#jack running around the city like 'dad why are you trying to kill me??'

[sathina]

Part 3 to end of us? Where there’s a time jump but they still long for each other or they run into each other and he sees her bump for the first time realizes why she was so adamant on leaving

The end of us pt.3

Pairing - Jack Harlow x reader

Summary - it still hurts, but he tried to fix those bullet wounds with bandages.

Warnings - angst, pregnancy, swearing, secret kid, forgiving and forgetting

You liked to think that you left in peace. But now as you rubbed your slightly swollen stomach you couldn't help but feel that a piece of your heart was thrown away. Your eyes were dry and red, hurting from the nights you spent crying. Every day you dreaded the thoughts of having to tell him, your inside voice screaming that you can raise the baby on your own. But you knew it wouldn't be fair. Jack deserved to know he had a kid, and the kid deserved to have a dad.

It didn't take long for you to move out, that very day you left to your parents house, only a week later getting the rest of your stuff and finding a place. A small apartment not that far from your parents. It was perfect, for now.

You had blocked Jack on everything, finally finding some happiness after months of yelling and fighting. In all honesty you didn't care where he was now. A part of you felt good that he might be in pain, after all suffering from his own actions.

While you were at your new home, Jack was on the other side of the city, moping around all day, laying in bed and barely feeding himself. He was slowly losing himself and the touch with reality, it hurt all over his body. If this is what it felt like he couldn't imagine what you were going through.

Urban suddenly opened the door of his bedroom, walking over to the window and opening its blinds.

" What do you want?" Jack asked in a cranky voice, his eyes squinting from the sudden light.

" We're going out to eat. And I don't give a fuck if you want it or not, it feels like at any moment you're gonna collapse."

" Just leave me the fuck alone."

Urban sighed at his best friend's words, his patients running low from the last few weeks. " You're gonna kill yourself like this."

" I don't care."

" Fine! Don't get better, don't see your fucking kid and be on your own!" Everything seemed to stop. It felt like the whole world dropped on Jack's shoulders, his breath hitching in the back of his throat.

" What?" He asked calmly.

" Nothing." It was clear that Urban tried to hide his slip up, pulling on a solid face.

" Repeat what you said."

" I didn't say shit."

" Is it true?" He was breathing hard now, his head spinning with a million thoughts about you. " Is it true that I have a kid?"

" Look, I wasn't supposed to tell. I myself found out only two days ago." Urban said watching his friend scramble out of bed, looking for his nearest clothes.

" And you didn't say anything?"

" She told me not to, said that she'll do it herself." Jack was running around the room, picking up random pants and shirts, trying to get dressed quickly. " Hold on." He looked back right as he was about to walk through the door. " Before you go you gotta fix the shit with Bianca."

" What do you mean? I already did."

" She texted Neelam. Said some shit about leaking the text's between you two."

" Fuck." He quietly whispered under his breath, his fingers running through his curls. " Okay."

" Hey, and, Jack? Bring Y/n home, you're not the only one missing her." At that he nodded, grabbing his keys and running out the door, this all feeling like muscle memory.

<3

You were in the kitchen, trying to take your mind off of things as you cooked. Chopping up some fresh vegetables you danced around the kitchen, moving with grace along the hardwood floors.

You were humming a melody, finally having some energy after hours of crying, only to suddenly hear a knock on your door. You placed down the knife, quickly walking around the kitchen island, moving down the small hallway. Another knock sounded out when you were only a couple feet away, the person on the other end seeming to be impassioned and rushed

" I'm coming!" You yelled out, one of your hands holding onto your small bump as the other unlocked and opened the door.

Your breathing hitched, not expecting to see the familiar curls yet. " Jack…"

" Hi." In all honesty he didn't know what to say. After weeks of not seeing you it felt like he couldn't breathe.

You started to close the door, not wanting to stand there if he was going to waste your time.

" Wait!" His foot was placed between the wall and your door, holding it open so you wouldn't shut him out. " I need to talk to you!"

" I have nothing to say."

" But I do! Please, I won't be long." For a second you catched his gaze, and after not seeing him for so long, it felt like all of your worries slipped away. " Please, just let me in."

You felt pathetic for slowly opening the door, letting in the man who hurt you deeply.

You both were standing in front of each other, making straight eye contact, the hallway now feeling even smaller. " How did you get my address, Jack?"

" I-I was at your parents house." You sighed when you heard his explanation, your parents always being supportive of your relationship no matter what.

You could see his eyes flicker down to your stomach, the slightly swollen skin poking out of your robe. Feeling his burning gaze on you, you clutched the fabric closer to your body. " When were you going to tell me?"

" Whenever I was ready." You told him coldly, zero emotion running past your face and tone. Silence fell like a thick blanket on the both of you, not knowing what to say or how to react.

" Uh, fuck it." Jack mouthed before taking in a deep breath, now making only direct eye contact with you. " I came to apologize. I cut Bianca out of my life fully and I made everyone else around me do too. I cut short on my studio hours now, only spending three hours there. So unless I have a meeting or an interview I can spend the rest of the day with you."

" Jack-"

" I learnt how to make your favorite dish and want your thoughts on it, I deleted any traces of my exes on my phone, and we can go shop for baby stuff like right now."

" Jack, stop." You interrupted his little babble, his rambling cutting short. " You can't just do these things now when they're the basics to a healthy relationship. I'm sorry."

" Please. I promise I'll do anything. You can hate me, but don't make my kid hate me." You could see the distress in his eyes, a piece of your heart hurting with him. " I'll earn your trust back. I'm gonna be better."

You knew it was stupid, knew that this could be a trap for even more years of suffering, but the few weeks you spent alone made you rethink your whole life right now. It was hard living without him, it was hard leaving a piece of you behind, and you knew it would be even harder with him. But something made you say yes, only promising that you were doing this for your child, not for yourself or him.

" You have one chance, Harlow."

[professionalowl]

Actually, while we're shaming people for their 452 unread books, here's a list of unread books of mine of which I own physical copies, attached to the year I obtained them, so that you can all shame me into reading more:

2024: Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence (James Bridle; just started)

2021: Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape (Cal Flyn)

2024: Extreme Fabulations: Science Fictions of Life (Steven Shaviro)

2021: The Unreal & The Real Vol. 1: Where on Earth (Ursula K. Le Guin)

2023: A Study in Scarlet (Arthur Conan Doyle)

2023: Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living (Dmitri Xygalatas)

2023: Vibrant Matter: A political ecology of things (Jane Bennett)

2023: The History of Magic: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present (Chris Gosden)

2018: Ways of Seeing (John Berger)

2022: An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us (Ed Yong)

2020: Owls of the Eastern Ice: The Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl (Jonathan C. Slaught)

2023: My Life in Sea Creatures (Sabrina Imbler)

2020: The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think (Jennifer Ackerman)

2023: Birds and Us: A 12,000-Year History, from Cave Art to Conservation (Tim Birkhead)

2020: Rebirding: Restoring Britain's Wildlife (Benedict Macdonald)

2022: The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human (Siddhartha Mukherjee)

2022: An Anthropologist on Mars (Oliver Sacks)

2021: Sex, Botany & Empire: The Story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks (Patricia Fara)

2023: At The Mountains of Madness (H.P. Lovecraft)

2019: Invisible Cities (Italo Calvino; I have been trying to finish this forever and am so, so close)

2023: Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf (Sean Duffy)

2021: What is History, Now? How the past and present speak to each other (Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb; essay collection, half-read)

2020: Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England (Thomas Penn)

2022: Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation (Silvia Federici)

2020: Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Touissant Louverture (Sudhir Hazareesingh; half-read)

2019: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper (Hallie Rubenhold; 3/4 read)

2022: Lenin on the Train (Catherine Merridale)

2020: October: The Story of the Russian Revolution (China Miéville)

2019: The Villa, the Lake, the Meeting: Wannsee and the Final Solution (Mark Roseman)

2019: Heimat: A German Family Album (Nora Krug)

2018: Maus I: My Father Bleeds History (Art Spiegelman)

2020: Running in the Family (Michael Ondaatje)

2022: Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys; also never technically "finished" Jane Eyre, but I did my time, damn you)

2023: Time Shelter (Georgi Gospodinov)

2019: Our Man in Havana (Graham Greene; started, left unfinished)

2019: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (John le Carré)

2021: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Reni Eddo-Lodge; half-read)

2017: Rebel Without Applause (Lemn Sissay)

2022: The Metamorphosis, and Other Stories (Franz Kafka)

2011?: The Complete Cosmicomics (Italo Calvino; vaguely remember reading these when I was maybe 7 and liking them, but I have forgotten their content)

2022: Free: Coming of Age at the End of History (Lea Ypi)

2021: Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland (W.B. Yates)

Some of these are degree-related, some not; some harken back to bygone areas of interest and some persist yet; some were obtained willingly and some thrust upon me without fanfare. I think there are also some I've left at college, but I'm not sure I was actually intending to read any of them - I know one is an old copy of Structural Anthropology by Claude Levi-Strauss that Dad picked up for me secondhand, which I...don't intend to torment myself with. Reading about Tom Huffman's cognitive-structural theory of Great Zimbabwe almost finished me off and remains to date the only overdue essay I intend to never finish, mostly because the professor let me get away with abandoning it.

There are also library books, mostly dissertation-oriented, from which you can tell that the cognitive archaeologists who live in my walls finally fucking Got me:

The Rise of Homo sapiens: The Evolution of Modern Thinking (Thomas Wynn & Fred Coolidge)

The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Karenleigh A. Overmann)

Archaeological Situations: Archaeological Theory from the Inside-Out (Gavin Lucas)

And, finally, some I've actually finished recently ("recently" being "within the past year"):

The Body Fantastic (Frank Gonzalo-Crussi, solid 6/10 essay collection about a selection of body parts, just finished earlier)

An Entertainment for Angels: Electricity in the Enlightenment (Patricia Fara, also a solid 6/10, fun read but nothing special)

Babel: An Arcane History (R.F. Kuang, 8/10, didactic (sometimes necessary) but effective; magic system was cool and a clever metaphor)

The Sign of Four (A.C. Doyle, 2/10 really racist and for what)

Dr. Space Junk vs. the Universe: Archaeology and the Future (Alice Gorman, 8/10, I love you Dr. Space Junk)

In Search of Us: Adventures in Anthropology (Lucy Moore, 8/10, I respect some of these people slightly more now)

The Dispossessed (Ursula K. Le Guin, 9/10 got my ass)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (A.C. Doyle, 7/10 themez 👍)

[icebluecyanide]

Alex Rider S03E08 Reaction

The last episode already!!! *screaming*

Liveblog

Oh Mrs Jones was John’s handler?? No Ash :(( 

Omg Alex finding out about the nanoparticles!! 👀 Love the moment of realisation

“I went in myself, undercover” oh they really don’t like committing to Alex joining Scorpia of his own free (misguided) will huh. Like not to keep comparing to the book but in the book it’s Blunt who lies to say that Alex was working for MI6 all along when Alex is still feeling bad about being with Scorpia and wonders if Blunt will tell the whole Cobra meeting what he did

Why did Jack even think Alex would be safe going back to Scorpia ahsldfhs

Love Alex not telling people he’s going to die, keep those secrets, Alex <33

Lmao they’re not even staging a breakout?

I feel like it really should not be that big a leap to work out that Julia Rothman wants Alex dead

Why does it sound like Alex is just improvising here ashdlfhs did they not come up with a cover story for how he escaped?? Did they not have budget to shoot the car crash ahsldfhs

I think Nile should have stayed to watch Alex get changed like in the books 😔

“We can get him out the moment I get there, get him clear” I mean I love Alex but like… if he’s dying there is also a whole city dying so is this really your top priority?

Alex’s Scorpia uniform lmao

Wowwww Alex is really not good at this undercover thing huh

No Yassen around anywhere :((( 

Lmao that was so easy unplugging that thing

Damn Nile, that’s some good whump

Oh, she’s running :(((( This show did Julia Rothman dirty tbh

To lose another child 👀👀

Ayyyy Nile escape!! Good on you, Nile

Ahsldfhs Julia Rothman’s poor info security leading to all the other Scorpia members

“I think it’s best all round if we put our differences behind us” ahsldfhslh

“That’s your resignation letter” lmaooooo love it

Ahsldfhs is Blunt gonna resign instead and let Mrs Jones lead the department? Because that would be wild 

Omg he did leave?? Ahsldfhds that’s really funny because Blunt was the only one I liked & this was actually the story he came out looking best imo

Awww Alex getting his dad’s medals 🥺🥺

Love the job offer after university 👀👀 Great set up for post-canon fics haha

Omg Yassen saving Alex from being shot!!!!! They’re both alive at the end!!! Yassen nodding at Alex!!!

Overall

Some nice emotional beats with Alex learning about how he’s going to die, and I like the parallel with Alex shooting past Nile the way John shot past Yassen. Also I really liked the way they wrapped it all up, love the idea that was set up of Alex working as a spy after university and of course the bit where Yassen saves him. Some really great set up for post-canon fics there and everyone I cared about is alive so loved it!

Thoughts

It’s funny how Alex’s age is glossed over in scenes like the art gallery on Malta, but then the Home Secretary is immediately like ‘how old are you’ because he’s visibly a teenager. In general it was kind of wild how she tried to shut the Department down, although I did enjoy the brief moment where Alex was arrested again. Loved Blunt handing her her letter of resignation letter at the end.

I think this show and I disagree on what’s important for a department like The Department, but I don’t think Blunt should have had to resign at the end there. I guess they wanted a nice resolution there and Blunt stepping aside made it easier, but everyone in the Department aside from Blunt was annoying me by how emotional and attached to Alex they got, so I was sad to see him go lol. Like, I remember there was a line in the book about how the SAS team attacking the church had been told by Blunt that the transmitter was their first priority and their second was Alex Rider and honestly he wasn’t wrong for that?? It was kind of wild with the way the team was talking about getting Alex out safely like they weren’t bursting in trying to stop a whole city from getting killed.

I wish Yassen had been in more of this episode, and I was expecting him to actually be around for Invisible Sword, but I guess he had nothing to do with it. Maybe he even went looking for Alex after all? But I love how he shot Nile at the end there, and I’m glad there was no last minute reveal that he knew about John all along. I love how it ended with him nodding at Alex and walking off (into the sunset) and I can totally imagine them meeting again down the line.

Not a fan of Mrs Jones being the one in charge of the stuff with Alex’s parents when in the books it was Blunt who seemed to have run John (with Ash as the point of contact). In general I guess it plays into the way they made Mrs Jones softer and warmer than in the books. For all that this show had them blackmail Alex, and it seems like a grittier take than the books, they actually lose a lot of the book’s edge, also when it comes to stuff like Alex actually joining Scorpia. Like, with the way Alex mentioned it and Jack mentioned it, I’m starting to think Alex really was just pretending to join Scorpia from the start, which I guess is a nice parallel to John, but it’s also vastly less interesting than him actually being manipulated into joining them.

Speaking of John though, I find it a bit hard to believe that no one went ‘oh okay Scorpia are still out there and they want revenge against the department and also remember that time John and his wife’s plane got blown up? In retrospect maybe that was them like Alex said’ and then they could follow that up with ‘if Julia knows about John and all of this is revenge, maybe she wants to kill Alex’. And even if they don’t know that, it’s still pretty dangerous for him to go back if Scorpia assume he has been turned and is working for MI6 now. Especially given how long he was arrested for. I can’t believe they didn’t even try to fake the escape but just had Alex walk out and call them.

Also Alex’s undercover stuff was so bad?? Like Alex I know you know that Julia Rothman wants to kill you but if you play along you could have had your hands free at least?? Though I suppose in fairness to Alex he was trying to distract her to delay things.

This show did Julia Rothman dirty tbh. They made it all about a personal revenge because she loved/was seduced by John and apparently gave up tons of Scorpia secrets and she had multiple male Scorpia members calling her mad for it, plus she didn’t even get to shoot the guard for trying to run away? I hate to say it but Mrs Rothman and Nile were both more fun in the book, though I do love the Nile casting. I really wanted Scorpia to have more of that ‘oh we’re all friendly but if you betray us we will kill you’ vibe.

Okay so enough complaining, here are some positives: Just about anything John and Yassen was very good, loved the Yassen and Alex scenes, and really that was what I was here for so I’m happy. Really good ending and I’m glad they seemed to know they weren’t going to do another season and actually wrapped the story up well. On the whole this season was so much better than I dared hope for, and I think it probably holds up pretty well if you are less into the book like I am. The show’s clearly not telling the same story and that’s fine, and I think it probably told the story it wanted to tell quite well. And I got my John and Yassen and Alex scenes and John/Yassen flashbacks so I’m happy.

[ragingbookdragon]

I'm Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 5

Batfamily x Batsis Story!

Word Count: 2.5K Warnings: Explicit Language, ALL THE ANGST. AND MORE TO COME! Tags!: @itsnottilly @cloudyskylines @starflyer-104 @iwillstaywiththemforever @justine-en @weirdgirlfromtx @notsostraightweeb @candlestudy @edlothia-baby @soul-end @willieoo @willowoo @peterxwade24 @the-atlantic-french-fry @bad-bouquet-of-emotions @vvipgot7be @pure-princess-97 @atomicsoulhumanspy

Author's Note: I have nothing to say for any of the emotions y'all are about to get from this. Enjoy!-Thorne

She wasn’t sure what she expected when she sat down, but the stretching silence growing between her and her estranged family wasn’t it. She tried to look anywhere but them, not because she was ashamed—far from it. But it was more than awkward sitting across from three brothers and a father she’d not spoken to in three years, let alone tell them she was even alive.

Her eyes found Wally’s as he sat down beside her eldest brother and if looks could’ve killed, he’d been dead and buried.

“Glare at me all you want, but I’m not going to apologize,” he shrugged.

Scowling, she turned her attention to the skyline. “Fuck you,” she spat, crossing her arms.

“At least talk to them, (Y/N).”

“And why should I, Wally?” she questioned, glaring at him. “I don’t have anything to say. If I did, I wouldn’t be here in Central.”

“You’re not leaving until you talk to them,” he finalized with a firm look and she growled low in her throat and resigned herself to her fate.

Her eyes darted to her father’s and she couldn’t for the life of her decipher what was in them. “I’ll talk for an hour,” she told him. “I’m not talking about what I’ve been doing in Central City, so don’t ask. I’m not talking about the life I’ve been living, so don’t ask. You’re only allowed to ask me about my departure and that’s it. But after one hour is up, I’m leaving.”

“Who said you get to leave,” Wally questioned, and she shot him the darkest glower she could muster.

“So help me God, Wally West you’ll either take me home or you’ll fix that fucking elevator and I’ll walk myself home. Because if you don’t, I’ll tell the world who every vigilante is at this table.”

For once she managed to stump him because his eyes went wide—so did her family’s but she didn’t care—and he finally nodded.

“Alright. One hour.”

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she turned back to her family, more specifically her father. “Why are you here? What do you want from me?”

“Maybe for you to come home, (Y/N),” Jason answered, and she glanced to him.

“Not a chance. Next?”

“(Y/N), you don’t have to be hostile. We’re not going to force you here,” Dick said, and she looked at him now, eyes narrowing.

“The manipulation tactic isn’t going to work on me, Dick. I’m not here for to be tricked into coming back. I’m never coming back.” She cocked her leg over the side of the table and reclined, biting out, “Give me your anger. I’d prefer that instead of whatever this pitiful bullshit you’ve got going on.”

In the eighteen years they’d known their sister they’d never heard her say such a callous thing, but her words had practically slapped Dick across the face because hurt etched onto his expression, then immediately turned into anger.

“You want my anger? Fine.” He stood and pointed at her. “What the hell is wrong with you! Why would just up and disappear like you did! Do you have any idea how scared we were for you! How distraught!”

(Y/N) blinked at him. “Knowing how you like to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders because you can’t help but be a hero? Probably a lot.” She made a dramatic show of looking at her watch. “You’ve got forty minutes. Keep it up.”

Her eyes shifted to Bruce’s. “Did you let them read the letter? Or did you just throw it away after you read it?”

Dick, Jason, and Tim all turned to Bruce at that.

“Letter?” Tim repeated. “What letter?”

(Y/N)’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape and then she smiled knowingly. “Oh, you never showed them the letter, did you?” She looked to her brothers. “I wrote dad a letter the night I left to explain why I was leaving. It’s sugarcoated bullshit but it is the truth.”

Dick’s face contorted in anger. “(Y/N) left a reason behind and you didn’t tell us about it? Three years and not a single word?”

Bruce merely stared at her as he pulled the letter out of his coat pocket. “I was going to burn it when I found her again. Talk to her before anyone else could.”

Jason snatched the letter from his hands. It had faded a bit, softened around the hard edges, like someone had opened it and read it every day for three years.

His eyes scanned the paper, and he met her gaze, voice chock-full of hurt and she had to fight tooth and nail to keep herself from externally reacting. “You left because you thought we didn’t care about you?”

Dick reached over and took the letter. With furrowed brows and a frown, he started to read aloud, and Bruce gazed at (Y/N) as the memory came back to him.

***

Mornings at the manor were unusually quiet in comparison with the evenings. Everyone was typically too tired to argue so it accounted for a peaceful breakfast of soft words and chewing. Everyone had an assigned seat and every child had learned early on not to take the seat that belonged to another brother or their sister because there would be a fight about it.

Dick and Jason sat next to each other and (Y/N) took the seat at the end of that side; Tim and Damian took the other side—oldest to youngest, just the neat and even way Bruce liked it.

It was rare for any of the boys to be awake before him or Alfred and (Y/N) was usually the first kid to the table, the boys wandering in just minutes after her. Oddly enough, that morning she hadn’t come down for breakfast—which she always came to.

Bruce looked at Alfred. “Is (Y/N) coming down?”

Alfred hummed and gently maneuvered Tim’s arm to the side to he could set down the plate. “When I went to her door, it was locked, and I received no conversation from inside.”

Jason snorted and sipped his coffee. “Probably had a long night with her friends and is still out. I know I would be.”

“How would you know?” Tim interrupted. “You died before you got to the eleventh grade.”

“You’re one to talk, dropout,” Dick countered, and Damian sighed.

“Richard, you dropped out of college. The only son of Batman who has actually completed an entire bout of schooling is me.”

The three boys turned on him with scowls and retorted, “No one asked you, pipsqueak.” Damian glared back at them.

Bruce rolled his eyes, using the side of his fork to cut into his omelet. “Let’s try not to start a free-for-all here in the breakfast room, please.” He glanced at Alfred. “She’s probably tired from all the ceremonies. Let her sleep.”

Alfred nodded. “Of course, Master Bruce. She should be well rested this evening.”

But when the evening came, Alfred still hadn’t been able to get (Y/N) to unlock her bedroom nor speak to him. He certainly wasn’t worried, but it was off for her to be so reclusive. When Bruce and the boys came back from patrol, he mentioned it to him.

“Miss (Y/N) hasn’t come out from her bedroom, Master Bruce. Nor has she said a single word all day.”

Bruce’s brows furrowed and he tugged the cowl off, rising from the seat at the Batcomputer. “I’ll go check on her,” he replied. “You deal with…” his steel eyes drifted to Dick who had Tim in a headlock and Jason who was giving Damian a noogie. “Them,” he finalized, leaving the poor butler behind.

He knocked on the door to her room and pressed his ear to it. “(Y/N)? You haven’t come out all day. Is everything alright?”

Nothing. Not even a breath.

“(Y/N), are you in there?” he asked again and when he didn’t receive a confirmation, he raised his arm, running his fingers along the doorframe until he touched a small metal piece. He pulled it down and stuck it in the door, wiggling the knob for a second before it clicked, and he opened the door.

“Sweetheart, we’ve been trying to—” Bruce went silent when he saw the kempt room. Bed neatly made, everything organized and put away. Even her clothes hamper was empty.

He blinked and walked into the room, quickly heading to the bathroom to check for her there. It was empty as well, and just as clean, leaving him stunned as he exited the bath.

Wandering over to her desk, he saw an elegant envelope sitting on top of her laptop, his name written in beautiful penmanship. He picked it up and unfolded it, pulling out the multi-page letter. He drew his eyes along the golden lines, reading her words.

Dad,

I don’t really know how to start this letter. Truth be told I’ve written at least six before this one, and even then, I’m not entirely happy with it. But if you’re reading this, I’m not here anymore. I haven’t hurt myself in anyway, you don’t need to worry about Vicki Vale or Jack Ryder reporting the discovery of my body. I mean it in a literal sense—I’m not in Gotham anymore. Neither am I ever coming back.

Don’t think this is your fault. You’re a good father, the best I could’ve been given, and my brothers are good siblings. But the truth is that I’m not fit for this family of heroes. And I never have been. My best when trying to be what all of you are, was never good enough and I’ve spent eighteen years staring at your backs, waiting for you all to realize that I’m still here, that I still matter even if I’m not like you. And I don’t want to feel like a stranger in my own home any longer.

I don’t want you to look for me. I know you will, but I wish you wouldn’t. This isn’t some spur of the moment thing I decided to do the night after graduation. If you look at my bank records, I’ve been withdrawing cash from my savings since freshman year—this is four years of planning, so please understand that I’m doing this because I don’t want to be found—ever.

I’ll leave the story for the media up for you, though I doubt that they’ll care long enough to make a deal of it. It’ll pass like winter does spring and they’ll move on to the next bigger story.

Thank you for everything dad, and good luck with Gotham—keep it safe like you always have. And I hope that one day when you think of me, you won’t feel disappointment. I’ve only ever tried to be something that when you looked down on me, you’d only be proud, and I hope one day I’ll achieve what I always dreamed about. Eighteen is young to be on your own and I’m scared. But I’ll be okay—I always have been.

So do me a favor and don’t spend too much time over this. There are plenty more younger kids that need a parent’s hand on their backs to steady them like you once did for me. Find one and fill my spot. Let them shine brighter than I ever could. Let them be the one worthy to be a Wayne—I know I never was.

-(Y/N)

Bruce barely had time to grasp the back of her chair to keep himself from falling to his knees in shock. The letter was clenched in his hand and his lungs wouldn’t take in air like he wanted them to, his heart aching with each palpitation. He looked around the room to her dresser drawers, willing the strength into his legs to moved over to it. He opened every drawer and to his astonishment, they were empty. Hurrying to the bathroom, he noticed the drawers in there were empty as well. She was really gone. And he had no idea what to do.

***

Tears were in Dick’s eyes when he finished the letter and he looked up at her. “How could you ever think we didn’t care about you, (Y/N)?”

She didn’t want to have this conversation. She didn’t want to sit there and explain every time she asked her brothers if they wanted to do something with her and they conveniently had something else to do. Didn’t want to explain every school and extracurricular performance that went unattended and left a little girl standing in front of a crowd barely managing to stave off the tears as she bowed and thanked them for coming. She didn’t want to remember all the memories that chipped away at her heart with every disappointment that occurred. All she wanted to do was leave.

(Y/N) had earlier returned to her original position, hands in her lap and she clenched her fists until her nails bit into the skin of her palms, eyes directed anywhere but Dick’s.

“I think it’s time we call this little reunion done,” she said, standing to her feet. “We’re not going to get anywhere.”

“Not if you run again,” Jason muttered, unconsciously wiping a tear from his eye.

She pointed at him, hissing, “I didn’t run the first time, Jason. I left. On my own accord.”

“You ran instead of coming to us, (Y/N),” Tim said, and she threw her hands above her head in disbelief.

“What the fuck did you want me to do! Wander down into the cave and beg at your feet for someone to pay attention to me! To at least pretend like I was a sister! I did! Every day!”

(Y/N) picked up her purse and yanked it up her arm. “Cassandra seems to be fitting in better than I did. So go and dote on her as the younger sibling. I’m not interested in the position anymore.”

“It’s not a competition,” Dick explained. “We love you just as much as we love Cass.”

She paused and gazed at him, voice laced with disappointment as she disagreed, “Then you should make sure she’s content in the manor, because if you love her with any semblance of how you loved me? It’s not at all.”

Her eyes shifted to Wally’s. “Fix the elevator. Now.”

He stayed seated for a moment, the two of them staring each other down, then he nodded wordlessly and moved to the elevator, starting it again. Her family stayed seated, and she gave them one final look before she followed Wally, silently waiting for the doors to open.

When they did, she stepped inside and turned around, hitting the button. Just before the doors closed, Wally stopped them and murmured, “You’re making a mistake.”

“My worst mistake was becoming friends with you.” (Y/N) blinked at him, then reached up and shoved his hand away from the door and as it closed, she remarked coldly, “And you can go to hell for all I care.”

[taggingtim]

Why I love Pre-Boot Tim Drake and why the Reboot has ruined him

I love Tim Drake.  He is my favorite comic book character of all time.  I’ve been really upset the past few days about what DC has been doing with him lately, and I thought it would be cathartic for me to write something up about it.  (No, this isn’t a rant about Tim being bi/gay; it’s a much larger problem than that. But I’ll get to that in a bit.) Bear with me for a bit of history, first.

When I was a kid I loved the Batman Animated Series.  I know this will lose me a lot of internet cred, but I always preferred the fourth season. In particular, I loved Tim Drake. He was fun and funny and I absolutely adored him.  I used to beg my mom to take me to the mall so I could buy issues of Gotham Adventures. For my birthday one year my parents got me a subscription to the comic, and I was blown away by the idea that I could have comics MAILED to my HOUSE.

Around middle school I started collecting Marvel comics, mostly X-men stuff.  I loved them, but when I started college I quit the hobby for financial reasons.

 Fast forward a few years, and I felt I was financially stable enough to start buying comics again. Rather than going back to Marvel, I decided to give Batman comics a chance.  I had no idea where to start, and when I found out my beloved Tim had his own comic series, I thought it was a perfect entry point into the Batman universe. I bought the complete series from a local comic shop and dove in.

 Tim’s Robin series was exactly what I was looking for in a comic.  He was very different from little Timmy Todd from BtAS, but I loved him. I built the rest of my comic collection around him, grabbing up every book that he was featured in, from Young Justice to Teen Titans to Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Robin, and many others.  I have random books from series like The Demon just because Tim was in them.

 So why did I like Tim so much?  What about this character made me so excited for more?  I found in Tim something that I had never seen in a comic book before: character growth.  Somehow, though he was written by many different authors over many different years, Tim managed to have a character arc that is consistent and makes sense. Sure, there were a few small bumps along the way, but on the whole Tim has always stayed true to his character, and he’s developed in a way that the big name characters, like Batman, never can.

 When we’re first introduced to Tim, he’s a young teen who has been neglected by his parents growing up. He’s smart, healthy, and strong, but he lacks so much self confidence and has little sense of self worth.  Tim notices Bruce’s increasing violence as he grieves for the loss of his son, and Tim knows he needs to step in and help.  Batman needs a Robin.

 For most characters, this would be the part where Tim put himself forward for the job.  But he doesn’t.  He seeks out Dick Grayson and begs him to come home instead.  It’s only when Batman and Nightwing are in danger and there is literally no one else to help that Tim steps up and dons the cape. And once he does, he’s constantly plagued by self-doubt, terrified he will screw up and leave Batman worse than ever before.

 From there, Tim undergoes intense training.  He never begs to be in the spotlight, doesn’t push to go out on the streets before he’s ready.  His goal is to help Bruce as much as possible.

 Here’s where I started to fall in love with him.  All that self-doubt, the constant need to be useful?  That’s exactly what you would expect to see from a child whose parents had ignored and neglected him.  He finally has a parental figure who sees him, who values him, and Tim does everything he can to make himself worthy in the hopes that Bruce will keep him around.

 This is the first example of character consistency that we see with Tim.  And it continues.  When his mom dies and his dad is put in a coma, you see Tim struggle to come to terms with losing the people he loves, but never had a relationship with.  Tim almost never mentions his mom after her death, because she just wasn’t present in his life.  When his dad recovers and decides to stick around, Tim struggles to build a relationship with him.  He’s plagued with guilt because he’s finally found the father figure he needed in Bruce, but he thinks that he’s supposed to feel that way for Jack.  It’s a running undercurrent in their relationship that creates distance between them for years.

 This is already so long, so I’m going to try to summarize a bit more.  We get to watch Tim grow up.  We see his awkward relationship with his first girlfriend, Ariana.  He doesn’t know how to treat her; he’s never had the opportunity to observe a healthy relationship.  But he tries so, so hard.  All of Tim’s relationships are awkward, because he’s never had a model of a good one. Steph is a great match for him, because she’s very vocal about what she wants and needs, and she isn’t afraid to call Tim out when he messes up, which is exactly what Tim needs.

 Big things happen to Tim. He’s stuck with Jean-Paul Valley, who slowly goes insane, leaving Tim to try to keep the city in one piece.  He’s infected with the Clench, a plague that sweeps over Gotham and kills everyone it touches, and barely escapes with his life. His girlfriend is sexually assaulted, leaving him to deal with the fallout.  His family moves out of Gotham, and he has to sneak back in during No Man’s Land to help.  His relationship with his dad has intense ups and downs, resulting in him being sent to boarding school, punished in a variety of ways, and generally caused a lot of trouble in his life.

 Then people start dying. Over the course of about a year in his life, Tim loses his girlfriend, his dad, a close friend, and his best friend, each of whom dies under tragic conditions.  Tim’s grief is intense, and he is understandably traumatized by the losses. We see fundamental changes in his character.  He changes his costume from something bright and cheerful to something darker that reflects his emotional state.  He’s more subdued, his adventures a little more serious.

 When Bruce first tries to adopt him, Tim literally creates an uncle and hires an actor to play him, just to avoid dealing with the situation.  Bruce has viewed Tim as a son for years, so to him the adoption is an obvious step.  For Tim, it feels like a betrayal of his father, and it takes a while before he’s ready to accept Bruce’s love, home, and a place in his family.  

 When Damian shows up on the scene, Tim really struggles with him, and not just because early Damian is a horrid brat who tries to kill Tim on multiple occasions.  Tim has always felt the need to earn his place with Bruce, and Damian constantly throws all of Tim’s biggest fears in his face—he’s not wanted or needed now that the “real” son is here, he’s not worthy of a place in the family, he’s not good enough.

 Tim tries to clone Conner, his best friend.  He’s lost so many people, and he’s desperate to get them back.  Conner was cloned to begin with and fully matured over a very short period of time; the technology clearly exists, so why can’t Tim use it to get his best friend back?  And if he can get Conner back, why not the others he’s lost?  He eventually gives up, but when he eventually gets access to a Lazarus Pit, he immediately wants to incorporate the waters into his process so he can revive his loved ones.  With Dick’s help, Tim eventually decides to let it go, but it’s such a poignant moment for the character.

 Then Bruce dies, and Dick takes Robin away.  Tim switches to the Red Robin persona as he travels the world, alone, trying to prove that he was right.  He has to deal with the trauma of losing another father, finds out that his girlfriend never died but let him hurt so much for so long.  His brother and the only close friend he has left both think his grief has overwhelmed his sense and that he’s gone crazy.  He’s utterly alone.

 The Red Robin series is such a great culmination for Tim.  He finds a place for himself as a hero, as a CEO.  He gets parts of his family back—Bruce, Steph, Bart, Conner.  He finally figures out who he wants to be and creates a place for himself.

 This overarching character development is what I love about Tim.  His many, many traumas impact his decisions, and you can clearly see how he changes over time as a result of them.  I didn’t even go into his development as a leader from his early fumbling with Young Justice to his strong leadership of the Teen Titans, or how his relationships with Conner, Bart, and Cassie develop so fluidly and realistically over the years.

 This is why I love Tim. Characters like Batman are static; nothing that happens to them will ever have a lasting impact, because in the end the character always returns to what they were.  Tim, on the other hand, has changed and developed A LOT since his initial appearance.  His growth has always been consistent and logical.

 When the reboot happened, all of that character growth was lost.  Tim was replaced with a jerk who betrayed his friends and cheated on his girlfriend.  DC has basically retconned all of this and tried to turn Tim back into who he was, but by taking away all of the things that have happened to him over the years, Tim has lost SO MUCH.

 I keep looking for my Tim in recent comics, and I just can’t find him.  It breaks my heart, because I love him so much, and it feels like he’s lost to me forever.  The most recent Young Justice comic series actually gave me hope; I felt like maybe, finally, someone was going to write Tim correctly.  He had his primary friendships back, his relationship with Steph was developing (even if they seem to have completely dropped all the development around Steph’s decision to let Tim think she was dead).  The actual book itself wasn’t fantastic, but it felt like they were headed in the right direction.

 Over the last few days, I read the Batman: Urban Legends books.  I actually read the Batman/Red Hood story first, which was fantastic.  I was really excited to read Tim’s story (though I already knew how it ended).  Jason’s character was handled so well, and he seemed to actually have some character development that will hopefully last.  I anticipated the same for Tim.

 But Tim’s story was awful. The plot was all over the place—kids are being kidnapped, so Tim has to join a pain cult to get them back?  He’s somehow helping Oracle with computer issues while simultaneously questioning witnesses?  He’s broken up with Steph, off camera, shortly after telling her how much he loves her, but Steph somehow thinks that they should have a caring relationship where Tim tells her what he’s feeling?  Bernard has somehow become a good enough fighter to stand side by side with Robin?  Tim STILL doesn’t have a code name?  Why is everyone suddenly hounding him about what he wants to do with his life?

 It’s just such a mess of a story.  If it didn’t end with Tim agreeing to go on a date with Bernard, no one would ever have even mentioned it.  There’s nothing particularly re-readable or enjoyable about it.

 I actually liked that they brought Bernard back. I really enjoyed him in the original Robin series. It’s been a while since I read that part of the series (I’m actually working my way back through it now).  I know Bernard always read as gay to me, yet somehow I felt like he was out of character in these books.

 And then, the climax of the story.  Tim is bi, or gay, or has at least agreed to go on a date with a boy.

 If this had happened in the pre-boot, when Tim was Red Robin and had an actual character arc, I honestly wouldn’t have had an issue with it.  I do think it would have needed a LOT more build up than it was given here.  Tim has always been a very introspective character, and we’ve been party to so much of his internal monologue over the years.  It seems very strange to me that such a huge thing just sneaks up on him out of nowhere when he’s never even thought about it before.

 But more than that, this story just feels like the final death blow for the Tim I loved.  The whole arc is about how Tim doesn’t know who he is or who he wants to be.  What will his hero name be?  Will he go to college?  What is he going to do with his life?  These are all great questions, and his answer to all of them is… date a boy?  

 Is this going to be his defining characteristic going forward?  From here will we just see Tim exploring and discovering his sexuality?  The Tim we have now doesn’t have a family, a team, a purpose, or even a code name.  Why was this the thing that DC decided to give us?  It feels like they wanted to make a gay Robin and decided it would be Tim because they didn’t know what else to do with him.

 It’s stupid, but I honestly feel like I’ve spent the past few days grieving the loss of a loved one. The Tim that DC is presenting now is just not the person that I knew.  Tim would never break up with Steph that abruptly for what he admits is no apparent reason.  He would never say “just call me Robin, since Damian’s out of town.”  Everything that I love about Tim seems to be gone, and in its place DC has given me a date with a boy.  

 Again, it’s not Tim being not-straight that I have an issue with.  I’ve never read the character that way, but it’s something I can live with. My issue is the way it was handled. Why not make Tim an actual person first, and then explore his sexuality?  Send him off to college!  He’s obviously thinking about it!  It’s the perfect opportunity to give him his own book.  He can move to a different city, choose a new name, and DC can introduce a whole new set of characters.  Figure out which parts of Tim’s backstory are still canon, and which have been dropped. Make him a person again, and then let him explore his sexuality.

 I know this post is all over the place, and I don’t have time right now to go back and edit it.  I just really needed an outlet for my frustration.  Right now it feels like there are so many people who are so excited about Tim being bi/gay, but they don’t know anything else about him.  I keep seeing people comment how DC has been “dropping hints for years!” with no evidence other than “he and Superboy were really close!”  I guess I’d just really like to have some dialogue with other people who are fans of Tim, rather than fans of Tim-as-bi/gay or fans of Tim-as-straight.

 Does anyone else feel this way?  I’d honestly like to have a dialogue about it with other long time fans.

[preemshots]

johnny + the nomads lore

alright, i know this is a screenshots blog but i'm going to go ahead and start dropping some juicy lore tidbits as i dig them up. part of what i'm doing outside of just photo diarying is shard hunting, and BOY is there a lot the game likes to hide in those little shards for idiots like me who like to read so we can write unnecessarily accurate fanfiction! 

full disclosure, i know jack shit about the TTRPG/cyberpunk 2020 rulebook except what i read in the wikis. 

so here’s my lore roundup so far of everything i know about johnny joining the nomads

we know johnny likes to narrate v’s quest objectives. here’s the first mention where he says it himself: 

during the voodoo boys quest "transmission" there's a shard in the maglev tunnels beside the ice bath, presumably from brigitte's research into johnny in the first place:

okay, so the timeline is this: johnny joins the nomads after trying and failing to rescue alt. johnny hides out in the badlands for some years. then he and rogue come back to night city and nuke arasaka tower help alt escape the arasaka subnet by uploading liberator to their network once and for all.

this ultimately makes sense. in alt’s flashback, we meet santiago, who is a nomad/connected to nomads, joins rogue and johnny when they're trying to get alt back, and eventually becomes the leader of the aldecaldos. 

part of santiago’s TTRPG lore is that he, johnny, and rogue have to lay low in the badlands with nomads after they storm arasaka headquarters (i am aware the game takes many liberties with the original lore so who knows the full accuracy of anything from the original rulebooks)

ENDING spoilers: in the rogue+johnny storming AHQ ending, it's revealed that rogue has a son while they're prepping for the job. if you eavesdrop on her calling him while you're at the afterlife, you hear her tell her son to (paraphrasing here) "pull over and look at the stars", which immediately made my brain go to: nomad, badlands, santiago = dad? maybe. (santiago also canonically has a son according to the TTRPG lore)

this immediately reminded me of another interesting shard that i believe you can find in multiple locations around night city: “"what REALLY happened in arasaka tower?“

i love this dang shard. at first i thought it was just a cute conspiracy with some juicy gossip (and i love how 99% of the shards that mention johnny in this game are reminding us that he's not a real rebel, he's a poser) but it brings some interesting shit together

one: it tells us where johnny got his hands on the nukes! he and the nomads jumped a militech convoy and jacked some bombs! 

which is never directly explained, even as saburo arasaka is interrogating him shortly before using soulkiller. very nice of johnny to protect his homies like that. 

...or maybe he didn’t. saburo emphasizes that the dead don’t lie like the living do, and we don’t know what exactly arasaka did to johnny’s construct in mikoshi. 

it also explains why the obvious media narrative is that militech nuked arasaka, a nice neat political bow to the end of the fourth corpo wars, which is an entire section of the TTRPG lore that makes my eyes cross when i read it. 

it also makes the star/nomads ending extremely interesting, because i originally believed it was the ending where V’s journey deviates the most from rewalking johnny’s path... which also has weird implications if the johnny’s nomad era is being kept from v. 

(this also leads into my belief that the star ending/the devil ending are narratively two sides of the same coin, but that’s a WHOLE ANOTHER POST for another day.)

TWO, just straight up the fact that they turned the raid where they actually obtained the nukes into an action flick BD that pretty much ANYONE could watch. who the hell was doing that?? 

well, who else other than the guy who johnny (optionally) punched the shit out of for filming alt's death: thompson, media guy, and according to rogue, “bad luck”. because you know, recording your crimes is straight up evidence that can be used against you.

during the alt flashback we meet thompson, and just after that in cyberspace before meeting alt, johnny tells v that he has no idea what happened to him and that they never worked together again. 

oh, johnny, you lying bastard man

this is blatantly untrue, and if V even had two braincells and better memory than a goldfish they'd know this--in the first flashback sequence where johnny and rogue nuke arasaka tower, thompson is on the comms as they ride the AV towards AHQ, questioning their plans and use of violence. 

which leaves me with some questions, like where the fuck is thompson, why does johnny keep lying about this, why doesn't johnny say almost anything about how you interact with the aldecaldo clan nonstop throughout the game when he himself may have been a member of the family for some time?? is he continuing to protect the nomad clan that saved his ass? we know that a lot of his flashbacks are unreliable at best, that johnny changes shit up as desired when presenting V with his memories.

in 2077, you can also find that there’s a remake of “badlands raid” in the shard “new release braindances” that is pretty much everywhere. that shard doesn’t add much, but does mention something along the lines of “many people don’t know the ending of the original” which probably means johnny punched thompson out for filming again, or something. 

my running theories: rogue ditched santiago and the aldecaldos with johnny and thompson to nuke arasaka tower, and when johnny died she was stuck looking for (heavily implied by johnny here:) corpo sellout ways to survive.

adam smasher obviously has something to do with this since johnny/rogue's vendetta against the guy isn't entirely clear beyond the smokescreen of "he killed johnny and he sucks". i have done 0 research into this though i'm tired of typing okay

i obviously cannot be certain i have found everything related to this in the game as i’m not even done with this playthrough where i’m trying to pay attention, but i hope this is fun for someone else to dig into. 

enjoy, fellow silverhand freaks

EDIT: additional findings

ALRIGHT I HAVE DONE MORE DIGGING AND I AM BACK WITH MORE NOMAD/JOHNNY FINDINGS. these ones are kind of a bummer but VERY interesting.

there’s a shard called “excerpts from a history of the nomads by bb pires” that goes into detail about how nomads came to be

there’s an interesting quote in it: It's hard to imagine a group less inclined to wandering than farmers, but in fact they were the ones who sparked the age of nomads. Natural catastrophes, crops ravaged by bioplagues, armed conflicts and martial law allowing corporations to speculate and privatize land - all this forced them into a life on the road.

when you ask johnny why he wants to take down arasaka, he begins by referencing this himself!!

it’s a little awkward to imagine a nomad V doesn’t also know what he’s referencing, but hey, V is the fool because we are as players and that’s only one life path... so sure.

johnny also has unique dialogue during this scene about a nomad origin V, telling them that he’s been trying to understand how V thinks, and came to the conclusion that “their family was a crutch” and essentially made them stupid because they always had a safety net (lmao johnny calling v privileged basically)

BUT this also may reference why johnny would find it confusing as hell that V doesn’t immediately share the views he does when nomads, in terms of values, seem to be more aligned with johnny than V is. but once again V is the fool for a reason and this is all my own speculation so YOU KNOW.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, at the end of chippin’ in, when you ask johnny what he meant by letting down his friends... santiago is named directly

i thought this was interesting since the only glimpse of their relationship that we get is seeing johnny meeting santiago via the alt flashback for the first time.

so now it’s obvious that while johnny and rogue were with the nomads their friendship developed, and johnny went on to disappoint santiago in some way by being his normal dickhead self

but HOW? how did he disappoint santiago? is santiago even still alive?? did smasher kill santiago and is this why rogue mentions during chippin’ in that she wants smasher to “settle a score” moreso than avenge johnny??

the only additional hints i have are from this shard, which you can find at the aldecaldos camp: “nomads at ground zero”

i’m just gonna transcribe here and bold for emphasis:

It was no secret that Night Corp offered generous pay and, in some cases, free cyberware and biomonitor upgrades to anyone willing to help clean up the crater of radioactive rubble at AHQ ground zero. Some firsthand accounts recall the incessant ticking of Geiger counters, like the loud buzz of cicadas in summer. In retrospect, we can only guess how many "crater cleaners" lost their lives to radiation sickness shortly thereafter. Both the city government and Night Corp have claimed casualties were kept to a minimum, while providing no official statistics to substantiate the claim. That being said, they have never been under pressure to release such figures. After all, most rescue, engineering, and rubble cleanup teams were not local Night Citizens, but nomads. Surprised you didn't know? Don't be. It is a fact many history courses tend to overlook. The city employed hundreds of nomad mercenaries, primarily from clans in Aldecaldo nation. These nomads were hungry for gainful work and the city needed experts who were not only experienced but brave enough to knowingly put their lives on the line - all so Arasaka could one day erect another tower in its place. But history is not without its sense of irony. These nomads, who so deliberately live outside our so-called "system," came to its very rescue. Not for the first time. And not for the last.

a main theme we find in this game is the idea that the system of corps and exploitation cannot be stopped by grandiose rebellious gestures--no amount of samurai songs, assassinating mayors, or even planting nukes in towers will change things. yet johnny, his friends and mercs at atlantis in the 2020s, including rogue, chose to rebel any way they could, thinking it better than not. johnny criticizes her lack of rebellious spirit CONSTANTLY in 2077.

but ultimately, johnny, trapped in mikoshi, didn’t get to see the outcome of what detonating the AHQ nukes did to night city’s fragile ecosystem. rogue, however, did--and likely watched their former allies, the aldecaldos, be forced to take dangerous work at AHQ’s ground zero (from lack of other opportunities as detailed in this shard), then die from radiation sickness throughout the following decades, all as a result of what she and johnny did to try and fight the system. and she also watched all the former mercenaries of atlantis be hunted down by arasaka.

so rogue sees firsthand what the cost of rebellion is and johnny doesn’t. and nomads, considered the most free of any of the factions we encounter in the game, are the cost.

[hawkland]

(Mostly) Destiel Fic Recs #5

This is a LONG recs post because it’s been a while since I did an update and I fell hard into reading one author’s work (DeanRH). In fact I could easily do a rec post just of their fics alone, but for this round I’m just going to pick out a handful of my absolute favorites so far, the ones I’d recommend to start out with, along with more other authors’ works I’ve especially enjoyed lately.

Absolution at the Five-and-Dime by DeanRH (125k)  - this is perhaps THEE DeanRH fic to start with if you want a good, long read with a little bit of everything (Roadtrips! Intriguing casefic! Americana! Tasty Dean/Cas pining! Wing!kink and unique angel lore! Kinky soul fisting and tentacles!) It’s kind of two of parallel stories in one: the first, a flashback to Dean and Sam's first year hunting on their own (as well as trying to avoid hunting, and John in general); the second on how Dean and Cas finally get together during an unusual case and when Dean is able to really let go of his past trauma and accept himself/accept love from Cas. 

What I love about DeanRH’s work is that they write from the unique point of view of a drifter, so they understand living on the road, traveling place to place, and the highs and lows of that life like no others I’ve encountered in SPN before. (The author’s notes are often as much fun to read as the stories themselves). They also write a kickass angel!Cas and never lose sight of his non-human traits and background. Their writing style is unique - almost poetic in nature, and I know some readers have found it difficult to get into. But it works really well for me in their SPN fic...gives it the flavor of oral story telling as might actually happen at a drifter’s camp (with one story written exactly as such). Be warned this particular fic does play up the idea of John Winchester being mentally abusive and Dean having to turn tricks when he was younger in order to support him and Sam, so there is some dark stuff. But as someone who grew up with mentally abusive parent, reading this was extremely cathartic to me and believably written (unlike some stories that go too over the top with abusive John, or just don't understand how that kind of abuse leaves lifetime psychological scars.)

The rest of this round’s recs below the cut.

Carnevale by DeanRH (18k) - Actually the first fic by this author I read, because I just couldn’t resist a story set in my favorite place in the world, Venice, Italy. Castiel is the Angel of Venice, banished there for so long he does not even know or remember the reasons why. But Carnevale season is the one time a year he can let his wings out - figuratively and literally. And during this particular Carnevale season, he meets an intriguing masked young American tourist there with his brother and their one night stand turns into something far more powerful than either expected. This one’s hot, romantic, and achingly sad at the end as it all ties together unexpectedly with canon-verse...though with a hint for the future so it’s definitely not totally sad. I loved how DeanRH clearly understands Venice as a fellow lover of the city, the side of it most tourists never see unless they spend a long time there. This story made me cry just from wanting to be back in Venice again.

Ice cream was sweeter, food more satisfying, everything was an epicurean delight. There was just something magical about Venice, and he had lived here in the city for hundreds of years, so the shine should have worn off by now.

But it didn't, and there was always something more, something wonderful to discover around the next corner. The painted eaves of a church. The beauty of two women dancing with flowers in their teeth across the Piazza San Marco one day, overcome by the sheer joy of just being there. The way the university students still created Venetian masks, like Castiel's extravagant volto mask and Dean's humble servetta muta, with crafts that had been handed down across the generations. The morning silence that lay against the stones.

Hard Landing by DeanRH (26.9k) - A bit similar in theme to Carnevale. A pre-series Dean and Sam are sight-seeing in Spain when an angel, struck by a babel-spell, crash lands right in front of Dean. A strange yet seriously hot encounter with the angel turns into something much more complicated when the brothers return home and realize something more serious is afoot and they are both trapped in the middle of it. This is another story where things are very much not as they seem at first (as fun as that is!) It features master strategist Cas at his best, with a side helping of delightful trickery care of Gabriel and Balthazar as they deal with Lucifer, Michael...and a few others along the way.

The Sacred Band of Thebes by DeanRH (14.5k) - The last DeanRH fic I’m gonna allow myself to include in this round up, because it’s just very soft and sweet and beautiful - for a story about Dean & Cas being magically transported back in time to ancient Sparta! This is another story infused with a great knowledge of place and history, with some wonderfully delightful original characters added in that make it all the more enjoyable to read.

And now on to some other authors, I promise!

IPAMIS OL OLPRIT by emmbrancsxx0 (56k). A really wonderful fic that take a different look at what might have happened with a temporarily resurrected John Winchester during Season 14. Dean & Cas are in an established relationship here, and John here isn’t too happy about it — though mostly because he sees Cas (and Jack) as monsters, the kind of monsters he spent his lifetime hunting. This is a great fic for the emotional complexity of how John, Dean and Cas are all handled. John isn’t a cardboard evil dad, Dean is struggling between his loyalty to his father and to Cas, and Cas is increasingly bitchy/frustrated at Dean still being so desperate for his father’s approval (and all the more complex for not just being a quietly suffering perfect supporting boyfriend.) There’s some great action sequences in this too along with the emotional angst and a delicious dose of hurt!Cas if that’s your thing (as it is for me :D)

Abrenuntio by Neonbat (51k). A very dark but compelling AU take on the/a apocalypse universe. Dean, Sam and John are all alive in this post-angel war-apocalyptic world. They are part of a group of human survivors fighting against the angel army when they manage to capture “Blue” — a particularly feared angel of death. Dean is tasked with bringing Blue in for interrogation and he becomes a prisoner in their camp after John is killed. As mentioned, this is a pretty dark/sad fic (with some rather gruesome torture scenes) but I still found it quite compelling as a look at how things could have gone in some other parallel universe. And somehow the author manages to make the Dean/Cas relationship come together despite them starting out as complete enemies. This is one of those AUs that works for me because the core of the characters really shine through despite the differences in the setting.

if it all fell to pieces tomorrow by spocklee (37k) - a gorgeous post-Empty rescue fic that takes an approach I haven’t really seen explored in detail before (despite being something I’ve actually thought about as something that could’ve happened.) What if Cas has spent so long denying himself happiness, and then trapped in regrets and false-rescue scenarios created by the Empty, that he can’t trust that his rescue is real? And so he runs off to be on his own - literally stealing the Impala because he can’t handle being in Dean’s presence one moment longer - and only slowly comes to terms with the idea that it’s over now and he can be happy with/around his friends and family. This one’s both deliciously angsty and at times funny/sweet, looking at Cas’s relationships not just with Dean but with Sam, Jack, Claire, even Eileen. It does some fun stuff with other returned angels and demons who now find themselves back on Earth (and human), and...I just really enjoyed this one a lot.

Both Saved and Lost by angelfishofthelord (13.7k) Gen Cas character study, absolutely gorgeous and sad and one of those fic I couldn’t stop thinking about the day after reading it. AU where Apocaverse!Cas isn’t immediately killed by our Cas during 13x22 but instead hitches a ride back to the main ‘verse. Dean and Sam want to keep him alive for information on Michael; Cas is torn and trying to figure out just how similar—or different—they really are. Some great angel stuff here (I also highly recommend this author’s Jack & Cas “dadstiel” fics, they’re equally lovely and heartbreaking at the same time.)

flesh of the mighty by Mudprophet (2.7k) - THEE “What exactly did Dean eat in Purgatory, anyway?” fic you’ve probably already heard about. *cough* I’ve been trying to work up the courage to read this one for a while and finally gave in and OH MY CHUCK I’m so glad I did. It’s perversely disturbing and beautiful at the same time, Cas is wonderfully DERANGED and ALIEN in that way that I love it when fics managed to convey just how much angels are NOT human. Do heed the tags.

Full of Grace by ilovehowyouletmefall (11k) - Another one for the weird-as-fuck-angel!Cas lovers’ list. Heaven/canon-compliant fic where Dean knows he should feel happy and at peace but he just...isn’t, even with Cas and all of his friends and family there. He finally goes looking for Cas when he’s been absent for a time and, for the first time, gets to not just see but experience his true form. Another one that hits some kinks I knew I had and others I didn’t...until now. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

don't ask me where i've been by saltwound / @1x06 (8k) - I can never resist a good 09x06 fiction gap fic! What makes this one really stand out is how well it captures Cas’s internal voice - his struggles adapting to human senses, limitations and emotions versus what/how he experienced things as an angel. The longing and feelings between Dean & Cas here are so achingly beautiful and I just wanted to cry when Cas says he misses hearing Dean’s prayers, so Dean, he...oh, I’m not going to spoil it. *happy sigh* Just read it.

this room is wrong by DarkHeartInTheSky (12k) - Sometimes I like torturing myself with some good 15x03 divorce arc angst and this fic hit that button just so. It’s an alternative take on where Cas might have ended up after leaving the bunker and features some great Cas & Sam friendship feels, when Sam sets out to try to bring Cas home. It’s all the stuff you’d wish the writers would’ve let them talk out in canon.

Well that’s more than enough for this round! Go forth, read and give some great writers some kudos & comment love!

[wouldpollyapprove]

Damsel In Distress

Requested: Can I request 15 from the Angst list with Tommy please? She gets hurt at the betting ship by one of his enemy’s and tries to hide it. Love your Fics!

10 from fluff and 15&18 from angst pleaseee i love your writing

hi! firstly, i absolutely adore your writing! may I please request angst prompts #15 and #18? perhaps the reader being a shelby herself? but either way, I’d accept whatever you seem comfortable with! thank you

Requested by Anonymous & @casualcolorstarfish

Thomas Shelby x Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: language, alcohol, violence

A/n: This is based off the episode in season one when the Lees attack the betting shop. It’s not word for word with what everyone said because I’m lazy and didn’t want to go back and watch it. I hope you guys like it because I kinda just wrote this as things came to me so it might not make much sense.

Masterlist

“What the bloody hell happened here?” Tommy’s voice boomed through the betting shop that looked as if a bull had been let loose in it. Paper strewn across the floor, tables, and desks turned over. If John hadn’t called his fucking meeting, none of this would have happened.

The poor employee, who had been left to deal with the mess, grumbled, “The Lees, all of them. Cousins, nephews. Even the bastards.” He rubbed his right temple where a club had left a large goose egg. “They’ve taken anything they can lay their hands on. Four cash boxes.”

Polly turned over a metal bin with the end of her shoe. This is what they got for everything they’d done. It wasn’t right, no, but it seemed to be fair. Revenge comes to those who double-cross, lie, steal, and kill there way to the top. 

“They left these,” the man groaned, getting up from where he sat and handed over a pair of cutters that he’d found under a table. 

“Wire cutters?” Polly raised a brow as Tommy examed them. “Why would they leave wire cutters?”

Gears clicked into place in her nephew’s mind. “Nobody move.” Fear and panic washed over his face. “I think our friends are playing the game.”

“What game?” Polly, sighed, going to run a finger along a toppled over desk. 

“Pol, don’t,” Thomas warned. She brought her hand back to her side at his words. “Don’t touch anything.” He surveyed the room, the war flashing before him in bright colors. They were playing war games now. “Erasmus Lee was in France.”

“Shit.”

“When we gave up ground to the Germans, we’d leave behind booby traps set up with wires,” Tommy stated, remembering a time he helped his comrades leave a booby trap. “Then we’d leave wire cutters. It’s part of the joke,” he let out an angry laugh. “Somewhere in here, there’s a hand grenade.”

“Holy Jesus,” Polly muttered, the shit her nephews got her into. 

“Attached to a wire,” he continued. “Don’t move any chairs. Or open any doors.”

While the Shelbys were searching for the grenade, Y/n was halfway home. Stumbling as little as possible, she held her coat tight against her and her hat as low as it could be without falling off. She looked like she’d been through hell, a black bruise on her cheek, a cut under one eye, blood trickling down her leg from a cut she’d earned on a glass. All over, she was covered in black and blue bruises, but that wasn’t going to stop her from reaching the safety of her family’s home. 

She had been sitting in the kitchen when the Lees entered the shop, as quiet as a mouse. No one would have known they were there until all hell broke loose. Chairs were smashed, tables turned over, and then they entered the kitchen. 

Y/n wasn’t even supposed to be at the shop. She was supposed to go shopping with her sister, but that got canceled and so Y/n decided to drop by and see Tommy. When she realized he wasn’t there, she took a seat at the kitchen table, deciding to wait for his return. 

That was a mistake. 

One of the Lees, grabbed her after she’d jumped from the table in shock. Pulling her hair, he thought he could get his way with her, but her father didn’t raise no damsel in distress. Y/n was a fighter, coming from a family of boxers, she knew how to through a punch. More than that, adrenaline was pumping like a freight train through her bloodstream, screaming at her to fight. 

With her attacker’s arms wrapped around her waist, she reached for a pot on the stove, her fingers grazing over it enough to bring it closer. Fingers wrapped around the handled, she swung at her attacker, hitting him in the head. He toppled to the ground, but he was quickly replaced with another. And when she thought she had the situation under control, another one appeared behind the new one, more behind that one. The Lees clearly had a problem with a woman standing over a man, victorious. And so, she did her best to fight them off, leaving the kitchen a mess. 

When they left, Y/n was surrounded by broken glass, bloodied pots, and toppled furniture. Her head was throbbing from where it had been forced into the table by one of the men and all she wanted to do was fall into her mother’s soft arms. She should have stayed to help clean up the mess, but that was all too much for her to process. So, grabbing her hat and coat, Y/n exited the same way she had entered, pretending as if nothing had happened. 

Now, nearly home, she believed she’d made the right decision. Tommy would have been furious if he’d found her covered in blood. He kicked himself for letting it happen, but she knew, he would also be angry that she didn’t go home when she couldn’t find him. And then, when he had calmed down a little, she knew he would want nothing but blood from those who thought they could destroy him. Y/n didn’t want that. There had been enough bloodshed, there needed to be peace. But that wouldn’t happen if she’ stuck around.

Thomas Shelby would burn down the world for her.

It was no secret how he felt for her. The burning love that coated everything he touched. There wasn’t a second he wasn’t thinking of her and a moment he wouldn’t do anything for her. It was dangerous, how much he loved her. Y/n wasn’t willing to let that destroy him, not when it could be prevented. 

“What happened?” her father’s words were rushed, lifting her chin to get a better look at her face. “Don’t tell me Thomas did this. I’ll fuckin’ kill ‘im!”

Y/n shook her head, wincing when a damp washcloth was pressed onto a cut on her arm. “No, dad. Tommy didn’t do this,” she muttered, taking the cloth from her mother. Trained in nursing, her mother was nurturing and gentle when it came to patching up anyone but her children. Her touches were rough like sandpaper, likely because her kids always tried to worm away from her. “Mum, stop.”

He swore under his breath and went over to the cabinet that held the family’s liquor collected. A large bottle of bourbon was placed on the table, next to his daughter, along with a couple of glass. “If it wasn’t him then who was it?” He questioned while filling the glasses. 

“The Lees.” 

“Fucking gypsies,” he spat as he shoved a glass of bourbon in Y/n’s hand. “Drink this.”

“Jack!” Her mother scolded him. “We are no better them. Don’t you dare go using their heritage against them.”

Jack grumbled, deciding to take a drink from the glass in front of him than answer. She wasn’t wrong, though. Y/n’s family were considered to be French gypsies with how they lived when they were in their homeland. Both sides born and raised in France, the French people didn’t care, those in the cities, that is. They saw them as dirt and nothing more. People like her family, though the backbone of the country, weren’t wanted where there was work, and many families were forced to move. That’s how her family had ended up in Birmingham.

Finishing off her glass, Y/n placed in front of her just as her mother pulled out a needle and thread. She grabbed the neck of the liquor bottle, pouring the liquid in her glass until the amber liquid spilled over the rim. “Doesn’t matter who did what. I’m not dead, there’s no need for much fuss.”

A few days had passed, but Y/n didn’t feel much better. Body sore and mind cloudy, her mother gave her two options, stay home with her or go with her father while he trained boxers. She chose the latter as it would be more entertaining. If she’d stayed home, she was sure her place would be in the kitchen, mixing a bowl of cake mix. As much as she wanted to enjoy the sweets her mother baked, she didn’t want to help make them.

Y/n leaned back in her chair, holding a newspaper out in front of her, trying to drown out the noise of two men lunging at each other. As entertaining as boxing was, she’d grown up watching it and could think of a hundred other sports that captured her interest more than that. 

“Nobody’s seen you in days.”

He found her. She decided not to give him much of a reaction. All she wanted was for him to leave, never seeing her face. Y/n wasn’t sure if she would be able to stand the look on his face when he found out what he caused. “Perhaps people should think of visiting me more, instead of it being the other way around.”

The sound of foot stops hit her ears as he approached her. Against her better judgment, her eyes flickered up, meeting his. Are you hurt?” Voice full of an odd combination of anger and love. 

“No.” Y/n glanced back down at her paper. 

“Then why are there bruises all over your face?” he questioned sternly, removing the paper from her hands. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing, Tommy. Don’t worry about it.” She stood from her seat, moving past him to go stand next to her father. Tommy was too smart, she knew, to start something in her father’s presence. But she didn’t get the chance to get far when a hand caught her wrist and pulled her against his chest. “Hey!”

“Would you tell me what happened?”

A huff escaped her, giving in once she saw the concern in his eyes. “I was at the betting shop the other day-”

“When the Lees attacked,” he finished his sentence, running a hand down his face. That was the last thing he wanted to happen. “Those fucking bastards! You should have told me!” Y/n rolled her eyes, something the man caught. “What was that for?”

“This is why I didn’t tell you to begin with.”

Tommy was a loss of words once he heard that. He thought that she hadn’t told him because she didn’t trust him or because it was his fault that she was stuck in the middle of all this. But no, it was his anger. Letting out a breath, he did his best to calm down. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. “Should’ve taken you with me.”

“Why didn’t you?” Her voice was muffled by his overcoat. 

He laughed. “John called a fucking family meeting about marrying a whore.”

“Oh.” The Shelby family meetings were sacred things. Y/n had never been permitted at one but if they were all over matters as such, she doubted she ever wanted to attend. 

“You’ll be at the next one.”

Y/n pulled away enough to see his face. “Why’s that, Mr. Shelby?”

Tommy leaned down to capture her lips with his. “Because you’ll be Mrs. Shelby by the next meeting.”

There was silence as her cheeks turned red. The couple had talked about marriage a handful of times, but they had both decided it wasn’t the right time. Tommy wanted to get the family business in order and his demons under control. Y/n had to figure out how to keep her family from killing each other as each of her brother’s had different ideas about what to do with the family’s boxing ring. But those… the could figure them out together.

“Are you… blushing?” Tommy gave her a cheeky grin.

“Oh, stop it.” She hit him playfully before giving him a quick kiss. “You know, you’ll probably have to get in the ring-” She tilted her head over to the ring behind him. “-to win my hand.”

He smiled. “I would do anything to be able to marry you.”

*~~*~~*~~*

Let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list.

@amirahiddleston @haphazardhufflepuff @woahitslucyylu @mzcrazy2 @lovemissyhoneybee @multi-fandom-iimagines @tarafaithe @jenepleurepasbaby @fernweh-fangirl @the-anxious-youth @theshelbyclan @wtfdanness @chloeforde @futuristicslimemongerbanana @lucillethings @captivatedbycillianmurphy

[therosefrontier]

Whumptober Day 3

No. 3 - STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT…

taunting | insults | “Who did this to you?”

+++

Genshin Impact | Bennett, Fischl, Oz, and those other adventurers we know and love

(crossposted to AO3)

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“I didn’t ask for your help, Bennett! You only make everything worse!”

“I-I’m sorry, I just thought—”

“And now I have a chipped sword! Ugh, what am I going to do? I don’t have the mora or the ore to spare for a new one!”

“Y-yeah, but…”

Bennett wanted to point out to Royce that his sword was tarnished-looking and even had rust on it, so it probably was already in need of repair—this is why his dads always told him to take good care of his weapons!—but he didn’t really feel like he could. Because, it probably was his fault, still. All he wanted was to help, but…

“Oh, that was terrifying!” Pallad shook his head gravely, releasing a long breath. “All those Hilichurl reinforcements kept showing up, and then Bennett showed up, and then the pyro slime barrels all exploded, all at once. B-But not to worry, just another day of epic adventuring for me! Nothing to fear!”

“Yeah.” Royce huffed, his anger still very apparent. “Good thing those slime barrels didn’t kill us all.”

“I…didn’t set them off, though…” Bennett mumbled awkwardly. Pallad was the one who accidentally fired the arrow that hit them, not that Bennett was mad at Pallad or anything. Mistakes like that happened all the time! Plus, mistakes did happen a lot around Bennett specifically…

Bennett sighed heavily. He really only meant to help. He saw Royce and Pallad fighting Hilichurls together, and they looked like they were really struggling and could be in danger, so Bennett came in to help fight and also heal them up a little with his Vision, and they did drive off the Hilichurls, but…not without a few hiccups along the way. Like the barrels and Royce’s sword. And the additional wave of reinforcements. Maybe the Hilichurls just really liked this camp?

“But these things keep happening when you’re around! Why can’t you realize that? We would have been better off without you!”

“But, you looked like you needed help and—!”

“No, Bennett, just…just go, okay?” Royce let out a tense exhale, looking very stressed. He looked that way a lot when Bennett was around. “I’m not mad, I promise. Just…do everyone a favor and keep your adventures solo, okay?”

“O-Okay.” Bennett felt himself flinch, just a little. He…never said it quite like that, before. Maybe it was just that the more encounters they had, the more honest Royce got. Royce, and Heckler, and Jack…

“They’ll be back! They’re just…on leave,” he pleaded to Katheryne once, desperate to not have the face the finality of losing his team’s registration with the guild. He was so excited when he finally got people to agree to being on a team with him—he was so sure that they would all be great friends, and that they would go on many epic adventures together just like his dads did when they were young. Adventuring was his passion, and he couldn’t wait to get started for real! But then…well…it didn’t work out quite like he hoped.

It really stung, hearing Royce say it like that. Should he really just do as he said and stop…bothering everyone so much…?

“My ear harkens to the sound of mortal cries! What ill fate hath befallen thee?”

“F-Fischl!” Bennett was very surprised to turn around and see Fischl and Oz coming into view over the top of a hill and down into their camp, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung’s entrance as cool and grand as ever. Walking up to them, there was something about her expression that looked kind of intense, though. Bennett wasn’t really sure why; all of the Hilichurls were gone now, right?

“Oh, Fischl. What are you doing here?” Royce sounded very tired and still kind of annoyed.

“I heard from afar the expressions of woe and stress! Might I add, even the throbbing binds of a dark fury? It is of no mere happenstance that I, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, should come down upon you at such an hour, that I may ask, why such stress, when the intensity of danger is clearly past, and why do you say words of fury, when whatever physical ailments you have are clearly of little consequence to one of the warrior’s creed?”

Royce sighed in exasperation. “I don’t have time for this…” he mumbled.

“O-Oh! Everything’s fine!” Bennett assured, getting what she was saying…maybe. (Fischl was really smart and also from other world, so she talked in complicated words a lot). “We just…had a little bit of trouble with some Hilichurls, that’s all! And we were…talking about what went wrong!”

“Yes, yes, what he said, there’s nothing going on, the Hilichurls are gone now.” Royce waved her off.

“Is that so? Then pray tell, why, if there is no danger, that distress still binds you so much that you would speak such ill of your comrades!”

“H-Huh?”

“What the Prinzessin means is, your words seem to be unfounded, judging from the…tone of your voice,” Oz translated. “Not to say that we were making any attempts to secretly listen to what was being said, of course.”

“I really have no idea what you’re talking about,” Royce groaned. “Just, please go back to whatever you were—”

“I was on a mission of dire importance, and I require that Bennett be my aide! Come, Bennett, there is a destination we must hasten to!”

“What?” Bennett was confused.

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Pallad laughed. “He’s all yours! Come on Royce, let’s head back to the city to turn in this commission!”

Fischl took Bennett by the hand and led him out, and Bennett hurried his step to catch up.

“What’s wrong?” he asked after they were a little ways away and Fischl stopped walking. “Where’s the danger?”

Fischl paused a second, turning back to look at him, as if considering what to say… “Are you hurt?”

Bennett’s eyes widened in a bit of surprise, partially because she said the question in so few words. Was that what this was about? But, he wasn’t even bleeding! “Oh! Uh, no, not really! Just a few knicks and bruises here and there, nothing I can’t handle!”

Fischl shook her head, clearing her throat. “Ahem, no, I do understand that your constitution is not the aspect at risk of failing you; what ailment I was referring to runs greater than bone or marrow, but rather, to the soul itself, the deepest recesses of your mind and heart. This, my fellow seeker of the unknown, is what mine eye hath perceived to be carrying the deepest of wounds.”

Bennett took a second trying to get what she was saying…and then turned to Oz for help.

“What she means—as well as myself—is…Bennett, we overheard some of what your…friend…said, and we wanted to know if you were alright. Because of his words, that is.”

“Oh…OH!” Bennett got it now. But… “I-It’s okay, he didn’t really mean it as bad as it probably sounded, just…um…” He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t want them to get mad at Royce for his sake, or anything. “Y-You know what they say! Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me! Right?”

That was how it went…right?

Bennett was used to pain—of every kind, really. It wasn’t a big deal.

“No!” Fischl was adamant, surprising him even further with the fierceness of her gaze. “I refuse to accept such a…a…a degradation of yourself!” She thrust out her arm to point at his heart, her other hand on her hip. “Your ill fate has nothing to do with yourself! Even if some grievous error was made that was your own folly, it would be no cause for allowing yourself to be cast to the side to descend into the vile throes of darkness!”

For a few long seconds, Bennett was dumbfounded and speechless. He really didn’t know what to say, he…he felt awkward, because he didn’t want anyone to worry about him or feel bad for him, but…it also…felt good, that she cared? “You…really think that?”

Fischl cleared her throat again. “Mm, yes indeed…I…simply cannot allow any member of my retinue to be considered in such a way. You should not…be condemned to be alone for the cause of the curse on you.”

“Ah, i-it’s okay!” Bennett assured with a wide smile. “I’m not alone entirely, even without my team! Not anymore, anyways! Me and Traveler have gone on a few adventures, and, um…I have my dads, and…I have you!”

They were in different sectors of the guild, him and Fischl, what with Fischl being an investigator and all. She was really good at remembering details, and not getting lost. Bennett knew his way around and remembered lots of survival skills, but he wasn’t as smart as she was. He was best at mainly just going in and fighting stuff while exploring. But, they did get to work together sometimes! And those times were always nice.

“Well then, let us embark on this next mission together, as you have been thusly requested.”

“Really?” Bennett asked. “You weren’t just making something up?”

“Never in the death of a thousand suns!” Fischl refuted emphatically. “My pledge is my sacred word, and yes, I believe that your assistance would be much needed indeed!”

[imaginesandinserts]

Irreverent Pt. 17 - Big Brother

Title: Irreverent Pt. 17 - Big Brother Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: T (Teen) Words: 2050

Irreverent Series Masterlist

Things had gone back to normal - or as normal as they ever got when you caught serial killers for a living. Cases at work had picked up with Hotch back in the driver's seat, and you were all starting to heal.

The team had successfully wrapped up a case in Kansas City involving missing children, so needless to say spirits were high. You drove back to the airport with Hotch, Spencer, and Garcia, with the others in another car behind you. Garcia had tagged along since the Unsub had been known to hack into home alarm systems and it would be good to have her on the ground with the rest of the team.

"What does everyone have going on for the weekend?" Penelope had obviously bored of listening to Spencer's lecture on quantum physics he'd been telling her about for the past 20 minutes. You and Hotch had conveniently tuned out, choosing instead to argue over your taste in music. You had been doing your best to introduce him to new artists instead of listening to The Beatles for the millionth time, and currently you were making a good case for Hozier.

"Jack's away at the lake with his cousins, so I have a free weekend for once," Hotch revealed. You were happy for him to be getting a break - he'd been working himself ragged trying to be Super Agent and Super Dad - a break was definitely a good call.

Before you could answer Penelope, your phone rang, distracting you and leaving Spencer to tell Penelope about his upcoming weekend of hustling with Emily in Atlantic City. The two of them made a dynamite duo in scheming drunk guys out of their money and had turned it into an annual tradition.

You quickly pulled your phone out of your pocket and saw - for possibly the fiftieth time that week - the name Dominic flash on your caller ID. Your brother had been pestering you for a few weeks now, trying to get in touch. No doubt he was doing your father's bidding. Being rid of him entirely had been too much to ask for.

You quickly dismissed the call, catching Hotch's glance in your direction. You shook your head at him, mouthing, "Later." He nodded in understanding, before tuning in to the conversation in the back once again.

"What about you, sugar?" Penelope asked, looking at you eagerly, awaiting your answer.

You thought for a second - what did you have planned for the weekend? With Jack away and Emily and Spencer off to Sin City, you didn't really have much to do. I should really get friends besides people I work with and their children. "Nothing planned," you said, turning in your seat to look at Penelope.

"Oh come on, Y/N! You're young! Vibrant! You should have plans. Men courting you." Penelope had been the most disappointed when you'd ended things with Cedric during the peak of the Foyet case. You had had more important things to worry about and between both of your busy schedules, actually seeing one another was becoming impossible. That was when you'd started to understand how hard it must have been for Hotch with Haley. He loved the job and he loved her, but she'd asked for him to leave it and in the end he hadn't been able to. While you sympathized with Haley, you got why Hotch had chosen the job. It would have killed him not to.

You chuckled, rolling your eyes good naturedly. "When would I meet men, Pen? The only men I meet are serial killers."

"Actually, statistically speaking, you run into at least fourteen eligible mates every time you step outside," Spencer rattled off in his all knowing voice. "Plus, you're a female of above average attractiveness, so it is actually closer to twenty for you."

"And yet, somehow, I'm single," you retorted. "I must be chasing them away with my attitude." You heard Hotch chuckle from next to you. He should laugh more. It makes him look younger.

*------------*

Penelope had talked everyone into going out once again, using the excuse that Hotch was free and didn't have Jack. You could tell he wasn't thrilled about being used as the excuse - he was so bad about enjoying bar type settings. However, he'd agreed under the agreement that everyone turned in their report to him before they left for their weekend activities. Spencer, Penelope, JJ, and Rossi had gone ahead, having quickly rushed through their reports. Hotch wouldn't leave until everyone had turned theirs in, and you didn't want him to be waiting alone, so you were sitting in his office keeping him company while waiting for Emily and Derek to wrap up as well.

When you'd brought your report up and then turned and sat on his couch instead of leaving, Hotch had quirked an eyebrow at you in question. "Can I help you?"

"Nope!" you said flouncing down on his couch. "I'm just waiting up here to make sure you can't just bail."

He rolled his eyes at you, but then fixed you with a contemplative look.

"What?"

"It's later now."

You looked at him, confused. "Yes…"

"The phone calls. You got them all week. Don't think I didn't notice."

"Right." Nothing ever really got past Hotch. "Dominic has been calling me, incessantly," you admitted.

"Your brother?"

"Yeah. I think my father put him up to it, and as he and I are no longer on speaking terms, I don't want to open any doors to communication."

"You know," he said quietly, as he walked up from his desk to come sit on the couch by you. "You don't ever talk about your mother."

"Well," you began slowly, focusing on a spot on the opposite wall as you spoke, "she wasn't really much of a mother, I suppose. My parents were that couple that should've separated a long time ago. Pretty sure I was the save-the-marriage-baby." You expected to see some pity on his face, but he simply sat and nodded, so you continued. "But, when it didn't work my mom sort of went away, always in her own world. Say what you will about my dad, but at least he was around, as much as he could be. She could've been there all the time - she just chose not to be."

Hotch had a way of making you want to talk to him. You'd tell him something awful, and sometimes he'd try to help. More often he'd just listen.

This time, he chose to speak, in his deep comforting voice. "You know, you should be proud. It's kind of amazing that you came out the way you did, given everything."  

You felt a warm glow surround you as you looked up at him, sincerity radiating off of him. "Thanks, I think," you laughed.

Derek's voice cut through the moment, "Hey, let's go you two! I've got mine and Prentiss's report here," he said, striding in and placing two files on Hotch's desk.

You saw Hotch get up, undoubtedly to check their work, but you were done waiting. "Nope, that's for Monday. Come on!" And against his protests, you grabbed his jacket and led him out the door.

The four of you drove over to the bar and found a spot a couple of blocks down. As you started walking towards the bar together, you heard a voice calling you from behind, causing you to tense up immediately.

"Y/N! Y/N, wait!"

You turned to see a large dark figure moving towards the four of you, and as it got closer you recognized your brother's face. Hotch and Derek were both instantly on alert as well, ready to come between you and the man hurrying towards you.

He looked much the same as he had the last time you saw him. He stood as tall and broad as Derek, looking even more intimidatingly large in his dark suit. "Dominic! What're you doing? Following me?" You were pissed.

"I need to speak with you," your brother said, moving as if to usher you away from the others.

You took a step backwards to avoid him and instead bumped into Hotch. "Anything you want to say to me, you can say it in front of them. But remember, they're federal agents, so I'd watch my words if I were you."

He glowered at you for a moment, before accepting that he wouldn't be able to catch you by yourself. "Father has a message for you," he announced.

"Oh yeah? Still playing dad's lapdog, are you?"

"You need to go man," Derek came to stand by your side, intimidatingly.

"You're being ridiculous!" Dominic seethed ignoring him, "You're disgracing yourself and everything we've been taught."

"What's the message?" You tried to remain calm, knowing it would rile him up more to see you unaffected by his old bullying tactics. Maybe then he'd just leave.

"Come home. The family needs you." He repeated what were obviously words fed to him by your father.  

"Tell father to leave me alone, Dom. I won't be his pawn anymore." You tried to do an about face and move the others along with you, grabbing Derek's arm with you.

"You're Emily Prentiss, aren't you?" You'd thought he was done, but his words towards Emily gave you all pause. "I've got a message for you as well…Valhalla says hello."

As you watched Emily's face lose all color, your brother turned around and vanished back into the shadows from where he'd come.

The mood sufficiently ruined, you all ended up back at the office so that Emily could fill you in on whatever or whoever Valhalla was.

As Emily explained her undercover role playing the IRA terrorist's girlfriend - Ian Doyle, codename Valhalla - you started to realize that you never truly know a person. Not that it changed how you looked at Emily per se, but that there are parts to people and their histories that you might never know, despite feeling as close as sisters to them.

"So, if Dominic L/N has a message from Valhalla, then that means that L/N Sr. knows Valhalla too, right?"

"Yes, most likely. I'm going to have my contacts at Interpol look into this," Emily said, in response to Derek's question.

Hotch had been pretty quiet, so the three of you turned to him to see what he was thinking. Noticing all eyes on himself, he looked at the three of you and then more specifically at just you, before sighing and pushing up from the table. Hotch spoke, carefully choosing his words, not quite meeting your eyes. "For some time now I've suspected that the CIA has a case open on Mr. L/N, and I think this pretty much confirms those suspicions."

"Wait, what? Why would you think that?" you asked, unsure of why this was the first time you were hearing about this.

Hotch sighed again, unsure of how to tell you. Slowly, he explained, "To be honest Y/N, I've suspected it since you told us about your dad. Your rejection from the CIA  never sat right with me. After your dad was here the last time and the case with Dawson, it made sense that your rejection was tied to some conflict of interest they would have with you being part of the agency and not anything to do with you personally."

You swallowed, trying to process what Hotch had said. If you were honest with yourself, a small part of you knew he was right. It had never sat right with you either, but at the time you hadn't been feeling confident and had assumed your year of partying had somehow been to blame.

"You really believe that, don't you?" You looked up at him as he stood with one hand tucked into his pocket and a furrowed brow.

"Yes, I do."

"Well then, I think a visit to the CIA is also part of knowledge gathering before we can more forward and assess the full threat." Emily's past as a rogue was definitely showing here as she drew herself into commanding position. The rest of you agreed to defer to her experience, deciding that she would get in touch with Interpol and visit the CIA alongside Hotch.

[princess-of-the-worlds]

So I watched Enola Holmes on Sunday, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how now with Burn in the movie, we’ve seen most of the cast in Victorian-type costumes. 

We have Burn in this movie. 

We have Barrowman in Fragments. (Ignore the sideburns.)

We have Eve Myles in The Unquiet Dead.

And we have Gareth in Warehouse 13. (And also apparently the Sherlock Holmes movie, but I’ve heard things about it, so we’ll ignore it.)

(Forgive, they’re the best gifs I can find right now, but it’s not really the point of this.)

So that just leaves Naoko. If she’s been in a movie or TV show that had her in a Victorian costume, feel free to let me know; I just personally haven’t seen or heard anything.

Anyways, my point is...Victorian Torchwood AU where the entire team is human? (Kudos to @ultraviolet-eucatastrophe​. I worked out most of this talking to her.)

Hear me out? (Keep in mind that I am neither British, well-versed in British history, or was alive in the 1800s. I’ve kept certain headcanons - like Tosh’s backstory - as vague yet historically possible as I can remember from school.)

This is set some time in the mid- to late nineteenth century/Victorian London.

Jack is like a Scottish lord or noble whose family moved to the US when he was young. After his dad and Gray died - and his mother succumbed to hysteria and became incapable of caring for him, he is left on his own as a teen and turns to crime. He becomes a con artist and thief and earns enough to board a ship to London when he is 19. In London, he meets fellow thief - and grifter - John Hart, and they become partners and lovers before falling out a few years later. Perhaps, Jack meets some mysterious leather-coated gentleman and his beautiful blond companion who, after an adventure, disappears but not before prompting Jack to try living on the legal side. He uses his criminal past and knowledge to consult for Scotland Yard.

Gwen is actually Gwyneth, and after the events of The Unquiet Dead, she blacked out instead of dying. The trauma fucked with most of her memories. She still remembers her name and adopts a variant of it - Gwen Cooper - before fleeing Cardiff for London where she works as a maid in many wealthy households. Her ability allows her to make premonitions that are always correct, and she is able to become a finder of lost items and people for which she is paid a small fee. She chalks this ability up to having keen sense rather than anything supernatural or Rift-related.

Tosh is the genius daughter of a wealthy Japanese businessman frequently visiting London. She spends time growing up sheltered between Japan and the British countryside but eventually grows a rebellious streak and runs away to London. Except she’s kidnapped by a band of men who originally want to sell her into prostitution until they realize how intelligent Tosh really is. They keep her captive for several months, forcing her to build them weapons.

Owen is born in the London slums but is ambitious and sharp enough to want to work his way out. He falls for a good woman, Katie, and eventually becomes a doctor, marrying Katie. They live happily for a few years until Katie dies of a seemingly incurable disease - actually an alien parasite. In his grief, Owen takes to drinking, gambling, and fighting and becomes a back alley doctor, growing a certain repute among the London criminals. One day, after one of their men is stabbed fatally in a fight, the same men who kidnapped Tosh kidnap Owen to operate on their man. Owen meets Tosh, and they bond over a few days. Meeting Owen gives Tosh the courage to finally facilitate the escape she had ben planning, and Owen and Tosh escape to freedom and hide in a flat near where Owen grew up, eventually falling in love.

Ianto belongs to a poor Welsh family and falls in love with Lisa, a local shopkeeper’s adopted ward, but Ianto’s dad disapproves of their interracial relationship and...(well, we know Ianto’s dad’s repute from canon.) To be together, Ianto and Lisa flee to London, but the only place they can find shelter and work is for a crime syndicate run by an imposing woman named Yvonne. Except this syndicate, which is actually a front for Torchwood, which was formed either the same time or a bit earlier depending on when you want to set this AU, and the entirety of the organization burns in a fire of alien-origin. (Only the original base in Scotland and a small outpost in Cardiff remain of Torchwood). Lisa and Ianto barely survive, and Lisa eventually succumbs to her injuries several months later despite Ianto’s best efforts. Ianto, after spending several long months in the London slums, managing to convince a tailor to take him on as an apprentice.

Then one day, a new serial killer begins operating in London. He kills neatly, somehow draining all the bodies of their blood with only a single puncture mark, and his victims are all women, prostitutes and widows and single mothers and the like. Women that no one will notice, that no one will miss.

Except he’s wrong. They are noticed, and they are missed.

Jack, ever so observant, takes notice and starts tracking down this killer. He may not entirely be the Jack Harkness we know and love, but the Doctor and Rose, no matter how brief their acquaintance remained, have inspired him to a good man. He can’t let a monster like this killer stay lurking in the city.

One of the victims is a prostitute who lived in the flat across from Owen and Tosh and never failed to be kind to them, especially Tosh, despite her being Japanese. Tosh and Owen are determined to bring her to justice.

Another of the victims was a runaway from a noble family, and her mother, knowing of Gwen’s repute, begs Gwen to find her.

And finally, poor Ianto happens to be leaving his tailor’s shop too late one night when he spots a struggle in an alley. Ianto, wanting to be wise and live, keeps his head down and walks away, but the next morning, he finds that he had accidentally ignored the killer with his newest victim. The guilt eating away at him, Ianto becomes determined to stop the killer as much as he can.

So all five of them are wandering through the city of London, trying to track down this serial killer. You can imagine they might bump into each other a few times, like Donna and Ten in Partners in Crime. Maybe Ianto grows intrigued of this strange, charming American he keeps meeting and can’t stop thinking about. Tosh and Owen are a bit wary of this quiet Welshwoman who speaks to them as if they’re old friends.

Eventually, Jack, Gwen, Tosh, Owen, and Ianto all corner the killer in a warehouse near the London docks one night except the killer turns out to not be human. The killer is a Plasmavore who has been feeding on all his victim. After a struggle ensues, the Plasmavore is subdued and eventually killed, and the Scotland Yard awards Jack, Ianto, and Owen the reward money for finding the killer.

But this doesn’t sit well with Jack who proposes that the five of them partner to form their own detective team, because they all have unique skills which they bring to the table. And they all realize, putting their heads together, that there exists a form of life that is not entirely human, a form of life beyond this planet. Jack has his Doctor, Gwen has her mysterious past and her ability - which still hasn’t occurred to them to be of similar origins as the creature they encountered yet, and Ianto has Torchwood. 

All five realize that they are better off and more efficient together and that they can be investigators of anything seemingly inhuman and other phantasmagoria. 

Thus, they accidentally become alien crime fighters two centuries too early.

And eventually, they solve enough cases to meet Madam Vastra, Jenny, and Strax and become their allies.

And somehow, they’re always ahead of the other branches of Torchwood to occurrences in London to the point where, on Archie’s suggestion, they actually become the new Torchwood London.

Of course, they have encounters with the Doctor whenever he pops around, and Jack finally gets some answers about his mysterious leather-coated gentleman.

And thus, despite being in a whole different century, and a whole different city, Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Tosh, and Owen still manage to become Torchwood. 

So yeah, there you have it. An entire AU (or at least its origin story) plotted out completely. Now here’s the thing. This idea won’t let me go, but I also can’t do historical AUs. Like, it’s just too much research and plotting involved for me to be satisfying with writing this. That’s why it’s up for grabs. If this sparks your interest and you wanna write, feel free to do so. Just please ask and get my blessing beforehand. (Joking, but please do shoot me a line if you end up writing this.)

Thoughts? 

[bigskydreaming]

I’m just gonna say it, cuz people certainly have said it enough about Dick.

Tim was an asshole post BFTC. Yeah, he was. Sorry not sorry. I know losing Robin hurt him and yeah Dick probably could have handled it better, but Tim was the one who made the decision to avoid Dick in the aftermath and refuse to even talk to him when Dick kept trying to reach out and check on him. Like, hello, Tim, guess what gets in the way of a big brother ‘who wronged you’ trying to make things better? You not letting him talk to you even.

(An entirely different scenario from when Bruce fired Dick, because the problem between that and Dick eventually reconciling with Bruce was that Bruce didn’t ever reach out and take the initiative to try and reconnect with Dick, when Bruce was the one who made it clear that Dick wasn’t needed there anymore and did nothing to say or suggest he was even wanted, when Dick lingered for weeks hoping he would, and it was never Dick’s responsibility to try and make the first move to repair their bond after that. This isn’t comparable to Dick and Tim because Dick didn’t do the same thing as Bruce, he did the opposite of what Bruce did because he learned from what Bruce did....thus he kept reiterating how much he needed Tim and wanted him to stay and Tim was the one who refused all the gestures actually being made).

And enough about all the people Tim lost, because guess what? Dick lost his second father too. And he’d not long before Tim lost Jack and Kon and Steph, lost his entire city. After his circus, chock full of all his remaining first family from his childhood, the extended family of friends and honorary aunts and uncles who’d helped raised him, was burned down around him with massive casualties. After his apartment building, which was chock full of people he canonically had made friends with and formed a freaking community of their own with, had been blown up with only one survivor, just to hurt him. After he’d left the Titans because he’d lost multiple teammates in the Titans Hunt and watched Joey killed in front of him, been raped by Mirage and blamed by his teammates for it, lost his several years long relationship with Kory in part because of it and various other manipulations that had nothing to do with either of them but rather his being brainwashed and then Raven’s messing with their emotions and on and on and on....

And after he’d lost Donna, and after he’d been raped again by Tarantula and after he’d lost his relationship with Barbara over Tarantula’s manipulations, to such an extent that when he went to Barbara the night his circus was burned down, she let him stay for the night and then told him he had to go in the morning, after he’d lost Jason and killed the Joker over it and feared he’d lost Bruce’s trust because of it to the extent that he was downright suicidal in the wake of Blockbuster’s death, after Stephanie Brown a girl he barely even knew had become the second kid to die in his family’s colors without him ever having a say in them wearing them in the first place, and then getting Jason back only to have him try and kill Dick’s new little brother Tim, and then try and kill him while they were fighting for the cowl, right after Dick’s newest little brother Damian tried to kill Tim and now Dick was stuck trying to raise him himself, and felt the burden of having to teach Damian to not do stuff like that, because he couldn’t just pretend that Damian wasn’t Bruce’s son, wasn’t his brother, and so he felt the pressure of having to try and find some way to turn Damian into someone who could coexist with Tim so that Dick wasn’t forced to yet again choose between brothers like when Jason was going after Tim, because yeah, Tim was the target and there’s no substitution for that but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still royally suck to be the big brother who feels obligations and ties to all three of these boys and considers them all family because of how they’re tied to him whether he likes it or not so he’s constantly struggling with trying to find some way for them all to coexist because he can’t lose any more family.....

And all of this happens in the span of like, three or four years comic book time, and then their second dad dies and Dick is suddenly stuck living his dead father’s life, running the company he never wanted, being the Batman when all he ever wanted to be was his own hero of his own invention, protecting a city that has taken from him time and time again, raising his dead father’s son as though he’s practically his own, and he just had to battle his brother Jason for the cowl he didn’t even want with it ending with Jason falling from a train and potentially to his death again (since Dick didn’t know yet if he had even survived that for sure or not) when its not like Dick has issues with family members falling to their deaths in front of him....

And Dick gives his newest little brother Damian the mantle Robin that means family in his eyes, because its the only way he knows of to make Damian believe that Dick actually wants him here, wants to form a bond, and isn’t just doing this out of obligation to Bruce, as Damian did believe at that point and why he was keen on leaving....and he tries to explain to Tim that this was an act of desperation, of necessity, of he didn’t know what else to do, and it has nothing to do with Tim not being good enough, or not wanting Tim as family, or wanting Tim to leave, its the exact opposite, he sits there and tells Tim he feels Tim is too good to treat as a junior partner, that he’s his equal and he could never be Batman to his Robin again because Robin takes the lead from Batman and Dick no longer sees Tim as someone who needs to follow, and that’s why Dick needs him to stay, needs him to help him in Gotham because he’s fucking drowning here.....

And Tim just goes, whatever, fuck you, you took away Robin which was the only thing that matters to me (no mention of the fact that he only had it in the first place because of Dick) and just outright refuses to respond to any of Dick’s frequent attempts to check on him, to see how he’s doing, to acknowledge that Dick is just fucking worried about him because he’s stretched impossibly thin and all he knows is he can’t bear to lose anyone else, it’ll break him, he’s lost all he possibly can right now.....

And Tim just.....doesn’t fucking care. Peaces off to pursue his (still lacking evidence) Bruce isn’t dead theory because Dick did something he didn’t like and won’t believe him without evidence about the thing he always says every time someone who’s close to him dies and has led to him going down some very dark roads in the past but why should past behavior worry Dick at all......

And sorry not sorry, but if you can reframe every one of Dick’s issues with Bruce about Robin as him being an immature spoiled brat, but that doesn’t sound like sulking to you, I’m calling foul. 

*Shrugs*

Tim was kinda a brat back then. I know he had a lot going on and was dealing with a lot, but Dick was too, and all he wanted was to know that his little brother was freaking alive and Tim was like no, that’s too big an ask right now, you made me mad so stew on that bro. BYE.

Yeah Tim was a teenager, but Dick wasn’t even eighteen when he left home, and if he has to always be a big boy or else he’s a spoiled kid throwing a temper tantrum for not getting his way, I don’t see why Tim (who preboot, was definitely at least close to eighteen at the time) can’t be expected to be a big boy too and at least say “Dick I’m still mad at you and hurt, but I at least recognize that you are going through shit too right now and so I can at least be bothered to check in and let you know I’m alive and okay still and you haven’t lost another family member while they’re hating you and blaming you and thus making it likely your fault too.”

[shirtlesssammy]

15x15: Gimme Shelter

Then:

Dean used his words to save the world once

Now:

At a food bank community center, three teens dole out food while stressing out about one attendant who’s breaking their cleanliness rules. Connor heads over to talk to the woman, but is stopped by the center’s pastor. The pastor challenges Connor’s motivation. ”We have rules, but we also have spirit too, right?” The pastor tells Connor to lead with compassion, so Connor brings the woman food instead of kicking her out of the building. 

Later, Connor walks home. Much like all other cold open walks, this one also involves a solitary alley. He hears someone calling his name. Trying to find the source of the voice, he trips and finds a talking teddy bear, and a metal hook around his neck.

Dean and Sam discuss research. Sam’s found a non-case, while Dean’s hit the jackpot in Atlantic City. Specifically, an unexplained blackout has him thinking that Amara’s enjoying her new gambling addiction on the East Coast. 

Cas pops up and thinks he should go with the brothers, but they tell him to stay put and babysit Jack. I say TFW is just better together, but I’m not writing this episode. Hrmph. The brothers are packed and ready to go, but Jack stops them in the war room to ask about the case Sam found.

Sam tells him it’s nothing. Dean encourages Cas and Jack to investigate --to keep Jack busy. Cas seems skeptical, but Dean insists.

Agents Swift and Lovato meet with the local law enforcement to learn more about the case. Sweet Jesus is it cute that Cas continues to use pop-star names. It’s cute that Jack takes after his father with the upside down badge. It’s cute that Jack recognizes the teddy bear and says he has one (Did Cas buy it for him? He has a history of buying stuffed animals for his quasi-children.) 

The sheriff tells them about the victim, and how the word ‘Liar’ was carved into him. 

Jack posits that this all seems demonic. 

Cut to Cas digging into the ground at a crossroads. Time to get some information. Cas buries a picture of himself that Dean took when he was wearing a cowboy hat (Don’t worry, Dean still has his copy, and keeps it safe…. for reasons.) and Jack sets up a social media account. He’s WAY under 13 years old, so he needs a parent’s permission. Cas grants it easily. (Also, ALSO!! ALSO, there are NOT too many cats on the internet. This writing is so OOC, smh.) 

A demon appears. 

He’s channeling his inner Crowley, and I suddenly miss the bugger for a moment. Zach, the demon, is very bored and desperately wants something to do. He’s not really British and tells the duo that no one's making demon deals right now. Rowena’s of the philosophy that “people will end up where they belong.” Cas realizes their mistake and moves to leave.  “Sam was right, it’s not a monster,” Jack laments. “He was half right. Sometimes humans can be the worst kind of monsters,” Cas adds. 

At the community center, a woman locks up, and grabs a whole lotta cash from the donation box before she bails. Once outside, she hears a voice call her name. She looks around but sees nothing. She turns back to her car to find a masked individual. A weird editing choice cuts back to her...and commercial. 

Cas checks in with the brothers. Dean tells Cas to be wary of those “Hallelujah types” and I’m like, wha? Cas is an ANGEL OF THE LORD. He’s been around the block, Dean. Lol for looking out for your BFF, tho. Also, second awkward moment of the episode when Dean just hangs up on Cas? I’m…

Sam voices his reservations about the whole finding Amara --lying to Amara --killing Amara plan. Say it louder for the brother in the seat next to you, Sam! 

(Boris: I’m just going to insert this in the middle of this recap and never mention it again. Can we trust Billie? Is her plan actually something that is GOOD for our TFW 2.0? What is her agenda and does it align with what we want? What if what SHE wants is as equally bad as what Chuck wants? What if we as an audience are getting played right now??) (Natasha: What if the strings she’s pulling are emotional and she’s playing a dangerous game of chicken with Dean’s rage and Chuck’s entitlement?)

Jack joins the community center. He watches Dr. Sexy the pastor in a prayer circle, and talks to a disillusioned young woman who asks him to fill out a form before walking away. 

Cas walks in separately and wanders over to Dr. Sexy the pastor praying with a parishioner, and tells him about the cash stealing Valerie. She never made it home. 

Cut to Valerie tied and gagged. Her hands are in an elaborate guillotine. She wakes. Her screams are muffled. A TV turns on and flashes the word ‘Thief’. And one of her fingers gets chopped off. A timer starts on the TV. AND WE ALL RECOIL. 

Jack finishes the paperwork and tries to talk to the girls working the food line. The one girl storms off, upset. Jack follows her and tells her that he didn’t mean to upset her. 

She tells him that Connor and her dated. Well, they watched a lot of old movies together.  (AHEM! AHEM! AHEM! “I’m your Huckleberry.” AHEM. Please stop the clowning, it hurts so much.) 

Jack confesses to the girl that he lost his mother. The girl tells Jack that her mom died three years ago, and now it’s just her and her emotionally unavailable father, the pastor. “I have more dads than most, and I’m always just feeling like I’m letting all of them down.” JACK!!!! The girl tells Jack to trust God, not people. 

And we laugh, and laugh, and, guh, laugh. 

Cas, meanwhile, meets with Dr. Sexy the pastor. 

Cas interrogates Dr. Sexy Pastor about whether anyone else has gone missing recently. Well, there was one guy who used to work for the “faith-based community” but they parted ways. Cas and the pastor enjoy a little god talk. Cas, the weary angel, opines that God just doesn’t care. The pastor has a different take on faith - it’s about the people of his church doing what they can to take care of each other. We learn that this church recently changed from a fundamentalist branch to something more welcoming. Connor was able to come out as gay due to the changes, so some good happened. (Hindsight thoughts: this makes his death and the “Liar” all the more awful.) “A saint is a sinner who keeps trying,” the pastor concludes...and if that ain’t the truth about Cas!

Sam and Dean are on the too-slow train to Atlantic City when Amara drops in during a gas stop and invites them out for pierogi. 

At Patchwork, the pastor asks Jack to share his journey of faith during a prayer circle. Jack falters, and Cas steps in. “I do know what blind faith is. I used to just follow orders. Without question. And I did some pretty terrible things. I would never look beyond the plan. Then, of course, when it all came crashing down I found myself lost. I didn’t know what my purpose was anymore. And then one day something changed. Something amazing. I guess I found a family. And I became a father. And in that, I rediscovered my faith. I rediscovered who I am.” BRB crying!

Later in the cafeteria, Jack asks Sexy Pastor, M.D. how he brought together so many people with different ideas of religion. “It’s not about what they believe. It’s what they do,” he reiterates. (I imagine, for a moment, an ending where Jack calls out to the whole world and all living creatures and Heaven and Hell unite to win the final confrontation and make a better world together.)

The tranquil moment is interrupted by the TV turning on to security feed footage of the victim. The timer runs out and she loses another finger and screams and screams. Jack rushes over to the TV and pulls out a USB stick from the back.

Meanwhile, the Winchesters dine with Amara.

They bring up Chuck’s destruction of the other universes and tell her they have a plan to stop him. They’ve got a nephilim on their side AND he’s super powerful. All they need is for Amara to help them trap Chuck and...WHAMMO. Amara gently refuses to betray her brother. She lays some new mythology on them. She and Chuck are twins - creation and destruction - and their splitting apart first brought life into the world. 

Cas and Jack barge into the church’s ex-AV tech’s room. And by that, I mean, Jack gets hurled through another door? Um. Okay. The part of me that grew up with 3 Stooges is HERE FOR IT, tbh. 

They discover the guy is dead, chained up in bed with cuffs, with the word “lust” painted above him.

Getting ready to leave town, Sam’s ready to accept Amara’s choice. Dean “Fuck Acceptance” Winchester heads back inside and corners Amara. He asks why she brought back Mary. 

Amara tells him that she wanted him to see that the apple pie dream life he’s always striving for isn’t real - that Mary was only human - and BETTER because of that. Amara thought that would help him to accept his life. Amara also thought that having Mary back would release Dean from his anger. 

He leans forward and lets her know that he’s furious. Everyone in this universe is trapped, he tells her - including her. And she’s doing nothing. Amara falters in the face of this, and then asks him if she can trust him. “I would never hurt you,” he LIES TO HER FACE. She tells him she’ll think about it.

That evening Sylvia, the pastor’s daughter, listens to her friend gush over the social media attention she’s getting after posting about the torture video. In a flash of rage, Sylvia stabs her friend and races away. Dr. Sexy Pastor finds the current (still alive) victim just as Sylvia catches up to him. She accuses him of laughing at her mother after her mother died from trying to heal by prayer rather than medical science. She accuses him of changing the church that her mother grew up in. Jack jumps into the fray and gets stabbed for his trouble. When Cas arrives, Sylvia is quickly subdued by his Vulcan forehead tap of slumber.

Cas yanks away the restraints from the victim (SOOOO strong) and then heals her fingers back on while the pastor looks on in wonder. 

For So Strong Science:

Later, they gather outside while Sylvia gets taken away in cuffs. The pastor still cares about his daughter and vows to get her help. The driver of the car is Zach the crossroads demon? Oookay. 

Cas and Jack drive home. In the truck of feelings, Cas asks Jack why he couldn’t share during the prayer circle. Jack confesses that he’s been lying. The spell Billie is doing with him is turning him into a bomb to be used against Chuck and Amara. It’ll work - they’ll cease to exist. But Jack will be obliterated too. “This is the only way they’ll ever forgive me,” he tells Cas. 

Cas is horrified. He can’t watch Jack die again! Cas refuses to watch Jack die again, but Jack seems to have fully embraced this as his necessary fate.

Back at the bunker, Dean heads for the whiskey bottle late at night when he spots Cas shuffling towards the exit. Jack’s settled in his room, Cas reports. Cas then tells Dean he’s going to look for “another way.” 

Oh AND, “In case something goes wrong and I don’t make it back, there’s something you and Sam need to know…” 

FADE. TO. BLACK.  

The Se7en Deadly Quotes:

You guys go Highway to Heaven that bitch

You look greener than Baby Yoda

“Did anyone find any tiny bags with chicken bones inside?” “Did anyone smell sulfur?” “Did anyone feel cold?”

There were too many cats

Where can I find the Kool-Aid?

I wanted you to see that your mother was just a person

It was a gift, Dean. Not a trial

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[darthbecky726]

Bad Batch 1x01 spoilers

I've never done something like this before, but I figured I'd start. Reactions to the first episode of The Bad Batch. (This ended up being a lot longer than I intended, but whatever)

Spoilers under the cut

Red logo burning away starts strong

Yay narrator dude!!

Feels like clones wars

Animated rots scenes!!

And what grevious did after the rots beginning

HOLY SHIT DEPA!!!!!

And caleb right???

And we're in

Omg who voiced young caleb bc it sounds a lot like fpj but aged down and he def doesn't sound like the 14 I know he was when this happened

I like how we started out on familiar characters but not ahsoka or anyone from tcw. We started w young kanan and his master and we know what happened to them and all but if anyone watching hasn't seen rebels they wouldn't be lost as to who caleb and depa are, they'd just assume they're random jedi in o66

Good ol droid screaming as it falls off a cliff

Wow. Them.

I love crosshair

And wrecker

And tech

And echo

And hunter

B1's are so dumb

Lmao the salt from hunter

I feel like depas forehead pearls are a bit unrealistically large but I have no cultural standpoint to really know so...

Caleb's voice is too deep in the same way that jack frost from rotg's voice doesn't match his character model

Ah wrecker not really knowing what she means and echo, the one who has been trained to deal w people and hung out w ani and obi is just like 'thanks general'

Obes kenobes mention

Why is echo so pale

Depa and caleb feel a little too pale too tbh I wonder if it's the lighting or the whitewashing

Wow caleb is a lot like ezra, I can see why kanan wanted to train him lol

Is this what separates caleb and depa, leading to her telling him to run??? Do I need to read dume???

Oh no

Noooooooooo

Bb didn't get the order!

Oh caleb nooooo! Nooooooo they didn't receive that order, they can help you!!!

And he's gone

Oh I need an au where caleb stayed with bb and they helped him after depa died

Hunter sounds so much like rex it's weird like ik they're supposed to sound the same but it feels like wrecker is replacing rex or something. Even tho ik rex's story is over for the time being

Crosshair, no! Don't shoot at him! He's baby

Oh no did crosshair get o66???? It didn't seem to trigger anything in any of the rest of them, but is crosshair close enough to 'reg' for it to have triggered???

😭😭good soldiers follow orders

"sure thing, boss" "hey hunter got a sitch"

Crosshair acting sus

Oh I love watching padawans fight, they're so good!!

I hope that hit to the tree did a lil cognitive recalibration for crosshair, he was acting crazy

Caleb looks so scared!! He just watched his master get gunned down by his friends and now strange clones are trying to kill him/confusing him

Oh caleb

Oh no crosshair don't try to kill him!! Hunters trying to help!

Also hunter doesn't sound as much like rex w the helmet off, but it's weird bc most of the clones are distinguishable by voice even w helmets on. I guess it's the 'im in charge' voice

Star wars if caleb had gone w the bb

Oh hunter u sly dog lying to crosshair so he doesn't go after him. U gotta figure out why crosshair responded to o66 and no one else in ur unit did

Oh crosshair knows he's been lied to

I will always love coming-out-of-hyperspace shots

Ooh kamino, always nice this time of year

Echo is done w wrecker

Why hasn't crosshair taken his helmet off yet, lil bit sus

They better get his chip out on kamino, I don't wanna deal w this

Oof hunter 

Oh who’s that, giving me cloud city vibes

Extreme cloud city vibes wow

Never realized how many clones are just on kamino

Coruscant guard?!?! FOX?!?!

The vibes here, omg

‘The war is over’ wow

Oh no who was that

A female jedi, doesn’t appear to be shaak, couldn’t see any montrals but never know, we don’t officially know how or where she died

Ok wow none of the bb has their helmets on except for crosshair, who got the order. The regs around kamino all have their helmets on. That scene in victory and death when ahsoka took rex’s helmet off- 

And crosshair, he’s actins strange too

Oh tech, do u guys get bullied by regs a lot??

I love their barracks

Lol he finally took his helmet off only to stick a toothpick in his mouth, can he get anymore cliched?

Wrecker is seeming a lot more infantilized than he was in the s7 eps...

Yeah crosshair’s being sus

Ooh, he shifted his toothpick

Lmao ‘what programming’

Well documented my ass

Tech’s speech patterns are so stiff and robotic, it’s like he has to remind himself to talk in basic instead of binary or some shit

Tech throwing shade at crosshair

I can’t quite tell if we’re supposed to like crosshair at this point

Lmao we been knew

Oop ‘more machine than man’ the vader parallels are serving folks

Understatement.

Ugh sheev

Crusty ass bitch

Straight from rots wow

Who is the mystery child and why does he look mandalorian

Ooh he gone

Oh no, the beninning of the empire

Cheering?? Why?!?

That imperial march fade in tho

Thank you echo

Oh shit mystery child is female

Omega, I would not have guessed the pronunciation of your name by reading it wow

She def seems mandalorian

Ugh kaminoans

Oh the kaminoan pronounced it as it usually is, huh.

Omega’s character model def seems more masculine than female, I now headcanon her as trans

Ugh tarkin, I hate that crusty bitch

Empire politics ugh

I love how much shade is being thrown at tarkin and his stormtrooper proposal lmao

Why do all these clones have the standard haircut?? ik them boys like their variety, even if these boys are still under o66′s programming

Wrecker you’re being extremely loud

They’re all being loud in the mess, why

They remember, kid

Lol child

Oh my sweet summer children

The dad instinct was clearly passed genetically from jango lol all these clones got it

Why are background characters so mean? What about it, shiny? Why is ur hair regulation, reg??

The Sad Batchn omg the slander

Lol the food fight I’ve read about in the fics, its finally happening!

Is she.... australian??

The over-animation of character movements in this is reminding me of the looser style of rebels, as opposed to the more clunky style of tcw

Lmao he’s still got food on him

Food fight!!

‘Not again’???!!! Echo!! Wdym not again?! Food fights have happened before?!?? Wait. W bb or w torrent, bc I can see torrent having food fights on the resolute-

Crosshair’s just eating his food until someone messes

I like how echo still has his kamas

Oh no echo!!

Oh echo’s trauma, he doesn’t trust medical droids! Where’s kix when u need him, huh?

Lol, comically long name for a robot trope is alive and well, huh

Lmao the droid lowers his voice like ik this is a perceived bad thing, but I will not tolerate this slander, boys u need to get off kamino

‘The shock’ lmao whyyy

Lmao tech!!

Oh, echo recognized tarkin from the citadel!

‘When you blew up’ lmao

Oh they make me sad

Aaaaah fox!

Man the domino squad nostalgia

Those droids look cool

This is a neat scene, I like seeing them in action

Wrecker reminding me of hevy, but he’s got the training and success to back it up

Live fire???? No!!

Ugh I hate tarkin

Oh no wtecker

Did he just get shot!???! 

Oh no crosshair, be careful!

Tarkin’s trying to kill them!!!

Lol wrecker I love you

Echo using his mech hand as a weapon, truly an arc

Now I wanna see what happened on felucia

I like how tech’s just sitting on the droid’s shoulders

And hunter just had a knife

These boys, I love them

Oh no tech bby

Hot damn that was cool

Wrecher things so too lmao

Tarkin’s like “why didn’t that work??’

Oh new baby clones

No tf they could not, they would never serve the empire and those bitches

I love that they have a window apartment lol

Ugh tarkin u shifty

They all stand at attention, only after glaring at tarkin

Oh no onderon

I hate tarkin, he’s a bitch

How quickly could bitch lord and darth sad have replaced the armory on kamino??

Crosshair still acting sus

Neither does echo, kid

No.

I like omega.

Crosshair, with the sassy hand on the hip-

What does that even mean?? Or elude to??

Lmao tech messing w wrecker, they rlly r bros

Its prob the vegetation

Oh, I missed onderon, but not this much

Lol the put-upon sigh

Its clearly saw and his rebels

Saw! Looking sharp, what’s w the hair....

That’s a very geometric beard, saw

They didn’t kill any jedi!

That’s not what happened, tech

‘The clones’ bitch that was rex and ahsoka, check urself

Aw, I’ve always like the design of imperial probe droids

Thank you, echo

It seems like crosshair’s o66 programming and his mutation are warring w his morals

Lmao the shade

I knew she was an enhanced clone!

Oh, so she is (at least on paper) trans! She’s a clone of jango, and yet she’s female! That must be her modification, but it makes me wonder why

Lol *flicks toothpick*

Aw, they have a picture of themselves! Recent-ish, too, its got echo!

Oh no, AZI!

The difference between them arriving earlier and now, the lack of escort...

Creepy how they had to open the hanger door themselves

Oh no! Everyone!

The coruscant guard, I wish they had gotten better

Tarkin u dramatic bitch

‘The brig’ this ain’t some tallship

Lol echo that shade

Their blacks are different from the ones seen in the past

Crosshair, stop being a bitch

Oh, I don’t like that phrase!! And the fact that crosshair screamed it in echo’s face makes me uneasy. Did rex fill echo in on why fives died?? I hope so...

Crosshair, ur chip hurting??

This child, I like her.

No! Don’t hit hunter!

No crosshair!!!!

I dislike this immensly

So they do still have inhibitor chips!

Tarkin you monster

Oh poor crosshair

ihatethisihatethisihatethis

Lol tech I love you

Wrecker you sweet pea

Lol that’s adorable

I love how they form a “wall” its so suspicious 

He was about to say that, omega

Aaww, echo protective boi

Wrecker shut up tf

That was cool

Sneaky bois

This reminds me of rex and ahsoka sneaking around in v&d

Echo runs so stupid

Oh no they winter soldier’d him!

If he says who the hell is crosshar, I will lose my shit

Yes, he has. They took it from him.

The toothpick

I wonder how they’re gonna get crosshair back to normal

Not good that they nabbed the sniper

Oh, crosshair shot him in the same place he got hit during training!

Ooh, a kaminoan on their side!

I hope omega doesn’t die

Poor trigger etiquette, crosshair

Wonder if omega has any speciality training

They’re just gonna leave him there!?!?!?!?!

Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Omega reminds me of young boba 

Oh, so its in her dna

Go back for crosshair!!

Holy fucking shit that was amazing! I didn’t expect it to be that long, but I’m not complaining! This ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, but I don’t feel like cutting anything out, so sorry for the long post but at least I put it under a cut.

[the-delta-42]

Cody & Frankie

Cody & Frankie

Cody watched as Blaster lifted a barrel off of a car. Ever since Blaster had joined their team, he’d been left behind at the Firehouse with Cody, as he was a Communications Officer, which left him paired with Cody.

“Why am I completing training exercises when I’m never going to be out in the field?” Asked Blaster, as Chase observed him.

“In the event of Cody being in danger.” Said Chase, getting stares from Blaster and Cody.

“No offense,” Started Blaster, “but Autobot City is practically a fortress, any Decepticon that is stupid enough to get too close to here is scrap.”

“You mean like the ones of the Alchemor?” Asked Chase, making Blaster go silent.

“Well, if you guys are busy,” Said Cody, getting up, “I’m going to meet Frankie.”

“Cody, I must ask you to postpone your date with Francine,” Said Chase, making Cody blush, “you may be required for the training scenarios.”

“RiGht,” Cody’s voice cracked, “First thing, I’m not dating Frankie, we’re just friends, second, you have that training dummy that can stand in for me.”

Chase and Blaster both stared at Cody, “Need we remind you of the Velgrox incident?”

“That scenario doesn’t count,” Protested Chase, “You and Francine instigated that incident.”

“Yeah, but it showed that Blaster doesn’t need to go through any more scenarios,” Said Cody, folding his arms, “He protected me just fine.”

Chase remained silent, which Cody took as his que to leave. The two Autobots watch Cody limp away.

“I think he’s still upset about Prowl.” Said Blaster, frowning.

“I thought it was just me.” Agreed Chase, as Cody disappeared from view.

C&F

Cody parked his bike outside the park, the lock activating automatically, before heading off to find Frankie. He’d usually be able to find her at the memorial statue that had been erected in the middle of the park after the Decepticon Attack two and a half years ago. Cody remembered the attack, because it was when he, truly, first met Starscream.

“Cody, over here!” Called Frankie, waving at him.

Cody smiled and started towards her, she was sitting on a bench in front of Prowl and Quickshadow’s legs. The two statues’ shadows casting a shadow of the area, Brawn and Windcharger’s Statues stood over by the lake, while Huffer, Hound and Beachcomber stood in a field of trees, bushes and flowers. The seven Autobots had been killed when Starscream led his Decepticon ‘loyalists’ against the city, it was because of those seven that no humans were harmed in the attack.

“CeCe got her first Science Fair prize,” Said Frankie, showing Cody a hologram of the nine-year-old, braces and all, holding a ribbon and her project, “It collects glitter from all surfaces, Daddy wants to see if more can be made, since, well, you know glitter.”

“Small, sticks to everything and almost impossible to remove.” Said Cody, sitting next to Frankie as Fixit rolled past, “Blurr’s gotten a new paint job.”

“Yeah, blue really suits him.” Said Frankie, as Cody pulled a hologram out of his bag, “Nearly three years.”

Cody looked up at Prowl’s statue, he couldn’t get the sight of smoke pouring out of his optics and mouth as his body slowly greyed, the resulting explosion revealed that his internals had all but melted. Prowl’s corpse had landed on Cody’s leg, resulting in the limb being amputated. The only bright thing that came from that day, in Cody’s opinion, was Arcee taking Starscream’s head off.

Cody quickly looked to the ground, before placing hologram emitter at the feet of the statues. A small Autobot symbol appeared, Ratchet had told them that placing a hologram with the faction’s symbol was the Cybertronian equivalent of placing flowers on a grave.

“Jolt’s been working with Daddy on something,” Said Frankie, from her spot next to Cody, “I think it’s related to the power spikes.”

Cody hummed, before Frankie took his hand and said, “Let’s go get something to eat.”

“Anything to keep me from Chase’s scenarios.” Said Cody, walking with Frankie, their hands still entwined.

“I’m not sure if we can keep this up,” Said Frankie, her grip on Cody’s hand tightening, “Dad only not questioning why we’re meeting up so often because he’s working with Jolt, I don’t know how he’ll react to us, you know, dating.”

“Chase came close to finding out as well,” Said Cody, sighing, “he said our date would have to be postponed. I think he and Blaster are trying a little too hard to make up for Prowl.”

“HA! I knew it!” Cried Blades, making Cody and Frankie jump, “I knew you two were dating!”

“Blades!” Hissed Cody, as everyone stared at them.

“What?” Asked Blades, before looking around, “Oh…right, sorry.”

“Blades, why are you here?” Asked Cody, his face red.

“Oh, press conference, you know, live broadcasts, Q&A, that sort of thing.” Said Blades, as Cody spotted Huxley Prescott filming them.

“Y-you said ‘live broadcast’,” Said Cody, colour slowly draining from his face, “So, everyone watching heard your outburst?”

“Yup.” Said Blades, as Frankie caught on.

“Okay, maybe they’re not watching tv?” Suggested Frankie, just as their phones went off, “Oooh, it’s my Dad.”

“Kade.” Said Cody, confused, “Hello?”

Cody suddenly pulled the phone away from his ear and winced, “Dani, why are you using Kade’s phone? Oh, that noise was you, Kade.”

Frankie nervously answered her phone, as Cody’s face went beet red, “Hi, Daddy…”

Frankie was stiff for a moment, before relaxing, “Right, thank, Dad. Love you too.” Frankie hung up, before looking at Cody, who almost seem purple.

“Kade…I don’t need you to give me the Talk again,” Said Cody, “The first time was traumatising enough. No, don’t put Dad on the phone… hey, Dad. Yes, I do know how that stuff works. No, I don’t need Chase to make a diagram. I, I don’t think that’s an appropriate question Dad. Yeah, sure. Love you too. No, don’t break out the pictures!”

Cody lowered his phone and stared at the screen, “Dad’s going to break out the baby pictures.”

“Please, as if I haven’t already seen them.” Smirked Frankie, before looking up at Blades, “Where’s Dani?”

“With Taylor,” Sighed Blades, looking dejected, before looking down at Cody and Frankie, “Wanna go flying?”

“Is energon blue?” Was Frankie’s response, before Blades Transformed and Cody and Frankie climbed into his cockpit.

“Any requests?” Asked Blades, waiting for their input.

“Somewhere private.” Said Cody, immediately.

“Somewhere private coming up.” Said Blades, as he took off.

“I’m sure that could’ve gone better.” Said Frankie, as soon as Blades arrived at a waterfall that was difficult to access from the ground.

“Yeah, Kade tried giving me the Talk, again and Dad wanted to know if we were physical and if we were protection.”

“What is it with parents and thinking their kids are interfacing?” Asked Blades, making Cody and Frankie look up at him, confused, “You know, how humans make sparklings.”

Cody and Frankie blushed and looked at the ground, “Sooo, what now?” Asked Frankie, looking at Cody.

“We wait up here for a couple of hours and then head back,” Said Cody, sitting at the water’s edge, “I don’t think Kade’s going to let up on the Talk.”

Frankie smirked playfully, “Well, you know what we could do to fill that time up?”

“Oh, what?” Grinned Cody, before Frankie pushed him in the water, only to be dragged in herself when Cody grabbed her wrist.

Both teens were laughing as they threw water at each other, Frankie tackled Cody, making the young man fall on his back with Frankie on top of him. The young woman giggled and kissed Cody, resting her forehead against his.

“I love you.” Whispered Frankie, getting comfortable on Cody’s chest.

Cody returned the kiss, “I love you too.”

Frankie buried her head in the crook of Cody’s neck, getting comfortable as the pair drifted off into sleep.

C&F

Blades glanced over at the two humans, both cuddling each other in their sleep, and checked his internal chronometer before deciding to wake the pair up.

“Guys?” Said Blades, his voice soft, “It’s time to go.”

The two teens groaned, but started to get up, both shivering as the cold started to set in.

“Next time we’re up here,” Said Frankie, looking at Cody, “We bring a change of clothes.”

Cody smiled, before climbing into Blades with Frankie. Blades took off and took them back to Autobot City, landing on top of the Firehouse. The pair were greeted by their families, Doc Greene and Chief Burns holding a set of dry clothes.

“Blades said you’d need them.” Said Chief, as the pair took the dry clothes, “But, we need to talk about you running off.”

“I’m partially to blame, Chief,” Said Blades, crouching, “I suggested that we go flying and the fact I kind of outed their relationship on live TV.”

Chief sighed, before looking at the pair again, “Come on, you’re probably hungry, but, please, get changed first.”

Cody and Frankie nodded and headed off to dry off and change, leaving their parents on the landing pad.

“They do grow up fast, don’t they?” Asked Doc Greene, as Charlie frowned.

“I just wish that Cody didn’t grow up so fast.” Said Chief, as he watched Cody and Frankie messing around with each other.

“I just hope I win the next bet.” Said Doc Greene with a small smile.

C&F

Cody fiddled with the guitar strings, as Miko showed him how to play a chord.

“You’re doing great, Cody.” Said Miko, getting Cody to smile. Frankie was discussing some science stuff with Raf, while Jack was flicking through some paperwork given to him by Fowler, “I’d say we’re almost finished with the lessons.”

“It’s nice to be with you guys,” Said Cody, leaning back in his chair, “It’s almost as if things are as, they were before the Omega Lock incident.”

“Yeah, there are times I half expect Ratchet or Arcee to walk in and ask what we’re doing.” Sighed Miko, looking out the window, “I mean it’s nice having the Autobots here, I think I speak for everyone when I say we miss our partners.”

Cody’s smile turned sad, “I remember the time Prowl walked into that power line, I don’t I ever saw anyone move so fast.”

“Or that time Bulkhead screamed his head off when we showed him that mouse.” Grinned Miko, looking over at Jack.

“That’s nothing compared to Arcee calling an exhaust a ‘dowhicky’.” Said Jack, abandoning the paperwork.

“How about Bumblebee sneaking out of the base to go racing?” Asked Raf, as he joined the three.

“How about Kup’s cy-gar trick?” Asked Frankie, remembering the old bot.

“You mean the one where he turned it into a bullet?” Responded Miko, looking at Frankie.

“Yeah, that one!” Laughed Frankie, as Cody went to stand up, only for his prosthetic to buckle under his weight, “Cody!”

Jack caught Cody before he hit the ground, helping him back to the chair.

“It’s fine, it’s been acting up for a while.” Said Cody, as he rested the prosthetic on his other leg and pulled his trouser leg up. The light blue glow from the power cell flickered as the group observed it.

“I could get my dad to look at it.” Frankie offered, making Cody smile.

“I probably forgot to charge it properly.” Said Cody, getting back to his feet. Frankie held his arm, in case the leg gave out again, “You’re just looking for an excuse to steal me away, aren’t you?”

“How could you tell?” Smirked Frankie, as Jack sighed.

“Just remember to use protection,” Smirked Miko, making Cody and Frankie blush, “I’m too young to be an aunt.”

The two eighteen-year-olds quickly left the room to escape twenty-one-year-old, as Jack levelled her with an unimpressed stare.

“Old enough to be a mother, but too young to be an aunt.” Said Jack, folding his arms.

“Shut up.” Giggled Miko, as Raf decided to go back to his computer.

C&F

Cody winced as Doc Greene removed the power cell from his leg.

“Hmm, it seems that the power cells developed a fault.” Said Doc Greene, rubbing his chin, “I don’t know what could’ve cause it, unless you went for a sudden swim.”

Cody and Frankie froze and glanced at each other, thinking back to the week before and their dip in the pool of water.

“I know that look.” Said Doc Greene, folding his arms, “I’ll see about making your next prosthetic waterproof, Cody.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Said Cody, as Doc Greene reinserted the power cell.

“Frankie,” Said Doc Greene as the pair were leaving, “do try to be home at a reasonable hour tonight, your mother and I heard you knock the planter over.”

“Daddy!” Exclaimed Frankie, her face going red with embarrassment.

“I’m glad that no one heard me knock an entire shelving unit over.” Muttered Cody, as Blurr shot past.

“Higuys,byeguys,I’dlovetostopandchatbut,I’mbusybusybusy!” Said Blurr, speaking a mile a minute.

“That red energon must be some really strong stuff.” Said Frankie, as Blurr turned a corner.

“Apparently, Blurr’s body was built to use it,” Said Cody, shrugging, “Something about Velocitron and speed?”

A red and black semi with a yellow cab pulled to a stop in front of the pair.

“There you guys are,” Said Blaster, opening his door for them, “Chief has an announcement down at the Firehouse.”

“What is it?” Asked Cody, as he and Frankie climbed in.

“I don’t know,” Said Blaster, driving off, “Blurr was supposed to pick you up, but then he got called away by Bumblebee for something. Oh, and be warned, I think Chase’s sister is visiting.”

“Chase has a sister?” Asked Cody, cocking an eyebrow.

“The way Strongarm acts?” Snorted Blaster, “She might as well be!”

Blaster pulled to a stop outside the Firehouse, allowing Frankie and Cody to climb out. Blaster transformed and followed them inside, joining the joint crowd of Humans and Cybertronians. Cody and Frankie made their way through the crowd of Autobots with ease and then weaved through the humans.

“Graham, what’s going on?” Asked Cody, as soon as he spotted his brother.

“Dad has an announcement to make,” Said Graham, frowning as he looked at his notes, “Something about work.”

Cody noticed pink glittery ink on the paper, “Sarah’s really learning how to draw, huh?”

“Yeah, she’s either drawing or running Amy and I into the ground.” Said Graham, yawning.

“I heard Kassie’s been a nightmare for Kade and Hayley.” Said Frankie, folding her arms.

“Yeah, even I can hear her temper tantrums.” Groaned Graham, shaking his head.

Everyone went silent as Chief Burns walked/shuffled onto the stage.

“Okay, I’m going to keep this short and sweet,” Said Chief Burns, looking around, “I’m retiring. I spent a good 45 years serving on the police forces and, frankly, I’d love to spend more. However, I’m not getting any younger and the resident doctors, thank you Doctor Darby, have told me that my body can’t keep up with the rescue anymore. I’ll be making the official announcement tomorrow. That is all.”

Cody watched as his father left the stage, wincing as he stumbled a bit when he reached the steps. Carin helped Charlie with the last few steps. Cody felt a tug on his trouser leg, drawing his attention to the twins, Kyle and Maggie. Kyle and Maggie were Cody’s younger half-siblings, born shortly after his dad married Carin when they first moved to Autobot City.

“What’s daddy we-tyre ring?” Asked Kyle, looking up at Cody.

“Retiring?” Asked Cody, getting a nod from Kyle, “It means he’s going to stop working because he’s starting to get too old.”

“Why?” Asked Maggie, her teddy trailing behind her.

“Because he’s a grown up,” Said Cody, crouching down to their level, “and, eventually we grow up so much that we can’t work anymore.”

“Then what happens?” Asked Kyle, making Cody freeze.

“Uh, well, then we, er,um…” Cody was saved from explaining death to the twins by Carin walking towards them.

“Come on,” Said Carin, hoisting Maggie onto her hip, “time for your nap.”

Cody picked up Kyle and followed his stepmother, Frankie following behind them, leaving Graham with his work. Getting the twins in bed and a sleep was fairly easy, Maggie and Kyle were quick to nod off. Soon the family, plus their significant others, were sitting in the living room.

“I know it’s short notice,” Said Charlie, looking at his children, “but, I think it’s time to face the music, I’m not the man I was.”

“It’s fine, Dad.” Said Dani, resting her feet on Taylor’s lap, “You’ve earned it, more than any of us at this rate.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Demanded Kade, crossing his arms.

“I don’t think Dani was looking to start a fight, Kade.” Said Cody, from his place curled up with Frankie.

“I saw you explaining retirement to the twins, Cody.” Said Carin, smiling softly as he flushed red, “I also saw how you tried to avoid explaining the concept of death to them.”

“They’ll probably have to be told sooner or later.” Mumbled Cody, his grip on Frankie’s hand tightening softly.

“We will when the time comes.” Promised Carin, her smile turning sad.

Shortly after Prowl’s death, Cody had vanished, along with some weapons Wheeljack had been working on. Cody was later found next to the remains of a Decepticon known as Thundercracker. Thundercracker’s optics had been torn out and parts of his body had been subjected to small explosives. What killed Thundercracker, however, was a small vial of cosmic rust that had been poured into the remains of his optics. Just shy of where Cody was found was the burnt out remains of a Decepticon energon mine, with the melted remains of MECH agents. Ultra Magnus had said that he’d assumed some humans were working with the Decepticons, he just didn’t expect them to be wiped out in one strike.

“How’s your studying coming along?” Asked Charlie, swiftly changing the subject.

“Doctor Darby thinks I’m progressing well,” Said Cody, his frame relaxing, “if I keep at my current level, I’ll be able to continue on and become a doctor by the time I’m 25.”

“Know you,” Smirked Dani, her hands cradling her bump, “You’ll probably find a way to become a doctor before then.”

Cody let out a laugh, before the robotic lion that was Steeljaw tumbled into the room. Everyone watched Steeljaw chase something that looked like a ball of light, before he vanished down the stairs.

Kade smirked as Hayley adjusted Kassie on her chest, “So, Cody, what are your and Frankie’s plans for the future?”

“Decent paying jobs before getting married and having kids.” Said the pair, simultaneously.

“Why do I get the feeling you two rehearse that?” Asked Dani, as Sarah toddled up to her parents and presented them with a picture.

“Ta-Da!” Sang Sarah, as Amy took the picture.

“Oh, Graham, look at this,” Gushed Amy, showing Graham the picture, “it’s another work of art.”

“A Masterpiece.” Agreed Graham, picking the toddler up.

C&F (Time skip)

Cody rocked back and forth on his heels, the weight of the small box in his pocket was impossibly heavy. He’d been waiting for Frankie to turn up for nearly an hour and was beginning to think she wasn’t going to show. The sounds of a fight caught his attention, Cody spotted a guy that worked with Frankie having his ass handed to him. The guy, Matt, Cody thought, had been flirting with Frankie, despite her saying she wasn’t interested. Cody caught sight of the person knocking sense into Matt. Frankie was dressed up nicely, despite still having her lab coat on, while hitting Matt with her handbag. Cody winced as Matt hit the doorframe and slid, before walking over to Frankie. It was only as Cody got closer, did he see that Frankie’s hair was dishevelled, as if someone had pulled on it, there was a bruise forming on her neck and the necklace Cody had given her for her 21st Birthday was missing.

Cody reached and touch Frankie’s shoulder, making her whip around with a snarl on her face. Frankie completely relaxed at the sight of Cody, while Matt struggled to get up off the floor.

“What…happened?” Asked Cody, frowning.

Frankie threw a disgusted look at Matt, “He didn’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“Are you alright?” Questioned Cody, looking into Frankie’s eyes.

Frankie sighed, “Yeah, he only turned violent when I entered the restaurant, but he only followed me here from work.”

Cody’s gaze turned to Matt, before it fell to Matt’s right hand, “Aren’t you going to give that back?”

Matt froze at Cody’s cold tone, something Cody had picked up from Prowl. Matt looked at the necklace in his grip, before throwing it into the restaurant and trying to run off. Cody grabbed the necklace from the air and looked at the damage. Cody sighed when he found only the clasp was broken.

“Your mum’s necklace.” Gasped Frankie, upon seeing the damaged necklace.

“It’s an easy fix.” Said Cody, carefully putting the necklace with the ring box, “Do you want to go home?”

Frankie took a deep breath, before nodding. Cody gave her a small smile, before going to the manager to cancel the reservation. The two twenty-six-year-olds drove home in silence, Frankie closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

“What did you want to talk about?” Asked Frankie, almost making Cody jump.

“Let’s, let’s deal with that when we get home.” Said Cody, suddenly remembering the box.

“Right.” Said Frankie, her tone despondent.

“Don’t worry, it’s a good thing,” Said Cody, before frowning, “well, I think it’s a good thing, I mean the others said it’s a good thing and, I’m rambling again, aren’t I?”

Frankie giggled, Frankie had been terrified that Cody was going to break up with her, after she found that ring in the draw. Cody had been giving her gifts recently, when she brought it up with Priscilla and a couple other friends, came to the conclusion that they were breakup gifts, something to help with the actual blow of the breakup. Frankie knew that Cody didn’t class breaking up as a good thing, unless he took a heavy blow to the head.

Cody pulled into his usual parking space and went inside the home with Frankie, both taking a seat on the sofa.

“Are you okay? Really, okay?” Asked Cody, looking into Frankie’s eyes.

Frankie averted her gaze and sighed, “I was scared, the entire time he was following me, I was scared he was going to do something. I took the longest possible route to try and get away from him, but when I arrived at the restaurant, I found he was already there. I thought if I ignored him, he’d leave me alone.”

“Then he decided to grab you.” Said Cody, making Frankie nod.

“He was fired today because he damaged something that the Autobots are keeping top secret,” Explained Frankie, as Cody wrapped an arm around her, “we don’t know how he got hold of it, but Hardhead found it in Matt’s locker and demanded an explanation from him. He didn’t give one.”

Cody pulled Frankie closer to him, rubbing comforting circles on her arm, “It’s like something in him snapped. I wasn’t expecting but, I kinda was? It’s difficult to explain.”

“I doubt he’ll hurt you now,” Said Cody, pulling Frankie close and allowing her to rest her head in the crook of his neck, “I saw Streetwise picking him up.”

Frankie smiled, before looking at Cody, “What is it you wanted to talk about?”

Cody swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, “Right, er, yes, well…screw it.”

Cody got off the sofa and got down on one knee, taking the ring box out of his pocket, “Frankie, you’ve made me incredibly happy in the time we’ve been together and, frankly, I don’t want that to end. Will you marry me?”

Frankie’s eyed danced between the ring and Cody’s face. The next thing Cody knew, he was on his back with Frankie laying on top of him and kissing him.

“I’ll…take that as a, yes?” Asked Cody, as Frankie grinned and nodded her head.

Cody grinned as well and slipped the ring on Frankie’s finger.

[prolestariwrites]

The Wish [7]

Fandom: Devil May Cry Characters: Dante, Vergil, Nero, V, Lady, Eva, Sparda, OC Rating: General Tags: Family, Humor, Fluff, Angst, Typical demon hunting violence

Summary: A demon gives Dante the chance to have his greatest desires made real. When he finds himself in a seemingly idyllic life, all seems well until it starts to unravel. Will he sacrifice himself to save the family he lost, or will he choose to give them up for the truth?

Now Posted: Chapter 7, in which Vergil has a moment.

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Chapter 7: Vergil Powers Up

They are on the highway still when Vergil says, “Pull over.”

Dante glances to the left, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel. “No can do, brother. The exit is coming up and—”

“Pull over, I’m going to be sick.”

With a sharp intake of breath, Dante does as he says, pulling into the emergency lane and flipping on the hazard lights. Vergil stumbles out of the car and takes a few steps away, leaning over to press his hands to his knees. Dante can see him with the glow from the overhead light, and he tries not to look, wondering if he should go out there. But he figures Vergil would want some privacy, so he waits patiently until he returns to the car and sinks into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind him.

“Take me home,” Vergil says.

“We need to find Dad,” Dante replies.

There’s surprisingly no argument, so after a moment Dante glances over. “I have an idea or two where to look. I just want to stop at my shop and pick up a couple of things. Okay?���

Vergil rubs his finger on his upper lip before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“Okay.”

Dante continues driving, grateful the traffic is light. They make it back to the city in no time, but as he heads through downtown Vergil says again, “No. Wait. What am I doing? Stop!”

“We can’t stop,” Dante mutters.

“Let me out of this car, Dante!” Vergil shouts.

The next traffic light turns yellow, and he slows to a stop at the intersection. “What’s the plan, Verge?” he argues. “Gonna just throw up all night and hope he comes back? Dad is out there doing god-knows-what, and I can’t do this by myself.”

Vergil groans and presses his palm to his face. “You stabbed him, Dante, you fucking stabbed him! Why the fuck would you do that? Why—how would you know he would—what the fuck—”

Dante winces as Vergil’s breathing goes heavy, and for a moment he’s scared Vergil is going to lose it. It’s a weird feeling. The last time he saw Vergil in the flesh, he was cold, almost disconnected in the Temen-ni-gru. Even here in this place he seems put together, cool-headed, and thinking back, Dante can’t ever remember a time when Vergil just lost his shit.

“What you need is a drink,” he says.

He turns down a street and pulls up in front of the first bar he finds. Dante climbs out of the car and walks around to the side, opening the passenger door. “Come on,” he says.

“No, no I can’t—I have to—Mary is—”

Dante reaches inside and pulls him out, and luckily Vergil doesn’t fight him. He is clutching the Yamato, but Dante decides against trying to pry it away, instead pushing him towards the tavern and through the entrance. 

Inside it is thankfully empty, just a couple of drunks at the counter and a waitress rolling silverware at a table. They take a booth in the back, and under the light dangling over the table, Dante can see that Vergil is pale. He feels guilty, but there’s nothing to be done about that now, and when the waitress steps up a few seconds later he orders them both a shot of Jack Daniels and a beer.

“Okay,” Dante says once she is out of earshot. “I’ll tell you everything. Okay?”

Vergil looks up to meet his eyes, his face a bit drawn. “Tell me,” he says through gritted teeth.

Suddenly Dante is nervous. They had left the house in a hurry, Dante pushing Vergil in front of him as Eva came hurrying down the steps to see after the commotion. He had told her they argued and that Sparda had taken off and they were going to get him, and then Dante had practically dragged Vergil to the car. If she noticed the weapons they carried she didn’t say anything, just watched them from the door as he had pulled away and tried to scrape together a plan as Vergil sat in shocked silence beside him for most of the ride.

“Okay,” Dante repeats. “So, Dad is a demon. I think you got that much.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Vergil hisses.

“He’s from… I don’t know, the Underworld. Hell.” Vergil scowls, making it clear he doesn’t believe him. “I’m not making this up. You saw the weapons. You saw him get up and heal.”

Vergil gazes at him suspiciously. “Demons aren’t real,” he says.

“Then explain what happened,” Dante challenges.

Vergil just shakes his head, so Dante continues, “He defeated the king of Hell a long time ago. About three thousand years, I think. Dad’s been on Earth since then, I don’t know, doing whatever.”

“Doing whatever?” Vergil deadpans.

Dante throws out his hands. “I don’t know! Dicking around I guess? Until he met Mom.”

Vergil’s jaw works for a moment before he bites out, “Keep going.”

“There are gates all over the world that connect our world to the demon one, and he sealed them up and makes sure they don’t open. Only…” His voice drifts off as he tries to think of a way to explain his own situation. “I don’t know, sometimes they don’t stay closed, and demons come out—”

Dante grimaces a bit when he sees Vergil’s expression. “You expect me to believe this?”

“I expect you to believe your own eyes,” he replies.

The waitress returns with their drinks, and she tilts her head at Vergil. “Keep that thing out of sight, will ya?” she says.

Vergil frowns before looking down, then starts as if he didn’t realize he was holding a sword. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—I forgot.”

She snorts and walks away. Dante sets the a shot in front of them both, nudging him with his foot. “Here. Take this and I’ll keep talking.”

Shakily, Vergil nods, and together they drink the whiskey. Dante wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, sighing as the liquid goes down nice and smooth before he nods to his brother. “That’s Yamato. It’s yours. Supposed to be, anyway.”

“Why?” he asks.

Dante shrugs. “I don’t know. Sparda gave me Rebellion and you Yamato. Where I’m from, we got them as kids. They were his weapons that he used to take care of the demons.” He picks up his beer and takes a sip before pointing at the sword. “Yamato can open and close the seals. It’s quite a power you have there.”

Vergil lays Yamato on the table, his hands trembling a bit. “I don’t want this power,” he says.

A snort escapes Dante before he can stop it. “What?” Vergil snaps.

“Just funny is all. The you I know only wants power.”

“You keep saying that.” Vergil eyes his suspiciously. “You said, ‘where I’m from’. What is that?”

Dante takes another sip. “Drink and I’ll tell you the rest.”

Vergil looks at him suspiciously, but he picks up the bottle and takes several swallows. Dante nods as he sets it down and says, “Okay. Don’t freak out, Verge. I’m a demon hunter. I’ve been on my own since I was seven, when demons attacked our house.”

“What?”

“We were kids. Dad was gone, I don’t know where. It was just us and Mom for a while. Then one day they attacked. They…” He swallows and rubs his palms on his jeans, looking away so he doesn’t have to watch Vergil’s expression.. “They killed Mom. She hid me in a closet and went to go find you, and I… never saw her again.”

Vergil takes a moment to consider this. “Nothing you’re saying makes sense.”

“I know, but it’s the truth.” He plants his elbow on the table and points at himself. “I don’t fix bikes, I run a business where I kill demons. I was on a job when I met this one and it told me it would grant a wish.”

“A wish?”

“Yeah, like some fucked-up genie,” Dante chuckles. “It sent me here, where all of you were alive. And it’s great, I love seeing you guys again! I love having you back.” He takes a deep breath. “But things have been weird. I don’t think this place is gonna last long. And if there are demons still around, then you need to know the truth. Everyone does. Because if they come back…”

Vergil’s voice is cold as he asks, “What happened to me in your world?”

Dante takes a deep breath. How much should he reveal? It probably wouldn’t help things to tell the whole truth, so he decides to give the basics. “You died. When the demons came to our house and killed Mom, they killed you too. I thought they did, anyway. Turns out you were actually alive. But we didn’t see each other until we were grown up. I lived on the streets, and I guess you did too, getting helped by people along the way. But the demons never stopped coming. See, they hated Sparda, and Mundus—that’s the guy he sealed—wanted out. Some shit went down, and you ended up… well, let’s just say you weren’t the bag of fun you are now.”

Vergil makes a face so Dante quickly continues, “You raised this tower in the middle of Red Grave City and killed all these people and unleashed a shit ton of demons on the world that I had to fight. You tried to open up the gates to hell but some other shit went down with Mary’s father.” Suddenly he brightens. “Mary’s a demon hunter too, you know. She kicked your ass. She’s kicked mine too. We closed the gate but then us two fought and you…” 

Dante realizes he has done the opposite of give the basics, so he clears his throat. “Anyway, you fell off the tower into the closing portal and went to hell. The end.” 

Vergil stares at him for a full minute, and Dante drains his beer, wondering what is happening. His brother is expressionless, and he swears he can almost hear him processing all that. “Uh, Verge?” he finally says. “You good?”

A slow smile breaks out over Vergil’s face and he begins to laugh. “Okay, you got me.” Dante frowns as Vergil shakes his head and chuckles. “I almost believed you. You’re pretty good at this.”

“I’m not lying.”

“And the blood? The sword? That was good.” Vergil laughs again and looks around. “Is Dad going to pop out now? He always liked a good trick but that was something else. Was Mom in on it too?”

“Vergil—”

“This has been fun, Dante, but I’m tired.” He stands up, still holding Yamato, and pulls his jacket closed. “I had a long day and I just want to go home. Are you driving or do I need to call a cab?”

Dante slides out of the booth. “Vergil, it’s true. It’s not a trick. I didn’t make it up.”

Vergil rolls his eyes. “Joke’s over. You can stop all this. It isn’t funny if you don’t give it up.”

“I’m not—It’s not a joke!” Dante grits his teeth as the humor slides from Vergil’s face. “Dad is a demon. We’re half demons. You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I’m not dead, you idiot,” Vergil hisses. 

“Vergil, just listen!” Dante reaches out and grabs his arm, which Vergil yanks away. “We gotta—”

“Don’t touch me. You’ve gone too far.” Vergil looks angry now, and Dante’s shoulders sag in defeat. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I have half a mind to call the police.”

“Vergil—”

“I said don’t touch me!” He gives Dante a shove as he reaches out again, and Dante stumbles back into the table. The glasses rattle as he rights himself, and the two brothers glare at one another. It’s familiar enough that it’s painful, as if  a million other fights just like this in their history have been carefully set on a path to this moment.

“Settle down, boys.” The waitress steps between them, and she jerks her thumb at the bartender, who is scowling at them. “Take it outside.”

“No problem. I’m leaving,” Vergil says. 

“No, you’re not.”

Vergil rolls his eyes. “Can I use your phone to call a cab?”

The girl nods and points to the bar. As Vergil heads in that direction, Dante steps towards him, but the waitress stops him, her hands firmly pushing him back. “I said settle down,” she warns. “Or Pete over there will settle it for you.”

“Pete can go to hell,” Dante snaps.

“Hell? Like where he is?” she asks. Dante jerks backwards as she tilts her head towards Vergil, who sits on a stool as the bartender hands him a phone. “Is that what you want, Dante? You want your brother to go back to hell?”

“Who the fuck are you?” he hisses.

The waitress sighs. “He’s happy. You’re happy. Isn’t that enough?”

Dante’s heartbeat pounds in his ears as he pushes the waitress aside. “Vergil! Get out of here!”

Vergil turns with a scowl, probably to curse him out, but then his expression turns to shock. Before Dante can turn to see what he is staring at, claws grab him and toss him into the air. He flies into the wall and a dartboard falls on his head as chunks of wood rain down on him, and Dante shakes his head to clear it.

The waitress hasn’t gone full demon yet, but her eyes are glowing and her fingers now have long spikes at the end. “Ready to choose, Dante?” she hisses.

He climbs to his feet and puts his hand out, summoning Rebellion. But the sword doesn’t materialize, and with a groan he pictures it in the backseat of the car. It probably still obeys his old man, he figures, so Dante picks up a chair and slams it into the ground. He grabs two of the legs and twirls one in his hand. “Lady, you don’t know who you’re messing with.”

A tiny part of him has a momentary fear as he wonders if he can do this. Rebellion didn’t answer his call, so what if his other demon hunting skills are also gone? But as the demon streaks towards him, he easily dodges a punch and delivers one of his own, sending the waitress into the ground. He feels guilty for a second about hitting a girl which he gets over when she lands a kick on his shin. 

Dante lets go a string of curses as they fight, and as he knocks the demon away again he turns to Vergil and shouts, “Yamato! Now!”

Vergil shakes himself from where he sits, staring in shock, the phone receiver forgotten in his hand. “Vergil!” Dante cries, and his brother looks down at the sword he still carries. There is a moment’s hesitation before he tosses it to Dante, who catches it mid-air and pulls the blade from its sheath in one fluid movement. He spins, pulling the sword in an arc around his shoulder, and with one easy slash he slices through the waitress as she springs towards him again.

The bar goes quiet as the chaos stills. Dante laughs as he catches his breath, happily wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket before glancing over at Vergil. “Now do you believe me?” he says.

Vergil lets go a shaky breath. “Is she… like Dad?”

“Yeah. But this one isn’t coming back.” Dante slides Yamato back into its sheath. “Most demons are sons of bitches, like this one. Only a few are—”

His words are cut off as a thick arm goes around his throat, cutting off his airway. Vergil springs to his feet and shouts his name as Dante tries to buck the demon off. It must be the bartender, he realizes, gripping the forearm pressed to his neck and pulling with all his strength.

But the demon doesn’t budge, and Dante gasps out as his blood pumps furiously. “Vergil, run—” he tries to say, Yamato clanging loudly when he drops it to the floor.

“Dante!” Vergil looks almost panicked, starting forward. The demon growls menacingly and he pauses. “What do I do? What do I do?” “Just go—” The demon cuts him off again, and Dante’s vision swims.

“Stop!” Vergil shouts. “Let him go!”

Suddenly the air seems to move, swirling in a cyclone around them. Vergil looks furious, his chin dropping as he glares at them, and the demon’s grip loosens. Then every knife in the bar, from behind the counter and the waitress’ station and scattered on the floor from when the fight had toppled the table she had been folding silverware all lift into the air together, dozens and dozens pointed straight at them. “Oh shit,” Dante grunts, and he manages to drop to the floor a split second later as they shoot towards them.

The knives hit their target, and the demon bartender keels over with a groan as the blades slash through his body. Dante rolls out of the way, snatching up Yamato as he stands. With a final kick of his boot to make sure that the bartender is really dead, he carefully skirts the mess in the bar to walk over to Vergil.

His brother seems shell-shocked. “Thanks,” Dante says, handing him the sword.

Vergil nods as he takes it back. “Yeah.”

They stare at each other for a long moment, and together they turn back to the bar and slide into stools next to each other as Dante leans over the counter to snag a bottle and two glasses.