#its just backstory

[a-kaash-me-outside]

the walls are thin - ch7.5

in which maki was your college boyfriend with whom you shared everything. previous | ch7.5 | next (coming soon) [masterlist]

// passionate, silently perfect romantic, unwavering platonic ~ ᴍᴀᴋɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ~ 3176 ᴡᴏʀᴅs

a look into this chapter: 18+ minors dni, absolutely not necessary to read for the plot, just some maki background for my maki bitches, backstory, light angst (they break up that's not a spoiler), flirting, cute scenes, she/her pronouns

join my taglist here!! ~~ (last ch tmrw,, and an epilogue nxt wk) ♡ ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢs ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs ᴍᴇᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ♡

falling in love with hanamaki takahiro was like waking up to soft sunlight and a gentle morning breeze. you weren’t expecting it to happen, were expecting to wake up to your alarm clock or a frantic knock on your door, didn’t know it was even happening until you were awake. it happened sooner than you thought it would, but it wasn’t jarring, wasn’t abrupt, was slow and patient, unfolded overtime, piece by piece, until one day, it just was. 

you had had relationships in the past, high school crushes and senior year flings, but hanamaki takahiro taught you what love was, what it was like to trust a person so deep in your bones that it practically felt like you carried them along with you wherever you went. 

but before it was this passionate, silently perfect romantic love, it was an unwavering platonic love, a friendship that didn’t just make sense to the two of you or your closest friends, but anyone you came into contact with. former classmates, semester-long friends, professors, and hallmates, everyone that knew you, knew maki, and everyone that knew maki, knew you. 

on your way to class, eating lunch alone for a change, in the grocery store with him an aisle away, you were always met with, “where’s maki?” as if he was a defining characteristic of your personality, as if being without him was life-threatening to you. and the weird thing was that, you didn’t mind the questions. you didn’t feel lesser because a part of you was attached to this incredible person who just made your life better. besides, you did always know where maki was. 

hanamaki takahiro was the first real friend you made on campus, not just a college friend that lasted within the confines of your school and town, but someone you instantly knew was going to be in your life for a really long time, no matter what form.

</3 </3 </3

about halfway into the second semester of freshman year, hanamaki takahiro made the only somewhat, maybe it should’ve been a bit more difficult decision to go out of his comfort zone in the name of shifting the labels of your incessant flirting and weekend long hang out sessions. 

you were on the way out of his dorm, bag thrown over your shoulder already, shoes already on, goodbye already dissipating from the room, hand reaching towards the door handle when he blurted, “holy shit this is going to be so embarrassing if i read this situation wrong, but would you maybe want to like… go get a drink with me?”

your motions halted, slowly turning to face him as you narrowed your eyes, head tilting to the side out of caution. “like now?” you asked. it was one out of a million other questions you could have asked to understand the exact connotation of the question.

“i mean, sure? that’s not necessarily what i meant,” he said, hand on the back of his neck sheepishly for just a few moments before turning his palm to the sky in a half shrug. 

this side of maki wasn’t one that you got to see often, somewhat shy, a little unsure, and you were really loving the way you could see the subtle blooming of a pink tint on the highs of his cheeks. even when you were ruthlessly flirting with him and he was perpetually flirting back, you never got to see this amount of fluster. it was quite adorable. 

you leaned your shoulder against his door frame. “then what do you mean, maki?” you asked him, crossing your arms over your chest, only somewhat nervous that he was going to call your bluff. you absolutely knew what he meant. 

“i meant, like- like a date?” he clarified. 

“you want our first date to be at a bar?” you asked.

his cheeks got even pinker, eyes slightly widened as he tried to recover a bit, “not necessarily, just thought it might be a casual way to ask you out, like we get dinner all the time. we’ve never just gotten drinks as friends, so i thought it would be a bit easier to just-”

“i’m literally fucking with you, maki,” you said, sentence barely leaving your mouth before the corners of your lips turned upwards into a devilishly sweet smile. you didn’t torture him any longer, “of course i’ll go on a date with you. a drink sounds nice.”

“you’re the worst, y’know that?” he replied, exhale of breath expelled as his shoulders relaxed. he ran his fingers through his hair, exhaled once more, and then smiled at you so absolutely genuine with heaps of adoration that you could’ve kissed him right there. 

“you’re smiling pretty big for someone who’s going on a date with the worst,” you teased, leaning forward onto the tips of your toes. your chest felt light, skin felt tingly, stomach felt fluttery. how were you supposed to just live like this until you went on your date? “so, are we going now?” you blurted.

he quirked his head. “you- you want to go now? it’s like, 9pm on a wednesday, don’t you have classes tomorrow? and i look like this.”

“what? cute?” you asked, and the funny thing is that it wasn’t any different than you’d normally reply. maki knew that too. “i just think that if we don’t go now, how are we supposed to act tomorrow when we get lunch? like friends? like another date? like friends who are about to go on a date? it’s just easier this way.”

“you want to just get our date out of the way?” maki poked. 

“sure,” you replied as if it was a real question. he almost looked slightly taken aback until you followed quickly with, “that way we can set the tone, y’know? figure out that we really like each other sooner, keep flirting with each other, schedule another date, that kinda thing.”

“alright,” he said, walking to the corner of his room to get his jacket, shoving his wallet into his pocket, grabbing his keys. “let’s go then.”

“really?” you asked, eyes bright, standing up straight off of the door frame. he reached past you to open the door, instantly ready to go on your explanation. 

“well, yeah, you think i’m going to say no to you?” he asked, smiling, one hand sliding down to slot his fingers with yours. you took his hand quickly, squeezing hard enough that he could feel your heartbeat against his palm. he stopped for a second, looking at you fondly, smile growing even bigger, eyebrows furrowing together “you think i’m going to say no to going to get a drink right now with the person i’ve had a crush on for months?”

</3 </3 </3

it didn’t take long after that for the two of you to become inseparable. you were exactly right, just as maki expected you to be. your first date was flawless, easy. he bought your drinks and he let you buy his and the two of you ended up spending the same amount of money, but it was the gestures that really mattered. 

the only fear that you had going into the date, the only thing you could come up with walking down the cold downtown streets was what if it just felt like you were having a drink with your friend, what if the date label didn’t make it any different, but while you were there, drinking at the quiet end of a quiet bar, it didn’t feel like you were just having a drink with your friend but it didn’t feel like you were on a date either. it felt like you were spending the night at a bar with maki and it was really nice. 

a few minutes after you finished your first drink, maki put his hand on your knee, scooched his chair closer to yours despite the fact that there wasn’t really a need to, no driving factor, no small space to take up because of a crowd or closeness needed because of the noise. you barely noticed it when it happened. it wasn’t weird or out of place. you only really clocked it when he pulled his hand away to pay the bartender for the next round because of the lack of warmth against your leg, a warmth that you quickly realized that you wanted in your life forever. 

you leaned in closer, knees against his as you nudged it under his hand. his fingers wrapped around the top of your thigh, smiling at the contact again as he continued to tell you about his first kiss only because you asked. when you told him about yours, his eyes kept flickering down to your lips, distracted for a few moments before looking back up into your eyes again. 

he didn’t kiss you that night, walked you back to your dorm despite your protests and thanked you very sweetly for agreeing to go out with him and for suggesting that you went out tonight. “i’m not sure how i would’ve lasted until this weekend to go out on a date with you, honestly,” he admitted. 

you didn’t mind though, that he didn’t kiss you right then and there, that he gave you a night to digest what all had happened, to let you sit on it and savor the feeling of transition between friends and something more before making it quite to that something more. 

the following day at lunch was only slightly different. the conversations were the same, the lunch table was the same, the flirting was the same. the only difference was warmth on your knee, the soft touch throughout the hour that didn’t waver for a single second. 

</3 </3 </3

the second date came quickly, a movie on friday night in your dorm, which to be fair, was not an altercation of what your current plans had been anyway, but that didn’t matter. you labeled it as a date and it felt just like watching a movie with maki. the two of you fell asleep in your bed, curled up against each other with soft murmurs of scripted chatter droning in the background. 

the third date came quickly after that, and so did the fourth and the fifth, and somewhere along the tenth or fourteenth date, you started losing track of the count and the lines between you and maki hanging out and you and maki going on a date were super blurred. but by then it didn’t really matter. by then it was just you and maki, the rest didn’t matter.

he didn’t need to ask you to be his girlfriend. the label didn’t mean much, not when the relationship between the two of you was going to stay the same anyway, but he just wanted to be able to call you his girlfriend. that was a good enough reason for you.

“cool, yeah, girlfriend,” you said, nodding along, “sounds cute.”

“sounds cute?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows, “not oh, maki, how romantic or oh, maki, yes, i’d love to be your girlfriend or oh, maki, i can’t wait to be committed to you and only you.” 

“is that what that means?” you asked, stretching your arms upwards before falling backwards onto his bed, head on his pillow. “maybe not then, wanna keep my options open.”

“oh, you’re the worst, you know that?” he said, both arms bracketing your shoulders as he hovered over top of you. he leaned down and pressed a kiss into your mischievous smile. 

“what! what if iwa and oikawa ever break up? gotta catch that rebound,” you teased. 

“i’m gonna tell oikawa,” maki said, chest already lifting to turn and storm out of the room. you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulled him into you, kissed him again.

“don’t you dare,” you warned, kissing him again. he kissed you back, laughing against your lips. “not funny.”

“pretty funny,” he said, brushing a stray strand of hair out of your face, leaning down to kiss the spot where it used to be. when his laughter ceased, he took a breath, smile constant, but more serious now, “so, will you? be my girlfriend, i mean.”

“oh, maki, how romantic, i’d love to be your girlfriend and be committed to you and only you,” you said, voice low, and despite the fact that it’s supposed to come out as a joke, you can’t help yourself from saying each bit genuinely, sweetly. 

you were, quite honestly, ready to be with him forever.

</3 </3 </3

over the course of two years, you learned to read maki really well, disgustingly well, actually, so well that you knew something was wrong the second that you heard the knock on your dorm door. you wanted to greet him with a, hey, what’s wrong? but he beat you to the first sentence. 

“hey, can we talk?” he asked, standing in your doorway with enough anxious energy to shut down an entire city. 

“hanamaki, you’re terrifying me,” you admitted, honestly, stepping into your dorm room and letting the door fall fast enough for him to catch it. he walked in behind you, locked the door as it closed. 

he let out a light laugh, “well, hey, don’t go throwing my name around like that.” you didn’t laugh back. he didn’t blame you. you sat down on the edge of your bed and he joined you, unsteady exhale leaving him, and then he looked at you.  

if he didn’t say anything else, just looked at you like that for a few more handfuls of seconds, you might not have needed to hear whatever he was going to say. his eyes were soft, features were gentle, and your heart was beating so furiously in your chest that you felt like you were going to pass out. 

he didn’t beat around the bush, didn’t prolong the reason that he came or the thoughts that he had been trying to combat for the past few days. “i’m really so in love with you, but i think that i can’t be in a relationship right now.”

you were quiet, didn’t say anything, just waited for him to explain further, something, anything to calm down your nerves and heart and confusion. “classes are kicking my ass in ways that they weren’t before we started dating and my internship hasn’t even started and i’m really scared that if i keep going like this that i’m going to fall behind for real,” he explained, eye contact steady in a way that his voice isn’t because he knew that you deserved it. 

“i’ve gone through this a lot in my head, on how to do this without breaking up with you, but i can’t. if we’re together, my number one priority will always be you, no matter how hard i try for it not to be, so i think i have to do this,” he said, and he sounded eerily unsure and very sure at the same time. 

you were quiet again, still not saying anything, but not because you needed any further explanation, just because you were waiting for the words to seep into your skin. when they did, when they settled in next to your self-doubt and biggest fears, you could only muster one sentence, “does this mean you’ll just be out of my life?”

he shook his head, hand reaching upwards to cup your face, thumb smoothing over your cheek. “i really hope not,” he replied. “i get it, if it’s too hard to just be friends or if you don’t want to see me for a bit or-”

you shook your head, forehead resting against his as you put your hand on the back of his, fingers curling around his knuckles. the words nearly fought you, clawed at the inside of your throat as you forced them out, “i don’t really want to be without you, hiro.”

he started to say your name, but you shook your head again, harder this time as you finished your sentence, “i get it. i’m not going to fight you on this. if you think this is the only option, i trust you. i can just be your friend. i’ve done it before, y’know?” you were crying, then, as the words left you, because it was really hard not to fight him on this, to just trust him, but you did. 

trusting someone in this capacity hard, but with hanamaki takahiro, everything’s a little bit easier. still, you couldn’t help yourself, couldn’t stop the sentence as it slipped out with a shaky breath, “are you sure?”

it took a few seconds, but he nodded against you, slow as to not disrupt the places where your body was pressed against his. he moved towards you, no longer a few inches separating the two of you, knees bumping against yours, one hand on the top of your thigh. he nodded again, maybe just for him that time.

you took a deep breath. “will you at least stay with me tonight?”

he didn’t hesitate. “of course.”

</3 </3 </3

it was hard slipping back into what you used to be after being what you were for so long. the touches still felt comfortable, warm, like no one communicated to your bodies how different it was supposed to be again. it took a few lunches for your picnic table to not hold as much weight anymore, for both of you to stop glancing over at the initials you had carved into the side.

but you did.

it took a few lapses of judgment for the two of you to stop hooking up after the breakup was official. it took even longer for the two of you to stop stealing kisses behind closed doors in tiny spaces that you would’ve before. neither of you regretted a single instance or a single kiss. 

but you did stop eventually.

hanamaki takahiro taught you not only about love but about letting go in micro doses, about hanging on to certain aspects of your relationship despite changing the makeup of it, about care and closeness that transcends labels. you’re not exactly sure when your relationship slipped back into the way it used to be, or if it ever completely did. 

there were still parts of your relationship that you held onto from your time dating like buying each other’s drinks and holding hands under the picnic table, but there were things from your time dating that you let go of when you let go of the labels like pet names and kissing in public. the you and maki that exists now is different from the one that existed before or the one that existed before that, evolved and bettered by time and mutual love. 

the you and maki that exists now will be different from the one in the future or the one after that or the one after that. different forms and different labels and different people in different situations, but constant, in your life for a really long time, no matter what form. you knew that then. you know it even better now.

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[bluegiragi]

limitations (part 3)

early access + nsfw on patreon

[jvlianbashir]

"the creator said in a reddit thread -" "the official twitter account posted that -" "the actors confirmed in a livestream that -"

i don't care and that's not real to me. put it in the text.

[hailsatanacab]

"Well, this is a bad idea," Tim says, hands on his hips as he surveys the mess they’ve made in the cave.

"Nah," Danny replies, twirling his screwdriver in the air in what is probably meant to be an impressive trick to inspire confidence, except he fumbles it and it clangs to the floor loudly, "we good. If a younger version of myself hasn't come forward in time to stop me, how bad can it be?"

"Shouldn't it be the other way round?"

"What?"

"Normally, it's an older version of yourself going backwards in time to stop you, right?"

"Not in my experience."

Danny's grin is impossibly feral and a shiver runs up Tim's spine.

"This is definitely a bad idea."

[fiendishartist2]

guy who doesnt dance x guy who will drag you onto the dance floor

[zuzu-draws]

[The Cursed, Unwanted Child: Ostracised by the Village]

[shywhumpauthor]

A Whumper with fire powers branding their Whumpee not just with their name or initials, but their handprints.

Two palms scarred against either side of Whumpee’s neck, fingers wrapping around their throat in a collar that can never be removed. Hands on their sides, just below their broken ribs, a touch that will never relent. Fingers wrapped around their wrists in shackles that won’t be unlocked. A handprint against their face, cupping their cheek that had already suffered so many punches. The small of their back. A single hand just between their shoulder blades. Dragging down their thighs.

Just. Branded handprints.

[thisisnotkitty]

random matpat things that i think could be ness coded:

-theater major / aspiring actor

-mirror matt also mentioned he had a degree in neuroscience i think?? or psych? but yeah big brain ness

-diet coke enjoyer... worryingly so

-likes standardized tests

-he does the LOOORRRE thing matpat does whenever someone says the word

-"thats just a theory" is definitely his catch phrase and everybody knows it. like people will say it with him at this point, he says it that much

[luxaofhesperides]

Ghostlight prompt: Danny and Duke being childhood friends, but Danny tells Duke the moment the accident happens and such cause he trusts him, only for Danny to go radio silent when giw decide to block the town communications in senior year.

So Duke-does he tell Danny he's Signal or not? Up to you-gets worried the longer no contact goes by.

Maybe the away game thing seen in other posts where the sports team still does away games and Danny gets enough good will with star or dash maybe and they send a message to Duke that's some coded phrase and Duke knows shits going down?

(yourlocalcorviddad, it's a side blog so didn't want to send from main sorry)

Danny is not someone who is on his mind a lot, these days. It’s to be expected, considering how distance and their double lives eat up all the time they have to talk. Really, it’s a miracle that they were able to speak enough to learn about their own individual vigilante work, especially with Duke bouncing around foster homes for a good portion of that time. 

They haven’t spoke in months but that’s normal for them.

Duke thinks he can be forgiven for not knowing something was wrong. He still won’t forgive himself for it.

“Danny’s gone?” he repeats, feeling numb. There’s static ringing in his ears, his entire world hollowing out.

The guy in front of him looks grim, unable to meet Duke’s eyes. Did he introduce himself? Duke can’t remember, can’t keep his spiraling thoughts straight in his head. “He’s gone. His entire family is gone and we haven’t been able to call for help because… well…”

“It’s those guys, right? The ones in white?”

“You know about them?”

“Danny told me. Danny told me a lot about what he did in Amity Park.”

The guy lets out a slow, relieved breath. “Good, then I don’t have to explain. Sorry, it’s just that it’s not something we talk about, especially out in the open. After the last few months, things got really bad. We know the GIW took the Fentons, but we can’t find out how or why and they’ve got us on a tight lockdown.”

“Then how did you get out?” Duke asks. Another arguably more important question pops into his mind a second later. “Actually, how do you know about Danny and… you know. The other things.”

The grimness on the guy’s expression fades away some beneath the sudden shame and embarrassment. “Oh, that. Well, I dunno how much he told you about his, like, daily life, but, um. I’m Dash. Baxter. I bullied him?”

Dash. 

Dash. That’s a name he recognizes. 

Danny’s complained about Dash a lot in the past. Since they were in middle school, really. Duke would always get mad on Danny’s behalf about how terribly he’s being treated, how no one would stop such obvious bullying. And every time, Danny would laugh it off and say in that soft voice of his, It’s alright, Duke, really. Having you care is more than enough for me.

It never stopped the bullying, though, but the way Danny talked about Dash changed when they both entered high school. He was still annoyed about everything Dash did, but there were less insults about him, less venting about every little thing that pissed Danny off about him, as if he just didn’t care anymore.

And there is, of course, the most memorable time Danny called Duke about Dash over the summer.

Hey, Danny, Duke had began, only to be cut off by Danny yelling, I kissed Dash?! Or he kissed me?! What am I supposed to do now!

And Duke, despite the jealousy he felt at hearing that Danny and Dash kissed, laughed so hard he cried while Danny yelled at him to be helpful. 

There wasn’t any discussion on Dash since, beyond a comment here and there about a funny fanboying thing Dash had said about Phantom. The focus of their conversations shifted towards how hard it was to be heroes or vigilantes, quiet reassurances that they’re both doing the best they can, tips traded about best ways to patch themselves up and get through the night. Sometimes, it felt like Danny was the only person in the world to really know Duke; all his pain and promises, his dreams, everything he was Before and who he became in the After.

He’s missed Danny, but the last message Danny sent him told him that things were getting rough in Amity Park, and to not call or contact him until he reached out first.

So Duke trusted in Danny and focused his attention in Gotham, putting his all into becoming a better hero, someone people can rely on. 

He thinks that maybe he should have fallen into the Bats’ bad habits of invading privacy to make sure Danny’s okay. 

Too late for that now, though.

“I know you,” Duke says after a long moment. “He talked about you sometimes. Come with me, we have a lot to discuss.”

Dash looks appropriately nervous, but he doesn’t argue. 

It’s a tense, quiet walk to the library where Barbara works. She’s stationed at the front desk when he arrives and greets him with a smile, eyes flicking towards Dash in question.

“Hey, Babs, got a private study room open?”

Her gaze sharpens and Duke can’t help the feeling of relief that flows through him, knowing that Oracle is ready to look out for him. “Let me check,” she says, turning towards the computer to click around a few pages. “Study room 8 is open.”

That’s the study room with a working lock and soundproofing. It also has cameras and a mic inside, but all the other study rooms have one too, just for safety purposes. Things could always go terribly wrong when people are locked together in a small room, and having video and audio evidence of what happened has assisted in more than a few cases. 

He leads them up to the second floor, past the students studying and the group of young children in the back corner of the library listening intently to a read aloud. 

The only occupied study rooms are those up front, closer to the stairs. The back rooms are empty and quiet, the perfect place for a little impromptu interrogation.

“So,” Duke says as he closes the door to study room 8 behind them. Dash sits down as if this is just a casual conversation, but the way his foot taps against the floor betrays his nerves. “Danny’s gone. And somehow, that lead you to me.”

Dash glance around, then leans closer to drop his voice into a harsh whisper. “The Guys In White got some insane upgrades a few months ago and forced every citizen of Amity Park into a surveillance state. The entire Fenton family is gone, but we all know it’s really because they want Danny.”

“Explain the situation in Amity Park some more.”

“Well. It’s like this: we didn’t take them seriously, so they upped their moves and got us trapped. No one goes in or out of Amity Park without good, verifiable reason. We have a curfew and we can be randomly stopped and searched for ectoplasm or exposure to ghosts. Most of the ghosts have left, but a few of the stronger ones hang around to cause trouble to get the GIW off our backs for a bit.”

“So how did you end up in Gotham?”

“I was invited to tour the college. And since outsiders were expecting me, the GIW let me go. But there’s definitely some that tailed me to Gotham, but I can’t find them at all. Even talking to you now is a huge risk for me.”

Which means they don’t have much time to talk before someone comes looking for Dash. His words, paired with everything Duke’s heard from Danny, paint a deeply unpleasant picture in his mind. “Are you going to be in trouble?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. It’s Danny we’re all worried about. He told me before he got caught that if anything happened to him, I should find you. Tucker helped us narrow down where exactly you are and sent you that text to get you to where we met.”

“What do you think I can do?”

“I don’t know,” Dash admits. “But Danny trusts you, and he needs your help.”

Duke was never going to say no to this request to begin with, but damn if those words don’t make him want to run to Amity Park without waiting for anyone else.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay. I’ll help rescue him and bring down the GIW. You should go now, before they get too suspicious.”

“What are you planning?”

“I got a couple of friends who are good at destroying government property. Trust me, you’ll see what we’re up, we’re pretty noticeable if we’re pissed off enough.”

“Don’t take too long then,” Dash says, standing up, “I expect a good show from you. See you around, man.”

And with that, Dash pats Duke’s shoulder and leaves the study room. Duke doesn’t follow after him.  He’s got a rescue to start planning, and the less time he wastes, the better.

In the end, it’s pretty simple. It’s not a hard mission at all when the time comes for them to act, but the amount of data they gather and have to shift through is daunting. But that’s more Tim and Barbara’s forte, so he trusts them to handle it. 

Together with Red Robin, Spoiler, and Black Bat, they hit Amity Park hard and fast. 

One night was spent learning the lay of the land and every station and lab set up by the GIW. The second night was spent burning it all down and tossing open cages full of green blob ghosts and a few transparent, weakly glowing human ghosts. Stronger ghosts, glowing brightly, joined them in a few places with battle cries and maniacal laughter.

They split up and took down all the bases and patrol stations on their own, sweeping through the city like vengeful shadows. 

By dawn, the GIW were in shambles, without any bases or equipment, and rounded up for arrest. 

Cass was the one to find Danny and his family; his parents were forced to create weapons for the GIW under threat of Danny and Jazz’s torture. Danny was locked up like an animal and studied. Jazz had restraints on, including a muzzle, and a bloodthirsty rage in her eyes. Apparently, she had put up the most fight and, while being studied for repeated exposure to ectoplasm and radiation, started biting people.

The Fentons are big names in this conflict. Tim makes the executive decision to burn one of his out-of-state safehouses so they can hide and recover in peace, then promptly moves them into it as soon as the EMTs give them the all clear. They’re gone by the time the sun is rising over the horizon, and the curious Amity Parkers that have gathered behind the blockade of police cars have to be reassured that the Fentons have been taken away for their protection, not for further abuses. Even then, tensions are high and the locals are clearly prepared to start rioting now that they have a chance to fight back.

As vigilantes, they’re not meant to interact with cops much. Perhaps it’s simply their experiences in Gotham that keep them at a distance, disappearing into the neighborhood the moment attention shifts off of them. Either way, Duke is hurrying out of Amity Park with the rest of the team on his heels, eager to return to Gotham and follow up on their own leads to make sure the GIW is properly gutted and dismantled. 

Duke heads off for the Hatch as soon as they reach Gotham, hoping to shed the suit and finally be able to call Danny. The guilt of not noticing how bad things had gotten rolls through his stomach, and more than that, he’s missed hearing Danny’s voice. 

The first few calls go straight to voicemail. Duke leaves a quick message asking Danny to let him know how he’s doing as soon as he can talk. 

Then he goes for a shower and to change into civilian clothes, prepared to make his way to Wayne Manor to let Bruce know how everything went. And hopefully distract him from his Disappointed Father/Leader Lecture about taking on missions behind his back, as if Duke can’t handle himself. And also because Bruce has no leg to stand on when it comes to this. He’s fully prepared to throw that entire lecture back into his face at a moment’s notice.

The post-mission exhaustion is hitting him hard and fast. Duke has to brace himself against the wall once he’s out of the shower, resisting the urge to just lie on the floor and sleep there until he starts feeling more human. 

Somehow, he gets himself into some sweatpants and a plain shirt, pulls on a pair of mismatched socks, and begins gathering his things so he can get to the Batcave. 

He’s in no state to be driving. Maybe someone would be willing to take him there?

Just as he reaches for his phone to thumb through his contacts and see who he can bother, it buzzes in his hand. Duke blames the way he jumps on his exhaustion, then blinks his tired eyes to squint at the name that pops up onto the screen.

Danny.

All at once, his exhaustion fades away. A rush of adrenaline runs through him as he scrambles to accept the call, already pacing around the room so he doesn’t fall asleep. 

“Hello?”

There’s a moment of silence, then the exhale of a breath that turns to static over the call. “Duke,” Danny’s tired voice says. “Duke…”

“You doing okay? I couldn’t get to you before you and your family had to leave and go into hiding, but I’ve been worried about you, man.”

“I’m good. We’re all fine, now. Fentons are strong, you know? We’ll bounce back in no time.”

From what he’s heard about Danny’s family, that’s most definitely true. He’s seen the pictures of walls Jack Fenton has burst through with his body. It’ still hard to believe that no one in the family is a meta, outside of Danny.

“You need anything? I can get it to you, just say the word. Anything at all.”

Danny hums, then asks with a playful note in his voice, “Anything?”

“Anything.”

“I need you. How fast can you come meet me? I’ll even pay for express delivery.”

Duke laughs, so relieved at hearing the lightness return to Danny’s voice that he feels weak in the knees. “It’ll be at least two days. I gotta sleep and debrief with Batman before I can see you. It’s gonna take some time to get out of Gotham again.”

“Maybe I can go to you, instead,” Danny suggests. “Fly over and be there is less than an hour.”

“Are you in any shape to be flying right now?”

“I’m fine! Already healing and everything,” Danny insists.

“It might be dangerous if any rogue GIW agents go after you.”

“Well,” Danny says, “That’s why I need to get to my knight in shining armor sooner rather than later, right?”

Duke bites his lip to fight back a smile, blinking his eyes forcefully to keep them from closing under the heavy weight of exhaustion. “Does that make you a damsel in distress?”

“I mean, I did need rescuing, so I guess? I’m not much of a damsel, but I could put on a pretty dress for you. It’ll be like playing pretend when we were kids.”

“Oh, man, I kinda miss those poofy dresses. I think I could still rock on, put it on top of the armor when I go out for patrol.”

Danny snickers. “Signal: the most well dressed vigilante in Gotham.”

“That’s me, baby!”

The last of the agonizing fear that’s choked him since he first talked to Dash finally melts away. Danny’s fine now. Everything’s okay; the GIW are done for and there’s plenty of people willing to look out for the Fentons. This will never happen again.

“Hey,” Danny says, voice suddenly turing more serious. “Send me your location. I wasn’t joking when I said I could fly over to you. And before you say anything! I do need it; Jazz and my parents are smothering me and I just need to get away from everything and pretend all of this never happened.”

The admission softens Duke, makes him shove away everything that tells him this is a bad idea, that Danny needs more rest first, that having Danny fly over alone and without warning any of the Bats fills Duke with anxiety. 

He does miss Danny. More than he can put into words.

“Yeah, okay,” he says at last. “Come meet me, Danny.”

He texts Danny the location of the Hatch before common sense tells him to be more careful with his base of operations. Not that it matters, anyways; if there’s anyone in the world he trusts with everything, it’s Danny. 

Then he sends the Bats a quick text saying he’s crashing in the Hatch and to not bother him until the sun is fully up two days from now. Oracle gives him a thumbs up emoji, which is a good guarantee that she will personally see to it that no non-emergency messages interrupt his rest and recovery time.

Duke has no idea how long it will take Danny to get to the Hatch, so he putters around, cleaning up the space and straightening it out in an attempt to keep busy enough that he doesn’t crash. Travel really takes it out of him. It’s one of the cons of being born and raised in Gotham: he doesn’t have the stamina to travel outside of it, especially when they were there and back in less than three days.

Thank god for Tim’s many motorcycles and his tendency to see the speed limit as a weak suggestion that can be ignored while on a mission.

Ultimately, the call of sleep is too strong to resist. 

One moment, Duke is sorting through files on the Hatch’s computer, and the next moment, he’s face down on a bed with his face shoved into a pillow. 

Blearly, he manages to pull his phone out of his pocket and send Danny a typo-ridden text that hopefully gets across the message of might be asleep so just come in, don’t wait for me to answer the door.

He’s out like a light as soon as it sends. The last thing Duke registers is his phone dropping out of his hand and falling against the mattress with a little bounce.

When he begins to wake up, something’s changed. As much as he wants to go back to sleep, awareness comes back to him slowly and Duke forces himself to claw his way out of unconsciousness to figure out what, exactly, is bothering him so much. Until he figures out what’s changed in the room, he won’t be able to sleep because he’ll be worried about someone breaking in.

His mind comes back online long before his body does. It’s only when he tries to move that Duke realizes he’s no longer alone on the bed; there’s someone wrapped up in his arms, body temperature a little too cool to be a normal human.

Blinking open his eyes, Duke looks down at the head of messy black hair and feels Danny’s soft breath ghost across his chest. 

“Danny?” he manages to say, voice rough with sleep. 

Danny hums and doesn’t move.

“Hey, look up. Let me see if you’re really alright.”

“Mmm, no,” Danny mumbles, burrowing his face into Duke’s chest some more. “‘m sleepy.”

A good argument. Duke is also sleepy. 

“Fine,” he says, “Check in the morning, then. G’night, Danny.”

“Night, Duke. Thanks for saving me.”

He tightens his grip on Danny, contentment burning warm in his chest. “Always, Danny. I’ll always save you.”

That’s why he’s a hero, after all. To save others, to reach a hand out to everyone the way he needed when he was younger. To keep the people he loves safe. To make sure Danny always finds a way back to him. 

This is what makes all the pain of this lifestyle worth it.

Danny makes everything worth it.

(@yourlocalcorviddad tagging to make sure you see this!)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Happy Halloween and Wei Wuxian day!

[brighteuphony]

I love Chiyo- and I kind of headcanon her as a Witch of the Woods (Sands???) archetype- a bitter old woman who has sacrificed too much, experienced and committed more atrocities than anyone can imagine, and who knows the truth about what lies in the hearts of men to live among the villages anymore.

In my AU she's got a pretty dark backstory. Back in time when Villages were just getting established, women weren't allowed to be shinobi in the same capacity as men. There was too much warring and death among the clans to risk women, so they were only ever allowed to serve as spies or medics. (Chiyo started off as a medic).

And like any military/fascist dictatorship, serving the state was more important than anything else- so women who were kunoichi were given missions to steal and return with powerful bloodlines. Even before villages, this was a common fear among clans (which is why so many of them have protective measures and inbreed/arrange matches very carefully).

Chiyo was one such woman, who took a X-rated mission in her youth because she was told it would 'serve her nation'. There was a powerful bloodline whose Kekkei Genkai could harden sand to something akin to Steel- something Suna very desperately wanted.

Chiyo succeeded in her mission, but despite the veneer of 'serving your nation', when she returned, she was considered, in her words, "Just another whore."

Then when her son didn't manifest the bloodline- it was worse, but Chiyo was happy because that meant her son was HERS. (This is when she met Enji, and he saved her son's life at great cost- so Chiyo owes him a blood/life debt.)

Then the war came, and they needed women to fight so now serving the nation meant something different, and Chiyo became a full fledged 'shinobi' and turned her healing towards poison and death- especially when she had to fight the Salamander.

Then she sealed Gaara and that was the atrocity straw that broke the camel's back and she dipped out Suna and retired to an oasis. She's still a healer, but adamantly refuses to serve shinobi.

Once again, thank you so much for these asks and all the support for this AU?

@youngpeacearbiter

[bluegiragi]

monster!au sketchdump #2

1-2: monster swap!! purely indulgent, since if they were actually these monsters from the start, they'd all have turned out different.

3: price in his prime! he was a real tank, but he grew out of his destructive phase.

4: preening time with gaz <3

early access + nsfw on patreon

[clacy2812]

If you ask me this, buckle up.I will be giving you a presentation of my ocs for the next 4 hours.

[oneread]

I, like the straw hat pirates, desperately wish to physically fight all of the people who were ever mean to Nico Robin

[opikiquu]

[luckyfox3000]

DC X DP PROMT #20

Hello there lovely fanfic obsessed people! New promt!

This was NOT how jason thought his day would go.

Jason let out a dramatic groan as he mentally screamed to his abusers the universe.

Looking down at his new, blue eyes ward, he looked to the sky and wondered where it all went wrong.

...To be fair, when he saw a supposedly abandoned child with black hair and blue eyes he shouldn't have trusted the innocent smile given to him.

'Well' He thought, eyeing the boy, 'at the very least it was sure to give bruce aneurysm.'

Feel free to use or add on!