#it was the joker still being alive! the world moving on without him! being forgotten! his death not changing anything!

[alltheshadesofamber]

Why does everyone want Jason to respond to his trauma “healthily”? 1, who gets to decide what’s “healthy”? Just because something isn’t relatable to you, a real person who is not and never has been a vigilante or died and been resurrected, doesn’t mean it’s “bad writing.” Everything Jason has ever done has been a reaction to what he’s been through, everything he’s been through has informed who he is now. 2, that is so boring, the Bats are all a bunch of maladaptive coping mechanisms in a metaphorical trench coat, that’s what’s interesting about them!

[atticinthecafe]

its 1 am and I wanted to write before I headed off to bed. this jumps around a lot time wise and I did not proof read it I'm ti r e d

---

The first time Akira did this Morgana nagged at him the whole time.

---

"Joker! You've been wandering around the city for hours," Morgana whined from inside the bag, shifting around.

Akira just hummed in response. His eyes were distant and foggy, constantly trained on the distance. Sometimes they would scan across the crowds, almost like he was looking for someone, but for the most part he just seems dazed, lost in thought. He kept walking, the twists and turns memorized by the back of his hand, simply wandering. Sometimes he'd end up on a train to some other area, but he just wandered all the same.

"When are we going home? I'm bored!" Morgana complained, this time getting a bit louder.

This seemed to break Akira from his thoughts, as he frowned looking at his bag where Morgana sat.

"I can talk you home if you want," He spoke low, just to his cat, in a neutral tone. It was hard to tell what was on his mind.

"Yes! wait- you're going to keep walking?"

"Mhm,"

"I'm not leaving you on your own! I'll just tough it out then! But we better get food sometime soon!"

---

Morgana hadn't really known why he was wandering, but to be fair, neither did he.

He had his hand shoved into a pocket, holding the glove he had gotten from his rival and walked around the city, watching the scenery and the people go past as he drifted. It was different now. He had been doing this for weeks. Just- walking around.

Orginally he had no clue why he did it. Something weighed on him, made him feel heavy. He zoned out during conversations and stared into space. Morgana suggested maybe fresh air and a walk would help refresh his senses, but it just ended in him wandering.

He needed the space, to be away from people. He also needed away from his thoughts, but that wasn't so easy. The city provided a nice distraction. Different things to think about. But that didn't stop the soft lull of sadness from weighing down his head.

He missed Akechi if he was being honest. He didn't notice it. But it was like a low hum in the back of his heart. Invisible stress making him tired when he hadn't done anything. It haunted him and didn't leave him be.

---

Morgana at some point had mentioned how when cats lose a friend or someone they care about they'll wander around, meowing and crying out for the other.Akira wondered if Morgana had been talking about him when he brought it up.

Today he had left Morgana with Futaba. The fog in his head and weight in his chest had gotten worse the past week. He hadn't known why until Ryuji mentioned it was around the same date they had met Akechi.

Incredible how his subconscious refused to let go.

The rain pattered against his umbrella as he walked and puddles gently splashed beneath his feet. It was nice to get rain in June. He certainly didn't mind it. It gave the city a softer, calmer feel. It almost felt like the rain took some of his weight with it when it fell.

---

Akira was fine most days. He seemed normal. Almost like he had moved on, but there were some where he simply disappeared out the front door, and everyone knew. They knew he still missed Akechi, no matter how many times they told him he shouldn't.  They knew he needed space for a bit.

The one time they made him stay it was obvious how he was stressed without realizing it. He fidgeted awkwardly and didn't participate in conversation. He seemed like he wasn't there at all and when spoke to he'd look up confused and obviously off in his own world.

Sometimes they would intentionally tell him to take a walk. He'd get shaky and tense for no reason. Seem more irritable and quiet than usually. Not handle loud noises or being around people well. This is when his friends would step in and tell him maybe he should go for a walk to calm his nerves. Sometimes it would take him getting frustrated over something small and all his stress breaking like a dam for the others to take notice, in which case they'd quiet down and all pause to take care of him. Whether it be one of them going on a walk with him, or the group settling down to bundle up in blankets and form a small pile as they watched movies together.

He wished it would stop. The days where he was stressed without realsing it and dazed. The days where he felt like the slightest thing going wrong would cause him to start sobbing and he didn't know why. The days where he missed Akechi.

He wasn't even certain if he was alive.

---

It had been a few years. Akira was better. He was managing better. But he still suddenly disappeared for walks. Some nights he wouldn't sleep at all and instead wandered.

It had been one of those nights, and now here he was, head resting on the counter of Leblanc well Sojiro huffed at him in the background. Something about going upstairs to sleep and not staying up so late.

He didn't move though, and Sojiro didn't seem to mind. There was something calming about the atmosphere. It was warm and the chattering of the TV in the background provided comfort in it's own way.

He couldn't sleep, as much as he wanted to the stress tugged at his brain keeping him just awake enough to be unable to sleep but not awake enough to bypass his exhaustion. So he just sat there, soaking in the smell of coffee and the peaceful air.

---

A ring sounded from the door, and Akira didn't bother looking up, staying where he was.

That was until he heard a soft, almost amused hum as a chair besides him was dragged out from its spot, someone sitting besides him. His eyes flickered open and up to meet red ones, gazing at him fondly.

The time passed in sections, one moment he has his head on the table, next he knew Akira was a crossed from the man, getting started on his favorite cup of coffee, pressing his glove back into his hand with tears pricking at his eyes. Then he was brewing coffee. A conversation between them was happening but- he didn't hear it. It made his chest warm and light, the lightest it had felt it years.

He placed the coffee infront of the other with a smile. He could feel the pure, unfiltered love and happiness just to be able to hear his voice again rush through his body with every word the man spoke.

He hummed softly as the other pressed their hands together, the warmth filling his body yet lingering just where he touched him.

---

His heart felt raw.

Akira blinked open his eyes to Sojiro leaving. To the once warm comforting room feeling cold and bitterly lonely. The warmth that lingered on his hand feeling almost like a bitter sting.

He lifted his head up to find tears streaming down his face and his sleeves damp from where he had been resting his head.

Of course, it was just a dream.

His fingers found their way into his pocket, and he gripped the glove tight. His chest was nothing but raw pain that you would have figured he would have gotten over by now.

He just wanted to see him again.

---

The next few days were incredible low for Akira. He spent most of them asleep.

Dreams were incredible tantalizing now. The fact that occasionally, he would see Akechi again in them made them feel more worth while than reality sometimes.

It was lonely.

He spent a long time asleep that week. More than he should have, but he couldn't help it. The sting in his chest was hard to bare.

---

Akira laughed.

It was the fullest his chest had felt in a while. No longer that haunting hollow that followed him around from day to day.

He was still moving on, he still occasionally had days where he would wander. But they were less now.

The warmth that filled his chest when his friends smiled, the brightness in their eyes and the lightness to their tone when they said the stupidest jokes made the lonely fade.

He had forgotten how good they make him feel.

There was a bittersweet taste left in his mouth when he thought about Akechi. How he should get to feel the same warmth Akira did. How he deserved so much more than the cards he was handed, but Akira didn't linger on that. He couldn't. He had to move forwards.

Akechi would probably call him stupid for staying stuck on him so long. He would say how he shouldn't waste the life he has thinking about someone who killed him. How if anything he should be glad he finally won. There was no more rivalry to be had. But Akira still had to disagree.

Akira took every step as a challenge to be better. He spent the days trying to improve, telling himself that he couldn't fall behind now. He couldn't disappoint the rival he loved so dearly by stopping just because it was over.

He figured if Akechi ever did return, he'd give him a real challenge. If he met Akechi again he wanted to be someone he could respect, someone he could challenge and find worth challenging. He wanted to keep the rivalry alive in his own little way. It was just a promise in his own mind he had to keep. And he couldn't do that with a hurting chest, so he indulged in the moments surrounded by friends, with laughter in the air.

He would do his best to continue, just to prove that he could. He wouldn't forget Akechi, he didnt think he could, but he wouldn't fall behind because of him.

---

When the day was late and the sky had turned shades of orange Akira was left cleaning up Leblanc, making sure everything was ready for business tomorrow.

It had been a while since he had finally realized that he had moved forwards, but he was still making progress with each day.

He leaned back onto a shelf, letting out a soft satisfied hum as he relaxed for the day.

Then the bell on the door rung.

Then a familiar voice spoke, and Akira had to make sure this wasn't a dream.

"I hope I haven't come in too late for a cup of coffee Kurusu, I was hoping we could catch up,"

[puppylove24680]

Urban Legend Bruce Wayne and Public Figure Batman

No one hears from Bruce after his parents death.

First its Alfred not wanting to expose a greaving kid to the press

Then its a moody teen who just doesnt wanna

Then Bruce goes out training

But he doesnt go public after coming back

Wayne Manor still hosts charity events but B doesnt attend

All Wayne Industries work is done without an appearance

They eventually learn to accept he’ll never attend meetings and work around it

Batman makes a debut, and helps form the Justice League

Due to League press he is widely known about

Then the Graysons fall with B in attendance, and the first public thing hes done in years is take in Dick

There are rumors and conspiracies floating around, B doesnt despute them, he likes his privacy

B and Dick have full reign to have a more normal life without the paparazzi

Until Dick finds the Batcave

Robin joins Batman’s side, making him even more famous for the controversy this triggers

Batgirl soon joins in the spotlight

Dick moves on to Nightwing and Jason joins as the second kid

This is less publicized as Jason was a nobody before being adopted vs Dick having been part of a public tragedy

Jason doesnt have to deal with being thrust in the spotlight so he has a better transition

People notice the change in Robin and figure out the Nightwing-Robin connection

Gotham loves the new Robin just as much

People notice and mourn Batgirl’s disappearce

When Jason dies the public doesnt know

Theyve almost forgotten about his existance

Only those deep in conspiracies really even knew he existed

When the second Robin dies the public KNOWS

They know from the way when Batman is forced into the spotlight hes missing his light

They know from his flinch whenever the boy wonder is mentioned

They know from how rarely hes seen

They know from the lack of laughter at night

They know from Joker’s taunts and Batman’s increased violence

Tim joins the Waynes without a fuss from the outside world

Hes not officially in it yet, but his parents dont notice him going to the Wayne’s and he spends so much time there he practical lives with them

Everyone freaks out when a third Robin joins the Bat

Its confirmation of the rumors

There are heated debates on the ethics of enabling a kid to participate in something so lethal especially so soon after

Some still hope Robin Number 2 is still alive

Batgirl’s reapearance surprises people, but they love the new one just as much as the old

Cass happily joins the family

The Red Hood makes a massive impact in Gotham Not just in his actions in Gotham’s underworld but also in the rumormill

People can tell that him and Bats have history When he eventually joins Batman’s side its not just a victory for him but Gotham as a whole, theyre invested in Bats’ happiness by now

When Jason comes home its incredibly easy to bring him back to life, its like he was never gone in the eyes of the public, because he was also never really there

While Tim is recovering from Jason’s return and then his parent’s death Stephanie steps up to fill in

The first girl Robin is the most controversial of them all

Ask anyone in Gotham and theyll either tell you how much they love her for inspiring so many little girls or how Robin is a boys job and she should stick to Batgirl among other varying opinons

When she joins Batman for League business the world sees her and joins in on having opinions

Tim and Steph share Robin going back and forth on who gets to be Robin that night, sometimes they even patrol together

B approves, safety in numbers being the main reason

Robin Number Five replaces the previous two at the same time Batman becomes a totally different person

It’s clear in how he acts and looks

Hes smaller than the other Bat, he smiles more and has a different dynamic with the League

He’s an acrobat, so like the first bird they cant help but draw connections

No one knows what to think but they hope for anything but the worst

Red Robin and the newest Batgirl appear soon after

A year later Batman is back, the Batman, not his first partner

No one noticed Bruce Wayne’s absence, he never had a presence in the first place

[bigskydreaming]

How did you come up w/ the worldbuilding of By Lost Ways? Cause going by chapter 1 and your posts on the deck, it's fascinating and super well thought out!

LOL thanks! And yes I will be getting back to that now that I can like....actually enjoy feedback/comments from stuff I post instead of just posting and two seconds later be in crisis mode and completely forgetting I even just did that lol.

But in answer to your question, you know how there are novels like Fifty Shades of Grey and City of Bones that are basically fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, as some people call that? This is basically just the exact opposite. It was an original novel that was part of a bigger shared fantasy universe of mine called the Citadel, that I ended up not doing anything with because it had too many (superficial) similarities to another novel of mine, even though the latter was a sci-fi project. They actually werent that similar, just used a lot of the same aesthetics and tropes, like both had airships, etc, it was one of those things where they just FELT too similar when writing them, and that was causing complications in doing anything further with them so I decided to just let one go, and it happened to be the fantasy one, since I had a bunch of other projects in that same universe that I could shepherd various characters and elements over into.

But one thing I couldn’t ever really relocate was the idea of the Regents’ Deck, which was always a fave concept of mine, and then awhile back it occurred to me that the Batfam was actually really really easy to structure into the already existing framework of the Regents’ Deck and the overall world I’d built around it, and so I was like hey, Im not doing anything else with it, why not just make it a Batfam fanfic. So the story that resulted was a new thing, its not like I just swapped the names around, the plot of Hypotheticals of Being just didn’t work for a Batfam fic, at least not in any way that really engaged me, but it kinda just.....it was almost more like writing a crossover fusion of two fandoms, just one of them happened to be wholly of my own making, lolol. But basically like, the actual fanfic was just sorta like me writing another story in this same setting/lore that I’d already written one novel in, just with the Batfam characters instead.

As for the worldbuilding itself, in the initial form, like, worldbuilding is literally my favorite thing in the world lol, and also I happen to view as probably my biggest strength as a writer, so if there’s interest, I’d be down to do a post walking through kinda my whole ‘process’ there or whatever. Since I do have a certain approach I apply to pretty much everything I write, from fanfic to original projects, its just so ingrained its hard to kinda break it down into clear steps. But give me three things to use as a start point, and I’d be happy to kinda like, do a post ‘showing my work’ as I worldbuild around them.

The three things thing is kinda key for me, as I dont know entirely where it comes from or why I started doing it, I just noticed somewhere along the line that every fully formed project or world I create that I’m actually happy with, like....can always be traced back to three initial ideas I threw together. I’m not exactly sure why three is the magic number for me, it just kinda is.

For example, the world and initial story for this one grew out of these three seeds: Mother Sky, a Tarot Deck, and airships. Those were the three elements that popped into my head as wanting to do something with, and that I combined to come up with this world. (Mother Sky being like.....so I was thinking about all the various takes we have on Mother Earth, and I was wondering what would a world look like that viewed the Sky in the same way, like potentially if it was a fantasy sky-set civilization instead of land-bound).

So the basics of the world all grew out of just those three ideas, and then it was easy enough to flesh out by leaning on a lot of already existing worldbuilding for my broader Citadel mythology, to create the exact specifics of the plot/conflict. Not really relevant to the fanfic version now, as the focus on that stuff is most of what was cut when adapting it to Batfam, since I still have lots of Citadel stuff not related to this one particular project.

Like the basic idea behind the Citadel is that in this fantasy universe, the universe itself has a kind of rudimentary sentience, that constantly seeks out a kind of partner or symbiosis with sentient beings to kinda...drive its power. Like, its aware enough to know that it wants to grow and change and evolve, but relies on the imagination and creativity of sentient beings to do that. So it centralizes its powers of creation in a form that appears to most sentient beings as a kind of fortress or citadel, a seat of power, and anyone who enters it and assumes control over it, in effect becomes god. Able to reshape the universe and create anew according to their whims. And sometimes there’s just one person who stumbles across the Citadel, sometimes a pair or a trio, sometimes a full pantheon, with various individuals assuming sovereignty over set Rooms within the Citadel, and the forces those Rooms command (like gaining the Armory makes one a god of war, the Library a god of knowledge, etc, etc). 

But for all their power, the various residents of the Citadel rarely ever glean on to the fact that the Citadel is kinda ‘alive’ in and of itself, and the true power behind all the power they wield. And the one thing the Citadel detests is stagnancy. So whenever a god or gods or pantheon becomes complacent, stops USING the power of the Citadel as a force for change, stop driving the engines of creation to beget something new and instead just become content to kinda enjoy what they’ve made or reshaped things INTO.....that’s when the Citadel basically takes back its power and reappears as a temptation on the horizon for new seekers to find and ascend to godhood.

Anyway, the point being there’s been an endless cycle of the Citadel changing hands and everything that comes with it, up until what’s basically the beginning of this broader universe.....the ‘last’ residents of the Citadel are a full-fledged pantheon who were so destructive in their attempts to seize more and more control of the Citadel for just themselves or their allies, that they were basically destroying their entire world without any single one of them having control of enough of the Citadel that they could prevent this. Until one of them, Seshan, finally gained control of the Throne Room, the heart of creation, and using its power she basically locked all the other gods in their respective Rooms and broke the entire Citadel into pieces, flinging the others away into the void of uncreation. So for the thousands upon thousands of years since then, the various other gods have been able to create using just the power of their own Rooms, and move between each others’ various worlds, but are denied access to the Throne Room or the world it rests on, the world of their own creation.....and without it, none of them can put the Citadel back together and assume full control of it.

Or, y’know, restart the cycle of creation and destruction. Something the Citadel itself, unbeknowst to any of them, is really not happy about.

So you’ve got some gods who are content with things the way they are and happy being the only god in town in their respective worlds, you have others who are trying to use their worlds to one by one conquer the others’ and thus gain control of their Rooms, trying to gather enough power to kinda just force their way back through the locked doors to the Throne Room, and then you’ve got others who basically have been using eternity to settle old scores and grudges.

The latter happened to be the backstory for the setting for what became By Lost Ways - hence why it wasn’t too hard to pull these particular elements out and shift them to other settings. The original Mother Sky, the creator of this world, is in the Citadel-verse named Eriu, and she’s the supreme nature goddess of earth, sea and sky, being one of the most powerful of the deities with control of three separate Rooms. She used the Aviary to make this particular world, hence its magic being connected to and stemming from feathers, etc. The Dark One, the original Joker of the Regents’ Deck, is Dian, who controls the Pit and the Locked Room, and as such is the God of Temptation and Emptiness, Hunger and Corruption.

(Dian’s machinations back during the Holy Wars basically shattered the mind of Eriu’s lover, Indech, as Dian tried to manipulate him into gaining control of one of the most dangerous Rooms in the Citadel and use him as a proxy without risking himself. It half worked, as Indech gained control of the Room that made him the new God of Chaos, but in the process turned from the somewhat naive, gullible scholar Dian had been counting on him being, to someone just completely detached from anything other than his own interests - which were now fueled by the primal powers of chaos and his new worldview/conviction that nothing he did mattered and thus he could do anything free of consequence. Indech’s as distant and unreachable to Eriu as anyone else, and she’s had a vendetta against Dian ever since....which often takes the form of a merciless nature goddess rampaging through the worlds of Dian’s creation, heedless of the damage she leaves in her wake, as the more millennia pass, the more disassociated the gods become from their own origins. Some have even bought into their own hype and forgotten that they aren’t the only gods out there or even the first).

But anyway, that’s the story of how the worldbuilding for By Lost Ways came to be, lol, though for specifics on like, the actual process as opposed to the big picture stuff, just send me three things and I’ll walk through things from the start to whatever results.

For the record, I want to make clear I’ve been writing stuff in my Citadel ‘verse since I was fifteen, so any similarities to Brandon Sanderson’s shared universe are not incidental, but they’re also not me ripping him off - rather, I’m fairly certain we were both influenced in our worldbuilding/big picture stuff by the same novels when we were growing up. Like, its not that I’m above ripping other people off, its just that I want credit to go where its due. I ripped off Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and a little Michael Moorcock and some Zelazny. LOLOL.

[revengeofthebluepen]

Painted On With Laughter Ch 11/12

Ch. 11 Home Laughing Home

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Eventually those months added up to a year and (Name) never came home. Dick still thought she had stuck him up those many days ago. Dick refused to talk about (Name) with Bruce. Barbara had became the batgirl only a month after (Name)’s disappearance. After shortly being batgirl, Dick and Barbara fell in love with each other. For Dick, (Name) was long gone and forgotten. He figured (Name) didn't love him enough to stay so that's why she ran off. Dick almost forgot about (Name) until Barbra would ask Bruce who (Name) was, after one day she found (Name)’s old room. (Name)’s room still had an outfit on the bed, her desk filled with drawings and other papers, her guitar still laid in it's case, and her stuff animals were still in a neat pile on the end of her bed. Bruce refused for Alfred to change anything about (Name)’s room in hopes that when she would come back she would see they cared enough to remember she was still missed. Barbara, Dick and Bruce were currently patrolling Gotham for anything out of the ordinary.

“Hey Robin” Barbara asked her partner as they sat by some gargoyles. Dick gave a agreeing hum.

“Who was (Name)?”

“Some girl who Bats took in.”

“So she was like a batgirl then?”

“No she didn’t know about us being this.”

“Oh, so what happened to her?”

“She ran away. I don't know why though.”

While Barbara kept asking questions about who (Name) was, on the other side of Gotham, the Joker was fast at work in his secret hide out. Harley sat at the table sipping her coffee as her darling little adopted daughter came running in the room. Harley raised an eyebrow as to question the action but understood as a set of heavier footsteps came in next. The joker was chasing their daughter with a needle in hand. Their daughter ran behind Harley and grabbed onto her.

“Momma,” their daughter croaked out in between tears.

“Puddin, what are you doing to upset her?”

“She needs her shot, she's refusing to take it…again” the main said in between gasping for air.

Harley turned around her daughter who was now 15 years in age and still terrified of needles. Harley motioned for the teen with now blue and pink hair, split just like her own, to take a seat by the table. The teen did and Harley took their daughter’s hand in her own. Joker came over with the needle and quickly stock the girl with it while the girl squeezed Harley’s hand. Their daughter slowly fell forwards into Harley’s arm. Joker pick up his daughter and carried her back to her bed with Harley following right behind them. As the small criminal family had their moment, a certain superhero drew closer to finding his daughter.

Batman had just finished beating up a low life thug of the Joker when he heard something that surprised him.

“Please don't hurt us, we can take you to her, we know where she is.” cried out one of the thugs. Batman knocked out the remain thugs besides the one with the information. Gripping the man by the collar, bats picked him up.

“Where is she?”

“The joker, he keeps her at.... ”

Before the man could finish a shot had been fired, leaving a dead body in his hands. Batman looked in the direction of the origin of the sound. He saw a none other than the famous Joker himself.

“Such a shame he tried to tell you. Take all the fun out of it really.”

“Where is she Joker”

“Somewhere you’ll never find her.” he said with a laugh.

The Joker threw some smoke pellets on the ground and Batman ran after him. Unfortunately the Joker got away. In a fit of anger Batman punched a nearby wall. Dick and Barbara got to watch this unfold.

“Whoa, calm down. We’ll get him next time, Batman” said Barbara.

Bruce stormed out of the warehouse and got in the batmobile. Dick and Barbara followed quickly behind him and got in as well. Bruce drove the two back to the manner and dropped them off. Without saying a word to the two children he drove off and into the night. He was going to save (Name) is it was the last thing he was going to do.

(Name) awoke screaming in pain again. She quickly scurried off of her bed and into the other room. She fell against the wall as she felt like her skin was on fire. She released another scream and Harley walked over to her. Tears were streaming down her face as Harley pulled her into a hug. Harley rubbed small circles in her back as (Name) started to feel better. Haley lead (Name) back to her room and helped her change into her outfit.

When (Name) was kidnapped by the Joker and Harley, they erased her memories and brainwashed her into a mini Harley Quinn. Over the months (Name) had flashback of who she used to be but the shots the Joker gave her kept those flashbacks suppressed and kept (Name) insane. At first Joker and Harley had torchered her alive with electroshock and other various methods but after discovering the shots would hold the effect of their torcher, (Name) would be stuck as mini Harley.

(Name) wore a red and white shirt with the words Daddy’s little monster on it, a pair of blue and red shorts along with ripped fishnet stocking and a pair of highheels. Harley placed (Name)’s hair into two pigtails and walked with her back to the kitchen like area. (Name) took a seat and grabbed some fruit from a bowl on the table. Eating the orange she grabbed, Joker came running into the room. Harley went up and greeted him with a kiss, which he accepted.

“It's time Harley.” He said before he gave her a dip kiss.

Harley walked over to (Name) and grabbed her hand. Leading (Name) down throughout the hideout, (Name) was eventually met with other thugs. Harley and (Name) stood back quietly as Joker gave instructions to the others before walking back to his two girls. He lead them both to the car and they all got in.

Bruce jumped rooftop to rooftop waiting and watching for his daughter or the Joker. He waited for several hours and was almost ready to call it a night, when the bat signal went off. Batman rushed over to the roof top with the signal on it. As batman drew closer to the rooftop he saw a silhouette of a teenage girl. As he landed closer, Bruce could see it was none other than (Name).

“(Name)” he said in a whisper

Bruce walked closer to (Name) but she backed up farther in the shadows and to the other side of the roof. Bruce stopped mid step as she stepped up onto the edge and her voice rang out to him.

“Come any closer and I’ll jump.”

“Please step down. I promise not to hurt you. Just please step down from there.”

“Then take a step back.”

Bruce did as he was asked and (Name) stepped down from the edge.

“How do you know my name?”

“I know your father, he sent me to find you”

“Lies! My father is dead!” (Name) shouted back at Bruce

“No he is still alive, I can take you to him” Bruce said as he took a step forwards. (Name) noticed this and stepped up to the edge again.

“Get back!” (Name) yelled out

Bruce took several steps back but (Name) still remained on the edge, not trusting the man before her.

“Please (Name) get down from the edge.” Bruce pleaded with the girl.

“Not until you step onto the other edge.”

Bruce stepped onto the other edge and (Name) slowly edge her way out of the shadows. As she finally stepped into the light, Bruce could see (Name) in the odd outfit. It was obvious that Harley had dressed her. (Name) walked even closer to Bruce to the point she was only a few paces away from him.

“Please (Name) let me help you get back to your father and Dick.”

“If you know Dick tell me things only him and my family know,”

“His favorite color is blue, he used to sleep with a night light and he is terrified of moneys.”

“How do I know you're not a bad guy who just keeps tabs on people?”

“I’m a superhero, I’m the good guy.”

“So you hurt the so called bad guys”

“They are the bad guys because they disobey the laws”

“The rules only benefit those in power” (Name) said with a small sickening laugh.

Her laughter grew and grew as two others joined into her laughter. With a smile plastered on her face, (Name) ran forwards and shoved Bruce of the building. Bruce pulled (Name) down with him and together they fell down wards. Harley and the Joker came running over the edge screaming after (Name). Batman used his grappling hook and shot into the sky. He held onto (Name). One of Joker’s thugs was in the window below where Bat’s grappling hook wire was and so he cut it. Batman and (Name) fell down one more. Bruce luckily grabbed onto the nearby building and he gripped on to (Name)’s hand. (Name) held onto his hand and took the other hand to take a dagger from her belt. She raised her dagger, aiming for his chest, Bruce moved and the dagger plunged it's way into his arm. The searing pain caused him to let go only for a millisecond of (Name)’s hand but it was enough to make her fall down. Once her hand slipped from Bruce’s grip, he tried to grab her hand again but only to accidentally pull of her bracelet. As she fell a sickly laughter from her throat erupted into the air. She drew near and near to the ground and the smile on her face grew even more. (Name) felt the air direction change direction. Looking up with the smile plastered onto her face, her eyes were met with…..

Ch 12. Remember Me

Looking up with the smile plastered onto her face, (Name)’s eyes were met with crystal blue eyes and flaming red hair. The girl looked to be around (Name)’s age maybe a little younger or possibly older. Not knowing whether or not to trust this person (Name) took out her other dagger and swung at the girl. The girl dropped (Name) only a few feet from the pavement. (Name) hit with a thud onto the ground, and the world was soon overcome with darkness once more. (Name) could feel herself get very warm and then cold as someone moved her.

BEEEEEEP. BEEEEEP. BEEEEP.  Was at first the only thing (Name) could hear but as she listened even more she could hear people talking. She couldn't quite figure out what they were saying but soon it became clearer. (Name)’s eyes stayed shut but she could hear what was going on.

“She lost only blood so shouldn't a blood transfusion fix her?” questioned a young male voice.

“She is accomma for now, Dick, the doctors said she may be able to open her eyes but that's it for now.”

(Name) listened to three footstep come near her and take a seat on the chairs or couch near hear. Someone in the room pulled the chair up by her. The person took her hand and placed it in her own. After a few moments one of the people left the room. As the door shut behind the leaving person, (Name)’s eyes fluttered open. The world was blurry but soon came into focus. (Name) looked straight forwards for she could move her head. Dick and Bruce stood over her so she could see them both. The two talked to each other but they were tuned out by the infernal beeping. Bruce left the room and quickly returned with a few nurses and doctors. Dick and Bruce were shooed out of the room but they both watched from the other side of the door.  (Name)’s eyes were plastered forwards as doctors and nurses worked around her. (Name) caught glimpse of needles that they were putting in her. (Name)’s mind raced frantically and she tried to move as tears streamed down her face. Her body twitched slightly and all the doctors stopped. One of the nurses looked at (Name)’s face and caught the terrifying look in (Name)’s eyes. The nurse went over to Bruce and only let him in. Bruce rushed over to (Name) and held her hand. At first (Name) tried to move her hand away from the man but placed it back. There was something comforting about holding his hand. (Name) squeezed Bruce’s hand as they stook more needle into her. More tears rolled down her face as the doctors took the food tubing out of her mouth. The doctor eventually allow Dick and a girl to enter the room. Dick pulls (Name) into a hug but (Name) doesn't dare hug back. Dick lets go of (Name) and looks into her eyes. Those (word to describe eyes, ex. chocolatey for brown eyes,) (e/c) are filled with so many questions but her voice is unwilling to be heard yet. A doctor returns and pulls Bruce into the hallway to talk.

    “(Name) this is Barbara, she's a friend of mine.” Dick said motioning to the girl.

A small smile formed on (Name)’s face but quickly as Bruce and the doctor returned. The doctor moved the children out into the hallway.

    “Now (Name), we are going to ask you some questions and please answer honestly.” the doctor said handing a whiteboard and marker to (Name).

    “What is your full name (Name)?”

    (Name) (Middle Name) Wayne. (Name) wrote on the board

    “How old are you?”

    14

    “Who is your guardian?”

    My dad, Bruce Wayne.  (Name) made and arrow on her board so when she held it up it pointed to Bruce who now sat next to her.

    “What City do you live in?”

    Gotham

    “And do you remember what happened?”

(Name) sat and tried to rack her brain for some sort of information but nothing came to mind.

    No was all (Name) wrote on the board.

The doctor and Bruce continued to talk and shortly they let Dick and Barbara back into the room. Barbara ask simple questions like what (Name)’s favorite color was and other things of that nature. She dared not to ask what happened that night or why she acted the way she did. Barbara was trying very hard to not get too personal. Soon Barbara, Dick and Bruce all had to leave but they promised to be back soon. The nurses and other doctors came and went to (Name)’s room. (Name) had therapy both mental and physical. Throughout the process and days that (Name) was visited by Bruce, Dick, and Barbara during the visiting hours. Slowly but surely, (Name) gained her ability to speak again and walk. After months of therapy, (Name) still couldn't remember anything but the name of people and places. She didn't remember her childhood but remembered Dick being there with her. She didn't remember the night of the incident either. After being in the hospital for a month, (Name) was finally released to go back home. As they were driving home, (Name) noticed the snow falling and in the distance a red and yellow striped tent. Dick saw this too and Bruce noticed them staring at the tent. Bruce whispered something to Alfred and Alfred dorve towards the tent.

    Alfred parked the car and Dick and (Name) got out of the car. (Name) followed Dick as he ran up to where there were poster on the tent. One of the posters had the words Flying Graysons, written across the top of it. (Name)’s eyes began to tear up as she looked at the poster. A memory flashed before her eyes:

A woman’s voice echoed through (Name)’s head as she placed both hands on the swing. “When you look out look only at him. Let go when you feel like you could fly straight forward and he’ll catch you.’ Taking a final breath (Name) sung out on the bar. The familiar feeling rushed all over her. She could feel as if she was weightless as she stared into Dick’s eyes. (Name) could feel her body automatically shift her weight to she fling herself forwards.  Keeping her eyes locked on Dick’s, (Name) let go of the swing.

    “We...we were them?” (Name) looked at Dick

    “You remember?”

(Name) shook her head yes. Bruce had finally caught up to the two children. Bruce held onto three yellow slips of paper and handed one to each child. (Name) looked at the small piece of paper, it was a ticket.  The three walked over to entrance and handed a clown their tickets before entering. Taking a seat on a bench, the three huddled together. The show soon started. Lions were tamed and another memory flashed before her eyes, (Name) whispered to Dick.

    “Did I do that too?” (Name) pointed to the lions and Dick nodded.

The show continued with clowns and other animals like camels and elephants. (Name) watched in awe as a pair of people climbed up to the swinging bars above their head. The pair did twists and flips, throwing themselves in the air. (Name) watched in awe as the two worked in complete silence in sync. They trusted their partners and they knew they would be caught by one another. One of the acrobates slip from it's place on the swing and fell down, (Name) watched in horror and squeezed Dick’s hand. A net at the bottom caught the acrobat but (Name) still squeezed Dick’s hand. Tears fell from her face as the show ended and the memory replayed over and over in her mind.

(Name) noticed that the swings seemed off and ran to climb to the top of the platform. Unfortunately (Name) was to late as she was only half way up as she watched Mary and John fall mid air to the ground below. The crowd screamed as many onlookers watched Mary and John meet their maker. All Dick and (Name) could do was stare on in shock as their bodies laid motionlessly on the ground.

    Dick pulled (Name) into a hug and reality faded back to normal. As the family exited the tent, more and more memories flooded back to (Name). Piece by pieces as they looked around the circus, (Name)’s childhood memories came back to her.

[dotshiiki]

more angst fic

I am not done reacting. 

Spoilers, naturally. 

A Demigod’s Life | another thousand + words of angst and percabeth

(This is actually a pared down version of the initial percabeth reaction fic I wrote in the last two days, which is on Ao3 but I’m not comfortable putting adult content on places without an age filter, so, clean version here.)

Annabeth's hands shook as she hung up the phone. The cheer she'd tried to inject for her cousin's sake slid away like oil on water. As soon as she looked back at Percy's red-rimmed eyes and scrunched up face, she lost even the faint flicker of optimism Magnus's good news had brought. It was great that the world wasn't going to go up in Norse flames, but …

Maybe Magnus had saved the world, but it still felt like theirs had come grinding to a halt.

She went to Percy and put her head against his shoulder. His arms came around her automatically.

'He says your advice helped. He said to tell you he kept his …' Her voice died on the words butt clenched all the way.The joke fell flat as the memory of their first flight to New Rome on the Argo II crept up on her. Jason had been trying to explain legion formations to them, and Leo, ever the joker, had asked if they all had to walk like they had sticks up their butts, too.

'I do not walk like I have a stick up my butt,' Jason had protested.

Piper had laughed and kissed his cheek. 'Well, you do sort of clench when you're being all proper and stuff …'

Annabeth choked down a sob. Percy pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair. He might have been trying to comfort her, but from the way his arms trembled, she knew she was as much his lifeline as he was hers. When something like this happened, when the grief and guilt threatened to swallow you whole …

'It's my fault.' Percy's voice cracked on the last word.

'No,' she whispered. 'You know it isn't.'

'I—' He gave a harsh, humourless laugh. 'I'm supposed to be the one whose fatal flaw is loyalty. And I wasn't there. I didn't go.'

It wasn't so much loyalty, she thought, as it was his need to save everyone. His inability to step away had always been a struggle for him. And now that he'd finally started to conquer it, Jason had made the ultimate sacrifice … and Percy couldn't forgive himself for falling short.

'You can't always be the hero, Percy.'

'Too many times,' he said in a ragged voice. 'Too many times, someone else's taken the fall. First there was Bob and Damasen … and then we let Leo … and now …' He took a deep breath. 'Apollo came to me, Annabeth. He asked for myhelp. And I told him no quests. No saving the world.'

'You took him to camp. You did what you could.'

'I said no. But Jason didn't. And now he's …' He closed his eyes. 'I should have gone. I should have been the one to—if anyone had to die …'

'Don't say that!' Shards of ice pierced her skin, spilling cold fear into her veins. 'Don't ever say that.'

It was a fear that had always lain dormant in her mind. That this would be exactly how she would lose Percy one day—one heroic sacrifice. After all, he'd come so close so many times. In the Labyrinth. In Tartarus.

Annabeth had wanted so badly to move past that fear. In her hubris, she'd believed they'd done their part. They could go off to college in New Rome and be safe, normal. How could she have forgotten, even for a second, that a demigod's life was cursed a thousand times over by the Fates?

'Maybe if I'd been there …'

She cupped his face. 'I know you, Percy. If you had been there, it wouldn't be Jason in that coffin. It'd be you, and I couldn't … I can't even …' Her voice cracked. 'Maybe I'm selfish, and awful, because I can't help being so damn grateful that it wasn't you.'

She was shaking uncontrollably now, a tsunami of guilt and terror threatening to sweep her away. She couldn't deny that as devastating as it had been when Apollo had told them the story, a small part of her had thanked every god in the pantheon that of all the tragedies that could have happened … it wasn't Grover. It wasn't Piper.

It wasn't Percy.

What sort of person did that make her?

'You're not awful.' Percy pressed his nose to hers. His tears were falling fast again, mingling with hers on their cheeks. 'I couldn't lose you either.'

She wasn't sure if his mouth found hers, or if it was the other way round. Whichever it was, she breathed him in hungrily, needing absolution, needing succour, needing him. Their kiss was rough and desperate, almost violent as they searched for relief—a relief that wouldn't come, but they would try and extort from each other anyway. It was a shared outpouring of guilt and fear and grief, a maelstrom of emotions that would have eaten her alive if she tried to endure them alone.

Being with Percy was a single stitch holding together the ragged fabric of her heart.

And she could not forget that but for a twist of Fates' needles, she could be in Piper's position: broken and alone, holding the pieces of a shattered heart that would never fit back together.

They were demigods, after all. Life was fragile and temporary and you could not plan for it. You could not plan for loss. You could not plan for heartbreak.

You can't control every contingency, Piper had once told her. You have to accept that. Let it scare you. Trust that it'll be okay anyway.

Annabeth wondered if Piper still believed that after this.

Afterwards, as they held each other close, Percy traced a series of tally marks across her shoulder blades. She knew without asking that they were a running count of the friends they had lost over the years. Deaths they had moved on from, but which came back to haunt her now that another friend had joined the list, as if to remind her that there was no statue of limitations on grief.

'He saved my life, you know,' Percy said softly. 'At the bottom of the ocean, no less.'

'The thing with Kymopoleia?'

Percy's laugh was brittle, but less broken now. 'And I told him to keep the details to himself. Wish I'd let him make as much fun of me as he wanted.'

'He wouldn't have.' She sniffled. 'He was always so honourable.'

'So serious,' Percy agreed.

Her mind gave a crystal clear image of Jason with his glasses on, earnestly trying to explain Roman history to the Argo crew. He taught so much better than she did, with infinite patience and none of her exasperation.

'Professor Grace.' Her lips formed a trembling smile.

'The blond Superman.'

'Pontifex Maximus.' She thought of the rough sketches Meg McCaffrey had pressed into her hands. Jason's final legacy, entrusted to her.

Her eyes met Percy's and a terrifying but inescapable truth passed between them. 'We have to finish it. Everything he—everything he died for.'

Percy's jaw clenched. 'The emperors.'

It was time they joined the fight.

They weren't done saving the world. Maybe they never would be. But that was what being a demigod meant. Monsters—human or otherwise—never went away. All they could do was keep the evil at bay, the way Jason had, and Bob and Damasen, and Luke, and Beckendorf, and Silena, and so many others who had gone before them. Until their time was up, and they had no choice but to hand the sword over to someone else to carry on the fight.

All she could do was live with the fear and the pain and the heartbreak, and keep fighting anyway. Trust that it'll be okay.

And if it wasn't …

Then Annabeth just prayed to every god there was out there—Greek, Norse, Egyptian, she didn't care which—that if the time ever came for Percy to be the hero, she would fall with him.

As long as they were together.

A/N: Jason's death in The Burning Maze raised quite a bit of guilt in that I actually felt relief about it before sadness that we'd lost this good, heroic character. I needed to express this somehow, and I guess my girl Annabeth gets to be the one helping me give voice to those feelings. And it ended up being this fic. So that being what it is, I don't know if this is all that great a piece of writing. But perhaps some of you can relate.

[capriswritingnartshenanigans]

Waiting

Thane Krios/Female Shepard. Angst. SFW. Plot twist, so maybeee... it doesn’t end so sadly. Catch it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14300934

Charisma Shepard is a strong woman. She survived hell after hell, but after the love of her life dies... She’s left to pick up the pieces. 

Gift for @hushedmusic / @imaginesaroundtheworld

Charisma Shepard remembered a lot of things. She remembered her days living on the colony of Mindoir, believing herself safe and protected, only to have her entire life shattered. She remembered the batarians storming homes, slaughtering and capturing those she had known all her life, even the entire detail of her mother screaming for her to run, to get away, and then the blood blossoming onto her chest as bullets ripped through her fragile body. She could still hear the bullets whiz past her, hitting the trees and ground around her; her only saving grace had been her biotics reaction to her panic. She had fled into the wilderness, and had barely survived on impure water and foreign berries. Half-starved and delirious, she stumbled into a small squad of Alliance marines a week later. She nearly died in the hospital, but didn’t. She survived.

Rissa had thought her life would be better after she joined the Alliance, two years after her family was murdered. She wanted to help those who may find themselves in similar situations; she didn’t want the suffering she endured inflicted on anyone else. However, it seemed her ill-fortune followed her. Six years after her enlistment, in 2178, she was forced yet again as those she cared for died around her. While patrolling for possible slaver sightings on Akuze, the vehicle she and her unit were in was upturned. As they fled, she was forced to hear and watch her unit get torn to pieces. She remembered huddling against a rock bed, not sleeping as they screamed well into the night. She was the sole survivor. It was a few days before she was found; she survived on what rations she could bring over from the crushed vehicle with her biotics. She had nightmares of that for years after.

Rissa’s thoughts swirled to Virmire, and being forced to decide who lived… and who died. The choice between Kaidan Alenko and Ashley Williams, two of her most trusted companions. She remembered telling Ashley that she has to get Kaidan and Kirrahe, and how she promised to go back and find her, but she didn’t get that option. Before she could, Ashley blew the bomb, herself, and the facility to pieces. She remembered looking back through one of the Normandy’s windows at the rubble and smoke, her omnitool’s radio releasing loud static crackling through her ears.

Her memory swirled, shifted, to Saren, the council, the “end” of the war on the reapers. She remembered issuing the command to save the council at the cost of her own countrymen, and while she truly did feel horrible for doing so, she also knew having the council in her favor would help later on. She remembered asking Saren to stop, to fight Sovereign’s hold on him, but she saw it in his eyes that he couldn’t. Before she could say another word, he put his pistol to his head, and a resounding shot rang through the halls. She looked at his lifeless body, several feet below her, then watched in horror as he rose up, only it wasn’t him, but a cretin that wore his face. She sometimes woke up, many nights after the fact, with his face looming at her, his eyes crying for help but his body trying to kill her. The only solace she had after was Anderson being put on the council, and her hopes of him being able to keep things in better order.

As she lay there, in the darkness, more of her life flashed before her eyes. The Normandy, being attacked by Collectors, and her crewmen crying for help as the ship was blasted apart. She remembered Kaidan running up to her, pleading with her to come on, but she ordered him away, and went to find Joker. She lifted him as carefully but as firmly as she could, ignoring his complaints. After he was in the escape pod, she had went to prepare ejection but the Collectors’ second run sent her spiraling into space. She felt her lungs scream for air as her suit malfunctioned, the oxygen she desperately needed flushing out. She struggled, her hands clawing at her back as she sank quickly towards the surface of some insignificant planet. As she hit the surface, her bones crushed and she was somehow alive for moments after, as excruciating pain throbbed through her body.

Her next memories were on Ilium, in the Dantius Towers, hunting the drell “assassin”. She remembers watching as he suddenly slid out of the ceiling’s vent system, and quickly decimating Nassana and her forces. When he finally faced her, she felt a flair of… attraction? Towards him and his voice, but she pushed it away, and then tried to completely stamp it out at the news that he was dying. She was sick and tired of everyone leaving her, and for once, she didn’t want to suffer. She didn’t want to lose anyone else. Yet, her feelings had other ideas. As the broken drell opened up to her, she felt herself falling deeply for him. She cursed her feelings for a long time, pushing them away, but she hit a breaking point when his hand brushed hers while they were on shore leave. She felt the oddly smooth skin of the back of his hand touch hers, and he didn’t move away. Whether it be unfortunate or not, she poured her feelings out right then and there, in a corner of the docks. He had looked at her in astonishment, his forest green eyes widening and his brow ridges lifting exponentially. After a few moments, a small smile twitched his lips, and he said he had also felt something for her, but hadn’t known if she felt the same.

The next few months of her life had been happier than in a very long time. When on shore leave, she spent time with Thane and his son, Kolyat, helping them forge a new connection. While on board and in the thick of her mission, she clung to Thane for comfort. He was her first in many ways… Her first love, her first real relationship, her first “time”... When she told him this, she thought he’d push her away but he didn’t. It endeared her to him even further, if that was even possible at that point. He wove himself around her heart, and she did the same to him.

After the Collector base was taken down, she had one last night with him before she was “put on leave”. He told her he’d wait for her, and she knew he would; Thane would never lie to her and she knew that all the way into her soul. Even six months of no communication, he still welcomed her with open arms, and even promised her he’d keep an eye out for Kaidan. He asked her to keep going, because he knew she could save the world, and he would still be waiting after.

But after never came. Her heart still ached as it did when Kai Leng’s sword pierced through Thane’s abdomen, the sound of tearing clothing and his small gasp still hummed into her ears. She doesn’t want to remember him laying in that hospital bed, and the prayers… And him finally slipping away from her. He broke his promise. He wasn’t going to be waiting for her after all.

His death tore her apart on the inside. She cried for hours at night, cried herself to sleep. She flipped between brash anger and painful aching. Her chest hurt so much, she thought that would end her before the Reapers ever got the chance. His death, Mordin’s, it was too much. She lost one of her closest friends and the love of her life in barely any time at all. Yet, with all the pain she felt, she didn’t die. She kept going. He had believed in her, believed she’d win this war, and her body would go cold before she’d let him down. She fought her way, tooth and nail, and on the eve of battle, she finally rested. Her rest wasn’t what it should have been, though; she hosted her most trusted, most loved, the single light in her life’s funeral. She laid him to rest in the ocean after. She went all the way to his home to do it, with Kolyat and some of the hanar he’d known. After coming back, she watched vids he’d wanted sent to her, but never got through. She felt tears run down her face as she saw him speaking to her again, heard his voice. Wet sobs came to her throat, and it felt like she couldn’t breathe. She curled up on her bed, clutching a photo of him, as his vids replayed. She felt so broken and beat down, and honestly? She didn’t want to live without him. Not for a single second more.

The Citadel, now some reaper nesting ground. That child she had saw die at the beginning of this? Nothing more than their keeper. He gave her options on how to save the world, on how to bring peace. She stared at him, at the contraptions she couldn’t even begin to name, and finally, the swirling light in the dead center. She could end the warring between artificial life and biological, and… maybe she’d see Thane again. She went running forward, and threw herself into the light. She felt unbearable pain for a moment, as her body was ripped apart on a molecular level…

And now, she is in this darkness. She felt like she was being pulled down, forever, into a pit of nothing. Was this the afterlife? Being forced to sit inside your own head till you go crazy? To relive the best and worst moments of your life?

Rissa was suddenly jolted awake as her lungs filled with water. She opened her eyes in alarm, and swam up, out of the dark, clear depths. Her throat and lungs burned, her eyes tried to water-

She was up, and out, spluttering. There was a shore, distantly away from her. She swam to it, not understanding what was happening, until she came into sight of…

“Thane?!” She yelled, and his head snapped up, those eyes she knew so well widening. He was quickly on his feet, and running towards her in a simplistic robe and capris-like pants. The sun shone and glittered across his dark green and dim lime scales as he ran, and she had almost forgotten just how handsome he was.

“Siha! Is that you? I didn’t…” He pulled her from the water as her strength finally began to give out. He held her to him as they both began to sob into each other, his hands and arms gripping her tightly. She didn’t think she’d see him again, ever again, he was dead and lost…

“Th-Thane? Where… where are we?” He buried his face into her hair, and she more felt his response than heard it.

“I told you I would wait. I promised. I waited for you, I… prayed for you. I prayed for you to return to me, Siha. I didn’t… We…” He slowly pulled back, his hands still clinging to her back. She heard more voices, and as she looked to his left, she saw Mordin collecting seashells and Legion politely helping him, both talking in depth about them. She was home, with the people who needed her.

[crazyfreckledginger]

The Joker x Reader x Batboys - “Hiding From The King” [Part 4]

Part 3 This is part 4

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

The last thing that echoed through my ears was,

"Good night, sleep tight sweetheart!"  

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

Warnings: Angst maybe, violence, slightly obscure themes, kidnapping, unhealthy amount of switching point of views.

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

Your PoV

A painful ache inhabited my skull as I tried to open my eyes, but the single neon light above me blinded me. The recurring buzz of the light travelled through my ears and vibrated around my brain as I tried to sit up from the cold surface under me. I licked my now chapped lips as I started inspecting my surroundings. Chills ran up and down my spine as the darkness surrounding me, I swalloed the painful lump in my throat and tried to steady my breathing. The longer I examined the room, the more I could feel the goosebumps forming at the surface of my skin. From what I could see, the walls were a dirty concrete colour, with dry red stains in parts, God I hope it’s not blood! I thought, gritting my teeth. I sat still, trying to seem inexistent and hoping that the dangerous people who took me would forget about me. My stomach started trembling at the cold, my nose and ears felt frozen. I curled myself in a ball and tried to warm myself up. I sighed as it was no use, the wall I that supporting my back sucked the little body heat I was producing. I held my legs closer, closing my eyes and trying to take my mind off my situation, hoping it was just a horrible nightmare. My eyes started to watering as I thought of the memoried I had with the boys. Tear drops started falling from my eyes as I knew that it would never be the same after this, if I’m still alive. Part of me hoped that they would find me and bring me home.

My breathing hitched when I heard the increasing sound of footsteps. I cowered back into my corner, hoping that whoever was coming in my direction was simply going past. I stopped breathing when the footsteps stopped and the doorknob starting rotating. The door made a grinding noise as it opened, revealing the same man that ordered me to follow him to the Joker in the club. He was still wearing a tuxedo and a purple tie. He walked towards me, with a plate of food.

“Here you go,” He said in a low voice, which was oddly comforting. He handed the plate to me as he crouched down at my level. 

“Thank you!” I whispered, my voice painfully sore. He stood back up and started walking away, until he looked back at my weak figure before sighing. He turned back towards the door and increased his pace. He disappeared, leaving the door wide open. My mind raced with thoughts Shoud I make a run for it? But that question was quickly answered when he came back in with a dark red material. He gently set it beside me, then walked back out without glimsing at me. Locking the door behind him. I gazed upon the fabric. It was soft. I put it around me. Even though I was terrified, I slightly relaxed as I draped the blanket around me.

Back At The Cave...

3rd Person PoV

“I can’t find her...” Tim whispered from the computer.

“I can’t belive I let this happen!” Jason mumbled from a chair, holding his head in his hand.

“I’m going to make a few calls to see who can help us out!” Batman stated.

“It’s not your fault Jaybird!” Roy reassured.

“You okay little D?” Dick asked from the other side of the cave.

“Tt, I’ve been better..” He simply answered. Looking at his feet.

“We’ll find her little D!” Dick reassured.

“We better!” He simply stated.

“A few members of the League have agreed to help.” Batman informed, sitting back in his chair.

“Who?” Roy asked, shooting up from his crouching position beside Jason.

“Diana, Arthur and Barry!” He answered.

“That’s a start,” Jason mumbled.

Back in the room...

Your PoV

I shivered at the thought of what might happen to me. How long have I been here? Am I going to stay here until I starve to death? My breathing hitched once I heard footsteps again, not the one from the Joker’s first man, they were quicker and heavier. The door opened and my eyes widened. I slowly brought myself closer as the madman’s eyes followed my movements. He crouched down at my level.

“Ya made a decision yet?” I opened my mouth to talk, but simply looked when I didn’t have the energy to speak.

“Too tired hmm?” I didn’t answer. Gazing upon my fearful expression, he talked again.

“Scared eh?” He chuckled.

“If you join me, you won’t have to be. We would be invincible. You could be my queen. With your level of skill and fierceness and my men and money, we could get the whole world at our feet.” He explained.

“And you won’t ever have the feeling of being forgotten, because that’s what you have now hmm?” 

“And turn me into a Harley? I don’t want to become a sick psycho like any of you! I don’t want to become a sex symbol for you to display in your club on the basis that it’s love!? That’s not love that power! You want to show how powerful you are by ‘making’ someone fall in love with you! But we all know that you only show how big of a monster you are!” I barked. He smiled at my outburst, but his sadistic smile soon turned into a frown as he slapped me across the face. I gasped as he put his hand around my neck and applied pressure to it. He lifted me off of the ground.

“You belong to me whether you like it or not, you will do as I say with no second thought. If you dare question my methods, I will do much worse than what I did to the second robin.” He let me go, making me fall to the floor. He walked out of the room as I choked to try and get air back into my lungs. 

“Frost, keep an eye on her!” The Joker ordered. 

“You only get to have a nice room when you start having decent manners!” He added, turning towards me one last time before shutting the door. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. 

Back at the cave...

3rd Person PoV

“I think I found (Y/N)’s location!” Barry exclaimed once he raced back into the cave.

“Let’s move!” Diana stated.

------Time Skip------

Your PoV

The door opened again.

“Ya goin’ to be hard to crack doll, but have no fear. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me the Bat’s identities, along with his little birdies!” He cackled. I shook my head in response.

“Hm!” He hummed. “Guess I’ll have to make you sing.” He smiled. Opening a box full of metal ustensils and looking for an appropriate tool.

“Too small, too harmless. Frosty, put her in the other room, this is too easy for her!” He ordered. The man that was previously decently nice to me, gave me a worried look before lifting me up from the floor, and pushing me towards an unknown room. He stood in front of the door. I looked back at him. He simply sighed when I gave him a confused look. 

“I’m sorry kid, but what he’s about to do is the same as what he did to Harley. I would help you but I can’t” He explained.

“Why are you so nice? Why would a good man like you work for a monster like the Joker?” I asked.

“It’s not always that simple, I didn’t really have a choice.” 

“Wh-”

“Thanks Frosty, I’ll take it from here!” The Joker informed, walking into the room. He nodded and gazed at me before walking out.

“Now now, where were we?” He asked rhetorically. He strapped me to a metal table and took metal rods, one in each hand.

“What’s that?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“You’ll feel it very soon!” He cackled, turning a box that was connected to the metal rods. It made a loud buzzing sound. Within seconds, he placed them on my temples. Electricity dashed through me, making me release a bloodcurdling scream. His action was halted when gunshots and loud thumps resonated in the hallway. I began to fall into unconsiousness as the door slammed open. My eyes closed. Loud footsteps came towards me, but my brain shut down soon after.

Want to be tagged?

Tagging: @lumifuer @ marlenej1  

[knifeonmars]

Capsule Reviews, October 2020

A few general thoughts on some comics I have read in the recent past. 

Batman: I, Joker

Though it's sometimes considered one of the classic Batman Elseworlds tales, I'd long resisted reading I, Joker on the grounds that I'm very much not a Joker fan, but after a finally reading it I was thoroughly impressed. The premise sees a man brainwashed and surgically altered to resemble the titular archvillain in a futuristic Gotham so that he can be ritualistically hunted and murdered by "The Bruce" a descendant of the original Batman who controls a cult-like populace. It's a premise which has only gotten better with age, given that we're now 75 years in the age of Batman and the Joker has moved in the years since Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight and culminating in the recent Joker film, towards being a counter-culture symbol of angry populism. The presentation of an empty, cruel Batman satisfying a horde of bloodthirsty worshipers is an on-point as a piece of cultural criticism as it's ever been, and while it's not as vicious a parody as something like Marshal Law's City of the Blind, it's still a great skewering of Bat-fandom in general and what the character has become. It's also just a really solid comic: It's 50 pages, so it's tight and exactly as long as it needs to be, sets up and pays off everything elegantly, really well designed and rendered, well paced, and while I was left wanting more I was also satisfied with the story. I, Joker is a wonderful little gem that I think more people should read.

Fantastic Four: Grand Design

I've been a big fan of Scioli since American Barbarian, but I put off reading his Grand Design because I'd heard some unflattering things about Piskor's X-Men: Grand Design and feared similar issues here. I think Scioli's effort does have some of the same problems people have pointed out about Piskor's, but as a noted fan of him, I still mostly ended up liking this book. The nature of the Grand Design books is essentially skewed recaps, so this book is more than a little clipped and distant in the way it surveys the Fantastic Four's history, cutting out a lot of the emotion and nuance of many events in favor of wry humor. 

Scioli offsets this to some extent by emphasizing the troubled relationship between Reed Richards and Sue Storm, choosing to make explicit the troubles which are generally left subtextual. Here Sue actively pines for Namor as she realizes that leaving Reed would mean loosing her whole support network and Franklin Richards is strongly implied to be Namor's son rather than Reed's, the kind of stuff which has never flown in the mainstream comics. 

Those kinds of creative flourishes, the points where Scioli actually gets to write something rather than just recapping, is where the book comes alive, and so I have mixed feelings about the ending. Scioli essentially goes off the rail around the late 70's, abandoning established continuity in favor of his own inventions as he rushes towards the end. The results are refreshing and should feel familiar to followers of Scioli's other work, with Black Panther showing up in a Voltron-mech and Reed Richards becoming a Herald of Galactus, but there's a tangible sense that this is only happening because Scioli's not interested in Fantastic Four continuity past this arbitrary cutoff. To me, that was disappointing, given that I'd hoped to see an all-encompassing attempt to wrangle these character's' histories, and a lot of interesting characters and plots written after the 70's are dismissed to somewhat crotchety effect, and the actual ending is quite perfunctory. After most of the series has slavish recapped individual plot points, once Scioli is on the final pages of the book he skips over years of events and ends things without any sort of catharsis or emotional payoff. 

All in all, Fantastic Four: Grand Design did not end up being my favourite Scioli book by a long shot. It's clipped and dry for most of it's length, and then when it finally gets interesting, it just... stops.

The Marquis of Anoan

A long held subject of curiosity for me, a well-timed sale on Comixology meant that I finally took the plunge on checking out this short Eurocomics series. In it, a young Frenchman journeys around and beyond early 18th century France, having encounters with seemingly paranormal events and confronting them with rationality and science. It's quite enjoyable. It's gorgeous rendered, and though each story is relatively short by North American standards, they're densely written and presented, so they never feel overly short. They're very European in certain respects, like their approach to romance and nudity, but never in a way that struck me as particularly offensive, though that's obviously a matter of personal taste. I was ultimately left disappointed that the series is dead in the water after five books, with a decade having passed since the release of the last one. One of the most amusing threads running through them was the development of the title character's reputation as a magician and exorcist, much to his discomfort. The ending of the third book in particular has a diagetic text piece and illustration from a contemporary paper which shows how the populace at large views the protagonist and I'd have loved to see that kind of presentation further developed.Alas, the series is ended, but it's well worth checking out for anyone interested in relatively low key and beautiful Eurocomics. Just keep in mind though, that this ain't Hellblazer, nor does it aim to be.

Elseworld’s Finest

A two-part, 100-page Elseworld's tale that I picked up out of sheer curiosity, Elseworld's Finest reinterprets the duo of Batman and Superman as figures from the pulp adventure stories which saw their brief heyday in the years immediately preceding the birth of the superhero genre. It's a world informed by Indiana Jones and Disney's Atlantis, or at least by the things which influenced them. Bruce Wayne is a roguish solder of fortune, Clark Kent is the survivor of a misty and forgotten space kingdom linked to Atlantis, it's all very pulp as it moves through an origin story for the pair which sees them being variations of their more recognizable superheroic selves. It's really quite fun, and an amusing genre shift for the proceedings, which should appeal to anyone who grew up enjoying latter day takes on such stories, by which I mean, if you like Indiana Jones or Atlantis you'll find this fun. The only aspect which irked me is that there are a few too many winks towards the DCU as we know it, in the form of characters like Hal Jordan and Carter Hall popping up in bit roles, but overall the whole thing is quite agreeable. I don't think it's resonant in the way that I, Joker turned out to be, but it's still a very fun Elseworld's story.

First Knife

Simon Roy and Artyom Trakhanov teaming up for a post-post-apocalyptic story revolving around an ancient cyborg waking in a post-lapsarian tribal far future Earth is extremely up my alley, so I was really looked forward to this series and was not disappointed. Anyone who's seen Roy's work on the first arc of Prophet or Habitat at Image Comics will find the vibe and conceits here familiar, but not overly so, and the series takes things in a different direction than either of those stories did. This is not a series about cyborg Buck Rogers awakening in the future and saving the day with the power of old fashioned, plain spoken American gumption; it's about a barely human soldier losing his grip on sanity as he's worshiped as a god, and the people who surround him dealing with that. It's very good. There's action, wonderfully emotive, textured, and distinctive artwork, and it's generally a pleasure to read. Highly recommended to fans of that strain of primitive scifi.

[gameposting]

(P5 spoilers ahead dudes, p3 spoilers a bit later in the post) Man like I'm too old and gay to be blabbering about shit on the internet but while I loved persona 5 a FUCKIN lot I really feel like Akechi's death was handled terribly. Well, not his actual death, but what came after. Like the player - the player is given full opportunity to be nice to him, to genuinely respond to him as if they care about him even to the bitter end. You CAN be an ass to him, but you can also react favorably to him, every time. It's implied/stated that Akechi seemed to truly want to be friends with the team, and with Joker, and Joker was allowed by the dialogue to be friendly in kind. Why would he just be forgotten after? They basically say "well that was sad and pretty much sucked" and move on. No one asks the protag if he's feeling ok about it. (Except maybe June in a short text after? I can't remember - but certainly nothing remotely substantial) No one mentions that it's fucked up how he lived and died. There's no funeral, there's no commotion from his place of work (the only mention at all is Sae basically goes "well he's still missing I guess" - they didn't even have the decency to tell Sae how her former friend died? Wtf?) - he's just up and forgotten. I know the p5 kids seem to have some major issues talking to each other about things (which I usually see as a trait that can garner character development in them I guess) but they tend to at least somewhat supportive and try to make sure each other is ok. They ask if any of the others are ok every time something about their fucked up life comes up, but like.. never ask the protag "hey, you seemed to really want to be Akechi's friend even after what he did to you, you clearly liked him to some degree, are you going to be ok?" Like this dude was a social link! A fully maxed one! And he doesn't even get a damn funeral, or any sort of attempt to damage control his disappearance/death. He was a celebrity to people, and they just never even mention him again? Barely mention that he exists? There are some anons on the website who mention him and there are some random thought bubbles but none even mention he's missing or anything. Mind you - I think I may just be upset about this because Persona 3 is one of my favorite games. And when one of the characters dies in that game - he gets a funeral. His friends mourn him. His death is legitimately important to the character development of another character, and his spirit returns to give the player a final well wishing when battling the final boss. The tone of 3 is different, yes - but I would have liked the protag of 5 to at least be able to -act- like Akechi's death had any impact on his personality or his character. Or for any of the others to have had any change because of it. I just felt it was really weird. The death was emotional, I cried a lot. But ultimately it had a very weak impact on the plot other than to stop Akechi from being a villain - which could have been achieved by adding him back to the team, having him disappear and promise to turn himself in, or for him to lose his memory or really anything. The fact the player -can't- save him just feels strange to me, strange to the theme of the game - that shitty adults have been hurting children and the world, and that these children hurt each other as a result of their abuse, but when they form a support group they can rise above that and change the world. The fact that the Phantom Thieves failed to help this suffering, angry, jaded person - someone who acted like a child and threw a tantrum out of jealousy and anger and as response to the way he'd been used - he became a victim without retribution. That he existed as a pawn of Yaldabaoth and yet the Trickster could not break him free from his chains and take him to battle the force which had enslaved them both made the ending feel a bit empty. The Trickster's fate was to defy the biased game he'd been forced into; clearly Akechi and Akira were meant to kill each other, one to be the victor, as part of the Game, and he failed to defy that fate. Something about that just feels wrong to me. Akechi is surely not innocent; but he is not mercilessly evil. He is ill and he's suffered abuse, and he has been manipulated. He cannot take back the things he had done, but what better change of heart than to transform a killer born from a twisted, abused person who exacted fear onto the masses into a teenager who had a circle of those who could support him and help him face himself and the fate he'd been so unfairly sewn? What better heart to steal and change than that of a perpetrator of terrible crimes into someone seeking to fight that fate so that no one else ever has to suffer the same way? Had he done this and died at the end to assist in the toppling of fate - or after it was all over turn himself in - or in some other way accept punishment for his actions in the end - that would have made more sense and felt more natural. "He was a twisted person whose heart changed and who was able to die to help alter the fate of humanity and to protect those he once had damned and hunted" would have been way better than "he was a twisted person whose heart changed too late and who was killed before his changed heart could battle against the fate it had been dealt". Hypotheticals, I suppose. Nothing which ever will change; what's done is done. And perhaps I simply like him too much, perhaps I shouldn't sympathize with him. But I do; I cannot ignore those characters who do terrible things and suffer as a result of emotional pain, mental illness, manipulation, and misguided action, because I like to think some part of everyone can be redeemed even if they've done terrible things. Perhaps because I can relate to that desire to redeem oneself, or the guilt and suffering characters like this endure. I guess ultimately: Goro Akechi deserved better. At the very least, he deserved a better end. He was built up and built up - only for him to be forgotten once his time came and went. And while perhaps one could argue he got his just desserts in the way he died - I feel his character, and the writing surrounding how he affected the plot and the theme of the game - fell short. Persona 5 is still an excellent game and I love it dearly. I just wish Akechi could have had some redemption, or at least... a funeral, or some final recognition of what he'd meant to the protagonist or the story. I wish his death had meant more than the way it felt like it was just the removal of a villain from the conflict at hand. But I guess I'll just have to fight the chains of fate myself and keep him alive and help him heal in my heart.

[chaoticghost21]

Props & Mayhem; Chapter Thirteen

It was a few days later, the boys were cuddling on the couch watching Impractical Jokers. They were mostly quiet until they started laughing. Then Justin got the idea; the show was already funny but imagine how funny it would be if they were high? He'd bring that up to Alex the next commercial break. When the break finally came, Justin turned to Alex, “hey babe, what do you think about getting high and watching this?“

Alex raised an eyebrow “hmm sounds funnn we shouldddd” he giggled “why not”

“I'll go get the stuff,” Justin said, getting up and getting his pipe, bag of weed, and his vape pen, bringing it all out into the living room, setting it all on the coffee table.

Alex hums a little, sitting up on the edge of the couch. “I honestly kinda feel bad? Like i got so upset that you did it but like now i am?”

Justin shrugged, “oh well,” he packed the pipe and set it back on the table, taking a hit of the pen first. The pen itself was too weak but the flower in the pipe was too strong by itself so he would always use both to get him where he wanted to be. “Which one do you want first?” He asked Alex.

“The pipe first” Alex said, he still felt bad, he’d gotten so mad at Justin but now here he was doing the same thing, he felt hypocritical.

Justin handed him the pipe, he himself taking another hit off the pen before they switched.

Alex hummed quietly, taking a hit off of it, laying back and putting his head in Justin's lap.

Justin smiled at him, leaning down to kiss him before taking another hit.

Alex giggles, taking another hit off the pipe. “We should try that shotgunning thingggg”

“Okay,” Justin took a hit, holding it for a moment before leaning down and kissing Alex, blowing the smoke into his mouth as well did so.

Alex parted his lips slightly, wrapping his arms around Justin's neck. He pulled back after a second, letting the smoke out past his lips.

Justin smiled, kissing him again before repeating his actions with the pipe.

Alex giggles softly, taking a hit off the pen, “remember when we used to so this a lot in high school?” He hummed softly.

“Yeah, those were good and bad times but I got you out of it. I honestly think we can blame weed for our relationship,” Justin laughed.

Alex giggles and nods “honestly like, it's pretty much how we got together. Right after that one night.” He said softly “i honestly remember it like it was yesterday.”

“I was drunk and high literally 24/7 back then so I only remember bits and pieces, you should tell me the story,” Justin said, he did remember it but he loved the way Alex explained everything and how he told it.

“It was so like tense like. I called you because i just felt so bad and almost did something really bad. And at this point we were basically together, much closer than just friends, but you didn't really wanna admit it at the time. But you just came over and climbed up through my window. We cuddled and literally got high, i'm surprises my dad didn't know honestly like how?? But then you started being all fuckin sappy and cheesy and kissed me” Alex said, smiling “it was so nice honestly”

“Yeah. You know you are the first time I've seen love, the first I've ever experienced. But honestly it's the last I'll ever need and my future is nothing if I don't have you, I wouldn't throw this away for anything. We may be young but we know that this is love. Thank you for giving me another chance every time I screwed up. I love you so much, you are my world; my everything.”

Alex blushes and sits up, moving into Justin's lap. “You're so cheesy jusss” he says “but fuck i love you. You're honestly the only person i want to spend the rest of my life with. I really can't see myself without you. Well, alive anyway. You mean too much to me”

 “Me too, I honestly think we saved each other. Without you'd, I'd be dead, Wyeth l whether I did it myself or one of my mom's boyfriends did it, it was bound to happen and you got me out of there and now look at us. We're adults living together in our own apartment, away from that town and most of the people in it.”

“I know damn well that you saved me” Alex says “like literally. If you hadn't called me that night i'd be dead. But now we're here, yeah we both may be a little fucked up and not ready to tell each other some things but we have each other. And that will never change. no matter what.”

“Exactly, I wouldn't trade you for $1,000,000; I might trade you for penguin though,” Justin joked.

“You wouldnttttt” Alex pouts slightly “im cuter and more cuddly than a penguinnnn”

“But have you seen a penguin? The tiny blue ones, you may be cuddlier and cuter but you have to admit you want one of those, they're so little and cute!”

Alex giggles “okay okay fineeee they are cute. But we literally couldn't have one, it's not cold enough hereeee”

“I will invest in a lot of freezers,” Justin smiled.

“It will literally make our apartment like antarctica. And wed have to get a lot of raw fish and that would probably smell bad”

“I would do it just to have a penguin…. We could get multiple and open a penguin zoo!!!” Justin exclaimed very loudly, now bouncing up and down excitedly.

Alex giggles “Where would we open it thoughhhhh”

“We'd get a house and do it there, duh,” Justin said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Alex giggles and nods, nuzzling into his neck “we could do that one day” he said “maybe we could adopt a kid or two too?”

“Of course but we have to get married first. I want to get married before I do everything else.”

Alex smiles and nods “of course Jus” he said “i can't wait until we finally get to”

“Me either, just need some more money and maybe we could do it,” Justin looked off into space picturing their wedding in his head. He didn't know who would take who's last name but honestly he didn't care that much though he would prefer to take Alex's try get rid of the name he had, the one he wanted nothing to do with.

Alex smiles and looks up at him, “do you wanna have like a big proper church wedding or just a small one?” He says.

“Small one, only a few people there like your family and….” Justin trailed off, he didn't know who else would be at their wedding besides Alex's family.

“Maybe Monty and Jeff and zach?” Alex said, looking up at Justin “other than that i'm not really sure”

“Yeah, maybe. If I could have anyone there I'd wish that my mom would get cleaned up and show up and that she would act like she cares. I wish I knew the rest of my family but my mom never let me have communication with them. I know I have aunts, uncles, and cousins but I've never met them and I don't even know their names,” Justin said sadly a bit of hope laced his voice.

Alex frowns a little “maybe we could get in contact with them somehow? See if they could come?” Alex says softly.

He shrugged, “I doubt they even know I exist.”

“I'm sure theyd at least know that jus. Maybe they don't know you but i'm sure we could figure something out” he says, playing with Justin's hair

“I want to but I don't know how to or if they want to hear from me or if they even know of my existence. Maybe if I got on contact with them off find out why my dad left and why my mom hates me,” he said, leaning into Alex's hand, him loving his hair being played with.

“We’ll just have to try Jus.” Alex says softly “it won't hurt to try.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. When do you want to get married?” Justin asked him before taking another hit off the pen.

Alex hummed softly, taking a hit off the pipe “I don't think we’ll be able to anytime soon,” he said, “maybe in a few years?”

Justin nodded, “yeah it won’t be for a while, we definitely have to save up money first; from what I’ve heard weddings can be expensive.”

“I think they are. I mean from watching bridezillas and shit they get really expensive” Alex said, giggling a little.

“True… please tell me you aren’t going to be that way,” Justin begged.

“No i wontttt” Alex says, poking Justin's cheek “i may be dramatic but i'm not that dramatic.”

“Really? You’re not that dramatic,” Justin said with an eyebrow raised. “Have you forgotten about when the grocery store ran out of nutella and chocolate bars and you made a scene and got us kicked out of the store?”

Alex blushed brightly “i wanted nutella and chocolate! They should've had it” Alex pouted “i'm not dramaticcc”

“You screamed and fell to your knees, yelling about how cruel the world is and you wouldn’t stop until the manager came over and asked us to leave. Even then I had to drag you out of the store because you still wouldn’t stop.”

“Pfttttt i don't remember that part.” Alex said, blushing darker “that nEvEr happened.”

“They have your picture up in the store. You are not allowed back in. Did you forget the reason why I’m the one who has to do all the shopping?”

“At least i looked cute in the picture” Alex shrugged “okay fine maybe i'm a littleeee dramatic. You love it though.”

“You do look cute in the picture, I have to see it everytime I go into the store. All the workers stare at me like they think I stuffed you into a bag and brought you in with me though,” Justin kissed him, “you’re lucky you’re cute and I love you, because I hate that store.”

Alex giggles and kisses back “i love you toooo. And we could always go to another storeee.” He said “plus how would you stuff me into a bag and sneak me in. I wouldn't fit!”

“I could make you fit, and remember, I got kicked out of the other grocery store? I screamed at people because they made me mad… We can’t ever go grocery shopping in this town together until they stop the ban on us.. In about a month.”

“I'm still pretty sure people here just have something against us! Like they didn't need to ban usssss” Alex said “we could've been all domestic and went shopping together”

“We could’ve if you didn’t freak out and scream in a store for like 10 minutes straight and if I didn’t threaten to run over people with my cart… Maybe it is our fault.”

“Maybeeeee but still ! People have done worse things and they still get to goooo.”

“It was only a three month ban from each, other people have gotten worse.”

“Stillll” Alex said “i like going shopping with you cause i don't like sitting here all lonely.”

“Same, and I hate shopping by myself, I always forget things.”

“You always text me asking me what we neeeed” Alex giggles “it's cutee”

“It’s embarrassing, I always forget what we need and then I still forget to grab it after you tell me what we need,” he pouted.

“Awwww jusssss” Alex said, poking his lip “it's okayyyy”

Justin tried to bit his finger as it poked his lip.

Alex giggles a little “heyyyyy what was that forrr”

“You touch my lip, I bite,” Justin said, his voice muffled by Alex’s finger still in his mouth, “it’s the rules.”

Alex pouts and pulls his finger back “you just wanted an excuse to bite me.”

“I plead the fifth.”

“I don't know what that means” Alex says

“I choose to remain silent in order to not incriminate myself.”

“I still don't get it but oKaY”

“Well I have to learn some law stuff and you don’t, so makes sense,” Justin smiled.

“True” Alex says, laying on his shoulder, “m hungry” he mumbles softly.

“What do you want? I can make you something.”

Alex shrugs a little “i dunno” he says softly “surprise me?”

He nodded and went into the kitchen, after a lot of crashes and pots banging he finally came out, “we actually had stuff to make spaghetti so that’s what I did.”

Alex giggles and nods, standing up “is that why everything was banging?”

“I dropped pans and then it got stuck and I had difficulties but I DID IT!” Justin said victoriously.

Alex giggles and walks over to him, wrapping his arms around his neck “good for you jusss”

Justin picked him up and ran into the kitchen, carrying him the whole time. He set Alex down at the table, “now eat.”

“Gosh you sure seem excited” Alex giggles softly, “you sit down and eat too dork.”

Justin laughed and sat down across the small table from Alex, starting to eat.

Alex hummed and picked up the fork, biting his lip and hesitating slightly before taking a small bite.

Justin smiled at the fact that Alex was eating. He didn’t put that much on Alex’s plate but he put as much as he knew Alex could eat, he cared more about the boy than he did himself and even though Alex said it was fine, Justin was going to find a way to make it up to him for hitting him, he was going to find a way to pay him back.

Alex hummed a bit, taking another small bite and glancing up at Justin. “Whatcha thinking about jus?” He asked.

“You,” he replied with a smile.

Alex blushes a little “be more specific?”

“Just you in general, how much I love you and want to be with you forever. How adorable you are and just everything about you.”

Alex blushes and looks down “you're so cheesy sometimes gosh��

“Only for youuu!”

Alex giggles, smiling a bit “i knowwwww” he says, taking another bite.

Justin smiled, taking another bite before his phone went off, alerting him he had a text. He Looked back up at Alex, “Monty and Jeff want to know if we want to go out with them tomorrow night.”

“Hmmm yeah. Sure we can” he said, humming a bit

Justin nodded, texting back and putting his phone away, continuing eating.

Alex ate a few more bites before pushing the plate away, “m full”

Justin nodded, not wanting to push him and took the plate away.

Alex hummed softly to himself, playing with his sweater sleeves.

Justin walked back  over and huigged him, kissing his cheek.

Alex smiles a bit and hugs back, clinging to him “can we go back nd cuddle?”

“Yesss, do you wanna watch a movie??”

Alex nodded “please?” He says softly, looking up at Justin.

“What movie?”

“Uhhhh everything everything?”

He nods, putting it in and then going back to the couch

Alex smiles and sits next to him, nuzzling into his neck.

The movie played as they cuddled, Justin kissing Alex every once in awhile.

Alex smiles a little, closing his eyes and yawning a little “m sleepy”

“Let’s go to bed then, we actually have to do something tomorrow,” Justin said, getting up and offering his hand to Alex.

“Carry meeee” Alex pouts slightly “pleasee?”

Justin nodded and picked up Alex but the boy himself being very much under the influence of recreational drugs had difficulties and tripped over his feet, almost dropping Alex.

Alex squealed slightly, clinging tightly to Justin “m i too heavy” Alex asks softly, looking up at him.

“Not at all, you are very light, I’m just high and I tripped,” Justin said. “See look,” he said, lifting Alex up and down as if he were a weight.

Alex giggles softly, holding onto him “that's funnnnnnn”

Justin continued doing it and purposely threw Alex into the air, catching him as he came down.

Alex gasps softly, clinging to him once he came back down “holy fuck that was scary” he mumbled.

Justin laughed, “what, you don’t have faith in me to catch you?”

“I dooooo” Alex says “jus felt weird and scary. Of course i trust you Jus.”

“I would never drop you, if I started to fall or something, I would turn myself midair so you would land on me instead of the ground.”

Alex blushes a bit “gosh you're so protective sometimes Jus. ‘S cuteeee” he giggles “i love you”

“I love you too!” He kissed Alex.

Alex smiles and kisses back, keeping his arms around his neck “now let's go get in bed and cuddleeee”

He nodded and ran them to their bedroom, throwing Alex onto the bed, jumping onto the bed with him.

Alex giggles and bounces slightly, nuzzling into Justin’s neck once he gets in bed too

Justin smiled, kissing Alex's head before wrapping his arms around him.

Alex smile, humming quietly “night jus.” He says softly “i love youuu”

“Night Alex, I love you too, so freaking much,” Justin said, whispering the last part.

Alex smiles and kisses his cheek, closing his eyes and slowly falling asleep.

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

Chapter 14 will be up on @13imagines-why in a few minutes!!

[centralcitysfinest-rp]

Past: 

Jason Todd was not born into the best of circumstances. His parents were dirt poor, his father an abusive alcoholic who spent his time trying to make it big with the local gangs in Gotham’s slums. His mother, Catherine, became dependent on drugs as one of the few escapes she had from Willis’ Todd’s abuse. Even with both of them in his life, Jason quickly had to learn to grow up, and look out for himself.

It didn’t take long for Willis to get in over his head, drawing the ire of an employer who made sure he was never seen again. Jason thought perhaps his life might turn around then - but Catherine had been too long downtrodden by the world and died of an overdose shortly after. Forced out onto the streets to fend for himself, Jason had resigned himself to an early grave or following the same path as his father.

Things changed one fateful night when Jason was trying to strip parts from a car that had been parked in the aptly renamed Crime Alley. What he had assumed was an easy steal, had in fact been the Batmobile, and Jason was caught in the act of trying to take its tyres by none other than the Batman himself. Instead of punishment, however, the Batman seemed amused by Jason’s attempts at stealing from him, and took him under his wing.

The Batman revealed himself to be Bruce Wayne, and took Jason in as a ward, giving him a roof over his head and access to so many things he had been deprived of before. During this time, he also trained Jason to be the young vigilante known as Robin, taking the place of Dick Grayson who had moved onto a new moniker and city to escape Bruce’s shadow. However, Jason tended to be more hot-headed than his predecessor - growing up surrounded by criminals, he was sensitive to the strife so many in Gotham faced because of the various kingpins and supervillains that called it home, and felt a need for vengeance.

Eventually, Jason found out that the woman he had been raised by was not in fact his biological mother - she had left him with Willis shortly after his birth and moved away long ago. Feeling lost between his shortcomings as Robin, and still mourning his mother’s death, he was desperate to connect with this woman he might be able to call family and tracked her down on his own. He had hoped he was gaining a family, that he might heal from the loss of Catherine Todd.

But it was a trap. The Joker had used his mother as a lure, blackmailing the woman to bring Jason close before capturing and torturing him. The Clown Prince played one last cruel joke on them both, tying them up together with a ticking time bomb and a cryptic message to Bruce to attempt to save them. Unfortunately, even Batman was unable to reach them in time - they both died in the explosion, Jason being only fifteen at the time of his death.

That, however, was not the end of Jason Todd’s story. Learning of his death, Talia al Ghul along with her father Ra’s al Ghul exhumed Jason’s corpse and set about an experiment. The Lazarus Pit that Ra’s had access to had long been used to advance his healing, give him strength, and extend his life beyond normal means. But the legends of it being able to revive the dead had never been tested under the reign of the the current Demon’s Head.

Jason was exposed to the Lazarus Pit - but he did not quite come out the same as before. While his body reanimated, his mind was initially lost to him, his actions feral and uncontrolled, killing a few of Ra’s assassins in his animalistic state. Ra’s was ready to deem the boy a failure and put him down, but Talia was able to somewhat tame Jason even in his wildest of moments, and refused to give up. She never revealed to Jason how she healed the trauma the Pit had caused his mind, but she insisted on training Jason on her own, spiriting him away from Nanda Parbat and providing him with all the tools and knowledge he needed to forge himself into a weapon, so that he might never fall again.

The years he spent under Talia’s tutelage made him stronger, but they also instilled in him a deep rage and unquenchable desire for revenge. He was not merely content with killing the Joker, however. He convinced himself that he would not know peace until he had reaped revenge on all that he deemed responsible for what had happened to him, and who had forgotten the tragedy of his death - including Bruce Wayne, and Tim Drake, the boy he had chosen to take Jason’s place as Robin.

Donning Talia’s final gift, the Red Hood, he waged a war on Gotham, taking on some of the city’s most high profile criminals with lethal methods. The war had the desired effect, drawing the attention of Batman. Jason revealed himself to his former guardian, laying the blame for his death and the Joker’s continued existence at the older man’s feet, and gave Bruce an ultimatum - to take Jason’s life, or to finally kill the Joker. In the end, Bruce refused to make such a choice, incapacitating Jason before he could kill the Joker without taking his life. Bitter over Bruce’s indecision, and what he perceived as Bruce valuing the Joker’s life over his, Jason fled Gotham back into the arms of a place he had sworn never to return - The League of Assassins. He pledged his fealty to Ra’s al Ghul, in exchange for leniency against Talia for having aided his escape from Nanda Parbat, and to allow his own life to continue. He was given the name of Al Hayim - Wanderer - and resigned himself to spending the rest of his life with The League, sure that he would die at the hands of one of his fellow assassins.

When Oliver Queen upset the balance of the League, slaying Ra’s al Ghul and handing the title of Demon’s Head to the traitor Malcolm Merlyn, Jason saw an opportunity to escape the Purgatory of Nanda Parbat and took it. With Talia gone, he felt he had little reason to remain, and decided to set out once again into the world outside of The League and perhaps find a new purpose since his failed attempt at revenge.

Present:

Jason was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he had developed feelings for Sara, but admitting them to anyone, let alone her, was another story. In the end, he spoiled any chance he had of doing so. When Sara told him that she was pregnant, Jason ran scared. He couldn’t imagine himself ever being a father, not with the amount of blood on his hands, and the prospect of becoming one terrified him. Those doubts inevitably destroyed what was slowly growing between them. Sara walked away, and Jason being the fool that he was let her. She never told him what happened to the child they might have had, and he never asked. Even over a year later, they are still barely able to speak to each other.

Distraught over losing the first chance he had at a real relationship, and the knowledge that he was entirely responsible for the pain it caused both of them, he gravitated to the few people he had left. He could not erase the memories of hurt between him and Bruce, or the things he had done to the other man because of it, but he attempted to reconcile, not wanting to spend any more time tearing open wounds if there was a chance they could let them heal. He also attempted the same with Tim Drake, realising that the way he had treated the younger Robin was cruel at the best of times and trying to atone for it. He still needed some independence from the family though, choosing to move in with Aurora Jett and becoming her roommate while they both figured out what paths they were meant to be on.

He continues to act as the Red Hood in both Central City and Star City. While he does not always resort to the most lethal method for every criminal, he still continues to kill those he deems deserving of it or too dangerous to be left alive. It is a fact that sets him apart from the other Batfamily members - and perhaps always will.

Positive Traits: 

Loyal (to a select few)

Principled

Determined

Negative Traits: 

Impulsive, 

Pessimistic 

Quick-tempered 

Connections:

Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne - Adopted Family Sara Lance - Ex lover Aurora Jett - Best friend, current roommate Leonard Snart - Friend Harley Quinn - Enemy 

[barnsyink]

QUESTIONS THAT WILL NEVER BE ANSWERED

Has Peter Parker ever had a blood test since being bitten by a radioactive spider and would the radiation still be apparent in the blood? How much does George Jetson make if he only works three hours a week? Why does Mr. Spacely keep rehiring George Jetson after he fires him for something stupid?Is Jetson the only none robot in town eligible to work? Is he part of a quota system? Does Jetson have dirt on Spacely? Reed Richards; Victor Doom; Otto Octivas; Bruce Banner; Stephen Strange; Fate are all Doctors but not see patients? Tony Stark; Lex Luthor ; Charles Xavier scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs; wealthy but not Doctors? Do the other Avengers ever stick magnets onto Iron Man’s Armor? If Swamp Thing is a vegetarian, does that mean he is a cannibal? Is the Batmobile insured registered and licensed? If so, who is the carrier? Can you buy Kryptonite at the Dollar Store since everyone seems to find some? Is Doctor Strange a pagan since he is Master of the Mystic Arts? If Doctor Doom wears the Iron mask due to his scarred face, why does he not find a plastic surgeon? Does the Flash ever get ticketed for speeding? Why does no one just unmask Batman when they capture him? Does Superman have medical insurance? Does the home town of the Power Rangers just rebuild the town every week after a monster attack or does the populace just move to the next town? Does Ghost Rider go to Church? How much does an average superhero pay in dry cleaning? Whom do Superheroes go to have their costumes fixed and are they all named ‘John or Jane Smith’ not to blow the secret identity? How bad is security at Black Gate Prison and Arkham Asylum where all DC villains keep getting out? Why is The Hulk not in therapy? Is it possible to give Krypto the Super Dog shots or do just figure that he is good to go? Can Cyborg rust? He-Man is just Prince Adam with a tan, deeper voice and fewer clothes, how can no one see it? Where does Wonder Woman go to get her golden lasso published? Is Cat Woman allowed to have cats or is she considered a cat? Does Doctor Octopus have his suits costumed? Is Aquaman a waterman on land? Does Aquaman drink bottled water or from the tap? Does Skeletor polish his head? Why is there no Transformer who can become a school bus? The Autobots are in a War against The Decepticons, does The Transformer have a USO to entertain the troops? After the 1981 video game, was Donkey Kong sent to a zoo or was he killed? Is Pac-Man not allows at buffets? Does Q-Bert eat with his feet? What happened to Mario’s girlfriend, Pauline? Since no one stays dead in comic books, does anyone bother attending funerals? In superhero comics, instead of Rest In Peace, do gravestones read Be Back In a Bit? Does Wonder Woman grocery shop or does she use Uber Eats? Since it rains a lot in Seattle, does that mean The Torch does not make visits? Can Bruce Wayne write off Batman’s expenses? Why does Wile E. Coyote keep buying from ACME if none of his purchases work to capture the Roadrunner? Is there grounds for a lawsuit for bad merchandise or is it just poor assembly? Why do cartoons characters always have dynamite and other violent objects that just pop out of nowhere? Wormholes into pocket universes full of closets? Do the Transformers find Suri offensive? Why does Captain America’s shield work on boomerang logic? Can the Joker’s green hair go grey? Does catching Pokémon count as kidnapping and using them to fight count as slavery? Was Inspector Gadget born with his gadgets or is he a cyborg? Why in their civilian identities, do the Power Rangers wear their Power Ranger colors? Since his name is hyphened, does that mean Spider-Man is the last name? Are playable video game characters self-aware that they have multiple lives and do they remember each one? Do Adults exist in The Peanuts Comic Strip Universe? Is there legal documentation that Sonic the Hedgehog is the Fastest Thing Alive? If she is called Ms. Pac-Man, does that mean Pac-Man is a race? Lex Luthor; The Kingpin; Doctor Robotnik; Professor X are all geniuses and bald. Does this mean less hair you got the smarter you are? Is English the Universal Language of the Universe? Is time broken? Why does no one ever age in Comics; Cartoons; Books or videos games? Can Wolverine go through an Airport Security Metal Detector without showing a card?  Can all legal issues be dealt with in a Professional Wrestling Ring? Do Henchmen work for a Temp Agency? If so how do you list that? Martian Manhunter; Beat Boy; The Hulk; Swamp Thing. Is the color green the universal color for shapechangers? Woody Woodpecker; Bugs Bunny; Donald Duck; Scrooge McDuck; Mickey Mouse, are these guys only allowed to be Uncles?  Lex Luthor has been President of the United States; Doctor Doom The Ruler of Latveria and The Kingpin has been the Mayor of New York. Has everyone forgotten or been mindwiped on how these guys are ruthless villains? How do they get the votes? What kind of PR campaign do you need for this? How do you convince voters that world destroyers are respected pillars of the community? How? Is it copyright infringement to have An Amazing Spider-Man; The Ultimate Spider-Man and a Superior Spider-Man all at the same time? Where is Parts Unknown located?  All Masked Wrestlers seem to come from there. What do Video Characters play? Cards? To be fair, why is there no I Do Not Care Bears? A wrestling title being called a TV championship but not a plasma TV? Pink Panther; Tom and Jerry spontaneous talkers? Donald Duck no speech therapy? Why does Olive Oil keep falling for Bluto just to be abused and needing Popeye to save her? Is Popeye a sucker to take her back?