Instead of Dick or Tim, Red Hood straight up goes for kidnapping Bruce Wayne and keeping him hostage just to see how desperate the birds get in trying to find him.
It’s a foolproof plan. Batman won’t blow his cover unless absolutely necessary, and “Brucie” would never know how to slip away from a crime lord of Red Hood’s caliber. It’s foolproof. It’s perfect. Jason can keep dropping hints and make threats towards the birds and watch Bruce squirm without consequences if he plays this right.
But then “Brucie” keeps begging him not to hurt his kids…
still thinking about childhood best friend simon and that lake house
thinking about how simon is so forceful at pushing your boyfriend out. he’d wake up early in the morning and shoot you throngs of messages, things like if you wanted to take a morning walk with him, and take the dogs out or something.
and when you roll over, plucking your chiming phone from the nightstand, ignoring your boyfriend’s grumbling, you see simon’s messages and think nothing of them.
(simon would never—you told your man; you told him that simon’s just clingy because it’s been years since the two of you met again, that simon’s a good man.
“please trust me?” you whispered, and he had to hold back his glower because of course he trusts you.
it’s simon he doesn’t trust, but it’s not like he could say anything when your parents adore simon; when your mom pinches simon’s cheek before giving him extra servings, or when your dad claps simon on the back, telling him how he’s grown so tall and how he dearly remembers when you used to tower over simon back in your youths.
simon’s so woven into your family so how could your boyfriend ever say anything against him? he’s fucking royalty at this point—beloved by everyone.
even your nephews stare at simon with starry eyes more than they do their own dad.)
so you agree to every little outing that simon proposes—morning walks, drive to the local shops, going to liquor stores together, completing errands alone for your family.
you tried to include your boyfriend but simon and him never got along, and you just got so tired of of trying. this is your long-awaited vacation, so why the hell are you playing telephone with your two boys?
so you divided your attention then, with how the two of them are so stubborn when it came to you.
but—
simon knows you. he knows how to catch your attention.
so night dates with your boyfriend turned into a hangout with simon inviting himself in. he would always walk with you two to your room, crash in the bean bags and ask what would you all watch tonight. or he would tug you all to the family game room and make up a game that would end in you and him teaming up against your boyfriend. or he would propose a night swim in the shallow ends of the lake, and it’s always his shirt that he’d hand to you when you get chilly.
it’s these little things that add up; little things that you never really questioned because you grew up with simon, you grew up doing all of these with him, but—
simon’s different now. he’s a lot taller, a lot broader. he’s a lot more beautiful than you ever remembered.
and something in your chest unfurls, choking the threads of your rationalization—
oh god.
(simon walked in on your boyfriend packing his bags, his chest heaving and his eyes red with tears. and all simon ever tells him is, “y’need a ride?” because finally.
Just watched the tsunami arc again and it's crazy how Buck spends seasons 3-7 desperately searching for who he is and his place in the world when he already found it the moment Eddie walked into his apartment at the end of 3x03. And that's by his own admission. "A few choice words can sometimes be the life raft that gets you home. To be seen... To be found... isn't that what we're all searching for?" HOW CAN HE SAY THAT AND SPEND THE NEXT 5 SEASONS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING HE CAN'T FIND????? HE'S ALREADY FOUND IT EVEN BEFORE HE BEGAN LOOKING. IT'S EDDIE. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN EDDIE.
That very night, after their lovemaking, Psyche approached the blissfully asleep Eros with a lamp and a razor. It didn’t take her long to identify him: she didn’t only see hairs of gold, purple cheeks, and neck whiter than milk, but also her husband’s bow and arrows lying beside him. Awestruck and curious, she pulled one of the arrows out of the quiver and pricked herself while doing this. The pain startled her, and a drop of burning oil fell from her lamp upon the shoulder of Eros; this awoke the god momentarily and, just as soon as he realized that his wife had broken her promise, he fled away without a word. Too bad that Psyche, owing to the arrow wound, had now fallen even more intensely in love with her husband.
— The Myth of Eros and Psyche (inspired by @nic-coughlan)