yes. No residual effects so far,”

“Keep us updated if you start to feel strange; Spoiler, Orphan, keep your comms on for assistance if Red needs it,”

“Yes ma’am,” Steph replied.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Bentley watched Tim and Dick’s dots move, and waited for the moment Tim radioed in to tell Barbara he was feeling off, too, but that time never came.

What came instead was Tim’s motorcycle screeching loudly into the garage area of the cave.  

Bentley couldn’t see down there (the cave was massive.) but he did see Alfred disappear, and after a few minutes, reappear. He had Dick’s left arm hooked around his neck, and Tim had his right, and they were practically supporting all his weight on the way into the medbay.

“Babs, can I…?” Bentley gestured vaguely toward the medbay. Barbara glanced over at him, before nodding.

“Just make sure to do exactly what Agent A asks you to, even if he says you should leave,”

Bentley nodded quickly and pushed himself out of the office chair, high-tailing it toward the medbay.

He could hear Dick before he even got there — crying, whimpering like he had been that night in his sleep. Mumbling incoherently, frantically even though not a word he was saying made any sense.

He was at least relieved that when he took the left turn into the medbay, Dick just looked like Dick. In his Nightwing uniform, sure, but Alfred had already taken his domino mask off. His chest was heaving like he couldn’t get enough air, and his eyelids kept flitting like he was so close yet so far from waking up. His skin was coated with a thin sheen of sweat and he was shifting around on the bed uncomfortably.

“Master Bentley,” Alfred greeted. “If you would keep Master Dick company while I run some tests, that would be most helpful. A familiar presence is sometimes the most useful aid of them all.”

Bentley nodded slightly, heading over toward the bed Dick was on. The medbay had a bunch of beds, and there were medical supplies and machines all around the room, but it still wasn’t as scary as the hospital. Maybe because Alfred was the resident medical professional.

“Master Tim, you may return to your patrol,”

Bentley glanced over at Tim. He was in his Red Robin gear, but the cowl had been taken off and his hair was a wreck because of it. 

“Are you sure?”

Alfred merely nodded from the other side of the room, where he was putting on latex gloves ever-so-gracefully. Bentley wondered how he wasn’t freaking out. Bentley was definitely freaking out.

“Positive, my boy,”

With that, Tim left the medbay. Alfred approached the bed Dick was on with a syringe in his hand. “Don’t be abashed to speak to him or even touch him gently — sometimes that’s what someone needs to bring them back to themselves.”

Bentley nodded wordlessly again, and watched as Alfred grabbed Dick’s left arm and began cleaning it with an alcohol swab.

Bentley returned to the Batcomputer and rolled his office chair into the medbay, right next to Dick’s bed. He returned just in time to see Alfred take a little bit of blood. (Not much, because Dick was still squirming around.) Bentley settled down next to the bed, and Alfred ran a few more strange tests (swabbing the inside of Dick’s mouth and having him breathe into a mask thing.) Before heading to the other end of the room where machines were. 

Bentley looked back down at Dick when he flipped toward him and curled up as tight as he could, his body shaking with never-ending violent sobs. He was trembling so much it was nearly making the bed shake, and if he wasn’t already unconscious, Bentley would’ve thought that he’d pass out from hyperventilating. 

The crawling skin feeling plaguing Bentley’s body hadn’t stopped. He felt just like he did way back when Dick had a nightmare — useless and pitiful.

“Dick…” He tried softly. He lifted a hand but he wasn’t sure what he was doing with it, so it hovered awkwardly. “It’s okay. Nothing scary is happening.”

Bentley let his hand rest on Dick’s shoulder.

And Dick screamed, thrashing on the mattress. Bentley pulled his hand back like he’d been burned.

“It’s alright, lad. It wasn’t you,” Alfred reassured from the other end of the room. Bentley nodded despite feeling halfway to being in tears. This was the second time he’d seen Dick Grayson writhing in a bed, being tortured by his own mind to the point of screaming and wasn’t able to do anything about it.

He kept his hands rooted in his lap and blinked back the sting that was surfacing in the back of his eyes. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Bentley murmured, face flushing pink when his voice wavered slightly.

“I’m not sure yet, my boy. I’m running some tests now,”

Bentley said nothing. He wished Dick was conscious enough to respond, so he could ask if he could crawl up in the bed with him, but he didn’t think that was a great idea considering he’d keened when Bentley merely touched his shoulder.

He flinched when Alfred touched his shoulder. When he he gotten all the way across the room?

“You don’t have to stay, lad. I know it’s hard to watch,”

“No, I… want to stay,” Bentley replied, wiping at his eyes that were threatening to spill over. Alfred squeezed his shoulder.

“Remember that you can leave at any time, if it gets worse,”

Bentley nodded lightly, even though he had no intention of leaving.

If the roles were reversed, Bentley was sure Dick would stay glued to his bedside, and he wasn’t about to leave him alone like this.

It was going to be a long night.

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld 💚

—

tag list! (If you want me to remove or add you, ask in comments!)

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @cademygod

[torreshalstead]

he just comes running over to me

Summary - Giving a girl a jersey to wear with your name on meant something, something big. And Jay had given her his and asked her to wear it to the game. The Halstead across the back was clear as day.

Did it mean what Hailey thought it meant?

She hoped it did.

Notes - this was inspirated by a ‘Jealous Hailey’ prompt, thanks Karen! 🫶🏻 Happy Reading ❤️ AO3 Link

‘Hey Hails, wait up!’ Jay called loudly as he bounded up to her in the quad. She had just finished her most hated class of the week, Politics 101 with Professor Voight - that man had one tone of voice and it was one that grated on Hailey like nails on a chalkboard. She spent the majority of the class counting down the minutes until it was over.

‘Hey,’ she said with a warm smile as she slowed to a stand still. It was a warm spring day in the city so she had forgone her coat in favour of her denim jacket, Jay had clearly had the same thought, his freckled arms making an appearance underneath his tight heather grey tee.

‘You coming to the game tonight?’ he asked keenly, his smile as eager as a kid in a candy store.

‘Of course, do I ever miss them?’ she responded. It was the truth, ever since Jay had sat next to her in first year Chemistry, the two had become inseparable. She went and cheered him on at every home game, even making it to some away games so long as she could get there on a train or a bus, her measly scholarship didn’t stretch to an airfare. And in return, Jay was the rock she never knew she needed. He’d study with her even when he should be at practice, cook her dinner at his off campus apartment and even went along to some of her debate club meets in first year before the rest of the team annoyed her so much she packed it in. He was her best friend in every sense of the word.

‘I’ve got a good feeling about this one,’ he said, a wry smile tugging at his perfect cheeks.

That was the other thing about her best friend - Hailey was harbouring the biggest crush on him. She didn’t know when he had turned from someone she just enjoyed spending time with to someone she couldn’t bear to spend any time apart from but that’s exactly what he had become. Occasionally she thought he might reciprocate her feelings when he pulled her in for a tight hug and tangled one of his hands in her hair or when he’d fall asleep on her shoulder when they watched a movie, his arm draped lazily over her waist. But then she’d look at him and look in a mirror and kick herself for ever believing that a boy who looked like he did could ever be interested in someone like her.

‘That code for you’re going to score?’ she asked sassily, cocking her head to one side.

‘I just have a good feeling is all,’ he repeated, winking at her that sent a bolt of warmth through her stomach all the way down to her toes. He shrugged his backpack off and pulled it round to his front, reaching into it and tugging out something that Hailey recognised. ‘Wear this tonight?’ he asked as he pushed the item of clothing into her hands.

Hailey unfurled the red and black material and saw the school's logo come into view. She turned the jersey over and felt a tightening in her chest as she noted what was emblazoned across the back in block capitals - HALSTEAD. It was his jersey, he was asking her to wear his jersey. Sure, lots of girls wore jerseys to the game, some of those that had crushes on the players but the ones who wore those with actual names on all fell into one specific category - girlfriends. And Hailey wasn’t Jay’s girlfriend no matter how many dream scenarios she had conjured up in her mind to let her drift off to sleep. Was this his way of asking her out? Or did he just want his best friend to show her support for him and him alone at the game? Hailey’s mind started to cycle through a million different options at breakneck speed so much so that she didn’t hear Jay calling her name until he gripped her shoulder gently, the warmth of his thumb brushing against her neck drawing her out of her spiral.

‘Earth to Upton, you still in there?’ he said jokingly.

Hailey shook her head with a slightly dazed grin, ‘yeah of course, I mean yeah I’ll wear it,’ she smiled.

‘Great,’ Jay said, his smile pulling wide over his teeth. ‘I gotta dash but I’ll see you at the game, don’t forget to wear it okay.’ he added, tugging lightly on the material to draw Hailey’s eyes back down to his last name.

‘I won’t,’ she muttered, watching as Jay grinned and turned away from her, pulling his backpack up onto his shoulder and jogging over to the Physics building where his next class was being held.

She looked back down at the jersey, her fingers unconsciously reaching out to trace the H of Halstead, the material soft against her skin. She’d been to see his games all the time and never once had he asked her to wear his jersey, or given her one that she was certain if she pulled it up to her face and inhaled, would smell exactly like him. Was she thinking too much into this or did it actually mean something more?

There was only person whose opinion Hailey trusted on the opposite sex so she knew exactly who to call.

——————————————————————————

‘So am I crazy?’ Hailey asked as she sat cross legged on her best friend's bed.

‘Nope,’ Vanessa said, smacking her chewing gum loudly. ‘I’ve been telling you for years your crush wasn’t one-sided girl, and here’s the proof.’ Vanessa was lounging on her desk chair, she had been spinning aimlessly as Hailey told her the story of the jersey - the item in question now folded neatly next to her. Vanessa’s spinning had come to a halt when she had told her what Jay had said, her eyes wide as quarters and her grin equally large.

‘Is it proof?’ Hailey whined. She so desperately wanted her best friend's words to be true, that the jersey was a precursor to something bigger, to Jay officially asking her out. But a small, but very loud and persistent part of her still doubted it.

‘Hailey, the only girls who wear jerseys with the players' names on them are their girlfriends, you know that, it’s like some unwritten rule that everyone follows. Jay gave you his jersey, asked you to wear it,’ Vanessa rattled off like she was listing the weekly grocery list. ‘Ergo, he’s going to ask you out tonight, or at least he’s going to kiss the hell out of you when he scores the winning touchdown.’

Hailey’s cheeks reddened at the very thought of Jay kissing the hell out of her. ‘And if he doesn’t?’ she asked timidly.

‘Then you grab him and kiss him first,’ Vanessa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world. ‘Us girls don’t always have to wait for the guys to make the first move,’ she shrugged.

Hailey pondered for a moment until a vividly clear image painted itself into her mind. Jay with his arms in the air, his gaze locked on hers in the crowd until she ran down the bleachers and onto the field straight towards him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, spinning her around before settling her back down and cradling her cheeks between his large hands and pressing his lips gently to hers.

‘And if that kiss is as good as the one you are clearly imagining then don’t forget to use protection,’ Vanessa joked.

‘Oh shush it you,’ Hailey said, jabbing Vanessa’s thigh with her toes but seriously wondering whether she should take the advice to heart.

—————————————————————————

Hailey took a look at herself in the mirror, she still looked like her, just a little bit more put together. She had decided if today was really the day Jay was going to move her out of her comfortable position in the friend zone to something more, she wanted to look like someone who deserved it.

She had dug out her curling iron from the depths of her wardrobe and had only managed to burn herself twice in the process of taming her unruly hair. Normally if it wasn’t up in a tight ponytail, she just let it hang down by her cheeks, shoving it behind her ears when it annoyed her. She did like it when it was in neatly done waves; it would catch the light and make her smile but she always preferred to take the extra 10 minutes in bed so usually didn’t bother with it.

She had been careful when she had pulled on Jay’s jersey over her hair to not mess it up or to spread makeup all over the collar of it. She paired it with a pair of dark blue jeans that hugged her body and Vanessa always slapped her arse when she was wearing them - Hailey thought that was probably viewed as a good thing.

Taking a look at her phone, she had half an hour until she was meant to be at the stadium. Her plan was to see Jay before the game, show off that she was wearing his jersey and then in the scenario that she had carefully and lovingly concocted in her head, he would blow her a kiss and then go out and win the game for her. When the final whistle blew she would run down from the bleachers into his arms and the rest would be history. Tugging on her favourite black boots, the ones that were scuffed from over wear but that were still her first pick, she decided to head over now. Maybe she’d be able to catch him whilst he warmed up and put her vision into fast forward.

—————————————————————————

She walked into the stadium with more pride than she normally did, Jay’s name on her back acting like a protective shield and a beckon at the same time. Maybe she was imagining the glances from some of the cheerleaders, the questioning looks as to why someone like her had managed to get the jersey of the number one point scorer for the team. Hailey ignored them, smiling as she strolled past, Jay had chosen her and that was enough.

Well it wasn’t quite enough, but hopefully after this game it would be.

She ducked through the bleachers, heading down towards the field where she knew the school’s team would be warming up. She spotted the players, the figures in jerseys that matched her own but with the addition of the shoulder pads making them look twice as wide as they usually did. She couldn't spot Jay at first, her eyes roaming over each player in turn, recognising faces and when she didn’t, clocking the names printed clearly on their backs.

Then she spotted him and the warmth in her stomach grew. He was chatting to one of his teammates, his helmet tucked under his arm, his other hand running through his hair that had curled slightly from the sweat from the warmup. Hailey couldn’t help the grin that grew on her lips, the slight possibility that she might get to run her fingers through that hair in a few short hours, the barrier of their friendship no longer an obstacle to something more.

Jay turned slightly towards her then and for a brief moment in time Hailey thought he was smiling at her, thought she was the reason his pearly white teeth were shining bright, thought he was dropping his helmet to run towards her and admit his feelings as he pulled her into his arms and spun her around.

But it wasn’t her.

Someone else, another girl was running across the field towards him. Another girl was jumping into his arms, being spun around by him. Someone else was the cause of his smile.

Hailey thought she was going to be sick.

She turned on her heel and barged through the crowd, not caring how many elbows she had to take in the side to be able to make it through. She could feel the colour rising in her cheeks, the anger mixed with the jealousy and tinged with embarrassment. The painful tears stung as they started to flow down her cheeks, how could she be so stupid? How could she ever have thought he would feel that way about her when he clearly had someone else in his life.

Someone else he wanted to run to, to pick up and spin around and smile at.

Someone that wasn’t her.

She had let herself believe in her childish fantasies, that him giving her his jersey actually meant something when clearly it meant nothing. Zilch. Nada.

As she picked up the pace, almost breaking into a run as she headed towards her car in the parking lot, then she spotted his truck. The slightly beat up dark blue Chevrolet that he loved. The truck that they had spent hours chatting in, road tripping to upstate or down to the Indiana Sand Dunes, the nights they had spent watching the stars in the truck bed laying next to each other. She had always hoped one of those evenings he would pull her into his arms and confess his love for her underneath the star speckled sky.

The jersey that had previously felt like a comfort, a warm hug now felt like a straight jacket squeezing the life out of her. She ripped it off over her head, not caring if her make-up smudged on the collar or if her hair got frizzy from the friction and hung it on the wing mirror of the driver's side. Maybe he could give it to this new girl.

The new girl who was hugging the boy Hailey loved. Who had got everything she had ever wanted.

Hailey had never thought of herself as the jealous type, had always thought the green eyed monster that people talked about was just an excuse for poor behaviour but now she was beginning to believe it. She walked away from his truck before she did something she would regret. But as she made her way towards her own vehicle, the image of Jay’s face filled her mind, his utter joy as his arms were wrapped around a girl that wasn’t her, as he spun her around, her legs kicking in happiness - the exact way she had imagined she would be doing. She pushed that image and the jealousy down deep. Dwelling on it would do nothing to change the fact Jay didn’t want her like that, didn’t feel that way about her.

She got to her car and realised it wasn’t jealousy anymore that was coursing through her like fire, it was anger.

She was mad.

She was mad at herself for letting herself believe her silly little daydream.

She was mad at Vanessa for humouring her and feeding into her fantasy.

And she was mad at Jay.

He knew what it meant when he had handed her his jersey, and had known the connotations of it. Had he tried to make her look like a fool? She couldn’t believe he could be so cruel. Jay was many things but cruel wasn’t one of them. Maybe he just didn’t care about what she thought? Maybe he just had a spare jersey? Maybe one of his friends had dared him to give it to her and now they were all laughing at the stupid girl who had thought it meant more than it did.

Because clearly although it had meant everything to Hailey, it hadn’t meant anything to Jay.

——————————————————————————

She had 4 missed calls and 15 texts.

All from Jay.

But he was the last person she wanted to see right now, he had turned her into someone she didn’t like. Someone she despised. She was jealous of someone she hadn’t even met, someone she didn’t know and who probably didn’t know her either. And she hated the feelings that were coursing through her right now, the jealousy, the self doubt, the questioning, the anger. This wasn’t the Hailey she had worked hard to become.

So she ignored the texts, didn’t pick up the phone as it rang and just burrowed herself under her comforter, her comfort movie of Captain America playing on her laptop.

Just as Chris Evans was stealing his uniform and heading out to help Barnes, a loud banging on her dorm room door interrupted her watching.

‘Hailey, I know you’re in there,’ Jay’s voice echoed through the paper thin door. ‘Please answer.’

She sat up straight but made no move to open the door and let Jay in but he continued to hammer on it nevertheless.

‘Hailey, please,’ he continued, his voice sounding desperate.

If he kept making a racket like that, her RA would report her so reluctantly Hailey crawled out of her bed and made her way towards the door. She hesitated for a moment with her hand hovering over the handle. She was sure her make-up was streaked down her cheeks, the tears of anger long dried but she hadn’t made any effort to wash them away. She didn’t care though, she had made an effort for him just hours before and it had blown up in her face.

She tugged open the door and was face to face with a red faced Jay, his hair sticking out at all angles, the war paint still marking his cheeks. He held up something in front of her and when she looked down she realised what it was - the jersey she had left on his car.

‘What the hell Hailey?’ He said, his voice louder than normal but still not a yell. He knew not to yell around her and he never did. ‘I thought you were going to come to the game and then I find this on my truck and you nowhere to be seen? You didn’t answer my calls, my texts? I thought something had happened to you!’ He was talking quickly, the words spilling out of his mouth with little control. ‘This was yours.’ He thrust the jersey towards her but Hailey made no move to accept it this time.

‘Surely you need to give that to your girlfriend?’ She said bitterly, angry at herself for how hostile the words sounded.

Jay’s eyes widened, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline, ‘What?’ He said, his mouth hanging open. ‘My what?’

‘I saw you with her,’ Hailey crossed her arms over her chest.

‘Saw me with who? Hailey you’re not making any sense,’ Jay despaired.

‘I’m not making any sense,’ Hailey spat back at him. ‘I went to the game Jay. I wore your stupid jersey,’ she gestured to the offending piece of clothing still hanging limply from Jay’s hand. ‘And I saw her, the pretty brunette who jumped up at you and you couldn’t have looked happier.’

‘You came to the game,’ he muttered. Hailey watched as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place behind his eyes. But when she expected to see guilt at being caught, she saw a light hearted realisation, his features relaxing as a small grin tugged on his cheeks. ‘You saw Natalie.’

‘Natalie,’ Hailey repeated, giving a little shake of the head as she waited for him to say something more. Some sort of explanation for what the hell was going on.

‘Natalie was our next door neighbour when we were kids,’ Jay said, his smile starting to annoy Hailey. ‘Natalie is my brother Will’s girlfriend. She was visiting and wanted to see the game. I haven’t seen her in a couple of years as she’s in med school on the East Coast. She’s just my friend Hailey.’

‘She’s your brother's girlfriend?’ The colour drained for Hailey’s cheeks, the fight melting out of her as his words started to process.

‘She is,’ Jay said gently.

‘So not your girlfriend?’ The anger she had felt had disappeared immediately and was replaced with a throb of foolishness. She had seen a snapshot of a moment and had jumped to a conclusion that she should have known in her heart couldn’t be true.

‘Not my girlfriend.’

‘And you don’t have a girlfriend?’ She asked, biting at her bottom lip.

‘I gave you my jersey didn’t I,’ his eyes were soft now, like a green meadow on a spring day.

‘And what does that mean?’ After the mess she had gotten herself into by jumping into conclusions without the evidence to support them, she needed to know exactly where she stood before she even thought about making a move.

‘It means I was going to win the game today, and then I was going to run to you and kiss you. Ask you to be my girlfriend right there and then, I was fed up of being too scared to ask you. I like you Hailey, I like you a lot, a lot more than a friend does and I don’t want to just be friends anymore,’ he said confidentially, taking a step closer, closing the distance between them.

Hailey’s insides were melting into a puddle, Jay was finally speaking the words she had dreamt he would and he meant them, she could tell he meant everything he was saying. She’d never heard him sound so sincere.

‘Did you win the game?’ She asked, looking up at him through her lashes.

‘I did,’ he spoke slowly, closing the remaining distance with another small step so they were practically chest to chest. He reached out and gently brushed his thumb across her cheek, removing the stained make up and caressing the skin as he did so.

‘Then maybe you should do the next step of your plan and see what happens,’ Hailey whispered as Jay lowered his face towards hers and pressed his lips softly to hers.

[disappointingcake]

“Bat or Wayne“

One scene in a recent WFA (when Duke grapnels up the staircase and the witnesses only response is “Rich people are wild”) got me thinking: how many identity shenanigans do the Bats get away with not because they’re ~so amazing~ at being discrete, but because the Waynes do something completely ridiculous everyone shrugs and goes “yeah, that tracks”.

Then THAT got me thinking: what if people do it all the time? To the point where it’s become an in-universe meme?

Bat or Wayne: Once base jumped from the top of Wayne Tower.

Dick Grayson-Wayne. (It was a charity thing. The Bats regularly grapnel from the top of Wayne Tower, but that’s different.)

Bat or Wayne: Has a library card for the Gotham City Library branch in Park Row.

Red Hood. (And he posted a pic on Twitter proving it.)

Bat or Wayne: Has a "the usual” order at the Diamond District Batburger.

Tim and Cassandra (Going to Batburger together every Friday is their weekly tradition.)

Bat or Wayne: Has a “the usual” order at the Dairy King on McNeil.

Batman and Robin (Though it’s been a different order for each Robin.)

Bat or Wayne: Is regularly called a “dickhead” by their siblings.

Nightwing. (The Wayne kids are actually very defensive of their eldest brother’s preferred nickname. [In public. Calling Dick a dick is a family-only privilege.])

Bat or Wayne: Every member can drive a motor cycle.

Trick question, it’s both. (Yes, even Damian Wayne, though he’s only allowed to drive on private property until he’s 17.)

Bat or Wayne: Is banned from every Red Robin in New Jersey.

Red Robin. (There was this one villain who tried to- look, it’s a long story.)

Bat or Wayne: Is banned from every Red Robin in California.

Tim Drake-Wayne. (He was there for a conference and- look, it’s a long story.)

Bat or Wayne: Is banned from every Waffle House in the United States.

Spoiler. (They even have a picture of her posted in every location with “DO NOT SERVE” on it. No explanation has ever been given, by either side.)

Bat or Wayne: Can do a quadruple sommersault.

Dick Grayson-Wayne again. It was the signature move of the Flying Graysons, and is an acrobatic feat that can be achieved by only a few people in the world. No Bat has ever been documented performing one. [*cough Tim cough*]

Bat or Wayne: It’s a running joke for their siblings to put on sunglasses when they show up.

Duke Thomas. (He is, quote: “The sunshine child.”)

Bat or Wayne: Got caught by mobsters trying to smuggle exotic animals out of a bad situation.

Ironically, the Signal and Damian Wayne. (Apparently, Damian had snuck away during a field trip to an animal shelter to “liberate” some neglected parrots. The Signal was investigating that particular shelter for exotic animal smuggling, and Damian got caught up in the commotion.)

Bat or Wayne: Calls their adopted father figure “B”.

It’s both again. (And yes, it’s as adorable as it sounds.)

10/23/23 edited for clarity

[cellythefloshie]

;; The Mix Up The Road Wife Series Deleted Scene.

Table of Contents

Summary: The Bolts are set to leave Chicago with a 2-0-1 record in their 3 game series, but you’re set behind schedule when you forget your cell phone in the locker room and you share a tense encounter in the hallway.  Note: Takes place after chapter 12 of the Road Wife. I am also dedicating this one to @hagelpoint-3821​ as it is her birthday today! Kinks & TW: sex work, there is no actual smut in this chapter. Word Count: 1742

TAGLIST: @equallyshaw , @charles11700 , @starshine-hockey-girl

The Bolts had played their final of three games in Chicago in a week’s time. They had walked away from the series 2-0-1, with Yanni scoring 2 goals in the second period to help propel the team to victory - which left you feeling bold, and cocky even - but the road trip didn’t end in Chicago. They would be playing the Red Wings in Detroit in 2 days' time, which meant they needed to fly out that night. 

The locker room was buzzing after the victory, but celebrations were always short when you were expected to be in the next city by morning. Equipment clamoured as the managers prepare sticks, gloves, jerseys and more for the move to the next stop. The noise created a symphony around you as the players undressed and moved for the showers. It was a room of steam that billowed into the locker room even though the showers themselves were well out of sight. The players cycled out of the showers behind you while you packed your work bag the busy noise was something you had gotten so used to you didn’t look back. That was until you felt the sharp impact of a hand’s firm smack against your ass. 

“Holy hell,” you shrieked, jumping around as a hand fell to rest on your ass. Your eyes went wide, your jaw slacked as you looked over the locker room and your eyes fell on the player looking all too guilty. Pat watched you with a too-wide grin, wearing nothing but his boxers as he ran a towel through his hair. “Patrick,” the use of his full name earned a drawl out ooo from the boys in the room, “that hurt!” Your whine only had him grinning wider, and it earned a soft groan from your lips - as if recovering from your day at the gym wasn’t enough, now you were going to be feeling the imprint of Pat’s hand on your ass or the rest of the night. 

“Just my gentle reminder to get that sweet ass on the bus, Sugar,” Pat smirked, his head shaking to mess up his hair so perfectly. 

“My ass will be on the bus right behind yours,” you assured him as you zipped up your bag and pushed the handles up your arm to rest in the crook of your elbow, “but, since I’m the one that’s ready, I should be the one giving your ass a smack.” 

This earned another chorus of ooo’s from the boys as you moved for the door, and out into the narrow hallways. Your body bounced around like a pinball, off bodies, and off the walls as you moved towards the bus. You could feel the chill of the winter air creeping its way into the depths of the building as you approached the loading zones. The cold froze your cheeks, and you couldn’t get onto the bus fast enough except something was missing: The persistent vibration of your phone. 

Shit. You had left it in the locker room. “Don’t let them leave without me!” You called out, abandoning your bag on your seat before running back the way you came. 

The hallways were a little clearer now. Many of the Bolts players had already loaded onto the bus, with few straggling behind - and those who you pushed passed as you moved with quick strides teased you with jesting words and playful smiles. You countered them with a smile of your own, and a casual wave - you weren’t going to risk putting them behind schedule because you forgot the phone that had every single sinful appointment in its calendar. The risk of someone finding that phone had you moving even faster, and you did not stop until you could feel it vibrating in your hands.

You stood near the center of the visitors' locker room, letting the pulsing vibration numb the palm of your hand as you caught your breath. It was the persistent reminder that you had an upcoming appointment that sent your phone into a rumble. A one-hour warning. Followed by a thirty-minute and a fifteen. Each one spread Brayden Point’s name in bold in a banner at the top of the screen. 

It sent your stomach fluttering as you tucked your phone into your coat pocket and you fell into stride once more - and for what you hoped would be the last time that night. You hesitated in the clearing corridors, looking back once, then again as you thought that there might be something else you may have left behind. Your steps were stuttering as you moved down the hall, the thick heel of your boots dragging against the ground as your head spun. It was consumed by the mental checklist of everything that should be packed away in your bag. You checked off each item one by one only for your thoughts to falter, and you would lose track and your mind would fall on one simple thing. Brayden. 

Brayden and how he was always so coy with you. 

Brayden and how he always tucked his wedding band and cross away before he let himself touch you-

Your phone vibrated in your pocket. Another reminder of your appointment with Brayden, and it made you giddy. A smile blossomed over your features, forcing you to cast your gaze to the floor. You couldn’t risk anyone seeing you wear such a shameless, excited smile. It was an excitement that hastened your steps - that was until you caught sight of him out of the corner of your eye. He was standing in the hallway, his back to you, as he fixed his white button-down over his figure. It was sticking to him in the spots where he hadn’t quite dried after his shower, and his usually shaggy light brown - almost blonde - hair was wet, slicked back and beginning to curl. 

Smile splitting wider, a little more devilish now, you took quiet strides, sneaking up on Brayden in the hallway. You didn’t stop until you were standing right behind him, your hands reaching out to touch the strength of his back oh so gently before you pressed up onto your toes to whisper in his ear; “Are you going to tell me all the dirty things you’re going to do to me, or are you going to make me wait for the surprise-”

You lost your words along with your breath as you felt him reach around, his touch finding your waist, and he forced you back against the wall with the push of a single arm. You stumbled back on your heels, your hands dropping down to meet the cold concrete as you let out a shaky breath, “Bray-” but you couldn’t even finish his name - but this wasn’t because he was stealing your words from you. Not this time. No, this wasn’t Brayden at all. 

Near choking on your unspoken words, you looked up through the loose strands of hair that had fallen into your face as you had hit the wall. Your eyes were wide, panicked, as they looked over each familiar-yet-foreign angle of the confused expression looking down at you. Your lower lip quivered as you let your eyes meet his dark brown iris that had the slightest glimmer of golden intrigue. It was then you recognized him, not just for his resemblance to Brayden, but for who he really was: Chicago’s rookie, Brandon Hagel. It had almost been enough to put you at ease, but then you felt the touch of his hand against your neck. He dragged his thick fingers down over the angle of your exposed collarbone and down the length of the lanyard that hung from your neck. His touch didn’t leave you until his hand had found the badge that had rested against your cleavage - that heaved with every uneasy breath you took - as he looked over the marker that identified you as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning staff. 

His brows only furrowed further at this revelation, his heavy gaze falling on your features again - and while you held his gaze not one of you muttered a word. You had no way to explain what you had just whispered in his ear, and he had yet to find just the right words to say. Surely he had questions, who you were looking for being one you would bet on - but Brandon wasn’t given the opportunity to ask you. Not when you could hear your name being called out to you, followed by a series of rushed steps to meet you. 

“Brayden,” his name slipped from your lips with a breath of relief - and you watched as the realization of the mistake made took Brandon’s features, one that prompted a string of apologies from your lips as he eased away from your form - freeing you from where you were pinned between him and the wall. 

You retreated back to the center of the hallway, where Brayden stood with an open arm to greet you. It wrapped around your waist effortlessly, his large hand giving your hip a gentle squeeze as he let out a low, soft chuckle. He had heard your apologies and it had left his head shaking, “Did you think-” his question was broken by laughter, his head shaking from side to side as his bright eyes raised to look over the other, opposing player. He had to see the resemblance,  right? His words told you otherwise: Thought you knew me better than, Darling. I’ll just have to remind you…”

His words reignited the giddy feeling that had been lost on the risky encounter with the Blackhawks’ forward and left you near shuttering against Brayden’s side as he began to lead you down the hallway and towards the bus that was awaiting you both. But you had only made it mere strides in its direction when there was a clamor of heavy footsteps behind you, then a rush of Brandon’s body against your side before he could cut you both off. He was still wearing that same confused look, as he raised up a hand casually, making sure Brayden couldn’t push past him as he spoke, “what exactly is going on here?”

And Brayden could only laugh, his head shaking and casting his hair down into his eyes as he reached his free hand out to pat Brandon on the shoulder.  “If you ever want to find out, you’ll have to be wearing blue…”

[fawning-f0r-you]

Dance with the Devil | Ch. 1 - WAKE UP

Chapter One | Chapter Two | WIP!!

A/N: Hi so ik it's been so long omg sorry about that but here is some nice fun fluff. I'll post the polished chapters on AO3 (once I get an account lol) but here you'll get the rough drafts to enjoy.

Content warnings: nothing graphic! It's fluff, no gore, nothin'

Summary: Evan Myers died in that forest, Vinnie soon to follow. But, suddenly he finds himself in his early thirties and married. Is this a trick by HABIT or is he living his next life?

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

WAKE UP

"Evan?"

Evan blinked, snapping to reality. Well, he tried to. Truthfully, he was in such a distant world, a memory, he couldn't tell you the date or even his age. All but for a moment.

He focused his eyes, seeing a familiar face. One he hadn't seen in… God, five years? Has it really been that long to see her gilded brown eyes? Wait. Wait…

He stared a little more intently. The beauty remained, but there was hints of age. Smile lines, little wrinkles from joyous events. Her face had settled, the face she'll wear for most of her life until she begins to grey.

"J-Jessie?" Evan barely choked out, but tried to quickly recover and hide the waiver in his voice.

He glanced around for a moment. She was handing him a mug of coffee, the color close to his own skin tone. Evan didn't drink coffee. …Right?

He remembered he far more enjoyed the battery-acid taste of a Monster. Yet, on reflex, he took the cup and had a small sip. Instead of retching, it went down smooth. It felt… familiar?

Evan wracked his brain. He closed his eyes and focused on the last thing he could remember. Cold, unforgiving forest floor… a cry of frustration from the being of chaos as they slipped back into the cycle of rinse and repeat. His friend, or what he believed to be, bleeding out as his vision faded and his breathing slowed.

He was supposed to be dead. He is dead. He was dead.

However, as he also peeled back the layers, an entire separate life began to reveal itself. He's 32 now. Jessie Miller, or rather Jessie Myers, was his wife of almost a decade. She still ended their relationship after prom, but they soon reconciled after graduation as she revealed she only ended it due to the pressure from her father.

"He didn't want me ending up like you." he could remember her saying with a wince.

She had gone to college in New York City while he stayed back in Jersey, working odd jobs here and there. He scraped together money while living off of 99¢ noodle cups and his family's trailer to put a payment down on a house. Their house.

He remembered how he had proposed, well both times. The first time was on a regular date over pizza. He had given her a cheap and dainty ring, calling it a promise. I promise I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, I promise I'll do anything and everything I can, for you, Jessie. I'll make you happy. I'll provide. I promise I'll make you my girl. His greatest desire was to keep her comfortable. It wasn't a secret her family was well-off, upper middle class, and so she had a much more cushy life compared to him.

Little did he know, a few months after getting her master's degree, they had a little one on the way. That was the kick in the ass he needed. He put his nose to the nosegrind and went to trade school. It got him a job that paid better than any part-time seasonal gig could. He proposed, proper, kneeling with a diamond ring and everything, and they married that fall.

Hot tears stung the corner of his eyes as he quite literally watched his life flash before his eyes up to the current moment. It was such a radical juxtaposition to what hell he had just gone through.

…it was already starting to feel like a dream. No slenderman, no wolf-spider demon overtaking his body and killing everyone around him, and no…

No entering a secluded vacation home in Pennsylvania, seeing her blood paint the walls. Never having to rip a monster off of her, seeing her body, her flesh, in tatters. Never having to hold her in his arms, feeling her warmth evaporate. Never promising her everything was going to be alright as her wide eyes flooded with fear, knowing he was lying. He was a liar.

He blinked. Again.

Jessie's face had changed to an expression of concern rather than confusion. She asked the question again: "Evan?" Are you alright? What's the matter?

Evan shook his head and cleared his throat, drinking more of his coffee. It was exactly how he liked it. She had it memorized. His heart melted a little more, remembering that nugget of information. "Yes, honey, I'm… I'm alright. I didn't sleep well, it must be catching up to me."

Jessie's face softened as a smile crept across her lips. "I hope you're not too tired. Ashlynn has been begging to play in the snow with you all morning."

All morning?! "What time is it?" Evan asked with another sip, an attempt to hide the glance he stole at the clock. It was noon.

Jessie didn't get a chance to answer as a shrill, excited voice filled the kitchen, "Daddy!"

A little girl, only seven years old, barreled in and hugged his leg. She wore a cute maroon puffy coat with a cat-earred beanie and black gloves to match. It reminded him of something Jeff would wear back in the day.

Evan's breath caught in his throat. Ashlynn… his daughter.

"...I remember feeling her bones on my teeth…"

He scooped her up into his arms, hugging her tight. She returned the hug, her small arms wrapping around his neck. Evan buried his face into her coat. He broke. He started to cry, to sob.

Was this real? Is this just… another sick twisted trick by HABIT?

It certainly felt real. Just as real as The God Killer slicing his artery. Maybe… maybe this really was his next iteration. He was a father. He had succeeded. He married his highschool sweetheart and had his daughter. There was nothing more he could ask for.

"Daddy…?" His daughter's voice snapped him out of it. He could listen to her for the rest of time. He never wanted her to be quiet. Not only could he finally hold her, he could see her. Hear her. No monster had ripped her from the womb, no. She was born in a regular hospital under regular circumstances.

He sniffled, wiping his tears. "Sorry, angel, daddy just… Daddy loves you so much, okay? Daddy is always going to be there for you. Always." He gently set her down on her feet. "Now, can you go wait in the living room while daddy gets his boots on?"

"Okay!" Luckily, Ash wasn't old enough to really question her father.

Jessie on the other hand… She wore her heart on her sleeve. Of course she was concerned for her husband. "Evan, what's gotten into you? You've been… spacey." She gently leaned forward and wiped his tears away with her thumb.

Evan had to fight every nerve in his body screaming to jump, to flee, to flinch. "It's nothing, baby… I just. I've been having some nightmares recently. Not sleeping very well." Jessie bought the lie. It made his stomach twist into a knot lying to her, but how could he ever explain to her what had happened? What happened to him, to her, in a different time?

Jessie made her way around the kitchen island and Evan had to suppress his surprise. She was pregnant. Very pregnant. Seven months, three weeks, and four days to be exact. At least, that was how long medically, conception is not as empirical as doctors made it out to be. He had been counting the days.

Without even thinking, he stepped towards her. He wrapped her into a tight hug as he placed a palm on her round, full tummy. Another one. Another little one. His.

He peppered her face in kisses, not even halting as she burst into giggles. His heart overflowed with joy and love. He finally had everything he could ever want. For a moment, he forgot to consider where his other loved ones were. Stephanie, Jeff, Vinnie…

For now, they could wait. For the first time, Evan Myers was going to be selfish.

Chapter Two

[knittedbond]

Hi! Friends at the Table question for you. I tried listening to them a couple times early on but the songs quality was so, so bad for me. Is there a safe jumping on point--a certain episode/arc/season--where the sound quality has improved and I won't be horribly lost not having heard earlier episodes?

hello! welcome aboard! it's not just you--this is a common problem people have when trying to start fatt. i recommend checking out the fatt info carrd for a quick way to get started, but for my personal recs:

- marielda is the tried and true intro season for loads of people - short (14 eps), devastating, won't need prior information. it's the prequel to autumn in hieron, but it's meant to be totally stand alone, so you won't need to listen to aih to understand. it's got weirdo criminals, the divorced gods, sad sons, and funky clarinets. sound quality 👍

- i started the show with counter/weight, which is the first of their sci-fi divine cycle. the divine cycle is the fatt take on What if robots... were also gods? and it's loads of fun. c/w has more weirdo criminals but it also has cool mechs, han solo if she were a kpop idol, sad fish princes, and some fucked up robots. iirc the sound quality here is not the greatest at times still, so if that's a barrier but you still wanna go sci-fi, go to ->

- partizan, which is the third in the divine cycle but one of their more recent seasons. this starts off with the road to partizan, a series of live games they did looking at how the world got to where they are, but it's not crucial to know, just super fun. (i'm obligated to link the really cool partizan trailer amv built up from clips from the road.) this one has got weirdo robot criminals, one bitchy sad blonde princess, a really fucked up planet, and some sad ass alien guys. i love this one. their currently airing season, palisade, is a direct sequel to partizan, so if you want to get caught up to listen to things as they air, listen to this first!

i also don't want to go without mentioning bluff city and sangfielle. sangfielle is their western horror season, separate fantasy universe from hieron or the divine cycle. bluff city s1 was previously a patreon-only show, but is currently re-airing every sunday on the fatt twitch, and you can listen to the VODs of that on their youtube. it jumps genres because each arc is a different game with different characters, but it's a fun lil urban warped twist on atlantic city.

ok this post is long as is. to wrap:

fantasy divorced god seasons: marielda -> autumn in hieron -> winter -> spring

sci-fi mechs seasons: counter/weight -> twilight mirage -> partizan -> palisade

sangfielle has more coming but is just that one goth cousin right now

bluff city is a new jersey anthology

ok uhh i hope this helps. whatever sounds most interesting to you!! it's all for everyone baby check it out!!

[randomvarious]

1994 London Playlist (YouTube)

New playlist, folks! This week I started to build a slate of songs from the year of 1994 that were made by people who, at the time, hailed from London, the most musically eclectic city in the entire world. Don't exactly know why London is the way that it is, but its broad and open embrace of acid house, club culture, and pirate radio in the late 80s and early 90s definitely set it up for massive electronic expansion on a mainstream level that seems to still go on to this very day. The US has never really had that same history of love for electronic music, and that's probably why massive metropolises like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago always feel like they're lagging behind in comparison to what London is able to spit out on a constant basis.

And you're just simply not gonna find another playlist of great London-made tunes from 1994 that are quite like this one either, because I've got some real underground electronic heaters for you all to chew on here. At some point, I plan to expand this beyond just electronic music, but for now, you get some downtempo/trip hop, some IDM, some deep house, some breakbeat hardcore, and a handful of jungle tracks too; a great smorgasbord that almost no other city could produce so readily.

But first, there are two absolute classics on here: one is from a breakbeat hardcore group called 2 Bad Mice, who dropped a brand new remix of their '92 track, "Bombscare," in 1994 that ended up catching on like total wildfire. It's a very infectious, floor-filling, breakneck raver that cycles through all these abruptly twisting-and-turning combinations of anthemic vocal samples and drum breaks that ends up yielding absolute bedlam. And there's a lot of uploads of it on YouTube too, and the one with the most views has over 370K. A mid-90s dance classic that still has the capacity to make one lose their shit.

The other is from the one and only Ashley Beedle's disco and jazzy house group, Black Science Orchestra. In '94, they dropped a 12-inch EP on the Junior Boy's Own label called Altered States, and the track that kicks off its AA-side, "New Jersey Deep," makes for some jazz-funky, outer-space-coasting, deep house grooviness. It, too, has a lot of different uploads on YouTube, and its most popular one has over 378K plays.

But other than those all-time bangers, the rest of these songs are a lot more relatively obscure. The Rapino Brothers, who are best known for making the most famous remix of Italo-dance act Corona's global 1993 smash hit, "The Rhythm of the Night," kick us off with some relaxingly chill and stringy, bleep-blooping trip hop in "Go Ahead London," a tune that has a little over 10K plays across its couple uploads; then IDM trio The Black Dog grace us with their fantastically dreamy remix of German duo Alter Ego's "Tanks Ahead," which has a little over 15.2K plays across its various uploads; and then the great Dave Angel supplies us with a piece of aquatic techno called "Artech," which I once proved lines up perfectly as the opening music for the jetskiing Nintendo game Wave Race 64. That one has somewhere around 60K total plays on YouTube.

The rest of the playlist, then, is comprised of a small handful of deep and heady jungle beasts as well as a downtempo remix of a song by a group called A Friend From Rio, who are based out of London, but make music that sounds Brazilian. The Lumen Soundsmiths remix of their song, "Para Lennon and McCartney," is an excellently lush slice of bliss that sounds like it could've fit right in on a chillout compilation that was released a decade afterwards; impressive.

This playlist is ordered as chronologically as possible and links are provided below to songs that have been posted about previously in order to give them more context:

The Rapino Brothers - "Go Ahead London" Alter Ego - "Tanks Ahead (Black Dog Mix)" 2 Bad Mice - "Bombscare '94" Black Science Orchestra - "New Jersey Deep" Zero B - "Lock Up (Counterforce Remix By DJ Crystl)" Dave Angel - "Artech" A Friend From Rio - "Para Lennon & Mccartney (Lumen Soundsmiths Remix)" Lemon D - "Deep Space (I See Sunshine) (Original Drum & Space Mix)" DJ Tamsin & The Monk - "A Better Place (Bay B Kane Remix)" DJ Crystl - "Warpdrive (Remix)"

Playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So, we've got 10 tracks that end up totaling a little over an hour. And I've got some more playlists for other London years too, if you're interested!

London: 1997 London: 1998 London: 1999

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!  

[sangfielle]

nadeem cassander tower (/n.c. tower or any other shortenings). 22. (s)he/it/whatever you see my friends using. broadly (i'm special) nonbinary transmasc and bisexual. mixed swa+na & white. shi'ite and reform jewslim. multiply disordered and disabled. did-having autistic schizo freak and i act like it on all fronts. communist bastard.

NO ZIONIST SHITHEADS, NO DEFENDERS OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE. DEATH TO AMERICA AND TO ISRAEL. no minors. i will block you for the crime of: being annoying politically, being a transmedicalist or a transmisogynist ("transandrophobia" believers falling under this label), gendering me if you don't know me personally, making fun of my typing problems or my issues with articulating myself, and whatever else i deem worthy of a block, which is a lot of things. i am a petty despot and this is my kingdom.

i am an AUTHOR and a POET, and talk frequently about my current projects (listed below). other than that, i am here to HAVE FUN ONLINE and COMPLAIN ABOUT MY LIFE. i have a lifelong love for comics (especially kamala khan, webcomics, batman's rogues gallery, shadowpact, x-men, and assorted minor characters from mainstream comics), star trek (especially ds9), friends at the table (especially counter/weight, marielda, and sangfielle), video games, ttrpgs, and genre fiction generally (science fiction, fantasy, and horror; i don't care for crime fiction and i don't care about romance). i talk about these as well, sometimes. i am not a fandom blogger, and i like things outside of media, but this is tumblr. i'm not talking about my love of stage tech work here.

AMGtDiC/NNY is an urban fantasy setting where sapient monsters and witches have largely, but not entirely, replaced humans as the dominant type of person on the planet. The bulk of the stories in this setting, including two on-and-off TTRPG campaigns I run; WEBWEAVER, a story cycle taking place over the course of one evening; LAST NIGHT HERE, a CYOA murder mystery game; and other unnamed projects are set in present day New York City & New Jersey.

PRICE OF POWER is a near-future superhero story focused in present day southern California about a group of interconnected "heroes" and "villains" who are largely either new on the scene or approaching the ends of their careers.

FAITH HOUND is a high fantasy story following a centuries-old changeling searching for a way to die and its relationship with the being who has offered it one.

USW is a space western story following two outlaws - Adelaide Fischer, a freelance interplanetary fisherman and Wraith, a famous bounty hunter with a stolen police ship.

NMPH is a science fantasy setting focusing on a peasant class on a planet with mostly medieval technology, with some key differences.

[hot-frog-stew]

i wholesale reject the idea that metropolis is across the river from gotham. Because that means that metropolis is in new jersey. metropolis is NOT in new jersey. Metropolis is in kansas, why would it be anywhere other than kansas. clark needs to live within a 2-3 hours drive from the kent farm.

don’t come here telling me that metropolis can’t be in kansas cause it has a bay and kansas is a landlocked state. i do not care, this is comics it works somehow.

gotham can still be it’s sister city, they don’t need to be near eachother tho cause that is a ridiculous concentration of weirdos in costumes.

also the weather, metropolis is a sunny blue sky picture perfect american dream meanwhile gotham is an overcast perpetually polluted nightmare. they cannot be within the same weather cycle.

[cherrysnax]

hope people chill out soon, your take was immaculate and actually the reason I followed you initially bc i am an adult who likes cartoons and little kid shows but also doesn't get in internet fights about them and thinks adults who do are... wild, for lack of a better term..

but!!! now I wanna know about your comic (???maybe its a comic not sure) that you've mentioned, I couldn't find a tag to search but do you mind sharing about it? tysm either way have a good one

hi nonnie!! first of all ty for the well wishes and compliments! i'm sure once all the jokes and the offense die down, people will be relatively normal again... i hope.. lets get into the meat of the ask under the cut

EDIT: this got long so if u just want the basic gist, go to the very end!

soooo my girlfriend @pokemonleague and i decided back in...2018? to make spidersonas due to our love of comics and the movie into the spiderverse, but since we're nerds that totally span out of control. it went from a fan rp with several spider-man themed characters to a completely original concept with new characters, our own setting, power system-- the works. it is about superheroes, so it might not be your thing. okay so first backstory stuff

it used to be called the phillyverse and if u go into the tag u might find some old art, but its all extremely outdated (and bad. im not the bessst artist). after some delegation we decided to start making it a comic (we spent YEARS debating it) and named the project around last year. its uh called Show Your Spine!

I'm the worst at describing things but we have like 3 whole seasons entirely plotted out so I can pull somethin like a pitch together: while the vigilantism is a core aspect, with the main overarching plot being a group of unlikely heroes, old and new banding together to stop their city from being overrun by the mob, supervillains, and other threats. it's really about finding love and community in a city at war and finding the strength to protect and nourish it. all the while unlearning all the shit the last generations have taught us, to stop us from perpetuating the cycle of hate... while also beating the shit outta some baddies

in short its abt cringe-fail women doing cringe-fail things lmaoo. its a like a superhero-action-soap opera taking place in the retro-futuristic city of Chesire Grove, new jersey.

in this world, there's people with powers called Augments, who are just like you and me but due to changes in their DNA due were born with the ability to manifest different abilities (think mutants or metahumans). the tension between augments and humans is a little.. high right now, but allegedly better than they've ever been before. It's a newish era of human-augment relations, for better or worse.

we have an ensemble cast, and we intend on taking the main characters from the ages of 16 to eventually 25. the characters are aging in real-time.

OKAY PLOT TIME: The first few arcs focus on a delinquent teenage girl, Leo, trying to find a cure for one of her best friends who has fallen ill after trying a new drug, by all means necessary. during her quest for it, she meets the elusive newer vigilante Spitfire, who had saved her once before. Despite a rocky start, the two start a mentor-mentee type thing, in hope that the other can help them find what they're looking for. For Leo, she's looking for info on the man who made the drug that's been killing people, desperate to make him reverse engineer it. For Spitfire, they're looking for Chesire Grove's longest-running protector: Nightingale, who has suddenly gone missing. Spitfire's a bit new in town but lucky for them, the kid knows the city like the back of their hand.

At the same time, a sheltered augment teen's life is changing, as her overly protective father has finally realized that keeping her inside wasn't protecting her at all. freshly enrolled in a school for STEM students, Bobbi (also known by his nickname Retro) has to learn how to navigate the world for the first time and solve the full mystery of her past, all while her powers are on the fritz.

there's so much to this world, and we're so excited to share it with everyone!! i tried to be pretty vague cause of spoilers, and like i said, bad with words

[nickgerlich]

Shoot And Leave

In the rush to return to some semblance of normalcy in the post-COVID era, we have resumed traveling. And I mean traveling with reckless abandon. Forget about high gas prices and air fares, we’re just doing it anyway.

The big trend this summer was a European vacation—not the movie, but your own vacation. Personally, I drove 14,000 miles on three long trips, and went to Costa Rica. Pent-up demand was certainly driving all of us.

But a new problem has emerged in this digital era: overtourism. Essentially, the problem is this: People are flocking to tourist hotspots, taking and posting selfies, leaving without spending any money (or very little), and then, thanks to social media, inspiring others to visit also. It’s a cycle that some cities are now trying to combat by imposing tourism taxes.

And it is not much unlike the congestion tax we see in places like London, whereby drivers pay £15 per day to drive into the congestion zone. Some cities are charging $5-$10 per day for the privilege of day tripping. I doubt they will deter people though, especially once you factor in the cost of getting there in the first place. What’s another $10?

Overtourism is also happening locally. The Cadillac Ranch opened in 1974 as an art installation that the Ant Farm creative team developed and then sold in concept to Stanley Marsh 3. A few years ago, I interviewed the two surviving members for a feature that appeared in ROUTE Magazine. They never intended for the cars to be spray painted; that just happened organically. Located along I-40 a couple of miles west of Amarillo, it is reported to have more than two million visitors each year. It was even moved in 1997 from its original location a few feet west of the new Sam’s Club, to allow room for the city to grow.

So popular is the place that TxDOT had to install concrete jersey barriers to separate the Frontage Road from the freeway (to keep people from just driving through the grassy median to get there). I always scratched my head over why Marsh (who died in 2014) never monetized the place. That all changed two years ago when his family trust (to whom he had bequeathed the ranch in 2013) put a merch trailer onsite. The trailer sells t-shirts, caps, and the usual trinkets, as well as spray paint.

Duh. That was an easy one, because, as rumor has it, until then, the Home Depot at Soncy and I-40 was reputed to have the highest spray paint sales of any store in the chain.

Alas, people have taken to painting anything and everything, including the dirt, the road, the fence, and even the jersey barriers. On weekends, there is a traffic snarl along that stretch, with dozens and dozens of cars parked helter skelter. Tourists do their thing, take selfies, and post them.Then the cycle continues.

Good on the Marsh family trust to finally figure out how to separate people from a little bit of their money, but not all places are as lucky. When selfies in unique places become a prize unto themselves, a trophy for having been so cool as to seek out those places, there is always the risk that visitors will shoot and leave.

Wouldn’t it be nice if even just 10% of those Cadillac Ranch visitors stopped long enough for fuel or a meal? Better yet, how about lodging? I bet most people just keep going, though.

I am particularly guilty of this. Heck, my Facebook profile pic is of me standing by—wait for it—that familiar row of painted Cadillacs. And I have done this in many other places. It was no different from when we went to Carhenge in western Nebraska a few years ago. Snap snap snap…and off we went.

My passion is photographing roadside America, specializing in vintage neon signage, but also including the 1960s-era fiberglass Muffler Men and other oddities. Often I will shoot a selfie after I have finished doing my usual photo documentation. I seldom stay long enough anywhere to spend money, though. Some of the most common questions I am asked are “Did you eat there?” and “Did you spend the night there?”

If I did that, I would never be able to photograph as many things as I do.

As for cities and states that are tourism magnets, it is often a love-hate relationship. You hope people linger long enough to spend lots of money, but at the same time, you begin to loathe the traffic problems tourism can create. Just try to drive through Orlando Florida any time of the year. Or, to pick on a city closer to home, Albuquerque during Balloon Fiesta.

Then there is the case of China, the second biggest economy in the world. When I took my Chinese-born daughters there in 2019, we shot and posted tons of photos. While the notorious “Chinese Firewall” keeps residents from accessing western media, all it took was a VPN pointed at Hong Kong for us to dodge that bullet. And I suspect that the Chinese are good with this, because we basically became their pro bono advertising agency.

Ah, but China just lives with congestion. Bring it, baby, and bring lots of US dollars.

If anything, we can thank smartphones, social media, and always-on internet for putting a lot of this into hyper-drive. I don’t see things getting any better, short of another pandemic (please, no). Just don’t hog the space. Take your selfie and get out of the way. We’ve all got influencing to do.

Dr “Among The Worst Offenders” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[eretzyisrael]

Good News From Israel

In the 5th Mar 23 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

·       A new Israeli treatment avoids risk of damage to vital organs.

·       Israeli medics are still working in Turkiye (Turkey) and Ukraine.

·       NASA are assisting Israel on two groundbreaking space projects.

·       Two Israeli developments in generating hydrogen - the fuel of the future.

·       Israel’s national water company is working in seven Argentinian provinces.

·       Two international gold medals for Israeli judokas.

·       No Israeli child is left behind on the Jewish festival of Purim.

Read More: Good News From Israel

Israelis just can't stop doing good.  This week's life-enhancing medical advances include discoveries to prevent the brain from stopping prematurely, due to Alzheimer's or cancer. They include a medication that cannot be stopped by the skin, and systems that ensure the elderly won't stop enjoying life in their own home. There are devices that mean you no longer need to stop off at a dentist or an eye specialist for a check-up. And Israel's medical teams certainly haven't stopped saving lives in Turkey and Ukraine. There's no stopping Israelis from protecting the environment with renewable fuels, or preserving rare species. Pests, diseases and the weather can't stop Israeli indoor cultivation of valuable plants. And there is no stop to Israel's amazing water technology developments and help given to drought-afflicted countries. There is no stopping Israel's economy, and Tel Aviv, the city that never stops, has won acclaim for its unstoppable cycling ecosystem. Finally, a New Jersey couple showed that extreme age doesn't have to stop you from making the move to Israel.  And there is no handicap that can stop Israeli children from enjoying the Jewish festivals. The photo is of Kfir Damari, CEO of Israel's SpaceIL, being interviewed for ILTV at the OurCrowd summit in Jerusalem. He is positive that nothing can stop his two Beresheet2 spacecrafts from landing on the moon, especially now that NASA is supporting the mission.