#rogues are afraid to go anywhere near it

[nerdpoe]

Danny decides to open a haunted house for Halloween-in Gotham. For kicks. He reserves the opening night for the Bats and only the Bats. The Bats do not have a choice in this.

They all wake up in the haunted house.

Their rogues, who had big plans, also wake up in the haunted house-but they don't get the toned down spooky version Danny's working on for potential customers that he's doing a test-run with via Bat testers.

No, the Rogues are locked in the basement with the ghosts of everyone they've killed.

Danny's got Tucker running the cameras, Sam helping coordinate the Ghosts, and Danny himself is running the actual spooky bits.

In theory, it's the perfect haunted house.

The best way to test it though, he feels, is against heroes that face scary things every day.

So.

Red Hood walking down a hallway, sees feet dangling from the ceiling. But there's a convenient beam blocking their view, so he strides up just as the feet vanish-and that's a solid wooden ceiling.

There's a note with a smiley face.

"Please rate your haunting experience on a scale of one to ten! :)"

Robin sees a shadow, and he chases it. And chases it. And chases it. And foolishly he somehow manages to let it lead him to a dead end-only when he turns around, the shadow is in the door.

And it's just a being made of pure shadow, with elongated limbs, breathing with a horrible wet rasp as it stares down at him.

Then it disappears.

In it's place, there's a note.

"Please rate your haunting experience on a scale of one to ten! :)"

Red Robin hears Batman call out for him to look something over, so he goes into the room.

Batman isn't there.

Batman's voice whispers in his ear from behind.

"Never thought you'd fall for that~"

The door slams shut.

Red Robin turns to open it, but it won't open. Not even if he picks the lock.

The floor creaks, and when he turns around he sees Batman standing right there-only for him to dissolve piece by piece.

In the puddle of weird green goo, there's a note.

"Please rate your haunting experience on a scale of one to ten! :)"

Bruce is in what looks like a child's room.

The temperature drops, and he braces for a supernatural event, because this is clearly what's going on.

The air stands still-and every single toy's head snaps to look at him.

They open their mouths and scream, green goo gargling up and spilling out of their lips.

The lights cut out, then they come back on; and the toys are all arranged around him in a peculiar pattern.

There's a note at his feet.

His lips quirk up against his will.

"Please rate your haunting experience on a scale of one to ten! :)"

Nightwing knows he's being fucked with.

He knows it.

He recognizes the room he's in-it was in the pamphlet for the new haunted house opening in Gotham. He'd really wanted to go, actually, but he was kinda sad he didn't have anyone with him.

He wanted it to be a family outing.

But from what it looks like, this is probably a test run. No ones emergency beacons have gone off, and there's only swearing in the comms cut through with mild amusement on Bruce's part.

Ugh, he doesn't want spoilers! He wants to go through it for the first time with everyone else!

"Hey, um, I was actually planning to come here with my family! I don't really want to be spoiled on anything, so can I skip this? And can I have anyone you haven't tested it on skip it too? Cuz they're probably friends or family and I want to be on the same knowledge level of what to expect."

The air itself seems to pause.

"Ah, shit, I'm sorry man. I didn't even think of that; I'll pull Spoiler and Signal before we start their runs."

Nightwing turns towards the intercom and waves cheerfully.

"I mean, we'd definitely be down to walk through the house tonight, but I want to do it in a group so we can laugh at each other."

"Oh, for sure, I just got too caught up in the 'creepy' part of the haunted house. The exit is hidden in the wall to your left, just pick up the rotary phone and it should pop out."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for them at the front!"

@simplestoryteller

[greenglowinspooks]

(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (Pt. 4)

—

Tw: descriptions of body horror, Dr. Crane has PTSD and Does Not Realize, Crane has an actual panic attack and just doesn’t care, the Riddler makes one (1) sex joke about Batman

Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually

(Pt. 1 here) (Prev here) - (Pt. 5 here)

(Masterlist here)

—

Dr. Jonathan Crane is in his lab, the acrid scent of chemicals filling the air, and his hands are shaking.

Danny’s health, for the first week that he had him, had been steadily improving at an extremely quick rate. However, his healing had begun to stagnate. Danny said that it was because his body had run out of ectoplasm, and that while there was a lot of ambient ectoplasm in Gotham, he needed a stronger type in order to heal.

And so, that led Dr. Crane here.

He had stolen the research notes from the Penguin years ago regarding his experimentation on him.

(He quite vividly remembers the sound of bone creaking and groaning as it twisted, lengthened. The squelching of shifting tendons and muscles, the strange fabric-like tightening of skin. The feeling of going from man to monster, of losing all claim to his humanity.)

Danny had called him Liminal, part ghost. He had said that he was transformed by, among other things, a kind of synthetic ectoplasm.

Danny needed ectoplasm.

Crane had the research notes. He had every ingredient necessary. And yet, attempt after attempt failed.

The chemical smell burns his nose. His hands tremble.

Dr. Crane is not afraid.

He doesn’t feel fear anymore. He’s tried to, many, many times, but nothing has worked. And yet, his hands are shaking still.

(The horrifying sensation of vertebrae pop-pop-popping along his spine, growing and lengthening. The unbearable itching beneath his skin as toxin glands begin to form. The feeling of his teeth sharpening and elongating, of his skull growing, of his vision changing and brightening. The awful stench of chemicals. The awful stench of ectoplasm.)

Jonathan takes careful note of his shaking hands, his blurring vision, his accelerated heart-rate and shallow breathing.

(Human hands. Human vision. Human heart and lungs and organs.)

He takes note of them, but he does not let that distract him from the task at hand. Danny is not a chemist, but Jonathan is.

The boy knows enough about chemistry in theory, but he won’t go anywhere near Crane’s equipment. He seems to have some sort of intense fear of laboratory settings, probably developed during his stay with the GiW, and Crane is willing to respect that, if only because he cannot afford to lose him.

As such, Crane is the only one qualified to do this. And, unfortunately, if he isn’t successful the boy may very well die.

He heats the chemicals to precisely the right temperatures, adding each one to its correct container.

Dr. Crane thinks of the Scarebeast, that creature born of cruelty and greed and a sense of superiority. That creature which he tries to ignore is a part of him, that can never be removed. A damage which cannot be undone.

He pours the contents of a small beaker into a larger flask, watching the liquids swirl together. The stench in the air is becoming closer and closer to the one burned into his memory.

Crane’s whole body is wracked with unpleasant sensations. It’s truly unfortunate, he thinks, that despite his mind’s lack of fear, his body still reacts so harshly.

Jonathan’s eyes wander, eventually settling on a purple and green card sitting innocently on the corner of the table.

Right.

Even if they wiped out the GiW tomorrow, and even if Danny could survive without ectoplasm, he would still be in danger.

Crane has to get him back to good health. It’s the only way he can be sure that the boy can defend himself properly.

The solution in the flask begins to foam, and Jonathan does not hesitate as he adds the final ingredient. He pours the mixture into a new container, capping it and placing it into a freezer set to -40 degrees.

Hopefully this time he got the timing right.

Jonathan tries to relax, the ventilation in the room slowly but surely clearing the familiar smell from the air.

He thinks of the letter.

Surely, he thinks, that man can come up with some better material for his jokes. Or, at least something new.

Same old threats, same old attempted poisoning.

Aiming his threats at Danny, though, that was new. New and utterly unacceptable.

Scarecrow did what he had to.

He doubted that his solution would last forever, of course, as with that man it never did. As such, he would prepare both himself and Danny for the inevitable moment that his choices came back to bite them.

However, for the moment, they were safe. Danny could rest and recover, and Jonathan could figure out a plan to minimize possible damages.

Jonathan is no longer shaking.

He’s exhausted. This is his fifth attempt today, and each one leaves an unfortunate strain on his mind and body.

With a sigh, he settles himself into his seat at a nearby desk, opening up his computer and logging his most recent attempt. He still has to wait for it to chill to know if it was successful, but he can always update the logs later.

Once he’s done, he stretches, joints popping loudly as he walks to the freezer.

When he sees the results of his tireless work, the ghost of a smile flits across his face.

Success.

Jonathan picks up the jug of ectoplasm and leaves the lab, which is in all actuality the basement of the new apartment that he moved himself and Danny into after receiving the note. The scrappy old woman who was his landlord had told him that as long as he paid her five hundred dollars up front, she would let him set up in the basement without any questions or cop calls.

And so, the most expensive apartment in the Narrows was his.

At least, he thought, the distance between the basement and the apartment was short enough that Danny didn’t have to sit in while he was doing his labwork.

Jonathan knew that he didn’t exactly have a strong grasp on the concept of ‘lab safety,’ proven by his built-up immunity to almost every toxic chemical he’d ever encountered, and he doubted that Danny should be around such an environment.

He was back to the apartment quickly, not bothering to hide the self-satisfied smile on his face. Danny is sitting in his armchair, trying to read one of his books. Danny looks up, ready to greet him, when he sees the jug in his hands and pauses.

“Is that..?”

“Synthetic ectoplasm,” Jonathan says proudly, “I found the Penguin’s research notes and decided to recreate it, since you said that you needed it to heal properly. I’m not sure if it’ll work the same as what you usually have, but I hope it’s helpful all the same.”

Danny is standing, now, and looking at Jonathan with a strange look in his eyes. He looks, Jon thinks, like he’s about to cry.

Then Danny is rushing forward and wrapping his arms around Jonathan, his scrawny form shaking.

Jonathan is, for a moment, horrified. Did he do something wrong somehow? Why is this child, who’s so afraid of touch, hugging him?

And then he hears Danny’s voice, and he knows that it was all worth it.

“Thank you,” he’s mumbling, over and over, “thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.”

“Of course,” Jonathan says softly, because what else can he say?

The boy cries in his arms for a while, and Jonathan briefly wonders what his life must have been like before, if a person like him can be seen as a comforting figure.

Then, Danny pours himself a small glass of the synthetic ectoplasm, putting the rest into the small fridge which had come with the apartment, and he settles back down, sitting in the armchair once again.

Jonathan sits opposite of him, and they chat with one another as Danny drinks.

Danny talks to him about the stars and tells him about different spaceships, and Jonathan makes sure to pay attention and ask the boy questions.

He doesn’t miss the way that Danny lights up every time he asks him something about his interests. He’s so passionate, so smart, a trait that he seldom sees outside of his fellow rogues, and Jonathan wants to encourage that.

It’s…nice. Peaceful, almost.

And then the front door flies open, because Jonathan isn’t allowed to have nice things.

“Jon,” a familiar voice rings out, “what the hell?!”

Danny is frozen in place, clearly terrified.

Jonathan heaves a sigh, turning to face the nuisance who’s entered his apartment.

“Eddie,” he drawls, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Edward’s face is red with anger as he invades Jonathan’s apartment.

“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe it’s the fact that you sent a bunch of rogues a cryptic message and then dropped off the face of the earth for two weeks! I was worried, Jon!”

Jonathan hums in acknowledgement.

“I didn’t think it was that cryptic,” he says, picking up a book in order to pointedly ignore the Riddler.

“Oh, of course you didn’t, you straw-stuffed hickory dickory dickhead. I swear, you’re always—” he pauses, finally having noticed Danny sitting opposite of Jonathan, “—who is this?”

“My apprentice,” Jonathan replies, dreading the upcoming headache he was no doubt going to develop from Edward’s company, “he’s helping me hunt down the GiW. His name is Danny.”

Edward gasps dramatically.

“You—an apprentice?! And you’re letting him sit in the old man chair?! You don’t even let me sit in the old man chair,” he wails, draping himself over the headrest of the couch with a flourish, “Jonathan, I thought I knew you!”

“Edward,” Jonathan says, “get out of my apartment.”

“Oh my goodness, this is incredible. You’re becoming the bat!”

“I am not becoming the bat, Eddie, now get out.”

Edward has a shit-eating grin on his face as he waltzes over to Danny. Danny, who seemed terrified when he first appeared, is now looking at him with obvious amusement written all over his face.

“I mean, look at him! The hair, the eyes, the scrappy build. If you put him in one of those traffic light vigilante costumes, he could easily pass as a Robin!”

“I’m not doing this with you today, Eddie.”

“Riddle me this, Jon: I am a treasure hidden inside of a chest. You can break me, or steal me, or give me a rest. I can flutter, or pound, or attack, or drop, but if you don’t have me, you’re certainly fucked. What am I?”

Jonathan pauses for a moment before he groans, dropping his head into his hands.

“Eddie.”

Danny sits still, a confused look on his face as he repeats the riddle silently. Then, his face lights up in delight.

“A heart!”

“Jon, I like this one,” Edward says with a smile, ruffling Danny’s hair, “you are correct! A heart, something that I wasn’t aware that our dear Jonathan had!”

“Eddie, stop.”

“No, no,” Edward says, “I was worried about you, you deserve this. I mean, you even missed girls night! You never miss girls night!”

“Girls night?” Danny asks, absolutely delighted.

“Oh, of course,” Edward says, sprawling over on the couch, dangerously close to just laying in Jonathan’s lap, “we have it once a week. I’m invited because of Selina and Jon’s invited because Harley likes him.”

“And what does girls night entail, exactly?”

“Eddie,” Jonathan groans, “please.”

“Well,” Edward hums, “we usually paint our nails, or watch a movie, or gossip about the other rogues, and occasionally, we tell each other about any ‘encounters’ we have with Batman,” he says, raising his eyebrows up and down.

Danny’s jaw drops.

“Edward, shut up,” Jonathan says, an irritated tone in his voice that wasn’t there before.

“No way,” Danny says, “I thought that Batman, like, hated you guys or something. You mean he actually..?”

“Oh, the Bat is much like a bottle of liquor or a cheap cigarette, in that he was made to be passed around.”

Danny chokes on air.

“Edward Nygma,” Jonathan hisses, getting out of his seat and looming over the man, “get the hell out.”

Edward pales.

“Leaving, leaving!” Edward says, dashing away from Jonathan. He pauses, turning to flash Danny a quick smile.

“Remember Danny, I’m your favorite uncle! Not any of the other rogues, me!”

With that, he leaves, the room falling completely silent.

And, as per usual, that silence does not last.

“You full-named him?” Danny asks gleefully, “and it worked?”

Jonathan just sighs, sitting down on the couch and rubbing at his temples.

“Please, don’t take anything Eddie says seriously. He’s a moron.”

“Dr. Crane, please let me come to girls night with you,” Danny pleads, his eyes sparkling, “I promise I won’t embarrass you.”

Jonathan groans.

“Of course you won’t, Eddie will do it for you.”

“Come on, please?”

“I think we’re a bit busy with the GiW at the moment,” Jonathan snaps. He pauses as he notices the crestfallen expression on Danny’s face.

This boy is going to be the death of him.

“Perhaps, though, when all that is taken care of…”

Danny cheers, grinning wildly, and Jonathan is not at all relieved to see him happy again. Certainly not.

The rest of the day is relatively normal.

Danny works on trying to get information from the GiW database while Crane refines his his fear toxin, both preparing for a raid on the GiW base they located in Gotham.

It was only a temporary base, nothing of note, but there was a chance of discovering more bases through it, and that wasn’t something either of them were willing to give up.

Still, something like this would take time. Rushing would only lead to failure.

…

Late in the night, long after Danny is fast asleep in his room, Jonathan pauses.

The GiW are not the only threat out there. They aren’t the only threat to him or to Danny. Perhaps it could be helpful to reach out to someone with greater resources than himself.

He sends a quick message to Red Hood.

Hopefully, he thinks, everything will go smoothly.

—

[stealingyourbones]

*offers a (sanitized) owl pellet* Here, it’s got at least half a small rodent skeleton.

I was thinking… for DPxDC… Have we ever put Danny in Gotham as a garbage man? NOW HEAR ME OUT!

He could START as a trash collector in a relatively low-chaos part of the city, neither Diamond District nor Crime Alley. Then… he starts volunteering for Dock Dumpster Duty™️ because the middle-class neighborhoods are “too bland.” (This kid is from a city somehow more chaotic than Gotham, he gets paranoid if he goes a full shift without trouble.)

His supervisor is baffled by this. DDD is the single most dreaded assignment for every other worker in the area. They don’t want to put Danny on it, ‘cause he’s a good employee! But nobody else wants to… and the kid’s been both anxious and bored the past few weeks… a few daytime DDD shifts should be fine, right?

Eight. Danny gets almost-mugged eight times on three days of DDD. The worst part? His supervisor doesn’t hear about it until the third day, because Mugger 9 gets a slash on Danny’s arm and manages to nab his (atrocious) earbuds. The boy just calls the office to say,

“Hey, the latest mugger got a lucky shot so I gotta head home for the day- No, no, nothing serious, it’s a small cut… Yeah he got my earbuds, which, I’ll be impressed if he can actually sell ‘em… No way, cops wouldn’t care about this, it’s fine! … Thanks, I’ll let you know if I’m able to come in tomorrow bye!”

The supervisor and the secretary stare at the phone in disbelief. He wants to come in tomorrow?!

Just… give me Danny as a guy with an “undesirable” job, and taking on the tasks that even his coworkers don’t want to do. Everyone is both in awe and a little afraid of him, and not even for ghostly reasons.

oh i absolutely adore this. He's had to pick up the wildest shit near the docs where various rogues dump their stuff, but he doesn't even blink loading a dumpster full of biohazard bags into his truck. He learns that he can't wear headphones because they are for sure going to be taken if they're anywhere above absolute shit quality. Using a speaker would alert more people to him and THAT would be stolen as well. Gotham is a tad sucky but god damn does his job pay a decent salary and his coworkers are pretty fun to talk to. He's having the time of his life.

[incorrectbatfam]

Have the Gooners had any direct or indirect encounters with any supervillains?

Interviewer: Tell me why you want to intern at LexCorp.

Booker: LexCorp? The ad said something else.

Interviewer: LexCorp is our parent company.

Booker: I see.

[later that day]

Booker: *finds an ad for criminals wanting an intern*

Booker: Well, it's either this or LexCorp.

Booker: *applies*

———————

Riddler: Behold, my ultimate puzzle!

Riddler: *clicks a remote*

Riddler: Why isn't the screen working?

Henchman: It's the new software update. I'm calling tech support.

Henchman: *calls*

Mac, on the other end: Best Buy Geek Squad, how may I assist you?

———————

[a year ago]

Gene's coworker: Hey Gene, can you do me a favor?

Gene: I would, but I'm totally swamped with this one guy's tax returns.

Gene's coworker: Which one?

Gene: Someone named Harvey Dent. There are so many discrepancies, it's like he's living two lives.

———————

Milo: *driving*

Milo: *sees a pedestrian*

Milo: *slams the brakes and honks*

Harley: Hey, I'm walkin' here!

———————

Otto: Morning, Basil. The usual wash?

Clayface: *nods*

Otto: Sounds good. I'll get your car clay-free in half an hour.

———————

[two years ago]

Cobblepot: Bartender, another drink!

Molly: Sir, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to cut you off.

Cobblepot: Who owns this lounge? Who's paying your salary?

Molly: Fine, what'll it be?

Cobblepot: Our finest red wine, of course.

Molly: Good choice.

Molly: *slips a sedative when he's not looking*

Molly: Here you go. Have a good night.

Cobblepot: What?

Molly: Nothing.

———————

[three years ago]

Talia: For this drill, I want to focus on distance. Team A, take the turrets. Team B, you're on the ground with arrows.

Kellin: *grabs a bow*

Talia: And... fire!

Kellin: *fires an arrow*

*arrow hits an oil lamp*

*lamp falls next to Ra's*

*cape catches fire*

———————

Blaise: *googles how to make his weed plants grow faster*

Blaise: *clicks on a video*

The video: Good afternoon, gardeners and plant lovers. I'm Dr. Pamela Isley and today I'll be showing you how to...

———————

[three years ago]

Scarecrow's assistant: Sir, one of your employees wants to see you.

Scarecrow: Send him in.

Rob: Dr. Crane, I'm Rob Steeler. I'm one of the people who intercepted that shipment containing the last ingredient you need for your new fear gas.

Scarecrow: And what do you need?

Rob: Can these other guys step out of the room? It's kind of personal.

Scarecrow: *waves them out*

Rob: *points a gun at Scarecrow*

Scarecrow: Somebody's feeling fearless.

Rob: Your new formula cost me the love of my life. I can see you reaching under your desk for some fear gas and I'm telling you right now, it won't work because the thing I'm most afraid of already came true.

Scarecrow: So you seek revenge.

Rob: Tempting, but no. I want an out—from you, your organization, and your operations. I don't want you or any of your big-shot Rogue connections to come anywhere near me or my family.

Scarecrow: And if I refuse?

Rob: *shoots the wall behind Scarecrow*

Scarecrow: Very well, have it your way. Best of luck finding any semblance of success. You and I both know you will live and die a common thief.

Rob: We'll revisit that when we meet in hell.

[iamfitzwilliamdarcy]

Thinking about how Kipps is everything an adult supervisor should be and it’s those exact reasons he cannot live with himself being one... this was just supposed to be a post of contrasting block quotes and it’s still mostly that but I added a bit of commentary/context:

“The adult supervisors had zero psychic sensitivity and, since they were mortally afraid of going anywhere near an actual Visitor, never ventured far into a haunted zone. Instead, they hung around on the sidelines, being old and useless.” 

- Lucy in The Creeping Shadow

Kipps, meanwhile, during the Guppy escapade:

“The one exception was Kipps, who sat cross-legged in the kitchen, drinking hot chocolate and reading a newspaper. He didn’t have sufficient Talents to do psychic exploration.”

(emphasized because he’s actually in the home, none of Lucy’s adult supervisors have ever done that -- also he’s staying out of the way) 

Later, he makes an official suggestion in his capacity as Fittes observer, but when the actual psychic kids reject it, he goes along with their plan anyway. Not only that, they’re actively trying to draw out Guppy and Kipps helps: 

“Lockwood inserted his crowbar into a narrow space between a countertop and the cupboard below.  ‘Kips and I will start,’ he said. ‘The rest of you keep watch”  ....After a bit, he moved back and let Kipps take over with the mallet.

And then :

“We have to go and help him, Kipps,” I said.  Kipps didn’t seem to have moved since Lockwood had left the room. His face was white. He gathered his wits. “Yes. We must. Come on.”

He doesn’t end up having to do anything because George finds the Source a moment later but he’s willing! He can’t see the ghost but he’s gonna go help Lockwood fight it! 

I don’t have my copy of Screaming Staircase with me to double check so I’ll edit this later-- I can’t remember if Lucy asking Jacobs to come into the house and offer advice is in the book or a show addition, but it’s such a contrast!!! 

And then, of course, these are all the reasons that Kipps ends up resigning-

“I just had a realization,” he said when we were on the train and rocking slowly through the south London suburbs. “After the Guppy job. I mean, there we were-- in a house possessed by a wicked and powerful entity, and you all were running around like madmen-- fighting, screaming, being fools-- but dealing with it... I was just a fifth wheel. I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t hear it... I was too old to do anything useful. And that’s what being a supervisor is: it’s a life of sending others out to fight and die. I’ve known that for a while, but it took you to make me realize I couldn’t bear to continue with it.... it was probably another dumb decision... like agreeing to come along with you today. Lockwood says he wants my expertise, but I’m not sure what I can contribute aside from standing around like a fence post. Maybe I can make the tea.” 

which like wow! The acceptance that he no longer has Talent, that his leadership can no longer continue to the way it used to -- which is exactly what an adult supervisor should do -- be there for input, listen to the psychic kids, advise and support-- it’s what Kipps does !  

we very frequently see Kipps actively engaged with his Team in Whispering Skull and Hollow Boy- obviously he has a Prideful streak, he’s pompous and makes mistakes, but we generally see him trust his team and do his best as a Leader. Again, don’t have my copies with me so can’t make the point further in those books, but also remember the reason he falls into hot water with Fittes in the first place is he goes a little rogue-- and the reason for that is because none of DEPRAC or the other Adults know what’s going on with the Chelsea outbreak, and, in the wake of his agent’s death, Kipps doesn’t want to lose anyone else to arbitrary nonsense (there’s something here in direct contrast to Marissa but maybe I’ll expound more in another post) -- instead, he trusts a Talent he actually knows and makes the best choice for his team members 

Which is all to say-- Kipps is a good adult supervisor, but the system isn’t made for good adult supervisors 

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Being even more self-indulgent because I desperately need it

How does Lex feel about being caretaked like this? The fact that someone will not only not take advantage of his inebriated and vulnerable state but also make sure that he’s safe and comfortable and has water!

Alexei's POV of this scene

cw: alcohol, bad coping mechanisms, past trauma, brief emeto mention

Sprayed, weighed, stayed, evade.

Alexei didn't know why he'd come here. Chopper's place had been closer and there were a hundred alleyways he could've collapsed into along the way, why had he stumbled all the way here?

For once he'd drunk enough that he hardly thought anything at all. Couldn't feel the fear, couldn't recall Fox or his fucking collar or a hundred other bad memories. He'd left the bar hardly standing---he'd only left Chopper's safe haven to prove he could, to prove he was no longer a prisoner---and wandered the streets, mind flowing lazily from one thought to the next, not bothering to dwell on any one of them.

Clarity had only resurfaced for a fleeting moment when he fell against a door and realized he recognized it.

Clocks, box, stocks, locks.

It was the rogues' place. How had he even found it? Was it his body, retracing steps to the last place he'd almost felt okay, or was it pure, impossible coincidence?

The fuzziness drowning his thoughts kept him from caring too much, and Lex let himself fall, not fully feeling the jolt of his body hitting the pavement.

He had no idea how long he stayed like that before he heard a voice coming from... somewhere, the words it spoke muddled and muddied.

Panic came back in a sharp wave as he felt a sudden pull in his shoulder, someone grabbing his arm---

---but when his eyes flew open, all he saw was Spyglass. Not an enemy. Not a threat.

She pestered him awake, spouting logic his fear couldn't ignore when he tried to ignore her:

Someone might see you.

No matter how his body protested, an aching, spinning head and rolling stomach joining his list of reasons to stay on the ground, his need to hide was stronger.

And as much as he didn't want to go back inside, where he'd only feel

Spilt, wilt, lilt, tilt

unwelcome, it was his best option until daylight. He trudged inside, trying to pour all his focus on putting one foot in front of the other, on not collapsing as soon as he passed the threshold. Spyglass guided him towards the couch. With her voice, not her hands. Even in the dizzying fog around him, he was so fucking grateful for that.

Even if he didn't belong here, anywhere near here, he didn't want to be anywhere else. Not right now. Spyglass was too soft, too stupid, but she was a good person. She wouldn't hurt him, or turn him in, or

Scrape, tape, cape, drape

touch him if he didn't want her to. Lex sank into the couch, deepening his breaths to try and quell his nausea. Spyglass didn't leave his side right away, instead thrusting a water bottle towards him. Still wearing those stupid mitts. They looked like they belonged on a grandmother. He didn't know if she'd just forgotten to take them off, or if she was afraid of him.

"Drink."

He wanted to roll over, press his face into the cushions, but he was worried the motion would make him puke. "Why?"

She reminded him hangovers existed, as if he could forget. As if he cared. There were far worse things to wake up to.

But at her insistence, he took the bottle, stifling a groan as he sat up to grab it. He didn't want to admit that it felt good going down his throat.

"Happy?" he muttered.

"Yes." To his surprise, Spyglass turned to leave. No lecture, no request. He wanted to be alone, and she was going to leave him alone.

Did he want to be alone?

He wasn't expecting panic to trail behind that thought, the idea of being left down here where there were windows, where someone could see him, track him. What if someone broke in? He could fight them off, but he wouldn't escape notice. And if he was caught, the rogues would be in the line of fire.

Wire, spire, higher, liar.

Fuck, he was an idiot for coming here. He should've paid attention, gone back to Chopper's. Was it too late? He didn't want to get up. He wasn't sure he could get up.

"Wait," he managed as the rogue walked away. "Spyglass."

She paused. "Hm?"

Shit, what did he say? Thanks for the water, take me to Neath. No. It was too late to just leave, and turning up in Neath could easily slap another target on her back.

"Am... Am I safe?" he said, trying to keep the words from slurring.

She seemed confused, of course she was confused. Safe was a vague term. No one was ever safe.

"He won't find me here?"

Socks, rocks, blocks.

She gave a small nod. "He won't. We'll watch your back. Just get some rest, okay?"

Lex wasn't sure he believed her. Old habits. But he fell back onto the cushions. Somehow, he almost felt

Waif, chafe

okay. Somehow, when he fell into a dreamless sleep, he knew he wouldn't wake screaming.

•°•°•

tag list:

@whumpacabra @enteredin2eternity @kixngiggles @whumpsday @kiichu @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @shywhumpauthor @distinctlywhumpthing , @bloodinkandashes , @fleur-alise , @whumpy-daydreams , @whumpwillow

[broodwolf221]

Hello friend! I don’t entirely know how dadwc works exactly (only that a lot of my mutuals share amazing fics on Fridays lol) but I saw your prompt list and thought I would toss a prompt your way and see if it tickles your fancy!

From your heavy prompt list: scar reveal with Fenders with a lil hurt/comfort maybe?

Thank you! 😘

@dadrunkwriting

ah thank you toby! this was fun /u\ barely h/c lmao but it's there! just a hint.

cw: whipping scars

1109 words

They were on the Wounded Coast, where far too many things seemed to happen. Hawke had brought Merrill and Anders along with Fenris, who felt somewhat out of place amongst the rogue and mages. Not that things were anywhere near as strained as they had been early on.

Time had softened his mistrust of the mages Hawke surrounded herself with. Battling beside them and realizing he had grown to trust that their magic would not strike him had been a profound, almost unsettling realization. It was as if a core part of him had suddenly gone missing, and he felt raw and vulnerable for its absence, although he did not regret it being gone.

Merrill and Hawke entered their shared tent and Fenris rolled his eyes, although in truth he was happy for them: they seemed well-suited to each other. He just wished they could be a little quieter about how well-suited they were, sometimes. The giggling could be distracting.

Anders sat next to him, sharing a knowing grin. “We could always retire to our tent, make enough noise to keep them up half the night,” the mage offered blithely, Fenris snorting. Over time, suspicion had eased into trust; then trust, into a faint affection. From there, slowly and with the weight of something inevitable, this.

Anders leaning against him, shoulder-to-shoulder as they stared out at the sea. These shared touches, this tender intimacy that was so profoundly unfamiliar.

Not unwelcome, though. It should be, but it wasn’t.

He had tried to reason it through, at times. He had been a slave; Anders had been locked away in one of the Circles. Neither of them had known the truth of freedom for so long. He thought he could recognize the same caged-animal look in Anders’ eyes that he had felt so often in his; too, he could recognize the simple wonder at freedom that sometimes infused the mage, like when he turned his face up towards rainfall while the rest of them huddled under their cloaks.

Fenris had felt the rain, following Danarius. But he understood the thirst for things others took for granted. He recognized it in the other man, and assumed Anders recognized it in him. They still argued, certainly, but even those arguments had slowly taken on a different tone. He supposed by now they were more debates, a fast-paced and exacting expression of ideas. It honed both of them.

He usually noticed Anders writing notes to himself after their longer debates, he assumed for his manifesto. Sometimes he wanted to offer to read it, but he wasn’t sure he could - Hawke was still teaching him, after all - nor was he sure that it would be good to. He was worried it would dredge up old anxiety and fears, seeing Anders push for the same absolute freedom that mages had in Tevinter, although he knew the other man didn’t seek that same route exactly.

Regardless, he had not offered, and Anders had not suggested. Perhaps they were both afraid of this delicate balance being lost.

“Well, I’m going for a swim,” Anders announced abruptly, Fenris staring askance at him. But the mage just shot him a bright grin. “Look, the sea is calm, we have a good fire going, and I feel filthy after fighting bandits all day.” He rose and shrugged off his jacket, leaving Fenris to stare at him. Really? Swimming now, this late at night, in such cold water?

“Mage,” he said as he rose, grabbing Anders’ arm, “don’t be a fool.” But Anders just pulled out of his grip.

“I’m not. I won’t be long, I know it’s cold.” He wanted to protest but Anders was already striding forward, pulling his tunic off over his head before he set to work on his breeches.

It took Fenris a moment to understand what he was seeing, frowning at Anders’ back before flushing as the mage’s ass was suddenly exposed to him. Anders turned and winked before wading into the water with a visible shiver. “Andraste’s tits, this really is cold,” he said sharply, Fenris sighing. He sat back down as the mage stuck to his word, pushing forward just far enough that he could submerge himself fully for a moment before rising quickly, shaking his hair. “Shit! Okay, okay,” Fenris averted his eyes as Anders came back, now facing forward.

Seeing his ass had been distracting enough, he didn’t need to see the other man’s cock. At least, not in this context. Anders ducked down to grab his overcoat and shrugged it on before settling very close to the fire, his blonde hair dripping as he shivered.

“Fool mage,” Fenris muttered under his breath as he approached, wrapping an arm around the other man. Despite his frustration, he couldn’t entirely stop thinking about what he’d seen.

“I was expecting a lecture,” Anders quipped from beside him, sounding smug despite his trembling. Fenris didn’t respond immediately, considering.

“Your scars,” he said after a moment. Anders froze in his grip, not even breathing for a moment. Then he let out a shaky sigh, pulling the coat tighter as if that would protect him.

“You’re the worst voyeur,” he muttered. “Focusing on all the wrong things.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it...” he felt the roll of Anders’ shoulders as he shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter.” He stared into the fire, looking quite distant. “I was never exactly good at being cooped up. And Templars... some of them were worse than others.” He smiled ruefully. “And that’s saying something.”

“You were whipped?” He asked it as gently as he could, Anders sighing before nodding once.

“It wasn’t that unusual.” Fenris winced at that. He’d known, vaguely, about the abuses that mages suffered in the Circles, but to see it... “It’s not that big of a deal.” He sounded frustrated now, clearly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going. For him to fight so doggedly against the Templars and the Chantry, it clearly was a big deal - this, and everything else. But Fenris could understand his unwillingness to talk about it.

“I have the same marks,” he said after a moment, looking stoically into the fire. He felt Anders turn to face him, but wasn’t willing to meet his eyes just now. “It is... awful. And it is done.” He shrugged slightly. “I do not mean to bring you back to that place. I apologize.”

“No, no, I-” Anders cut himself off with a sigh. “I don’t know what to say.”

He let the silence sit. It lay heavy between them, but he kept his arm around the mage while he dried.

It was something.

[sensei-venus]

I know you said you write for them but no one’s requested 👀 so if you’re up for it I’d love to hear some of your HCs (nsfw or not!) about either Mike Barnes or Terry Silver with a chubby!reader bc listen- those two and kreese just 😩 I like the mean ones what can I say

(Ohh I get it alright- I'm a big slut for Kreese and Barnes-big time) (Also, I have a lot of stuff on Barnes in my wip, I have a whole plotline for Barnes wife and kids, just never posted it. If anyones is interested feel free to keep requesting more stuff for him.) (Unedited)

• I have a feeling Barnes has liked chubby girls since he was little. When he was a kid he always liked bigger women in general and as he grew it only started to develop more. His attraction grew even more as well. Skinny girl where fine but he would never deny that he liked chubby girls.

•Barnes didn't date much during his “bad boy of karate” years, he was to distracted trying to keep up his reputation. He also trained so much, moved around that he just didn't have time. But that didn't stop him from getting his fill. He still had nights out on the town, still got to bump and grind on some thick girls in clubs and bars. Of course it was out of the public eye.

•After his fame in the karate community started to fade that is when he started to go out more, date, fool around. He started to realize that it really wasn't a reason to not go out and mess around with chubby girls. And once he had a taste, he was addicted.

•Wheh he finally starts to settle down with his chubby gf he's in heaven. He treats her like a goddess. He wants to hold her constantly, touch her kiss her and everything in between. Anything she wants or needs he gets for her. He basically becomes her lap dog or more like guard dog. He's on a tight leash but he's oddly ok with that as long as it's only for her.

•He does just about everything with her. Even as they get older she's always near by, she most likely starts working with him. He's not public about it, he will never say it out loud, but his eyes always scan the room to make sure she is near him. He wants to know she is safely near him at all times.

•He likes her weight on top of him and he tells her that every time shes on top of him, in any situation. When they are out at dinner or go to a bar, basically anywhere they can sit, he wants her on his lap. He wants her all over him, to show her off where ever they go. He could literally be talking to someone and she's on his lap like it's nothing.

•He likes it when she rides him, he loves the weight on top of him and he loves to watch her bounce on his dick. The way her tits bounce in his face and her belly jiggles, the way her ass slaps down on him with every movement. He grips her hips like no other and guides her up and down his cock. Her pretty moans echo around the room and fill his ears making him smirk even bigger. His hands coming down on her ass hard. She yelps as she continues to work herself on his cock.

•He definitely has a creampie kink. He can’t get enough of playing with her pussy after he fills her up. Her tight pussy is overflowing with his milky white seed. He stuffs it back in with two finger’s and he isn’t afraid to finger her into another orgasm. He wants to make sure all of it stays in her for as long as possible. He loves a messy cunt. He likes to see her folds covers in a thick layer of his cum, he might even feel the need to take a picture of it for later.

•He’s also not afraid to pick her up and fuck her against the wall from time to time. He also loves shower sex because of this. He likes pushing her up against the shore while during a morning shower and splitting her wide open on his cock. Good morning wood is gone after a good long round of shower sex. The sound of grunts and moans and the slapping of wet skin. He can’t get enough of it.

•Ultimately Barnes is a rogue edged romantic. 

[5tr4ylov35t4y]

FORGET? pt 4

seunmin x reader

hyunjin x reader

angst

‘this is insane.’ seungmin thought for the last time.

his mind is in a disarray when he sees you and hyunjin lock hands . he doesn’t know what has gone into him, when suddenly he excuses himself, taps your shoulder and brings you away, with or without your word. he doesn’t know why, but he’s fuming. still pulling you around until you two reach the corner of the empty hallway where he for sure knows nobody would dare to occupy.

he opens his mouth to speak, but you get ahead of him. pulling your hand off of his grasp and glare at his eyes. “what the fuck is your problem?” you speak, holding your wrist where there’s a bit of redness and pain.

“what’s my problem?” he repeats, scoffing at you. your face churns, and it’s not a pretty one. confusion and an all over look that says ‘what the actual fuck’ portrayed on your face. “i should be the one asking you that! how are you and hyunjin always so handsy!” he practically yells, hands all over the place.

“why is it any of your concern?! we’re dating, of course we’d be like that!.” you answer him, putting your hand back to your side and sighing. “there, happy? now move along i have places to be.”

you haven’t even walked a foot away, and he’s grabbing your by your shoulder and pinning you to the same wall you stood at a second ago. your back comes into contact with the concrete making you groan a bit.

“you’re not going anywhere. we’re not done here.” he says, making sure you’re caged in his arms. his eyes glaring into yours, but you don’t cower down at his glare, instead, you do the same; returning the same amount of intensity he’s giving off with his glare.

“what the hell do you want kim seungmin.”

“what do i want?” he smirks, clicking his tongue as he looks you up and down. there’s a shiver that goes down your spine when he does that, not sure what he’s trying to do with his words. “i want to know how you and that jerk hyunjin together, without me knowing.”

you roll your eyes at him, shoving off his chest and huffing. “maybe if you weren’t so occupied, you would’ve noticed. but unfortunately for you, you were so busy to even notice how me and that "jerk" hyunjin, got closer.” his childish behavior, doesn’t wear away.

“you could maybe just have come near me and talked to me about it rather than being ignorant”

“you’re calling me, ignorant?” appalled, you scoff and place your finger on his sturdy chest. “you went m.i.a on me because you were too busy for your girlfriend who had to stand by you. you, went rogue on me because you were, once again, too busy and you were the one who turned a blind eye on me.” every word pierces him like an arrow straight to his heart. he doesn’t know why, but seeing you so angry and pissed off at him makes him afraid and sad. he fears that this might actually be the last straw and that there’s no way of fixing it; which he clearly is terrified of.

“i’m done seungmin. seriously. you’ve always been so fucking selfish, and now you’re jealous because i’m with hyunjin. and that now you can’t have me by your side.” lowering your finger, you put it back to your side and stare at him up and down. it breaks your heart how he, the person you used to trust, suddenly blame you for everything you desperately tried to fix. things that you wanted to recover and he ignored them. it’s annoying and saddening. you maybe wanted to mend your relationship and bring it back at least to still be friends, but seeing him like this makes you doubt, makes you feel like it wouldn’t be worth it.

“(y/n) wai—”

“god, here you are.”

hyunjin appears at the scene, quickly nearing you and placing his arms on your shoulders. you land your head against the crook of his neck and crumble lightly at him. hyunjin’s eyes visibly soften, his arms wrapping around you, comfort and passion all over his face. as seungmin watches you two in front of him, and his heart suddenly cracks. watching hyunjin hold you like that makes him angry and sad at the same time. he wants to hold you like that too, he wants to comfort you like that as well. unknowingly, without his conscious mind knowing, his arm reaches out on its own to touch you. however, before he can even as so much lay a single finger on you, hyunjin is pulling you away with a side eye.

“don’t touch them.”

with that,hyunjin had left with you in his arms, cradling you with so much comfort. something in seungmin’s heart once again, cracks. the sight of you in tears and being away from him breaks him. his arms all of a sudden long to touch you and wipe the cascading tears off of your pretty face, wanting to whisper sweet nothings in to your ears.

all of a sudden, he just pictures and wishes you would be the person to be giving him all this love and attention.

[ratking-reads]

Love that magical girl au idea. Further concept: there are theories that Captain Marvel is somehow related to the magical girls- they’re never in the same place at the same time right?? Theories posit that they have strict no-contact rules because they hate each other or their magics prevent each other from interacting, or the craziest theories such as Magical Girl Freddie is somehow Marvel in a dress

Oh my god Freddie would absolutely tease that theory

This kinda builds on an idea I had that the JLA thinks the magical girls are captain marvels side kicks. And when they find out they’re not the JLA asks him to help reason with them. Marvel panics and says something like “I’m not going anywhere near those girls!” And that spirals into a rumor that marvel is afraid of the magical girls, and then THAT spirals into a rumor that the magical girls are more powerful then marvel. (which is true no questions asked)

Everyone thinks marvels rival and or arch nemesis is a little girl in a frilly dress. During rogue gallery discussions marvel keeps his head down

I was also hoping to have the gruesomeness of madoka Magica. Billy getting his chest caved in by a cutesy tennis themed demon and curling up in his apartment with a tarp and a rag while he heals.

[deathbymeow]

Safe Haven

This is the third part of 'To Flirt with a Hood' and 'Jokes on you'

Warning: course language and sexual references.

This is for mature audience due to sexual references. Its a little bit spicier than in use to writing, just a heads up. I totally blame the characters, they made me do it!

Halloween was officially over. It was three in the morning and Jason was standing outside one of his safehouses with Marinette in his arms. It was the only one his family didn’t know about. The studio apartment was located a few blocks from the docks, in a building that was once an old warehouse now turned into high-end apartments.

It was his safe haven when he needed timeout from his chaotic family or when life just got too much.

The walls were lined with bookcases and various weapons. From guns to deadly katanas, no normal person would find the décor homely but to Jason the apartment had everything he needed. It was unforgivingly him, maybe that’s why he was doubting his decision to bring Marinette back here.

Jason had offered to take her home, but the raven-haired beauty asked if he had somewhere quiet he could take her. She insisted her roommates would overreact to her injuries and she didn’t want to deal with that yet.

To be totally honest Jason was relieved, he wasn't ready to let her out of his sight. He felt an overwhelming need to protect her, even if she didn't need it. There was no way he’d be able to get any rest worrying about her and he wasn’t sure once Roy found out what happened if the red head would let Jason anywhere near her again.

Jason looked down at Marinette thankful that other than a mild concussion, a few cracked ribs, cuts and bruises she was okay. Dr Leslie Thompkins had given her the all clear after multiple scans and a few stiches on the side of her head and wrist. Now all she needed to do was rest.

“You can put me down, I won’t break. Promise.” Marinette’s voice brought him back from the what ifs and he nodded setting her down gently. He didn’t entirely let her go until he was sure she was stable on her feet.

“Let me just unlock the door and we can get you cleaned up.” He punched the code into the keypad and then let the scanner read his eyes to confirm it was him.

Once the door opened, he swept her off her feet again careful not to jolt her ribs and walked into the apartment closing the door with his foot.

“Jay, you know my legs still work right?” Marinette asked holding onto his neck as he carried her over to the couch.

“Mmhmm, but it’s all part of the Red Hood service sweetheart.” Jason put her on the couch. He took his gloves off, unbuckled his gun holster from his waist and legs then set it down on the coffee table before kneeling in front of her.

She reached out and softly ran her finger over the outline of his domino mask. “So, not just a Halloween costume, huh?”

“You could say that. I didn’t want to lie to you. Most of what I said was true I just wasn’t working tonight.” He answered leaning into her hand and brushing his lips against her palm. “Not in that sense anyway.”

“You don’t have to explain it. You have a secret identity to uphold after all.” She whispered enjoying the feeling of his lips against her skin.

“What if I didn’t want it to be a secret?” He wanted nothing more to be just Jason with her without the stupid mask coming between them.

He’d only just met her. There was something about her that had him falling for her already, and it wasn’t just because she’d killed the clown. He wasn’t one to give in to his emotions or trust easily, but she did something to him that he was struggling to understand himself. He’d seen her cheeky playful side at the party that first sparked his interest. Not to mention that kiss he wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon. Then she turned into this bad ass that took out one of Gotham’s most notorious rogues. She seemed to follow the same grey moral code he did and wasn’t afraid to show it. Yeah, he was a goner already.

“Well, I’d say you’d have one angry bat after you.” She playfully bopped the nose bringing him out of his own head.

“I don’t want to hide from you Marinette. I’m going to ask you on a date without the mask, so you’ll work it out anyway.” He leaned into her space and rested his arms on either side of her, allowing her easier access to his mask.

“Are you sure?” She hesitantly asked as her hands hovered in front of his face.

Jason swallowed trying to calm his nerves and nodded. Closing his eyes as he felt her hands gently lift his mask off. He opened his eyes and looked at her for the first time without anything covering his eyes. The deep blue of her irises was even more striking than he thought, and he could clearly see the blush creeping over her cheeks.

“Pretty eyes.” Marinette breathed rubbing her thumbs over the tops of his cheeks where the mask was only moments before.

“Not as pretty as yours Pixie.” He moved even closer, his nose almost brushing hers as he lost himself in her eyes.

“Well, we will just have to agree to disagree on that one Casanova.” Her breath fanned across his face and her nose brushed his.

“If you say…” He never got to finish his sentence as her lips crashed into his.

The kiss was laced with all the what ifs that would never be discussed. Jason dug his hands into the soft fabric of the couch to stop himself from grabbing her anywhere that may hurt her injuries. Marinette wasn’t nearly as careful and bit his bottom lip. When he moaned in satisfaction, she slipped her tongue into his mouth.

The earlier taste of tequila had been replaced with the metallic taste of blood, but Jason was too lost in the neediness of the kiss to care. She slid off the couch and rested on his lap with her knees at either side of his hips, her hands tangled in his hair holding him against her. He let go of the couch and grabbed her ass, pulling her against him.

It wasn’t until she flinched and whimpered into his mouth that he pulled back breathing deeply that he realised how they’d ended up. “Shit, I’m sorry Pix. I shouldn’t have… we shouldn’t.” He rested his forehead against hers and loosened his hands on her, moving them to her lower back.

“No, I’m sorry I, I shouldn’t have assumed…” She leaned back and tried to stand up, but he gently held onto her waist.

“Wait no, I. I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t want you to regret anything. Tonight, was a lot, especially for a civilian.”

“Who said I was a civilian?” with her confidence returned she playfully winked at him.

“Wait what?” He studied her for a moment trying to work out if she was joking or not. When she gave nothing away, he shook his head. “You know what, don’t answer that. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Jason softly kissed her nose then stood up still holding her and walked to the bathroom. “We can unpack that one after we’ve slept.”

Jason sat Marinette on the vanity and started to fill up the basin with warm water. He helped her out of the replica of his jacket. Her costume had been torn and covered in blood and soot, but he’d never forget how she looked in his outfit. At the beginning of the night when he’d thought about taking it off this wasn’t what he had in mind. Trying to clear his wandering mind he grabbed a clean cloth and dunked it into the water then started to carefully wipe the makeup, blood and soot off her face.

“Close your eyes.” Jason asked softly.

Marinette didn’t hesitate and closed her eyes trying not to flinch when he gently ran the cloth over her bruised cheek. The bathroom was quiet except for the sound of the water. When Jason was finally satisfied that he’d removed everything off her face he traced his fingers over her jaw line, her cheek bone, down her nose and over her lips. Marinette hummed in appreciation. She had yet to open her eyes but as his finger traced over her lips for the second time, she kissed the pad of his thumb.

Opening her eyes, she was surprised to find his face so close to hers. She marvelled at how his eyes were a unique shade of blue mixed with flecks of green. He closed the gap and kissed her nose.

“All done.” He whispered against her lips. You could have cut the sexual tension with a knife but nether acted on it.

He gently turned her face to look at the darking bruise on her cheek then her split lip. “If you hadn’t of killed him, I sure as hell would have.” He growled.

“How, how much did you see?” She asked looking anywhere but his eyes now. She vaguely remembered making an off handed comment to Batman about the clown, but she wasn’t sure if they knew what had really happened in the warehouse.

Jason could tell she was worried about his answer. He wanted to reassure her that she hadn’t done anything wrong. “Please, look at me.” His voice was soft, and he didn’t continue until she did. “You did absolutely nothing wrong.”

“I’m sure Batman doesn’t think that.”

“Fuck what Batman thinks. That clown has taken countless lives, including one of his robins and he still let the monster live.” Jason growled trying to hold back his anger. If Bruce had just killed the clown or better still, let Jason do it, Marinette wouldn’t have been put in this situation in the first place. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise. And I know one angry redhead that’s going to have your back too.”

“Shit. Roy. Does he know I’m okay?” Marinette sat upright and would have jumped off the vanity if it wasn’t for Jason’s hands that were now resting on her hips as he leaned over her protectively.

“Yeah, bout that. I may have kinda lied to him earlier.” Jason straightened up and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew how his best friend could get over people he cared about, and he knew there was going to be repercussions. “I’ll go get you some clean clothes and text him now.”

“Sucks to be you.” Marinette smirked at Jason and giggled when he frowned.

“Hey thanks. Lucky we’re at my secret, secret safe house then.”

“Cute of you to think that will stop him from finding us.” Marinette said playfully. All though Marinette’s tone was teasing Jason wouldn’t put it pass Roy to somehow find them.

“Can I take a shower? My hair feels so gross.” She pulled the tangled ends of her dark hair in front of her face to study them only to regret doing it.

“You shouldn’t get your stiches wet, Pixie.” Jason gentle took her bandaged wrist in his big hands as if to remind her of her injury’s.

“Come on Jay. I have blood in my hair. I’ll let you dry them off afterwards and redo the bandages.” She begged pouting and giving him the best sad eyes, he’d ever seen.

Jason took one look at her face and knew he was fucked. There was no way he could have said no to her. “Yeah okay, but I really should help you for safety reasons.” He winked at her as he lifted her off the vanity leaving his hands on her waist. His fingers brushed against her exposed skin.

“Is that part of the Red Hood service too?” She asked running her hands up his chest and around his neck.

“Mmhmm. In case you fall.” His finger skimmed under the waist band of her shorts sending tingles over her sensitive skin.

“I think I already am.” She pulled him down and claimed his lips with hers.

Jason pulled her against him, careful not to bump her ribs. He loved how she mewed against his lips as his hands traced the soft skin above her shorts. He broke the kiss and gently removed her hands from around his neck. She was about to protest when he kneeled in front of her. His hands grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him.

Marinette softly moaned when his lips met her bellybutton. He nipped and kissed at her soft skin as his hands worked at undoing the gun holster from her thighs and waist. Her hands worked into his hair again as she melted against his mouth. The feeling of his calloused hands holding her thighs while his thumb ran up and down the sensitive skin between her legs had her whimpering. The same thumbs grazed over the zipper of her shorts stopping at the top.

Jason toyed with the button looking up at her with lust filled eyes. “Is this okay?” He asked smirking up at her flustered face.

Marinette looked down at him. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth, and she could feel her pulse between her legs. She nodded and breathed a soft “Mmhmm.”

That was all he needed to pull her shorts off. Trailing kisses from the lace trim of her panties down to her most sensitive spot. He felt her quiver in his hands and he hummed against her as he tasted her through the wet material.

Jason rested his head against her toned stomach. He wanted nothing more than to pull her panties off and finish what he’d started but he was torn between taking things slow and devouring her right here and now. As if knowing his mental turmoil, her hands untangled from his hair and lifted his chin up. He stood and she was quick to grab his face and kiss him. The kiss was needy, and it wasn’t long before his jacket was discarded on the floor with her shorts.

Marinette ran her hands under his Kevlar top appreciating every hard muscle she felt. Jason was melting against her touch. He was burning from the inside out. There wasn’t enough oxygen in the room but that didn’t matter because that wasn’t what he needed. Breaking the kiss momentarily, he pulled his top over his head hoping it would help to cool his boiling blood. It was added to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. He looked at her top wondering how he could get it off her without jolting her ribs.

She watched with lust filled eyes as he pulled a knife from somewhere. His hand lingered in the hem of her top with questioning eyes. When she nodded, he ran the knife through the material with one swift motion. The knife was discarded, and he pulled the remains of her top off her shoulders.

Jason let his eyes linger on her body. Her bra and panties were simple black cotton with lace trim, her sides were littered with dark bruises, but she still looked sexy as hell. Her body was toned to perfection, and he wanted to run his mouth over every curve until he’d memorized her whole body. He knew she was staring at him too, taking in every muscle and scar.

He felt exposed but in the best way possible. She traced one of the scars on his chest then kissed it softly before moving onto the next. Jason closed his eyes and let her explore his skin with her mouth. The sensation was too much for Jason when she reached the thick scar on his neck and ran her tongue over it. He moaned and grabbed her ass, lifting her up against him. She giggled and wrapped her legs around his waist earning another moan from Jason as she pressed against him.

Still holding her in his arms he kicked off his boots. His pants were restricting him, and the pressure was starting to become painful. Before he could do anything about his growing problem, Marinette’s small hands undid his pants and pushed them down. Her hands brushed against him in the process, and he groaned against her neck.

“Fuck, Pix you’re makin things very hard. Literally and figuratively.”

She answered by moving her hips and grinding against him, giggling when he tightened his hands on her ass and closed his eyes.

“Yep. That’s going to get you in all kinda trouble.” He kissed her, groaning as she did it again.

“Maybe that’s what I’m counting on. After all you did tease me first.” She purred pulling back and looking up at him.

Jason couldn’t help but smirk at her. Her lips were red from their heated kisses and her big blue eyes watched him hungerly. “Let’s get you cleaned up sweetheart.” He breathed as he cared her over to the shower and turned the water on.

Jason set her down in the shower under the warm water. She looked up at him through her wet lashes. Her blue eyes seemed to grow under the water, and he had to use all his self-control to turned her around. She pushed her butt into him, and he had to fight every urge he had to not bend her over. Instead, he grabbed the shampoo bottle and started to wash her hair gently trying to avoid her stiches.

Marinette behaved for the better half of the shower and let Jason silently wash her sore body around her underwear. The painkillers were starting to wear off and fatigue was starting to set in. She rested her body against Jason’s chest and closed her eyes.

“All clean baby girl. Let’s get you too bed.” Jason whispered in her ear. His hands drew lazy circles on her stomach as she rested her back against him, giggling as he nipped at her ear and kissed the sensitive spot under her jaw.

“Was kinda hoping you’d make me dirty again.” She mumbled, eyes still closed.

“Yeah, not going to lie Pix, you have no idea how much I want you right now, but I want to do this right. I feel like I already took advantage of you.” Jason turned the water off and turned her around to look her in the eyes.

“Pfft, what are you talking about? You were about to do me right, till you stopped.” She mumbled as she opened her eyes and pouted at him before yawning.

Jason laughed at her antics as he wrapped a towel around her and lifted her out of the shower. “I’m choosing to ignore that comment. Dry off, I’ll be back with some clothes for you. There should be a spare toothbrush in the cupboard above the sink.”

He set her down then wrapped a towel around his waist and headed upstairs. Drying off quickly he threw on sweatpants and a t-shirt. Next task was to text Roy. He wasn’t too sure how much Roy had heard about the nights events so he sent a vague message saying that Marinette was fine but fast asleep and that she would call him as soon as she woke up.

Jason headed back down to the bathroom with a spare pair of his sweatpants and a hoodie for Marinette even though they were going to be way too big for her. He knocked on the door. “Hey Pixie, I’ve got some clothes for you.”

The door opened to a Marinette wrapped in a towel. Jason could see her wet bra and panties on the floor and tried not to think about it, but it wasn’t an easy task. He was only human and when it came to her, he was quickly learning he had no self-control.

“Thank you.” She took the clothes and before he could do or say anything she turned around and dropped the towel giving him a perfect view of her tight ass until his hoodie fell over it and he quickly snapped his eyes up. He swallowed thickly trying to recover. She glanced over her shoulder and smirked knowingly at him.

Once she’d slid on the sweatpants Jason grabbed the towel and set about drying her hair and trying to detangle it with his hands. The sexual tension had returned thanks to her antics, and it didn’t help Jason seeing her in his clothes. They were both silent as he worked quietly to rewrap her wrist after making sure he’d dried the wound off. His eyes flickered to her every so often to find her watching him closely.

Her ribs were next. It only added to the tension that left them both a flustered mess. He tried his hardest working blind under the hoodie but several times his hands unintentionally brushed against her bare breasts. She had her eyes closed and the way she was biting her lip was doing things to him.

He finally finished with her ribs and took a deep breath trying to calm his beating heart. “Okay, let’s get you to bed.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“To, to sleep. I’ll take the couch.” He mumbled taking her hand and leading her to his bed on the mezzanine level.

“It’s your bed Jay.”

“Yeah, but I can’t trust myself to keep my hands to myself and you need the sleep sweetheart.” Jason said as he helped her into his bed.

Jason propped the pillows up till she was as comfortable as she could get with several broken ribs and the bruises that littered her sides. He passed her a glass of water and some of the pain killers the Doc had given them.

She took them but pulled a face and was about to protest till he cut her off. “Please don’t be stubborn Pix. It will help the pain. Trust me tryin to sleep with broken ribs isn’t fun. Ten out of ten, don’t recommend.”

“Fine. But you owe me morning snuggles.” She mumbled before putting the tablets on her tongue and swallowing a mouthful of water.

“That can be arranged gorgeous.” He took the glass and leaned down to kiss her forehead before tucking her in.

He could tell she was barely staying awake now she was clean and warm. He couldn’t help but smile as she yawned. “Get some sleep Pixie. I’ll just be downstairs if you need me.” Before he’d even finished talking her eyes closed and her breathing evened out.

Jason grabbed one of his books and headed downstairs. He was exhausted but there was no way he could sleep. Now that Marinette was asleep, he couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had taken place since meeting her. His head was filled with mixed emotions, and it was going to take some time to process everything.

Jason woke an hour later to screams coming from the direction of his bed. He didn’t waste any time to grabbing one of his guns off the coffee table and running upstairs. In the dim light he couldn’t see anyone. He quickly realised by Marinette’s whimpers that she was having a nightmare.

He put the safety back on then put the gun down and sat next to Marinette. Carefully he wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. “Shhh, it’s ok Pixie. It’s just a bad dream. I’m here. You’re not alone.”

After a few minutes she opened her eyes. She was still crying and shivering but she’d acknowledged Jason’s presence by wrapping her hands around his arms.

“It’s ok. Pix shhh. I’ve got you.”

“Please stay Jay. I don’t want to be alone.”

“I’m not going to go anywhere.” He whispered into her hair. She nodded and climbed between his legs, leaning against his chest so she could hear his heartbeat. He gently stroked her hair while still holding onto her.

It took some time but slowly she stopped shivering and her sobs lessened. Jason thought she must have fallen asleep again until she softly whispered, “Jay?”

“Yeah?”

She traced her fingers up his arm and over his biceps then back down again. “You have a lot of books.”

Not what he was expecting. Her statement caught him of guard. He turned his head to look at his bookcase. “Mmhmm, it’s kinda my thing when I’m not, you know, a vigilante.”

“So, you’re a nerd with guns?”

He snicked and rubbed his nose in her hair. “Mmhmm.”

“Cute… Can you read to me? My pappa use to read to me when I couldn’t sleep.” She shifted in his arms so her ear was flat against his chest.

“Sure.” Jason grabbed the book on his bedside table that happened to be A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Jason relaxed into the pillows with Marinette still curled up infront of him. “Are you comfy?”

“Mmhmm.” She hummed into his chest.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good and evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

The last paragraph is an extract from 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens. I didn't write it or take any credit for it.

Tag List:

@caffeinated-croissant

@trippingovermyfeet

@unoriginalmess @couffeeine

@jayjayspixiepop

@daminette-56 @adrestar @nerd-nowandforever

@aespades

@hammalammadamdam

@meduarts

@luminaaz

There were a few others that asked to be tagged but I couldn't find you, sorry

[jinmukangwrites]

Day 5 (6-17): Aged-up | Mother and son | Brothers

Warnings: near death experiences, drowning, canon typical violence, kidnapping

Note: I felt like I've written a lot of Dick and Damian bonding this week... So I'm switching it out with Jason. I had other things I wanted to write for this prompt, but it got too late at night to write something long. Enjoy this short, hurt/comfort Jason and Damian bonding instead <3

-o-o-o-o-

Damian's only been captured for a few hours... and already he feels more miserable than he has in a long time.

None other than the Penguin stands before him, sneering cheek to cheek as his associates finish tying the knots around chest and the damp wooden pole his back leans against. The sand underneath him is rocky and sharp; he can already feel the curious laps of the returning tide against his tailbone. His hands are restrained behind the pole as well, while his legs are tied by his ankles. He's sitting, and stuck sitting thanks to the rope around his chest.

His head aches, which isn't very surprising considering the thing that got him in this situation was a well placed hit to his skull via a brick.

He didn't mean to get caught. He simply wanted to blow off some steam after getting fed up with Jason while on patrol. Of all people to be paired up with, it had to be Jason. It couldn't have been someone Damian gets along with like Richard, Duke, or Cassandra. It couldn't have been Timothy where they at least know when boundaries are being pushed with their banter. It couldn't have even been Stephanie, where she's at least funny.

No, the entire family was there, and Damian got paired with the one he doesn't know how to deal with. He got annoyed by the constant, demeaning tone Jason would use on him, and after one too many backhanded insults that only Jason found funny, Damian snapped. He doesn't even remember what exactly was said, he just knows he yelled at Jason to go on without him, and Jason didn't stop him when he turned the other direction.

Thinking back on it, Damian probably insulted him back, and the reason he let Damian go was because he was just as annoyed as Damian was.

It doesn't matter now. What matters is that he didn't intend to stumble upon the Penguin and his goons in some warehouse by the coast. He was just going to take down a few classic muggers or something of similar nature and go back to Jason and act like the argument never happened.

He intended to go back and tell his father about the Penguin's actions, but he didn't notice a pigeon until he almost stepped on it. Startled, it flew up at his face and he fell backwards right through the already broken skylight. He barely managed to slow his fall with his grappling gun, but he still hit the ground pretty hard. Hurt and surprised, he didn't have time to even stand up before the brick was smashed against his skull.

And now he's here, under Gotham's docks, being tied to a poll while the Penguin laughs to himself.

"I'll just let the tide kill you for me," he says to himself, yet his idiot goons still cackle. Damian glares at them, but they only laugh harder, sending down their own insults until the ocean water begins to pool up to Damians toes.

The Penguin makes a remark that it's time to go, and that he doesn't want to get his new dress shoes messy, and then they're gone, leaving Damian to attempt to tug on the ropes holding him against the pole. He tries to reach for the small blades he keeps in the compartments of his gloves, but his fingers come away empty. Curse Gotham's Rogues and their ability to actually use their brains and disarm their captives when they get their hands on them.

He strains harder on the ropes now, twisting and trying to reach any knots with his fingers, but all he succeeds in doing is cutting off the circulation to his hands and pressing the rope into his chest.

He relaxes with a frustrated huff and glares at the water that's already risen a few inches to ripple close to his hips. He knows that not long from now, the water will be above his head.

For now, it's freezing, and once it reaches his fingers, escape will become all the more impossible thanks to numbing appendages.

He tugs on the ropes, then tugs some more, and he keeps going until he has to stop and let the blood come back to his fingers.

The water continues to rise, seeping through his suit and into his bones, rising to his fingers, then his arms, then his shoulders... It's when it finally touches his chin when the despair and terror finally settles.

He can't get out. He can't get out. The ropes feel no more loose than what they were when he began trying to undo them, and his fingers are so numb now they must be turning blue under his gloves. His jaw aches from his chattering teeth, and his nose is beginning to run.

He pulls desperately on his bonds now, his attempts to escape becoming more and more reckless the longer he sits here. He's hyper-aware of the movement of the water around him, and his panic is making it difficult to breathe.

Through his terror, he hears something. The motor of a bike. He hears the engine cut out nearby. He can probably shout for help.

It's his last hope. He can only pray that whoever came to the docks at this hour of night, that they are friendly. He opens his mouth to yell for assistance, but he chokes when sea water enters his mouth. He scrambles his bound feet against the rocky sand, attempting to lift himself up the pole just a little higher, but he doesn't go anywhere. The ropes are too tight.

He's not sure if the water near his eyes is from him flailing in the water, or if it's because of frightened tears. Either way, he can feel the water tickling his nose, and he only has a split second to suck in one last breath of air before the water rises above any means to breath.

"Robin?" A deep voice shouts, and Damian could sob at the irony of it. "You here?"

Someone came looking for him, but they don't know where he is. He's going to drown under the feet of someone who could have saved him if they had come just minutes before.

The water rises over his head now, and he can no longer hear anything besides the racing of his heart. He can't feel his fingers or toes anymore, and he's sure he will drown with bruises under the ropes on his chest.

He's going to drown. He's going to die. His lungs hurt, already his oxygen is running out. He's panicking and it's cold and he's going to die-

He doesn't know how much longer he holds his breath, only that eventually, his mouth opens against his will and sucks in water that may as well be fire going into his lungs.

Black creeps into his vision... and with the last sight of dark bubbles erupting around him, he loses consciousness.

-o-o-o-o-

He wakes up vomiting. A strong hand wraps around his arm and holds him on his side so he can empty his lungs and stomach of salty sea water. It feels like his insides are being torn apart, but eventually it calms down a little so he can finally suck in a gasp of air.

The hand on his arm becomes two, snaking around his shoulder blades to sit him up and squeeze him against a broad chest.

"Holy shit," a familiar voice gasps, "Jesus fuck."

"J'son..." Damian murmurs, trying to make sense of what's going on. His throat feels abused, and his head pounds like drums. He's so tired, his eyes begin to drop.

"Nah don't you fucking think of it," Jason growls, pulling him away from his chest and giving him a hard shake. Damian blinks, trying to focus. Jason brings a hand up and brushes his dripping hair from his face.

Then, it all comes back to him. The tide... The water... He was drowning...

He thought he died.

But here he is, untied from the pole and on the docks, looking at Jason's bare and dripping face with his helmet castaway on the ground. He must have given him mouth-to-mouth... And his chest aches like he's taken a beating. Must be the combined bruises of the ropes and from chest compressions.

He's suddenly overwhelmed with emotions, all of his fear slamming right into him.

"You came," he croaks, not sure if it's because of his abused respiratory system or if it's because of his rekindled tears.

Jason's face twists, then he pulls Damian back in to squeeze him tightly once again. The hug is a surprise, and it hurts, but Damian doesn't fight it. He's too relieved and scared and confused and ashamed to fight it.

"When you didn't answer the comms, I thought you were still mad," Jason explains. The rumble of his voice in his chest against Damian's cheek is oddly relaxing. "But then it started getting late and I didn't feel right, so I asked Babs for your coords and- fuck- I thought I got you killed."

"How did you know...?" Damian asks, not willing to go further into the sentence and endure the pain of his throat.

Jason gives a laugh, and it's almost hysterical. "A lucky guess? I don't know, I guess it's just habit to look in the water when something goes wrong at the docks." There's a pause. Then Jason releases Damian once again. "I'm sorry. I said some things I shouldn't have. This wouldn't have happened if I kept my cool."

Damian shakes his head. It doesn't matter now. "You came."

Jason's lips twitch. "Of course I did. We're... Brothers. Even if we don't get along all the time, I still don't want anyone beating you up other than me."

Damian let's out a laugh, though it dissolves into a fit of coughs. Jason rubs his back during all of it, then once he calms down he helps him to his feet.

"C'mon," he says, "let's get you back home so Alfred can check on you. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can get getting yelled at out of the way for letting you go off on your own."

He helps Damian up to his feet, and Damian gratefully clutches to his jacket to steady himself. "I am to blame too. Once we tell father you helped save me, he will be less angry."

Jason snorts. "You think I'm worried about the old man? It's Dick I'm worried about."

"Ah," Damian grins, all the fear finally ebbing out from his system. "I'm afraid I cannot help you there."

Jason helps Damian onto the bike and returns his helmet so it's over his head. He holds Damian in front of him with one arm securely around his chest as he drives. He feels safe nestled against Jason like this. It's strong and unyielding. His relationship with the older man has always been strange, considering they weren't always on the same sides when Richard was Batman.

But this? This is safe. It's warm. Is careful and gentle. Normally he'd be embarrassed to be so vulnerable like this near Jason, but like Jason said... They're brothers.

He cannot help but feel a little disappointed once they finally make it back to the cave. Yet it seems he's misjudged Jason once again, because after he was rushed to the med-bay and Jason got an earful from Richard... he fell asleep and awoke the next morning with Jason still there.

Things may not be perfect with Jason, and they argue a lot, but Damians sure things have a chance of becoming better.

They're brothers, after all.

[tallstars-rewrite]

Chapter 12

chapter list / previous / next

As the moon hung low in the sky, most of the clan was peacefully lounging around camp or grooming, full from the abundance of prey brought back during the afternoon. Meadowbreeze chattered excitedly with her mate Hazelnose, and Aspenfall was practice wrestling both Fallowpaw and Fawnpaw at once while Cloudrunner observed. It was agreed they’d be made warriors before the next quarter moon and the news had renewed energy in all three of them. Briarpaw sat with his mother and father, speaking quietly with the elders as Whitetooth regaled them with the story of his first newleaf celebration. Aside from the small group chosen for the dusk patrol, the clan was at peace.

Tallpaw however, paced restlessly in a circle around the camp, fluffing his thin fur up as much as he was able against the chilly night air. He earned a couple funny looks from the warriors returning from dusk patrol as he trotted back and forth. At the end of the patrol line he spotted Dawnstripe, padding alongside Appledawn. Tallpaw turned his course abruptly and bounded up to his mentor.

“So, do you think we could go out for battle training after sunrise?” He mewed. 

She turned to him and cocked her head slightly. “You actually want to? I thought you’d want to relax today, you’ve earned a break, remember?”

“Yes I know, but I don’t want to fall behind.”

Appledawn laughed, “Oh Tallpaw, surely you're not going to lose all your skills by not training for one day?” 

Tallpaw shuffled the soil beneath his paws awkwardly, “No--I know that, I just...I don’t want to take a break while every other cat in the clan is busy serving.”

Dawnstripe glanced at her friend and then back at her apprentice. “Well, I suppose I can’t argue with that. It is your day to do what you want, and if that’s what you want to do, we can go more in depth into battle training. But I’ve only just got back from a long patrol, so I’ll tell you what, meet me at the base of the dead tree once the sun has risen above the distant hills and we’ll start then.”

“Should I warm up before then? I could do laps in the gorse meadow.” Tallpaw asked anxiously.

“If you like, but don’t tire yourself out too much before we start.”

Briarpaw called a greeting to him as he bounded past out of the camp entrance. Tallpaw waved his tail in response as he passed. Sorry I don’t have time to chat right now…

The wind was particularly strong that morning with none of the sun's warmth to offset the chill. He flattened his ears against it as he wound his way around the hill to the gorse meadow. Start with three laps, break, do another set. As he raced, his mind emptied and he could for a moment only think of the grass brushing the tips of his paws, the wind rushing against his ears and whiskers, which brought some small relief. It was more than he usually did before training, but his paws were itching so much he wanted to run until he couldn’t feel the nagging guilt poking at the back of his head. The more it poked, the faster he moved his legs. I just feel like it’s not enough. I’ve got to push myself harder, I haven’t earned a rest yet!

After his first set he paused, his breath coming heavy. For a moment he was frustrated his body wouldn’t let him do another. As he caught his breath, he looked up to see in the distance a group of cats coming towards him. He tasted the air and scented Fennelpelt accompanied by Plumclaw, Crowfur and Woollycloud. He ducked into the grass. Woollycloud always wanted to have a conversation with him when he passed, asking him what he was up to, how his mother was, how his training was going, and Tallpaw didn’t feel like it right now. He didn’t feel like his training was coming along well enough to share.

“The tunnel was still in use when you were a warrior Fennelpelt, don’t you think it could be again?” Crowfur’s gruff voice asked.

“Perhaps it could,” Fennelpelt replied, “but it’s been left alone so long, I'm afraid the heavy snow and rain from the past seasons has weakened the walls. My advice would be to hold off on using it regularly until it’s had careful fixing and testing. Maybe make some new escape routes before trying to make it longer.” “I agree” Woollycloud said, “Sandstone’s plan is ambitious, but it’s not worth it to rush and risk accidents.”

“We must think of some way to repair it faster!” Plumclaw pressed. “Mistmouse told me she scented ShadowClan across the Thunderpath on the north side of our territory as well as the east side, and their normal patrols never go out that far! And there were strange scents of outsiders on the outskirts facing Mothermouth yesterday. They were too faint for us to be sure if they were ShadowClan, but they certainly weren’t WindClan.”

Crowfur growled “Great StarClan, if it’s rogues that’s just another thing to worry about on top of everything else! ShadowClan spies could be watching from anywhere, and we still don’t know where their hiding spots are. We need to explore all our options to keep up with them, if we don’t catch them in the act, Cedarstar will just deny it! If you ask me--”

Tallpaw couldn’t make out what they were saying anymore as they started down the hill towards camp. He poked his head out of the grass and looked north towards the edge of their land. There was the thin strip of woodland surrounding the north and east side of the moor, and passed that was where cats traveled to see Mothermouth, but there shouldn’t be any other clan cats on that northern border. Others had been scented there just yesterday...? Tallpaw remembered with a start of the shape and flash of ginger fur he thought he saw in the woods before getting distracted by the festivities and the hunt. Was it a trespasser after all? He cursed himself for not paying closer attention at the time. 

Now that the idea had entered his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He needed to find out if there was any scent around the spot he had seen the shape. I should get Dawnstripe first...or I could just tell Woollycloud.

But what if it was nothing? What if he had imagined it? He didn’t want to get everyone worked up over nothing when they were already on edge. Well...it really wasn’t too far to that border. If he just looked quickly, he would know, and it wouldn’t have to eat at him anymore. And even if there is someone there, I'm not a weakling! I can take care of myself!

Telling himself that didn’t get rid of the nervous energy crackling up the fur along his spine, but right now, Tallpaw would rather drop dead than admit to himself he’d been stopped by his stupid cowardice. Warriors don’t show fear, when things look dangerous they charge onward and take risks. He repeated Sandstone’s words to himself, and he continued to repeat it the whole way there, hoping if he did it enough, he would believe it a bit more. It wasn’t working very well.

The pale birch trees loomed above him. Tallpaw hadn’t been so near this woodland stretch before, since there was little need to patrol it. He racked his brain trying to remember where he had been looking when he saw the blur of fur vanish into the bushes. The closed off spaces in the thick undergrowth surrounded by the trees suddenly seemed very daunting, as if some creature could leap out of them at any moment, and Tallpaw’s feet would be too tangled in brambles to get out of the way.

 “Stop thinking like that mouse-heart.” He growled to himself. At last he recognized two oddly leaning trees he swore he recalled seeing before. It was somewhere just off to the right of here… He opened his jaws to taste the air. Damp heather. A mouse had scurried by here some time ago. Deer droppings. Nothing out of the--

He froze. There was something different. An unexpected unfamiliar tang and it hit the roof of his mouth. It was certainly cat, but not a cat he knew at all. He froze in place, the fur on his spine bristling even more. Was it ShadowClan after all? No...no, there was none of the musty stench he’d scented under the Thunderpath. It was an incredibly strange scent. Sweet in a way. And recent. Very recent.

Go back! A voice in the back of his head cried out. But wasn’t he a warrior? Why should he be made afraid in his own territory? “I’m not afraid of loners. I’ve been trained to fight! Well...not very much but...more than any mangy rogue!” he argued quietly to himself. 

Perhaps...he should just look? Just a little closer. To have a better idea of what to report. More so than his fear, there was a fierce feeling of curiosity. He’d never even seen a cat outside of the clans before. And just think of the story I could bring back if I chased away an intruder all by myself! Surely that’s more impressive than being a fast runner. Firmly ignoring the part of himself insisting what a very bad idea this was, he pressed on. One paw at a time. The scent couldn’t even be a full day old. There was only one, so whoever it was was all alone.

Something shifted in the bushes. Tallpaw whipped around, his ears pinned up, his eyes wide, one unsheathed paw raised defensively. Was that movement he saw? Legs shaking slightly, he crept forward, cautious and silent. Just beyond the next tree, he heard something rustling the leaves. A stray twig was flung to the side. Go back! Go back and get a warrior! The little voice screeched. But he refused to run away, this was his territory and he was not weak.

Another leaf was tossed aside, followed by a frustrated grunt. Were they digging? What in StarClan’s name...? Tallpaw was crouched behind the tree, trying to figure out what exactly he should do. If he was lucky, they’d just run away as soon as they knew they were caught. Suddenly the noises stopped. Had he been detected? His heart began hammering, but it was now or never.

Tallpaw sprang from behind the tree with a furious screech. He’d meant to say something commanding, or intimidating, something that would let the mange ball know they were talking to a real warrior cat and they should be very afraid. Unfortunately, he’d been spurred to leaping so suddenly that his prepared phrases had gotten all mixed up and left his mind entirely. 

What he’d wanted to say was “You're trespassing! These moors belong to WindClan alone! Remove yourself at once, or else!”, but instead what came out of his mouth was a terribly loud and panic-tinged “trrRRAAAAAA-AHHHH!” 

He was met with an almost equally loud scream in return. There was a furry orange tom halfway concealed in the undergrowth with puffed up fur and eyes huge with alarm. Tallpaw faced him with his back arched, every fur standing on end, and the two cats stared at each other like that for an uncomfortably silent few seconds while Tallpaw desperately wracked his brain for what he was supposed to say next. At last the other cat broke the silence. “Why are you screaming at me!?” he cried in a very bewildered, but annoyingly not intimidated, voice. 

Tallpaw was still trying to collect his scattered thoughts. “I’m! I-I’m, uhmm. You--you are--upon WindClan land, and...Your...Your paws are on the grass--t-this grass is forbidden because it’s ours! Remove them! Your paws, I mean. Remove all of them! At once!”

“My...my paws are...wait, could you start over?”

“No!” Tallpaw yowled in frustration “Just be gone! Or else!”

“Well,” mewed the tom innocently, “see, I would be happy to of course, I really would, but I seem to um. I seem to be a little stuck.”

“What do you mean stuck?” Tallpaw hissed.

The tom strained his neck and Tallpaw noticed that he was crouched in the undergrowth because a thick mass of brambles was snared through his thick orange fur and caught at his neck. 

Tallpaw was at a loss again. He needed to get rid of the intruder. He was supposed to attack intruders. But the intruder couldn’t go away if he couldn’t move. The tom clawed uselessly at the ground trying to pull himself out of the thicket.

“Every time I pull I get poked by thorns!” he whined.

This is embarrassing... Tallpaw thought. Then with a defeated sigh, he padded cautiously towards the “invader.” 

“Alright stop moving, I can’t chase you away if you can’t even run.”

“That’s true. My name’s Jake by the way, what’s yours?”

“I don’t care, and none of your business.”

“That’s a funny name.”

Tallpaw ignored him and sniffed at where the thickest bramble was stuck fast on something soft and sturdy around Jake’s neck. It was green like plants but it smelled incredibly odd, a scent he couldn’t describe with anything he knew. 

After a lot of awkward tugging and gnawing and exasperated “will you please stop fidgeting” as Tallpaw tore the mass of brambles away. Part of the soft green thing tugged free from Jake and hung ensnared in the thorns. Jake wiggled and grunted and pulled himself out of the undergrowth, leaving a couple tufts of fur behind as well. A long bramble tendril still tangled in his thick neck ruff stuck up in a ridiculous way.

“Thanks a bunch, I really owe you one!”

“I couldn’t bite through the rest of that soft...vine thing around your neck. That’s what everything was stuck on.” Tallpaw licked his muzzle, wincing a bit at where the thorns had pricked his tongue.

“Oh that’s just my collar. Looks like I lost my scarf to the thorns though...what rotten luck.”

“You’re what?” 

“My collar, the housefolk gave it to me--”

It clicked for Tallpaw then and he sprang back in alarm. “Y-you’re one of those kittypets aren’t you? Those twoleg captives!”

“Kitty-pet?” he laughed “That almost sounds cute. Well I'm not a stray if that’s what you mean, but I do get pet a lot? It feels nice.”

He remembered Dawnstripe telling him kittypets were worse than loners in a way, but in a pitiful way. Most of them didn’t even know they were prisoners. I could fight a soft house cat easily-- oh right. He was supposed to fight him away now.

As the kittypet gave his fur another shake and clammered fully out of the bramble filled undergrowth, Tallpaw got a better look at him. Jake was a lot younger than he’d initially thought, barely apprentice age, if even. He was sturdy and stout, and his plush fluffy fur was a startling bright ginger, brighter than he’d ever seen on a cat before. Vivid pine green eyes blinked at him amiably from a round face with a goofy grin that Tallpaw couldn’t help feeling was rather inappropriate considering the situation he was in.

Jake suddenly gasped, “I know you! I saw you running yesterday! You really are one of those wild clan cats aren’t you?”

Tallpaw was taken aback by the bubbly excitement in Jake’s voice. “Well...yes I am. Were you spying on us?”

“Not on purpose, I was just wandering, and I heard a lot of cats talking and then I saw you all running around faster than I’d ever seen anything run, and you did this amazing leap and bounced right over this other cat and I thought you couldn’t even be real, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life!”

Tallpaw felt his fur grow a bit hot as he blushed at Jake’s gushing. Surely it wasn’t all that amazing, but Jake was still babbling.

“I’ve heard so many incredible things about you clan cats! My siblings used to say you’re not even real but I knew better, I heard you have magic powers! Is it true you can fight foxes? Can you really control the weather? My mother heard you could cut down trees with a swipe of your claws and catch eagles out of the sky in a leap and--”

“Slow down, I have no idea what you're saying!” Tallpaw wanted to sound stern but he couldn’t help but be a bit flattered Jake thought so highly of him. 

Jake came right up to him and sniffed him excitedly and Tallpaw was too stunned to back off. “I’m just so thrilled to meet an actual wild cat! I’ve wanted to my whole life, wow you smell just like heather flowers--”

“Jake, do twolegs teach you about personal space?”

“No, why?”

“Never mind. Look, I only said I would get you out of the brambles, and I’ve done that so…”

Jake cocked his head “So?”

Tallpaw looked down at his claws, suddenly feeling a little awkward ‘Well I...I’m supposed to fight you and chase you off now.”

“You have to fight me?”

“It’s my duty, warriors are supposed to fend off all trespassers.”

Jake nodded solemnly. “Ah...That makes sense. It is your duty after all. It’s ok, I understand. Here, hit me.” He turned his cheek to Tallpaw.

“You’re...going to let me hit you?”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble! You have to at least try. Besides, if I had a scar from a battle with a wild cat, that would actually make a pretty cool story.”

“Um...alright. Here goes.” Tallpaw raised his unsheathed claws hesitantly.

“Wait!” Jake cried.

“What?”

“Is it going to hurt?”

Tallpaw blinked “is it going to hurt if I claw your face? Yes, I would think so!”

“Oh… Well could you maybe not do it so hard?”

“That’s not...I’m sure this isn’t how it’s supposed to be done.”

“No no, you're right, I’m tough, I can handle it. Then you can tell your clan mates you did your job.”

Tallpaw sighed in defeat and dropped back onto four paws. “This isn’t right at all. I can’t just hit you if you’re not going to hit me back!”

“But wouldn’t that hurt you?”

“Yes but--ugh! What sort of cat are you?”

“I guess the sort that doesn’t fight very much. I don’t really know how fights are supposed to go.”

“I... don’t really know either…” Tallpaw admitted.  He shook his head and sat down. This couldn’t be right. Jake was hardly more than a kitten. Maybe not exactly a kitten, but close to one...and the Warrior Code does say to have mercy for the helpless...Does he count as helpless? He looked Jake over with the brambles still sticking out of his fur and big green eyes still bright with excited curiosity. Er...probably? Tallpaw sighed in defeat. He wouldn’t be chasing off his first intruder today.

“What are you doing out here anyway?” Tallpaw asked, “There’s no twolegs around here.”

“Twolegs?”

“Those terrible tall hairless creatures that keep you prisoner!”

“Oh! You’re talking about the other housefolk.”

Tallpaw curled his lip, “I don’t care what you call them. All our elders say they’ve given up the right to be treated with respect by us. They tell stories about horrible things they’ve done, they are barely like animals at all. They hurt others, but can’t be killed themselves, they control monsters that don’t even smell alive. Everywhere they go becomes inhospitable to free animals!”

“But you aren’t like other wild animals you know. You’re a cat! They like cats. They wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I don’t care what they like! They want to control us, and we won’t let them.”

Jake stared at him blankly. “I’ve never heard of anything like that, and I’ve lived with the housefolk on the farm all my life. Maybe you’ve just met bad ones? I’m sure some are bad, but some cats are probably bad too. These ones at the farm are nice, I haven’t even lived with other cats in a long time since my family went separate ways.”

“They’ve got you tied up in a collar that’s made you stuck here! You could have died!” Tallpaw argued. How could Jake not see how he’d been brainwashed?

“I never minded the collar, I forget it’s even there. I just ran off and got tangled.” Jake replied simply

“But how long have you been stuck here?”

“Since um… a day ago?” Jake looked down and absent mindedly batted at a leaf, suddenly looking a little sad. “Since my mother and littermates left the barn, I get bored when there’s no one around and so I started wandering. I wondered if I could follow the car that one of my brothers left in to go visit him, so I started down the road, but then I got distracted because I saw this really neat bird and before I knew it, I was completely lost. And then I got stuck in this bush yesterday and I thought I would starve to death until you came along! Speaking of which...how do you get food out here?”

Tallpaw had no idea what to say. This absolutely absurd cat just shows up out of nowhere, and what was he supposed to do with them now? He didn’t know where this barn was, and it was forbidden to go so far anyway. Jake couldn’t stay so near their territory, but if he went without food for too long before he could find his way back, he’d starve. If the warrior code says to have mercy…

“I’m afraid I might regret this but...wait here for a moment.” Tallpaw said.

He ducked away and padded off into the treeline. He would catch something for Jake, just one small thing. And then he’d catch another small thing to take back to make up for it. It’s not clan prey if it comes from past the border, right? There must be some mice or voles around here. 

Luckily StarClan seemed to be on his side as it took very little time for him to scent a vole. Stalking in thick woodland was very awkward for Tallpaw, but the plump little creature looked like it didn’t have to do very much running in its day to day life. It almost spotted him but before it could turn, Tallpaw sprang and killed it quickly with a sharp bite. He shook the kicked up leaves from his pelt and pulled himself out of the prickly undergrowth. It was a wonder ShadowClan and ThunderClan could enjoy hunting like that, the forest felt so cramped and bracken kept whapping him in the face. He returned with the vole as quickly as he could to where he had left Jake, and found the kittypet staring up a tree at a perched robin. 

His eyes widened when he saw Tallpaw. “Did you just catch that? That was so fast! I’ve chased birds and mice before but I never managed to catch them, you’re really something, uh...Mr. Warrior.”

Tallpaw rolled his eyes as he dropped the vole “I’m not actually a warrior yet. But... I suppose I didn’t tell you my name did I?”

“You didn’t!” Jake grinned “But I thought it would be rude to ask again.”

“It’s Tallpaw”

“Tall-Paw?” Jake looked down at Tallpaw’s feet doubtfully. “That’s somehow an even funnier name.”

“It will be Talltail one day, when I get my full title. My father chose the name for me with that in mind.”

 And he intended it to be a name for a tunneler… No, now was not the time to be agonizing over that. He rushed to change the subject before Jake could inquire about what was wrong. “Nevermind that. This is for you so you don’t starve to death.”

“I’ve always wanted to know what furry creatures tasted like--but...are you sure you won’t get in trouble? I am trespassing, even though it was an accident.”

“I think it’s alright...It technically was just off WindClan territory. And the warrior code teaches us to be merciful. Even to silly kittypets. The clan will probably be glad to hear the strange scent in these woods isn’t a dangerous cat. You haven’t seen any other cats, right?” Tallpaw asked.

Jake hummed in thought, “I saw all you yesterday...and another little group walking around the moor not long before you showed up. They were too far away to hear me.”

Tallpaw narrowed his eyes. The dawn patrol shouldn’t have gotten to this part of the territory yet, “Did those cats look like they belonged here?”

“I...don’t know how a cat looks like they belong here. I couldn’t see them very well. One was a fluffy white cat with big dark spots, and I couldn’t tell the rest of them.”

Tallpaw’s fur prickled. The only white cat with dark patches other than himself in the clan was Palebird, and Tallpaw knew for a fact she was neither fluffy nor going out on dawn patrols right now. He looked suspiciously over his shoulder at the moor as if expecting to see someone there, watching. It was possible Jake was mistaken...Maybe it was just Woollycloud? 

“Well...if you see any other cats, just don’t talk to any of them. They could be dangerous.” Tallpaw said.

Jake shrugged and began to eat Tallpaw’s catch gratefully, and a bit awkwardly as he chewed around the fur. Tallpaw reminded him that you don’t actually have to swallow the fur. Light began to filter down through the tree branches and Tallpaw realized that the sun had very nearly risen over the hills. He was supposed to be meeting Dawnstripe now.

“Oh no...I’ve been here too long! I have to get going!”

Jake looked up, and Tallpaw was surprised to see his eyes glimmer with sadness 

“You’re leaving? Already? But I wanted to ask you so many more questions! And I still don’t really know where I am...”

“I must meet my mentor. Listen...You just make sure you don’t go farther past this treeline. The patrols probably won’t notice you, but they might not be as nice as me. And don’t talk to any strange cats, especially those others you saw. If they were other outsiders, they could be more dangerous to you than my clanmates.”

“Will I see you again?” Jake asked.

“Well...maybe. I’ll try. But you should just try to retrace your steps to your own territory. Other predators don’t often come near clan land so there shouldn’t be too much danger in these woods.” Tallpaw dipped his head awkwardly out of habit, then remembered he shouldn’t do that when parting with a kittypet, but it was too late now. He turned and leaped over the bushes back onto the moor. Stars, I hope I'm not late after bothering Dawnstripe for such early training…

He wasn’t sure why he had told Jake that he’d try to see him again. That was the last thing he should be doing. But he couldn’t help feeling sorry for the lost kittypet. Even though Tallpaw didn’t look back, the funny orange tom was still on his mind. What a strange morning…what a strange cat! Who likes twolegs? And didn’t he know he shouldn't be so friendly to threatening strangers? Jake hadn’t looked worried or scared even once.

 And he asked way too many questions!  But still...he was nice. And the admiration in his eyes had been flattering, even if he was clearly easily impressed. Maybe I should go back later. Make sure he found his way home. Just to be sure. Can’t have trespassers hanging around forever after all.

But something still weighed on his mind. So Jake wasn’t one of the dangerous trespassers they had to be on alert for. But Mistmouse had supposedly scented more than one outsider on this border. And what if it hadn’t been Woollycloud that Jake saw? A tunneler patrol didn’t have much need to be on the northern border after all. Were there more cats out here after all that he had missed?

chapter list / previous / next

[defractum]

Ah, au 5 prompts thing: what if during the burial mounds seige the wens convince wwx to take a-yuan and go save himself?

So after the Wen surrender themselves from Burial Mounds, WWX has no one left to turn to. He'd renounced Jiang Cheng, he's pissed off the rest of the cultivation world, and he doesn't even have a golden core anymore. He destroys the stygian amulet, he turns, and he leaves that world behind.

He and A-Yuan travel around, mostly going to places where the big sects won't bother. He becomes a rogue cultivator, but in secret – he'll take on jobs that pay and if he takes out his flute once they've left and sorts it out with a bit of demonic cultivation, well, most ordinary people don't know.

He carries his sword in a covered hilt; he can barely draw it these days anyway

They spend years as travelling cultivators – A-Yuan turns fourteen knowing that he is a Wen, and that his Xian-ge is the infamous Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, and that he is loved. 

WWX has offered to drop him off at the doors of another sect so that he can get a more comprehensive education, but A-Yuan stays. (He hasn't met a lot of other cultivators his own age, so he doesn't realise for a while that his practical knowledge outstrips his peers by miles.)

WWX teaches A-Yuan cultivation, traditional cultivation. He can teach the theory and the meditation and sword forms even if he doesn’t do them himself anymore. A-Yuan gets very good at talismans and spells and improvising, and there's a tiny bit of demonic cultivation in there too – for emergencies. A-Yuan will be able to defend himself even when he doesn't have a sword.

He gifts A-Yuan Suibian, and his pride outshines his lingering regret.

It's not until they're cleaning out a nest of possessed sea snakes, WWX staying back and using talismans, A-Yuan methodically cutting their heads off, when he hears a familiar strumming from a guqin, dispatching the last of the snakes

WWX is thinking about running but A-Yuan has already turned to start thanking whoever it is – and it's Lan Wangji, of course. Older, and as regal as ever.

LWJ asks sharply where A-Yuan got his sword – and WWX's not about to abandon him, so he jumps down from the rooftop he was perched on and pushes A-Yuan behind him. "It was a gift. I wasn't using it anyway."

LWJ does the thing ("Wei Ying," he breathes, hand reaching out to snap around his wrist, grasping so tightly that it hurts, as if he's afraid if he can't feel him he might not be real.)

WWX asks why he's here ("This isn't anywhere near Gusu.")

LWJ spends much of his time travelling to places that don't have cultivational sects and cultivators readily available these days, after an intense few years helping to rebuild Cloud Recesses after the Wen attack – the sect politics matter little to him, and his brother has a handle on leading the sect by now

(A-Yuan stands like right there, eyes flicking back and forth between them. He's heard a lot about Lan Wangji from Wei Wuxian and this is the most fascinating thing that's ever happened to him – and that's saying something considering last week, they fought a shapeshifter that kept turning itself into WWX.)

WWX offers to split the reward for the possessed snakes between them, but Lan Wangji declines, and asks where they're going next instead; WWX says south, where it's warmer. LWJ tells him that's coincidentally where he was going to go too. (LWJ is a lying liar.) He tags along. And then he just keeps… tagging along.

Sometimes LWJ does need to go back to Gusu, but he always comes back. Once WWX realises that he has no intention of letting anyone know that he's found the Yiling Patriarch, they let him know where to find them next.

He never complains about the rundown inns that WWX picks, or how they walk or ride everywhere (A-Yuan can carry WWX on Suibian, but only for short periods of time and not very high up), or how they take the long way around every big city. Instead, he silently pays the innkeeper in the morning before WWX gets up, and picks up extra provisions for the nights spent camping.

They fall into disgusting domesticity remarkably quickly. LWJ starts teaching A-Yuan cultivation. WWX buys him a dizi of his own. LWJ gets him a guqin. They silently bicker over it until A-Yuan suggests that he could always play the suona – they both flatly stare at him and veto it. (He learns to play both the dizi and the guqin.)

Basically, they travel the countryside and cultivate together and A-Yuan spends far, far too much time and energy playing matchmaker and politely looking off into the middle-distance as they stare longingly at each other before they finally confess their feelings and get together.

Two years later, when a white Gusu distress signal comes from Mo Village, and they are the nearest cultivators around, Lan Wangji looks torn between responding and staying and WWX makes the decision for them – he grabs their things and says without hesitation, "I'll go with you."

See the other filled prompts

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Yandere headcanons for one of the X-Men (Nightcrawler/Angel/Wolverine/Colossus/Rogue) being obsessed with one of their students? You can leave the student's gender up to the reader. Same thing with their powers.

Yandere Wolverine x Student!Reader

When you first meet Logan, you think he's one of the more intimidating teachers, personality wise. You aren't really afraid of him as much as you'd just rather not be on his radar at all. Which is easier said than done.

Your behavior won't go unnoticed, Logan will pick up on it sooner or later, catching you trying to avoid making eye contact with him during class or when you even try to hide from his view. He doesn't really understand it at first. Maybe you're just shy or you're scared of him, he doesn't know. It will eventually bother him enough to either confront you about it or he'll purposely call on you for things, especially when you're being particularly evasive.

He'll probably do both; purposely calling on you then confronting you. When you do open up about how intimidating you think he is, he's not surprised but something in him feels a little hurt by that. He doesn't know why he's feeling like that especially when he's been told and called so much worse. This will start his obsessive behavior.

Logan will start keeping a closer eye on you whether in class or around the school. He'll catch himself looking around for you anywhere he is, and huffing when your not there. He'll even start keeping you after class to help him grade assignments but really it's just to get closer to you.

The longer you spend time with Logan, the closer you two get, talking about anything and everything, well you'll do most of the talking. Logan prefers to just listen to you talk and ramble, if it was anyone else he would be annoyed. But he likes hearing your voice.

He'll listen to you talk about your day, or how your friend did this one funny thing at lunch, and how you got such a good grade in Mr. Scott's class. He'll roll his eyes at the mention of Scott though. But he never stops you or interrupts you, always just listening along.

Sometimes you don't even thing he is listening at all because he never looks like he is, but he's listening to every word and taking mental notes for later.

Logan takes notes of all the people you mention; friends, other teachers, and even crushes. He won't let anyone slide by him. He'll look into all your friends making sure they aren't causing you or getting you into any trouble. If they are he'll make sure they never come near you again.

Crushes are a no go at all. He will either make something up to deter you from that person or he'll scare that person into avoiding you. If you tell him how you're planning on confessing to said crush, he'll make "highly encourage" them to break your heart. You'll even probably come to him crying and upset about the whole situation and he'll be right there to comfort you, well as best as Logan can comfort someone.

As teachers go, Logan will be a little more hesitant about dealing with them, unless it's Scott then he's all for it but still a little easier said than done. If you have any trouble with any teachers, Logan will be petty towards said teacher, which won't really cause suspicion because that's just Logan.

When on missions together, you are Logan's first priority. He'll have you stick to his side throughout the whole thing. You aren't going anywhere without him. If anyone tries to attack you, Logan's already on them, tearing and clawing like a wild animal.

Logan is very protective of you and in and out of the school. He isn't very fond of you going out with your friends or anyone else without him there and his displeasure is eveident when you get back. He's not mad or upset with you but his disdain for your friends will grow, he honestly believes they're trying to take you away and drive a wedge between you two.

Your relationship with Logan will eventually grow into more later on and his behavior and tendencies will only get stronger and worse the more time goes by.

Logan will be more possessive of your time and attention, even if neither of you are doing anything together, you're still together and he doesn't want anyone butting in on that.

Logan will start following and inviting himself to wherever you go, even it it's out to run a quick errand he's already jumping in either Scott's car or on his bike. He likes taking Scott's car cause it annoys him and who is Logan to not take a chance to piss off Cyclops.

Logan can be very gruff and standoffish but with all the time the two of you have spent together, he's whipped and wrapped around your finger. He still has an image and aesthetic to uphold and he won't openly be affectionate or tender with you but he can't hide his fondness for you.

If you're unwilling to be with Logan then there will be punishments and he can be scary with his punishments. But as long as you're still at the school, they won't be over the top cruel like they could be if you were stuck with him on your own somewhere.

Logan will eventually take you away from the school and the other x-men, wanting to keep all to himself and away from danger. He'll take you somewhere isolated and hidden, only you and him know where it is and even then you still don't really know where you actually are. One way or another you'll be stuck with Logan somewhere where you won't be able to get away from him. He'll take precautions for your mutation in advance before you're able to use it on him.

Either way you won't have a life outside of Logan again and that's just what he wants; you completely reliant on him and only him.

Yandere Nightcrawler x Student!Reader

Kurt is a fun and playful teacher, everyday in his class is filled with laughter and jokes. He makes all his students feel special by knowing their names and remembering little things they've said. But there's one particular special student that is the apple of his eye and he can't help but praise them and that student is you.

Whenever Kurt has you in his class or sees you around the school, he can't help the big smile that makes it's way to his face. He can't remember what made start looking at you as more than a student and he doesn't really care.

As much as he is a fun teacher, he won't stand for any bullying from any students, let alone when it's aimed at you or self deprecating humor, especially from you.

Kurt will pop in on you every so often unprovoked, just wanting to see and talk to you. Checking in on you and your studies. You'll probably think he does that with everyone but he doesn't., only you.

You will definitely get special treatment from Kurt but he would try to keep it lowkey. Some students and fellow teachers will catch on to it but Kurt will be able to dissuade them. Who would actually think that THE Kurt Wagner would have any ulterior motives? No one, because Kurt is a lovable sweetheart but that's not all there is to the teleporter.

Kurt isn't one to get his hands dirty, he actually prefers to not have to hurt anyone at all but that all goes out the door when you're involved. He'll teleport anyone he thinks is too close or not a good person and take them somewhere else in a different country on a different continent. As long as they're away from you, Kurt is content.

Now if someone is trying to harm you, then they'll get a more cruel punishment, being teleported right into the middle of danger. And Kurt will have no guilt or regrets about any of it. He sees what he's doing as the right thing for the person he cares about most.

Kurt isn't someone who could even fathom punishing you or causing any sort of mistreatment toward you. And that's how it'll stay. But it's also hard not to fall for him when he's so sweet and considerate, you won't be unwilling for too long.

I think the worst he'll do is maybe guilt trip you into doing or not doing things. Otherwise he's a loving and caring guy who won't hold you back from anything, actually encouraging and supporting you as long as he can be by your side as you go about whatever it is. He's just so happy to be with you and no one will ruin that for him.

Yandere Rogue x Student!Reader

For some reason Anna-Marie's eyes would always make their way to where you were sitting in her class. She couldn't understand it or the fondness she felt for you the first time you two made eye contact.

You'll progressively become her favorite student and she won't hide it. She'll give you blatant special treatment and you ourself aren't even sure why. And you may even get shunned by your peers for the blatant attention from Anna-Marie.

She'll be the only one there for you, seeking you out for herself. She's not an idiot she knows what she's doing with openly labeling you her favorite student. She wanted you to be on your own so she could be the one you would get close to and come for comfort, but when you didn't she had to sought you out.

Anna-Marie can be very clingy and once she's gotten her powers under control, she's even more clingy. She likes have you're attention on her and spending as much time with you as she can.

If asked she'll just excuse it as taking you under her wing and making you her little protege. You won't have any friends anymore but you'll have her and that's so much better isn't it? You won't have a moments peace with Anna-Marie around and she's always around.

She'll probably even move you into her own room just too be closer to you. If confronted about what she's doing, she always have an excuse or explanation for whatever she's doing. When asked about moving you into your room, she said you were having trouble with some of the other kids and you didn't feel the safest in the room you were and she's just being the dutiful teacher trying to help you out. Where would be a safer place for you then in a teacher's room?

Anna-Marie will definitely take advantage of her authority as a teacher and member of the X-men to get what she wants from you and anyone else she deems a problem.

She wants to be the only person in your life and being older than you, she'll use your inexperience against you, ensuring you'll stay with her no matter what.

Yandere Colossus x Student!Reader

Piotr is sweet and considerate much like Kurt but he's more modest and quiet in personality. He isn't sure when he started paying closer attention to you or when he started to think about you and whether you were having a good day today or not, but by the time he caught on, he was already in too deep.

You wouldn't even suspect anything of Piotr, no one would but that works out in his favor. You don't feel uncomfortable or uneasy when he keep you after class to go over an assignment you didn't do to well on (you actually did very well but Piotr needed a reason to keep you after class, so he just falsified some errors here and there.).

Everyone always has good things to say about Piotr and how he handles his students but he can be easily taken advantage of. You could easily manipulate him if you wanted. He's aware enough to no right from wrong but he also can't shake his thoughts of you.

Piotr would be much more helpful towards you, even going as far as to give you answers to a test if he sees you struggling hard enough. Offering you to stay after class more often for study sessions but just you and him.

He wouldn't even have to try hard to earn your trust, you'd come to him just for someone to talk to and listen to you ramble on about whatever. And he's more than willing to be that person. Piotr's very appreciative that you would seek him out to be your confidant, though he does get jealous when you talk about any love interests or crushes.

He'll give you advice but some of his advice isn't completely unbiased. Sometimes he'll tell you little white lies about some other students if you have a particular liking to them whether platonic or romantic, to deter you from seeking out anything further with said student.

While out on missions Piotr can be more overbearing than usual, making sure you're not hurt or in distress. He'll make you stick by his side if the team splits up, he'd rather you be with him than him worrying about you the whole time. If you do happen to get hurt or attacked, Piotr would be infuriated to say the least. No one's seen him so angry before or even mad, let alone at such an extent like that.

You being put in danger would really bring a new side out of Piotr and he would probably try to convince you to stop being on the team, but that wouldn't work, so he'll stay to keeping you safe while sticking to your side. If anyon wants to harm you, they'll have to go through him first.

Yandere Angel x Student!Reader

Warren is still pretty arrogant especially about is boyish good looks and his beautiful wings. He loves to show off and that will only get worse when he takes a liking to you.

He's very much into showing off and proving himself worthy of you, I mean it's in his name. He lives for attention and craves it and the attention he craves the most is yours.

Warren won't leave you alone once he's in too deep. There won't be any way to dissuade him and his attention from you. You can't deter him from wanting to be with you.

He's definitely going to take full advantage of his authority over you and your lack of experience in anything. He'll keep after class with no reason, even locking the door to keep you from leaving. He likes it best when it's just the two of you together. No one else to fight for your attention or to hear your voice,oh how he loves your voice. He could go on and on about what he loves about you and how much he loves you, but that can wait another day.

Warren definitely has a jealous streak. He can and will get jealous at anything and everything. You've been hanging out with your friends too much, why don't you have lunch with him in his classroom? You've been spending a lot of time outside, why don't you just stay in today and spend some time with him? You were paying more attention to Mr. Logan's homework than you were listening to him, why don't you push that aside for later?

Warren will definitely get jealous of your other teachers. He'll constantly ask if he's still your favorite teacher after you've gotten back from one of your other classes. He loves hearing you praise him over your other teachers but that's probably just to get him off your back and it will work too, only causing his ego to get bigger.

As much of an arrogant ass he can be, that doesn't mean he isn't soft and needy for you, cause he is. He loves getting whatever affection he can from you and he always has to touch in some way, even during class. He keeps his touches pretty neutral but they'll linger a lot longer than necessary.

Warren really wants to show you off and brag about your relationship but he knows he can't, not while you're still his student but when the day comes, he'll be overjoyed.

Warren can also be pretty possessive of you, not wanting anyone else too close or near you at all. He wants to be the only one in your life and he will be.

He can be impatient when it comes to you, he wants you and everything about you to be his now, but he has to wait awhile longer until he can finally have that.

[jelzorz]

@thosefiveadoraburrs @raayllum and @beamwrites told me to so okay, here we go, one list of hcs for a dumb tangled au coming right up

Harrow is dead and Viren is high mage and regent until Ez comes of age. He Does Not let the boys out of the castle ever both bc he knows there are people who oppose his leadership and would rally behind cal and ez in a heartbeat. He's still trying to come up with an excuse to keep the throne once Ez turns 18.

Callum and Ezran have been under what's basically house arrest since Harrow died. They still have their Prince lessons. Callum still sucks at swordfighting and Ez still loves jelly tarts but they're not allowed outside of the castle bc Viren sucks.

Callum is super duper still fascinated by magic but kinda dislikes dark magic bc Viren's a dick. He knows Viren wouldn't let him anywhere near even a primal stone so he spends all day watching Claudia practise in the courtyard trying to secretly learn the runes that way.

Anyway one day, Ez finds the egg. They know what it is and that they have to get it back but Viren took for a reason and there's No Way Viren would a) return it and b) let them leave in the first place

Then Rayla breaks into the castle to steal idk the crown or something and the boys, of all people, catch her out. Bait does his big flash and in the confusion, Rayla is knocked out.

ia63

They sneak out. They steal the egg and a primal stone from Viren's office on their way.

Ez loses his mind in town. Callum, at least, got to go out with his mum and dad when they were alive but Harrow and Sarai died when Ez was a baby and he's literally never been to town. Rayla specifically takes them too all The Worst places trying to get them to call it off, but the kids are determined, and they end up in a tavern full of people Viren Does Not Like: rebels who dislike their rule and would stand by Ez. They help them get out.

Viren sends Claudia and Soren after them, as per canon, who follow their trail until they get to the same tavern and the same secret tunnel. There's a fight. Rayla goes out of her way to keep Ez and the egg out of harm's way. Magic is involved. A badly timed fulminis causes the tunnel to collapse and traps the trio in a dead end. The tunnel starts to flood.

Callum learns that Rayla's not the rogue thief she pretends to be by the way she reassures Ezran in spite of the way she's obviously terrified of the water. They find a way out thanks to Cal's magic (maybe?). Hooray! They're alive!

They settle for the night. Ez goes to bed but Rayla stays up to Keep Watch. Callum notices the way she's still shaken up. Insert backstory of why Rayla's afraid of water here. Bonding and learning abt each other. Now they're friends ❤️

The rest of the journey isn't so bad. They find themselves in Xadia and Cal and Ez are both starry-eyed ala the Kingdom Festival scene. Rayla kinda hangs back and Callum reels himself back to talk to her. More bonding ❤️

They go to an elven festival I guess? Insert lantern scene? They let her hold the egg.

Claudia and Soren catch up to them. Claudia uses Cal's feelings for her to try to turn things around. Soren goes after Rayla. Idk what happens but they manage to make it look like Rayla's run off with the egg. Claudia and Soren start making their way back to Katolis with the boys.

Ez catches on first. Something's wrong. What happened to Rayla? She can't have left them on purpose. Callum's too hurt to believe him until something happens (idk what) to change his mind. There's another fight. More magic. The boys get away.

They rescue Rayla somehow wherever she is

I didn't get this far in my head when I was writing ia63. You'll know more when I do!