#the bats ruled out cloning but not mind control so guess what they think this is?

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Jason had been acting strange lately, something everyone except him seemed to notice. It started with Jason bringing Tim a full home-cooked meal into his nest and insisting he needed to eat something decent and wouldn't let him get back to the case he was obsessing over until he did.

Dick got called "Big Wing" for the first time in a while and even got hugged and spun around. He nearly cried.

Bruce keeps getting called Dad. He also nearly cries. He actually does cry when Jason, half asleep, mutters a soft, "love you"

Cass took advantage of Jason's good mood to invite him to chat with her and Steph on a picnic where they both tried to figure out why he's so happy and buy time for Barbara to look through all the places Jason had been and make sure he didn't run foul of a rogue or something.

It didn't take her too long to find out all of this started soon after a party he was invited to via one of his former goons where Jason got drunk and left with an equally drunk guy.

Appearently Jason got laid but the guy disappeared soon after. Whats more mysterious is that this Daniel (Danny) Nightengale was a fake identity and they had no idea who- or what- he really was or what effect he was having on Jason.

Damian made the mistake of insulting this guy and it took Bruce, Dick, Tim and Cass working together to pull a pit raged Jason off of him.

Yeah.

They needed to find this guy.

Plot twist: Jason unknowingly fed on Dannys energy and accidentally got thralled

[keydawolf]

Calming the Flames

Chapter 3

Matchoff

Boscha growls through the halls, she had woken up in a bad mood and everyone knew it from her posture, her clenched fists, the way she bared her teety at anyone walking by and the way she walked heavily on each foot, givimg very audible warning that she was approaching. One student however, didnt seem to get the schoolwide memo to leave her alone. Indigo seemed to run into Boscha after almost all their classes and happily waved and tried to speak to her, no matter how many times Boscha growled and told them to "Buzz off" Much to the dimay of anyone who liked Indigo, they kept at it, Luz, Willow, Gus and even Amity had told them they would end up hurt if they kept approaching the fuming witch, yet Indigo just shrugged with a smile. Once lunchtime came around, Indigo noticed Boscha heading for the gymnasium once again, this time they decide to not disturb her, lest she damage the door most, they do howver wait outside the gym. When Boschs did eventually come out, their mood was a little lighter, but upon seeing Indigo sitting there, obviously waiting for them, that mood changed back to anger. "Alright Weirdo, I've had enough of you following me around!" Boscha yells but the reaction she got was not what she'd expect. Rather than suprise, fear or anger, the weirdo simply smiles and stands up then has the audaxity to ask "Why? You seemed lonely to me" "Lonely? As if! I can't stand all you goody goody idiots, even if I was lonely, which I wasnt! Why the heck would I want to hang out with YOU instead?" "Cuz you are lonely, even if you wont admit it, I KNOW you don't hate seeing me around" Boscha felt her thrid eye twitch in irritation, then, an idea comes to mind and a smirk forms on her face. "Alright then, how about this, after school, one v one grudgby match, if I win, you have to leave me alone from now on" Indigo's eara twitch upwards in interest "And if I win?" Boscha snorts "If you win? You can bug me wherever the heck you like! I wont even get mad!" Boscha says, the weirdo may be good at dodging, but there was no way they could beat Boscha at scoring. "Sounds good to me" Indigo says and sticks out a hand to shake on the deal. Boscha looks at the hand in disdain but shakes it anyways, it wasnt a deal if they didnt shake on it after all. "You better not flake out on me" Boscha snarls and walks away. "Wouldnt dream of it" ----‐------------------------------- "You did WHAT?!" Amity almost yells as Indigo sits back down at the table with her news. Willow, Gus and Lux just stared, Before they all started talking at once, which made following all their words difficult. "...make an oath?" "....Can't possinly expect to..." "......Gonna really hurt you...." "....need to think before you...." Indigo's ears twitch downwards ans they frown at the others, which makes them all stop, Indigo wasnt one to frown often, so when they did it caught everyones attention. "I'm doing this" they state and even use their full worded voice to make it clear to everyone before them. The others don't argue, staring at them. "Why are you putting so much effort into Boscha?" Willow asks suddenly, gaining Indigo's attention "All she has ever done is hurt others, mentally and physically, heck she's clearly not opening up to you, why put yourself through all this just for her?" Indigo is silent for a long minute "Because she's stuck in the dark, she doesnt know what the light feels like yet, but she never will if no ones willing to show it to her" Indigo says and to Willow and Gus it just seemed like a metaphore, but Luz and Amity knew exactly what Indigo was reffering to and their eyes met for a moment, a look of slight understanding passed between them. Amity sighs and looks at Indigo. "Boscha is very prideful in her abilities for grudgby, she doesnt take defeat well at all, she WILL try to hurt you if she thinks she will lose to you" Indigo nods "I'll keep that in mind" Willow pipes up as well "Also make sure she doesn't pull the rusty smidge ploy again, make sure it isnt on the field" "Got it"

The line of concersarion continued until the end of lunch, apparently others had heard about this 1v1 match and were planning to come watch and see who won, though apart from a few grudgby fanatics, it was pretty much just Skara and the other grudgby teammates, Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus. Indigo stood on the grudgby field, staring across at Boscha, Indigo had chosen a nice blue uniform, Luz and Amity had done their face paint, red and blue lines down their cheecks from their eyes. Boscha had gone for the normal Banshee design. "You know the rules weirdo?" Boscha asks with a smirk. "Yup, is the rusty smidge on the field?" "Nah, if i'm gonna beat you, I wanna make it a good one" Boscha says with a smirk. Indigo smirks back as they wait for the ball to fly. Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus are cheering for Indigo on the sidelines, as the ball is sent into the air, Indigo had the height advantage and was able to grab the ball first, keeping it however, was harder than it looked. Boscha knew how capable Indigo was at dodging and didnt have any qualms charging full tilt at them for the ball, Indigo had to dodge a lot of attempts, trying for a goal too early just to get Boscha to stop, it misses and bounces off the goalpost, right into Boscha's waiting arms, she tears off to the other side, getting halted by an earth spike trap, which lead to a tackle from Indigo. Bischa had to commend the weirdo for their form on the tackle, but she refused to allow them the ball that easy, struggling out of their arms with a lot of effort and kicking the ball before they reach her again, scoring first. Indigo stands, wiping the dirt off their face, catching their breath. "Nice one" they compliment as Boscha gets back into place. "Hmm, your tackle wasnt too bad at all, but your aim is terrible" "Heh, we'll see" Indigo replies as their hand circles behind their back, unseen by Boscha, a clone of Indigo appeared behind her and as the ball shot up, the clone tackles Boscha before she can jump so Indigo can hop over them with the ball and head for the goal. "Agh, forgot you did Illusions too" Boscha grumbles and elbows the clone hard, it poofs away and she gets to her feet in time to see Indigo toss the ball through the goal with ease. Indigo's group cheers loudly, Gus waves his flags with vigor. Indigo jogs past Boscha to her place, grunning from ear to ear. "Pfft, you look like you just won the whole game, it eas only ONE goal" Boscha says condesendingly but Indigo doesnt falter at her snide comment, simply grinning as they waited for the next ball. "Man, psyching them out is NOT working" Boscha thinks to herself in annoyance. A few more goals on each side and it was all tied up, 5 points to each of them. Boscha glares up at the clock, only time for one more play, someone HAD to get this one. The ball flies and both girls jump, but rather than grab it, Boscha bats it right into Indigo's chest, Indigo couldnt dodge in the air, the shift in intent was too fast for them to even register, they hit the ground with a cough, clutching the ball. Boscha lands and folds her arms, waiting for Indigo to call it quits. "Hey! That cant be legal!" Luz yells. "It's a completely legal and well known play in grudgby" Skara answers from the next aisle "Besides, Boscha gave up control of the ball, if Indigo can get back to their feet, they keep it unless they miss" Amelia adds in. "They're right Luz, its a common play, but most grudgby players know not to leave their middle wide open" Amity adds with a look at the two, who nod in response. "Yeah... its usually for well prscticed captains that the other team want to slow down, but Boscha is risking a lot giving up full control of the ball like that, if Indigo can score, they win, if they cant, its a tie, so the only winner here is Indigo in the end" Amelia replies. Amity thinks it over "Yeah... that... isnt like her, what is Boscha trying to prove?"

Boscha waits as Indigo struggles to their feet, making their way slowly towards the goalpost, she hadnt skimped on that impact, they were quite resiliant, though the hit had very obviously hurt, they were still doing what they could to get the ball close enough to score.

waiting for Indigo to call it

"Hey! That cant be legal!" Luz

"It's a completely legal and well known play in grudgby" Skara answers from the next

"Besides, Boscha gave up control of the ball, if Indigo can get back to their feet, they keep it unless they miss" Amelia adds

"They're right Luz, its a common play, but most grudgby players know not to leave their middle wide open" Amity adds with a look at the two, who nod in

"Yeah... its usually for well prscticed captains that the other team want to slow down, but Boscha is risking a lot giving up full control of the ball like that, if Indigo can score, they win, if they cant, its a tie, so the only winner here is Indigo in the end" Amelia Boscha waits as Indigo struggles to their feet, making their way slowly towards the goalpost, she hadnt skimped on that impact, they were quite resiliant, though the hit had very obviously hurt, they were still doing what they could to get the ball close enough to score.

Indigo got to the goalpost and looked up at it, they had 20 seconds left, in one last ditch effort, they tossed the ball as high as they could, but it wasnt high enough, bouncing off the very bottom of the post and falling back.

One very small vine errupts from the ground, catching the ball and tossing it through the post, just before the timer ticked to zero.

Everyone looked surprised, naturally everyone also looked at Willow, who immediately raised her hands up,.

"Willow didn't cast that, I checked when I saw it" Skara confirms immediately when Bosxha looks their way.

Boscha shrugs and nods "Must have been the court itself then, guess it liked their determination" she says and walks away, no fuss, no screaming or flaming grudgby balls flying everywhere.

Everyone watches in astonishmemt as the three eyed witch leaves in complete calm.

Indigo had fallen back to a sitting position with a grin on their face.

"Thah was.... so much fuuun!" They yell loudly as they try to get on their feet.

Luz was the first over to help them up "You did great!"

Amity walks over soon aftwr with Willow and Gus in tow "I have to admit, if I was still captain I'd definately ask you to join the team, those were some smart plays"

"You did iiiiit!" Gus yells as he runs in circles around Indigo and Luz and waves his little flags eagerly.

"That was weird at the end though right? The court normally stops goals, it doesnt usually score them" Willow says quietly.

"Heh, this one tends to have a mind of its own, I hate to say it but Boscha must be right, it didn't send one obstacle to stop Indigo getting to the goalpost" Amoty observes.

"So wait... what was it you got if you won?" Luz asks curiously.

"Boscha can' geh mad if ah hang around 'er now" Indigo replies matter of fsctly.

"Wait... thats all you wanted?" Willow asks with a raised brow.

"Yeh" Indigo says with a grin."Eh was de opposi'eh oh whah she wan'ed" they explain

"Oh, I kinda doubt she'll keep to that, she was way too calm when she left, normally when Boscha loses... everyone loses... and I dont mean the game" Amity says.

Boscha sighs as she heads to change, noticing her potted plant had poked out of her bag for some sun, it had three little buds growing upwarss now.

"Hmph, is that some cheesy reference to my eyes? Titan damn it Amelia, if this flower matches my hair too I swear" she says and rolls her eyes, zipping her bag up so no one would see the plant.

[thesummerstorms]

Rev Recaps Hard Contact (Chapter 13)

CW: mentions of past attempted sexual assault & dealing with the attacker, mind influence/control

TL:DR Recap: Darman and Etain are finally reunited with the rest of Omega. Unfortunately, Guta-Nay is also there. Etain and the squad develop a plan, but it involves sending Guta-Nay to his death.

Beginning Kal Count: 24 Ending Kal Count: 25

We open with what’s honestly one of my favorite exchanges between Niner and Fi, and I can’t resist screenshotting it right off the bat:

“Hey, Sarge, I’m being positive.”

“Are you on drugs?”

Fi noticing that Niner is on edge and offering to swap and Niner being too stubborn to do it,even though he specifically hates doing that exact job.

They’re still dragging Guta-Nay around with the, which unfortunately means this chapter is whenI have to start dealing with him. But even as Niner tries to press him for more info, Guta-Nay is too stupid to give it. Even when Niner plays charades to get his point across.

Atin sens up a remote to scout ahead of them, and they accidentally end up spying on Darman, who aims a gun at the remote but luckily refrains from shooting it.

I legitimately can’t tell you why I love that scene. I just do. Anyway, within five minutes they finally, finally rendezvous with Darman and Etain. Etain is having a hard time adjusting to actually seeing Niner, Fi, and Atin, even though intellectually she already knew that Darman was clone. Fi makes a joke about Guta-Nay smelling bad. Etain asks for Omega’s names. Someone was about to introduce themselves as a CC (clone commander) rather than an RC (Republic Commando) again, but she cuts them off.

Darman was the first one to break the rule with Jusik, but he’s been embarrassed every time it comes up, and it clearly now embarrasses him to break the taboo around his squad, even if Etain’s been calling him by his name for a while. Social conditioning is intense. However, this time Fi and Niner introduce themselves as well, where as I think last time it was just Atin.

... unfortunately, I now have to deal with Guta-Nay.

Again, Etain’s meant to be Jedi, yes, but 1000% percent not blaming her for the reaction. I just /love/ how seeing Guta-Nay, who she explicitly calls a rapist and who attempted to attack her, gets to be the trigger for her to be ashamed of her emotions, restrained by one of the male characters (even if it is Dar and he doesn’t know the context) and Niner’s comment about Guta-Nay being useful sends her immediately into a self worth spiral as she ... is she supposed to be comparing herself to Guta-Nay here? Or is this just a reaction because the two emotional triggers are intertwined from this whole experience, or..?

Anyway, isn’t it great? /sarcasm

(Hat tip to Dar for being bold enough to grab a Jedi’s arm while they have their lightsaber ignited, I guess, though.)

Can I... can I just mention that on one hand, I can make a Watsonian interpretation for why Etain’s reaction to being told the person who tried to rape her might have useful information might be for her brain to jump to waiting for Darman to tell her how much he despises her... but on the other hand, I don’t care and I hate Traviss intensely for setting this scene up this way?

But, in what’s going to be pretty typical Etain fashion from this point in the series on, that sense of worthlessness drives her pretty much immediately to action. She asks Niner what information they need, and then sits Guta Nay down across from her, and waits until they’ve both calmed down. And then she immediately sets to using Force-persuasion to convince Guta-Nay to talk. This time, unlike when he was chasing her, she doesn’t struggle with it at all.

side note, there is a kind of sweet moment with Atin and Darman that I like, but it’s weirdly placed- breaks up the rest of the moment from Etain’s pov:

Then we switch to Niner’s pov, probably because Etain is busy with the Weequay and no one actually wants to hear him talk, least of all me as a reader, and also KT needs an opportunity for Omega to be doubtful of Etain.

Niner hates scruffy rig. Darman actually does clean his deecee when nervous; it isn’t just a weird innuendo that someone had to point out to me. Darman pulls out the holomaps that Etain... stole? I just realized I have no idea where she got them. But she’s been guarding them this whole time. He proceeds to praise her, unprompted, but Niner has already been told by Jinart that Etain is useless, so he’s skeptical.

Kal Count of 25. Dar just kind of regrets opening his mouth, I think, and wishes his brother would back off. But he does want to try to defend Etain, even if he’s had his own doubts before this point. So first he tries the standard defense, then when Niner isn’t content with that, he does his best. But Niner is freaked out by Jedi Mind Influence, not reassured like Darman was in the escape scene. I’m not really sure what to even make about “human females” and the fact that KT really needs to drive home that, after being behind enemy lines for three months, Etain has no sex appeal.

There’s also that word “emaciated” again.

Finally, Etain finishes her interrogation. She briefly mistakes Niner for Dar, but immediately corrects herself by saying “Of course, you’re Niner.” She reports on what little she can and offers to try to summon Jinart with the Force.

This is actually a scene that will be recounted again- apparently Darman will tell Kal about it at some point between leaving Qiilura and seeing Etain again in Triple Zero. Skipping a bit ahead, but:

Listen, the thought up Darman telling Kal all about the Jedi he absolutely Doesn’t Have a Crush On, maybe enthusiastically, maybe shyly, should make me smile, except given how Kal will treat their relationship in that book and the things he’ll accuse Etain of, it just makes me sad.

Anyway, I’m digressing. This is clearly a big moment for Niner, and he’s surprised that Etain can tell that Atin has been hurt in particular. I don’t entirely get why Traviss goes back and forth on what motivations/emotions Etain can sense to what strength (say like... her not being able to feel Darman’s grief for Theta squad versus immediately feeling Atin’s grief for his TWO former squads plus the Vau abuse we technically don’t know about till next book.) But I’m always going to rule in favor of her being stronger at Force sense because it’s really her signature Force ability, and Traviss has a bad habit of lowering her ability levels out of nowhere so she can be yelled at.

Niner explains what happened to Atin, and Etain expresses sympathy, and promises to see if there’s a way she can help. She specifically mentions Force encouragement, which makes me a little uncomfortable and which she decides by the next novel never to use again without permission. But Niner, despite his worry a few paragraphs ago, is favorably impressed.

We timeskip and go back to Etain’s point of view then. The commandos notice someone approaching, but it’s only Jinart.

Niner is the member of Omega who gets picked on for being straightlaced, but ngl, I relate to him a lot in this book.

Jinart lets them know that while Hokan is trying to bluff them into thinking Uthan is in the villa, she’s actually back in the facility, which makes me wonder what the point of all those Hokan POV scenes were. They start trying to brainstorm how to get into the facility, which has no extra exits or conspicuous vents because it’s meant to secure a bioweapon, and realize that they’ll still have to deal with the droids in the villa anyway, as close as they are. 

So they decide to try and smuggle in a bomb to take out the villa droids pre-preemptively because Hokan has already (for reason I still don’t understand) filled the basement there with explosives, In order to make it worth while, they want Hokan to think they’ve really fallen for his trick and are headed for the villa only, and thus to put most of the droids there.

A) Shut up,Jinart, you don’t get to be bitter.

B) Etain is already falling into that pragmatism thing. And I don’t think she’s wrong here. But she’s going to have more trouble actually doing it than she thinks.

And then it’s finally time to find out the origin of the gurlanin. Jinart reveals that Qiilura is her homeworld and that the settlers have destroyed her habitat without knowing the gurlanin were there, so she wants all of them, but especially the Trade Federation. Etain says she’ll make sure the Republic follows through, and Jinart threatens- “make sure you do” because the gurlanin are good at being everywhere. It’s foreshadowing for the next three books, of course, which all involve plot points with the gurlanin, as much as I wish I could be rid of them.

So they set about convincing Guta-Nay that there’s another squad and they intend to all attack the villa, except he’s so stupid they barely need to act. We get this really, really, really terrible line from Etain’s point of view:

Listen, this is where I’m drawing a line with this whole thing, Traviss. Because making the rapist who attempted to harm your main character from a race “so stupid that they can barely communicate functionally with humans and are all prone to drinking and criminality” wasn’t bad enough, we now get “the rapist is a monstrous child who isn’t able to control himself or understand that other people have feelings” which is the most bullshit thing in a series FULL of bullshit. No. Fuck that.

On the other hand, we do get one of my top five favorite scenes in the whole book, one of the few moments where Atin and Etain get to have a friendship, and something I really, really, really wish had been built on in later books.

Atin: Making my explosives neatly is WORTH the possibility of getting shot in the ass.

Atin walks her through all the squad’s tech, first letting her hold his deecee and look through the scope, then when she asks letting her try on his helmet and talking her through the HUD. He’s skeptical the whole time, but also, it takes some trust and patience to talk the commander who you are dubious knows her stuff through all of your personal kit. But Atin is the tech guy, and this is his wheelhouse and he shows her that patience. He also talks to her about the (perceived, not necessarily accurate) differences between ARCs, commandos, and troopers as he understands it.

I’m still not comfortable with the Force aspect of this, but it’s walked back in the next book. Atin fumbing the wire and pretending to focus hard because he’s embarrassed. And Etain is very touchy feely- I lose track of how many times in this series she grabs or pats or reaches for someone’s arm or hugs them or kisses them on the cheek.

Then we get to the part that’s actually my favorite:

It’s just... really nice? Seeing Etain get a little bit of respect and a little bit of friendship and feeling it in return? I will never be over the fact that it’s thrown away after this book. In fact, I can’t remember if she and Atin ever speak to each other again.

Eventually they finish up and Etain alternates between trying to sleep and trying to see if Guta-Nay has left yet. A couple of watches change. Fi attempts to feed her and is turned down. And Etain realizes she’s going to have to make Guta-Nay run, directly use Force persuasion to make him want to go back to Hokan, when he’s trusting the Republic to keep its word and not kill him.

It’s a good thing the chapter ends here, because honestly there’s gonna be so much bullshit to unpack in the next chapter, and I’m too tired for that.

[marudny-robot]

@nanadrawsrobins AU part 3!

This time, AO3 tags like “Graphic description of violence” are important. Other tags or warnings you can see on AO3 version of that fic!

Chapter 2 tumblr ver

I apologize for being late - I was working on the plot mostly. On the plus side (for you) this fic will have 6 chapters. The need for next chapter is @nanadrawsrobins fault and that’s what I’m going to say on the matter.

I also apologize for mistakes - but for me it’s almost 3a.m. and I was too stubborn and said to myself that I will finish that chapter (only so I could not look at this fic for at least to weeks). If there are some very obvious ones (illogical, grammatical) please let me know. I’ll check for them later.

Without further ado, chapter under the cut

Everywhere he looked there was white.

Just mere minutes ago the wind stopped, letting Timothy see without obtrusion. Storm was far away now. Sun raised up two hours ago, but he could see only gray clouds everywhere on the sky.

“R1. Roger.”

Timothy raised his hand to his comm unit. “R1 here. Roger.”

“Your position?”

“According to plan. Storm arrived after I reached position.”

“Can you complete the mission?”

“Without problems.”

“Continue with the mission. H1 out.”

Timothy closed the link. He kinda lied. There was too much snow to move freely (at least for anyone as small as him) but he wasn't going to admit needing help. Like anyone would help him, anyway. He quickly made sure his gear is in place and started to move.

Stupid judging ninja.

Mission objective was to take down five of his Master's enemies–group of second-rate annoying mercenaries, who instead of joining League of Shadows decided to take their clients. And did it for months.

They were taken now not because they could hide well (they really couldn't. Not before Timothy's Master.), but because Ra's thought that it was great training exercise for him.

So here he was now. Sneaking towards the old miners-cottage. Mine was closed for years, but there was still a remotely-safe path to the other side of mountains and of country borders. Cottage made for nice rendezvous point, he could give them that.

Cottage wasn't big and consisted of probably only one room with everything in it. On one wall was chimney, opposite to that wall–door with one window besides it on both sides. Side walls didn't have windows. With possibility of fire being started in the chimney, the only safe entrance for Timothy was the front wall.

Timothy grumbled in his mind, not for the first time since he got the mission. It all could go faster if he used snow from mountains behind cottage to trap everyone. Or just use bazooka. But, because Ra's like to make Timothy's life harder (all in the name of training), the cottage had to stay (it would be nice to be able to use it later, he even said). Besides, he had to bring his Master's all five heads of those men as some old-fashioned proof of accomplishment (like he can carry that much ballast at once). He hopes he finds a net or something for that.

Too bad his teammates for this mission are only here to judge Timothy–and shoot down anyone who tries to run away.

He moved towards cottage, avoiding the front side. He stopped besides one of the side wall, somewhere in the middle of it. Slowly he moved toward front to see if anyone went out (to the parked in front car, or just out), but he didn't change the wall he stood near. Two of supposedly five men total were probably observing through the windows.

Timothy sighed, hiding from sight. He had to think of a way to kill them all at once, without destroying the cottage (stupid rules). Or of a way to get inside and not get killed instantly. Or somehow luring them out so he could kill them separately. Anyway, he had to make sure everyone was there before attacking, only to not be surprised from the outside.  

For short moment he considered asking H1 on comm if he can see everyone inside, but decided against it. They might be here to make sure he didn't die and mercenaries do, but they were reporting straight to his Master later. He doesn't need them spreading lies, like he can't do simple missions alone, thanks but no thanks.

That left luring them out and hoping for the best. Maybe he could not destroy cottage that way? Besides, Timothy might have thought out the plan–half arsed but still something.

First of all he needed to take a position–away from the house, not too far and still on the same side. And not further to the front than than the end of the side wall–he couldn't be seen by the guys besides the windows. Climbing the trees was out–the branches were to high for him. Fortunately he could hide nicely between trees and bushes.

From his new place he had even better view of the car and front of the cottage. Timothy smiled mentally. He took one specially modified smoke-bomb from one pouch and from the other pouch on the tight he took out slingshot, he specially made for certain kind of covert mission (It was annoying not having enough strength to throw things far. But at least no-one questioned when a kid like him had one in hand). He didn't expect would be using it today.

He checked the wind one last time and put in a smoke-bomb as ammunition. Aimed and released. Suddenly white smoke was coming out from the broken front window of the car.

After all, no-one said the car had to stay intact.

Timothy quickly hid behind the bush, kneeling and taking the gun out.

“What the-?!” he heard one man say with raspy voice.

Someone opened the door and two people came out, based on their voices. None of them matched the first, so that would make three. But what about the other two…?

We will see in the moment, he thought and stood up very quickly aiming and shooting at the two. Both in the chest. Then as quickly he hid back and moved to the side and back towards forest and his first post, using bushes, trees and everything to stay hidden.

As he guessed, the others didn't get out to take their fallen comrades. That meant he needed other tactic to lure them out.

When he was far enough from the cottage Timothy broke into the run. At his last post he left his snowmobile. He needed it now to make a diversion.

“R1! Did you forget the plan?!” H1 screamed in his ear.

What fucking plan?! Timothy thought, running to the snowmobile. He clenched his teeth. The only plan he got was about getting to cottage, then–he guessed–he was supposed to be left to his own devices.

Fuck. He cursed in his head. If I had to obtain from H1 and rest their stupid plan…

“There!”

Timothy heard someone shout above as he got to the motor. He looked up as he sat on a seat.

Meta. His eyes widened in shock as he saw the S-shield. …Superman?

The guy smiled happily at Timothy and waved.

Fuck. Timothy cursed and sped through towards cottage.

“R1 to H1! We have a third party!”

**

After gathering all the possible locations as well as current general Tim's location, they knew now where to look.

They quickly discarded current one–Conner wasn't able to pinpoint it and what he heard make him think that Tim would soon move. That left only three options–still too much, but manageable.

They couldn't ask others–and it wasn't matter of Bat pride, but of resources. For most of Damian's years as Batman Justice League interference was needed more often in the world than when Dick or his father wore the cowl. It hasn't changed. Currently, most of the heroes were off-planet or were already dealing with something.

Previously, Damian put it under his inadequacy, not being able to stop that much crime, pushing himself to be stronger. Faster. But with recent revelation he wasn't afraid of making a wild-guess as for why that was really happening. Adding it to what he observed about League of Assassins actions during the same time, it stopped being a guess.

It was more of a resigned acceptance of an option they never planned to consider, but it always was somewhere in the back of their heads. Buried in fear of what it implicated and what emotions it would wake.

But now, it's too late now, isn't it?

Damian, as well as the rest of them, tried hard to not let emotions get control of the planning stage. But, besides the burning anger he felt at the thought of someone hurting his family, there was another ugly feeling he hadn't had in a long time.

He hated being made a fool. Being lead by the nose for years and the fear for his brother was what pushed Damian to make additional plans, his family (and surely part–if not–all of the League) would oppose. But he wasn't in hurry to reveal it.

There wasn't much to plan, besides how to minimize (even better, prevail) body-count. They had to grab Tim and run and it's obvious to say that Ra's expecting them at some point. That meant heavy guard around the kid, especially in Ra's bases. There's chance for less people around him during missions, but better to be prepared for worse.

The bigger problem was 'what should they do next?'. No-one in the Family fooled themselves that Ra's would leave them alone after they get Tim back. Not after him stealing Tim's body from them, before they get a chance to cremate him.

That left another question–was that really their Tim, whom they cremated?

He left those questions for later. There were more important matters for now.

Get Tim back first. Then few favors from Zatanna and Martian Manhunter. Then get back to Gotham with Tim.

Simple as that.

“Are we there yet?” Clone.

Damian glared at the road ahead.

“No.” he replied his companion. They were raiding the bat-plane as fast as he could and he really didn't care that Kon-El could fly faster. “Are you always so impatient?”

“You mean, you aren't? Soon we will see Tim!”

Damian rolled his eyes at Kent’s behavior. “It's not guaranteed that we are at the right location. Other teams might find him first.”

“Nah-huh” Conner disagreed, while waving his index finger. “I know you, Bats. You wouldn't call dibs on that locations first, if you didn't know he will be there.” Damian greeted his teeth at that.

“I still don't know. I guessed.” He retorted. “It was a hunch, you goddamn idiot, there was no proof that based it. Stop being so damn hopeful.”

Conner, thankfully for Damian, stopped talking. Their flight was spent in silence until they were getting near (presumably) Tim's location.

Damian stopped the plane on relatively smooth area, kilometers from where they expected Tim to be.

Kon got out from the plane to use his super-hearing. Damian went after him and waited for the verdict.

As the silence stretched for too long, Damian asked annoyed.

“You are sure you can hear him?”

“I can give you one better.” Kon replied pointing somewhere far away for Damian to see, on the right. “I can see him.”

“He's with someone?”

“I see one dude dressed like Tim, two dead bodies, two other guys… wait. Tim is running away from them.”

Damian pushed the button for jet to open. “Go after him. I'll distract them as planned.”

Before Kon flew away, he turned to Damian one last time.

“You sure, I should leave you alone with the rest of them?” he asked and Damian could hear Conner's worry in his tone.

Damian waved his hand as dismissing those worries.

“Sure.”

Kon flew after Tim.

**

Timothy was driving away, getting the meta as far as he could from his team. They were engaged with other third-party members. And considering meta's infatuations with him, he was chosen to buy time.

He didn't know why the Superman-wannabe was flying after him, not giving him a chance to take a break, but he sure as hell wasn't going to get caught.

“I've got new mission for you.” he suddenly heard his Master's voice in his comm.

Timothy turned drastically towards less open area and accelerated. He was far from cottage and his mission, but getting the guy away from him took precedence.

“Yes, Master?” he replied back, as soon as he made sure he lost the guy. For now.

“Get captured. The invading party are, ah, your predecessor 'family'.”

Timothy scrunched his nose. What now? He expected few more years before meeting them.

“Should I implement the plan? Or is there other objective?” he asked.

“The plan. There's no reason to make them wait, Timothy.”

“My previous mission?”

“I count on that problem being taken care of.”

“Yes, Master. R1 out.” Timothy disconnected.

Ok, you have to get caught, he thought to himself, as he made another turn, this time in the cottage direction. Remember to not make it too obvious.

With one hand he took out the little lead box, hidden somewhere in his clothing, getting ready for opportunity, while he steered with the other. No-one said previous mission is now canceled. Maybe he would have a chance to finish those guys off, before next mission. And if he doesn't finish it, his teammates surely are capable of finishing it for him.

Just don't disappoint Master. He thought. You can do it, Tim.

**

Conner cursed, flying after Tim. The kid really was making the chase very irritating, making him fly through forests and ducking last moment before he hit branches.

Impenetrable skin is one thing. Branches in your eyes are other. He should have invested in goggles before going.

The kid turned suddenly, hiding behind the mountain. Kon hated harsh turns like that. He slowed so to not get dumped in a tree, but in that time he lost sight of Tim.

Thankfully, not for long.

He didn't caught the conversation Tim had on the comm–only some scraps at the end–but he hoped it wasn't important.

On the other hand, he almost caught Tim! Before he flashed kryptonite before his eyes.

He REALLY should have invested in some goggles.

Kon wasn't deterred by this. He didn't want to destroy anything before that, but if that is what will help him grab Tim, then he isn't sorry.

Closing his eyes he concentrated on the sounds and flew after the loudest one. To defend himself from the branches he put a layer of TTK around him–at the same time, accidentally cutting down few trees while flying after Tim.

At some point he didn't hear the echo of the motor, sounds going further and further away and he didn't feel his TTK hitting anything. He opened his eyes to see the open are as he predicted.

And Tim speeding his motor towards the edge. What?!

Kon sped and caught Tim mid fly, where ground was far under them. The snowmobile was falling down towards the cottage and finally crashing at the trees quite a distance from it.

Conner hugged Tim tighter as he looked at the fire now below them. He, thankfully, saw Damian far away from it–he was still fighting with the other assassins, obviously stalling for time.

Then he remembered to let Damian know.

“Hey, I got him!” He said, using one hand to turn on the comm. “…Yeah, I'm not putting him down. Going according to plan.” He disconnected the line.

Kid struggled to get free, but Kon only made sure his TTK is keeping him in place. Then he flew with him towards Gotham.

Holy shit. He thought–happiness slowly taking place of shock. Tim's alive!

**

“Hey, I got him!” Damian suddenly heard in his comm.

“Good. Don't let him run away.” He replied punching another of Ra's men.

“Yeah, I'm not putting him down. Going according to plan.” he heard the line being disconnected.

Conversation finished, news received and Damian felt the tension leaving his body. He observed as the assassins changed tactics, starting from surrounding him.

One, two, three, four… Four. Only four of them, no help. How cute. Now he could finish this like he wanted to.

Damian retook his stance. He felt himself smiling as he shouted for all of them to hear “Oy! Imbeciles!”

He caught the gaze of one of them, recognizing apprehension in their moves. That surprised Damian. There was no reason for them to be afraid, after all, he wasn't going to kill them (not like Todd).

Only… incapacitate.

“Bring it on.”

**

“Mission status.” Ra's said through the comm.

“Two of five men killed. Rest run away. We were ambushed, before we could stop them. They abducted R1. Should we go after R1, Master?” H1 asked, knowing full well who his Master was prioritizing more.

Ra's didn't give them a chance to make amends. “I'll take care of it.” he replied, annoyed at their failure. “Finish your mission. You failed me once and I don't want to see the repeat of it.”

“Yes, Master! I sincerely apolo–“ Ra's disconnected, not waiting to hear the rest.

He knew that they weren't match for his grandson, no matter the training. Still, it didn't stop him from irritation at the incompetence of his own men. They should have last longer than that. Clearly, he had to make a visit to his training facilities, audit was in order.

“Are we following them?” Talia asked from behind him, stopping him from his musings.

Her father frowned, confused. It lasted a moment, before he turned towards exit.

“Why should we?” He asked in nonchalant tone, as if everything went perfectly according to his plan. And knowing Ra's, it went. “We know perfectly well were they will be in the end.”

[ellana-ravenwood]

They’re kind of assholes - Superboy x Reader (Batsis)

This is kind of a part two of “You’re kind of an asshole”, the aftermath of it all. Like now, Conner and the reader (Batman’s daughter) professed their love for each other, and it’s not to everyone’s taste. Not to name anyone but...Bruce and Clark are not ok with this. Anyway, hope you’ll like it : 

PART 1, PART 3 

y master list blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives 

________________________________________________

Batman was not happy. Not happy at all.

Superman either actually. 

They were both sitting at a table in the Watchtower’s common room, sulking and brooding (when Diana asked what was happening to Clark, as she was used to Broody Bruce, he just groaned in return and she kinda just understood that this was about you and the boy). With a scoff and a sip of his coffee, your father says : 

-This isn’t going to work.

-I know, it’s too weird. 

-I caught him in her room a few nights ago, God only know what would have happened if I didn’t came in when I did. 

-Oh please, no details. We’re talking about your daughter, whom I consider my dear niece, and my...clone. It’s just too weird ! 

-Yeah well you would be even more weirded out if you had caught them making out on her desk ! 

-Bruce, stop. Seriously. This is making me uncomfortable. 

-And you think I’m comfortable with this ? Because if you do you’re wrong. I hate it. It’s my little girl we’re talking about ! 

Diana, who was coming back from the coffee machine with a warm cup, cannot help herself and has to say : 

-You are aware that you’re daughter is an adult right ? And that when Dick started to date Barbara you didn’t say anything, even though she’s older than him. Or when Jason or Tim st...

-I know she’s an adult ! That’s the problem ! She’s growing up too fast ! And it’s not the same than with the boys...

Diana loses her amused grin, and with a very serious expression, stare at the Bat and says :

-Oh ? And how is it different ? Because she’s a girl you have to protect her more ? Or she can’t go out because of her sex ? By Hades Bruce I thought you were more open minded than that ! 

Your father just looks away and grumbles an answer no one understands. 

He knows it’s ridiculous. He knows he shouldn’t be worried, as he knows that Conner is a good man. He knows you’re an adult and are capable of taking your own decisions but...you’re also his little girl. And he doesn’t actually have a good excuse as to why he wants to protect you more dating wise than his sons...Even though Dick is the one that always end up falling in love way too fast and having his heart broke ! 

In front of him, Clark doesn’t hold Diana’s gaze either (neither him or Bruce would dare to, and besides, when she was annoyed like that, it was better to just look away and shut up), but he has the same thoughts than his friend. He wants to protect you, and for some reasons, deep down, he just can’t find the strength to trust Conner, even though the boy proved himself worthy multiple times...

************

It shouldn’t have been, but formally introducing your boyfriend to your brothers was one of the most difficult thing you ever had to do. 

They were all here when you two kiss for the first time, but used to your short lived relationship, they weren’t expecting things to get serious. So when, almost six months after yours and Conner’s first kiss, you take him to Wayne’s Manor, they’re all a bit...Taken aback. 

Dick was your only ally. He’s the only that took it well when you said you were dating Conner...seriously. That you were actually in love, and not juste slightly infatuated as usual. Granted, he was the one who played the matchmaker and tried, for almost a year, to push you guys in each others’ arms (as he noticed you both had a massive crush for the other, that quickly turned into love). But you surely didn’t expect your oldest brother to be the only one happy for you. 

Jason eyed Conner up and down, and glared at him for a good ten minutes. He didn’t say anything, trying really hard to respect your choice...but you thanked God or whoever was up there for making Conner so oblivious sometimes, because the murderous look your brother was giving him was just awful. 

Tim took Conner on a side and you saw him making overdramatic gestures and such. You didn’t hear anything of what they said but...When they came back you gave your boyfriend a questioning look and he said :

-Your brother told me I was a terrible best friend because I am dating his sister and friends aren’t suppose to do that and...

-Oh my god Conner this was a private conversation ! Supposed to stay secret between you and I ! 

-Tim, I don’t have any secrets for your sister. 

After those words, against his own will, Tim had to kinda admit maybe you weren’t dating the worst man ever...Besides, it was his best friend after all, he knew he was a good guy but...You were his little sister ! His beloved and dear little sister ! He used to read stories to you when you were tiny and now you were dating his best friend and...Oh, where did the years go ? 

Damian was the one who took it really badly. He almost jumped on Conner, but Dick caught him at the last moment (because he was gonna break himself on Superboy’s chest..for real). The mere thought of that...dude touching you, kissing you like he did months ago (when they all still thought it was yet another one of your fling). He yelled at Conner for half an hour, and when you calmly told him to “back off”, he...strangely did. Your little brother admired you more than anyone else, and always seemed to listen to everything you said. And when you told him to calm down in that voice you used only when you were dead serious, he understood that he shouldn’t push his luck. 

It still didn’t stop him though, from threatening Conner every chance he got (which means, whenever you weren’t around). 

Yup. Dick was the only one in your family that was supportive of your relationship...The worst one of them all was your father. 

He would always look coldly at your boyfriend, though before he always been nice to him, and give you daily sermon about sex. It was super awkward. And when he found you and Conner making out in your bedroom, the way he threw your man out of the window was scary as Hell...But like father like daughter, you were extremely stubborn, and no matter what your family thought, you were going to still date Conner. You were in love with him for God’s sake ! 

Still, it kinda hurt that none of your family members (except Dick of course) supported you, and was happy for you...Not even your mother, the famous Catwoman, who was known to never play by the rules ! 

************

When you told her, she made a face and, with a sigh, said : 

-Oh what did I tell you about dating men with issues ? 

-...To not do it. 

-And yet, you’re dating the man who got the most issues ever. Damn he’s more troubled than your father, that says a lot ! 

-Yeah well mom, when did I ever listen to you ? Besides, you know me, if someone tells me not to do something...

-You will most likely do it yes...I didn’t think things through. I should have told you to not date nice guys cause they’re boring, and then you’d be with one. 

You smile at your mother and shake your head before saying : 

-He is a nice guy mom. 

-You know what I mean. 

-Yeah well, you’re not really in a good position to give me advice about that specific thing. Besides, his issues are...manageable. 

-I’m might not be a good example, but that’s exactly why I’m telling you this. So that you don’t make the same mistakes I did ! 

-Oh, so I’m a mistake I guess then ? 

-What ? No ! No of course not ! You’re the best thing that happened in my life ! And I...-sigh- listen, I might not be the best mother out there, and I know I’m not always present but...I just want you to be happy. 

-Yeah ok, and what if I’m happy with Conner ?! Why don’t you guys just leave it be for fox sake ! Like it’s not like I’m a criminal or something, I’m just dating a guy ! 

-A guy that could crush you in a moment of stress. A guys that doesn’t always control his own powers and could hurt you really bad, not on purpose of course, but he...

-He would never hurt me ok ! And he controls his emotions way more than you guys think. He changed a lot and he’s making a lot of efforts ! 

-Maybe, but the fact is...

-The fact is that I do whatever I want to do ! I’m an adult and you can’t tell me what to do. 

You stand up from the edge of the roof where you were sitting with your mother, and leave without a word, not even looking back or saying “goodbye”. 

Your mom sighs, and hope that you won't do the same mistakes she did...Not particularly the “dating a man with issues” part, but the “getting your heart broken by him, or breaking his heart on a regular basis, just because you guys are too damn stubborn” part...

************

You’re frustrated when you arrive at the Young Justice’s headquarters through a zeta tube, and, annoyed more than ever, you start walking around the mountain, pacing back and forth in the corridors, but soon, your walk isn’t sufficient anymore and you go to the gym to hit a sandbag out of frustration. 

M’gann finds you as you’re taking your anger on a punching ball, every hit you make making the entire thing tremble. You turn around at her entrance, and punch a few times more. 

After a few minutes, the martian finally gather the courage to ask you what is going on (as everyone, she knows that when you’re mad, she just shouldn’t talk to you, but she gotta know) : 

-Is something wrong (Y/N) ? 

You turn around, and whip your leg up in the air, hitting the sandbag with force with your foot as you’re now facing Miss Martian. 

-What ? Oh no. Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s just swell. 

As you say your last word, you turn around once more to give a mean right hook to the dummy, and with a high kick turn toward M’gann again. 

-What makes you think something’s wrong ?

The martian knows she’s walking on eggs there, and taking a small step toward you, she says : 

-It’s just that you seem...On edge. 

-On edge ? Really ? I think it’s in your head M’gann. 

You respond as you whip around again to headbutt your training dummy with all your might, and then give it a series of fast yet powerful punches. 

-...Your anger toward this poor gym artifacts. 

“Gym artifacts”, only her could speak like that. Not wanting to talk about it, you keep punching and kicking, ignoring her. 

She approaches you and says : 

-Is it...a problem with Conner ? 

And the wishfulness in her voice, the hope, makes you completely crack : 

-OH MY GOD I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH CONNER ALRIGHT ?! My only problems is you, and everyone else, that keep questioning our relationships and that keeps...keeps;..bothering me about my choices and what I can and cannot do ! And I’m sorry you’re still in love with him but he’s...

You stop your sentence, realizing that now, you’re just being mean...and it’s enough to lift all the anger off of your shoulders. To erase everything. 

-I’m...I’m sorry M’gann. 

-Don’t be. I understand. I really do. If...if it can reassure you, I see how he looks at you and...he never looked at me like that. All those little attentions he has for you, he didn’t have for me. When we were dating, he never told me he loved me and he never...kiss me like he kisses you. I’m sorry if I sound like I’m stalking you guys but, someone I look at the two of you and all I see is love, admiration, awe and a deep connection that goes beyond simple love and friendship. You guys are soulmates. I just...know it. And when people are that made for each others, then it shouldn’t matter what others think...

You smile weakly, and hug her. Simply hug her. You don’t say anything else, and you don’t try to comfort her, you know you’ll only make it worst. So you just hug her, your way of silently thanking her. 

You understand how hard it must be to see the one you love with someone else, you remember how it was when they were dating...And you feel just a little bit guilty (because after all, she broke up with him fist), but you know she’s right. 

It shouldn’t matter what your family think...Then, why does it ? 

************

You end up really calming down and leaving the gym. It was M’gann’s turn to mistreat those poor “gym artifacts”. As you leave and go to the common room, your path crosses is and...Here it is again. 

That stupid smile you can’t seem to erase from your face whenever you see him. The good thing is, he smiles back. 

You approach each others with a few quick steps, and your fingers end up entwining with each others. He lays his forehead against yours, hunching quite a long way down to do so as your way shorter than him (something you took after your mother, not your dad). 

-Hey you, how has your day been ? 

-Well...meh, and yours ? 

-It was meh too until now...

-Oh you’re so damn cheesy Kon. 

-Only with you. 

-Good. 

You go on your tip toes to be able to reach him, and softly brush your lips on his. He smiles some more and asks : 

-Why was your day meh ? 

-I told my mother I was in a steady relationship with you. 

-...And ? 

-She had the same reaction as the others...

-I’m sorry...

-It’s not you’re fault they’re kinda assholes babe. 

His smile widen, and he bents down to peck your lips, whispering in your ear : 

-Do you call all of your loved one “asshole” ? 

You chuckled lowly as you remember the day you two professed your love for each others...it didn’t really started well, as you indeed called him an “asshole”.

You turn your head and he’s right there, so close...He brings you flush against his body and his lips are on yours, moving in sync with your own as the kiss turns passionate. You tumble backward, and he catches you in his strong arms. He does more than catching you actually, lifting you up you wrap your legs around his waist and you pull away just a few seconds to say : 

-Let’s find a quite place, if anyone, let’s say my dad or uncle Clark, finds us like this, in the corridor, they’re gonna flip out...

He nods before going back to devour your mouth, and turn to the first door he sees. A quite place you say ? Well, chances are this room is empty. Most rooms are empty. He kicks in the door and close it behind him with his foot. 

One of your hand goes to tangle itself in his hair, as the other takes hold of his shoulder. Both his hands are on your behind and you let the hand that’s on his shoulder run slowly down his side, in the intention to go creep under his shirt when someone clears his throat. 

You both pull away quickly, surprised, and turn to look at the source of the noise. Oh. Of course. 

For real though, what are the odds that you and your boyfriend would choose the ONE ROOM in this gigantic headquarter, where your entire family would be ? ...It really wasn't your day. 

************

Awkwardly, you slip down Conner’s body but do not let go of him, actually movie ever so closer to him, trying to shield yourself from the view of your father, brothers and uncle Clark. 

All of them but Dick glare at Conner, and you can feel the anger rise in your boyfriend’s chest. You understand him (you always do), his life was already mostly unfair, and now, once he finally found something good that made him happy, they wanted to take you away from him. And they where mad at him, not even at you. 

Of course he didn’t want them to be mad at you but...how was it fair that only him was the source that sprout all this hostility ?  A couple, by definition, wasn’t just one person...You stroke his arm lovingly, and you can hear his heart starting to calm down if only a little bit. 

Your father’s voice, implacable, is the first one resonating in the room : 

-Might I know what you’re doing ? 

You shrink a little bit behind Conner because, when he really wants, your father can be scary...but then, a thought hits your mind and refuses to leave it. It starts to anger you too. You’re the daughter of the greatest detective in the World, and you inherited some of his deduction skills...You hope that you’re wrong, but something tells you your guts are right. 

You get out of behind Conner, who was standing tall in front of your very frightening father (oh god you loved that man, his courage and braveness was just irresistible), and narrow your eyes at your family. 

Your father doesn’t look away, but Clark does, as well as Tim and Dick. Jason was looking at the ceiling since the beginning, and Damian wasn’t even hiding his animosity towards your boyfriend, glaring at him as if he was about to murder the hell out of him...

Their reaction kinda confirms your doubts, and with a voice as cold as your father’s, you ask : 

-What are you doing ?

The harshness of your tone surprises even your dad, and he flinches a bit, before regaining his neutral face. He answers : 

-I believed I ask first. 

He knows what you’re about to do. You’re going to turn the table and put him in a delicate situation. Oh damn that part you took from your mother...You give him his own trademark bat-smirk and say : 

-I believe it was fairly obvious. I was kissing my boyfriend. French kissing him to be precise. And I was planning on more. Does that answer your question...father ?

Your dad winces. Yes, you were totally taking the advantage. And the fact that you’re calling him “father”, which you never do, makes his heart tighten. 

Clark shifts awkwardly on his seat, and your brothers, including Dick, all look horrified at what you just implied. 

You turn to look at Conner’s face to make sure he is ok, and he smiles down at you, of this genuine smile full of love and adoration you love so much. 

He would never admit it, or maybe would in a moment of weakness, when alone with you but...it drove him crazy, the way you always stood up for him at all time. You never let him down, even when he was wrong. You always stuck up for him, and it made him fall just a bit more in love with you each time, which he thought was impossible, giving the fact that he was already crazy ‘bout you. 

You stare down all of your brothers, taking a bit more time on Damian who didn’t even realize you were looking at him, and on Jason who was trying really hard to avoid your gaze. 

You stare down your “Uncle Clark”. 

But you can’t stare down your father, you know it, and so you continue your plan of attack : 

-So. Your turn now. What are you doing here ? 

Your dad shrugs and say : 

-Just enjoying each others’ company. 

-Oh, you thought of better lies...Father. This is kind of sad. 

He flinches once more. Oh god he hated when you called him “father”. You decide to put an end to their awkward misery : 

-I know why you’re all here. And let me tell you, it won’t work. 

They act innocently (or try to), but you take none of it : 

-I’m not stupid, and you guys know that. Maybe it’s a bit pretentious of me to think I’m smart but...I know what you’re doing. And it won’t work. I love Conner alright ? You guys can’t change anything about this. 

You feel the hand he had on your waist squeeze you a bit, and look at him. He’s clearly confused, and you explain, just for him : 

-I think, I’m not entirely sure but I’m like...96% sure though it’s certain there’s some doubts that...They were having a little reunion to find ways to break us up. Am I right or am I right ?

It’s Dick who breaks first, and the rest of them can only glare at him as he rats them out : 

-I’m so sorry (Y/N), I tried to tell them it wasn’t a good idea ! I was...

He stops as his eyes catch yours. And a wave of guilt washes over all of them. You don’t look angry anymore, you just don’t have the strength to act as if you’re mad, to put on a show. No. You just can’t. 

Because the people that count the most in your life, the one you love and would die for...were so much against your relationship that they were having a meeting about how to take you away from your boyfriend. 

The people you trusted the most in the World were betraying you. You know they’re trying to do good, to protect you but...knowing that they just couldn’t accept your own choice really broke your heart. 

And they see it. They see in your eyes that they just hurt you. And when you speak again, it’s confirmed, and their own heart break at the thought that they’re the cause of your distress. This isn’t what they wanted. They were here to protect you. Slowly, they started to understand their mistakes, but it was too late as you say : 

-You guys are unbelievable. All of you. Maybe not you Dick but...still. It’s just incredible. I told you times and times again that Conner made me happy. That I loved him. And guess what ? He loves me too ! I told you guys a million times that it was great, that we were great for each others. And yet...here you are, thinking you can foment a plant to tear us apart. Well let me tell you that, even if you tried really hard, you wouldn’t be able to. Because what’s between Conner and I...It’s real. It’s love. It’s trust. It’s mutual respect to the highest level...It’s everything you guys are not giving me right now. I’m...I’m so disappointed in all of you. I trusted you. I trusted you ! 

You take a deep breath, and find the courage to continue in Conner bringing you closer to him, a protective arm around your shoulder : 

-You guys aren’t protecting me, you’re breaking me ! I’m always there for all of you and that’s how you repay me ? By wanting to take away the thing that makes me the happiest in life ? Uncle Clark, you’ve got no right doing that. Especially not after how you treated Conner. All he wants is your attention, your advices, your guidance and you keep pushing him away...You have no rights to do this ! Jason, Tim and Damian, I love you guys, I really do. You’re the best brothers any girl could ask for, and I know you’re trying to do the right thing but...You have it all wrong ! The right thing would be to let me be happy ! And sure, if he breaks my heart, go break his spine but...he hasn’t done it yet, and I have a feeling he won’t ! If anything, it’s me and my problems expressing my feelings that will fuck things up ! That I take after you dad and...Talking about you, you need to let me go. I’m not six anymore. And though I do still enjoy when you come tuck me in, when you kiss my forehead reassuringly and when you’re being protective, I’m a grown up now. And you can’t have control over every aspect of my life. I always listened to you, trusted you and believed in you...It’s...It’s painful to thin the feeling’s not mutual. 

He’s about to say something, and you know you hurt him by saying that but you cut him off : 

-No, I don’t wanna hear about it. I don’t wanna hear any apologizes or explanations. I don’t want to hear your reasoning. I want you all to leave me and Conner alone. At least for now. And...I...I...Don’t come back to me before you accepted that me and Conner, it’s happening. We love each other. Which means that yes, we kiss sometimes. We’re super cheesy and lovey dovey. And yes, we make love. And you know what ? That’s how life goes. I’m a grown up. And I know what I want. So please, don’t come back until you printed that in your brain, until you finally trust me to make my own choices. 

And on that note, you leave, with Conner’s hand clutched in yours tightly. You leave before they can see the tears streaming down your face. 

Dick turns to his brothers, to his father, and to his Uncle Clark, and with a cold voice that doesn’t resemble him, he says :

-Are you guys happy now ? 

************

You take the nearest zeta tube and you’re transported back to the mansion, where you quickly take some stuffs, and shove it all in your car. A hand on your shoulder, Conner asks you if you’re sure of what you’re doing and...yes. Yes you are. 

You then drive to a fancy hotel in Gotham’s center, where you take a room for you and Conner. When you arrive in, you fall on the bed and hide under the blankets...Slowly, your boyfriend come close to you and sits on the bed.

-I...Thank you (Y/N). Nobody ever did anything like that for me...You’re...Nobody ever done something that nice. I...I love you so much (Y/N) Wayne. 

You take your head out of the blanket and smile weakly. His heart starts to beat wildly as he sees tears stream down your face, and thinks it’s his fault...but before he can say anything else, you reassure him, as you understands what went through his mind (you always understands) : 

-It’s not your fault Conner. It’s them. Again, they’re kind of assholes. And...They’ll come around. If they truly love me, they will. 

-Of course they love you. They just want to protect y...

-Yes yes I know. But there’s nothing to protect me from. I love you Conner. 

-I love you too. With all my being. And...thank you.

-Don’t thank me. Thank you for being the source of my happiness. It’s not easy being the bats’ daughter, you...you’re making it easier. I’m sorry I’m not good with words, I wish I could tell you how much you mean to me. 

-What you just did is proof enough...And you can’t even imagine how much I love you. I’m...I can’t live without you. 

You can’t hold the smile creeping on your face, and lift the blanket so that he can comes under with you. He does, wrapping his arms around you. 

-Look at us Kon. Bunch of cheesy fuckers. 

-I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

-Me neither...

And like it’s the most natural thing in the world, your lips connect, and you kiss each other passionately, trying to convey all your feelings for each others. 

Once again, before you can creep his hand up his shirt, or he can touch your skin, your phone rings. 

It’s your father, and as Conner shamelessly trails wet kisses down your neck, your heart starts to beat wildly as your father, probably for the first time of his life, says : 

-...I’m sorry sweetie.  

Maybe that day wasn’t that bad after all.

Fin ? 

_________________

Meh. Hope you liked it. Sorry it’s so long. 

[wowza48]

Batfam Content War: Halloween week edition: Fifth Prompt Haunting/Spooky/(Jack Fenton voice)GHOST!!

When there’s something something... insert parody of ghostbusters theme here... who you gonna call? GHOST DAMI! *budadadadat* Yeah okay another S/I Dami story, but with a twist~. Two takes, one male, who will appear again in tomorrow’s death prompt (which will be a prequel to his part in this one), and one female, who already appeared the the celebration prompt day 2. Unimportant, but they reincarnated from the same person, but were raised/treated/acted differently, hence similar ideas here or there, but somewhat different personalities/outlooks.

Further information- Those who already read that prompt know fem!s/i!Dami has psychic powers, the male!s/i!Dami does not. He did, however get a healing factor- I’m not saying how, it will be revealed in tomorrow’s story. Both timelines mix multiple continuities, so Steph (as Spoiler) and Cass (as Black Bat) are both... somewhere. Not near the building. Fighting... ninjas. Yes. That’s why they aren’t there to stop Damian from dying. Because ninjas.

Also, to answer the question of- since the other two Batgirl’s are no longer Batgirls, does this mean Barbra Gordon is Batgirl or Oracle. The answer is- Yes. As in- she’s both Oracle AND Batgirl, although she created an Oracle AI to assist her when she went back to being Batgirl, but she NEVER stopped being Oracle either because she’s awesome like that. She’s also no where near the building because of ninjas. I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but there are a LOT of ninjas. Like, way too many for it to show realistic statistics.

Lastly, if someone wants to write from another character’s point of view for either of these, as long as you link it to this story, either the tumblr link or Fanfiction one once I submit it there, and then tell me about it so I can read it, you have my permission. To be fair, if I even make one or both of these into full multi chapter stories I’d probably include my own take on other peoples reactions, plus the lectures/yelling at Ghost!Dami for being a dummy head, but I wouldn’t mind seeing someone else’s belief on what would go through the minds of the characters.

Anyway, information done, now get ready for.... GHOST DAMI!

-------

“So... I’m a ghost now... does this mean I still have to go to school even though I’m dead?” I ask, raising an eyebrow as my botched up, age accelerated clone with a by FAR inferior healing factor tries to stab my ethereal form. I make a motion of brushing dust off my black and grey outfit- nope, not out as Robin. Nor Redbird- though I have been both of those too. This outfit’s called Mocking Bird “And could you quit that? You already toyed with my physical body, longer than you thought due to my gaining a healing factor, there’s no need to attack my ghost on top of that- I’m actually somewhat impressed you managed to kill me despite my healing factor, by the way, I mean I was in too much pain to be impressed at the time, but now I’m without that pain it’s actually quite a feat if I do say so myself.”

I turn towards Bru-Da-Fath-Batman, no even thinking that they are the same person when in public, being dead shouldn’t change that rule, who is staring at me strangely. “You still haven’t answered my previous question. Do you think the school would still require my attendance despite my no longer being alive, and do you think Father would let me?” I ask, pretending I’m merely talking to a vigilante under Father’s payroll and not Father himself.

Forgot to mention- I kinda hooked up a bunch of cameras and microphones weeks beforehand, and then today I hacked mother’s broadcast and connected the audio and video of my fight with Heretic -and I didn’t turn on the stream until I was about to start that fight, in order to keep my siblings’ and father’s identities secret at least-, plus streamed it online, linking the stream to multiple major news outlets prior to arriving at my place of death. It appears to still be running, since it’s being show on the screen is shared with mother, actually. I... did remember to have the stream linked to Gordon and the Batcave so they could shut it off when necessary? Ah, they should know about it by now, plus Richard and Tim aren’t dumb enough to miss their being filmed live so as to not mess up their secret ID’s, even though I did that to myself. To be fair, though, I thought I’d be at least badly injured, if not killed- which did happen- but I didn’t count on becoming a ghost. Speaking of-

Heretic is still swinging his sword through me. “I’m a ghost. That’s not going to work. Stop doing that.” Batman seems to regained enough sense that he knocks the sword from his distracted opponent, who- is still trying to hit me even though I’m lacking a corporal body now. Well, at least Batman is under control of himself. Ah, Richar- I mean Nightwing is waking up. I’ll go bother him next, while also pointing out we’re being filmed.

It took me a week to get an answer to my question though- the answer was yes, as I was a ghost, I still did have to go to school despite being dead. Just like when Luthor stole those 40 cakes- it was just terrible.

Oh, and Colin, Jon, Maya and Suren all ganged up to yell at me. So did Maps and her little club... and Supergirl... and Huntress... Okay, basically everyone I knew yelled at me for getting myself killed. But hey, I’m a ghost. And that’s pretty cool- and Grandfather’s trying to kidnap my corpse, DANG IT!

-------

(Meanwhile, in the timeline where the celebrations prompt took place)

So first thing I noticed when the pain stopped was that I can still read minds. Second thing I noticed was that- nope, being able to read minds does not mean I’m still alive, in fact I’m deader than zombie- which is pretty dead. So... if I’m dead, how am I- ooooh, I’m a ghoooost, silly me. I psychically shut off the cameras I had previously set up, and the screen went back to showing just mother. And now that I wasn’t distracted by arrows sticking out of me-

**FWOOOSH** “STRIKE! Into the wall with you, Heretic! Don’t you know it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird?” I grin cheekily, pointing him as my grey cloak goes SWOOSH as it flaps behind me- even though there’s no reason for it to as the wind shouldn’t be affecting me as I’m a ghost.

“*Ahem*” I freeze at that. Forgot Batman showed up shortly after I died. Keeping in mind that there were, in fact, people not in the know within seeing and possibly hearing distance, even if they aren’t exactly conscious right now- actually one of them is, but whatever- I remind myself that Batman is OBVIOUSLY not my father, and just an offshoot of multiple personality that takes over father’s body from time to time, and as such a completely different person.

“Hiya Batman. Kinda.... ruined my secret identity right before I died, ah well. Never good at keeping that thing anyway. Well, either of those things.” I pause and strike a thinker pose- you know, those ones where you tilt your head slightly one way, and poke your chin with your index finger, pouting slightly? That one. “You know, I wonder how Ivy and Harley will react to this. they didn’t exactly like mother anyway, especially after I told them about how I grew up. Plus Croc liked my cheesecake. I actually made one to give to him later this week- not possible now, I guess...” He is sorta batglaring at me, sorta not. Probably because Father’s upset that “Daddy’s little girl” is dead, but also annoyed that I put myself in so much danger, and the fact that my being a ghost means he can lecture me about it. Which I SO do not want to deal with. “... soooo, uh... I’m gonna just... head home if that’s okay with you?” And that’s when Richard started to wake up.

I did end up getting lectured, not just by Father in Batman Mode™, Alfred, my siblings, my psudo siblings (Maya, Steph and Colin), my friends who didn’t count as psudo siblings, my civilian teachers from my attending school in my civilian persona, my few mentors from when I was growing up that AREN’T dead, everyone I worked with or got taught by as Robin or Redbird or Mockingbird that do not fit into the above categories, even Grandfather when he showed up to steal my corpse- and an additional one when I decided to blow up said corpse with my still working psychic powers. Hell, BATCOW got into the lecturing too, taking advantage of the fact my powers allow me to understand other languages, even animal ones- do NOT CALL ME A DISNEY PRINCESS I WILL FITE!- so basically I got lectured by everyone I knew.

Oooo, did you know ghosts could change their outfits with their minds? I found that out, so now I can wear anything I want, even if it doesn’t actually exist in the living world. Meaning FREE COSPLAY, without the hassle of putting the stuff on, or letting Steph (and sometimes Cass) use me as a doll.

Another good thing about being a ghost? Can’t fall asleep, nor do I need to, meaning no nightmares- which is good because I got brutally murdered. If I was brought back to the physical plain, I’d totally have nightmares, and that would ruin my mood, by, a lot. Enough so that I could miss the Halloween Ball! I was looking forward to that... I convinced Jon to be my “date” for the night and everything... Ah well, no reason I can’t go as a ghost. I mean, it’s not like I’ll be brought back to life, thus leading to traumatizing nightmares that would prevent me from wanting to leave the house, possibly even my room, now my body’s been turned to mush, right? .... Right? Why are you looking at me like that, reader? Like you know something I don’t? Tell me! Please! Get back here and.... tell... me why....

... p...l....e...a...s...e....?

-------

nuuu Dami don’t cry! Nuuuuu I made her cry I’m a terrible person! TT^TT Especially since I wrote the celebrations one before this, but it takes place AFTER and she was so scared and confused and whyyyyyyyyy

[samleheny]

The curious forgotten gem(?), Binary Domain

Binary Domain is a game. In this way it’s eerily similar to Dynasty Warriors, Dig Dug, and Checkers, among others.

Less similarly, it’s been sitting in my Steam Library for years since I picked it up for pennies during one of the holiday sales. All I knew is it was a shooter, and it was Japanese, and while the Japanese market doesn’t have as much of an appetite for shooters as we do in the West, the few they put out generally turn out pretty good, or at least refreshing coming from a development culture not as obsessed with trying to clone Call of Duty or Gears or War.

Binary Domain was developed and published by Sega in February 2012, by a team helmed by Yakuza creator Nagoshi Toshihiro. It received decent reviews but didn’t sell very well outside Japan. Knowing that Japanese shooters also tend to be a tad on the short side, I decided to install it and boot it up.

First impressions weren’t good. I’m one of those social pariahs who plays shooters with a controller, but while Binary Domain has full controller support, all of the button prompts remain adherent to the keyboard, which makes the learning curve especially annoying, and quicktime events (while thankfully infrequent) are a nightmare when there’s the added twist of having to guess which button it wants you to press. But the graphics are thrifty and generally look pretty nice, and it ran flawlessly on my sputtering old GTX 660ti.

The plot: It’s the near future, robots are totally a thing, but the New Geneva Convention restricts certain research into advanced robots. Japan didn’t want to play ball, so it isolated itself from the rest of the world and built a big wall to keep the foolish gaijin out. You are part of some secret small UN team (or something) who is tasked with infiltrating Japan and hooking up with the Japanese resistance on the inside. If you’re thinking that sounds plageristically similar to the plot of that 2007 Japanese film Vexille then you’re not the only one.

Robots permeate every aspect of developed society as an unthinking physical labour and customer service workforce, but one day some rando walks into America’s/the world’s largest robots company distressed and waving a gun around. He tears off his face to reveal he’s a totally a robo-man before offing himself.

We then get a delightfully Japanese imagining of what a secret White House meeting looks like –

-in which it’s explained that this man was a “Hollow Child”. A robot dressed up in flesh and blood and suspected to have been developed in and deployed by Japan to infiltrate foreign society. And for some added creep, these Hollow Children believe themselves to be human. That’s pretty dorky but fun. I was on board. But obviously you’re not meant to think about it too much or you’ll run into unhelpful questions like “This guy is established as being one of potentially hundreds of Hollow Children infiltrating the other countries for decades and then living their lives normally. How in that time did not a single one of them encounter a simple doctor’s appointment, medical procedure, or injury that would have immediately revealed their crude mechanical innards?”

You play as good looking, all-American Dan, aided by your meaty, all-American friend Bo. As part of an internationally coordinated effort to get into Japan, arrest the Mr. Amada, leader of Japan’s robot industry, and find evidence of his involvement in this Hollow Child business. After a fairly dull first hour or so spent getting through the big sea wall, things pick up when you join up with the British and Chinese teams. You see, at the start of every chapter you get to pick two team mates to accompany you from your growing motley crew. This crew eventually includes a flatteringly polite break-dancing robot with a French accent.

11/10. Game of the Year. Better than Breath of the Wild.

The banter between these characters is good. It starts out a little too Hollywood, or rather what Japan thinks of Hollywood, which is normally way to cringy for me but I found myself quickly warming to these people. They all just think you’re the big dumb American man, but they felt human enough in their performances that I was always determined to make them like me.

The big idea with this game’s combat is that you must earn your team mates’ trust and respect. You score points by answering their questions right (which is just a matter of always answering “yes”), coming to their aid when they’re hurt, and by performing well during combat. Blowing away a lot of enemies in a short span of time or pulling off a sweet headshot will pretty easily garner you praise mid fire-fight and yeah, it feel pretty nice. You lose points by answering wrongly (anything other than “yes”) or by accidentally shooting your allies, which happened a lot and every single time was their own damn fault! I would have scrapped the friendly fire mechanic entirely. And except for some quicktime events (WHY DO DEVELOPERS STILL USE THESE?!) I didn’t die once. It’s not that I didn’t get my good looking, all American arse shot off on multiple occasions, but when that does happen, you get a good generous chance to administer a magical first aid injection or if you’re out, call over one of your teammates to do it for you should you have racked up enough good will with them. And I really appreciate that. It’s one of the few things I unguardedly agree with David Cage about that Game Over states too often exist more for the developer’s benefit and not the player’s

You spend the first third of the game travelling through the slummy lower parts of old Tokyo, battling various flavours of “Scrap-Heads”, Japan’s weaponised robot soldiers. A consistent rule for all humanoid robot enemies is established early on: Shoot off one of their arms to tamper with their aim, shoot their legs out from under them to greatly reduce their mobility, or shoot off their heads and they’ll lose track of who’s who and start attacking eachother. It’s a neat system that rewards skilful play. The guns are satisfying to shoot you can feel the gradual improvements as you upgrade their stats throughout the game, but one area that suffers is the lack of variety. There aren’t that many different firearms, those available aren’t that different, and the game has an annoying system wherein you have four weapon slots, one is dedicated to your trusty rifle, another to your backup pistol, a third is the designated grenades slot, and only the remaining forth slot is available for trying out different weapons. Lame-sauce!

Enemies feel good and bad to shoot at since even the basic drones can take a lot of punishment and require sustained fire to put down, and they fizzle and spark satisfyingly as you blow apart their armour and reveal the delicate innards. But larger enemies feel a bit too bullet-spongy I think mainly due to a lack of visual feedback that you’re even causing any damage. And there’s one major grievance I have to bring up. There are a handful of especially frustrating boss fights in this game and when I pondered what I found so aggravating about them I realised they all had one thing in common: they all used missiles and missiles in this game are OP as all goddamn. Even if you manage to evade them they’ll still stun you and shake the camera furiously if you’re so much as standing in the same time zone as the explosion. And the seconds you have in between repeated stunnings are precious few with how much these bosses spam them.

At first the movement controls feel a bit slippery and sticky at the same time, but eventually I adjusted and had a good time with them. Perhaps the result of the difference in what qualities Japanese and Western developers value in a shooter.

The story ends up being pretty enjoyable for its good animation and performances, but I’m going to venture hard to spoiler territory now to talk about how my experience with this game got… weird, and why it’s a videogame experience I’ll not soon forget. So if you’re thinking you’d like to give Binary Domain a try, pull out now!

What starts off as seeming a pretty silly junkfood sci-fi quickly gets a little more interesting. As you venture deeper into the city and have more surprise encounters with randos who turn out to be Hollow Children and break down from the revelation, the paranoia sets in as you the player start to consider that for all these characters know the entire population has been unknowingly replaced with robots who think they’re human (again, as long as you don’t think about it too much).

There’s a cutscene early on, a flashback of one of good looking, all American Dan’s memories, wherein a young Dan madly beats the shit out of a servant robot with a bat, establishing Dan’s prejudice towards the robots that permeate society. But oddly, we witness the entire memory from the perspective of the robot, leading me to smugly predict the climactic twist: that good looking, all American Dan is a Hollow Child! Dan’s nickname (of which the game constantly reminds us) is “The Survivor”, so the opportunity was ripe for it to turn out that The Survivor had in fact not survived and at some point been replaced with a robot with all of Dan’s memories. But no. The game never goes for that low-hanging fruit, although if the misdirection was intentional then it was pretty well executed, and what the story does have in mind is a little more ambitious if nothing else.

Good looking, all American Dan and the Chinese sniper team mate Faye grow closer over the course of the game. She gets wounded at one point and Dan stitches her back up, confirming for us that she’s flesh and blood. But things get more complicated, for better and for worse, as the story reaches its crescendo.

You and your mates infiltrate the Amada Corporation to find evidence and extract Mr. Amada, the brilliant robotocist suspected of breaching the Geneva convention and building Hollow Children in the first place. You get separated, blow some shit up, reencounter your team mates minus Faye, who have some bad news… about Faye? No... she ain’t no scrap head! We patched her up ourselves! Turns out Amada’s tech is even more advanced than we thought it was as the real purpose of the Hollow Children is revealed!

Female Hollow Children are fully capable of being impregnated by human men and carrying a child to term. Children like… Faye! Completely identical inside and out to regular old human beings. This fundamentally disgusts all your human team mates, while good looking, all American Dan is feeling conflicted and questioning his prejudice towards robots.

Come the final encounter the execution starts to fall apart around a narrative that really had my attention. All nuance is thrown out and the script devolves into a pretty ham-fisted moral lesson about bigotry.

Big evil Mr. Amada shows up accompanied by Faye, and explains: He is actually an A.I. created by the original Mr. Amada (now deceased), and all he wants is, like any lifeform, to reproduce, and so seeded the world with fertile Hollow Children leading to 108 hybrids like Faye currently wondering around in the world. Human in every way, but fitter and healthier mentally and physically, drawing from the same emotional spectrum but more rational and less fueled by aggression. Basically just like the best, smartest person to be. The kind of people I’d think most of us aspire to. But Dan’s teammates immediately devolve into a bunch of completely unreasonable arseholes who see Faye as an abomination and have already seen to it that a special hit squad is deployed to scour the globe and terminate all 108 of this new breed.

I was experiencing this game with a friend and at this point I turned to him for confirmation that I wasn’t crazy for thinking everything coming out of Amada’s mouth actually sounded pretty sweet. He agreed. We couldn’t see a downside! And as the game locked me into a boss fight against Faye as she hurled her disappointment at Dan for being so small-minded we were screaming at the game to give us some sort of choice to make. I would gladly have turned on my arsehole teammates if that’s what it took! But as the game looked like it was presenting Amada’s plan as definitively and fundamentally wrong, I almost wanted to stop playing and walk away, so onboard was I with everything Amada described. But they’re just like “Oooh but humanity! Oh it isn’t human! Ooooh she’s no good for some reasons that can’t even be physically measured! Oooh this plan to peacefully end the divide between man and machine without even really altering the human race to any noticeable degree is eeeeeevil!” Fuck humans. What’s so important about being human? It’s not like it’s your usual “All humans must die for robots to be free!” no it’s a much more agreeable “We are here to breed peacefully with you so we may both benefit.”

All the right themes of humans mistaking humanity for personhood are there, but the game didn’t seem to have much faith in me. I can see how this battle would have worked had I spent all that time being conflicted on the whole situation, but I wasn’t conflicted at all, I immediately thought “Amada’s actually making a lot of sense. At the very least I don’t see the harm in letting this be.” but I was stuck in the in-game body of good looking, all American Dan who was all “Gosh, I still think I love Faye, but obviously we still have to stop this.” Is it Dan? Is it obvious?

From there the game sort of accidentally stumbles toward a satisfying enough conclusion, with Dan secretly avoiding killing Faye and letting her escape. Then the real final showdown begins as it turns out the US military have double crossed you (duh) and the twists and changes of heart start mounting up quickly and clumsily. There’s a hilariously superfluous sequence that lasts all of one minute wherein one of Dan’s team mates holds Dan at gunpoint and reveals himself to have been evil all along for no other reason than to reveal a moment later that no, actually he’s been good all along and this sequence is was absolutely pointless. And naturally Faye didn’t leave after all and  shows up to assist, and of course all your team mates are suddenly righteous and totally on her side even though nothing has actually happened to influence such a change of heart between now and five minutes ago when they were all overcome with disgust at her very existence and wanted nothing more than to execute her… It’s all a bit infantile. I love sci-fi and I especially love sci-fi that is daring enough to take the stance that a lot of the values we live by in human society are arbitrary and artificial, and this game… sort of took that stance? The right person got their way in the end, but not because anyone involved necessarily learned anything.

In the end, I was surprised and impressed with the majority of Binary Domain. It has everything you want and expect from a Japanese shooter. I am a little bummed out that the story’s nuance and execution spent the whole mid game rising in my esteem only to finish in a very turbulent landing. One in which all passengers survived, but a number of them will still probably want to file complaints.

[totesmccoats]

Batman #36

Batman and Superman avoid calling each-other to talk about the recent engagement, each making their own excuses to their better halves, and placing the responsibility on the other to avoid making the first move.

It shouldn’t be surprising in retrospect, but who knew Tom King could be this adorable? King makes it obvious how much each man respects and adores the other by how intimidated each is to start this conversation despite knowing that they should. Besides, they’re busy with superheroing – the other’ll call if it’s that important. Meanwhile, Catwoman starts to feel like Bruce might be ashamed of her; and Lois just really wants to meet her!

Clay Mann draws the two heroes in a way that fits each’s opinion of the other. Both are imposing figures, larger than life, mythic. Superman swoops into action, catching trains before they fall off cliffs, as Batman poses dramatically on Gotham’s gargoyles, leaping through skylights to kick criminals. Even in the same room, Superman glows and Batman seems to carry shadows with him.

  Batman: White Knight #3

New Harley can’t accept that Jack no longer wants to be Joker, and decides to take up the mantle for herself. Meanwhile, Jack moves forward with his plan to discredit Batman and the Gotham establishment, using the mind-controlled supervillains as both a distraction and a cudgel. While Batman chases them through Blackport, causing untold damages to people and property; Jack raids the city records office to look for exactly how much those damages cost Gotham, and finds his answer.

The next day, Jack reveals that Batman costs the city three billion dollars a year in taxpayer money, and is still completely unaccountable for it, or the priceless emotional damage he costs the city, further widening the divide between Batman and Gotham, including close allies like Gordon, Dick, and Barbara. Continuing with his plan, Jack and Harley head to Blackport where they find an ally in Duke Thomas – in this universe, ex-military, ex-police, and Blackport native who organized a grassroots police-force for the part of the city Gotham forgot.

This issue further reveals that Jack may not be as squeaky clean as he presents himself to Gotham, but he still makes a heckuva strong argument against Batman’s continued existence; especially as Batman’s methods become more and more reckless. SGM also adds another stir to the pot with new Harley, who becomes an element that neither Jack nor Batman have figured into their equations, and could become a spanner in either or both of their designs.

As of now, turning Duke into Luke Cage-lite could go either way, but the big-black guy stereotype is a fine-line to walk. SGM’s other big diversion from canon in this issue, however, really changes who this Batman is and what his relationship to the rest of the Bat-family and the Joker is compared to the norm.

  Superman #36

A not-great conclusion to a not-great arc. The war on Apokolips is ended by deus ex machina, and Superman sits on Darkseid’s throne just long enough to abdicate it to the people. Gleason gives a bland version of a “truth, justice, and the american way” speech for Superman to say, then booms things to Metropolis. The last couple of pages are a cliffhanger for a much more interesting story development than the past four issues.

Also, I’ll be skipping the next two issues that will be part of a crossover – so hopefully #39 gets things back on track!

  Green Arrow #35

Aww yeah, Ferrerya’s back! And he’s illustrating Oliver’s adventure to the bottom of a trench in the Pacific Ocean to raid the vaults of the sunken Ninth Circle base, the Inferno, with his used-to-be-evil-and-also-dead mother, Moira. Meanwhile, detective Shuffleton follows the dirty detective Ros when he tails Oliver’s lawyer, and the two discover that Wendy Poole – whom Oliver is charged with murdering – is still alive. One of them can’t say the same for themselves much longer. And when Moira inevitably betrays her son, Black Canary and Henry team up and follow him into the trench to save him.

This issue is a little all over the place, including one flashback that I think turned into two different flashbacks without much to signal the transition, and an abrupt – even for comics – ending. Also, for the amount of space it’s given, there just isn’t much going on below the surface. The opening helpfully provides enough exposition to catch-up any new readers, but the amount of plot actually going on leaves a lot of room to be filled by Oliver’s self-flaggilating over his wealth; which, while appreciated in a way, disappoints compared to what’s going on above the waves, where people are uncovering secrets and blowing each-other up.

Still, a book of new Ferrerya art is never a completely bad thing, even when he isn’t allowed to really play to his strong suits and deliver high-octane action sequences. Also, I guess Moira Queen just looks like a woman in her late 30’s forever now?

  Justice League #34

Bruce hasn’t had a full rest in three days, and still insists on being the brains of the Justice League. He sends Superman, Flash, and Jessica Cruz to help people trapped in an earthquake, while he, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman rescue some kidnapped nuns. Meanwhile. Simon Baz monitors what appears to be a massive alien invasion. But in delegating these tasks, an underslept and overworked Batman may have made a tactical error – one that could cost lives.

This is Priest’s first issue on Justice League, and he immediately makes it a distinctly “Priest” book, with parallel storytelling, stakes that matter, and sharp dialogue. Appropriately, his Justice League run starts off lighter than his time with Deathstroke, with a lot of that credit going towards artist Pete Woods, who draws with bold lines and saturates his colors to heroic proportions. We even get some daytime Batman action!

  Black Bolt #8

Black Bolt finally returns to Earth, but isn’t given exactly the warm welcome he expected. A lot has happened during his absence, including an attempted holocaust under Hydra, and the disappearance of much of the royal family; and his people that once looked to him as a father now regard him as a deadbeat. And, before he can tend to the needs of his people, he has a promise to keep.

To use a cliché, you can take the Black Bolt out of prison, but you can’t take the prison out of Black Bolt. He is still trapped by the effects of his brother, by the loss of his voice, the trauma of his imprisonment, and the suffering of his people in his absence. Though Black Bolt has changed, he still isn’t whole.

Blinky adjusts better, wide eyed and slightly overwhelmed by her new home. Though she’s experienced the same trauma as Black Bolt, her advantage is in being better able to communicate her emotions – being a telepath helps with that.

And Ward’s art doesn’t suffer at all for being contained to Earth. He trades the neon blues and pinks for golden yellows and browns, bathing the issue in sunshine for the first time in the series. And Lockjaw is as floppy and adorable as ever.

  Hawkeye #13

Like all great Hawkeye stories involving Clint Barton, this one starts off with Hawkeye(s) falling from a great height. But before they were falling, Clint and Kate had just reunited, and were discussing whose problem to solve first when Clint’s problem popped up to try to kill the two with arrows. So, Clint’s problem takes priority. After Clint fills Kate in on who might be trying to kill him this time, Kate deduces that it’s Eden, the Swordsman’s apprentice from the Generations: The Archers issue. Unfortunately, she’s able to find them again before they can find her, and her teleportation powers make her an extra tricky baddie to nab.

If you’ve liked how Thompson wrote one Hawkeye, then you’re really going to enjoy how she writes two. She writes Kate and Clint with a familiar rapport, but still manages to give each their own character, Clint being looser and chiller despite being hunted, while Kate continues to be the more sarcastic one.

This even translates to their body language, and is immediately clear on the first page we see them falling together. Even while falling, Kate is poised and ready to shoot, while Clint is still grabbing at his quiver and is falling freely. And her style, with Bellaires’ colors, continue to give Hawkeye a distinct sunkissed tone regardless of how dark the book may go, but never to its detriment.

  Paper Girls #18

The Girls are able to escape Charlotte while the giant mech fight still roars invisibly around them, and Tiff admits to Chris – her future husband – that she’s his wife, or will be in 12 years. On their way to Tiff’s house, Mac tells Erin that she suspects KJ might be a clone or something of the real KJ, mostly because of the shock of her coming out of the closet last issue. And, in the mechs above the town, the Old Timers suffer a blow that may prompt them to forfeit what already passed for proper rules of engagement.

Despite the very fast-feeling issue (it’s amazing how the pace of a comic can vary so much considering they’re all about the same length!), each of the Girls get a moment, from KJ trying to talk down Charlotte, Erin ninja-throwing a newspaper, Mac’s newfound skepticism, and Tiff negotiating the politics of time travel with her Goth husband. Tiff actually seems to be the focus of this issue, which is a welcome shifting of the spotlight. BKV’s dialogue continues to be some of the best in comics, with everyone but the Old Timers reading as completely natural, and Chiang can draw the heck out of girls wandering through the woods and giant robot fights equally.

  Uber: Invasion #10

For better or worse, things are gearing up in Uber: Invasion. The Nazis recover Siegfried’s body, and the burning corpse of the Zephyr that killed him, and plan their counter-attack for before the United States can create enough Zephyrs to win the war. In Boston, while the US army celebrates Siegfried’s death, Stephanie wonders if they have the time to make enough Zephyrs and complete the Colossus II before the inevitable Nazi response. As a stalling tactic, she suggests that the army set up ghost-armies to make the Nazis think that the US already has the numbers. In San Francisco, a small team hunts the Japanese Battleship Yamato, and discuss whether they should search a Japanese Internment Camp for him.

Like many great war stories, some of the most dramatic moments of this issue involve people looking at maps and trying to outbluff the other. And, for the first time in Invasion, instead of sticking with one army for the entire issue, we get multiple concurrent threads, ratcheting up the tension even further.

Comic Reviews 12/5/17 Batman #36 Batman and Superman avoid calling each-other to talk about the recent engagement, each making their own excuses to their better halves, and placing the responsibility on the other to avoid making the first move.