#same for barbara and tabs

[dollishmehrayan]

# “I NEED YOUR LOVING, LIKE THE SUNSHINE, EVERYONE’S GOT TO LEARN SOMETIME.” ── .✦ ( batboys when they have a crush on you ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ )

dollish note ౨ৎ: yes this is based off that one korgis song and if you know it, your elite marry me immediately anywayss I need like more cute events to do omgg and guys I’m going to look for a new divider edition but the bunny will always stay don’t worryyy tags: (batboys x reader)

© dollishmehrayan — ( all rights reserved to me. These works cannot be reposted, translated, or modified. Thank you for understanding dollies! )

DICK GRAYSON ── .✦

He’s so obvious. Everyone knows. Even villains probably know, even you probably know but we always play hard to get. (that’s js me sorry)

Overly casual compliments: “Wow, you look… good. Like, really good. Is that new? No? I just never noticed how great you always look??”

Purposely hangs around you way more than necessary. “Oh wow, fancy seeing you here again... at this coffee shop... at this exact time... for the fifth time this week…”, “uh.. sure okay dick.”

Gets physically flustered. You smile at him and he bumps into a wall.

Brings you little gifts like coffee, snacks, or something you mentioned once two months ago that he totally remembered.

Accidentally lets it slip to Barbara. You find out two days later because she’s evil (and supportive). GIRL BOSSSSS

RASON RODD (IF YKYK) ── .✦

Denies it to everyone. Even himself. “Me? Crushing? Pfft. Please. I'm just being nice. I’m always this nice. Shut up.”

Acts all chill and tough but turns into a sarcastic teddy bear when you're around.

Tries not to care but notices everything about you like when you’re tired, upset, or need space.

Gets really protective, then downplays it. “Yeah I threatened that guy because he was being annoying. Not because he was flirting with you. Nope.” ( our little nonchalant guy )

Will read/watch your favorite stuff in secret so he can talk about it with you, then pretends he hated it. “No, I didn’t like it. But the plot twist in episode 7 was wild. Just sayin’.”

Probably punches a wall the first time someone calls him out. Literally everyone in the family: “Just ask them out already.”

TIM DRAKE ── .✦

Has a million tabs open on “how to tell if someone likes you back.”

Obsesses over every text you send. Sends a reply. Deletes it. Writes a better one. Deletes that too. Eventually sends “lol yeah same” and regrets it instantly.

Runs into you and forgets how to function for 3 seconds. “Hey—hi—hey. Sorry. I mean. Hello.”

Will research your interests so he can impress you or casually bring them up. “Oh, you’re into ___? I read a couple papers about that, super cool stuff.”

Accidentally calls you “cute” in passing, then vanishes for two days to a point you wonder if he might appear on the missing website thing.

You find out he has a playlist called “maybe someday” and the first song is something painfully romantic.

DAMIAN WAYNE ── .✦

Pretends he doesn’t like you. Like, aggressively. But it’s so obvious.

Gives you weirdly thoughtful gifts and says things like, “I noticed you were using inferior supplies.”

Blushes if you compliment him. Denies he’s blushing. “Tt. The temperature is simply warm.”

Subtly changes his schedule to be around you more. He’ll be in the library when you’re there, in the gym at the same time it’s definitely not a coincidence (even though he insists it is).

Draws you. Like, sketches. Constantly. Says it’s “for anatomy practice.”

Acts annoyed when you talk to someone else, then pouts in a corner like a feral cat.

BRUCE WAYNE ── .✦

He doesn’t even realize it at first. It hits him out of nowhere, like genuinely out of thin air.

Brooding increases by 200%. He stares off into space, thinking about you, and Alfred has to snap him out of it.

Becomes awkwardly formal. “Would you… perhaps… like to join me for dinner? I understand if that’s… inconvenient.” ( like despite being a former player and all and smoothhh as hell when he genuinely likes someone he can’t be smooth, your like his Andrea beaumont but if they worked out )

Totally asks Alfred for advice. Alfred gives him the same advice he gave him at 16.

When you smile at him, he short-circuits a little. You get a rare, soft Bat-smile in return.

Once he’s sure of his feelings, he’s all in but oh boy, it takes a while.

[enemui]

⁉️What your favorite Genshin Impact character says about you🫵

🐰Amber: Your favorite Pokémon is Eevee and your favorite Sanrio character is My Melody.

🌹Lisa: You're not scared of smart women but you are scared of interesting women.

🛡️Noelle: You don't know shit and plan on keeping it that way.

🫧Barbara: You either sell or buy gamer girl bathwater.

🦇Fischl: You're quarter-delusional. Like, you are delusional, but sometimes you're aware that you are delusional.

☘️Bennett: You have a soft spot for miserable little creatures and you desperately need a bigger character trait than that.

🍖Razor: You love dogs, even if they're old, ugly little goblins.

🐱Diona: You love cats and hate alcohol. Those are two rare instances of you feeling strongly about anything.

🔮Mona: You were assigned financial irresponsibility at birth, and haven't managed to do anything to change your fate.

🗡️Rosaria: You think having a healthy biorhythm is overrated. You also look like a human cigarette.

🖌️Mika: You let your feelings of pity towards others control you.

🍀Klee: You're the fun parent. You probably own a spoiled pet.

🦴Sucrose: You actually love to talk, people just hate to listen.

🧪Albedo: You're gay and neurodivergent.

❄️Eula: You're weak to corporate tricks. You should really work on that.

🦚Kaeya: You're not known to have functional relationships and healthy coping mechanisms.

🦉Diluc: You think you could get an edgy boy to open up to you. You couldn't because the moment someone is even a little cold to you, you will cry.

🦁Jean: You always order the same thing from the menu. Not because it's your favorite, but because you're scared of trying anything new.

🍏Venti: If being horny and annoying was a sport, you'd be an Olympic athlete.

🐇Yaoyao: You can be sold anything with a cute mascot plastered on it.

🌶️Xiangling: You wonder how a lot of different things taste like and you need to be stopped.

🧊Chongyun: There's a great disparity between how you want to be perceived versus how you are actually perceived.

💦Xingqiu: You are knowingly annoying and don't plan to stop anytime soon.

🎸Xinyan: You're misunderstood, but you definitely don't make an effort to be anything else.

⚰️Hu Tao: Your self-proclaimed pranks have resulted in actual damages to people's mental and physical well-being.

🎼Yun Jin: You've projected onto your partner before to the point you lost the ability to identify their actual character.

🥥Qiqi: You aren't swayed by public opinions.

🐍Baizhu: Close the wikipedia tab with a list of terminal diseases, you're fine, just severely dramatic.

🏔️Shenhe: You've been in abusive relationships. Not sure if as the victim or perpetrator, but you were in them.

🎲Yelan: You'd be perfectly content as a housewife. Just do chores and read smut.

⚓️Beidou: You don't mind putting in the work to change things to be more to your liking.

💎Ningguang: You have no qualms sucking up to people for a bit of societal advantage.

🍤Keqing: You've entered relationships before, thinking you could change them. No, that absolutely did not go well for you.

⚖️Yanfei: It's not just your exes who suck, you have an entire toxic friend group.

🔔Ganyu: You have an elaborate power fantasy about quitting your job.

🫖Madame Ping: You're a classy lesbian.

⚙️Guizhong: You present your opinions as facts.

☁️Cloud Retainer: You've been in a situation when you've found your girlfriend's mom more attractive than your girlfriend.

🪽Xiao: You're non-binary and depressed.

🐉Zhongli: You need a man to kiss the back of your hand. Also you have a strained relationship with your father.

🍁Kaedehara Kazuha: You don't care about looks, only vibes. You're also addicted to adderall.

🍃Sayu: You are serious about the silly and silly about the serious. Sometimes it's funny, other times you deserve to be dropkicked into the sun.

🎁Kirara: You have a crippling addiction to adorable girls.

🦌Shikanoin Heizou: You are guilty of the "thinking with your dick/pussy". Don't try to deny it, you didn't even care until his birthday became a national holiday.

⚡️Kuki Shinobu: You have better things to do than a well-paying job, such as arson.

👹Arataki Itto: You are a size queen. You also think you're way more interesting than you actually are.

🎇Yoimiya: You've had a crush on the same person for the longest time and every time you think you're over them, they make a request of you and you jump on it like a dog.

👺Kujou Sara: You could probably use hormonal therapy.

🍡Thoma: You think appearances don't matter as long as he's nice. You're also a terrible judge of character, so all your exes are just overall shitty people.

🪭Kamisato Ayaka: You cannot survive without your established social circle. Were it not for the luxuries of civilization, you'd be dead in a ditch.

🧋Kamisato Ayato: You have no self-respect, if a slightly above average man tells you to do something, you'll do it.

🐕Gorou: You don't need a man, you need a dog.

🪸Sangonomiya Kokomi: You don't know how to dress well, but you really want a girlfriend who does.

🦊Yae Miko: You think as long as a woman is hot, she can do whatever the fuck she pleases.

🌸Raiden Ei: You've been in a relationship with an unmedicated mentally ill person and walked out of that experience having learned nothing.

🧞‍♀️Dori: The world would be better off without you.

🌻Tighnari: You have an attitude and you refuse to reign it in no matter how inappropriate for the situation it is.

🪴Collei: You either have no idea what you're doing or you should be in jail.

🪷Nilou: You live quite blissfully, but dealing with you isn't easy. This is called ignorance.

✨Layla: Your best exam results come from days when you showed up to class hungover and on 45 minutes of sleep.

📐Faruzan: Your family broke the generational curse, which somehow had a negative impact on your character.

🪻Candace: You are the mom friend, but only because you have to be. Like, you're a mess, but you're a lot less of a mess than your friends.

🌺Dehya: You can draw yourself symmetrical eyeliner.

🃏Cyno: You probably have a good moral compass, but you still aren't easy to get along with.

🦅Alhaitham: You're, like, severely delusional. You either think he's like you or that you could be on good terms with him. Both of those are clear signs of delusional behavior.

🕊️Kaveh: I hate to break it you, but buying stuffed animals can't substitute for going to therapy.

☂️Wanderer: Most of the time, you're really cute, but you can be absolutely terrifying if you so choose. You're also trans.

💉Dottore: You're fairly submissive but if someone makes you mad, you'll make sure they regret it.

🌱Nahida: You're addicted to winning arguments. You don't even need to be right, you just need to feel like you've won, even if you resort to the method of wearing a person down until they no longer want to continue debating with you.

🌂Navia: You have leadership skills specifically in the "do as I say, not as I do" department.

🐧Freminet: You're non-binary and have anxiety.

🎩Lynette: You're very patient but you'd rather not be.

🪄Lyney: You have a dark secret and the dark secret is that you're actually a Danganronpa girlie.

🍷Arlecchino: You're not a good person but you genuinely don't think it's that bad.

⚔️Clorinde: You have fallen prey to misinformation on numerous occasions before.

🩹Sigewinne: You'd sacrifice your liver to keep a person happy.

🐺Wriothesley: You can be appeased by an act of hot girl shit.

🌊Neuvillette: You need a man to kiss the back of your hand. Also you have a strained relationship with your mother.

💧Furina: You're delusional. Could be affectionate, could be derogatory, it varies from person to person.

🦟Paimon: You don't know shit but you have an opinion on everything.

🐋Tartaglia: Your exes all belong in jail. So does your current and next partner. You never fucking learn, do you?

💰Pantalone: You don't need a healthy relationship, you need a sugar daddy.

🖤Capitano: You are, amongst other things, a monsterfucker. You want to be destroyed, but, like, lovingly.

🎀Columbina: You are a mix of a pomeranian and a Biblically accurate angel.

🎭Pierro: You are fatherless on an Olympic level. You don't need a father, you need a daddy.

💫Lumine: You're a hot girl. You're either stupid or evil, but you're a hot girl. If you're not a girl, you are a red flag.

☄️Aether: You have a crippling crop top addiction and you have no idea what to do with your hair.

🌌Dainsleif: You date people before getting to know them, but don't understand why you don't get along with your partners.

[formulafanfics13]

All Eyes on Me - Chapter 15

Masterlist || Latest Poll

Disclaimer:

This fanfic will contain mature themes and topics (smut, abuse, power imbalance, drug use, alcohol dependency, control, and eating disorders). There will not be warnings throughout, so if you proceed with this fic, please bear this in mind!

The air smelled like setting spray, champagne, and soft-focus powder. The lights were dimmed to perfection, not by accident, and Rihanna was humming low from the Bluetooth speaker, her voice riding the beat like smoke.

All five girls were scattered across the massive suite, in matching Victoria's Secret satin pyjama sets, pale pink with black piping, the monogrammed initials on the breast pocket in tiny white embroidery. The matching was intentional. Everything always was.

Barbara was half-asleep on the bed, feet crossed in the air behind her, scrolling Instagram with her face fully beat and a full glass of champagne resting against the duvet.

Taylor sat at the edge of the mirrored coffee table, applying mascara while Gigi tried to curl her lashes for her, one hand steady, the other holding a flute.

Lila was perched on the windowsill, phone in one hand, map app open, head tilted like a cat hunting prey.

Martha sat cross-legged on the vanity stool, back straight, hair in rollers, black eyeliner sharp enough to murder someone. She'd just done a line of coke with Gigi, the powder and card still on the mirror behind the perfume tray.

"Okay," Taylor said, blinking carefully as her lashes dried. "What's the plan? Are we actually going to this fucking thing?"

Lila didn't look up. "That depends. Do we want to be iconic or actually have fun?"

Gigi took a slow sip of champagne. "Both."

Martha exhaled through her nose and reached for her lipliner. "Let's weigh it up."

"Pros?" Barbara asked from the bed, not looking up.

Taylor lifted her fingers. "Free bar tab."

"We'll look like we're playing nice," Gigi added. "Which keeps management off our asses."

"No need to scout a club," Martha said. "Less risk of paparazzi."

"Cons?" Taylor asked, brushing her cheekbone with highlight.

"We'll have to behave," Lila said flatly, scrolling through Google Maps. "And by behave I mean not do body shots off Oscar in the middle of the bar."

Barbara finally looked up. "The drivers will be there. The team principals will be there. We'll be stuck between flirting and fake-smiling."

"It's giving HR nightmare," Gigi whispered.

Martha nodded once. "We can't vanish completely. If we don't go at all, David will start acting twitchy again."

Taylor blinked. "So we go?"

Martha leaned back slightly. "We go for thirty minutes. Max. We act professional. We let Stefano see us pose with Lewis and Charles. We smile for the press. We drink champagne, clink glasses, take three Instagram stories..."

"And then we disappear," Lila finished, eyes still on her phone.

She looked up.

"I just found a place down the road from the Four Seasons. It's called Velvet Room. Private entrance. No press. Open until 4AM."

Barbara smirked. "You had that ready before we even started this convo."

"I'm a planner," Lila said smugly.

Taylor grinned. "You're a slut for chaos."

"Same thing."

Martha stood. The rollers in her hair bounced slightly, her pyjama shirt unbuttoned just enough to flash the top of her chest. She looked around the room at her girls, all five of them glowing, deadly, already slightly drunk and glittering like gods.

"We give them a show at the afterparty," she said. "And then we give ourselves a show at Velvet."

"Deal," Gigi said.

Barbara raised her glass. "To the pre-party party."

Lila clinked hers against it. "And the real one after."

Taylor stood, tossing her mascara onto the vanity and already peeling off her PJ top. "Alright, sluts. Get dressed. We've got reputations to ruin."

The suite was filled with noise, zippers, heels clacking against the marble, perfume spritzes and Rihanna blasting through the Bluetooth speaker. Five outfits were laid across the bed and every surface was coated in glam: lip glosses, bronzers, open palettes, empty champagne flutes, and a few suspicious little bags crumpled discreetly beneath a black satin bag.

Barbara was already fully dressed, her corset zipped, her boots on, her leopard clutch swinging from one wrist as she poured five ridiculous shots into champagne coupes lined up beside a Jo Malone candle.

"Celebration or death?" she called out, raising the first one.

"Both," Taylor groaned from the vanity, squinting into the mirror as she wiped away her eyeliner for the fourth time. "I swear this one eye doesn't fucking match. One of them's winged. The other one looks like trauma."

"You are trauma," Gigi sang, sitting on the edge of the bed as Lila crouched behind her, carefully pulling the last of her rollers out, letting blonde waves fall in perfect bouncy spirals.

"I'm your trauma," Taylor shot back.

"Be serious," Lila said, standing and fluffing Gigi's hair like a pro. "We only have like fifteen minutes if we're going to show up to the Four Seasons looking like we might care."

"You mean pretend to care," Martha muttered, sipping her champagne and slowly taking out her own rollers with her free hand. "Let's be clear."

She was already dressed in the white corset and black sequin micro skirt, bare legs, gold hoops, hair tumbling down in thick, rich waves. She looked like sex. Like a warning. Her gold rings glinted as she smoothed a roller out and dropped it on the carpet.

"Okay," Taylor said, standing and throwing on her top, black silk, no bra, her leopard shorts barely covering anything. "Run me through it again. The Plan."

"We stay for half an hour, max," Barbara said, picking up her shot.

"One drink," Gigi added, adjusting her corset in the mirror.

"No drama," Taylor nodded. "Smile, clink, ghost."

"Exactly," Lila said, stepping into her black mesh corset, already in leather shorts and the Givenchy boots, animal-print bag slung over her shoulder like a warning sign. "We let the photographers get their pictures, make David think we're behaving... and then we disappear."

"We go to Velvet," Gigi finished, slipping on her earrings.

"No invites," Martha said. "No boys. No press. Just us."

Barbara raised her glass again. "To controlled chaos."

They all reached for theirs.

"Cheers, sluts," Taylor grinned.

The sound of five glasses clinking was drowned out by the bassline pulsing through the suite.

And then Martha's phone buzzed.

Not once. Not twice. Three times.

She didn't move at first, she knew that vibration. That pattern. Then slowly, without reacting, she reached across the table.

One look at the screen.

Jacob: Where the fuck are you? 

Jacob: Why haven't you called?

Jacob: Don't make me get on a plane and fly to Australia

She blinked once. Then locked the screen.

Didn't say a word.

She turned back to the mirror. Took another sip of champagne. Reapplied her gloss like nothing had happened.

But Gigi saw it.

She was already slipping into her heels when she caught how Martha's hand curled too tightly around her glass.

Gigi said nothing. Just walked over, gently brushed a piece of hair off her shoulder, and murmured in her ear. "We go out. We cause a scene. We dance like whores. And he doesn't get a single thought tonight."

Martha smiled. Tiny. Deadly. "Damn right."

The rooftop was pure luxury, with all polished marble and soft gold lighting, champagne towers, and panoramic views of the city's glittering skyline. There was a soft wind, but it didn't dare ruin anyone's hair. Somewhere, a jazz remix of Beyoncé played under the chatter of team execs and drivers dressed just well enough to still look casual.

Team principals stood grouped around the bar, Toto, Fred, Zak, Andrea, and James, drinks in hand, eyes on the door.

The drivers had spread out. Lewis was talking quietly with Stefano, and a McLaren board member, Charles and Pierre stood together, Lando and Oscar at the far edge, glancing toward the elevators.

The energy was relaxed. Stretched. But underneath it?

Everyone was waiting.

And then the elevator dinged. The doors opened. And all five girls stepped out like a weapon had just been unsheathed.

Martha, first in her black sequin skirt, white corset, pointed boots, gold hoops catching the light. Her eyes were glassy. Her smile too slow. And no one dared look away. Gigi followed, in her sheer black top and silk mini, heels clicking with unbothered rhythm. She looked alive in a way that vibrated. Like she was vibrating. Like she might float off the ground if she didn't focus hard enough.

Lila came third, mouth smirking, eyes dangerous. Leopard print bag swinging off her shoulder like it was a blade. Barbara behind her, all glossed lips and quiet steel in her spine. And Taylor, trailing last, short shorts flashing, boots loud, her gold bag tucked under one arm like a secret.

Together? Unfuckwithable.

The room shifted. The crowd paused. And the team principals? Started watching.

Martha walked straight to the VS table, where David Birch and Julia Thorne were already waiting with flutes of champagne prepared.

She took hers with a perfect smile. "Thank you so much for tonight," she said to Julia, calm, syrupy, dripping with manners.

Julia nodded. "You look amazing, M."

"I always do."

Next to her, Gigi accepted her glass, kissed David lightly on the cheek.

"We'll only stay a little," she murmured. "We're exhausted."

David smiled. "Of course."

But even as she took her sip, her hand was too tight on the glass. Her jaw too clenched. Her nostrils flaring too subtly for anyone else to clock.

Except Toto. Watching from the bar, glass halfway to his lips, sunglasses tucked into his collar. Next to him, Fred leaned in slightly, voice low. "You see that?"

Toto nodded once. "Yeah."

James, arms folded, eyes on Gigi, said nothing. But he saw it too. The energy. The edge. The tiny, hard shimmer behind Gigi's laughter.

Lewis, watching from across the terrace, narrowed his eyes at Martha.

She laughed at something Julia said, head tilted, glass mid-air. But she didn't blink. She didn't look grounded. She looked like she was trying not to float away.

George, beside him, said under his breath, "Is she high again?"

Lewis didn't answer. He didn't have to.

The girls made their rounds. They smiled. They waved. They posed for photos.

Martha kissed Stefano on the cheek. Gigi clinked glasses with Lando. Barbara told Charles he looked "too innocent" to be at this party. Lila laughed so hard at something Daniel said that it made three interns flinch. Taylor told Max he was lucky she didn't walk faster than him during the fashion show.

They did everything right. Everything perfect.

But behind the glass?

Fred watched the twitch of Gigi's hand. Andrea noticed the exact timing of Martha's blinks.

Zak leaned in and whispered to Toto, "One drink, huh?"

Toto said, "That's not their first."

The rooftop was humming, warm air, soft conversation, polished glass clinking over low music. Drivers had clustered near tables, media teams had thinned, and the remaining team principals gravitated, like always, to the bar.

David Birch stood with a flute in hand, tie slightly loosened, laughing with Toto Wolff, Christian Horner, and Fernando Alonso, three men who didn't agree on anything but looked united by a shared curiosity tonight.

That curiosity? Martha Jones.

They'd all noticed it. The stillness behind her eyes. The way Gigi's laugh bounced too sharp. The glint of something unspoken under the gloss.

Toto had said it first. Christian pretended to be surprised. Fernando didn't say anything at all.

Now David was playing the same game he always did, cool, effortless, just ambiguous enough.

"She's a machine," David was saying, nodding toward the VIP table across the rooftop. "All of them are. No sleep. Twelve-hour glam. Champagne and jet lag in their bloodstreams. Still look like editorial spreads in motion."

Christian raised a brow. "They're not athletes."

"They're something," Fernando muttered.

Toto didn't speak. He was already watching her.

And then she started walking over.

Black boots. White corset. That tiny, sequined skirt that made men nervous. Her hair was perfect. Her lip gloss fresher than it had been twenty minutes ago.

She walked slow, glass in hand, alone now. Gigi had dipped to the bathroom. The other girls were by the exit. But she? She took the long route. Straight to David. 

She stopped just beside him, lightly touching his elbow. "Hey," she said, voice low, polite. "Just wanted to say thank you. For tonight. Everything looked amazing."

David smiled, warm and sharp. "Of course. You girls did all the heavy lifting."

She smirked. "Literally."

He tilted his head. "Heading out?"

She nodded once. "We're tired."

A beat. Then another. David's eyes didn't move. "You know I know you're going clubbing."

Martha just smiled. Soft. Serene. Deadly.

Christian chuckled into his drink. "Where's the after-afterparty then?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she replied sweetly, sipping.

Toto raised his glass slightly. "Just take care of yourselves."

"Always," she said, tilting her head toward him. "You know me."

"I'm starting to think I don't," Toto said, half a smile, half warning.

Before she could reply, Fernando cut in.

"You're from LA originally, right?" he asked, casual, sipping slowly.

"Born in California, raised everywhere," she replied, leaning her elbow on the bar. "London, Milan, sometimes Paris. I collect cities like I collect shoes."

Christian laughed. "So you don't unpack anywhere."

"Unpacking's for people who know how to stay," she replied.

David sipped his drink. "You've got Shanghai next."

"Yup. Campaign training in the morning, then we fly out Tuesday."

Toto's brow furrowed. "Training for what?"

"Maintenance," Martha said with a wink. "Body discipline. Media prep. The usual."

Fernando's eyes narrowed slightly. "Isn't that... intense?"

She shrugged. "So is racing a car at 300 kilometres an hour."

Touché.

David, eyes narrowed but smiling. Toto, calculating every blink. Christian, pretending not to be intrigued. Fernando, watching her like she was a puzzle with no corners.

"So," she said finally, resting her glass against the bar, "what do you four talk about when we're not here?"

"Data," Toto said without missing a beat.

"Bullshit," Martha replied smoothly. "You're all too pretty to just be talking lap times."

That earned a huff from Christian and a rare smile from Fernando.

"You really think I'm pretty?" Christian teased, mock-serious.

Martha tilted her head. "You're no Lando."

Toto choked on his drink. David laughed behind his hand.

Even Fernando smirked. "She's not wrong."

Christian narrowed his eyes. "Dangerous girls don't last in motorsport, you know."

Martha leaned in slightly. "That's funny. Because I plan on outlasting every man here."

That landed. Toto studied her carefully. "You know, when I first heard about this campaign, I thought it was going to be... a distraction."

"Isn't everything that's beautiful a distraction?" she asked, eyes flicking to his.

He held her stare.

Christian chuckled. "And what are you distracting us from, then?"

Martha smiled. "That depends. What don't you want to look at?"

The air paused around them. Fernando broke it gently. "You speak like someone older than twenty-two."

Martha sipped again. "That's what happens when you grow up in front of cameras and contracts instead of parents."

David looked over then. Quiet. Familiar. Not smiling anymore. The silence stretched again. Martha set her glass down, letting it click softly against the marble bar. Then, behind her, the warm scent of rose perfume and vanilla sugar swept in just before Lila appeared at her side. Her leopard bag bounced off her hip. Her mesh corset was glimmering under the fairy lights. Her lashes were long and curled like knives.

"Evening, boys," she said sweetly, offering the entire circle a flirty little glance before kissing David on the cheek.

"Thank you for the chaos," she whispered like it was a compliment. "We adored it."

David smiled, but said nothing. Then Lila turned to Martha, pressing a soft hand to her arm. "We're ready when you are," she said.

Martha nodded once, slowly. Controlled.

She turned back to the men with a final, devastating smile. "Enjoy the rest of your evening," she purred. "We're calling it early."

Christian raised a brow. "Tired already?"

"Tired of this room," Martha said gently. "Not the night."

Fernando watched her closely. "Wherever you're going, be careful."

"I'm always careful," she said.

Toto didn't speak. But when her eyes flicked to him for a half-second, he looked like he wanted to.

David didn't stop her. Because he knew it wouldn't work. Instead, he just watched them walk away, the hem of Lila's skirt flashing thigh, Martha's boots echoing softly over the tiles, and said nothing

The laughter and soft music slowly filled the vacuum left behind. The space where Martha and Lila had stood just moments ago still held heat, the imprint of them too fresh, too potent to ignore.

David Birch was quiet. Still standing with his drink. Still staring into the middle distance, where two girls in boots and gloss had disappeared through a black-tinted door like phantoms.

Next to him, Toto remained unreadable. Fernando, arms crossed, looked like he was working through a problem. Christian, for once, wasn't grinning. That was rare.

And then Lewis and Carlos strolled over, chatting about something, half-laughed, relaxed and casual, no clue what they were walking into.

"Evening, gentlemen," Carlos said smoothly, reaching for the champagne on the bar.

Lewis looked around. "Where'd the girls go?"

"Just left," Christian replied, tilting his head toward the entrance.

Carlos blinked. "Already?"

"They had a long day," Fernando said simply.

Lewis raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking to Toto, just briefly. He clocked something. Something under the surface.

David still hadn't said anything. He swirled the last of his drink, stared at the bubbles, exhaled through his nose.

Christian looked over at him. "You alright?"

There was a pause. Then David laughed, genuine, low, warm. But the kind of laugh that didn't really come from joy. The kind that came from resignation. "Yeah," he said, shaking his head. "Just thinking about how I'm probably going to have to carry five models to their hotel rooms in a few hours."

The group chuckled, except Toto, who didn't. Lewis stared down at his drink. Fernando looked away.

Carlos raised a brow. "That bad?"

David shrugged. "It's always like this. We do the glam, the gloss, the walk, the smile... then the real night starts. They're good at it. Scary good. But at some point, one of them ends up barefoot in an elevator, or crying in the lobby, or passed out in the bathtub with their lashes still on."

He said it casually. Like it was Tuesday. Like it wasn't insane.

Christian let out a dry laugh. "Sounds exhausting."

"Welcome to luxury," David muttered.

Toto finally spoke. Quiet. Sharp. "You ever think they do it because they're trying to outrun something?"

David's gaze flicked to him. Held for a moment. Then he took a final sip and said, just loud enough to be heard "Of course they are."

The party had mellowed. The crowd thinned. The champagne tower was half-empty. The rooftop buzzed with polite murmurs and the clink of expensive glassware, but the edge that had crackled earlier was gone. Because the girls were gone.

And behind the bar, near the ivy-covered trellis wall, Toto stood quietly watching the lights of the city blink in the distance. He wasn't drinking. He wasn't talking. He was thinking.

That's when Lewis stepped up beside him. He didn't say anything right away. Just leaned forward, forearms braced against the bar rail, watching the wind move over the glass balcony like it might carry away the tension in his chest.

Then finally, softly  "Gigi and Martha were high."

Toto didn't even blink. "I saw," he said.

Lewis nodded, lips pressed together. His voice dropped even lower, like saying it too loud would make it more real. "They weren't just tipsy. It wasn't just the champagne. Gigi's jaw was locking up. Martha's pupils were fucking massive."

"I noticed," Toto murmured. "She was holding her glass too tightly. Didn't blink for almost a full minute."

Lewis shook his head slowly. "And then David. The way he just... said it. That comment about carrying them to their rooms. Like it's a joke."

Toto turned, jaw tight. "That's what's bothering me."

Lewis glanced sideways. "What?"

Toto's eyes narrowed. "He didn't sound worried. He didn't sound frustrated. He sounded... resigned. Like it's routine. Like it happens all the time."

Lewis let that settle. "You think it's just drinking?"

Toto didn't answer right away. But after a moment of hesitation, he spoke. "No."

A long pause. Then he said it. Blunt. Honest. "I don't think it's just drinking. Not anymore."

Lewis exhaled hard. "So what, then? Coke? Pills?"

Toto shrugged. "Probably both."

"And David's that casual about it?"

Toto met his eyes. "That's the problem. Either the girls are completely feral and no one can control them-"

"Or," Lewis finished for him, "-it's management. Letting it happen. Maybe even pushing it."

Toto nodded once. "They don't flinch when someone tells them what to do. Not even the team principals. That's conditioning. That's not attitude."

Lewis was quiet. Then, softly he spoke "We've got twenty drivers here. Five of those girls. One wrong night and someone ends up in a hospital."

Toto's face darkened. "Or worse."

They didn't say anything for a long moment. Just stood there, the night suddenly colder around them.

The cameras still clicked in the background. The music still played. But something between them had shifted.

This wasn't gossip. This was a warning. And neither of them knew what to do next.

[chicinsilk]

L'Art et la mode Octobre-Novembre 1956

"Jolie Madame de France"

Pierre Balmain Haute Couture Collection Fall/Winter 1956-57. Barbara Cailleux wears an immense coat in dark red velvet, with sleeves hemmed in mink over a ceremonial dress. A satin drape of the same tone adorns the bodice and is held in place by a velvet tab.

Pierre Balmain Collection Haute Couture Automne/Hiver 1956-57. Barbara Cailleux porte un immense manteau en velours rouge sombre, aux manches largement ourlées de vison sur une robe d'apparat. Un drapé en satin du même ton orne le corselet et est maintenu par une patte de velours.

Photo Georges Saad

[echollama]

Today to de-stress I made a Youtube Genshin Impact Character Demo View Count list, zoom in or open in new tab to see better

In the same tiers, charas are arranged, from left to right, highest to lowest view count, but ONLY based on the rounded up view count and not actual view count; some share the same view count so which ever came first will be on the right(There might be mistakes, sorry).

I included some Mondstadt folks in the 1-2mil tier because they appeared playable in the very first announcement trailer despite not having individual demos respectively; I also added both Aether and Lumine together because DO NOT SEPARATE!!!

Also Barbara is on the list because she has this video.

Things that surprised me:

Alloy ranking higher than most charas??

Xiangling's demo ranking higher than Hu Tao's???

SECOND PLACE IS EULA???

Beidou and Ningguang technically had a teaser trailer together but it was on Bilibili(guess they felt it was too gay for westerners)

Tighnari's demo hitting 19 mil caught me off guard yall love a fuzzy guy

Big Dong Zhong's fans' pilgrimages REALLY boosted his demo's view count(myself guilty as well)

[winter-leftovers]

Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter Four: To Catch a Changeling (4/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

Summary: Y/n is trying to figure her life out but is going to be hard since her brother is the new trollhunter and she is plagued by dreams and feelings she doesn’t understand.

Chapter Summary: Y/n visit Douxie’s library

Word count: 1902

Warnings: no!

(Season 1 Episode 7)

Song?: Crush by Tessa Violet

Previous — Next

Masterlist

“You look like shit” Randy hit the counter with some papers distracting Y/n from her computer.

“I feel like shit” Y/n closed the seventeen tabs she had opened looking for information about Killahead, all useless “I haven’t been sleeping well”

They shared a look for awhile. Y/n rolled her eyes. She knew her coworker very well by now. There was only one reason why he didn’t interrogated about her sleeping schedule: he needed something

“What do you want, Randy?” Y/n looked back at the computer, a picture of a rat eating a fry stared back at her.

“Okay, remember my idea of a battle of bands?” He didn’t give her time to answer “Well, I need to help to set it up and I know you are a musical genius so your input would be much appreciated and I won’t be able to do it without you…”

“Aha” She cut him off “Would I get paid?” She raised a brow.

“Yes! And…and the free afternoon right now so you can sleep”

“Wow! you really want me to help” she started to pick up her stuff before he could change his mind.

“Great! Thank you! Here, have flyer”

She took the piece of paper. The colorful flyer made her smile.

Randy always loved music. She remembered when his mother told her the story of how Randy had threatened to steal a guitar if she didn’t buy him one. Music was everything to him and he saw the same emotion in Y/n when they met. She always loved music, even before she could remember.

When she was six, Barbara took her to school for the first time and there, on music class, she touched a guitar for the first time and it felt like coming home.

Y/n doesn’t remember her biological parents but as a kid she liked to think that they loved music as much as she did but, as she grew, she stopped thinking about her biological parents and at seventeen she stopped playing completely until last year. Three months into college she got lost, hopeless. She didn’t like what she was studying and didn’t know what she wanted to do. One weekend, while visiting her family, Y/n heard a piano. Someone was trying to tune a piano and awfully failing. She felt like the strings were calling for her, asking her to end its misery.

Entering the music store she had spent too many hours browsing back in high school she saw two guys not much older than her debating if that is how the key was supposed to sound.

“It’s really not” Y/n got close to inspect their work.

“Hello? You need help looking for something?” The man with the long blonde hair asked.

“You’re doing a shitty job” she pointed to the man with his finger in the key.

“No shit. I don’t know I’m doing” he laughed.

She looked back and forth between them.

‘Maybe I can make a quick buck’ she thought.

“How much for tuning it?” She crossed her arms.

The blonde man looked at his watch and back to his friend and said:

“I’ll give you twenty bucks to tune it in half an hour”

Y/n laughed

“It can take up to two hours to tune it after god knows what you did”

“Hour and a half for thirty bucks”

“Forty five minutes and sixty dollars” she stretched her hand.

“Fifty”

“Deal” They shook hands.

She took her jacket off and started to work.

“I’m Y/n”

“Randy” the blonde said.

Tuning the piano made her feel something she thought lost, the feeling of home and she’ll always be grateful to Randy for that.

“Hello, Y/n”

“Hey, Douxie! How are you?”

“I’m fine. How about you?” He looked concerned.

Y/n knew she wasn’t looking her best. No one would be after the night she had.

“Oh, this awful eye bags? Courtesy of my little brother” she laughed.

“I didn’t know you had a brother”

“Yeah, he is still in high school. How about you? Got any siblings?”

“Nah, it’s just me and Archie” he point to the window of the library where a black cat was grooming himself.

“Oooh he is so cute” Y/n crouched down in front of the window.

Archie meowed and rubbed himself on the window as a response, melting Y/n’s heart.

“Don’t feed his ego too much. He’s a total diva”

Y/n laughed “I thought the guy with groupies would be the diva”

Douxie blushed.

She chuckled. She thought guys like Douxie didn’t blush.

“Are you jealous, love?”

Now it was Y/n’s time to blush.

They stood there, smiling at each other. Y/n found Douxie so intoxicating: his hazel eyes, his blue hair, that smile that brought her down to her knees. Even though they saw each other a few times, she was enchanted by him the first time.

“Would you like to say hi to him…you know…without the glass” Douxie broke the silence. He seemed nervous.

“That would be nice” she smiled.

Douxie opened the door to the library, the smell of books, tea and something else filled her lungs making her warm inside.

The moment she stepped inside, Archie rubbed himself between Y/n legs, stealing her attention from the beautiful library.

“Hello, sweet boy” she sat on the floor to pet Archie more comfortably.

“He likes you” said Douxie. He was leaning against one of the few walls that wasn’t covered in books “He isn’t usually that nice, you know”

Y/n swears she saw Archie roll his eyes but assumed her tiredness was playing tricks with her.

“He seems super nice to me” she rubbed Archie’s cheek and he let himself fall onto her hand.

“Oh, don’t let him trick you. He has a temper”

They both laughed and shared a look. The power Douxie has on her made her crazy. Ever since the day they met at Benoit’s, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Every time she saw him she would stare at him like if she moved her eyes he would disappear.

“Battle of the bands? Are you entering the contest?” Douxie pointed to the flyer long forgotten on the floor.

“No, I’m just helping set it up. Are you interested?”

“Yes, I have a band…”

“Oh! Ash dispersal pattern, right? Randy is a big fan” she tried to play it cool. She couldn’t tell him that she knows most of his songs by heart “I heard some of your songs. You’re good”

She saw a red tint in his cheeks and this time, she was sure her tired brain wasn’t playing tricks on her.

“Thank you” he scratched the back of his neck “I heard you play the piano you have at the store. I thought you’ll enter”

“Mmmh, I’ve played since I’m kid but I don’t think I’m good enough to enter. I’m helping cuz Randy asked” she looked at Archie, he was belly up between her legs, napping.

“What?! I heard you at the store! You’re nuclear!” Douxie crouched next to her.

Y/n turned her head and looked at him “You think?”

With Douxie so close the world seemed to slow down. They were the only people in the world. Their faces just inches apart. So close that a small breeze could change everything.

“Of course” He smiled

The door opened and the world was no longer theirs. Douxie stood as fast as he could and assisted the customer.

Y/n looked down at Archie, who was already looking at her and smiled. Her face was so hot that she thought it would explode.

She yawned and Archie mirrored, the last of her energy left with Douxie.

“Sorry, Archie but I have to go” she stood up and petted his head one last time “Maybe I’ll see you later. Tell Douxie I said goodbye”

—

Y/n fell on her bed like a bag of sand. Her body gave into sleep before she could take her shoes off.

When she opened her eyes, she was in a forest. Civilisation was nowhere to be seen. The air smelled fresh, familiar.

She kneeled in one of the trees and saw a heart with H written inside. A smile erupted from her chest. She mindlessly caressed the indentation, trying to remember something, someone, but she just couldn’t reach it. Only finding a warmth feeling in her chest.

“Y/n! Where are you?” A man’s raspy voice distracted from the tree “Come home, little bird”

A sword made of sadness and forge by loneliness stabbed her chest. Her eyes filled with tears.

“I don’t know where I am” she whispered as a tear fell down her face, burgundy streaks of light surrounded her. Electricity ran through her body burning her fingertips and heart.

She looked at her hands, they were surrounded by red smoke.

Y/n woke up covered in sweat, her heart was racing but she felt fully rested. She looked at her hands and when she saw no red smoke, she relaxed.

Outside the sun had already set. She looked through her phone to see if her brother or mom had sent a text. Jim sent her a text telling her about her study date with Claire. She smiled. Jim had a crush on this girl from his class for a while now and apparently it was going somewhere. She wished him luck even if hours had passed. When she went to answer a text from Randy Toby called.

She couldn’t understand what he was saying, only the words: changeling and dental hygienist.

“Ok, Tobes I’m on my way”

Y/n jumped out of bed and drove as fast as she could to Dr. Muelas office. She would probably get a lot of tickets but she didn’t care. Knowing what she knows now, she couldn’t risk disregarding a call from Jim or Toby.

“Toby? Jim?” She screamed as she followed the sound of struggle.

She got to the door and saw her brother stabbing a troll followed by a flashing blue light.

“There goes proof” said Aaaargh!.

“Oh, my gosh! She’s in my mouth!” Toby coughed. The troll’s ashes were everywhere.

Y/n couldn’t move.

“Oh no! I killed our only evidence of a changeling in Arcadia” Jim pulled his armour off.

“And my dental hygienist” Toby screamed.

Y/n laughed. Toby could make her laugh even on her worst days.

“You finished the fight, Master Jim, and in self defense, for that matter. Vendel may continue to have his doubts but we continue to have our lives. A fair bargain, I’d say” Blinky tried to comfort him.

“He’s right, Jim” Y/n grabbed his brother by the shoulders trying to make sure her eyes didn’t deceive her and he was ok.

“Y/n? What are you doing here?”

“Toby called”

“And just out of curiosity, what are you doing in Toby’s dentist office?” Jim looked at the trolls.

“I thought it was possible that danger may come to either of you should you cross paths with the wrong changeling. So, we followed Tobias as a precaution” explained Blinky

Aaaargh! Fell from the ceiling making Y/n jump.

Blinky started talking about how he was curious about human’s oral hygiene but Y/n didn’t listen. She was more worried about dusting the troll off her brother before getting to her car.

A/n: 👀

[gyllenhaalstories]

Hi Laurie! Very important ice cream questions are delievered right to your doorstep:

For your top 3 favourite characters at the moment: What is their favourite ice cream? Do they like to try new flavours or do they stick to the classics? Best occasion to eat it and best way to eat it? Coup, cone, fancy cone, out of the tub?

Kisses, love and spaghetti ice cream for you, byeeee 💖🍝

thank you for exposing my poor knowledge of ice cream flavours (i'm a simple girl, i like my soft serve vanilla & chocolate swirl). i have about 8 tabs open of lists of popular flavours, i'm putting in all the work and research because this is an important question! thank you for sending it back to me! i'm craving ice cream now! 💖🍦

divider credits: @/firefly-graphics (i've always wanted to use this cute ice cream truck divider, thank you for giving me the best opportunity to use it!)

RUSTY SABICH

cherry something. ben & jerry's cherry garcia, cherry cheesecake, just cherry related ice cream. or a very good quality vanilla bean ice cream, the one with tons of vanilla specks in it. he has his designated bowl in the cupboards, he never waits enough for the ice cream to chill a bit so it's always too hard and he always gets frustrated when he scrapes some off the top and it goes flying on his face. rusty is not known for his patience. i think barbara would appreciate pistachio or a good dark chocolate ice cream, so he steals some from hers but he never tells her. he mostly eats ice cream at home, sitting in the couch with his family or in the sun room on a rainy day that prevented him to go out for a swim.

i love how we both agree on the fact cherry ice cream is for cheaters (he probably genuinely enjoys maraschino cherries, there's truly something wrong with that man). yeah of course he's my top current fave character right now because i'm pathetic just like him. sigh.

ELWOOD DALTON

sorbet, specifically mango. i don't know what kind of fruits grow in the florida keys. if the university of florida says mango can grow in the keys, then mango can grow in the keys. i think coup is best with sorbet and i believe dalton would love to stick to the pure flavours of the fruit (similar to the dark cuban coffee), but he secretly likes to pick the tiny colourful plastic scoop that matches the funky shirt he is wearing.

i don't see dalton as much of a dessert guy anyway, he doesn't go out of his way to get some but he'll happily eat whatever dessert you buy or bake for him. i like to think that laura invited him to go out for ice cream the same way she offered him a ride and he said no the first time but then she teased him the next day about how yummy the ice cream was and then he was like :) okay :) and she invited him again and he accepted (this time it was only the two of them) and he had mango sorbet, he didn't really care what he was getting anyway. laura probably told him it was good, fresh local fruit and everything, and it became his favourite after the first bite. mostly because she seemed happy he liked her suggestion. he's very nice and charming with the workers so he always gets an upscale, whether it be an extra scoop or he gets offered the large size even if he paid for the small.

TOMMY CAHILL

cookie dough or cookies and cream. he's definitely the most likely out of this list to try new flavours, he just wants to try them all at least once in his life. these two are his favourite. if he's out and about, stopped at an ice cream truck or a proper creamery, he gets the normal sugar cone (with extra napkins, he always makes a mess). he can go for a dipped cone as well if he's feeling fancy. if he's eating at home, he definitely stirs his ice cream until it turns into a milkshake.

most of his ice cream related memories involve his nieces, isabelle and maggie. he takes them out for a swim at the pool or out at the park where he pushes their swings extra high (in the safest way possible) or even goes down the slide with them and their reward is an all you can eat ice cream buffet aka one cup they can fill with whatever toppings they want. grace and sam absolutely hate him for it, he brings back two hyper kiddos on a sugar high but tommy is just happy to have fulfilled his uncle duties. he made it into some kind of game as to who can make the craziest concoction. the kids would go for gummy bears with strawberry ice cream and sprinkles convinced that they won the contest, but then tommy would show up with a mountain of crushed oreos, mini m&ms, choco chips, drizzled with all the sauces they had and he would easily win. he'd get sick afterwards (probably because the girls ended up sharing his ice cream and he had to eat theirs instead) but it would be their favourite way to celebrate the end of summertime before school starts again.

DANNY SHARP (bonus teehee)

salted caramel. waffle cone. topped with a waffle cookie on top. danny strikes me as a caramel syrup person for some reason, so he probably asks for extra drizzle of it on top when he needs an even bigger pick me up. he has to eat it in secret, go to the creamery alone, so he doesn't hear castro begging to tag along (he will go out for ice cream with castro every once in a while and he will pay for his three scoops sugar extravaganza and he will complain about it although he secretly likes to make his employee/friend/flamingo zookeeper happy).

my first thought was neapolitan because he wouldn't need to choose so he could have a bit of all flavours (less anxiety inducing). that was probably his favourite as a kid, he could share with will and let his brother have his fave flavour. my second thought was distinguished ice cream to enjoy while wearing a cashmere sweater so that's why i switched my answer.

[random-movie-ideas]

Nightwing: Under the Red Hood (Movie Outline)

Here is the third movie for Nightwing set in the same cinematic universe all the rest I've written so far came from. This, like Batman & Batgirl: Arkham Assault, would come after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, with the two coming out around the same time, as their events happen parallel to one another. This one features the resurrection of Jason Todd, with Black Mask and Firefly acting as major villains as well.

The movie begins with Nightwing, Robin, and Spoiler all landing outside of a warehouse. Inside, the disgraced makeup mogul Roman Sionis has become a drug kingpin in the time since his company went under, wearing a black mask to cover up the damage done when he was attacked by Poison Ivy. At his side is his personal hired bodyguard, Garfield Lynns. Our three vigilantes interrupt the drug deal, and Lynns activates the special suit he’d been given, allowing him to fly while using a flamethrower to attack. At one point, Tim and Steph make a joke about him being a literal firefly. In the end, Black Mask and Firefly make a getaway.

The next day, during daylight hours, Dick, Tim, and Steph visit the grave of Dick’s deceased brother Jason, which had recently been dug up, the body missing. Dick is visibly distraught about this, Tim and Steph trying to console him to no avail. He decides he’s going to investigate this and assigns them to keep their tabs on Sionis.

Later that night, Nightwing follows the trail as much as he can, calling up Barbara for aid, discovering that only Alfred is around, while Bruce and Barbara are both busy with a situation of their own. As they talk, he and Alfred talk about Jason, remembering some story of their time together that will serve as a callback later in the story.

Meanwhile, Tim and Steph trail Roman and Lynns to another meetup, attempting to meet his buyer once again after the previous mission was botched. They watch on as they meet the mysterious buyer, a man wearing a red mask who seems to be staying to the shadows. They jump into action when the man ends up drawing a gun and shooting Roman right in the chest. A fight breaks out between the three parties, Firefly protecting Roman and helping him get away, while the man in the red mask seems to be going after Roman’s head. Tim and Steph intervene, and the man seems taken aback by Tim’s costume. After a brief battle, the man gets away.

Tim and Steph report to Dick and tell him about the strange man. Steph jokingly calls him Red Hood after Black Mask. Despite Dick still wanting to search for his brother’s body, he decides to help them against this person. Meanwhile, Roman and Lynns return to Roman’s penthouse where he is treated by doctors. Roman instructs Lynns that he wants that man’s head on a platter.

We get a montage of the heroes trying to track the Red Hood down. Dick reaches out to an underworld contact who tells him about the rumors of a new player in drug-running circles, a man who’s been killing off drug kingpins and crime lords. Dick asks why he hasn’t heard about any of this and the contact says the gangs have been trying to keep it hush-hush. The contact doesn’t know anything else, but he knows Roland Daggett is supposed to be getting a shipment that night.

Dick tails Daggett, telling Tim and Steph to hang back as backup. The meeting takes place, and once again, the Red Hood shows up, gunning Daggett and his men down. Dick steps in and the two fight. After a brief scuffle, the man’s mask is knocked off, and Dick sees his dead brother underneath, very much alive, with a shock of white hair and scars across his face. In Dick’s surprise, Jason gets away. Meanwhile, Lynns watches from afar.

The next day, Dick tells Tim and Steph about what happened. He tries to contact Bruce, Barbara, or Alfred, but no one answers at the mansion. He leaves to figure out things, and orders Tim and Steph to stay home. He revisits Jason’s grave, and follows the trail he followed before, coming up with nothing. He then revisits the scene of Jason’s death, the burned-down warehouse, and searches for answers there. Just as he’s about to leave, he hears “Figured you’d show up.”

Dick turns to see Jason in the flesh. He asks how this could possibly be happening, because he watched him die and held his lifeless body. Jason confirms that he did die. As for how, Jason’s not certain. A short time back (around the time of the Crisis on Infinite Earths event in this universe), he’d felt himself suddenly awaken inside of his casket. He’d clawed his way out and found himself picked up by a strange group that called themselves the League of Assassins, and how their leader had bathed him in a pit full of chemicals that restored his body and made him stronger than ever.

Dick is confused but moves to welcome him back when Jason rebuffs him. Jason says he’s not here for him, or for Bruce. He’s here to do what they could never do. When Dick asks what he means, Jason asks why Roman Sionis is still alive. Why people like the Joker and Batman’s other rogues are still alive. No matter how much they are beaten, they always come back, and innocent people always pay the price. He is now a member of the league, and he has come to finish people like Roman once and for all.

We get a brief debate between them about the ethics of killing, but that debate is cut short by Firefly, who’d gotten a look at Jason’s face the night before and had been tailing him ever since. The two brothers work together to fight the Firefly, having an intense battle, but eventually they beat him down and destroy his flamethrower. Jason makes to kill him, while Dick tries to stop him. Jason asks what happens when an innocent kid like the one he was ends up as Firefly’s next victim because of Dick’s weakness. When Dick can’t answer, Jason brutally murders Firefly and walks away.

Tim and Steph find Dick sitting on a roof nearby, having trailed him there. They comfort him, and Dick has a scene talking about all his regrets surrounding Jason, and Bruce, and everything they’ve ever done in their lives as vigilantes. We also get scenes intercut of Jason revisiting things of his childhood, calling back to the earlier memory. Tim and Steph are at a loss for anything to say, and simply stay with him.

We cut back to Roman in his base, recognizing that Firefly has stopped calling in. He looks at the picture Firefly had left him, showing the Red Hood’s identity. A short time later, the Red Hood shows up in his office to finish him off, only for Roman to spring his trap, his men taking Jason down and unmasking him. Making an educated guess, he reasons out that Nightwing’s identity is most likely his estranged brother Dick. A note is left at the apartment for him to come alone.

Dick arrives at the old burned-out warehouse, with Roman and his men holding Jason hostage. Roman boasts at Dick, saying this is probably a familiar sight to him. He threatens Jason with a crowbar, but Jason retorts that he’s not that kid anymore, breaking his bonds that he’d been cutting and attacking Roman. We get a fight scene of Dick and Jason working together against them again, with Tim and Steph showing up after finding a note from Dick.

The four make quick work of them all, but Roman makes a getaway. Our heroes pursue him, Tim reaching him first, only for Roman to take him by surprise and knock him unconscious with his crowbar. Dick and Steph manage to catch up, but Roman holds Tim at gunpoint to keep them back, boasting that that’ll be another Robin on the list. Before he can pull the trigger, Jason appears behind him and shoots him in the head. Dick is only relieved that Tim is alright, letting Jason go.

A few days later, Dick, Tim, and Steph are having breakfast together, with Dick getting a subtle prank message left by Jason somewhere to mess with him, also calling back to the memory. Dick tries to call Bruce or Barbara again, as he hasn’t heard from them in a while. Barbara actually picks up this time, saying she’s in the hospital, while Tim and Steph both notice a news story about a fire at Arkham.

What do you think? Would you watch a movie like this? From here, I'll do the animated movie starring the Golden Age heroes.

[rarallouje]

women (beautiful edition)

natalie imbruglia (might have had nose job or something. is aging. body okay. pristine staring features)

olivia hussey (aged a lot, lost young features, random features. okay body)

vittoria puccini (skin looks pristine. is aging. body okay. features not perfectly ideal. is aging)

monica bellucci (definitely had some refinement work done, nose job potentially, fillers potentially. body okay. has aged. pristine staring features)

gal gadot (looks a little bit different without makeup, is aging)

jessica alba (had nose job. is getting fillers now, is aging, low fat deposits on face, get circles under eyes)

angelina jolie (nose job, fillers, botox, things to keep her face up, body too low weight-wise. aged a lot. features pretty ideal and small chin)

claire forlani (might keep her face up with botox and such. aged)

doutzen kroes (don't know)

grace kelly (nothing, just eats more before she dies. features a little random though)

alexandra dinu (features really close to the extremes of the face. body okay)

denise richards (same, features, including eyes, close to the outskirts of the face. facial expressions more like other people's, body okay. ages horribly once she decided to have work done)

natalia vodianova (good facial expressions when in pause, features at the limits of the face, eyes a little too far apart. eyes bigger than the rest of the features. body okay. is aging)

barbara palvin (same as the one before + neoteny, looks young. body okay despite large legs)

(young) brooke shields (younger one beats the older one in terms of features and small chin. body okay. has aged a lot)

kristin kreuk (very natural, no fat deposits visible on face skin. exercises constantly enough, low weight. dentist thing. features a little native)

adriana lima (features a little random. food facial expressions despite expressiveness. might have had nose job. okay body depending on period, lost too much weight after the baby fat gain)

barbara mori (perfect facial expressions. random features. aged a lot, undereye circles)

astrid berges frisbey (native features, random features, good lack of ugly movement. is aging. okay body)

liv tyler (is aging. okay body)

ruslana korshunova (dead. young. skinny. model with perfect facial expressions typical of younger people. a bit boyish features)

ana paula arósio (really beautiful when young, still beautiful when adult-like but better when she was younger. okay body, exercises but her body is that of a woman's all the way. is aging. very close to ideal features when younger and even kept them when older)

indiana evans (like me or ana but has different skin changes and fat deposits that change)

*keeping tabs of aging factors too, in Italic all the ones that aged visibly. bold is when they stay young. leaving us with this living/dead younger group SOON:

one root country, one drawing of me and one young, dead busted girl and one still keeping her features

...

2 extra tiktok girls still young, features might change

pharaonall (might have fillers)

singer cyn (might have had work done), excluding scarlett johansson and billie eilish because they def had a nose job and/or fillers, also their bodies are large. excluding rachel mcadams because she seems to have had work done and now is aging

[earth-ambassador-jim]

If changeling!Toby and the Barbara and Jim of Lost Souls were to all exist in the same universe, how would you see that playing out?

This is a hard one.

Basically, Toby was just coming to trust the Lakes and care for them at the time that Jim was kidnapped.

For human!Toby in the cannon Lost Souls AU this loss resulted in him becoming a bit withdrawn and afraid to form attachments. For changeling!Toby the result would be similar except, as he is already playing a role, he simply leans more into it. He ends up becoming a decently popular kid but he isn't actually close to anyone. (He isn't willing to try trusting again.) He would get along a lot better with Strickler in this AU as he is acting more like the ideal changeling. (He still is skeptical of the Janus Order goals but he's taking the path of least resistance. He's working on some fallout plans for himself in case Gunmar isn't quite as thankful to the changelings as they're expecting. Which he suspects will be the case.)

Toby doesn't find out about Barbara and vice versa for a long time because Barbara is generally working within the Janus Order Headquarters and wears her armor when she's out and about.

Toby knows that Morgana has a champion but not who she is. Toby is simply too low ranking for Barbara to know about.

Toby does try to find out what happened to Jim with little luck. He knows that magic is involved but isn't able to get any further. He reported the incident to Strickler in hopes that it would be interesting enough for someone with more information clearance to look into it, but it never happened.

When Darci tells him about Merlin he passes it on to Strickler and tries to discourage her from looking into it more. She still maintains an interest in magic. Toby keeps tabs on her just in case she finds something.

By the present timeline Toby has for the most part moved on from Jim. The only people he really cares about are his Nana and the goblins.

Toby would end up being in charge of the goblins much sooner in this timeline. He would meet Barbara then. It would be unpleasant for both of them. Toby because it reinforces his belief that there's really no one you can trust or rely on, and Barbara both because Nancy's house cannot be a safe place for her and just the fact that someone that close to her has been affected by the Janus Order.

In conclusion: Barbara's reformation would be much tougher without Nancy's support. Toby would be officially Janus Order, but open to exchanging favors with the other sides. (Not Merlin though.)

[dandelion-wings]

ngl whenever I write battle scenes I am 100% doing it with the voice-over pages of the characters involved open in another tab, down in the Combat section, because there is nothing I love more than using actual canonical voice-over lines for battle cries and other relevant lines. And honestly they often combine really well:

"Hah! No one escapes my sights!" a young voice cries, and Diluc looks up to see the Knights' red-clad Outlander swirling downward from the remains of one of the higher cliffs, gliding entirely on bodyweight as she nocks another arrow to her bow. "Barbara! Master Diluc! Need some help?" The urge to refuse any help from a Knight of Favonius is strong, but in this case, irrational. Diluc nods to her and readies his blade. "Let's finish this."

Amber, for the record, has some really dramatic battle lines that I honestly forget about/never expect in between fics where I write her in battle--'no one escapes my sights' feels a little overdramatic here in the same way that 'I'll never surrender!' felt just a little overdramatic in the climax of Along Old Roads, but they're both actual combat lines! (Burst and At Low HP, respectively.) And if she can't showboat in front of Diluc, Known Knight Hater and also a ridiculous showboater himself, where could she?

[wasteland-muses]

@courier2lw cont. from (X)

Yeah, this? Deacon deserved this, the cold, blunt anger that seemed to grow each time he reunited with West. All this time, Deacon had been telling himself he was just keeping West safe, that by disappearing and keeping tabs on him from a distance, it would keep the doctor away from the danger that followed Deacon like a shadow. The Institute, the Coursers, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry Deacon had managed to piss off between here and Diamond city; None of them could get to West so long as he was careful, covered his tracks, kept away until the loneliness became too much to bear until West really needed him. Sure, it would take longer and longer each time for him to get back on West's good side, but the anger always disappeared before long, and there really was no denying just how well Deacon and him meshed together. It almost reminded him of Barbara when they first met, and that's what scared him the most.

The point was, this, no matter how shitty it was and how awful it made Deacon feel, it was for the best, and it was working, so why would he stop?

Well...the answer was right in front of him, no matter how much the agent tried to deny it. West was...he was better off without Deacon, but every time he tried to cut himself off, to distance himself and let West move on to someone better, safer, he always found himself drawn right back in. The thing was, no matter if Deacon was there or not, West was always in danger, yet another meeting after the doc had fallen in trouble proved as much. Deacon could lie all he wanted, but at the end of the day, he wasn't keeping West safe, he was hurting him all the more.

All at once, lie after lie after lie flitted through Deacon's head as his eyes hit the floor like a scolded child, each one holding the opportunity of further burying his feelings of placating West enough so that Deacon could help like he came to do, like he always came to do, but to his surprise, the very thought of speaking any of them made Deacon's tongue burn, his stomach twisting into knots as his body physically rebelled against repeating this same mistake yet again.

As a side effect of literally biting his tongue, Deacon was quiet for a long, long moment, the agent having to swallow thickly around the lump in his throat as hidden eyes darted from the boy, to the blood, and then to West, all before squeezing shut in an effort to make it all stop. He couldn't lie, not this time, not to West, never again to West, but there was too much going on around him right bow. Deacon wanted nothing more than to shut it all out, and shut himself down, to help West like he came to do, and then disappear again until everything stopped hurting as he buried himself under a new pile of lies. Maybe this time for good. Maybe he would get a new face, a new name, he was overdue for those-

"You're right." In an act of much needed rebellion, the words were spoken before Deacon could stop himself, it pulling a shocked intake of breath into his lungs when he realized he had been the one to speak them. This...it was the truth, and as much as it hurt to speak, this is what they both deserved. West deserved answers, and Deacon...Deacon deserved every single bit of anger and distrust that was coming his way. There was no guarantee that he would be believed, but he needed to tell West the truth, even if the doctor couldn't see it as such. There had to be a way to fix all this, West wasn't Barbara, there...there was still time, a chance to fix this before it all blew up in his face once again.

"You're right, West." Said after a rough clearing of his throat, Deacon's whole body, the very air around him, seemed to cave in on itself, his shoulders slumping beneath his latest disguise --one of West's old shirts he had 'borrowed' the last time they traveled together -- as his rifle was propped up against the nearest table. "It is bullshit, and I...I don't know how to fix it." A truth, in a way, as telling the truth was the only thing that had any hope of fixing what they had, but...the truth and Deacon...even he didn't know what parts of himself were real anymore...

...No, that in of itself was a lie. He knew he loved West, cared for him, wanted to make things right between them, and if that was the only thing about him that was real, it was the best damn thing about him.

"You won't believe me, and I don't blame you, but...I'm...I'm going to tell you everything. All the things I know are real, and you're probably going to hate me, but-" 'I'm tired of this too, of the distance, of the loneliness, of hurting you...' all the things he wanted to say, but couldn't, not right now. Not unless West was ready for it. There was too much going on, too much on the doctor's mind, too much that needed to be done without Deacon adding to the mess. Maybe it was a way to further stall the inevitable, but it's the only card he had left to play, and by habit he was going to take the chance, no matter how self destructive it may be.

"Tell you what we're gonna do, Doc..." Despite this mask being used to pretend that everything was fine to keep Deacon from running away again under the guise of 'helping' West, it was donned by the removal of the agent's sunglasses, his shield, the one protection he had against someone being able to tell truth from fiction. Eyes were the gateway into the soul, or so they said, and there was no doubt about it that the only true way to tell if Deacon was lying or not was by watching his eyes. He always hated how expressive they were, that not one of his emotions could be hidden so long as they were seen, but now? Now he was damn glad he had this one giveaway.

Without it...he really would be nothing but a liar in the end...

"I'm gonna help you out here, whatever you need me to do, and then we're gonna get you some freaking rest. I mean, have you seen the bags under your eyes? Damn things could carry all the loot in the common wealth, no sweat." There was a grin, as there always was, but with the absence of the glasses, it was glaringly obvious it didn't reach his eyes, it begging the question of just how often that was the case with no one being the wiser. "Here, you hold on to these, don't need anyone here trying to swipe 'em while I'm not looking." A rather flimsy excuse as Deacon handed his prized sunglasses over to West with what almost looked to be fear in his baby blues. This was his last gambit, the final act, all West had to do was take the sunglasses, and Deacon knew he had an in. But if he didn't...

"I uh...I also got something for ya, consider it my business card." Pulled from Deacon's pocket at that was a holotape, one that looked to be brand new despite the usual wear and tear that covered the wastelands they were forced to live in, he had gotten it made, just for this. "If you ever need to find me, that's your map." Deacon knew damn well he couldn't always be by West's side, that even with wanting to tell the truth, he very well might disappear again -- be it as a way to hide, or out of necessity for the Railroad -- but at least with this West would be able to track him down no matter how hard Deacon tried to run. All he had to do was follow the freedom trail...

"What, uh...what do you need me to do?"

[vexic929]

1, 3, 6, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17 for Eoland, Berrie, Aria, and anyone else (tech asks)

1. Describe their phone case

Eoland: goes caseless because she's a monster

Berrie:

Aria:

Vice:

3. Do they use nicknames for their contacts or do they list contacts by full name?

Eoland: full name

Berrie: nickname

Aria: initials and a number if you've got the same initials as someone else

H Wells: full name and where she knows you from

6. Write out a text exchange between them and another OC

(I feel like this would be better presented in a fake screenshot than just text so I'll reblog this with that added soon lol)

10. Describe a photo they have saved on their phone

Eoland: a picture taken through Barbara Allen's bedroom window

Berrie: twelve identical selfies of him and his chess club teammates making silly faces while they were bored waiting for a match to start

Aria: a professionally taken "candid" photo of her to post to her personal social media account

H Wells: an old photo of her wife and daughter playing from when their daughter was still a small child

13. What do they use as an avatar or profile photo on social media sites?

Eoland: doesn't have social media for herself so if she was going to use anything it would probably be someone else's photo

Berrie: whatever new favorite selfie they've taken recently

Aria: a professional headshot

Vice: a photo of their band

14. You’ve just stumbled across their tumblr blog! Describe it

Eoland: kpop fancam type videos but of The Flash

Berrie: reblogs a little bit of everything and occasionally posts funny videos they filmed with her friends or the drawings he's been working on

Aria: it's a business tumblr that she's never even seen, her social media manager tries to be relatable and funny on it and fails horribly

Vice: just pure shitposts and the occasional song from his band

16. Let’s look at their search history. What are the last 5 things they searched?

Eoland: The Flash, Barbara Allen, [REDACTED]

Berrie: FIFA Women's World Cup, am I a lesbian quiz, am I a girl quiz, am I a boy quiz, how does gender work

Aria: local forecast, Moroccan food delivery, Lunaria Saeiqa net worth, local real estate listings, stock market

H Wells: accessibility remodeling, home physical therapy, NSF funding, contractor estimates

17. What’s the last thing they searched in an incognito tab 👀 (doesn’t need to be NSFW!)

Eoland: does not use the incognito tab because she has neither shame nor fear

Berrie: Barry Allen

Aria: does not use the incognito tab because she does not trust it to actually hide anything from anyone

Vice: VX neurotoxin

[jaffacake6]

[Image ID: A photo of a passage of a book. It says "state law requires in every hotel room. It warns guests that it is an offense to "make a show of leaving baggage in order to acquire credit." This went into the stare legal code because of the practice of "making a show"—ostentatiously leaving a trunk full of valuables with an innkeeper while running up a large bill, then doing a moonlight flit before he realizes it contains nothing but stones or rags.

The uncontested mistress of "making a show" was Barbara Erni, the scourge of eighteenth-century Liechtenstein, nicknamed "Golden Boos" for her red-blond hair. Golden Boos used to travel around in the southern German Alps, carrying with her a trunk of unusual size and weight (as well as for her hair, Barbara Erni was renowned for her physical strength).

She would stay in the finest hotels, running up a large tab for food and drink with hoteliers who were reassured by the fact that her trunk was full of valuable goods and jewelry—so valuable, in fact, that she always demanded that it be locked up in the safest room in the house overnight. On the afternoon of her surprise departure, however, the trunk was usually found not to be full of rocks or junk, but to be entirely empty.

Ms. Erni had taken the scam a step further by using her luggage to store either a child or a small man (accounts differ) who would wait until midnight and then crawl out of the trunk to steal any other valuables in the same room before run-ning away. Golden Boos and her partner would regroup at a safe distance and use part of their ill-gotten gains to buy another trunk.

Although she was caught and beheaded in 1784—the last person executed in Liechtenstein—her intrigu-ing story passed into local folklore: there is a "Golden Boos Lane" in her home village of Eschen." End ID]

This literally sounds like a Discworld character

[street-light-serenade]

The July edition of FlashBack Jukebox is now available Show # 33 for July, 2024 www.doowopdrive.com OR www.njdoowop.com/slsradio just click on the FlashBack Jukebox tab!

Join Frank, Peter & Gregg for the best memories of the 50's thru the 90's

1 Gary U.S. Bonds - Dear Lady Twist 2 Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride 3 Barbara Mason - Yes I'm Ready 4 Steve Perry - Oh Sherrie 5 Spanky & Our Gang - Sunday Will Never Be The Same 6 Sam & Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin'! 7 Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels - Devil With A Blue Dress / Good Golly Miss Molly 8 Erma Franklin - Piece Of my Heart 9 Johnny Maestro - Yours Until Tomorrow 10 Aretha Franklin & Frank Sinatra - What Now, My Love? 11 Doors - Touch Me Babe 12 Asia - Only Time Will Tell 13 Leslie Gore - You Don't Own Me 14 Billy Joel - Until The Night 15 Tears For Fears - Advice For The Young At Heart

[roobylavender]

oh brotherrrrrr nobody cares about reading all that i just wanted you to tag your hate and stop playing ship police. there’s no one “given” way to interpret batcat esp because comics are not the only medium for them unlike bt. people are likelier to see batcat as “endgame” (whatever that means) because some people ship them in the coming reevesverse or the nolanverse or they engage with other works where bruce doesn’t have 10 billion other love interests like the comics. there are just too many interpretations of batcat for you to pigeonhole their dynamics in any which way and they will continue to shift and change as decades pass. as for the wedding, many newcomers were disappointed about the way it was handled and that’s just natural considering the way it was set up. anybody else would be just as upset by such a thing occurring for their own ship. not that serious for you to be ranting about how batcat fans don’t understand their ship when most of them are just joking around about endgames and they do know the ship is never going to be together forever. even clois doesn’t have that guarantee in comics. hopefully you’ll stop writing 5 page essays on here and twitter now.

it's absurd to get so pissy over an ask the wording of which i had no control over 😭 and you're the one not censoring here so this will end up in the tag again (i tried to copy-paste this into my askbox and censor on my own but for some reason when i tried half of your ask got cut off because of a character limit. maybe it's a desktop thing). whenever i talk about bc otherwise (and there are plenty of times i do because i enjoy their relationship) i censor the ship precisely because i don't want to end up in the tags. this has been my consistent practice for everything since i moved here. the fact that one (1) post inadvertently ended up in the tag because an anon forgot to censor and it incited this relentless of an interrogation from you is ridiculous. it's not ship hate to analyze the reductive way in which people engage with dc love interests at large or the way that core tenets of female characters by their creators have been obscured over time due to the evolving priorities of writers or the restrictive nature of adaptations. would it be ship hate to discuss how levitz wrote a bc marriage in the 70s only to kill selina within the same comic so that her imaginary daughter figure could be propped up for the next decade at the expense of any development or further introspection for her? why is it ship hate when someone analyzes the misogynist reduction and obscurity enacted upon her in narrative due to her relationship with bruce but it's not ship hate when someone logically (and rightfully) does the same thing with talia?

i don't mind you being upset that my earlier ask ended up in the tag and i'm sure after this if anyone does send an ask they'll censor it. but from the way you addressed me thereafter it's clear you've been either following me or keeping tabs on me for a long time and frankly i'm confused as to why. this is the thing that baffles me about the people who repeatedly continue to harass me here. the nature of my analysis hasn't changed in well over a year. i nitpick about dc love interests' development and writing in comics a lot. whether that's with regards to talia, selina, kory, barbara, etc. this is because before anything else i'm invested in female characters and their development within a medium largely dominated by male creators. if that mode of analysis is something bothersome or even hateful to you you have every right to block me. it would afford you a lot more peace and i would encourage it