#me: I love Wayne! also me: I need him to cry next season. I want to hurt.

[pigspeetsandhooflikefeets]

ur tags on the one post PLS share some of ur wayne analysis if you’d like

I covered the fact Wayne represents the Frogs' logos (with Emma being the pathos but I'm still trying to decide who's ethos. Bowie? Julia? Julia misquotes the Dalai Lama and talks about goddesses and crystals, so probably her?) but it's really noticeable how malleable a person Wayne is. In Ep04, while he sets himself up for being on the offense with Raj, Bowie, and why-ever they brought MK along, when it was obvious they were better off defending, he was like. defense it is. As he is a sports boy, it'd be assumed he's only good at one position (as most goalies couldn't just become a center fielder as a sub, since they don't train for the same things), especially a less "glamourous" position such as defense (in reality it does not matter, but people pretend offense players are better) He's an exceptionally good sport, which is not something we can say about all the other sports-based/jock TD characters.

It's also to note that Wayne is the first person on the team to call out MK on being a bad team player. Wayne doesn't usually look mad, but he did NOT look happy at MK refusing to huddle up and suggest there's no reason to think strategy. He's completely ok with Emma taking over and picking roles tho, so he's pretty damn comfortable with not always being the leader (as noted with Ep02, where he adapts to Emma's plan. have I mentioned those two are such team leaders for the Frogs? A million times? Oh sorry)

There's a notable subversion with their paired identities for Wayne and Raj. Wayne is the captain, while Raj is [one of the] alternate captain[s]. Essentially, Raj is Wayne's vice president. However, Wayne is a lot more reliant on Raj, than their team identities are. Throughout the season, Wayne asks Raj's opinion on everything (notably in Ep01, as one of his first defining characterizations), but Raj doesn't as often do the same. In Ep06, Raj is the one to immediately leave the catapult, while Wayne made no motion to be the one to separate themselves. He also didn't comment on Bowie calling the two of them in their "cozy", (which Raj defends, saying they're teammates, so) because that sort of attachment is so normal to Wayne he doesn't feel a need to react to people commenting on it, while Raj does. In Ep03, Wayne receives a [long] pep talk from Raj, but Raj never needed one himself going first of Emma's suggestion (or it happened off screen, but like, if it did there'd be the time for a joke where someone says "WE ALREADY DID THIS"). And also the bit in Ep06 where Raj explains Wayne has a way too stressed face when pooping (note: Raj?)

There's also the long-running plot point where Wayne is pretty concerned with what Raj thinks of him, afraid that Raj is afraid he's homo/biphobic, and that's the driving reason that Raj didn't come out to him like. Immediately. The fear of "well he tells me everything, if he won't tell me this, it's clearly something I did", but due to the 13 episode time limit of the show, Wayne didn't have time to make this insecurity about him and was just increasingly unsubtle, never really trying to force him out.

I know it's super easy and super fun to reduce the two to "omg sports himbos <3" but Wayne's got some emotional intelligence on him, and he is not a carbon copy of Raj, and it's much more than just the lack of a gay love interest. He'll always take the role of leader, but if someone else has a successful idea, he'll hop down and let them take the wheel. Paired with his leadership, friendly attitude, and general respect for everyone around him (not to Keith tho) I can see him making finale a lot more than I can see Raj making finale.

I think having the boys on separate teams and having Raj leave pre-merge could be really impactful. Wayne waits at the cabin for Raj to come back and tell him who left, but he just... never returns. Wayne wasn't at the ceremony, so he didn't even get to say goodbye. Wayne wants to throw the challenge but someone (Emma, Bowie, Julia, etc) tells him to snap out of it because Raj would be furious Wayne gave up on himself. And Wayne has to pick himself up off the ground and win for Raj. Like the Katie and Sadie micro-arc, except give Wayne more time to suffer within himself before being told to stop, as well as not axe him with no actual development. I think that kind of emotional rupture could change my brain chemistry.

[to-the-stars8]

The Waynes' Nanny

Batfamily and Reader/ Bruce Wayne x Reader Chapters Ao3

Nanny Flo

You woke to the sound of banging on your bedroom door and thought about ignoring it until a voice came through telling you it was Bruce. With a groan, you groggily told him to come in. Coming in, he sat on the edge of your bed as he informed you, much to your concern, that Cassandra had started her ‘cycle’ as he put it. It was pathetic just how ignorant he was when it came to women. 

Sitting up, you put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Mr. Wayne, you are so clueless.”

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Bruce said, acting offended, but you could see the ghost of an amused smile on his face. You rebuffed his words with a scoff. Throwing off your blankets, you stepped out of bed. You noticed he averted his eyes, and, when you looked down, you realized that you were only in a t-shirt and underwear. With a shriek, you shrunk in on yourself. “Mr. Wayne! Get out!”

Scrambling to his feet to get out the door, he mumbled an apology. You turned, feeling how hot your face was and trying to shake the memory from your head. Now wasn’t the time to think about how your handsome boss just saw you in your underwear, there was a little girl who needed you. 

You went to Cassandra’s room, knowing she’d be there to get away from all the boys. When you approached her door, you found Mr. Wayne standing there trying to talk to his daughter, but, by the look on his face and the screaming coming through the door, he was getting nowhere. Once you got to her door, you could hear crying. Bruce knocked and called out to her. 

“Go away!” She screamed before letting out another sob. 

Bruce whispered to you as an afterthought, “She’s too young.”

You scoffed, slowly pushing him aside. “I don’t think you’re the one to make that call. Go, I’ll handle this.”

“But—”

“Go.”

Bruce nodded and left, stopping to tell Cassie that he loved her. Once he was gone, you knocked on her door. 

“Cass, it’s me,” You said. “I know you’re probably confused and scared right now, but I want to help you.” For a moment, you thought she might want to be left alone. Though, a minute later, there was a click. You slowly opened her bedroom door to reveal her curled on her bed. 

“I hate this,” She sobbed out. “And, I hate everyone.”

When you sat on her bed a small smile crossed your face as you remembered the feeling. Rubbing circles on her back, you soothed her until she could turn around to look at you. “I know, sweet girl. I know. Come here,” You opened your arms and she dove into your embrace. 

As you soothed her, you noticed the dozens of boxes of pads and tampons on her nightstand. Bruce must have gotten to her before you had. It was sweet to see a father try his best, but you could also picture Cassandra getting overwhelmed. 

You explained everything to her, from the different sizes of pads and tampons to what meds best helped with cramps. Getting out a pad that you brought with you, you explained how it would attach to her underwear, along with all the nitty gritty stuff that came with a period. It calmed her enough that she managed to get out a few questions. It was a little sad just how little she knew about herself, but you were glad you could be there for her to explain. 

“Does this mean I’m a woman now,” She asked. 

You tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “No. You’re ten.”

“I’m eleven next week.”

You laughed to yourself. What a birthday gift from Mother Nature. “Still, no. Whoever says that is either a weirdo or a man—Or both!”

Cassie giggled and that’s the sound you were waiting to hear. You offered to watch some TV and relax, the one thing you would want to get if you got your period for the first time again. She heavily agreed and switched on the little pink TV in the corner of her room. After watching an entire season of My Little Pony, there was a knock at her door and Bruce opened slightly to poke his head in. 

“Hi, sweetheart, how are we doing?”

“I hate you,” She groaned, then added. “But I also love you. Please, leave.”

“Understandable,” He said, closing the door behind him.

You giggled, kissed Cassandra’s hair, and urged her to close her eyes. She complied and within minutes she was out. Poor thing, you thought, must have been so exhausted from getting her period and subsequently dealing with it. It was then you slowly slipped away from her. Once you stepped out into the hallway, you took a deep breath before going to find Mr. Wayne. 

Luckily, he wasn’t far. You found him in the kitchen confessing to Alfred about being scared for his daughter. The old man desperately looked to you for release from the situation, which you were happy to provide. 

Bruce got up from his chair, eyes zeroed in on you, and asked, “Is she okay? Does she need anything?” 

You motioned for him to sit back down as you made some coffee. Once you set the mug down you told him what you had explained to her. Finally comforting him with, “She’s fine and asleep.”

“Thank you,” He said. “For being there for her. I don’t…”

“I’m glad I was here, so don’t worry about it.” You moved to get him another cup of coffee. “I’ll fill you in all the things you need to know. First and foremost, never blame her anger on her period. She’ll kill you, and so will I.”

[strangerthingsn]

My evil dad

Summary: You’re Eddies pregnant girlfriend during season 4 of stranger things. Eddie is not gonna die at the end tho!

a/n: I just came up with this idea a week ago so now I started writing it! (If you find any type of faults or anything else please mention!)

warnings: fluff, hospital, blood mentioned, a little angst (mention when I forgot something 🛐)

Chapter 10 ~ happy end

It was early when Alice decided to cry, you got up and walk over to her crib, she’s probably hungry. It’s been two days after your boyfriend got in the hospital. “Are you hungry baby.?” You talk silent, still being really sad from what happened two days ago. (obvious). You pick Alice up and lay on your bed again. “Let’s feed you then” you take your shirt off being naked, well ofcourse you had still your panties and shorts on. Your mom probably heard you so she knocks on the door.

“Come in” you look up, hoping it’s Eddie ofcourse, hoping it was all a nightmare and it’s just a normal day like you had before..

“hey, made breakfast” your mom smiles and walks over to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

You give her a lil smile back taking the plate “tired and sad..”

“I can understand..” your mom sat down next to you. “The hospital called 10 minutes ago… he had gotten a room, he’s in a coma..not sure how long that will take, and they stitched the wounds, he’s not bleeding anymore, if that boy survive this it’s a wonder”

“Im already happy he’s alive, had Wayne visited him yet?”

“yes he’s been there the whole time…” your mom cleared her throat “I would be happy to tell you can wait with him in the room until he wakes up… but only Alice can, we are not family…” she sighs.

“How can people be like that…”

“Can’t tell you.. but if you want to we can go there to see Wayne and maybe drink something there?”

“what time?” You look down at Alice listening to you two talk.

“Lets say around 4? So you can sleep longer? I will watch the little one for you so that from won’t wake you up”

“Fine by me” you nod and take a bite of the cereal your mom got for you.

“And…” she looks down “don’t be mad, or worry about anything, but your dad and I broke up, he’s gonna look for another house… but we’ll, we didn’t want Alice growing up in the same situation as you did..” she kisses your head.

“does he still wanna have contact with me.?”you look up, you already saw this coming, it doesn’t even surprise you, your parents probably didn’t even loved each other since you were born, you growed up in fights.

“ofcourse” he’s gonna talk with you sometime about it.

“Okay” you nod.

—

You came out of the shower and put on the clothes you picked out the night before. You put them on and then the rest of your routine: hair and makeup. After you’re also done with that you walk downstairs, you look around for your mom and Alice but can’t find her in the living room or the kitchen. You decided to look in the backyard and yep there they were.

“hey” you smile sitting next to your mom in the grass. Today was a warm day, sun was shining the leafs were green and flowers where everywhere. Alice is laying in the grass and grabbing it with her hands.

“oh hello” your mom smiles.

“I slept good, I’m less tired now..” you smile a bit.

“I can drop you off at the hospital or I can go with you but I have some stuff to talk about with your dad also..”

“oh then it’s okay, you can drop me off” you smile. “I will just pack a lil bag for the little one.”

“sure mention when we can leave” you nod while getting up to grab a bag, once you found one you packed it with diapers, a pacifier, a plushie, and wipes. You take the bag downstairs with you and set in down by the frond door.

“ready?” She asks.

“yep I think so” you nod and walk over to her to take Alice.

“Lets go then” your mom walks over to the door and grabs Alice her bag. You sit on the ground with Alice on your lap putting your shoes on.

“don’t need the baby carrier?”

“no I’ll just lay her with her daddy” you smile at her.

“alright then” your mom shakes her head “she’s like the vip of us, she’s the only one who can enter the room”

“Yeah basically”you chuckle. When your shoes are on you pick Alice up and get up yourself, you follow your mom to the car and get in.

——-

You walk to Eddie’s room, your mom dropped you of 10 minutes ago but you got a chocolate bar in the little shop. When you arrive you lean in the door frame, you see Wayne in a chair next to the bed holding Eddies hand. Eddie wasn’t awake. He rather looked dead. He was white as hell blue under his eyes and thin.

“hey…” you swallow. Wayne turns around to see you.

“hello” he tries to smile, you could see he cried before.

“Im sorry about it..” you look back at Eddie.

“we can’t do anything for him huh? Pretty sad..”

“I miss him..”you mumble.

“you can come in”

“oh..no, they still think he’s a murder so I can’t… Alice can”

“You saved him so yes ofcourse you can come in. Just say your his sister or somethin’” he sighs.

“Yeah I can try that..” you walk into the room, you give Wayne a hug at first, then you walk over to Eddie.

“hey sweetheart..” you kiss his forehead “look who I brought..” you lay Alice neck to him, she’s awake and looks at her dad. Alice takes her dads hand (just one finger) and holds it.

“Awh, you missed him.?” You started crying, Wayne gets up and holds you.

“Its okay kid.” He rubs your back.

“He’s…” sob. “-He’s gonna wake up” sob. “Right.?”

“I hope so.. but I know he’s fighting.. mostly for you and Alice because he loves you.” Wayne calms you down a bit, but the only thing you can do is nod.

“I have his guitar..” you look up at him with wet cheeks.

“you got it?” He smiles a little bit.

“Yeah.. and s-“ sob “some clothes..” suddenly you hear some baby chuckles and you both look at Alice playing with her dads hand.

“that’s definitely Eddies kid..” he shakes his head and walk over to her.

“oh yeah, she’s definitely” you sit down in another chair.

“come hire” he picks Alice up and rocks her a bit.

“Did you eat already?” you take the chocolate bar out of your pocket and open it.

“you know I love chocolate.” He smiles and gives Alice a pec on her head before laying her back by Eddie.

“I knew that.” You smile and give him a piece. Wayne take sit and sits back down. That moment a doctor walks into the room.

“oh hello, all family?” She smiles friendly, you know her from somewhere.

“all family.” Wayne says.

“Mhm” you lie a bit.

“so this is the daughter?” She looks at Alice.

“Yeah” you nod.

“you’re the mother aren’t you?” Oh no. She knows.

“Yeah..”

“i helped you with the birth” she smiles “she’s pretty, looks like her dad a lot. Now he’s hire I can see it”

“I already knew I saw you before” you smile.

“ill keep my mouth shut, you’re family.” She nods.

“Thank you”

“do you know what happened with all the murders.?”

“Well one thing I know is it wasn’t him. It was something way worse then that.”

“Tell me about it..” she checks some of his IV and heartbeat. “Well….” She looks up and you and Wayne.

“what.?” Wayne looks at her.

“he might wake up today.. everything seems better then yesterday” she smiles.

“that’s amazing” you smile also.

“Thats is for sure” Wayne agrees.

“Well, Its busy so I need to keep going, see you around”

“I understand, thank you!” You wave at her and she waves back and walks out.

“You’re hungry?” Wayne asks.

“Its dinner time isn’t it?”

“Yeah we can order pizza?” Wayne asks.

“sounds good.” You nod.

“What pizza do you want?”

“uhhhh, just with pineapple” you grin

“oh yeah, you and Eddie love that pizza, you’re strange.” He chuckles.

“let me look for a phone, will be right back”he gets up.

“okay” you watch Wayne walking out of the room, and close the door behind him. Then you turn back to look at Alice and Eddie. You get up and take Eddies hand.

“I miss you baby…” you kiss his knuckles.

“Im worried…” you look down at Alice sleeping against her dads waist.

“she misses you too, she love you.” Suddenly something squeezes your hand lightly. You look up with big eyes, and you kiss his knuckles again.

“Are you waking up baby? Can you hear me?” You smile a bit. Eddie groans a bit and squeezes your hand again. You twirl some of his curls around your fingers, giving him some time to wake up.

“I should give you a shower when you wake up” you see his brown eyes opening slowly. You smile big, really big.

“hey baby.” You’re still going with your fingers through his hair. He looks at you but not with a expression he just looks at you. But it’s enough for you to see him awake. It makes your happy.

“your remember me.. right?” You’re afraid he might have lost his memory or something. But nods what means he does remember you.

“good.” You kiss his cheek. “I missed you really much, Alice did too” he tries to smile but it cost him much energy.

“Wayne is ordening pizza, you want a piece of mine? Pineapple pizza” you chuckle. He nods again.

“you were gone for two days can you believe that?” He shakes his head.

“I bet you’re not tired anymore” you smile and rub your thumb over his cheek softly.

“I ordered the piz-… Eddie.?!” Wayne looks at him. “Why did you wake up exactly when I’m gone. I been sitting hire for two days straight” he smiles and walks over to him. Eddie looks at him and smiles weakly.

“How much does it hurt?”you rub your thumb over his cheek.

“h-hurt” Eddie mumbles.

“I feel so bad for you.. I wish we could switch places..” you kiss his nose again, he feels something on his hand and he looks down to meet Alice holding it.

“A-…” he sobs “Alice..”

“Awh.. don’t cry.. did you miss her?” You pick her up and lays her on his chest. Eddie nods and lays a hand on her back. Alice smiles at him she holds a piece of his hair and plays a lil with it. Wayne smiles while watching you.

“get some rest okay? You need it” you kiss his cheek and sit back down on the chair.

——- 10 days later ———

“Are you exited to go home again… well my home”

“yes, I’m happy you wanted to share a room with me” Eddie kisses your cheek. After the trailer is not able to live there anymore, your mom said Eddie and Wayne can live with you and your mom, your dad had moved to another house already so your mom and Wayne have both another room now and you and Eddie share one.

“ofcourse, If im done with you I can always lay I the baby room” you giggle, you help Eddie get into your moms car. The police talked with Eddie and he’s free now, doesn’t have to go in jail luckily. Ofcourse people will probably give him weird looks but he won’t mind.

“can I hold her miss L/N?” Eddie asks your mom.

“ofcourse” she gives Alice to Eddie.

“come by dada” Eddie takes her carefully and lays her on his lap. You get in the car also and close the door.

“Can we?” Your mom asks.

“yep” you nod, your mom starts driving to your house.

“it’s weird we actually made this creature” Eddie looks down at Alice. “Yeah..” You laugh a little.

“she’s so sweet” Alice lays in Eddies arms almost asleep. “how is Hawkins?” Eddie looks out of the window to the still ruined town.

“boring. Much people moved to another town..” you look outside also.

“I’m so happy I can live with you” he kisses your cheek.

“but Alice still sleeps in my room, do you mind?”

“does she cry?” He looks down at her.

“yeah absolutely” you chuckle.

“maybe I can make her a bottle sometimes and you can do breastfeeding so you don’t have to do it all the time” he smiles.

“would be amazing” you lay your hand on his leg and watch them together.

“What for dinner tonight?” Your mom asks with her eyes still on the road.

“uhhh spaghetti” You smile.

“alright” she nods.

“sounds good to m- EY” you look down at Alice biting her dads thumb.

“Yes go girl bite your dad”you laugh, Eddie pulls his finger out of her mouth “lucky its only gum right now”

“Yeah you need to get teeth first pumpkin” he kisses her face.

———-

“I missed this place its so cozy” Eddie grins while laying on your bed watching tv. You’re doing some laundry while your mom is cooking the spaghetti.

“Yeah but next time you will help me with the laundry.”

“ the doctor said I can’t do too much yet”

“fine, but when your better you’re sure as hell gonna help me” you point a finger at him.

“EY we don’t do pointing” He gets up and tickles you. You laugh while sitting on the ground folding some clothes.

“Eddieee stop it” you try to slap his hand away.

“fine fine” he stops and kisses your head “promise I will help you” he smiles and lays down again.

“thanks” you smile and continue folding the clothes.

“Did you get my guitar?” He smiles while looking at his guitar in the corner.

“yep cause I know you love that thing more then me” you laugh a bit.

“well… the guitar and Alice both on first place and you on second” he says, you look at him with your eyebrows raised up but he starts laughing. “Just a joke love” he blows a kiss, the only thing you do is flip him the bird. After you’re done with the clothes you get on the bed also next to Eddie, he pulls you into a cuddle, you try to cuddle back as much as possible but not touching his wounds. “I missed this too” he rubs your waits.

“my waist?” You joke.

“you know what I mean dork” he kisses your head. You smile while watching tv.

“Is Alice still sleeping?” He looks at her crib.

“Probably, she’s a easy kid” you look at it too.

”I love her so much and you too ofcourse. My favorite girls” you smile and look at him hoping you could get a pec. He noticed and gives a sweet pec on your lips.

“Ey love birds, dinner” your moms smiles and gives you two plates of spaghetti. “What can I do with Wayne’s food?”

“is he not hire yet?” Eddie takes the plate.

“no he’s still with Sandra”

“Don’t wanna know what they are doing” he chuckles.

“don’t act so innocent now, you made my daughter pregnant sir” your mom jokes. “Yeah we were just holding hands and suddenly she was pregnant” he grins.

“Maybe you’re getting some kind of step brother” you joke too.

“then it will be younger then my own daughter, hell no” he laughs. “Besides Wayne is way too old to have a kid.”

“Talking about dads and men.. Im going on a date tomorrow”Your mother looks at you and you look back at her.

“why?”

“I’m bored, need a man”

“why don’t you gonna be a sex worker, way easier then a new boyfriend who will break your heart again” you tease.

“okay now. I’m going downstairs, you be a sex worker for your boyfriend yeah?” She waves and walk out of the room. You laugh and start eating the spaghetti.

“I love your mom” he eats also.

“Never say that again” you push him playfully.

“sorry miss” he kisses your nose and you both continue eating.

——- two months later ——-

“I” kiss “love” kiss “you” Eddie continues kissing your belly after a make out in the morning.

“I love youu” you smile and sit up.

“Let me feed her yeah?” He points at Alice “you gonna take a bath and chill pretty mama” he kisses your shoulder.

“after that you can too I’ll cuddle with her on bed so you have some time for yourself too” you kiss his head. He smiles and you get up, you put a shirt on because you were almost fully naked, the only thing you were wearing was your panties. You grab your outfit and walk out of the room. At that moment Wayne walks upstairs, he just came home from work.

“hey wayne” you smile while walking into the bathroom.

“hey kid” he smiles tiredly. “Eds in your room?”

“mhm” you nod.

“alright” he walks into your room and you close the bathroom door and do the lock on it. You hear your moms bed creaking. Her room was next to the bathroom so you could also hear the fucking moans.

“oh my lord” you whisper with a sigh. You undress yourself and while the bath is filling you did some skincare like a little face mask.

“babe…” Eddie was standing in front of the door.

“I’m naked”

“it’s just me don’t worry”he says, you laugh a bit and open the door.

“hurry” and he does. You lock the door behind him. He sits down on the counter.

“Well… Wayne just told me, my dad got set free from jail.. he wants to meet me and also you.. I thought maybe a family dinner tonight.?”

“I don’t want our kid close to him after he did this all to you. We talked about that.”

“I know but Gareth can babysit her maybe or Jeff” he smiles.

“Well then fine. Who do you want to be there?”

“your mom.. maybe her new boyfriend..who I’m absolutely try to ignore right now” he holds his laugh back.

“I want another mom..” you sigh and shake your head. “But who else?”

“Wayne and Sandra” he smiles.

“uhh.. it’s okay for me, gotta ask my mom too” you nod. “Where is Alice by the way?”

“Thanks, and Wayne wanted to babysit her so we could have a bath together” he takes his shirt off.

“no sex. We did that last night” You frons.

“no just chilling together” he smiles while taking his boxers and sweatpants off.

“okay, okay” you get into the bath and so does Eddie.

“Put the bubbles on” he looks around for the button.

“okay” you push a button and the bubbles came, now it basically was a bubble bath. You two talk and he washes your hair and you washes his. After everything was done you get out. You put on your outfit also a bit makeup on and did you wet hair into a simple bun. You ate some breakfast together with Eddie Alice and Wayne. After that Wayne went to sleep and Eddie was watching Alice again.

“I will be back around 5 then, dinner at 6:30 with your dad. Feed Alice and clean our room. Don’t forget that all” you kiss Eddies cheek and you get your car keys going to your work. Your mom agreed to the dinner. You started working two days a week since last week, it actually went well and your baby bumb was mostly gone, your stretch marks not but you loved them. When you arrived at your work you changed into your work costume.

——

“Oh yeah. I like that.” Eddie smiles, you’re wearing your new black dress, you could see the curves of your boobs and it was a bit short but not too short. Your red heels matched your lipstick and you had done smokey eyes.

“I like ur outfit too” you look him up and down. He was just wearing back jeans a white shirt with his leather jacket over it.

“I’m exited” Eddie smiles “I’m also a lil nervous, I mean he didn’t tread me and my mom well in my child hood and I will still never forgive him for that.”

“I understand” you kiss his forehead and pull him into a hug. “it’s silent without a kid”

“I know, Gareth has a sleepover with jeff so she has two dads for a night” he hugs back while he chuckles and rubs your back.

“we’re they exited?”

“they absolutely love her” he smiles and plays with your hair.

“How could they not” you kiss his cheek and walk over to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Help my mom with cooking” you take his hand al while opening the door.

“Okay I’m coming with you” he smiles and walks behind you downstairs.

“hey love birds” you mom looks at you while placing some plates on the table.

“Hey other love birds” you look at your mom and her new boyfriend named John

“and the others” Eddie sticks his tongue out to Wayne and Sandra.

“much love in this house huh?” You mom smiles.

“go help your mom, I can’t handle her anymore” John walk out of the kitchen.

“I bet” You smile and you walk into the kitchen. Your mom pushes John playfully and walks back into the kitchen while Eddie walks behind her.

“A beer please” he grins.

“okay” you grab one out of the fridge and throw it at him.

“thanks ma’am” he catches it and opens it.

“ofcourse sir” you kiss his cheek washing your hands. He smiles and walks to the living room.

“can you finish this?” Your mom points at some potatos.

“sure” you continue making the potato’s and other things ready, Wayne, Sandra, John and Eddie are talking together in the living room in meanwhile.

———-

“the doorbell rings” Your mom shouts form the kitchen.

“come on Eddie open for your dad” Wayne says.

“Nuh uh.” You hear them discuss and it made you giggle.

“I’ll get it pussy” you walk over to the door and open it. There was standing a big man with brown eyes, light brown hair, muscles and tattoos in his neck and probably more places.

“hey” you smile friendly “Im Y/N”

“I’m Alan.” He looks around in your house and then he walks in. You step backwards to let him in, but you bumb into Eddie accidentally.

“Oh sorry Eddie” you stand next to him, Alan looks immediately your way when you say Eddie.

“it’s okay” Eddie wraps his arm around your waist.

“You’re Eddie.?” Alan looks at him.

“Yeah..”

“you’re…. Uh-..Different.” He looks Eddie up and down

“Maybe he would look like you want him to if you treaded him well.” You snap.

“you’re his girlfriend?” He raises his brows.

“yes. So?”

“feisty.” He grins.

“yeah sure.” You walk to the dinner table and and the others already sad down by it, so did Eddie. You sits down next to your mom and Eddie. “Take a seat” you smile.

“hey all, full house I see” Alan sits down next to Wayne and Eddie.

“hey man.”Wayne smiles a bit.

“Welcome, Im Y/N her mom, it’s actually just me Y/N, Wayne and Eddie normally.” your mom smiles.

“Nice to meet you. I heard what happened to Hawkins, something happend to one of you?” Alan asks.

“Yeah” Eddie lifts his shirt up to show his scars.”I almost died and the trailer didn’t survive it” he puts his shirt down again to put some good on his plate.

“oh.. not so good then” Alan looks at it.

“so now we live hire” Wayne says. “And sometimes I stay over at Sandra her house I’m gonna move there soon”

“nice house” Alan nods.

“thank you” your mom smiles.

“How long have you been dating?” Alan looks at you and Eddie.

“two years” Eddie thinks.

“a little more” you nod and agree.

“They grow up so fast” your mom smiles “Eddie is a nice guy perfect for my daughter”

“hm” Alan eats.

“did you know you’re… uh a grandpa.?” Wayne interrupts. Eddie almost chocked in his food and coughs. You had the same reaction.

“I’m what?!” Alan looks at you two.

“Nothing.” Eddie mumbles. Sandra whispers something in Wayne his ear.

“oh uh.. I didn’t mean to say that.” Wayne continues eating, Eddie and you were ashamed and it was silent for a while.

“Is the food good?” Your mom breaks the silence after a while.

“yes babe” John nods and kisses her cheek.

“mhm” Sandra agrees. You guys talked a bit more and a couple hours later Alan decided to go home.

“Uh. See you again.. maybe.?” Eddie looks at his dad.

“Mhm.” He didn’t seem to like his son, it hurts to see.

“Bye” you smiles closing the door behind him. Eddie sighs and walks to the living room. Sandra and Wayne had left earlier and John is gonna stay the night with your mom. You follow Eddie into the living room and sit next to him. He’s smoking a joint and watches tv.

“did you like it?” You asks taking the joint from him and taking a drag.

“no.” He shakes his head no.

“that’s what i thought” you blow the smoke out and give the joints back “if you don’t wanna see him again then you don’t have to” you shrug your shoulders.

“I know… let’s just watch a movie and forget about this night.” Eddie cuddles you.

—— 5 years later ——

“mama Kassie is eating something again” Alice says with her high voice. You walk out of the kitchen to the carpet in the living room.

“what’s he eating?” You sit on your knees.

“I don know. Maybe a chippie I accidentally let fall earlier.” She looks at her little brother.

“You can eat that kind of chips yet” you pick Kas up and put your finger in his mouth to get it out, when you did you get up and throw it away while still holding Kas.

“no.” He says.

“Yes Kassie you can’t eat that” you walk back into the living room setting him back.

“You gonna watch him for mommy?” “yes” Alice nods.

“you’re the sweetest” you kiss Alice her cheek and walks back to the kitchen to continue the dinner you were making.

——-

“Daddy!” Alice gets up and runs to her dad hugging him. Eddie smiles and picks her up.

“hey princess” Eddie picks her up and kisses her head. “How are you? Been good for mommy?”

“good for mama.” She nods Eddie smiles and puts her back down. You live with Eddie in a nice apartment it’s big and had 3 bedrooms, one for Eddie and you, Alice and one year old Kas.

“how is my wife?” Eddie hugs you from behind.

“good, how are you baby?” You give him a sweet kiss.

“long day with the band, the show was amazing” he smiles.

“that’s good then” you smile while walking to the kitchen Eddie follows and grabs two of the plates and you did the other two. You brought them to the table and place them down.

“looks delicious” Eddie smiles. “Dinner is ready” he says looking at the kids in the living room.

“Yippie” Alice runs over to the table and climbs on the chair. You sit down too while Eddie grabs little Kas and places him down in a babychair. Eddie starts eating and helps Kas eating too.

“ew don’t wanna eat vegetables” Alice looks at it.

“if you don’t eat vegetables you get those big scars your dad has” you two used to say that.

“not true I asked the teacher that, not true. You guys are lairs” She looked mad.

“okay okay fine. But it’s healthy for you you can just eat your potatoes meat and just….” You put some of her veggies on your own plate so she has less “…this much veggies, yeah?”

“Okay… but dad how come your scars?” Alice had started eating and you did too.

“We’re mommy and daddy met everyone was mean to dada and thought I was a murder, but then I saved the world from demons in another dimension.”

“like dragons and evil animals?” She looks at her dad.

“Sort of” he nods

“did they bite you there?”

“yes your mommy and Dustin saved me, but I almost died”

“kinda like dnd” she smiles eating some of her potatoes.

“yeah” he smiles and continues eating. From this moment Alice never would shut up about demons and asking her dad or you questions about it, sometimes she even says; he’s my evil dad.

———

This was officially the last chapter sorry it took longer but my petsnake just died.. it was just a baby and i was really sad about it..

Tagg list:

@kellyxo1 @wish-upon-a-star-1310 @notsobubblybaby @amira0303 @ali-r3n @eddiesguitarskills @goth-cowgirl-03 thanks for reading this story love youuu

[dontwantnoneunlessyougotmunson]

I got this idea in my head of reader and eddie in an established relationship and eddie is a little down about the everything the town is saying about him, and readers sibling (8-10yrs maybe) decided to dress up as eddie for Halloween because they looks up to him and it’s cheers eddie up.

I’m obviously terrible at wording things but yeah 😅

My Hero

First of all, stop putting yourself down because I completely understood where you were going with this and second, I stopped writing something else because I needed this to be in the world that much sooner. I'm crying fkasdbfka. Thank you so much for requesting and I hope you love it. Also, this is post events of the season finale, so our boy is alive. <3

Eddie was slumped against you on your bed as you flipped through a book. Your hand drifted to his hair and you twirled a piece around your finger. He sighed and curled up tighter, pulling his jacket over his face. The events before the "earthquake" had been hard enough on him and the aftermath was even worse. People had somehow convinced themself that a single teenager had the power of the devil to kill people and had caused the destruction of Hawkins.

Because of the gaping hole in the trailer, Wayne was staying with a coworker and Eddie was residing in your house. Your parents had always liked Eddie. He'd been nothing but polite to them and good to you and your little sister. And she absolutely worshipped him. When she'd gone for a haircut before the quake and they asked her how she wanted it, she squealed, "Like Eddie, like Eddie!" The stylist had frozen, unsure how to proceed, but under the power of your mother's death glare, she'd cut bangs that rested on your sister's forehead just like Eddie's.

She hadn't been able to show him until he'd returned from the Upside Down. It was something he hadn't wanted to share with you, but he knew ignorance wasn't guaranteed to keep you safe. You kept his wounds clean and helped check his bandages every day and in that time, your relationship had only grown stronger. When he'd shown up, bloody and worn, you had pulled him inside before anyone outside could see. Your parents were surprised to see him and fretted over his injuries which he'd passed off to them as because of the quake.

When your sister had finally gotten up the next morning, she almost burst everyone's eardrums when she saw him and realized she could eat her breakfast with her favorite person. She rambled on and on about her new hair and he smiled for the first time after all of the horror he'd endured.

Now, many of your days were spent like this. Curled up together. Staying inside where people couldn't find him. He'd go outside again one day. But it wouldn't be today.

~~~

Your little sister poked her head in your room a bit later and grinned cheekily at you, missing a couple teeth on the sides. "Pssst! Come here!"

You both rose off of the bed, Eddie wincing in pain and she pointed at him. "Not you!"

He frowned a bit. "But why not?"

"Because it's a secret!" she said with a foot stomp for emphasis.

He grinned at her and said, "But secrets don't make friends."

Her face fell, mouth partially open. "But I thought we were already friends."

He scooted to the edge of the bed and held his arms out. "Of course we are, Giggles. Don't worry, I'm just teasin' ya."

She rushed to him and wound her arms around his neck. He stood carefully and swung her around before setting her back on the floor and sending her off with a pat on the head. She whirled and raced to her room, grabbing your hand on the way. Before shutting her door she slapped a sign on the door that said 'No Eddies aloud'. She dove into her closet, a blur of chaos and yanked out a bag that crinkled as she dug into it.

"Look what Mama got me!" She pulled out a vest and jacket similar to Eddie's and thrust it at you. You looked at it confused until she pulled out a Hellfire club shirt. "Dustin gave this one to me, too!"

"What is all this for, Giggles?"

Her shoulders drooped and her bottom lip poked out. "Well. I get happy when me and my friends dress like each other. I figured maybe he would too. For Halloween, we can be twins!"

Her face brightened at the end and you stroked the wild hairs on her head back, gently running your fingers through it. "That would be really nice, I think. Since you guys are best friends and all," you added with a wink.

She gave you another big toothy grin before sticking her hand in your face and wiggling her finger at you. "But you have to pinkie promise not to tell him!!"

Her brow furrowed as best as a child could manage and you fought the urge to laugh, schooling your face into a serious expression. You linked your pinkie with hers.

"I absolutely promise to not tell Eddie about the coolest Halloween costume ever."

~~~

The night of Halloween came around and you got ready for trick-or-treating. You were having trouble with the wings you wanted to add to your costume and had turned around to ask Eddie to help you when you saw him sitting there with a mask in his hand. He flipped it back and forth and then turned to you, holding it up to his face. You sat beside him on the bed and rubbed his back gently, prompting him to lean on you.

"What is it, honey?"

He heaved a soul-deep sigh, dropping his hands to his lap, and murmured, "Doesn't matter what I wear, people will see me how they want to, regardless."

Your eyes welled with tears as you held him close, rocking him carefully. A knock startled you two apart and you heard a small voice being projected deeper.

"The Dungeon Master requests entrance to the castle!"

He puffed a small breath of air through his nose and looked to you. You pushed off of the bed and started to open up the door. You started to pull it open before you felt a strong tug from the other side.

"No, not yet!" Your sister cried. "Make him close his eyes!"

You turned back to the bed and gestured to Eddie, "You heard her."

He slapped his hands over his eyes and said, "Okay, eyes closed!"

"No peeking!" she called back.

"Not even a smidge, Giggles," he chuckled.

You opened the door and covered your mouth, tears already streaming down your cheeks. She trotted over to him giddily and tapped his knees with her hands.

"Okay, okay, open!"

He looked at her, eyes adjusting from the darkness and looked her over, registering her outfit. Complete with a blowup guitar slung across her body, she truly did look like a mini Eddie. His brow furrowed and he looked to you and back to her.

"What? I don't- I don't understand. Why are you dressed like me?"

She gave him her signature grin while she explained to him how "twinning" with her friends makes her happy and his face softened toward her. "Plus, you're my hero!"

He spluttered for a moment and she looked panicked.

"I'm your what?.."

She flipped back to her dazzling grin. "My hero! I know.." Her worried eyes darted up to his and she hugged him around the waist while she finished speaking. "I know people say mean things about you. But I know that you're not mean. You're always so so nice! And you get me ice cream! And you're nice to Y/N! Plus, Mommy and Daddy reallllly like you! And they don't like mean people. So that's how I know you're good. And good people are heroes," she pulled back and finished with a sharp nod, eyes laser-focused on him.

He crushed her to his chest, the guitar squeaking as he squished it. Her little voice came out muffled as he rocked her back and forth.

"Can't. Breathe."

"Oops. Sorry, kid."

He let go and she threw her head back, gasping dramatically before looking at him curiously.

"Are you not gonna wear your mask, Eddie?"

He smiled at her and ruffled her already mussed hair.

"Nah, I think I'd like to twin with you. You're my hero, too."

She beamed and took off running, calling behind her, "Come on, slowpokes! I'm gonna get all the best candy!!"

***

Note: Actually cried while writing this. Multiple times. How dare you. 😭

[queatherine]

my thoughts on the new td episodes (5-6) as i procrastinate on my essay WOOOO (spoilers below the cut):

dude i never knew how much i needed to see horses on water skis until errr like an hour ago

girlies (ripaxel) can we stop making out all the time pretty please ive been fairly neutral on them but if theyre gotta get post-island-gidgette'd then mmmmmm idk

BOWIE AHHHHHHHH i love bowie so much and i love that he was sooo worried about his relationship with raj and and and AHHHHHH eliminated is so sad :( like i said with the previous batch of episodes,, but i really do wish that these seasons were just a tad longer because i really would've loved to see more with rajbow and bowie having to regain raj's trust and mending that part of their relationship over multiple episodes,,, BUT WHAT WE GOT IS STILL GREAT !!!

this is just a me thing (and maybe an aroace thing idk), but i cannot handle blatant flirting like what we see with priya and caleb. idk im kinda romance repulsed irl and its 50/50 when i watch shows or movies (i have to actively and consciously like the ship),, and maybe i just dont like priya and caleb as a ship sdbfhsbdfhsbf im an ace lesbian priya and aroace caleb truther actually

but going of that ZEE OMG I LOVE ZEE i am a huge fan of getting the dumbest of asses to have to keep a secret (tyler in tdwt fr fr) and and and like hes such a good friend to priya about it like he is genuinely concerned about caleb using her LIKE OMG i love him silliest and most realest guy ever

also also with zee i will admit that i fully thought that hed be an early boot like 2nd or 3rd and i was very scared for my guy, but AHHHHHHH thank goodness he is here

DAMIEN SLAYING IS EVERYTHING I KNOW THAT EVERYONE AGREES I WANT HIM TO WIN FR

im waiting for the day raj and wayne are fully seperated,, meaning i think wayne is going to get voted off before raj and i will be ready for that angst of raj losing his boyfriend and best friend (omg what if wayne gets voted off literally the next episode ID CRY)

rip nichelle id hire you (im a broke college student)

siiiiigh anyway back to my godforsaken essay

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

please. i can’t do this alone.

Titans 3.01

thoughts! thoughts! thoughts! some red hot thoughts!

SPOILERS ahead.

1. one episode in, and this season already looks set to give me everything i want. its abandonment of plot and storytelling conventions as it goes from one point to the next at breakneck speed; its cheerful bastardisation of iconic storylines from the comics; the ‘as-you-know-bob’ clunky exposition on one end and extremely restrained, subtle explorations of complex character dynamics on the other; endless shots of neon bleeding into black and blue corridors, shadows and silhouettes; my delight in seeing it celebrate and deconstruct the dark nolan-y batman aesthetic at the same time; my bafflement that it’s so fucking goddamn obsessed with the batfam when it’s supposed to be about the TITANS; kory just... saving every overburdened, clunky scene that she’s in by her sparkling charisma. just... *chef’s kiss*. muah. my show is back, in all its glory.

MY SHOW IS BACK, Y’ALL!

1.5. i mean... this show is so artful and weird and not afraid to go absolutely bonkers in exploring its characters’ psyche, but can just about barely stage a passable comic book fight when every tom dick and harry and their new streaming services can deliver ones that are far more exciting. i love this show with every atom of my body.

(there’s something to be said about rooting for the underdog as well. a pleasure in finding something to love about what other people dismiss. but! enough navel gazing! i have fictional characters’ navels to look at! metaphorically! and maybe literally!)

2. i expected jason’s death to come about pretty early in the season as soon as i heard rumours that red hood was showing up, but for it to happen in the first five minutes of the first episode... that’s a record. 

(well. “happen.” still don’t know what exactly went down there.)

2.25. GOD. jason is such a tortured and tragic character in this show, used and passed around by people with alleged good intentions, never really fitting in anywhere. he’s veritably bleeding vulnerability and the need to belong, the need to be known, and yet the tragedy is that his death proves that nobody in his life knew anything about him at all; that they only saw the flimsy walls he put up to protect his soft core, and thought that that was all there was. that they say they loved him, but blame him for his own death. 

dick is flabbergasted that jason can read, though we know from last season, from what jason revealed to rose, that he has a love for plays and music. barbara is quick to dismiss his actions as ‘impulsive’. bruce has no idea that his supposed son was building his own little chemistry lab right under his nose, and beyond that, no idea that jason needed structure, stability and validation beyond being left alone in a huge house with a treasure trove of dangerous weapons. kory thought his decision to fight the joker was from not learning and growing when the guy tried to kill himself last season and nobody apart from dick even tried to talk to him about it! did you consider that he might still be suicidal? especially after the titans admitted to having “given up” on him because he was just “too hard”?

2.5. the one thing that’s been consistent across all three seasons (so far) of the show is the unreliable narrator trope. there’s a reason why the characters’ dismissals of jason’s actions as impulsive is so repetitive; why jason’s death is a mystery dick feels compelled to solve. it’s a flailing attempt to know his brother much too late--but with red hood, maybe he gets a second chance, just like he got one with the titans. this is what jason’s arc has been building up to. this is ‘death in the family’ but more fucked up in some ways. it didn’t linger on the death because the death wasn’t the point. the joker isn’t the point. everything that came before it is.

this way it will also make perfect sense that the red hood’s main enemy becomes the titans rather than batman.

2.75. goodness knows what’s going on with jason’s little chemistry project. at first i thought he was immunising himself to joker gas or something, but maybe it’s what passes for lazarus pit juice in this universe? 

anyway, it’s pretty impressive that jason learnt all of that from a college chemistry textbook. STOP BRINGING UP THAT HE READ SOMETHING, DICK--

2.8. i’m glad that dick doesn’t immediately sink into self-loathing and guilt and tries to investigate jason’s death while also acknowledging how he failed him. it’s like he actually learned something from the last two years! 

anyway. more about dick later. 

3. oh how i love titans!bruce. a lot of characters had a lot of Opinions on his reaction to jason’s death in this episode, but again, i ask you to consider that they’re unreliable narrators, and this universe’s bruce is a product of how it shaped him. bruce wayne has become a phantom to himself--an artifice borne out of vigorous discipline and crushing self-denial. 

bruce has been batman for a very long time, and without a robin for much longer. (dick must be... in his early thirties? so he was robin for about, say, 10-12 years according to the timeline of the show. that still makes bruce pretty old when he took on his first robin.) things have... calcified (possibly parts of his brain). the personal cost and the collateral from the mission he’s taken up for most of his life is too much to countenance; it has to be a war, and war requires sacrifice. 

on some level bruce knows that’s a lie. he’s so goddamned alone. what’s he going to do? sit down and cry? who’s going to listen to him now? oh, is he going to just stop being batman? who’s going to stop gotham from consuming herself then? he’ll just have to forge ahead, do better next time, maybe he’ll be firmer with them, or kinder with them, or notice more things, or train them harder, or spend more time--

3.25. don’t get me wrong: titans!bruce is an asshole and a half. his roster of potential robins was honestly bone-chilling. the fact that there’s a twisted root of compassion makes it more disturbing. 

3.5. alfred’s dead! it must’ve been pretty recent, because i could’ve sworn that dick tried to call alfred in the very first episode of season 1, or at least considered calling him... 

what a devastating double-blow for bruce then, losing his father-figure and his, uh.... son-figure so close together.

4. i don’t know about barbara yet. i mean, i like her, but she had so much clunky expository dialogue to deliver this episode, and for an episode that was named after her, she only showed up halfway through it. but i like the weight of history behind her interactions with both bruce and dick and her compassion to bruce before he cruelly crossed a line. i also like the implication that she and dick have been in touch recently, and that she didn’t immediately try to guilt-trip dick about some perceived abandonment. it’d be too repetitive.

4.5. there’s also a sense that she ran interference for dick a lot whenever there was something Too Big and Emotional for him to confront directly, and i like and appreciate that character beat.

5. dick, my man! it really does feel like a substantial length of time has passed between the end of s2 and the beginning of s3... kory’s got a new costume, they’ve become celebrities in SF, working missions together, and dick’s actually smiling! genuinely enjoying his work and having fun with it for possibly the first time in the entire series! it’s really a far cry from the fractured, dysfunctional mess that they were at the end of the last season.

i just hope this doesn’t mean that they’ve magically reached a resolution off-screen to all of their fucked-upness from last season, and that the repercussions--for gar in particular--are actually addressed on screen. 

5.25. i mentioned this briefly above, but it really is so refreshing that dick doesn’t wallow in guilt and self-loathing after jason’s death; he acknowledges his and the titans’ failure, is able to admit to barbara honestly that he’s not doing great, and is actively trying to reach out to bruce to make sure he’s ok, is trying to investigate what made jason seek out the joker on his own, and is probably the only person not immediately buying that it was jason’s recklessness that got him killed. i love that dick is finally beginning to trust his instincts or just employ them at all after years of guilt and paranoia and self-loathing. we love some positive character growth!

5.5. another thing i love? the bruce-dick interactions on this show. every scene they’re in together is so fraught with tension, both of them holding themselves back, their emotions on a whipcord-tight leash. dick wants to reach out to bruce, is even somewhat familiar with this brand of denial in the wake of grief, but wants barbara to make the first move because he genuinely does not know how to get bruce to open up. his instincts are right, and wonderful, and genuine, but his expression has been smothered by years of trauma, emotional and physical self-discipline, and what i suspect is poorly treated mental illness. 

it takes a lot for him to finally explode at bruce at the end of the episode--in a way he hasn’t done even when his only opinion of bruce was ‘fuck him’--and it’s all the more startling for how subdued he’s been through the episode, how much he’s been holding back his emotions for bruce’s sake. love it.

5.75. it sort of hurts my heart to see the flying graysons poster in jason’s room. there are a few implications:

a) jason settled into dick’s old room despite living in a giant mansion with dozens of other rooms he could’ve used

b) he didn’t take down dick’s poster--not when he moved in and was idolising him, not when he moved out of the titans and was sort of hating him. i wonder if the reminder of what dick was before robin--that he was forged out of unspeakable tragedy--gave jason the connection to dick that he so desperately wanted in real life

c) dick moved right back into the room and slept on the bed that was now jason’s. grief can be so quiet and piecemeal sometimes.

6. i spy the beginnings of actual arcs for both gar and kory! i just hope that with the move to gotham their stories don’t fall to the wayside...

6.5. i’ve known tim drake for less than ten minutes but if anything were to happen to him i’d kill everybody 

7. this review has gone on for too long and i am tiRED. however, before i leave: i miss some of the dedication-to-aesthetic that titans season 1 used to have. remember how the first few episodes didn’t really feel like a superhero show but something out of gothic horror? there was something gorgeous and raw about that, about open landscapes and the road and creepy buildings looming up at the end of it. moving to titans tower in s2 really ruined a lot of that for me, given its ripped-from-architectural-digest aesthetic, all smooth and clean and artificial. 

i hope that we really explore gotham’s hellscape in interesting and innovative ways instead of camping out in the batcave all the time and indulging in the show’s unending love for long corridors, neon backlights and silhouettes.

8.....

9.  wait, fuck, HOW CAN I FORGET ABOUT HOT PSYCHIATRIST GUY (TM)??? NONE of you prepared me for his return! NONE OF YOU! i gasped! i got up and did a happy dance! 

listen, titans writers, if you’ve had a peek at my titans s3 wishlist, please go ahead and give the other items on the list a go too, thankyouverymuch.

[we-dragons]

I'm from a different dimension actually Chapter 8 Damian x reader

The school is shut down for a week ironically because of an attack by The Joker and Two-Face, that Robin and his team took down. The teachers sent out a notice with homework attached and told us to stay inside. Nightmare came back somewhere in the morning I couldn't tell the time because I apparently fell asleep along with Boy Wonder before the end of season 1 of The Highlander. I gently placed him down on the couch, gotten dressed, and made some breakfast, I only had eggs so I made some scrambled and put them on a plate for him and me. Nightmare got the last of the bacon. I put a plate over Robins while I ate mine sitting at the small table in the kitchen going over my homework. Sadly I finished my homework before my eggs and they have gone cold. I silently morn my eggs eating the cold carcass. "You stare any harder at that screen and you might break it." I jump, my head shoots upwards and I sigh, but then my eyes drop on my cat. My jaw drops the furball is purring in the arms of a masked stranger who is petting his head. Robin was petting my cat holding him like a baby and the demon is purring. Robin still had his eyes, and limbs not even a bite mark was seen on his skin.

"You traitor, you barely know him." I playful scold the feline, he meows nuzzling his face in Robin's chest.

"Your monster seems friendly."

"Nightmare looks like he's been introduced to catnip."

"Just a few scratches here and there." He smirks taking a seat next to me."Thank you for breakfast."

"Mhm." I turn back to the screen, "Will you be going back today Robin?"

"I might."

"Hmm." I finish the last problem for today closing the device, "Well I have to go to work, your welcome to stay if you want." I smooth out my clothes tossing one last look at the melting ball of fur. I quirk an eyebrow but move out to the door. I stop Halfway through the doorway and look back putting on my meanest face. "If you break a single window in my home I will find where ever you are and break you. Bye Nightmare, love you, I'll be back in a few hours."

_____________________________________________________________

"Nightmare! I'm back!" my keys skitter across the floor but no black fur is seen. He's still in the arms of Robin though it's not Robin, Green eyes. My stomach sinks and my mouth goes dry. "Damian?" His is just as much shock as me, he puts down Nightmare and rushes to me the door slams behind me. And I'm being dragged then forced to sit, his hands grip my shoulders. "Your early, why did you arrive early, you not supposed to be back for another half hour." I hardly heard him, I scold myself now realizing the obvious. Why else would Nightmare feel comfortable around him he had been here before multiple times noticed how I treated Damian and that's why he was a purring mess in his arms. I said be nice to him when he was over not Robin, but of course, they smell the same Nightmare associated with both people. I should have spotted it sooner, the voice, the height, the tone of his speech. Dear God, I can mom telling how oblivious, like she did when she won Clue. It was right there, he asked the right question and baited me for answers. I don't know why this is a shock to me. Now that I think of it I have to stop myself from laughing

"What the hell," my voice quivers. "Damian, Damian Wayne. You help Gotham." I start snickering, pulling my hand over my face. I throw my head back laughing then fall over to the side. "Nightmare you knew didn't you! Haha, that's why you were you were melting like butter."

"Your laughing!"

"Did you assume I wouldn't!" I wheeze, my breath nearly coming out to form words. "I can imagine you fighting, but saving people that's something else entirely."

"Do you think so little of me?" He sounds disappointed.

"I don't mean it to offend you but what else can I say. I didn't expect this." I sit up, clearing my throat and looking him dead in the eye. "Can I just call you Damian now, or do I still have to you different names."

"Why aren't you more surprised?"I Smile sadly.

"I thought you would have read up on me, do you know who killed my parents that day at home." He stiffens, he opens his mouth but continues. "My Father's sister, my aunt, killed them both during dinner. All because my mother wouldn't let her see those journals you asked about. After that it many people took off their masks."

"That's all it took?"

"What should it take, she killed her own brother because she didn't get confidential knowledge. To be honest, I don't really care anymore."

"You need professional help." I shrug.

"Probably, but getting sessions is expensive and I don't enjoy answering "and how are you feeling?" questions. I had enough of that already from everyone else."

"Where's your brother, Emil?" I feel myself frown.

"He's with someone I trust, I can't tell you who, sorry."

"The file says you died, you also made a miraculous recovery, recovery from what?"

"I prefer not to answer that question, It's rather personal." I don't want to explain that either, I know the doctor was shocked to see me come back. They had to call the professor to have him take me and my brother. After that this entire fiasco.

"You know I'll find out either way."

"Listen, I don't know how I made it, I was tortured by my she who will not be named and left for dead. I prayed for anyone and everyone who would hear me, someone did, the police found me and I was rushed to the hospital. I decided to take a nap, and I woke up to the sound of Emil crying. He cried, even more, when I woke up, screaming even, the good doctor nearly fainted. I was plugged into wires of all sorts, and my uncle was holding a plug, I assume he pulled, tackled me. My body lit up in pain and felt like I was run over, the next I am separated from my family and rushed into a place where they check on me every three months. At least I got to choose the place, they pay for the school, and I cover everything else." I give in, it feels nice to tell someone, something even if it's not the whole truth. But it seems to shut him up. "Please don't go looking for Emil, they haven't caught my aunt yet. I don't know if she's looking for them next, I would prefer not to stand over another grave knowing she got them too." I stare at him gauging his reaction, his face is still stone, unmoving in the uncomfortable silence. I pick up Nightmare, who has been rubbing against my leg for a bit, and scratch his head as he wants.

"Fine, I won't push further but I have terms."

"Really?" What would he need terms for?

"1, you don't reveal my identity to anyone. 2, you will not acknowledge that you know my family’s identities. 3, I come whenever I like as Robin or as Damian. 4, I add terms whenever I please."

"Why would I agree to any of that? I'm the one who has your identity." He smiles.

"Because I will tell Batman this information, and he doesn't talk as kindly to people hiding something. You obviously still are, but for now, I'll let it slide I'm sure by now you've decided to watch the news, so you know what he does." I gulp, I did see his more recent victim and he looked traumatized.

"Alright fine, but I binge so if you fall asleep tough luck, I'm not going back."

"Fine," he reaches back and pulls out his mask which he puts back on, walking out to the kitchen. "I back in a bit, pull out your couch bed while I'm gone. I will be staying here a while." I get up after him.

"Hey, that offer is for when I thought you were some homeless bums who fights crime, gets money from villain's wallets. You have a perfectly good bed at home!" He turns back one foot on the railing and a grappling hook in hand. "Term 6, I will stay as long as I like." he jumps off like before, not giving me a chance to speak.

"Bastard! I need my alone time!" He's gone I don't even know if he heard me. I grumble pulling out the spare sheets and blankets to set up the bed. "He better be paying rent, smug rich kid."

"Meow." Nightmare looks over at the window Robin left of.

"Yes, he's coming back."

"Meow"

"No, I'm not going tell him, not until I have to."

"Merrow"

"Shut up." I kick the side of the couch holding the two large cushions that lay on it, the bed springs out and makes a satisfying thud on the floor. "Go and see if the data has finished downloading, then put it back in the box I'll make you something in a how you feel about tuna our downstairs grandparents gave me a can."

_____________________________________________________________

The sheets are made, the cat is fed and now I am going over how I was going to cover for another person. How much would he eat, can he survive on pastries, ramen, and eggs. How long was he staying, would his family come asking about him seeing as he was here before. At both times, when he broke my window, and when they came for coffee.

"Hey, open the door." The voice is cold but still recognizable. I get up slowly taking my time getting there along with opening the door. He hurries in, dressed in some normal-ish clothes that still look expensive, but he still dressed like he came out of a photo shoot. He not only has a suitcase but some grocery bags, I frown at those. He seems to notice because he forgets his suitcase and charges into the kitchen. "Hey!"

"Y/N I am not eating ramen and eggs for god knows how long. I will cook a decent meal and you will have something healthy."

"How did you know I only had eggs and ramen?"

"I went through your fridge," He places a bag of tomatoes in the bottom drawer where I see green onions and various other veggies.

"I make stir-fry once a month, you have bought enough greens and reds to make that for two weeks. I don't even have rice."

"You don't like it when people spend money on you, do you?"

"I don't need other people's money," He opens his mouth, but I stop him raising a finger cutting him off. "And before you mention Molly, she remains the exception. Not that me telling her not to stops her."

"And why is that." He stops putting the food in the fridge.

"Because I've been friends with her longer," I look back at his bags and frown. "How long do you plan on staying again."

"For as long as I please."

"Won't they come looking for you? Your family I mean, the Detective stops by almost every day."

"Grayson won't be a problem, I left them a trail that leads to several other places." He stuffs the last of the food in the fridge, getting up and looking out the balcony window. "Should take a long while." I can hear the smugness in his voice.

"Your happy you tricked your brothers aren't you." He turns around forcing himself to frown but the corners of his lips twitch.

"Ho, you're a bastard Wayne."

"You're really gonna curse me?"

"You didn't tell me I couldn't Damian." I grab my computer and open Hulu putting on Star Trek; Next-generation where I left off. "Hope you enjoy space adventure, because I'm not starting this over its seven seasons and 4 movies. I'm halfway through season 3, if you want context just ask." I glance up signaling that I am waiting for a response, he leans on the wall in front of my kitchen. I can't read his face, but his face of neutral displeasure wasn't much better. "So, your done feeling good about yourself, or is there something else you need."

"It's been something I've been wondering for a while now, those iridescent pieces you fed me."

"Part of my mother's work." Not a complete lie,

"Was that what those missing journals about?"

"No." More of a lie but not wrong. He groans anyway, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Man, you really like to cut in deep and waste time. Just come here and watch some Star Trek with me I need someone else to groan in pain about Counselor Troy's and Will Riker's on and off slow burn romance." Begrudgingly he walks over plopping down next to me.

"Your tastes in tv are odd."

"You have no idea, my tastes in something go everywhere, after this and Highlander I have several old cartoons next. First, I might have to gather what you know about the Quack pack, Goof troop, Ducktales, and all that pizazz. Though I have a feeling that you would like Darkwing Duck more, or it could possibly be too relatable." He gives me a look.

"How could I relate to a duck?"

"We are a long way from that now, at the moment we must bear witness to Captain Picard and his adventures commanding the USS Enterprise."

"Has anyone told you how unbelievably weird you are?"

"Sir, you have entered my life for what looks to be the long run. You will experience the kind of weirdness only Molly has ever seen. But now that you are basically my roommate you might see more." I pat his shoulder. "So, buckle up, because this is now you've got a seat on this roller-coaster, and you can't get off till the car reaches a complete stop. Now can we please get back to the show I want to see some cosmic action?"

_____________________________________________________________

"Was that a statement or a question?"

"He can achieve the perception of feeling with a chip that goes into his hyper-advanced brain, lets his brother take it but can't make his own."

"I lent you my computer to catch up to where I left off for one night and that's what you're hung upon."

"Yes," his eyes look serious while he shoves some oatmeal in his mouth. "You are the one who can't stand the slow burn."

"Touche."

Before we got to the last season, Damian had asked he could see the rest of the show before the finally. I didn't expect that he would binge because it was a weekend, he even made extensive notes on character weakness. He still went out on patrol every night but came back with no one tailing him. That's what he says at least. He looks tired, with bags under his eyes and just lacking energy altogether.

"While I'm at work please go to sleep, you look like you fought an energy vampire and lost."

"I wouldn’t have lost to a vampire, they’re not that hard to kill.”

“But they drink blood they need to get close; energy vampires are more psychic they don’t even have to be a real monster.” He stops eating/

“How so?”

“They could be emotionally, physically, and mentally draining people. You know like Deity Skimmer, the girl in our science class. You can’t kill the energy-sucking vibes she gives off, can you.” He snorts behind his hand.” I mean it, even creatures of the night need sleep.” I drop my dishes off in the sink. I walk off to the door putting on my boots, I hear the chair slide and I feel his judging eyes digging holes in the back of my skull.

“Once again your conditions said nothing about teasing you, suck it up.” He scoffs. “I’ll be back around 5, don’t break any more windows while I’m gone.” I close the door before I hear any remarks once more about the incident. Though I laugh to myself, I straighten out my outfit and head down to the wonderful smells of the coffee shop. I walk slowly down the stairs looking out to the crowd that had been seated in the lounge. My managers were out by the couches talking to one of the regulars. Pull me behind the counter and relieve my coworker Meg, she looks exhausted and excuses herself. She takes what I assume is her coffee and puts away her apron and rushes out the door. I finish out what she didn’t clean and wait for anyone to come up to the counter. *Ring* though it is loud I hear the bell for the door ring.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment, I need to clean the nozzle here.”

“That’s fine, I can wait.” I flinch but catch myself, so it looks like I flicked something. I turn around with the best smile I can pull off. The sleep-deprived brother of Damian, peers at me from under his hair a frown tugging on his face.

“Oh hey! You came here with detective Grayson last time. Is there anything you would like?”

“Coffee.”

“Any particular kind?”

“Anything that will keep me from sleeping on this counter.” He knocks on the surface twice.

“I Can recommend our D&D potion bottle, it’s a personal favorite of the owners.”

“Why not, how much?” He fumbles around for his pockets, I stop him.

“How about, I make get it for you, and then you pay.” He brings his hands back on the counter and nods.

“I will only be a few minutes, please make yourself comfortable.” I pull out the ingredients for our powerful concoction, the pho fried ice cream, a large potion bottle with a straw, and 20-sided dice. I place the potion bottle in front of him and the ice cream but hand him the dice. He stares at the shiny plastic unmoving.

“I would roll that.” He does what I say and lands on a nine. “Well, sir after this one you can either have another potion or chose two desserts of any kind from our display or menu.” He takes a sip from the straw rather slow; his eyes perk up a bit.

“How Much did you say this was?”

“Oh! That will be $9.23?” He pulls out the exact amount, and I put it away in the register, placing it in the compartment marked D&D.

“And I would like another one of these to go.”

“Sure, would you like it now or before you go?”

“Well now should be nice, I’m leaving in just a bit.” I pull out a cup that is relatively the same size as the potion bottle. I go to give him his cup and notice that he finished the bottle and ice cream. Confusion hits me, but I don’t stare too long to turn to clean the mess. “Have you seen Damian at all?” And there it was.

“No, not since the Gala? Did something happen?”

“There was a…disagreement so he ran out, but if you see him,” He handed me a piece of paper with a string of numbers and an email. “Tell me. That is my number and email.” He does not say anymore and walks out the door, the bell signaling his departure.

_____________________________________________________________

When I got back, I told Damian what happened, he isn’t pleased and is currently pacing the floor.

“My guess is that he knows.” I sigh over my tea and stare sadly at the replaced window.

“No doubt.”

“You know I was rather hoping not to be having another visit from the Batman. What will happen when they find out that I know about the caped crusader thing.”

“He’ll either force into secrecy, turn you into a child crusader, or confine you to the manor.”

“So in other words no privacy.”

“None.”

“As lovely as that would be you told me this was temporary, so why can’t you go back?”

“At the Gala I was supposed to keep you entertained at the table so that we could trap you into to talking about those journals.” I knew it.

“So, you lied to me.” I look at him, faking shock and betrayal.

“It was for the sake of the investigation; I didn’t think that I would end up-.” He examines my expression and face palms. “What’s wrong with you.”

“I like to call it “I laugh in the face of danger” Syndrome, in a moment of despair I crave comedy.”

“You're worse than Grayson.”

“I like him, so I’ll let this one slide.” I sip the warm liquid feeling soothed at the pumpkin spice. “What are you going to do now?” Nightmare jumps on the table noticing my concern and waiting for his answer from me. He walks to the corner where he put his bag then went to the closet pulling out my suitcase. He then grabs his outfit Robin outfit from the coat rack and his other materials. “Get packed, we’re leaving. I’ll grab Nightmare’s things gab whatever you need. And I mean need, don’t pick it up unless it’s necessary.”

“What? I can’t just leave, what about my job? School?!” He Pulls out my backpack and puts some food in it. “Damian!”

“Just trust me, I’ll take care of it! I don’t want you tangled up in my family’s nonsense.” He looks at me something odd swirling in his eyes. “Please.”

“Fine,” I grab my suitcase and pack my box and my compiece which hasn’t gotten back to me on its progress. I throw a few sets of clothes. I open the box to make sure the journals, the scales, and everything else, then I hide it under the clothing and my laptop in the front pocket. I thank myself for making sure to get a suitcase that has a double use as a backpack. In the living room, Damian is all packed the bag is strapped across his chest and he’s holding Nightmare.

“Let’s go.” He hands me Nightmare and pulls me to the balcony. He pulls out and belts with a ring pultruded out on one side swiftly put it around me connecting the loop to his belt. “Hold on tight, and don’t let go till I tell you.” I Sling an arm around him and grip on to Nightmare, he doesn’t hesitate and shoots across the balcony with his grappling gun. I screw my eyes shut. And wait to stop, my heart beats wildly in my chest Nightmare begins purring maybe in hopes to soothe me. I feel something wrong, but it would mean I was away from the Crows. I’m running again, even if it’s not me who chose this it still feels wrong. Because in the direction he’s going it seems that we were leaving Gotham. And for some reason, I feel like it would be a while before I returned.

[itsmeevie01]

Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne Day 4 -Habits

I just wanted to put a trigger warning up at the top. It's not very well discribed, because this was edited at 3 am, BUT. Marinette... Disassociates(?) Toward the end of this. I know that it's a little different than what people usually discribe for her, but I kind of based off my experiences I've had and experiences my best friend has had.

The sun started to peak its way through the windows as Dick Grayson made his way into the kitchen at the manor. It wasn’t often that he was able to come back for long stretches of time, but when he was, he enjoyed beating his family down. As he walked in, he blinked in shock. There sitting at the counter, was Marinette. His younger sister (who he was still mad at Bruce for hiding from him) was siting there happily chatting with Alfred as she sipped on a mug of coffee. She was already dressed and seemed too chipper for 5:30 in the morning.

 At the sound of him slinging himself into a chair, Marinette threw him a smile that made Dick squint in return. He huffed in response and latched onto the mug that was passed his way. There was a reason he made sure to be up before the others, after all.

Tim was settled with his laptop when Marinette maneuvered into the sitting room. In one arm, she had her sketchbook, a bag of pencils, and a cup of water. In the other arm, she had her computer, phone, and a tray that was holding four cups of coffee. When she set one down in front of Tim, he hummed in appreciation. She sent a smirk his way and added “a gift to the lord of the room” his responding

“Hey! Get back here Little Bit!” was met with laughter. She threw him a smile and arranged herself onto the opposing couch. He smiled at her and returned to his homework. This was his quiet time, and she knew that. Recently she had been making a point to spend time working in the same space with him when they both were busy. Both times she had come to visit since Thanksgiving, he had found himself working with the girl. Somehow, she always knew when he needed a break, and the thirteen-year-old girl made sure to pull his attention away for an appropriately short amount of time. He had often found over the last few weeks that he was sleeping better because of it too. Now, as he reached over to grab the coffee, she had brought him, he smiled. Maybe he could convince her to make a habit of this.

Every week his sister had been at the manor over the course of her winter break, Dick had been beaten to the kitchen. As he stumbled through the kitchen once again at an ungodly hour of the morning, he realized that he could hear Alfred and his sister talking quietly in the smaller dining room. As he made his way into the room, he could make out the tail end of their conversation, “-do know that they would be more than willing to let you talk about this, Miss Marinette. You do not have to carry this burden on your own.” The sound of a disbelieving snort followed.

“I know you keep saying that, Alfred, but I just…they all have such busy lives and there’s so much going on in Gotham and- “

“and you are still part of the family, Miss Marinette. Master Bruce is starting to worry about you, and Master Dick is starting to notice that you are avoiding the topic. Do not shut them out, when they can help you. This situation may need an outside touch.” When Alfred finished speaking, Dick decided that he had overheard more than he should have.

“Alfred? Are you in here?” When he called out for the older man, Dick watched with a cringe as little Marinette jumped at his voice. “Hey Net! I’m not sure if I should be jealous that5 you keep beating me down in the mornings!” as he teased her, he watched her eyes light up.

“Well, Dick, you try being the child of two bakers- “as the girl started her comeback, a groggy voice cut through the air.

“what the hell are you all doing up?” the three turned to see Tim standing in the recently vacated doorway, clutching his water bottle and looking around with bloodshot eyes. “it’s like, 2 am.” At Tim’s declaration, Marinette giggled.

“Tim? Its almost 6?” the look of shock that flashed over the boy’s face made Dick frown. Tim’s all-nighters were becoming more and more frequent. The way the teen stumbled out of exhaustion was worrying.

“Hey Timmy? Let’s get you to bed.”

In the week prior to Christmas, Bruce made it a point to try and come home earlier so that he could spend more time with both Marinette and Tim, who were both supposed to be enjoying their winter breaks. He knew, of course, that Tim had wheedled his way into doing extra course work over the holiday to cut down on time spent in school. That didn’t mean that he expected the boy to focus solely on the work. Imagine his surprise when he had come home to both of his teens settled in the sitting room working. Marinette was sketching furiously, while Tim was typing away on his laptop with a ferocity that would scare many of the villains that populated Gotham. Bruce blinked in shock before turning to find Alfred standing off to the side smiling.

“They have adjusted their habits so that they can bond even though this season is busy for the both of them, Master Bruce.” He turned back to his children and smiled at the two of them as they continued working, unaware of anything outside of the sitting room.

The next morning, when Dick came down, expecting to see his sister and Alfred, he was instead met with the sight of macaroons cooling on the counters. On the island, there were croissants, and on the stove, there were pans full of freshly baked sugar cookies. He blinked in concern and turned around the room searching. On the other side of the kitchen was his sister, standing over the sink, hands unmoving, as she gazed out at the slowly rising sun. Her eyes were unfocused, and as Dick made his way over, his eyes focused on the slight tremor that was running through her hands. “Net?” When he received no answer, he moved closer, “Marinette? Hey- “the girl moved, and Dick’s hand shot out and caught the bowl that she had been holding and set it down. Gently, he guided his sister out of the kitchen and led her into the sitting room, where they passed Alfred as he made his way down for the morning.

Once Dick had Marinette settled, he sat next to her and held out one of his hands, leaving the offer for comfort open as the girl blinked and started to look around in confusion.

One moment, Marinette had been starting on the dishes, the next, she was sitting on the love seat in the siting room next to her brother. The sharp poke in her side that had brought her out of her mind was one that she could only attribute to Tikki. As she sat there, adjusting to the change in location, Marinette took a deep breath to ground herself. She wasn’t expecting her brother to speak.

“Do you want to talk about it, Net?” The girl studied the Man sitting next to her for a moment. When she decided that she couldn’t find any hint of insincerity, Marinette nodded hesitantly and trained her eyes on her hands. They were twisting in her lap, working as a distraction and an outlet for the nervous energy that had been building up since August.

“I- “Dick waited patiently for the girl to collect her thoughts, “I love Paris, I really do. I mean- it’s the place I grew up! But. Well, recently.” She hesitated again. She looked up at him, with tears in her eyes. “everything is wrong!” The phrase tore out of her, and she clamped her mouth shut afterwards as her mind flew through damage control ideas. “I mean. Well. Everything is do tense. Too perfect. No one can feel anything!” When had she started crying? Marinette could have sworn that she had a better handle on her emotions after spending the last five months held emotionally hostage. As she started to devolve into true sobs, Dick pulled the girl into a hug, and she clung to him. For the first time in almost five months the girl was able to truly process what was going on in her home city.

When Alfred came to check on them 20 minutes later, he found the duo sitting curled on the couch. In the other doorway stood a shocked Bruce. Alfred smiled at the look of shock on the fathers face before the man strode over to join his oldest and his youngest. As Alfred turned to go back into the kitchen and finish making sense of all of Marinette’s baking, the man shook his head. Who knew that the habits that Marinette influenced would be the ones that would bring the Paris situation to light?

so, i plan on picking up in the same place for tomorrow’s prompt (overprotection) so i didnt resolve anything. i think i have the rest of the month plotted out as well! as soon as i have a day where im not stuck at work all day, im going to go through and put all of these in a master post, along with my other fic *ideas*. 

just so that i can also clear up any potential confusion, no. Damian is not yet present in this. yes. he will eventually. at this point, Marinette is 13, Tim is 15, Jason (who is going to be in the background for a bit still) is 19(ish) and Dick is either 24 or 25, i haven’t decided. I do plan on including more of the Batclan as i go...

[pandoraimperatrix]

can you do sunflower for batcat? love your work!

Season 4 in the Hoe!Bruce arc.

And yeah, it’s smut.

Thank you for the request <3

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

The night was always ending when a fight blew up. Tabitha and Barbara were nowhere to be found, just great, just perfectly great. Selina marched to where the commotion was centred, and, when she discovered it was a catfight between to wasted bitches over Bruce fucking Wayne, who was just standing there laughing, blood rushed to her head so fast it made her ears ring, anger taking the rest of her body in hot waves. She grabbed her bullwhip and with the help of the staff, ended the fight and declared the bar closed, sending everyone home or to fucking hell, she didn’t care.

But, when she came back, fuming, Bruce was still there, sitting on the bar, serving himself drinks as if he had any right.

“Why are you are doing this?” she teared the tequila cup off his hands and slammed it on the table, spilling most of it.

“Doing what?” he had the nerve to ask. “Partying? You used to tell me I didn’t know how to have fun. I know now, you are just jealous I’m not having fun with you.” He took her wrist and drank the remaining content of the cup.

“Urgh” she rolled her eyes and pulled her arm back. “You should slow down with the dope it’s turning you completely delusional.”

“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Oh please. Look, I don’t get it. Gotham is huge, why my place? You could be partying in your castle in Italy. You don’t need to be here.”

“Chalet in Sweden,” he smirked and drank directly from the bottle, “what if I want to be here?”

“Whatever, I’m just tired of cleaning up after you and your prissy whores. If you want to keep coming to the Sirens, you’ll have to behave yourself.”

He laughed, it sounded dark, fake, and not at all how she remembered his laugh when they were younger and sillier. When she’d tell him a joke so lame it was barely enough funny to be considered as such, but he would find hilarious and laugh so much she’d think he was laughing at her instead and they would fight. Seeing him there, so different, corrupted, broke her heart, but also made his pull over her grow twofold, curiosity and cats had always been a dangerous combination, and before Selina could stop herself she had stepped in closer.

“Make me,” he said looking down her body.

Selina tried to ignore the goosebumps that spread through her body by rolling her eyes.

“What? God, you are pathetic,” and deciding he didn’t deserve more of her attention, or maybe too afraid of how weird he made her feel now, Selina clicked her heels around, ready to leave him and that stupid conversation behind, maybe get someone to drag his ass out.

“Yeah, leave, that’s what you’re really good at.”

She stopped, grabbing the fabric of her tight skirt to conceal her shaking hands.

“What?” she managed to ask, her voice creaking, higher than the usual.

The air stood still, unusually dry. It felt just like their relationship, the once reliable ocean had disappeared.

“Forget it” he spat in a low voice.

“No,” she turned back, now it wasn’t only her hands, her whole body was shaking, “say it,” she dared him. “You started, now you’ll finish.”

He looked different. Gone was the stranger. The rich playboy that came to her bar night after night to party hard with a bunch of assholes. Who constantly pretended they knew nothing about each other so well she actually doubted. It felt like a weird collage of an old familiar face on a stranger’s body. Reality felt fragile, like time was folding in itself.

“You know what I mean,” his voice cracked, all his artifices dissolving, exposing him exactly how he was. Still very young, and so close, if she just reached, he could be hers again. “You left. Why do you think I-“

“I didn’t leave!” she shouted, months and months of hurt and frustration spilling out, and when she heard her voice she noticed she was crying. “You told me to go!”

He furrowed his brow, and it was so long since last time she saw that confused frown, that particular look of hurt. A wave of loss took her over, she faltered and he came closer, not yet touching her, but she could smell the booze, sweat, the sickling perfume of the girl he had been kissing in front of her just a while ago, past and present mixing, time became an illusion, and everything felt possible.

“So what?! I was hurt, I was…” he paused, covering his eyes with his palms, breathing hard before letting his arms fall and looking at her. “Selina, how many times before I ran after you like a kicked puppy after a fight? How many times have I humiliated myself for your attention? Your respect? And the one time, the only time I needed you to be the one to fight for me you just left.”

Selina didn’t know what to say, she just stood there gobsmacked, suddenly the whole world became this breakable thing and any move rehearsed by her would result in catastrophe.

But he still waited, his eyes begging for an answer, a reaction, anything. After a long while of silence, his shoulders fell, and he swallowed bitterly.

“And now you don’t even have anything to say,” he finally said. “What was I expecting? You are right, you always were, I am pathetic.”

Before she could think twice or plan otherwise, her lips were against his, and, after that, there was no return. Unlike the last time they had been themselves around each other, Bruce didn’t reject her. One hand pulled her flush against him by her waist, the other one went to her face, delicately, pushing her curls away and wiping her tears. She didn’t want to open her eyes never again, things had felt so wrong lately. She had been trying so hard to convince herself that she was better than ever. That she was making something of herself against all odds. But even after learning to apply shimmering makeup on her eyelids, everything around her looked lacklustre. Pointless. And part of herself hated how only on the lips of a asshole that treated her like shit sometimes and like she was his whole world in another, who was just five minutes ago cheering over two poor idiots ruining themselves for his attention, there, right there, she found meaning.

But they had to breathe eventually, and his lips left hers, his hot panting, thick with tequila, fanning on her face.

“Selina, look at me,” he pleaded.

She didn’t, but pushed him against the bar rail and kissed him again, now working to free him from his already half-buttoned shirt. Again, he didn’t deny her, reaching for her face as soon as his arms were free again, cupping it with both of his hands.

“Please,” he said ending the kiss with a peck and when her eyes remained shut, he sucked her earlobe earning a sob that was pleasure and despair in the same measure, “Selina, please.”

She fluttered her eyes open, and he smiled, and it looked so earnest, so relieved, so him, Bruce, her Bruce. Selina tried to kiss him again, and for a moment of terror and confusion she thought he would leave her, but he dove to kiss her neck instead, pushing the straps of her tank top and bra down her shoulder, unafraid of cup her breast as if it wasn’t the first time for them to be like that. She couldn’t help but wonder, if it was just result of practice using other girls’ bodies, or if he had just thought about it, about them, her, for so long it felt natural. She hopped it was the later, but as soon as she remembered about the other girls she was mad at him again, and pushed him away.

“What-“ despite not having a single drop of alcohol, she felt drunk, her brain fuzzy, maybe it was oxygen depletion, maybe her heart was beating too fast “are you think you are doing? I’m not…” she stopped again, sucking air in “if you think you can just-“ god what was wrong with her?! She couldn’t finish a single sentence. “I’m not like them,” she said finally, meaning the girls she had shunned off her club just a while ago. They held each other gazes for a while. Selina felt ashamed, especially because as soon as the last words left her mouth she noticed that she didn’t regret kissing Bruce, not at all, but she didn’t want that night to end like that either, she wasn’t ready to let him go after all he said.

Bruce looked confused, and still Bruce-like how he hadn’t been in such a long time. And that was scarier than if he had reverted completely to his new persona, because she never thought that asshole had anything to do with the meek boy who used to be her friend. But there he was, towering over her, shirtless and half-wasted, with lips swollen by her hungry kisses. Her Bruce. Not the stranger for who she had just second-hand embarrassment and disdain for. But the one whom she feared, for he had reign over her heart.

He approached her, and she didn’t avoid him. Bruce’s hands grabbed her waist, pulling her close again. He kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, and moved slowly when he inserted his hands under the hem of her shirt, sliding them up through her skin and pulling the fabric off her. Selina held her arms up to help him discard the piece of clothing, heat pooling down her navel.

“No, you’re not,” he finally said, and then rested his forehead against hers, sighing, “you… Selina, you have no idea.”

Deciding neither of them was exactly good at talking about feelings, Selina took his lips again, and Bruce seemed to agree they were done talking. His grip lowered and he hoisted her up, pulling her legs around his waist and guided them both back to the bar countertop, lying her down there while he kissed down her throat, sucking and licking her skin in a way she knew she’d have to hide the next day.

He continued his way kissing down her sternum and belly, while one his hands caressed her leg and the other one held hers. And it felt at the same time incredibly sweet having his fingers intertwined with hers, and hot while his large hand slid down her thigh. But then, he started fumbling with her skirt, unsure of how to take it off, Selina was momentarily brought back from her horny induced mind fog to giggle at his annoyance. Bruce looked up from the irritating fashion trap and smiled at her. Selina tuned around on the bar top, exposing her back zipper to him and looking at him over her shoulder. Bruce kissed the small of her back and pulled the zipper down, but before stripping her of her tight vinyl skirt, he used the opportunity to undo her bra too. Just a few moments after that, Selina was lying on her back again, only in her panties and high heels, under the gaze of a very turned on Bruce Wayne who was looking at her as if she was a very tasty meal that he had no idea of what start eating first.

Luckily for her, it didn’t take long before he decided to go straight for the main course.

“Fuck,” Selina moaned when without more wait, Bruce pulled her lacy thong aside and sucked her clit. She felt him smiling against her, and one little part of her wanted to kick him for being so smug, but the thought was fast forgotten when he continued doing miracles with that talented tongue of his. Her heaving and whimpering filled the empty club lounge, and Bruce chuckled when the orgasm hit her so hard, Selina’s involuntary spasms almost threw her off the surface of the bar top, making him hold her there until she calmed herself.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, whipping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Selina took a couple of breaths, before sitting up.

“Peachy.”

She pulled him closer by his belt, and then, looking straight into his eyes, she undid the buckle. He dove to kiss her, but she avoided his lips.

“Shhh,” she made, “I want to see.”

“What?”

“Your face,” and then her warm small hand was around him.

Bruce closed his eyes shut, his mouth opening in a silent moan when she started pumping.

“Does it feel good?” She asked, feeling unsure of what she was doing, he was so smooth and hard, but she was afraid her nails might hurt him.

He swallowed.

“Yeah.”

“Hmmm” she made, her free hand on his neck, thumb rubbing his skin there too. “Tell me what you like.”

He smirked, and reached for her face, pulling her for a kiss, sucking her bottom lip as he let her go.

“I like you.”

She let out a chuckle from the back of her throat.

“Right now, I’m sure you do,” she said, feeling brave enough to pump a little harder, Bruce moaned.

Selina then opened her legs wide and urged him to draw closer.

Bruce replaced her hand with his own and rubbed the tip of his dick on her wet entrance.

Selina’s chest was heaving and he looked up worried.

“Are you ready?”

She bit her lower lip and nodded. In a swift motion, Bruce slid inside. Selina shut her eyes hard, she expected pain but felt none, the sensation was unfamiliar, but not bad, not bad at all. Her nails broke the skin of his shoulders, and she felt Bruce’s breath close. She thought he was about to kiss her again, but he rested his forehead on her temple.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and she could hear the restraint in the tightness of his voice.

“Yeah,” she managed “B,” she called.

“Hm” he made, opening his eyes, they were so dark, she could barely see the blue.

“Kiss me.”

He smiled first, one hand holding her face sweetly, and then he did as asked, kissing her, slowly and meticulously, while his hips started moving. His free hand slid down her waist and went to her clit. The wave of the pleasure due to the double stimulation got Selina surprised making her break the kiss to cry out. Bruce then kissed her chin, and her throat, he was getting momentum, and his rhythm becoming erratic. Selina was holding him by his shoulders for dear life, her head hanging behind while she tried to match his trusts with her own, both of them desperate for release.

She locked her shins behind him and pulled him closer, hugging his neck. Bruce let go of her face and clit to slam his palms on the bar top to stead them both as he went harder against her, thanking his lucky stars when she started trashing again and pulled him with her over the edge of pleasure with another loud curse.

They were breathing hard when the world stopped spinning. Bruce pulled out, feeling like he had just given up something he’d miss badly for the rest of his life. Selina was speechless, her eyes still closed, legs still open, with their mixed fluids dripping from her. He never seen her more beautiful. But he knew well there was something very wrong. That was not how their first time should go. With him half drunk, still smelling like some other girl’s perfume, on a bar after a nasty fight. Well, the fight made sense. Every time he fantasied before about having sex with Selina it had a fight involved before the make up.

But this… This was all wrong. They didn’t make up, they didn’t fix anything. They only made it more complicated and if he had no idea of where they stood in each other’s lives before, now he was too afraid to ask even himself.

They heard noise of someone approaching and Selina opened her eyes wide in alarm, she jumped off the bar top on wobbly legs, looking for her clothing.

“Selina,” he tried, fixing his pants.

“Later,” she said, rapidly putting her top back on without even putting her bra first. “You need to go.”

She couldn’t find her skirt but started pushing Bruce towards the back door.

When they finally reached the back of the service area, and Bruce stepped outside, they notice it was already morning, and they frowned under the aggressive sunlight.

“Selina, plea-“

And to his surprise she pulled him for another kiss, it was hard and fast, and made him a little dizzy.

“Later,” she said, and closed the door on his face.

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Dangerous Love (Pt. 06 of 13)

Pairing: Bruce Wayne (Batman) X Harley Quinn's sister!Reader

Summary: You're Harley Quinn's sister, Havoc, one of the many villain's of Gotham. But you've been caught, and has been tortured constantly for an year in Belle Reve. But when your think your life can't be anything else than the nightmare you find yourself into, Bruce Wayne, the Batman, takes you in for a project. He has a program to rehabilitate villains, and you're his lab rat. But soon enough confusing feelings start getting in the way. You know falling for Bruce is stupid. But can you keep your heart under control?

Word count: 2.5K

<- Previous part (05)

Next part (07)->

{Justice League - DC Masterlist}

×

Dance With Me

Bruce kept his promise and brought you a TV. He also streamed the first season of Game Of Thrones before giving you the second book, and the old deal remains. You'll watch the second season when you're done with the book. But you don't mind. They did leave a lot out of the TV show, and you want to know everything that happens. He even stayed to watch some of the episodes with you. You cried when one of the characters died. You and Bruce have the same favorite characters. Daenerys, Jon, Arya, and Tyrion. And you love to talk about it with Bruce.

The week goes by quickly, and now you have a digital clock too, so you'll know which time and day it is. And that's how you know your birthday is coming.

Today is Saturday, and Bruce is hosting a party. You can see many people down in the garden already, making things ready.

“Alfred will bring you dinner tonight.” Bruce reminds you, as you eat lunch. “But I'll come tomorrow.”

“I'll forgive you if you promise to have fun today. For both of us.” It's so damn hard not to think about that blonde woman. “Try to dance a little.”

“I will.”

He stays for a little longer until he has to go.

In the next following hours, you focus on the book. The noise gets louder, and the music starts playing as soon as the night falls. You also take a shower, long and warm, washing your hair. Patiently, you dry and brush it, struggling with your thoughts. Then you try reading again, but you can't seem to focus.

That woman is down there, and the image of her and Bruce dancing fills your head, like torture. Her beautiful blonde hair, kind eyes... She will pull him close, and he won't resist her touch. Why would he?

He will pull her against his chest, and what you can only dream about, she will feel it. How lucky she is.

You go to the window, a knot on my throat. Why do you want to cry? Why do you feel so terribly sad over a freaking scenario you just imagined?

“Because it'll probably happen...” You tell yourself.

And if not her, with some other girl. Looking through the window, you see the pretty lights on the garden, and some people, smiling, talking... A soft music start playing, and you see as some couples get together, slow dancing.

Smiling, you close your eyes as you step away from the window, resting your back against the wall.

You imagine yourself down there, among the people, and they don't bother you. You're comfortable, wearing one of those pretty dresses. You're not a villain, you're a normal woman, someone people won't be afraid of... Someone Bruce could love. You would walk around the house, the gardens, and you finally get to see all of it. And then, you'd find Bruce...

Opening your eyes again, you walk to the bathroom to wash your face. Wash away the tears. What is going on with you? You can't let this happen. Not with Bruce. You've never been through this, you never needed or wanted someone so bad. It's weird. You don't want this to be love, you can't let this be love. Punching the sink, you ignore the pain that spreads through your fist.

“Remember who you are,” you tell the girl in the mirror. “Remember who you are.”

But it doesn't work. Who you are, or who you were, is a distant memory. He's succeeding, Bruce is changing you, he's making you see who you are behind the villain mask you had on. And you don't think you can go back there. You don't want to... You want him...

You're crazy. Now you're finally going crazy. Bruce won't like you. And you can't expect him to. You can't want him to. A loud laugh coming from the garden gets your attention, and you run back to the window. You can see a couple, happy, in each other's arms. You envy them... You won't ever have anything like that.

When the door clicks, you dry off the stubborn tears that came rolling down again. “Alfred, tell Bruce everything is beautiful.” You say, trying to keep your voice steady.

“It's me.”

Your heart skips a beat as you turn around, seeing Bruce by the door. He looks amazing in his tuxedo, so handsome. You step forward abruptly, an impulse, ready to run into his arms, but you manage to control yourself, biting your lip to hold back a smile.

“Hi.” It's all you manage to say.

“Why do you always keep the lights off?” He inquires.

“I'm just used to it, I guess... I... I tried to read, then I tried to sleep, so...” Walking away from the window, you move closer to where he's standing.

“I'm sorry if the noise is disturbing you.”

It's not the noise that's keeping you awake, it's him, and all the things you shouldn't be feeling. “That's not it. I don't sleep too much, remember?” Taking a deep breath, you avoid his gaze. You must look so bad, in your black tank top and sweatpants... The girls down there look so beautiful... “What-what are you doing here? The party seems to be going very well.” You gesture at the window, the only sight you have of outside.

“It's considered polite for the host to dance with the single ladies.” He reaches out his hand, and you wonder what it means.

“I... I'm not at the party...” His hand doesn't move, so slowly, very slowly, you take it.

“You're here. That's what matters.”

“I don't know how to, remember? I don't–”

“Relax, (Y/N).” Bruce pulls you close, wrapping his arms around your waist. It feels like a drug, inebriating. “Just follow my pace.”

Why is he doing this? Why does he care enough to come here instead of focusing on the party he's hosting? Bruce will be the one to drive you crazy.

You start moving, from side to side, following the rhythm of the soft song playing down there. The distance he first put in between your bodies disappears as you move until you're very, very close.

“You... Why did you come here? I-I mean... Don't you have enough girls down there? To dance with? You shouldn't lose your time with me.” You whisper, stuttering. Hesitantly, you look up, meeting his eyes. It's breathtaking.

“Thought you would like a dance.” He keeps his voice low as if the didn't want to disturb the darkness. “Was I wrong?”

“No.” You burst out, too fast. Suddenly, you decide to tiptoe. “This is how I'd be like if I were wearing high heels. And you can pretend I'm wearing a pretty, long dress.” Smiling, you notice your face is closer to his now. His lips get your attention, so you close your eyes.

“You're beautiful, just like this.” His voice is so low that it's hard to hear it. But does he really mean it? Can he find you pretty in such simple clothes? “Sorry I can't take you to the actual party.”

“It's alright. I... I wouldn't feel comfortable, I think... Among the people.” Bruce moves your arms, from where they were laying, on his biceps, to be around his neck.

It's hard not to look at him, but you feel that if you do, you won't be able to control yourself. “I would be by your side the whole time.”

“But what about that... That woman I saw...”

You're begging yourself not to do this. Not to ask something that will make you feel bad to know the answer. But you need to. “Wouldn't she... Wouldn't she want to have you too? I know you're just saying that to make me feel better, I... I shouldn't even be saying that. Just ignore it.” That's embarrassing. Good thing he won't see you blush in the dark.

“Angela is an old friend,” Bruce says, taking your hand and pushing you away in a smooth motion. You've seen this move in some movie, and you're happy to know what to do. You step away for a moment, and then, you spin around, back to his arms. But you miscalculated the movement, so you end up with your back against his chest.

“Sorry.” You quickly say, but before you can turn around, Bruce softly holds you there, swinging to the song. His arms are like a cage, but a good kind of cage... One that makes you feel safe. You feel his breath on your hair, and how his chest moves as he breaths.

“Relax, it's alright.” You close your eyes to hear his voice. “And don't worry about Angela. She's married.”

“Oh... That's good. For her. That's good for her.” You hate how you're always so damn nervous around Bruce. He probably thinks you're stupid.

“I guess it is.” He spins you around again, as the song ends, and pulls you close, strong arms encircling your waist.

Taking a deep breath, you gather all the courage you have to tiptoe again. Your faces are only a few inches away, despite the height difference. He'd have to bend down a little to kiss you. Would he want to kiss you? Would he even consider it? Your stomach feels funny, like butterflies. A hand comes to touch his face, your fingers caressing his skin. You're about to pull him, to end the last inch separating you when you hear someone saying his name out there.

Freezing, you step down, catching your breath. Bruce is breathing fast too, but you're not sure why. “I have to go.”

“Sure.” Smiling, you nod. “Go get them, Batman.”

“Thank you for the dance.” Bruce doesn't let go of your hand, but eventually, he moves away. You can only watch as his fingers let go of yours.

Then, you're all alone again. You're waiting for the familiar click that separates you from Bruce, but it doesn't come. Letting yourself fall on the bed, you cover your face with both hands. You're going mad. Would you really kiss him? What would you do when he pushed you away? You need to take these thoughts out of your head. So you hide under the blankets, eyes closed, trying to sleep. Sleeping is the only way to stop thinking, and right now, the nightmares are the least of your worries.

•••

You're staring at the digital clock. 4 a.m. The party ended two hours ago, and the house is silent. Your head keeps going back to what happened earlier. The dance, and the kiss that almost happened... You're tired of thinking about it, you need to stop. You're caught between trying to understand what's going on and trying to ignore it. To forget it.

But there you go again, replaying everything... Even in the very end, how it seemed like he didn't want to let go of your hand... And then... The click of the lock...

The click that didn't happen.

The door is open.

You jump up, running to the door. Hesitantly, slowly, you turn the handle. And you were right. It's open. A rush of adrenaline sets you in motion, and you swing the door open, running through the hall, to the stairs, and to the first floor. You don't know where you're going, you don't even remember where you went when you first tried to run. You know the front door will be locked, so you run straight past it. You end up in the kitchen, just as you did on your first day here. Your attention is caught by the window above the sink, and in your rush, you try to push it open, but it doesn't move.

You can actually go now. Nobody knows you're here. Taking the blender that's on the kitchen counter, you throw it against the glass until it breaks. You need to move fast now because the noise might wake up Bruce. Climbing on the sink, you use your hand to remove the last bits of glass of the way out...

Bruce...

You made a promise to him. And you know that, if you go on with this, there are chances that you'll end up back in Belle Reve. And Bruce would be sad... Right? You remember how it felt to be so close to him earlier today. His arms holding you... He touches you like no one else did. He's not disgusted... That's probably just Bruce being kind... But even so, you can't do it.

You're looking outside, to the rock path you'd have to take to get to the gates. Slowly, you step down the sink, a sharp pain on your left hand. Looking down, you see a cut in the palm. Taking a deep breath, you start making your way back to your room. On your way out of the kitchen, you see Alfred coming from the hall. He stares at you, wide eyes.

“Sorry for the glass,” you mutter before running upstairs again.

You close the door behind your back, crawling to the bed. You leave the bleeding hand hanging off so the blood won't stain the sheets. You shouldn't have done that. It happened so fast, your body just moved. You just had to get out of the room, and running felt so good. It doesn't take much time for the door to open, and you know it's Bruce. He turns the lights on, and soon you feel the mattress moving when he sits on the bed, but you can't even look at him, so you keep your eyes on the wall.

“I saw you in the kitchen.” He says, his voice soft. Why isn't he mad?

“Hiding in the shadows?” You can feel his eyes on you.

“Something like it.” Bruce takes your hand, and you hear him opening something. The first aid kit, probably. You feel as he starts cleaning the cut.

“Aren't you mad? Or disappointed?”

“Why should I be? You didn't run.” He goes silent, and slowly, you look at him. He's focused on the wound, but it doesn't seem to be too serious. He wraps a bandage around it before laying it on the mattress.

“Was it a test? You left the door unlocked.”

“I forgot. I have a lot going on in my head.”

You want to know what is it he thinks so much about. “I'm sorry about the glass.”

“Why did you change your mind?”

“I can't tell you.” You sit up, and when you do, you're suddenly very close to him. You know you should move away, rest your back on the headboard, but you're frozen, looking into his eyes. Bruce doesn't move either.

“Alright. I'm glad you decided to stay.”

You don't think you wanted to run. You just needed to get out of the room. “Bruce, my... My birthday is coming.”

“I know.” He says with a smile.

“Can I ask something?”

“Sure.”

“Can I... Can I see the gardens?” The moment you say it, you regret. He won't let you out just like this. “You know what, nevermind. A cake would be just fine.”

His face softens, and his hand comes to your face, fingers softly caressing your skin.

Bruce needs to stop doing that because it's sending you the wrong signs, and you should probably tell him to. His touch is so different from anything else, is addicting.

You're falling for him. You're just about to fall in love with Bruce Wayne. And that will probably the your biggest mistake.

×

@redwolf-7 @glitterypinkkitty @mybabyboytony @chipster-21 @agustdpeach @yaakimoon2 @chloe-skywalker

[allyvampirelass29]

Murder at Cripple Creek

A NOS4A2 Review By: Allyssa J. Watkins

A boomtown swimming with ghosts Dead eyes can't hide Their hedonist living Drinking, debauchery and sinning Scarlet ladies having babies But a whorehouse is not a home Trading flesh for coin Tempting patrons, at the sacrifice of your boy Little Charlie grew up in the hellish dark The sins of the mother Scarring the son's heart Murder brewing in this simmering fleshpot Oh Hateful Harlot, Mother Manx Is is to your neglect and bitter thanks Your baby boy, molested, and you can't protect Your little dreamer from the wicked world you wrought for him Blood on a beautiful boy's hands But the only thing murdered here Is his innocence. Sending his rapist and that lustful bitch Back to hell Charlie, Charlie you're not a villain You had to save yourself.......

Is...... anyone alive out there? It's been days, and I'm still sobbing, my heart desolated by the roiling emotional turmoil, my ignited rage murderous. I don't know about you guys, but...... I'm an absolute wreck. WHY are you DOING this to me, NOS4A2!?!? After the brilliant turn of last week, the sleek sophistication, and glamourous entrapment, "Cripple Creek," was a backhand strike, a blatant violation that I never saw coming, and I spent the entire episode, quivering, sobbing, pleading desperately behind my hands plastered over my face, watching between my fingers, helpless to stop the punishing abuse My Charlie suffers in two different timelines, his bruises of an abused childhood mingling with the fresh wounds of now, as he is tortured, beaten and berated by Bing Partridge!!!

I hated this episode. I HATED it. There, I said it. But I think you're supposed to, I think that was the sole purpose of this traumatizing ordeal. However, as far as Bing (GO TO HELL YOU FILTHY BASTARD) is concerned, the writer's motivation seems drastically convoluted. If this was supposed to be Bing's Big Epiphany, his "redemption," (Ughhh seriously?) This episode fails miserably in accomplishing that. And if this episode was meant to do, what I had predicted back in Season One, cement him as the actual villain of NOS4A2, making him the more immoral evil, be his rise in notoriety, his coming of age as it were, into the monster he was always going to be, giving Charlie and Vic someone to unite their hatred against, it fails to do that too. The biggest misstep of the series, after so elegant a triumph, I'm going to drown my sorrows in ice cream, and try to forget that any of it ever happened. Close your eyes, and think of Christmasland........

I audibly groaned when we opened onto Bing at the Lake House. After so much needless repetition in an otherwise FLAWLESS episode, I REALLY did not want to relive Bing's point of view of the siege, unless it was him getting shot by white knight Chris McQueen over, and over, and over........ Thankfully, the rewind didn't last too long, but I was having NONE of his, "Are you there, God, it's me, Bing Partridge," moment!!! On his knees in the graveyard, (Why...... why are we in a graveyard?) Bing appeals to the heavens, proclaiming his own innocence, asking God to show him what he should do next. I snickered coldly, the whole thing melodramatic, and absurd, as he cries, "I've been so good!!!" Secretly, I was fantasizing about Buffy SLAYING his creepster ass in the graveyard, beating him bloody, before staking him in the heart with a witty saying like, "It's been a gas, Bing, but I get the last laugh!!!" Alas, alack, no such luck. His appeal to the heavens was answered not in divine intervention, but with bird droppings splattering in his mouth, which of course, translated in Bing-A-Ling Logic to, "Kill the FIRST person that tries to help you, bury him in the freshly dug grave, and take his keys!!!" It's PRAYING Bing, you dolt, not preying!!!

While the side quest FINALLY explains how Bing was able to catch up to Charlie and Wayne, after previously believed to be on foot, not to mention shot, which would have been IMPOSSIBLE, supernatural car not withstanding, it's altogether unnecessary. It was the less than scenic route to get to last week's blood-curdling cliff hanger, and I really think we could have done without all the maudlin hullaballoo, and picked right up from there. Also, it creeped me out BIG TIME hearing Bing Partridge say, "Hidey holes," because that's what I called them last week, when Charlie was adorably telling Wayne about his hiding places. "Look at you with your hidey holes, Babe!!!" Needless to say, Bing has ruined that phrase for me FOREVER!!!

"Charlie, Charlie, telling lies, soon he will be crying cries......" A chilling foreboding that was like ice in my veins........ I was definitely crying cries...... I literally WEPT with this horrid little rhyme, and even still I was so naïve, unprepared, for the gut-churning horror that waited in the shadows of a broken little boy's murdered childhood, and the degradation of the beautiful soul that survived it. It's one of the most grueling, and disturbing things, I've ever watched, and like my Darling Boy, strapped to the chair, enduring forced interrogation by gassing, brutal beatings by Bing's homicidal, ham-fisted punches, and some....... deeply unsettling sexual innuendo, I felt like I was the one getting tortured.........

I did utterly enjoy Charlie's feigned relief, as he uses that silver tongue, in valiant effort, to slip his way out of this sickening predicament. "Bing, My Dear Fellow, thank the stars! I thought you had been done in by those wretched McQueens!!" Charlie gasps, thankfully, knowing full well he'd left Bing behind to die, and for good reason. Any other time, this would have worked, Charlie would have used his coaxing charm, and Bing's oafish gullibility, twisted them into a breathtaking manipulation, weaving the lie that he had no choice but to leave him behind, and Bing would have eaten it out of the palm of his hand, because he wants that badly for it to be true. But Bing watched it happen, his face falling, as Charlie sped off without him, and he's DONE playing. Charlie's pleas fall on deaf ears, as Bing drugs him for answers, revealing the fatalities of every single one of Charlie's former accomplices, and with the finality of one apocalyptic truth....... Bing descends into a frenzied, foaming madness.

"Cripple Creek," is the double edged sword that none of us were meant to survive. Switching between the stabbing scenes of Charlie's withering assault, his lifeline to The Wraith, cruelly severed, and the slicing violation of his childhood self, his innocence massacred before our very eyes, our bleeding hearts never stood a chance. I always knew that Charlie's childhood was going to be horrid, downright Dickensian, devoid of magic and light, unloved by his drunk, whore mother, but I had no idea the HELL this beautiful boy endured at so tender an age, forever scarred, betrayed by the one person he trusted, respected, desperately in need of a father figure, only to be exploited in the most heinous way. It's a MIRACLE My Precious Love can even function as an adult, much less still manage to find wonder and beauty in the world, clinging, clawing to hold onto his ember, his remnant of pure light that persevered in a life of darkness.

The inexplicable joy at seeing a young Charlie Manx, aged 11 or 12, tapdancing on stage, along with the giddy marvel that this young actor looks just like our leading man in miniature, is short-lived, as a stranger takes an uncomfortable interest in him....... I don't know how, maybe it was the intent way he watched him dance, or the way he touched his shoulder a little too long, but I knew........ I KNEW this man was going to sexually abuse Charles, I felt it gnawing in my stomach, instantly unnerved, and I hoped with all my heart, my first instinct was wrong....... I'm devastated to say........ it was not.

Not only does this manipulative pedophile Son of a BITCH molest my baby, he first uses him to persuade other boys to flock to his house, knowing full well how much the young ones look up to Charlie, as their leader. He wins Charlie's favour and trust by befriending him, and giving our little darling the one thing he wants more than anything else. Escape. Escape from the vulgar, gratuitously sexual environment, that no young boy should have to endure, a chance to make money, have an honest, respectable living. A chance to have a father figure, a man to look up to, learn from, and take him under his wing. The shop owner offers all of that, with a crooked smile, the charade falling dangerously away, as he knocks back a shot glass, eying our boy, and then says in the cruelest, most chilling voice. "You've earned yourself some fun........"

Thankfully, NOS4A2 was not overly graphic in this lewd portrayal, but the innuendo was enough to make me ugly cry, and seethe, as this sweet child is violated by someone he admires so much, realizing in horror, that he led all of his friends to be mishandled in this same disgusting manner, like lambs to the slaughter. But our brave little Manx was NOT going to let this sin go unpunished, and I clapped, cheering him on, as he uses his sled, now tainted by its means of acquisition, to kill the shopkeeper, dark fire flashing in his eyes, blood splattering on the shot glass, and I've never been so happy, or nervously relieved to see someone die.

His mother comes to him, and instead of crying, and taking her boy in her arms, stroking his dark curls, soothing his fear, and assuaging his guilt, she just scoffs at his accusation, the picture of apathy, and places the blame back on him. "You knew too, Charlie!!!" You WHORE-ABLE Mother!!! Your son was just sexually ASSAULTED, and YOU DARE make it his own fault, like he'd turned a blind eye, and therefore deserved to get raped!?!? Charlie might not have killed her, if she'd actually had a maternal bone in her body, if she'd done SOMETHING, shown any sign of regret or compassion, but she doesn't, and I feel nothing but proud as he finishes her off too. Her death was surprising, given the admonishing way Charlie talks about his mother, creating the impression that she'd been a bane on his existence his entire life, and yes, as a writer, I wanted to see more of a direct conflict between them to make that defining moment that much more satisfying, but as a viewer, I was just grateful she was dead, and Charlie was free. The only murder perpetrated, the only death I mourned at Cripple Creek, was that of Charlie's innocence, his childhood slaughtered.

Meanwhile, Bing continues to torture Charlie in the present day, my chest shuddering with every thrown punch, and I have to bite my lip to keep from screaming. What was the deafening truth spoken that sends Bing Partridge into a flailing rage, you ask?

"Christmasland is for children. We are special...... That's why we can't go......."

Charlie was never going to take Bing to Christmasland. All that this poor dope had lived for, dreamed of, for eight years, amidst his conning his way into dentists' offices, and offing mothers, and it was always a lie. I had suspected it the entire time, especially after the mention of a, "special feast," but what SHOCKED me the most, was the unimaginable heartbreak of Charlie's own deepest secret coming to light, and as Bing draws it forth, it's like drawing blood. In spite of being the architect of his lifelong dream, and greatest solace from a life full of abject misery, Charlie doesn't think he deserves Christmasland, because he sees himself as ruined........

I broke down sobbing, that pain, that anguish, that he's so long carried with him, ripping through me, and I'm tearing up even as I write this, remembering....... Charlie denying himself his own dream, seeing himself as a ruined article that might profane its pure vision, is a tragedy that I can't come back from. It's a sorrowful, aching confession, and yet somehow it explains so much, and in this, his greatest pain, his darkest secret, I felt intimately closer to him. At last........ we see why Charlie never stays long in his Christmas kingdom, why he's so focused on the next child, and the next, sacrificing time with his own daughter, because they deserve Christmasland, and he doesn't. Always the courier, never the partaker. Christmasland is for children, and Charlie Manx never got the chance to be one.

The searing pains of his past still guide so much of who he is today, placing a strict emphasis on propriety in every aspect of his person, in manner, speech, and dress, because he was robbed of his dignity as a child. I also, FINALLY, after two seasons, understand why he turns the children into vampires, a contradiction to his love of them, that has remained frustratingly elusive to my grasp. Charlie's childhood was taken from him, brought to a vulnerable, violent end, and by turning the Lost Children, theirs becomes eternal. They never have to grow up, and lose that purity, that innocence. I also realized, that by giving them their bite back, they are able to defend themselves, meaning no one can ever hurt them again.......

There was so much awful going on, so much inflicted misery, and disorienting chaos, that I was sure I'd heard wrong when Bing decides on an even more dehumanizing method of torture. Did Bing just...... call Charlie a BITCH!? I shook my head, but there it was again, and at this point I'd HAD it. Somebody give me a GUN, I will WASTE this SICK BASTARD myself!!! The skeevy sexual threat against Charlie felt like overkill to me, utterly ridiculous, a cheap shot at adding dramatic effect, especially in the face of his childhood shame. Bing has exhibited absolutely no inclination of...... swinging that way, as it were, before, and yeah they kind of threw in last minute that he'd done this to Mike's father, offscreen, but I don't know WHY he would do that, especially given his particular affinity for Mike. Charlie, himself, pointed out that there was no indication in the Graveyard of What Might Be that Mike needed saving, or that his father deserved punishing. It's awkward, and disturbing, and there seemed to me no method in this madness.

"If I'm a monster....... who deserves to die....... You deserve so much worse." BAM. Hell yeah, Babe!!! Thank GOD, Charlie's quick enough to convince Bing that he too is a monster, and we are spared any further asinine innuendo. Bing, after these series of unfortunate events, beating, berating, and threatening Charlie with rape, suddenly, deus ex machina-esque has a change of heart, and an epiphany that comes a LOT TOO LATE!!! We're both monsters, we BOTH deserve to die....... What we're doing is WRONG. Was I happy when Bing urged Wayne to go, and tell a police officer that his mom is Vic McQueen? Yes. Do I believe he did it out of the goodness of his heart, and has finally seen the light? Freaking HELL NO!!! Bing, after losing Christmasland, has nothing left to live for, and this is his way of giving up. If I can't go to Christmasland, Wayne can't go...... and he decides a bizarre murder/suicide in The Wraith is his final act of redemption.

Before they even showed the car crusher, I was already sobbing profusely, losing my freaking mind, because I had figured out exactly where Bing had taken Charlie.

"There's going to be two less monsters in the world........"

Meaning to crush them both, and kill the Wraith irrevocably, Bing puts on his mask, and presses the button. At first Wayne laughs, and thinks it's a game, his inner vampire child coming out, but when it hits him that Charlie's in actual danger, he realizes he has a choice to make....... Save Charlie Manx, or let him die, and go home safe to his Mom and Lou.

"No, My Boy, this isn't a game, it's time to play, Save Father Christmas!!!"

Charlie calls out frantically, coaxingly to his young charge, and I loved that so much, my heart overwhelmed with emotion. Yes, Wayne, PRETTY PLEASE save Father Christmas!!! A lot of people despised him for what happened next, screaming at Wayne for his choice, even calling him a stupid kid, but I, myself, felt even more love in my heart for that already dearly cherished little lad, as he smiles, and slams down on the button, halting the crusher, and saving Charlie from imminent death.

It's a profound moment, the abductee choosing to save his kidnapper's life, and many cried out strongly against it, but you have to understand....... Charlie Manx has become so much more to Wayne than the scary face in his mother's paintings. Here is a man that has shown genuine interest in his life, his hopes, his dreams, who has treated him gently, fussed over him, concerned, and who has come to love him like a father. Couple that with The Wraith's effects on Wayne, slowly tying the two of them together, it makes perfect sense to me, how this unexpected bond has formed. Yes, had Vic been there, herself, he would have chosen her over Charlie in a second, but when faced with the reality of letting Charlie die, our tender-hearted Bats just couldn't do it.

"Do think of me at Christmastime, won't you?"

CHARLIE. LIKE. A. BOSS!!!! The single greatest moment, and brightest scene in an hour of plunging darkness, is definitely Charlie, snapping back into his delectably dark, unrivaled perfection (although, I must say I still found him incredibly dashing in his distinguished grays) charging Bing Partridge, murder striking in his wild, smouldering eyes, stabbing him, with a reveling whisper, twisting the knife, with this most PERFECT line, that gave me wonderous, reverberating chills!!! I also LOVED how Charlie glowers in his lumpy face and says, "You were never special." DAMN that's HOT!!! My only grievance with an otherwise ENTHRALLING moment, was that inexplicably, yet again, CHARLIE DIDN'T KILL BING!!! Charlie has KILLED for so much less, and while he did offer a vague explanation about prison being so much worse for Bing than hell, it felt like hell frozen over that Charlie would ever let Bing live. I know this is the writers wanting to keep Bing around to creep another day, but MY GOD, hang that Partridge from a pear tree, and HAVE DONE already!!!!!

This was an especially dark episode, but there were flashes of some really beautiful, albeit fleeting moments, first with Wayne and Craig, and then with Millie and Cassie, though the reoccurring theme, the common thread, did seem to be Innocence Lost. I was startled with the The Wraith's sneaky trick of causing a child to forget their parents the longer they are in the car, and BLESS YOU, Craig for helping your son remember his mother, and fight the transformation!!! He tells Wayne that Vic's favourite movie was Jaws, and Wayne tells him that her favourite holiday is the 4th of July. (Which is really cool, because it's my favourite too!!!) This slows the Wraith's effects on Wayne, and becomes a very special moment between father and son, as they fight to keep Vic's memory alive.

"How do you know my mom?"

"She was my best friend."

More overwhelmed sobs, because apparently I haven't cried enough this episode!!! Craig decides not to tell Wayne that he's his father, but our little Bats is ingeniously clever, and I think he's going to figure it out before long!!! Another mini heart attack comes with a second lost tooth. The suspense of Wayne's slow turning, mirroring the tender emotion in this scene was fantastic.

Millie and her mother have a similar moment, and I thought that was BRILLIANT of her to introduce Vampire Millie to her former human self. The two play with dolls, and human Millie talks about how she can't wait to go on a date, and have adventures when she grows up! It's such an endearing scene, and also incredibly sad, as the pale, gaunt shell of Vampire Millie envies her bright, and bubbly human counterpart, seeing the hope and innocence that she's so long been bereft of. "She's me...... Who I'm supposed to be." Cassie explains that her father's sad fantasy is depriving Millie of the gift of growing up, and explains that there's nothing Charlie Manx fears more than a woman with her own mind, and that's the LAST thing he wants his beloved daughter to become. A woman that would eventually leave him. More tears. Poor Millie. Poor Charlie!! Can I just give everybody a hug!?

"Cripple Creek," lingers like BAD Dream, and all I want to do right now, is curl up with Charlie Manx, hold him in my arms, stroke his cheek, soothe him with the tenderest hands, and softest words, tell him he's beautiful, and that he deserves Christmasland, and the world, that he's not ruined, but PURE!!! This was my least favourite episode in the entire series, and just like, "The Gas Mask Man," will be skipped indefinitely in the re-watch, but like I said, it endeared Charlie even more to my heart, and I feel fiercely protective over him, over that goodness that still glows in his dark eyes, despite lifetimes of feeling unloved, and in ever-present pain. All I ever wanted in Season One, was a glimpse into the past that crafted my mysterious and refined vampire chauffeur, and this entire experience, My Darlings, is an exercise in, "Be Careful What You Wish For..........."

[tcm]

Dick Powell: From Musicals to Noir by Susan King

In the fall of 1993, I got the plum assignment to interview Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, who were reuniting to make a series of Hart to Hart TV movies for NBC. So, I arrived one late afternoon in Bel-Air where the production was shooting exteriors at a vintage estate that had doubled as the Hart’s house in the original 1979-83 ABC series. The mansion was very Golden Age of Hollywood. The front “yard” was massive and beautifully manicured, and the house was equally impressive. The publicist took me aside to tell me it had been owned by Dick Powell and June Allyson.

The two were one of the power couples in Hollywood from 1945 until Powell’s death at 58 in 1963 (he died the same day as Jack Carson). I immediately remembered the first time I saw the couple in a movie. I was about six and the movie was the 1950 MGM boxing drama RIGHT CROSS, which also starred Ricardo Montalban.

When I was little, I thought Allyson was the bee’s knees. Powell didn’t interest me at all. It wasn’t until I entered USC film school in 1976 that I begin to realize just how good Powell was as an actor. But it took him a long time in his career to show this. He was under contract in the 1930s at Warner Bros., at a time when the moguls kept their stars on a tight leash casting them in roles that were variations of the same theme. Some actors were dutiful and did what they were told; others would turn down the roles and get put on suspension or loaned out to another studio. (Bette Davis actually sued the studio in 1937 to get out of her contract. She lost, but Olivia de Havilland won the battle in 1943.)

Powell became a star as the male ingenue in movies and comedies at Warners, usually romancing Ruby Keeler or his second wife Joan Blondell in such films as 1935’s BROADWAY GONDOLIER. He was cute, had a nice voice and could handle comedy. Very much the fresh-faced boy next door, Powell was the type of guy parents would be thrilled if their daughters dated. And a lot of those early pre-Code musical comedies in which he appeared, such as 1933’s 42nd STREET and 1933’s GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, are wonderful fun and often subversively surreal thanks to Busby Berkeley’s innovative production numbers.

But, Powell wanted something more and Jack Warner threw him a bone: the lavish and fanciful all-star 1935 adaptation of Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, in which Powell plays Lysander who falls in love with the fair Hermia (de Havilland in her film debut). Though I’m sure Laurence Olivier wouldn’t have felt threatened by Powell’s performance, he’s not bad.

However, Powell went back to playing the same kind of ingenue parts in a series of forgettable films. After making 1939’s NAUGHTY BUT NICE with Ann Sheridan, he left Warner Bros. and went to Paramount. His stint at Paramount delivered a mixed bag, save for the delightful 1940 Preston Sturges’ comedy CHRISTMAS IN JULY.

But his career and his life turned upside down in 1944 when he turned 40. He divorced Blondell and fell in love with his MEET THE PEOPLE (’44) co-star Allyson. He also starred in the delightful Rene Clair comedy, IT HAPPENED TOMORROW, in which he played a newspaper man at the turn-of-the-century who magically gets the next day’s paper and he auditioned for the role of Walter Neff in Billy Wilder’s DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Though that role went to Fred MacMurray, another affable Paramount star looking to expand his image, Powell landed the role of world-weary gumshoe Philip Marlowe in RKO’s delicious film noir MURDER, MY SWEET.

Not only did Powell capture the Raymond Chandler character’s cynical sense of humor and smarts, but he looked like someone who had been beaten up one too many times for too little money. And there is a sort of a joy to his performance because he had been set free from playing the boy-next-door types. He was an adult male and along the way he became a noir icon.

Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times: “This is a new type of character for Mr. Powell. Though he may lack the steely coldness and cynicism of a Humphrey Bogart, Mr. Powell need not offer any apologies. He has definitely stepped out of the song-and-dance, pretty-boy league with this performance.” And he then made a string of terrific films including 1945’s CORNERED, 1947's JOHNNY O’CLOCK, 1948’s PITFALL, 1951’s CRY DANGER and 1952’s THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.

He turned to directing in the mid-1950s directing Allyson and Jack Lemmon in YOU CAN’T RUN AWAY FROM IT (‘56), an ill-fated musical version of IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (‘34). Powell also directed the well-stuffed 1956 box office turkey THE CONQUERER, with a woefully miscast John Wayne as Genghis Khan. Unfortunately, the film was shot near a former nuclear test site in Utah and numerous people involved in the production—including Powell, Wayne, Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead and Pedro Armendariz—all died of cancer.

Powell’s last project was the 1961-1963 anthology series The Dick Powell Show, which he introduced each week and executive produced. The series was changed to The Dick Powell Theater on Jan. 8, 1963, just six days after his death at 58. Guest hosts filled out the rest of the season beginning with Gregory Peck.

UPI TV writer Rick Du Brow wrote that Peck’s brief remarks about Powell’s legacy avoided any “theatricality,” adding that Peck introduced the episode saying: “I’m speaking for a man who was a great and good friend to our industry” and that it was a privilege for the guest hosts to continue the series as “a memorial to Dick Powell.”

[shirtlesssammy]

15x01: Back and to the Future

Then:

Welcome to the end!

Now:

It’s still the end. Bob Seger sings some bullshit song about the Final Scene (brb, crying) over the seamless transition from recap to the start of the episode. Team Free Will are fighting off the zombie horde that God resurrected. Before they’re overwhelmed, Cas grabs Jack’s corpse and they take off for a nearby mausoleum. Cas sets Jack down while the brothers secure the door. They’re safe, temporarily.

They try to make sense of what Chuck just did, and Dean lashes out at Cas trying to brainstorm ideas on what they should do next. I love how sassy!Cas just pops out whether the situation demands it or not. (Sidenote: I’m going to missing this fucking angel SO fucking much.)

Sam thinks he’s found a way out through a drainage pipe under the mausoleum. The brothers start dismantling the masonry (and struggle with it while they just let Cas stand and watch. Lol, panic really does stop critical thinking skills.) Alas, there are zombies on the other side and Cas steps up and smashes the ghost out of the corpse.

Just then Jack stands up and says, “Hello.” Only, it’s not Jack, it’s a demon named Belphegor, and SOMEHOW, despite 15 years of training, we’re all instantly gleefully enjoying this creature inhabiting poor, dead Jack. Cas, on the other hand, is not so happy about the turn of events and demands that Belphegor leave Jack’s body.

Belphegor can help! Dean stops Cas. He wants to hear what the demon has to say if it can help them get out of their current situation. Belphegor says he can send all the monsters outside their door away.

He has a spell that requires graveyard dirt —and angel blood. Sam just says Cas’s name. I appreciate Cas’s face at that. Of course he’s going to help (After all, he’s always happy to bleed for the Winchesters) but that was a bold assumption there, Sam.

With a clap of his hands, the noises fall silent outside. They exit the mausoleum to find the graveyard strewn with corpses. The spirits inhabiting them were blasted away.

Cut to Bloody Mary torturing some girls just trying to enjoy some makeover time.

Team Free Will + Belphegor are on the road. Sam is finding nothing in the news about a zombie apocalypse. Dean wants to head back to the bunker and figure out a way to close up hell. Belphegor suggests a spell to contain the ghosts while they figure out their plan. The spell can create a circle a mile wide that will trap the ghosts. One problem, that Cas points out, is that the town by the cemetery would fall within the circle. They decide they need to evacuate the town.

On their drive, they find an abandoned car, blood on the windshield, but no body. Dean and Sam recognize that this was the work of a woman in white. They also come to the conclusion that every spirit they put down is back as well.

Cut to a birthday party that’s gone MASSIVELY off the rails. A mother, holding her daughter, runs through the house.

Blood splatters the walls and a creepy laugh echoes in the distance of the house. They head to the garage to try and escape, but they can’t open the door. The mom cries for help, but the neighbor walking by doesn’t hear. They’re stuck with the ghost of John Wayne Gacy stalking them.

The next day, the boys pull into the town as FBI agents and Sam informs the local sheriff he needs to evacuate the town. He suggests getting everyone to the high school five miles down the road.

Meanwhile, Dean tells Cas to go with Belphegor to collect the ingredients for the spell. Cas refuses. “Dean, I can’t even look at him.” Like, OUCH. Sam and Dean have it bad enough seeing Jack walk around when it’s not really Jack, but Cas has the added layer of being able to see Belphegor’s true face in Jack’s body. Cas bolts from the Impala to find Sam.

Having witnessed that tension, Belphegor finds this to be the perfect time to needle Dean. He sees all the people around them and comments on how crazy good looking everyone is these days (less humps). (Also, he mentions how when he was a human people worshipped “a giant rock that looked like a huge penis.” And Dean’s face is priceless. His face looking at the gay couple was also quite priceless.) He pushes Dean by telling him he’s gorgeous. (Ahem) Dean wants him gone from Jack’s body. Belphegor asks who “he” was, meaning Jack, and Dean responds, “he was our kid.” I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING. Belphegor then tells Dean what ingredients he needs for the spell: salt and a human heart. Easy, peasy. 

Sam and Cas split up to go door-to-door and evacuate residents. They both end up at murder houses. Sam follows an eerie trail of blood down the hallway towards the garage. Cas uncovers the dead teens. As Cas strides from the house, Bloody Mary smirks at him from a mirror. She loves to watch you leave, Cas! (Same, GURL.) (Boris: Did anyone else notice that Cas knocked before entering the house? What a polite bean.)

Sam investigates the garage, shotgun at the ready. From above, the mom and little girl push up from where they were hiding behind a bunch of sports equipment. Sam helps them out, tells them everything will be fine, and then turns and comes face-to-face with a killer clown. The clown swipes at him with a knife, and Sam goes down. Sam’s cowering on the floor, injured, when Cas bursts in with his own shotgun and blasts the ghost away.

Back downtown, the Sheriff continues clearing each shop while Dean heads back to Belphegor with his big sack o’ rock salt. On the phone, Dean orders Rowena to head to town and help them out. She forces him to say, “Move your exquisite ass, please.” We love her dearly for it.

Belphegor stares steadily at Dean. “I’m a fan,” he admits. “When you were in Hell with Alastair I got a chance to watch you work. The things you did to those people. It wasn’t torture. It was art.”

Dean deflects from his past torture, asking about Hell. Same old, same old, Belphegor reports, except that when Chuck had his tantrum all the doors of Hell unlocked. Demons became a swarm of escaping minions. We also learn that Michael’s cage is open. He’s still sitting within the open cage. “He wouldn’t hold a grudge, right?” Belphegor whacks Dean jovially on the shoulder. BELPHEGOR, men have probably died for less. 

The cut in Sam’s abdomen is deep and Cas heals him (and his clothing) immediately. (Somebody get Cas over to my house ASAP. I have three things on my mending pile I’ve been avoiding.) 

“I’m an angel,” Cas explains to the astonished mom and kid. Sam introduces himself as “just a guy” and then clutches his shoulder in pain. First of all, SAM you are not “just” anything. Second of all…

Cas examines Sam. The wound looks black and raw. Whatever magic is at play is still at work. He tries to heal it but stumbles back as Sam has a vision of himself with demon-black eyes. Cas can’t heal it - there’s an energy in the wound he’s never felt before. Sam dismisses the wound then. He’s FINE. Just watch him do jumping jacks and push ups and eat a salad with no hands!

The Sheriff calls and tells Sam that the town’s been fully evacuated. He’s going to head out, too. (It was at this point in the episode that Boris drawled, “Well, that Sheriff’s dead.”) And, indeed, the Sheriff encounters the Woman in White and meets a bloody death. 

Dean and Belphegor head out towards the morgue to find a heart, only to find the Sheriff recently dead. Convenient! The demon punches into his chest and pulls out the Sheriff’s fresh heart. 

Cas, Sam, and the mom and kid stalk the empty suburban street, heading towards safety. Unfortunately, instead of safety arriving with a nice reflective vest and thermoses of hot chocolate, our ghosty pals show up instead. Bloody Mary crawls around the reflective surface of a pond, and the clown grins menacingly on the street. (I am reminded of interviews about how dark and dimly lit season 1 was, and how the studios told them to make the show brighter and more colorful. I’m of the opinion that this largely improved the show, since it’s much easier for me to see the action and I generally like pretty, bright colors. But folks on the interwebs have been complaining that these ghosts lack a spook factor in the broad daylight. And I can totally understand that.)

Two more ghosts appear, so now it’s just three ghosts to vanquish. No biggie? Sam shoots each ghost one by one, then accidentally shoots Cas. “You shot me,” Cas points out indignantly. Now he’s gonna have to fix his clothes AND his skin. RUDE. (At least Sam missed the guinea pig.)

Downtown, Belphegor clutches the heart and tries to ineffectually ward off the Woman in White. She ghost-slashes his palm. Dean swings a tire iron through her and then hurls it to the ground (DEAN BEAN NO) before running off with Belphegor to perform the spell. Belphegor starts to chant in Latin, kneeling before the heart. He slaps the ground, the heart pounds with power, and a spell races out from the center. 

The other two-thirds of Team Free Will watch the edge of the spell race past them and end near the end of the block. They run for the barrier while the four ghosts chase them and giggle wildly. They all make it just in time. The clown howls in rage from within the barrier and Sam tells him to “shut up.” We are all very proud of your catharsis, Sammy!

Later, Team Free Clown Car pulls up to the high school where the town’s evacuated to and advise the mom and child not to tell anyone about ghosts and angels. The little girl gets out a quiet “thank you.” (Token innocent life saved!) Sam nods in acknowledgment and escorts them inside. 

Dean approaches Cas and asks him if he’s okay. “Yes, but—” Cas starts to reply but Dean cuts him off and stalks away again. Oooookay. All is not well with our two love birds! (Like others, I’m of the opinion that Cas was about to bring Dean’s attention to Sam’s bullet wound. Damn it, Dean!)

Of course, Belphegor watched the whole exchange. “Awkward,” he comments, before Cas stalks off for some alone time. 

Back at the car, Dean and Sam convene to talk about the case. They’ve got just a few days, tops, before all kinds of Federal agents descend on the town. Before they do anything, though, Dean insists on patching up Sam’s shoulder. We get a teeeeeny bit of shirtless Sammy which I have included below for posterity. 

There’s no exit wound in his shoulder. Sam LIES LIKE A DOG and tells Dean that it doesn’t hurt much. Dean distracts him like he used to do when they were young (with a dumb joke). Dean starts to spin over the whole Chuck thing. “We were just rats in a maze,” he says. Dean wonders what everything they’ve done means. 

“We still saved people,” Sam insists. Sam also thinks that Chuck has left entirely, bored with their world. All the alternate realities were just other failed drafts, Sam decides. “If he bailed, it’s just us. For the first time, it’s just us.” Dean slowly starts to cheer up in the face of Sam’s quiet optimism. 

“You and me, versus every soul in Hell?” Dean says. “I like those odds.”

They close the trunk. “We have work to do.”

Natasha: After the episode, Boris noted that there are only 19 episodes left and it was all TOO MUCH. So we’re going to do our best not to count down these final episodes. Please, join us in denial! <3

_____________________________

All We Need is a Human Quote:

Well, I wouldn’t starve.

He’s always so squirrely with the robe and the beard and the smile that’s like half nice half I’m gonna rip your throat out. Oh, I’m gonna play you a song!

You’re an abomination with that stupid, dumb trench coat.

We are not twinsies.

So people are like, crazy good looking now.

There we were, minding our own business, flaying people for all eternity like you do. 

Bad ghost! BAD!

What’s one more apocalypse, right?

_____________________________

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[cetaceans-pls]

Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Characters: Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne

Summary:

Revolution and family both run on love and carbohydrates, and you can quote Jason on that.

Or, Jason swings by the Manor to find Alfred stress-cooking his heart out after a fight with Bruce, and over the course of making dumplings, the concept of caring by way of cooking becomes clear.

June got me feeling some kind of way about blatantly showing people you care about how much you care. We’re almost halfway through 2020, so keep on keeping on, and be charitable and kind as often as you possibly can.

Fic in Tumblr under the cut, and here’s my masterlist for more sweet sweet reads:

2020, right?

Jason’s not sure there’s anything left in his tank except for spite; it’s enough to get him out and about making sure that the GCPD watched their fucking step, but even spite is (surprisingly enough) not endless. That’s the hallmark of this most accursed of accursed years; prickly energy up-down his back that leaves him restless, and a complete inability to actually do any fucking thing about any fucking bit of it.

Times like these, there’s really just the one sure-fire way to re-find centre, and if it involves hacking into the family calendar to find just the right time when most everyone’s out of the house, well. There’s a reason Bruce never revoked his access, even if he’s got a second lifetime left to regret his pre-teen e-mail address ( ‘ xxwwDangerBirdwwxx@hotmail.com ’, where the w’s are of course for Wonder Woman, and the x’s are for Cool).

It’s a shitty hot June day, depression and distress are heavier in the air even than the choking humidity, and the Manor is quiet and cool in comparison. It’s tomb-like, yeah, but it’s not coffin-like and that makes all the difference. Jason comes in through the front door because he knows the house is mostly empty, and sheds layers as he goes. By the time he reaches the kitchen, he’s a full-grown man in ratty sweats and a sweat-damp undershirt, and Alfred looks up at him with endless warmth. “Why, Master Jason, if you had rung the bell I could have greeted you at the door.”

Jason looks both ways just in case, because this family is full up to the neck in people with horrific timing, before ducking down and pecking Alfred on the cheek; xxwwDangerBirdwwxx is not the only thing that stayed with him from childhood. “Heya, Alfie,” he says, already feeling 15 degrees better than he did outside. “I just let myself in, don’t sweat it. Am I interrupting something?”

He very clearly is. Alfred doesn’t have his coat on, and looks achingly domestic with his shirt sleeves neatly folded up and his soft fuzzy sweater-vest. His hands are a floury mess, kneading dough the size of two Dick-heads, but Alfred’s already moving away to wash his hands and put the kettle on. “Hey, no, you don’t have to, lemme just make my own-”

“Nonsense, Master Jason,” Alfred says, mild-mannered and a thousand times more menacing than Batman at his absolute worst. “It’s no trouble, there’s leftover roast beef from dinner yesterday, it won’t take a moment to make you a snack.”

And in less than said moment, Jason has tea-with-honey-and-milk, and a roast beef sandwich that smells like the dream ideal of every roast beef sandwich. He’s already eating before his brain can tell him to protest Alfred waiting on him, and the appreciative groan comes in right on queue, under a second after that first bite.

There is A Father, A Son, and A Holy Ghost, and they manifest all at once as an elderly British man with the finger strength of a mid-sized mountain gorilla. That dough is being beaten into absolute submission as Alfred gets back into the swing of things, and over the course of the consumption of a sandwich, it becomes a smooth, perfect lump that gets lovingly plopped into a bowl and covered with a damp tea cloth.

Alfred doesn’t ask Jason if there’s something wrong, or if he needs something. The clearest need is obviously the need to be home, and home Jason is, so whatever thing that next goes wrong had best be prepared to face Alfred and his selection of awful terrible knives that line the kitchen. He puts the bowl away on a shady spot on a windowsill and pulls out a mountain of onions instead, and gets to peeling.

Jason pulls out a switchblade from somewhere about his person, blitzes it with the hand sanitiser they’ve all been guilted into bringing with them at any and all times, and starts helping. His kitchen in his ratty apartment is where all the rats in the building like to hold Communion or something, so he’s long since given up having fresh produce around. Happily, vigilanteeism with a side of crime bossing keeps your knife skills sharp, and there’s something alarmingly freeing about peeling and chopping onions while unavoidable tears start up, in a sunny kitchen with your granddad.

“What’re we getting all these onions ready for, anyways?” Jason says, enjoying the excuse to have a stress cry. Alfred doesn’t suffer from waterworks, but that’s because he suffers from chronic dry eyes instead. It's a condition that persists despite every Robin in a long line of Robins buying every eye drop product on the market between them for him to try.

Crying's a funny ol’ thing in the Manor, and it’s also funny that Alfred’s probably seen the most tears despite being the man least capable of them.

“Everyone has been running ragged across the city recently, and I thought that dumplings might be quite a nice treat for dinner tonight. I assume you’ll be joining us, won’t you Master Jason?”

“Of course,” Jason says because there’s no point getting between Alfred and dinner participation. There’s a bigger issue at hand anyways; dumplings are delicious but also obnoxiously difficult to make in any quantity fit to feed Bats and Birds and their oversized appetites.  Everybody in the household has a favourite type, but everybody in the household worries when they get their wish, because Alfred only ever makes dumplings for a full meal when he’s stress-cooking out of his mind.

The man can’t even stress-cry while cutting onions, for fuck’s sake.

It’s best to broach the topic with a soft touch, which sucks entire balls because it’s not exactly Jason’s specialty. “So, uh. What dumplings are we making today?”

“Only 3 types,” Alfred says with a hint of apology. “Xiaolongbao, because I wanted to finish up the last batch of stock I made and Master Dick does so enjoy soup dumplings. A side of cheese-and-spinach momos for Master Damian, who has mentioned missing Tibetan food. And seeing as how you’ll be joining us, as many gyoza as these old hands of mine are able to make, Master Jason.”

Okay, cool, so an infinity of endless, delicious potstickers then, all right. What a time to be alive, Jason thinks to himself. “Not making anything special for B, huh?”

The mood takes a turn for the spoilt, goes off faster than tipping a fistful of salt into a cup of milk. “Master Bruce will have whatever is available, and he will enjoy it,” Alfred says frostily, and chops the end off an onion with significantly more force than reasonable.

That’s the answer, then. Christ, what has Bruce done now? “Saw on the schedule that he’s got a board meeting for another couple of hours, Alfred, so you can lay it on me. What happened? Are you okay?”

Alfred looks at him at that, looks at him and smiles the smile he gets every year when he’s inundated with gifts on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and the arbitrarily set Alfred’s Day (September 8th, as decided by Dick on a whim entire aeons ago), and Jason tries not to feel embarrassed because he’s a whole-ass adult but he doesn’t pretend he’s not pleased to have made the mood ease up. “I’m well, Master Jason, thank you for your concern. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for Master Bruce.” He sighs, and they fall into silence. B brings bad communication out of the best of men, what else is new.

The mound of onions done, Jason is assigned ginger and garlic and potatoes and more things fresh from the garden and greenhouse, while Alfred starts taking his frustration out on a mountain of meat.

Jason’s careful to keep their produce separate, as is Alfred; wouldn’t do to cross-contaminate meat into momos, after all. They work and they work and they work, until all the prep is done and all that’s left is the dough and the stuffing.

The duties get divided like this: Jason gets the cheese and the seasoned spinach to make vegetarian dumplings for Damian, and Alfred gets literally everything else. Despite this, though, Alfred’s sure fingers and devastating dexterity churn out beautifully-shaped dumplings at 4 times Jason’s top speed.

Jason’s got 8 done and Alfred’s putting an entire tray away when Alfred finally breaks their quiet and sighs, looking as old as he is (and isn’t that the most horrifying thing this horrifying year, hey). “Excuse my dour mood, Master Jason. I had an altercation with Master Bruce this morning, regarding his workload and his reluctance to delegate. It grew unfortunately heated, and I turned a blind eye to his extremely broken hand. I did not stop him from leaving the Manor for work." A little additional violence goes into the folding of the current gyoza, and Alfred's lips twist and turn down like a dumpling fold. "Decades I've spent looking after the man. It's alarming how he can still rile me up so."

Isn't that a Universal Truth. Alfred's Angry Gyoza still looks better than Jason's best go at a momo, which is also a Universal Truth. He just needs to try again, till he gets better. Alfred’s good at indirectly teaching patience, and directly practicing it himself, but everyone’s got a line and it’s not the first time somebody’s crossed this one. “It’s his special gift, swear to God. You know what they say, Alfie. Hell really is other people.” Oh, the pleats on this one are looking mighty fine. “Uh, just. How bad a break are we talking about here? What exactly did he do to piss you off this time?”

“He hasn’t had more than 2 hours of sleep a day since, oh, April, I believe. Master Bruce is trying to effect systemic change at both his day-time and night-time jobs, and he has been running on little more than righteous anger and painkillers for weeks. Master Tim has tried to talk him down, as have I, but yesterday he shattered his wrist in a fight with far too many pigs and I found him working down below when I woke up this morning with his hand wrapped up in duct tape.” Alfred sighs, and rubs at his forehead with the back of his hand. “Duct tape and batarangs for splints, Lord help me, because he didn’t want me to worry about the true extent of his injuries.”

And now Bruce is in his civvies with an unknown number of broken bones and a blood opium level that’s over 9000, trying to do good in a no-good world, and all Alfred can do is to become more dumpling machine than man to avoid the deep unpleasantness of it all.

Jason whistles. He thought he’d been having a bad time but at least Alfred was a surefire source of comfort. Alfred’s place to turn to until he’d walked in was just a lump of dough, shit. “Sounds about right for him. But Alfie, how ‘bout you? You’re the one co-ordinating the largest band of crime fighters outside the League, and you’re most of the reason why the man that does co-ordinate the League is even a little bit functioning.” Bruce is a whole entire adult man filled to the brows with idiocy, sure, but… “If everyone’s running ragged you’re gonna be running ragged-est, and if I thought that was the case, we-ell. Duct tape starts looking better and better.”

Alfred looks affronted and gently outraged. “I have been doing just fine, Master Jason. I am not the man running around in costume trying to punch unkindness out of his fellow man. I am just the butler, sitting at home making dumplings, while the master of the household is tripping across the financial district in screaming pain.” Uh oh, here comes another Angry Gyoza, perfectly-shaped and squeezed just a shade too hard.

Jason puts down a slightly-less-crappy momo on his tray, and reaches across the small kitchen table to catch Alfred by the wrist, gentle as anything. “Alfie, I’m saying this as someone who loves you so much I’d literally kill for you,” and boy Jason sure does mean literally, “but hard-headedness is a learned trait, and we got it from B and B got it from you. The man’s an idiot, sure, but sounds like he’s probably at least as worried ‘bout you as you are ‘bout him. Does that sound about right?”

Ah, he really does suck at this whole sweetly-softly thing, but it’s clear once you think to look. Alfred’s game face is in many ways more impenetrable even than a cowl and a mask, but there’re dark circles under his eyes, he’s sallow instead of just pale, and there’s an exhausted stoop to his back that’s usually hidden under a perfectly-tailored suit jacket. Jason’s seeing it now after weeks of work keeping him away from the Manor; if he’d been seeing Alfred like this every day for the past god-knows-how-long, self-care with tape would suddenly seem incredibly appealing.

Alfred looks at his hand, Jason looks at Alfred, and they’re both quiet for a while. Jason thinks he should let go, but he also can’t help but feel that if he does, Alfred’s going to go back to being ‘just the butler’, and that’s not right, not right at all.

In the end, Alfred makes the first move, pulling away just so that he can pat the back of Jason’s hand. “It’s always a pleasant surprise to see how you have grown into such a fine young man,” he says absently, devastatingly. “Especially given the role models you were saddled with. Master Bruce…. may have brought up that I was working more than I should, though he did not come up with a viable alternative.” Alfred rolls his eyes, a rarity in public view. “He tried to give me a curfew; off the comms by midnight, Alfred, that’s the rule.”

They both snort at that. No one’s respected curfew in any format at any age in this household, and it’s almost sweet how Bruce nevertheless keeps trying it on child, adult, and parent alike.

“Nevertheless,” Alfred continues, hand still on Jason’s, “it’s a fair point to say that my and Master Bruce’s worrying over each has grown somewhat out of control, and changes need to be made. It… would help to have another pair of hands at the Manor.”

Oh, no. Alfred’s about-turn raises Jason’s suspicions, but it’s too late for him to do anything about it.

“Oh,” Alfred says with an exaggerated sigh, a smile hiding in plain sight, “it would do my old heart good if Master Bruce were to have more assistance during his night-time escapades. And if someone were available to help me cut onions and dice garlic, that would help too.”

Jason’s already fucking sunk, because he’s learned how to say ‘no’ to many things and 'fuck off' to a few more, but he’s never learned how to turn down an Alfred who works harder than most anyone to never ask for more than what his family can give.

He groans, completely trapped. “I’m a grown adult and I’m not moving back home with my family, Alfie, c’mon.”

Alfred pats him again, and goes back to making Jason’s favourite dumplings. “Of course, Master Jason, but that’s no reason why you couldn’t have dinner at home more often. Besides, who will badger and bully Master Bruce into being a more reasonable man if not for you?”

That’s a reasonable ask, because post-resurrection Jason has carved out time in his busy schedule to constantly prod and poke Bruce into being less of an asshole. And if Jason’s willing to go on a murderous rampage at Alfred’s behest, coming by more often to work together and help out isn’t much of an ask at all.

“Stop it, you already know I’m gonna say yes,” Jason grumbles, moving back to his task. “Alfie, you’re the absolute worst manipulator in the entire house, and this house is full of bastards.”

Alfred just laughs quietly, seeming more at ease and at peace than he was at the start. "I'm afraid, sir, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Hell may be other people, but this family, I think, is about as good as it gets."

And really, what's a good comeback to that?

Jason's setting the kitchen table for dinner while Alfred handles the steamer baskets and griddle with tremendous aplomb when the door creeps open timidly. That has Jason immediately on high alert, because nobody in the Manor does anything timidly.

It's Bruce, looking how he looks when he's about to go 3 rounds with the Joker while Killer Croc's nipping at one heel and the Penguin’s gnawing on the other. His right hand is wrapped in a blue cast, strapped to his front in a utilitarian white sling, and his left arm is weighed down with a grocery bag filled to bursting with what looks to be a guilty gift of assorted snacks and baked goods.

(Alfred is a nightmare to shop for; anything from a pet rock to a chef’s knife made of Damascus steel and beaten gold would be received with the same expression of fond long-suffering. Literally the finest analytical minds in the country still don't know if he's a Coke or a Dr. Pepper man, urgh.)

“Hello, Jason,” Bruce greets him, but his eyes are stuck fast on Alfred, calculating and hesitant.

“Hey, B,” Jason calls back, and takes the time to enjoy the sight of the big bad Batman mousily scurrying into the kitchen as he tries to gauge Alfred’s mood. “Went shopping, huh?”

“Just a few things.” Bruce carefully puts the bag on the kitchen counter and stops there, glancing at Alfred’s back warily. “It’s good to see you.”

Where Jason’s stood he can make out Alfred’s extremely indulgent smile, and it’s pretty clear he’s dragging the moment out to let Bruce stew a little. It’s a pretty worthwhile activity, so Jason just goes along with it, even though he can see Bruce tensing up as he sees the endless platters of dumplings and immediately Understands what sort of day Alfred’s been having. “Same, I guess. Your hand okay?”

That perks B right up. In a slightly too-loud voice, like he wants to make sure Alfred hears him, he says, “Could be worse. Leslie had me fixed up, and she’s putting me on strict rest for a week.” Another cautious peek at the stern line of Alfred’s back. “Doctor’s orders, and I have some investigative work to catch up with anyways, so Dick is stepping in for me for a few days.”

Christ, the peace offering couldn’t be made any more blatant if Bruce had come complete with a fruit basket and a Hallmark card of a sad-looking lamb. Jason almost wants to laugh, but he’s starting to feel a bit bad about the surreptitious glances, the uncertain line of the lip. Everyone’s been there, right? Done something a bit dumb and hurt somebody important, unwilling or unable to apologise, and when you try to make up for it it’s just butterflies-in-stomach and cheek-chewing until the other person gives a clear sign that it’s okay, it’s okay, Jaybird, I’m not upset about the car, I’m just glad you’re safe -

Nostalgia’s heavier in the air than the smell of fresh-fried potstickers. Lucky, though, that kindness is probably something you pick up from your parents too, because by the time Jason comes back to the moment Alfred’s already turned to face Bruce, an ice pack in hand. “I am delighted to hear it, sir,” Alfred tells him stiffly, but is gentle as anything as he leads Bruce to a kitchen chair and helps him ice his swollen hand.

The relief that takes over Bruce’s entire face when Alfred finally talks to him is eye-watering in its vulnerability, and the way he melts into the chair under the slightest bit of fussing is, honestly, equal parts sweet and sad.

Alfred must be similarly moved, because he procures a cushion out of thin air for Bruce to rest his arm on so that he can be free of the sling, and takes a moment to just stand there and brush dark hair away from a worn-out face. Bruce is out of it enough that he’s got his eyes closed and he’s just enjoying the careful touch, and Jason wants to scream a little, because how was Alfred surprised he grew up into an okay kind of guy when this was the standard the household set?

“Good man,” Alfred says, and maybe it’s in response to following Dr. Thompkins orders, but it’s pretty hard to misread that really, he just means 'good' in every way a man can be good when he looks at a half-asleep Bruce like that. “I’ll put the kettle on, and you can nibble on some pierogies while we wait for the family to gather, Master Bruce.”

That wakes Bruce right back up. “Are they-”

“Filled with cheese and potatoes, sir, of course. Why would I make anything but your favourite?” Alfred sniffs like he’s offended, but he’s still smiling as he pats Bruce on the shoulder before heading back to counter and Bruce’s bag of apologroceries.

He fishes out a beautiful red-and-white bakery box, and looks legitimately impressed. “Oh, my, Master Bruce. How did you find Bakewell tarts in Gotham? I haven’t had any in years, and I must confess to being partial to them.”

“Cross-referenced the ingredients of every perishable snack item available in the UK against the fresh produce that you buy often enough to be a statistically significant indicator of preference,” Bruce says around a yawn, like he’s not being absolutely insane right now. “Sorted it into an alphabetized list and sourced them from across the tri-state area. Letters A through to J are in that bag, but-,” another yawn, like Alfred and pierogies are the only thing keeping him going, “-but I’m glad I found you something you liked, Alfred.”

Jason just sits there, committing to memory that Alfie likes whatever the hell a Bakewell is, that he also somehow managed to make an entire dumpling series without Jason noticing, that Bruce fuckin’ Wayne’s favourite dump has cheesy mash stuffing, and that this is how to show care and affection when words are damn hard to get out. He sighs, because he has to fucking sigh, because now he’s so goddamn stricken over how love is inherent in groceries, and it’s so embarrassing how he absolutely, 100% would obliterate a nation in the name of the two men in this quiet little kitchen in the cursed year of our Lord, 2020.

When Alfred does return from the stove bearing a plate of piping hot pierogies for Bruce and gyoza for Jason, he feels OP enough to rip into the throat of the cruelty inherent in this world with his bare fucking teeth, and right after dinner, he really fucking will.

(Revolution and family both run love and carbohydrates, and you can quote him on that).

-

a/n: i don’t legitimately think anybody reads fic on tumblr bc i definitely loathe doing it so i mostly just write this to 1. soundboard myself and 2. wish that you’re doing okay just in case you did make it here. what a year of agonies, but the hope is that it’ll be  2021 and when you look back you think, oh, those were growing pains, and the world is tangibly better for having weathered it.

that’s the hope.

[gothamslimpestwrist]

s1e3 the balloonman

killcount: 

davis lamond: ronald danzer, bill cranston, dog walking lady (on accident), cardinal quinn

oswald cobblepot: mob mook who tried to sell him back to fish, dish washer @ bamonte’s

butch gilzean (offscreen, on orders from fish mooney): “natalia” (falcone’s girl), “lazlo” (fish’s lover)

episode total: 8 total count: 20

the dark knight rises: lots. this is the first vigilante villain in the show, and the response to him going after corruption foreshadows a city willing to accept the protection of a batman. the cops are bad; we see cranston, who beats suspects w/ his “partner o’brien” (a trophy). harvey goes out of his way to emphasize that cranston’s not that bad, which is probably true for cop standards. he beats a suspect in custody and a drug dealer he’s got a deal with. and that’s not nearly the worst of the shit this city has seen. oswald returns and sees a kid picking pockets, a cop taking “protection” money, a mugger running off with a purse, and some hookers soliciting, pretty much in the same 30 seconds. 

the city is sick. it needs someone. 

on bruce’s end, though, he’s like...legit not doing so well. he’s starving himself now, and he’s obsessed w/ the pictures he got of his parents’ dead bodies. he says he’s looking for clues (to which alfred snarks, “oh, so you’re a detective now?” ...yeah, the World’s Greatest Detective), but if you think about the sword fighting scene, alfred is trying to turn the “training” into something productive and channel bruce’s feelings, but bruce repeatedly states that he doesn’t want to do this, while alfred continues to hit him anyway. alfred is trying, you know? but he’s not yet a substitute for a real parent, much less a psychiatrist. he’s the one who pushes bruce toward actually training and fighting and repressing his emotions, rather than going to a therapist and being treated and learning to move on. i would argue that one of the things the first season does rather well is illustrate alfred in that role--bruce has, perhaps, the potential to become batman from the start, but alfred is the one who pushes him down that path by closing down the other ones.

gotham, in its infinite subtleties, does two more things with the balloonman: set up bruce’s “no kill” rule (although the gentle art of making enemies does this again and better) by having him comment that, because the balloonman killed people, he was no better than the criminals. (to be fair, this is more acceptable coming from a sheltered, traumatized 14 year old who just saw his parents murdered than it is from jim, a literal murderer, who espouses the same logic), and establish the need for batman with the question by reporter: “now that the balloonman is gone, who will defend the people of gotham?” 

who, indeed.

(sidenote: this has been a set piece since episode 1, but i did want to discuss the oath of the horatii in the wayne manor living room. i took art history once in high school and it made me insufferable for the rest of my life.

so, like, the painting depicts 3 brothers pledging to defend this city state with their lives--very subtle. but also, as backstory, of the 3 brothers, only 1 survives to actually do that. i would argue that this is sort of a showcase to the origins of batman. three potential defenders: thomas wayne, jim gordon, and bruce. thomas wayne, obviously, is dead. jim isn’t, but we all know that eventually there will be a moral failure that ends with his ideology also failing to protect the city. meanwhile, bruce will “survive” to become the dark knight....

oh, and the lady in the corner crying over there is the sister of these brothers, who was to be engaged to one of the men who they’re going out to kill. no matter who wins, she’s going to lose someone she loves, and i think that’s also about bruce’s path for the show... he can save the city or he can’t, but no one is coming out of this happily.)

continuity: oswald makes it back to gotham. now shit gets serious <3

he weasels his way into the dishwasher position at bamonte’s, maroni’s favorite restaurant. we meet maroni, falcone’s strongest competitor, who we heard of last time. oswald’s just a dishwasher for now... but he’s got plans. moving on up. meanwhile, both maroni and falcone make vague references to arkham, without yet revealing why it’s important. it’s just this Thing, and it’s gonna change the city. jim is confronted by montoya, worries about the way that she and allen are investigating the death of oswald. harvey says, “end of the day, nobody cares about cobblepot.” oh, if only he knew what the one piece of the puzzle could do... if only he saw things like oswald, in fact, who affirms, “gotham needs me! i am its future!” he’s... partially right. but not just you, sugarpot. really, mostly, bruce.

fish’s lover lazlo returns for the dead; fish has him killed for “bringing down the mood” after the beating he got in 1x2. so there’s confirmation; those tears weren’t for him, they were for what the action from falcone against her signified. fish turns montoya and allen onto jim gordon for cobblepot’s murder (in an act that comes full circle--penguin having started this cycle of revenge by turning montoya and allen onto fish and the gcpd at large for the murder of mario pepper), while mostly trying to push them against falcone, just a little. 

on a less plot-y note, lamond was a juvenile services worker whose last straw was the mayor using the childsnatchers from last episode to lock up gotham’s youth. so, 1x2 directly caused 1x3, and dollmaker caused 1x2. the wheels turn...

oh! and jim places selina at the scene of the wayne murder. so that plot moves.

sliding scale of barbara kean’s sanity: the stress of living with jim gordon is starting to get to her. she tries to lift him up, but once he’s gone, she gets high. montoya visits, and they rehash some old history before montoya tells her that jim killed oswald cobblepot. so that’s out... she also kisses barbara, and cracks are forming in her stable facade. how much longer can she last?

jim gordon trauma count: he falls like 20 feet onto a car. he should be a lot more fucked up than he is; lamond makes almost the same fall and breaks his neck. i think he at least got some cracked ribs, or something. 

characterization: interesting one for jim. we explore a bit of the way he thinks; he’s troubled by the fact that people only cared about what the balloonman was doing (in such a way that they were moved to stop him) when he killed a cop & not when he killed a corrupt politician, bc he thinks Murder Is Wrong. at the same time, the first guy really wouldn’t have seen the inside of a jail cell. so what does that mean for jim’s ideology? he clings to The Law bc that’s what he thinks separates good and bad--but that’s a copout (cop out, haha). that’s the moral complexities of a child, james. if he clings to the law, then he has someone else deciding what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s moral and just. but what if the laws are bad, or can’t protect people, even when upheld exactly to the letter? what then? jim got so used to following orders that he forgot how to make his own moral code--or he’s too scared to. But, we see hints of him doing it anyway. he’s troubled when barbara tries to praise him for his heroism, but maybe just bc he broke the law & got away with it. “everyone matters, or no one does” is a good start, jim. just examine who the laws are really made to help. 

for oswald: he gives his name as paolo to maroni when he’s trying to gain his confidence. i made a meta post about this on my other blog (which i plan to link in my next post), but the short version is that, for me, the name recalled paolo malatesta (a historical figure, but most notable for being one of the sinners in dante’s inferno), who was once said to be “a romantic sort, a man not really interested in the world around him.” ...this being oswald’s cover name when he wants maroni to think that he’s not paying any attention to what goes on around him at all. there’s also the more tenuous link of him giving his name as “dmitri,” which is derived from the greek goddess demeter, to the fish mook who recognizes him; demeter being the goddess of fertility, health, law, gotham’s future...

gobblepot: “hello, james. old friend.” oswald comes back to gotham and the immediate first thing he does after ensuring his sneaky little scheme is visiting jim--before gertrud, no less. and at jim’s girlfriend’s apartment. hm!!!

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

what does this have to do with clownfish?

i know this was a mostly sad episode that ended on a rather disquieting note, but i was grinning from ear to ear by the end, you guys. I LOVE THIS SILLY SHOW SO MUCH, and i want to tell you why, so let’s talk about titans 2.04:

SPOILERS ahead

1. i get why we’re getting a flashback episode now--the titans’ ~sordid past~ with deathstroke has gotten a fair bit of build-up, and now that slade has jason, we need the history between him and the og team to contextualise the upcoming confrontation. still, i was really looking forward to having kory reunite with the team, goddamit! 

1.5. i like the convivial, almost collegiate vibe that the original titans have about them--the idea of them getting together both desperate to prove that they are more than what their origins and youth might suggest, and to dick around (pun not intended) and just... be, in a way that their individual circumstances wouldn’t allow them. costumes on, in mission-mode, they are trained and hyper-competent, but in their downtime they apparently like adorably warbling off-key at each other and re-enacting 90s/00s cheesy rom-coms. it’s great! i would’ve loved to see these kinds of flashbacks drip-fed to us right from the beginning of the season--putting it all in one episode, from aqualad’s introduction to demise all in forty minutes, not only screws up the pacing, but also robs us of more of garth’s genuinely warm chemistry with the rest of the team. 

1.67. besides, the immediate contrast between this and the way dick conducts the titans now would’ve been funny and quite impactful.

2. for all that dick seemed standoffish and genuinely frightened of himself in s1, the slightly less filtered look we get into his mind in this flashback--well before his existential crisis--is somehow even more disquieting?? the way he talks about batman and his relationship with dawn and even his friendship with donna smacks of an alarming emotional disconnect; a space where his sense of self has fallen and been replaced by a role that he has been trained to play. he smiles more in this episode than probably all eleven of s1 combined, but he’s far more reserved, afraid of vulnerability, and completely unwilling to express any emotion that would come in the way of him being who he Needs To Be.

2.45. this episode puts into sharp relief just how far dick has come to make peace with bruce in 2.01. here batman is a glowing symbol against the night sky; a shadowy figure promising justice is vengeance and not the other way around; a hulking figure that he can hate and love without reserve, that orders him to be better no matter how exhausted he is, even while standing between him and incomprehensible evil like a bulwark. at the heart of the titans tower--a skyscraper on the opposite side of the country from gotham--is another batcave, a sign that how no matter how far he goes, dick’s perception of himself and his relationships is still inextricably tied to batman and his ways. 

it’s the missing link between the angry, grieving boy we saw in flashbacks last season, and the man rapidly spiralling into crisis at the beginning of season 1. he’s internalised batman’s mission before he can decide for himself what he wants to be, and he’s been like this well into his adult years (unlike the comics). no wonder when the moment he goes Too Far finally comes, when he’s so burrowed into himself that vengeance becomes an end rather than a tool, it’s such a violent upheaval, and one that he hasn’t quite been able to put to rest in over a season.

2.65. honestly the matter of fact way he talks about being dawn’s rebound relationship after her breakup is haunting me?? dick grayson--robin, batman’s partner, the First Sidekick, leader of the titans, friend, brother, lover, a valuable asset with trackers in his arm and neck--is so utterly subsumed that his feelings, his self, automatically comes second to the role he’s playing. i wonder if he had found that he’d had a tracker installed in his body without his knowledge at this point, he’d have accepted the cold logic of it (of course batman needs to keep track of him), instead of the visceral reaction he has five years later, when he immediately picks up a knife and cuts it out of his skin.

2.95. (retrospectively it lends so much more meaning to the opening scene of 1.08??? where dick says he needs to go off on his own to get his bearings right instead of staying on to be the Leader after their traumatic time at the asylum and kory and the others are quietly accepting of it?? where’s that ‘that’s growth’ gif when you need it)

3. donna! it’s interesting that her role as a titan was always meant to be a pitstop before she moved on to Greater Things, and her struggle to reconcile that with her growing attachment to the team came across really well. jillian’s never really pressuring her to leave immediately--six months! two weeks! idk, forever! really, it’s your pick!--but donna tells dick she needs to leave that very night, either because she’s hoping that he’ll protest and ask her to stay, or that she’ll fall for garth and lose her wavering conviction to leave if she stayed any longer, or both. 

3.5. donna and garth’s relationship followed so many wonderfully cheesy conventions, with all of their attendant adorableness and Problems. the scions of two different royal families of two different races falling in Forbidden Love! garth clumsily flirting with donna even as she keeps turning him down! (not cool, garth!) bonding over reminiscing about quirky childhood memories! consulting a put-upon mutual best friend! the last minute reconciliation and confession of love at the airport! garth dying right after celebrating his birthday! (that cop was just a day away from retirement!) PERFECT

like. i have NO IDEA why people still insist on calling this show ‘dark’ and ‘edgy’. don’t let the weird lighting and occasional blood spatter distract you from the goofy, well-intentioned heart right at its centre, you guys!

(but man, dick and donna’s quiet heartbreak at the prospect of separation was harder to watch. for a moment, dick really let himself feel the burden, sinking onto his haunches, his head in his hand like he was about to cry. just a moment.)

4. the others’ reaction to garth’s death is very telling. donna is devastated; hank and dawn are upset, but in a distant way that suggests that they didn’t really know him very well or for very long; and dick... well dick is hard at work in his batcave, because that is how he knows to react to disaster. 

4.5. i know that i spend quite a bit of my reviews harping on and on about dick, but he is more than just the team leader, or the one with the most well-defined arc so far, or the connective tissue between the old and new teams: the titans is HIS, in ways both subtle and insubtle. batman is funding the whole thing; their resources, their tech? all wayne enterprises. by extension, this shindig is dick’s idea, dick’s operation, something he shaped after himself--serene, beautiful, somewhat impersonal on the surface and batman-the-symbol, batman-the-phantom, right at the centre. 

4.65. so when the burden of morality-bending vengeance falls squarely on dick’s shoulders, it seems natural. it also seems entirely natural that when dick does follow through on what the team wants from him, the fallout is also put square on him: he’s the one that’s gone completely off the rails, the one that would sacrifice anything for a mission (like hank implies in the previous episode), the one haunted by his own darkness. this, of course, is patently false, as trigon demonstrated earlier this season.

5. the opening scene of slade wilson doing the Thing He Does Best was so fun to watch. i love that this show is always trying to do interesting things with the camera. (tho i wonder, who hired him to take out donna troy in san fran? was that even his original objective? was it dr light? i am Confusion)

5.5. ... even tho the villain-confrontation scenes seemed hampered by low effects budgets and a lack of... kineticism. i can’t figure out how dr light works even after two episodes of seeing him do his thing. he can apparently implant light bombs in people but never seems to use this awesome ability again, when it can actually help him against the titans? 

6. the moment i saw joey wilson’s profile through the window of his home, i knew he was going to be my favourite character on this show. i love him and his enthusiasm and his cute shoes and his love for vintage records SO MUCH! i know it’s been hinted that he died, but i can’t bear the prospect for even a second. HE’S ALIVE AND WELL SOMEWHERE HAVING TEA AND LISTENING TO GREAT MUSIC WITH AMY ROHRBACH, I JUST KNOW IT

6.5. dick (and the others) wouldn’t be so horrified with themselves and think about shuttering the titans for good if they hadn’t felt some kind of attachment to jericho. dick especially i think is going to fall into an actual honest friendship with joey and is going to extremely disgusted with himself when it all ends in tragedy anyway. 

6.75. we’re probably not going to find out what actually happened to joey for a while, but here’s hoping the Unforgivable won’t happen.

7. on the brightside tho, KORY’S BACK NEXT EP! can’t wait.