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phantomenby · 2 years

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Shitlings chapter three

You don't have to Michael....its blood

We need a plan

The wind was smacking your face as you raced across the beach, Michael just about missing a couple sucking each other's faces off as he tried to keep up with David. Marko and Paul were making quick work of bringing down his confidence as they swung towards him from both sides.

Bug

You could hardly concentrate, never enjoying when things got this fast. The erratic movements of the bike were preventing you from thinking clearly as you tried to focus on something else, something calmer. The sand being flung up from the beach was burning your eyes so you forced them shut, Michael could focus on the road and you would shy away into your mind.

Bug

Why did he do this, you could understand if it was just a boring pack of mortals who wanted to have a fun time but this was different, they posed a genuine danger to you both, but of course, Mike chose to think with anything other than his head. You had warned him. Mom would find out soon, and boy was he in for it,

BUG

Reopening your eyes you looked at your brother, realising he had been screaming at you in your head. You were nearing the end of the beach now and heading up towards a long road heading off into the more deserted parts of Santa Carla.

What

Wha- Bug that's all you got? C'mon dude help me out

HELP? Mike this was your decision remember.

Yeah but I don't remember making it, it felt, I dunno weird. Something about her...

You looked ahead at the bike which held Star, she was laughing with the rest of them, raising her hands in the air and letting go of David as though she was invincible. Her thick dark hair flowed behind her and her smile beamed at you as she glanced behind to meet Michael's eyes.

Remember when I said they weren't human.

Yes

Did it maybe occur to you that a non-human thing would have nonhuman abilities and maybeee just maybe, THEY CAN INFLUENCE YOU?!

He winced as you screamed into his head, looking around in concern as he honed in on the energy surrounding the two of you. It was much less dark now, the intent had changed, but it was still some form of evil. A kind that cannot come from even the worst mortals.

I thought-

Thought what huh? That she would be different, that your precious starlight would be batting her eyes at you because you are just oh so cute with your stupid fucking face Michael?

He swerved around a barrel extra hard, almost knocking you off.

Shut up worm. Your the one with four dirty bikers stalking you.

At least I'm not getting onto my knees for their attention.

You were getting nowhere with this, and the boys were noticing your silence. They had changed formation at some point and Dwayne was now behind you, keeping you tucked in, without a chance to escape.

Shut up I can still like people, it's not like we're human either

Yeah but at least we don't smell like death, we need a plan, did Star say anything about where they live? Last I checked Mr Laus takeaway wasn't in the middle of nowhere.

Do you think they'll kill us?

Maybe, Star and David might tag team you first.

He choked gaining Marko's attention as he pulled up beside you, he was laughing but something akin to concern was lurking in his eyes as he saw Michael's control on the bike falter, they were nearing the treeline which would send them into much worse terrain.

"You good Mikey? Don't want you getting hurt before the fun even begins," he bumped against you both playfully, egging Michael on.

Let me focus on driving, you come up with a plan, got it?

You nodded, got it.

Tightening your grip around his waist you focused harder, the boys were probably leading you to their nest at the other end of the coast. It would be easiest to disappear into the forest where you could distract them with an apparition, your bodies were easy enough to mimic with magic.

Remember when we stole from Mr Sweeny's back in Phoenix?

He thought hard for a moment before grinning, nodding a little.

We can do that and head off to the side, by the time they notice we could be long gone.

Or we could do something worse

The grin on his face would scare the devil himself.

Oh? What do you propose?

Fuck with them but still go with them, they're chasing us to the cliffs so what if we y'know just didn't brake in time. Play with them before following down into their nest, we both want to know more about their intentions.

That was true, if they knew where they 'lived' then we would have the upper hand. Vampires were known to be their most vulnerable during the daytime and with no hellhounds to protect them they would be sitting ducks in the face of a threat.

Hm. Off the cliff? Pushing the image of the both of you tumbling to your doom, knowing it would cause some kind of reaction.

Michael nodded, smirking. Off the cliff.

Fog was beginning to build up around you as you breeched the treeline, you'd hardly noticed passing through the forests as you focused the apparition in your mind. Happy to see that no one was behind you. This would be easy.

The other three had started moving off to the sides as you came up beside David, he was egging Michael on, trying to get a rise out of him as they neared the edge of the cliff. Looking over at them David met your eyes, laughing at the scared look you gave him when you realised where you were being led to. You always were good at being dramatic. Using it to your advantage you shouted at Mike, warning him to slow down.

"Michael the cliff! We're gonna fall," he ignored you and continue, even Star was looking a little concerned. You were almost there, just a little further.

"Michael sto-" you lurched forward with a scream, diving over the edge and downwards to your death, the strong waves of the ocean slamming into the side, reaching up to greet you.

The boys had stopped, their bikes slamming to the ground as they ran to where you had fallen off, Stars pained scream ringing in their ears as they tried to see through the fog.

"F-fuck David!" Paul looked at his leader, eyes darkening as he fought to keep under control, feeling his bones protrude and eyes glow. The others were no better, all in some state of disarray as they sought to see how far down you had gone, even as the fog cleared they couldn't see anything left of you.

David was stunned, his form unmoving as Star climbed off the bike to grab Laddie who was shivering beside Dwayne's bike, her own mind was in a frenzy but her instincts to keep him safe when the boys began to change were kicking in.

"We weren't supposed to kill them! Shit, I can't even see the bike in the water they wouldn't have survived that, not even we'd come out good from that."

Marko's words finally brought David out of his frozen state as he began to figure out what he could do, this wasn't part of the plan, I mean surely Michael would have some sense of self-preservation and would have stopped. He should have stopped. He looked out into the water coat billowing behind him as they stood waiting for him to speak.

"They weren't supposed to die, this wasn't part of the plan - I mean, Max - how are we supposed to tell him they're dead, we can fly down see if there's still some life in them. They can't be dead."

"Who's dead?"

They all froze, eyes still staring towards the sea. Surely they had all gone insane. I mean, they watched you fall, nothing could have tricked their eyes in such a way.

As they turned their eyes widened, unbelieving.

There you were, both unmarred and stood by Michael's cherry-red bike, watching them all with your arms crossed.

"David? Who died?" Repeating your words did nothing as you arched a brow, expecting an answer he couldn't give.

"Y-yo-you"

"Did someone fall?" You began to look around, searching to see if one of the group had vanished, everyone was accounted for.

David didn't know what to say, he had watched you fall, heard your scream. Yet there you both were, waiting for an explanation as to why they were stood staring out into the sea.

After they had composed themselves you had been led down the side of the Bluff, across an old bridge made out of wood and wire that looked on the verge of falling apart. Dwayne had stood behind you reassuringly the entire way down, his hand brushing against your back to keep you moving, fingers shaking slightly as he kept his gaze on you.

It was quiet, something unlike them, but they were still trying to figure out what they had seen earlier. They would talk later about it when you were either gone or asleep in their nest depending on how the night panned out.

Paul reached up to you as they lead you through the mouth of the cave and down a steep hill, offering his hand as he lifted you into a jump, steadying you as you landed beside him. In front of you was a fountain? Confused you let your eyes continue in exploring the large space, nothing like what you expected, surely they couldn't have dragged these furnishings all the way down here.

It looked almost like a hotel, paintings and deep red curtains lining the walls, a wide desk over the other side from where you had entered, behind it was a wall full of small cubby holes. There were a few columns also, beautifully sculpted with flowers wrapped around them, now covered in graffiti and weird art the boys had added over the years.

David took the chance to wrap his arm around your waist, curling his hand around it in a firm grip as he brought you to walk along with him, going on a whole spiel about some old hotel from the beginning of the century had fallen into the caves after a particularly nasty earthquake. I guess that explained the weird decor. He spoke of it as though he had been there like he had watched as it fell apart. You wondered how old he and his brothers were.

He finished his speech as you reached where Michael was standing, looking at Star as she stood wrapped in a shawl beside one of the pillars. She watched him with unspoken emotion, hands clenching and unclenching around the garment she cloaked herself with.

"So check it out," Paul was up on the fountain, rolling a joint and laughing at you both, clearly the least affected by the night's events so far.

David had left you to pull your brother to a round sofa that was worn down with age and much stiffer than it looked, leaving you standing as you watched on, glancing around you as you tried to memorize every nook and cranny of the cavern. It was definitely much grander than you expected, considering how bad the boys smelt and how rugged they looked last night.

Marko, Paul, and Dwayne still had their eyes on you, their focus never wavering even as you tried to shrug it off. You'd think they would glue their eyes to you if they weren't stuck in their heads.

Soon you had all begun to relax, sitting on a couch that Paul had led you over to, across from Laddie and Dwayne who were laughing at Michael's misfortune. Marko had been sent out to buy some food, it must have taken at least an hour to make the trip there and back, but by the time he returned it only felt like minutes. Trying to shake the fog from your mind you watched as he approached, handing out cartons of Chinese food, staring into your eyes for a minute too long as he handed you one full of lo mein and a pair of wooden chopsticks.

The look you sent back was a lot colder and he leaned back with a smirk like he was enjoying your reaction to him.

You watched as David offered Michael rice, which he rejected clearly uncomfortable with being surrounded and watched like a hawk, accepting it after David commented on his lack of common sense.

After all, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong?

Paul was scooching closer to you with every passing second, legs bumping into you as you tried to move away, trapped by the armrest. Soon enough he had his arm by your side and was trying to pull you closer, if you weren't so focused on David's mind tricks on your brother you would have put more of an effort into deterring him, but for now, you had to keep the upper hand. Vampires were only friendly for so long.

You twitched as his thumb stroked the space between your jeans and top, pushing it up slowly, you shot him a look in warning but it did little to subdue him. The fog was returning to your mind and you wondered if it was his influence. When you returned your gaze to where your brother was sitting you realised Marko had vanished and David now had his eyes on you, Star was keeping Michael distracted with her scared begging eyes.

The way they were leering at you was making you anxious, feeling like a piece of meat being watched b a pack of starving lions. It ended when Marko returned, carrying with him an extravagant bottle covered in gold and jewels, you wondered if they were real or if this was just some dumb initiation they did with everyone. David uncorked it and took a swig, wincing as it hit the back of his throat, when he opened his eyes he looked at Michael with intent. Offering him the bottle like some prized possession.

Maybe people here have a thing for wine, not the weirdest thing I've seen.

Michael looked at you before taking it from David's hands, you knew his mind was set on it, Star stood behind him reassuring him he had a choice. You don't have to Michael.

You frowned not understanding what was so bad about it.

Its blood

Eyes widening you felt your heart freeze in your chest, you couldn't hear her but you could read her lips just as well.

Chanting started up around you, rising in pitch as the bottle moved closer to his lips.

Michael

Micha-

Frozen and unable to move, you could only watch as he drank the poison they had presented him with, Paul's hand squeezing your waist before releasing you and jumping up as they all erupted in joyous cheering. For a moment you were forgotten as they celebrated, embracing your brother like he was their own, Michael greedily sucking up the attention.

Star and Laddie had already retreated behind some thin curtains that led to a small sleeping area, watching the gathering warily, catching your eye as she sent you a sad look. You didn't think about it for too long, not that you could if you tried, the room felt heavy and warm. Suffocating. While you yourself hadn't consumed anything besides a bite or two of the Chinese food, you still felt wrong, like something was weighing down on you.

Soon enough David strolled by, still in his chair and being pushed by Marko as he smoked lazily. He reached up to run his fingers along your cheek, gliding under your ear and to the back of your neck where he curled around you possessively, pulling you close.

Come join us kitten

Shuddering you pulled back harshly, falling into a firm chest, as you looked up you met Dwayne's eyes. His arm wrapped around your front as he brought you in, locking you in his strong gaze, god those eyes-

Pull yourself together!

You tried pulling away to no avail, he wasn't releasing you anytime soon, content to have you snug in his arms. Michael was over on the other side of the fountain, head in Star's lap, when she had left her corner of the world you didn't know.

Oh Michael what have you done

The last thing you remembered was Paul coming towards you with a silver chalice full of a warm red liquid, holding your chin steady as he poured it into your mouth.

Please can someone turn off the light

Whatever was shining in your face was blinding and making your headache even worse than it was. Hearing a groan beside you, you began to draw open your eyes, wincing when sunlight flashed across your vision. Turning towards the sound you realised it was Michael and he too was suffering from last night's activities.

Oh please no not now

"Oh yes, now my dear idiots!" Sam kicked the door open, grinning broadly as he reached for the phone beside Michael's bed, it was now you realised you hadn't even made it to your own room.

What was in that drink

"What drink?"

Sam, I am begging you. Shut. Up.

"Whatever, moms calling" he lifted the receiver singing a sweet hi mommy down the phone before handing it to Michael, "did you guys do drugs."

You opened one eye to glare at him, swearing that as soon as your head cleared you would make him regret the day he was born, "no- ask your brother he's the one who roped me into his mess. Ow! Hey!"

Mike took the chance to hit you with the phone once Lucy hung up, asking Sam for his sunglasses as he tried to escape the sun shining through his blinds, "I'm your brother to bug."

"Not for long with current your track record."

Sam left you, joking about whether or not you were freebasing, still none the wiser to what had happened. Sighing you tucked yourself under Michael's arm, trying to fall back asleep in hopes you would wake feeling refreshed.

"Bug?"

"Mmh"

"I feel wrong, do you feel it too?"

You nodded, trying hard to think about what that awful drink was, the one Star tried warning Michael about. What was it she sa-

Oh shit

"What-"

Shit shit shit

Memories flashed through your mind, boyish laughter, a silver chalice, you couldn't move as something was poured down your throat. You remembered the burning sensation it left behind, it wasn't the same as what they fed Michael, it was fresh and must have come from one of them. Or all of them.

Pushing the thoughts into Mike's mind you let him reach his own conclusion, praying he had a few brain cells left to figure it out himself. Something clicked inside that hollow shell he called a head as his eyes snapped open, sitting up too fast, realising his mistake as he held onto his head.

Someone was holding you, spinning you and bringing them close.

Wincing as the memories pushed through your haze, rubbing your eyes furiously.

Moving but your feet staying still, draped across someone's knees as another pushed you round a fountain.

Why were you-

You were on someone's lap, falling into slumber as they nuzzled your shoulder, breathing you in, pressing soft kisses above your artery.

The fuck-

Dark golden eyes watching you fade away.

You were well and truly screwed.

#david tlb #the lost boys #tlb #the lost boys fic #marko the lost boys #the lost boys imagines #lost boys x oc #dwayne tlb #the lost boys x reader #poly lost boys x reader #marko tlb

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harveyb-wabbit92 · 2 years

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Invader Zim: Elite guardians Ch 3

The following is a non-profit fan-based story, Invader ZiM is owned by Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon please support the official release, I gain no profit nor do I own anything other than OCs and whatever spouts from my imagination!

Summery: A new planet has been taken by the Irken Empire, Tallest Miyuki had it converted into an education center planet for the growing Irken army and ordered three Nursery drop ships to go there and establish a Smeet hatchery, however one ship never shows up. Cradle 2-117 went off the radar, Concerned Miyuki ordered two young Elite guards by the name of Red and Purple to investigate it's disappearance and retrieve the ship safely if possible. the two travel to the unexplored and treacherous Tarn system, where things go wrong the second they arrived. First their cruiser crash lands and is damaged beyond repair on the desert planet Greedo, then they lose contact with the Empire! however things soon take a turn when, Red is wandering around the junk market when he finds a starving Smeet wandering around amongst the trash.

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Location Planet Greedo: En route to Y/n's Ship the Cardinal, {if anyone's played The Outer worlds, the Cardinal's exterior and interior is similar to the Unreliable.}

"Okay turn around this bend!" Y/n shouted standing up from her seat, her hands held onto Red's shoulders firmly as he steered the G-wheeler through Greedo's harsh desert plains, Purple rode along next to them Zim strapped to his chest and Power core tied to his back seat. The two Irken's made it clear that they'd kill her if she was lying about the ship, Y/n gave them her word that she wouldn't lie about this sort of thing, when the four finally arrived to her ships crash site, the two Elites were surprised as they examined the ship.

It's red paint-job was faded, scratched up and scorched making it clear that she's seen some heavy combat and really a was a "tough old-bird" to quote Y/n, but there was signs of recent repairs done the one of the engines and hull. "Yeah, she looks a little rough, but she's sturdy I guarantee you that." Red hummed stepping off his bike and Helping Y/n down while Purple unstrapped Zim from his chest. The little smeet lifted his goggles up and looked around curiously before he started pointing at the ship then at Red's tunic excitedly.

The red eyed Irken looked the kid confused. "What?" he quizzed. "Rwed!" Zim cheered pointing at Red's armor and the ship's paint-job. "oh... Yeah, guess it does match me, eh?" the older Irken humored before patting the youngling on the head, Purple on the other hand rolled his eyes, he just wanted this over with, the sooner they're off Greedo the better!

"Yeah, Adorable. Show me where your power station is!" he huffed at Y/n who lead the the three alien's inside. "Okay, The power station this way." the human gestured to the cargo hold, Red and Purple followed her while Y/n gave Zim a this wired square thin and said it was a game called Samson (parody to Simon) and a few other things to keep him occupied while they worked.

The Human pulled her hair back as she called out to someone. "SID We're going offline for a bit" Red and Purple waited for someone answer but all that greeted them was silence, the lights dimmed for a few seconds but they chalked that up to the Cardinal's power failing, Red kept his eyes trained on Y/n the entire time she and Purple worked to uninstalled her ship's power core, normally he would've just killed and stole her ship.

The thought crossed his mind he won't deny it... But then counter thoughts occurred, He and P knew nothing about the Tarn system, they didn't know where planet Nyree was and it was pretty clear that they wouldn't know how to fly this ship, hell they didn't even know what kind currency they used before becoming bounty hunters. Y/n on the other hand... Right off bat she knew the Tarn system possibly better then any inhabitant would, and was adamant she knew where Cradle 2-117 was headed and planned the safest and quickest way to get there. As much as it pained the stubborn Elite to admit it, they needed her. "Tar's crater!" Red eyes snapped up towards Purple who was holding the Cardinal's power core in shock as he examined it. "You said this thing was spotty?" the purple eyed exclaimed in disbelief as Y/n smiled sheepishly. "Look at this!" he said completely flabbergasted showing Red the power core.

The core's outer shell was so badly rusted Purple was easily able to twist it open with no effort bits of it chipping and flaking off in his hands as he pulled it apart the whole inside was rotted and smelled of burnt wires! Needles to say both Irken's were shocked this rotten husk had any power left to keep the lights on! "How in the Tallest shade did you even live this long?" Purple asked baffled as he put Y/n's old core aside and installed the cruiser's power core to Cardinal's center hub. "Dumb luck and a deal with the devil." The human quipped while helping Purple manually secure the core's outer shielding, Neither Red or Purple knew who or what this "Dee Vile" was, but they both agreed luck was definitely on Y/n's side, a core that badly messed up would've failed and left them dead, drifting in the dark!

"Alright everything seemed to be in order, let's wake the old girl up!" Red and and Purple nodded as the human turned her back on the duo and headed towards the cockpit, without a word Purple took out his blaster and pointed at the oblivious woman's head he was getting ready to fire, When Red suddenly blocked his path, the purple clad Irken looked at his partner baffled Red just looked at him sternly and shook his head.

Purple frowned and put his gun away a few seconds later they felt the ship shake as it tried to lift off; nearly knocking them off their feet. "Sorry, there's sand blocking engine four, just let me...annnd there we go! " They heard Y/n say over the PA there was a loud poof sound from compressed air being pushed out from the ship’s thrusters clearing the debris.

The Cardinal groaned as she came back online and to full power a few seconds later the ship was in the air, Y/n cheered and spun around in the pilot seat while Red and Purple sheepishly smiled back at her, before giving each other stink eye... Oh they were definitely talking about this later... But for now they were more occupied with completing their mission.

#Invader Zim #invader zim x reader #elite guardians au #irken elite #the almighty tallest #the tallest x reader #tallest red #tallest purple #smeet zim #elite red #elite purple #human reader

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twiststreet · 2 years

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“Hey, Carl-- you know how we live in a world with Superman and the Flash in it, and how they’re super-famous and make us question our religious beliefs? What if I told you there was *another guy* that dressed up in a costume?”

“You mean, like Green Lantern, the man with the magic wishing ring, whose existence reveals that every religious text is a lie and our entire understanding of the universe itself is a farce?”

“Yeah, like Green Lantern. But this guy, the guy I’m talking about, maybe he wears a cape, and his underwear on the outside of his pants. You know: like Martian Manhunter, the guy from the planet Mars...? But what if I told you this guy, the guy we’re talking about, the guy who dresses up... what if I told you that he lives in Gotham City?”

“The city that has an asylum full of insane murder-clowns and a crocodile man and a guy whose body is made of clay or mud or poo or something? And also a ventriloquist? I never trusted those guys. I don’t trust anyone whose lips don’t move when they talk.”

“Ventriloquists are truly proof of a curse for ancient crimes Man was too ashamed to record. But setting that aside, what if I told you this guy hated crime?”

“Still with you. I hate crime too. A guy stole my bike the other day. I wish the cops had lit up a giant signal onto the clouds like they do sometimes with other crimes.”

“And what if I told you the Batman--”

“Whoah, whoah, whoah. THE. BATMAN??? That’s just an urban legend. Are you a child? Are you a stupid little child that I have to roll down the windows for in a hot car? You’re like a child to me, talking about Santey Clause as if he was real. A stupid little kid. You might as well be that kid who’s running around fighting crime-- the Robin. P.S. please stop calling me Carl-- I prefer to be called Swamp Thing.”

Just starting my morning thinking again (entirely involuntarily) about how when DC Comics got all intense about “our superheros are basically like real guys that call each other Clark and Bruce, and the Cat and the Bat, and talk about how they like to cook steak” modern comic writing, one of the big innovations was that Batman? Batman’s an URBAN LEGEND. Ooooooooooh. And fans were like, “Yeah, that’s the stuff, that makes total sense. No questions. Do more of that.” And it’s still not the dumbest thing they ever did.

#poetry or batman tag

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batarella · 3 years

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3 birds 1 stone - chapter 11

‘Dick, Jason, and Tim. Supposed brothers 'till the end, until all three fall in love with you. Who wins your heart?

The man who earned it, the man who stole it, or the man who always had it?’

A/N: I’M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG BUT THIS WAS A CHAPTER I’VE BEEN SO EXCITED FOR SINCE THE BEGINNING. FEATURING THE ALTERNATING PERSPECTIVES OF THE THREE ASSHOLES WE LOVE.

WORDS: 12,399 WARNINGS: mentions of trauma and fire, recovery from 3rd degree burns, hospitalized children in the pediatric burn unit. but this chapter is generally fluff

MASTERLIST | 3 BIRDS 1 STONE MASTERLIST

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Tim:

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

A murderous glower, teeth gritted and mouth dry, asking that wasn’t the best idea for anyone at all who’d sense she wasn’t in the best mood. First, because her nerves were killing her. And second, the poor thing’s back must have been aching. She’d been crouched over for hours and here he was asking the worst questions at five in the morning, which further proved that case that he shouldn’t be so teasing with her cranky attitude that usually shows up when she’d stayed up all night. And she did. For all good reason.

“You’re telling me this now?” she asked him.

“I don’t mean this,” Tim held out his hands out around the room. “I mean this guy.” A stuffed clown. With a red nose, diamond shapes painted over its eyes, and a curly red wig. “You think clowns are a good way to cheer kids up?”

“Come on, Tim. Just because that stigma is around doesn’t mean clowns are always a bad idea.”

“That stigma related paperwhite skin like this to mass murder.”

“And thousands of clowns each day lose their jobs because of that. Clowns are fun. And great. Maybe this could help take kids’ minds away from that kind of thought so they won't have to be so scared at a birthday party.”

“You’re thinking way into the long term.” Tim placed the toy into the box and closed it up, taking a roll of packaging tape from his side.

“If that were the case, the same would go for this little guy here.” Y/N held up the penguin.

“Cobblepot doesn’t look like an actual penguin.”

“His name is Penguin and yes, he does.”

“He doesn’t give me the chills, not like a red nose does.”

The snort that came out of her nose was too laughable not to ignore, and he couldn’t. “Fine, asshole, you can take the clown out.”

His tired hands dropped onto the box he’d just finished taping up, and now he had the murderous look that she apparently found too funny.

“You couldn’t have said that before I taped the box?”

“Then just leave it there!”

“Make up your mind-“

“Just take it out when we get to the hospital.”

“Fine.” The frown so quickly turned to a curious grin he’d held back when she’d already moved to the next box and pulled out a teddy bear with brown curls and a red bow on his neck, and Y/N took a while just silently smiling at it, the kind of smile that always made him want to ask when he knew she was thinking of something he didn’t know.

“What?”

She slightly jumped when she’d heard him speak. “Nothing. I had the same bear as a little girl.”

“You did?”

She nodded. “Don’t you remember?”

“Oh yeah.” He took the bear from her hands. “I remember. You named that little bastard after me.”

“I didn’t have a name for him for like, ten years after I had him, and you come along and shame me for it.”

“You should always name your stuffed animals.”

“Yes. And Little Tim was perfect.”

It was. And he remembered being that awkward teenaged kid visiting her house for the first time, to find himself in her room where a bear was sitting on her bed even with her in seventh grade, how she named it after him when he brought it up, and how long he’d stared at the walls of his empty room at the thought of it.

It went on until she’d stuffed it along with the other toys into a cardboard box, sealed it up with the number ‘5’ written on top, and packed it with the other boxes stashed to the side.

It had to take Dick to come in to snap him out of that apparent trance, especially when he did that with his feet making unnecessarily audible noise when he went in from the foyer.

Dick:

Too close. Yet again. Standing close enough for his arm to touch her shoulder. But what was he going to do? Come up to them and shove Tim to the side? Make space for Jesus? Not like they were together. He could do that. And no one will bat an eye.

But he didn’t. As he always had, Dick just went up to the boxes Y/N had packed. “This the last one?”

“That one should be.” She pointed at one of the empty boxes lying on the floor. “You think it’s too much?”

“I don’t think there’s any universe kids would think a lot of toys would be too much.”

She stepped away from Tim, and just like a kid who’d gotten his knee scraped and had to get treatment from the pretty nurse at school, he wanted to jump when Y/N stood closer to him. Okay. Not to him. But the box was closer to where he was standing and she had to reach over to get it. Dick held it out the table and took out one of the toys in the bag.

“A clown?”

“Jesus, what is wrong with you two?”

“I told you it wasn’t a good idea,” Tim said.

“Clowns are adorable when they’re not murderous.”

“Uh, no. They definitely are not. Have you lived in Gotham? No one works as a clown anymore.”

“Exactly why I want to change that. Poor guys have it as a profession you know. They go to training and everything and only to have it stripped away.”

There were bags under her eyes, and her movements were slow. Didn’t sleep again last night, it seems. Or maybe even the nights before that.

“You should rest up before we leave,” Dick said. Her hair fell to her cheek and she didn’t even notice.

“Too late for that. I’ll be alright.”

And as if it didn’t strain her arms the more she had them raised, she forced the plushies down into the last box. Dick reached out, shut the lid off for her as she frantically taped it close before it would have exploded.

“Imagine this biting us in the ass when we open it up later.”

“It’ll be fine,” she sighed. Looks like she doesn’t even care enough to have much more thought. “It has to be.”

“You’re not nervous, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you're talking about.”

For a moment he caught Tim’s eyes, watching them closely and listening to every word they said. Dick just ignored that.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

“That makes things better.”

“You’re hostile today.”

“Sorry,” she longingly sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe I am. I don’t even know why.”

“Kids love you. The hospital loves you.”

“I think I’m missing something.”

Her hands draped over the carton and her fingers stuck to the surface. She couldn’t look away from that emptiness, at the number she’d written on top as if it were any interesting.

“You’re doing what no one else has in so long. You couldn’t disappoint even Elliot Memorial with the number of bandages you got.”

He caught the side of her mouth so slightly turning up to her cheek.

“Now enough with that crank. You sound like Eustice Bagge.

“Fuck you, asshole.”

She was laughing now, at a joke that wasn’t even that funny, but with the way she gleamed despite her skin facing away from the sun, her cheeks ample and round, flushed over her lips stretched out in the brightest little grin, and her eyes, squinted almost to a close, it didn’t even hurt when she’d nudged his shoulder at his remark.

The reward was the same, despite him probably being able to do better. And maybe he should have. But he was getting there. Slowly. It took months, but he was trying for that same comfort, to making her laugh so hard the silent walls would forever remember her echoes.

And after he did hear that laugh, that day already seemed so fulfilled.

They grabbed one box each and headed out the foyer, at the last truck waiting for them just outside of the door. Alfred was there, spectating the whole thing.

And, as an internal groan he hadn’t noticed had escaped his lips, silent enough not to draw her attention, his brotherly pain in the ass had his motorcycle draw out this god-awful noise, what no one could only hope to ignore. Jason pulled up to the front door, took out his helmet, and eyed the whole scene around him with that cocky brow raise that made Dick want to punch out of his face.

Jason:

Oh yeah. It was today. Totally forgot about it.

Five am, supposedly a time for him to be at the gym. An hour ago, in fact, but here he was, at the front door ignoring the fact that Dick looked like he wanted to strangle the life out of him from his neck. Maybe he shouldn’t have come, not with them crowding about, not when he wanted nothing to do with any of them. But of course, he forgot.

Whatever. Ignoring them shouldn’t have to be so hard.

Y/N looked exhausted. Her eyes were dark, her hair a mess tied to a ponytail behind her back. And from the looks of it, she was telling Dick off for handling the box too tight. Crabby. Wouldn’t want to get on her nerves when she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.

Jason swung his leg off his bike, walked over to his brothers, and took the box off of Y/N’s hands, which was the right decision considering she immediately took to stretching out her back when it was off her hands.

“Thanks.”

“You’re late,” he heard Dick growl. He didn’t even turn to him.

“So I see. You’re leaving right now?”

“It’s a three-hour drive.”

“I knew that.” He didn’t.

“You forgot, didn’t you?”

Tim was eyeing him no differently. He snorted. Tim, he could look at in the eye. Dick, not so much, not when the last time they talked, it was at Y/N’s front door and they were just minutes away from landing a fist down each other’s uvulas. “No…” he scoffed.

“You did.” Dick walked right up to his face, and even then, Jason just shrugged and looked away. It wouldn’t help his case. In fact, it made him look even more guilty than he’d like to admit, but he was close to just kicking his brother at the shins when Dick put his box on top of the one he was already carrying. “Make up for it.”

“I never said I was gonna go with you.”

Dick rolled his eyes. He went over to the truck, placed the boxes inside, and backed away when the driver pulled it close. It was packed full. And there were five other trucks lined up in front of it.

“You’re not going?”

Her voice didn’t sound so rough, as it often did when she had newly awakened. And with a smile he couldn’t help, he walked over to her and leaned into her ear. “Hey, pretty bird.”

Oh, he could just see the hairs at the back of her neck rise when his hot breath fanned over her skin. But it didn’t last so long when he went straight for the door, heading inside the manor.

“Jason-“

“Hmm?”

When he turned, she still looked so exhausted. Her eyes were wide, voice soft just as it usually was when she was confused, and her hair looked pretty facing away from the sun.

“No.”

“Jason.”

“I’m going to the gym.” Just as he should be, if he wanted things to get any better with Bruce, have this illusion that he was somehow still part of this crazy family. He had to show up, or at least start to.

“It’s just for today. Please.”

His cheek was between his teeth and he was chewing on it rather profusely. He wanted to look behind her, at the trucks all packed up and ready to go just to give himself some sort of idea at the lengths she’d taken just to get where she was, but his brothers were out there, and frankly, the looks they were giving them now were counter-productive.

“Y/N, it’s a three-hour drive.”

“We’ll sleep in the car.”

He sighed, eyes over at the ceiling. Her voice had gotten even softer, and he wanted himself beat up for even acknowledging that.

And when he’d seen the look on her face, it was over.

He dropped his gym bag on the floor. “Fine.”

She jumped a little and took his arm on the way down the steps.

“Shotgun.”

“No, I called it first.”

“I wasn’t here.”

“Then you should’ve come earlier,” Dick said. “And I’m driving.”

The mutters out his lips weren’t for anyone’s ears. Dick’s car was all the way over to the back of the trucks, which had started up and were already on their way. She took the front seat.

“Ah, fuck, you don’t expect me to spend three hours cramped up here with Tim.”

“Hey. You’re the big one here,” Tim snorted. “It’s not fun for me either.”

In a car full of morons for the next three hours. Just when the fuck did he start bending to her every whim?

Tim:

Cramped up was something. But being forced to the back seat of a car that should not have had back seats at all, they might as well have slept in a sardine can. By the time he got the door to shut close, his mouth was up to Jason’s shoulder.

“Get off me!”

“I can't fucking-“

“Just move to the side!”

“There isn’t a side to move to!”

Tim forced his ass out almost to the edge of the seat just to make room.

“I should be sitting there, jackass. Y/N doesn’t need much legroom.”

“No, you’re not. I’m sitting here.”

Y/N looked over to the back, smiling at Tim. And at that, he heard Jason snort and finally shut his mouth, one he wanted to shove his fist into. When Jason had settled in and looked out the window, Dick started up the car. “You wusses better be quiet for the next three hours.”

“Oh, shut up. Why don’t you let me drive and see how that’s like, asshole?”

“I’m driving. This is my car.”

“Babs’ SUV would have been a lot better choice.”

“Just shut up,” Tim said, and when he nudged Jason’s shoulder he was bitten back with a slap on his arm.

“Seriously, you guys.”

And everyone piped down the moment it was Y/N who told them to. When they were out on the highway, when they’d gotten out of the city, the outskirts they didn’t so often see, Tim leaned over to the side, at Y/N’s ear just through the space between the car door and her seat.

“Why’d you have to bring them?”

“Hmm?”

“This would have been a lot more fun with just me and you in the car.”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad.”

“My ass is killing me. Jason’s taking up all the space.”

“You’ll be fine. Seriously. But if it’s so bad, we can switch.”

And have her sit next to Jason instead? For the whole of three hours, cramped up so they’d be forced to get all cozy? Nada.

“You know what, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

She turned her head over, and her nose accidentally pressed up against her seatbelt. She snorted, backed away with her face all mushed up and sneezed.

He wanted badly to laugh, but he found himself in this ridiculously painful grin when he couldn’t tear himself away from that adorable sight.

Then it all stopped when the car suddenly halted and he was thrown completely off his seat, smashing his face up against the back. That, and with Jason’s laughter so audibly horrific, he tirelessly pulled himself up. “Dick!”

“Sorry!”

He looked up at his brother. He did not look sorry at all. He just smirked, then looked back out at the windshield.

Dick:

It was evil. But that should be the last of it. Not that there was a first. But he heard what Tim said. He deserved it. Not in his life was he going to miss any of this. When Tim had settled back, and Jason finally shut his mouth, an hour into the ride and still Y/N couldn’t pry her eyes away from the window, and it probably wasn’t to look at her reflection, no. She was looking at the grassy fields, at the mountains that peaked in the lightest grey over at the horizon.

“You can sleep, you know,” he said, and he pretended he was watching the road when he’d probably spent the last five minutes endangering the lives of everyone in his car. But they were alive.

“I want to,” she yawned. “But it’s not every day I get to see a view like this.”

Really. She doesn’t. The last time was most probably that day, when he took her out to the country for a ride up a hill so she could paint, where they kissed despite the force of the winds, the cold, and the darkness, the noise he couldn’t hear, and that beautiful view that became no more than just noise when he had her in his arms, even for just that minute.

And, just like that last time, he went on to steal a couple of glances, the most he could without having to look away from the road for too long. Because right then, with her skin still so soft despite the dry air and the breeze, she laid her head up against the car window. He caught her smiling when she saw a few cows wagging their tails in circles.

Dick lowered the car window, just enough for her to put her head out, and the joyous grin on her face and the silent laughter that came with her back suddenly shooting up, hair tie blown out by the wind. Right then, he wished he let Jason drive, so he could spend so many of his minutes just staring at this view.

Jason:

An hour in, and she’d fallen asleep. That was a lot longer than Jason would have thought, with how exhausted she looked he thought she’d pass out the moment her head hit the back of the chair. But it took an hour of looking out into the country before she eventually gave in and gave herself that much-needed rest.

She was sleeping, and Jason wasn’t, even when she told him to. Because for perhaps even the next hour, he had his head up against the glass, and his eyes were on her, watching her face, watching how peaceful she looked, at her chest that rose and fell and her nose that flared up every so often when she was too deep into her sleep.

“Jason, could you at least move your fuck-“

Immediately, he placed his finger to his lips, then he pointed at Y/N. Tim kept his mouth shut. Thank fuck.

“She’s been up all night planning everything,” Dick whispered. “Don’t wake her up.”

“I wasn’t trying to.”

“Just be quiet,” Jason said.

For two hours, they were silent. Not a bicker. Not a snort.

He angled his head just enough to watch her, see that softness on her cheeks, the ones he found himself spending hours upon hours every night that beautiful month they spent together, one that wasn’t supposed to mean much more than a fling but sorted into so many nights when he’d just stay in bed, keep himself up, and only would he realize what exactly he was doing when he’d unconsciously brush a strand of her hair behind her back, let his fingers linger onto the skin of her shoulder.

And when he had realized what he’d done, he’d turn over to the other side of the bed, force his eyes shut and pretend that didn’t just happen.

And he did the same thing right then. Look away. As much as it pained him. He turned over to the window and watched the fucking cows moo, when his brothers could so easily catch him in this sorry act. For two hours, he held back, all the way until they reached the hospital.

Tim:

He wanted to take a picture when he stepped out of the car, went over to her side, and knocked on the glass where her face was pressed up against. She blinked a few times, looked around. Tim waved at her and she sneered playfully when she stretched out her arms and stepped out of the car.

“Y/N. Not that you look horrible, but you should fix your hair.”

“Shut up.”

“I have coffee with me-“

The glare she gave him sent him trembling down his damn ankles. Tim gulped.

“I mean. They should have coffee here. In the waiting room.”

“How many cups?”

“Y/N.”

“Answer the question, Tim.”

The trucks started arriving. They’d gotten here first. Five of them lined up in the parking lot, and the moment they did, nurses started walking out the front door. It was smaller than he thought, the hospital. And he knew exactly what to expect. One from a small town that didn’t get much funding or equipment to even use. It was saddening.

“Just one, I swear.”

“You swear?”

“I swear.”

Tim pinched her cheek and she slapped his wrist. “You better.”

“I promise.”

They stuffed their hands into their pockets. Already, it was a chilly October. But that shouldn’t have been reason enough to have both Dick and Jason walk up to her side and stand next to them, watching the guys unload the trucks.

But he didn’t give so much care to that, not when he looked over to her side and could just feel her nerves buzzing, having to hold back either a smile or a terrified scream. She’d been waiting for this for too long, and the nights they spent planning, crossing out checklists and figuring out what to get, it had finally come to this day. This was her doing. All of it. And she should be proud.

He couldn’t help it. It wasn’t supposed to be about him. This day wasn’t supposed to be about any of them. So he could hold off the bickering, the sneering at either of his brothers, just for today. For her. It’s what she’d want.

And he couldn’t help it. He just had to.

He reached over to the pocket Y/N had her hand stuffed into and held it from inside. He didn’t take it out. It was big enough for both their hands and all the more was it warm, cozy, homely, when he started brushing his thumb against the back of it, the way he knew would calm her down at the worst times, no matter what it was they were up against.

When she’d turned to him, he thought she wanted to pull away, but the relief he got when she didn’t was more reward than any life he’d saved. Exaggerating as it could be.

Dick:

They held hands the whole time they strut up the hospital’s steps, as if it were that cold, as if it were at all necessary. Dick wanted to just step on the damned brake and tear their hands away, but they weren’t at the car anymore. They were standing, right in front of his fucking face, walking into the hospital doors hand in hand and not at all were they in a hurry. As if they had all the time to be lounging around. As if they were still together when they clearly weren’t. And there was nothing he could do about it.

But Dick couldn’t, didn’t, do so much as remark. And it shouldn’t have to bother him, not when it wasn’t anything he had to go through before. Seeing them hold hands. Hell, he’s seen them kiss even in times when they shouldn’t. He was used to this kind of torture. Years of it makes your skin all thick.

But what kind of demon did Tim have to sell his soul to, to be this close as friends, whatever the hell “just friends” meant to either of them, to be holding her hand and kissing her cheek and fucking sleeping next to her in bed as if they weren’t at all lovers for two years of their lives.

He shouldn’t be thinking about any of this at all when they were clearly in the middle of a charity operation.

But what kind of goat did Tim have to sacrifice to be in such good terms with her, to not have all have to be strained by the worst, thinning tension that hadn’t gone away since that day at the hillside, and have it all so soon after they broke up? When he had to spend so many months just to get where they were today, repairing what he’d so regrettably broken, and still not have the kind of closeness he could only hope to have with her?

Why couldn’t he be Tim?

Jason:

Snorting was one thing. But at that point, he just wanted to laugh his hair out. The fucking look on Grayson’s face. Priceless. Jason could have sworn his jaw would have popped right out of his head with the way he was gritting his teeth, watching Tim and Y/N hold hands up to the reception. And even then, he wouldn’t let go, not when Y/N had things to do.

He wanted so badly to pull out his phone and capture this beautiful moment. Not of Y/N having her hair fixed and smiling at the nurses. At fucking Dick Grayson mulling over Tim holding the hand of the girl he so desperately couldn’t have.

Of Tim keeping his hands on her despite it being a little over ten minutes since they’ve stepped into the building.

Of Tim whispering into her ear and the smile that followed right after.

Of Tim still rubbing the back of her palms as if it were even that cold.

Of Tim letting go of her hand, only to put his entire arm right around her fucking shou-

If a patient was walking around, and he hoped there was, he’d grab their fucking IV line and choke himself with it. His teeth were gritting. His fucking teeth were close to shattering.

Dick caught his eye with his eyebrow raised. Twenty seconds ago, Jason would have laughed at his face. Now, he was as silent as he was.

A line of doctors and nurses, all coming together at the reception and every one of them wanted to shake her hand. Not a camera in sight, not a single paparazzi to have to deal with. It was just them, the health workers, and the guys Y/N hired to unload the trucks. Not a lot of nurses though, with the mounds of supplies they had to bring to them and the patients he thought they’d be given to. And as exhausted as they looked, the sight of Y/N was like the first sighting of the sun after a yearlong solar eclipse.

Tim:

“Everything they need for hydrotherapy. Bandages. Tubs. Gloves. Everything on the list you sent us. It’s all there. I even got sanitizers,” Y/N said, and she handed over a checklist to the doctor. “Here’s the inventory for everything. But if you need anything more, we still have a few thousand for an allowance.”

Medical equipment. That was only half of the things she’d gotten the whole hospital. He couldn’t even keep his arm around her so tight when a nurse had come to steal her away, crying into her shoulder. She was an older woman, probably the head nurse, and she looked just as tired as the rest of them. And the way Y/N held her back, not letting the moment seep out her tears and instead let her smile brighten up the room just as it would to any room. Tim watched her. He watched her hug all the nurses so emotionally they couldn’t help but pull her in. At the doctors that were supposedly so tough, yet not tough enough to stop themselves from shaking her hand for the third time since they arrived. Not a single cent was to be paid, by either the patient or the hospital, for all the equipment she’d gotten them.

“The children wouldn’t be able to thank you enough.”

“Oh, they won't thank me for buying them syringes, trust me,” she laughed.

“They will. Oh, an angel you are.”

“Miss Y/N,” the doctor called to her. “The nursery will be ready for your first visit.”

“I can't wait.”

The look on her face was enough to humble the proudest achievers. And when she’d freed herself from other people’s arms, he held her hand again.

Dick:

This was her moment. Not his. Not fucking Tim or Jason’s. This was hers, the children’s, the hospital. It wasn’t the time for theatrics.

A few nights ago, she’d told him one of the reasons why she picked this hospital, and it wasn’t just because of the kids and the fire that happened in one of the schools not far from here. One of those times when he just really wanted to talk, to have those times back, and she ended up opening up to him, crying at that.

He remembered every word she said and remembered just how much more this day meant to her more than anything anyone else would have thought.

Dick saw one of the boxes arrive at the reception, the ones with the toys in them. And with Y/N busy talking, he went over to the box, pulled out his key, and tore out the tape. A pink unicorn was right at the top. Perfect.

“Y/N.”

The doctors had left, and they were meant to just wait around at the waiting room for the next hour until the nursery finishes up. “Yeah?”

Dick held up the unicorn up to his face, smiling, watching her smile back.

“You wanna go visit Sophie?”

The way she just lit up, at the same time crouch down with the nerves surging up her spine. Y/N took the unicorn from his hands.

“Should we?”

“I know you want to. And I think you should. She’d be delighted to see you again.”

Her fingers were busy with the unicorn’s ears, and the way she longingly stared at the pink fur, letting it touch the tips of her fingertips, the moment he saw her nod, he went straight to the reception to ask for Sophie’s room number.

Just a floor up.

Just the two of them, they went down the frightening white walls, past the rooms that wouldn’t let the beeping noises be so confined behind their shut doors and even more nurses frantically walking about. Up the steps, down to the left, to the hall with the big sign plastered onto the archway.

Pediatric Burn Unit.

Sophie Palvin’s name was written on the paper stuck to the plaque near one of the doors. It was unlocked, and when they stepped inside, it was just her adoptive grandfather there, sleeping on the couch.

He saw Y/N hold the unicorn even tighter beneath her fingers, and with a hand on her back, Dick led her to the bed’s side, to the empty chair beside it, but she didn’t sit. She just stood at the foot of the bed, holding onto her shirt just over her chest.

“Hey,” Dick said. “It’s okay.”

“God, she’s…” she caught her breath. “She doesn’t even look any better.”

It wasn’t something they can ignore, not when it was all over the poor girl’s face. Two years, it had been. And the complications just seemed to get even worse. Eight years old, and already she couldn’t have much of a life she should have had.

Dick reached over, held her hand. He wasn’t Tim. But she needed it. It wasn’t about Tim. It was her. And when she held it back without even thought, the first time in so many months, he didn’t even let it get to him. She needed it. Badly.

“She’s still asleep,” she breathed. “Can I go get some water?”

“I’ll get it for you.”

“No, Dick. I’ll get it.”

She needed to get it, to step away from this horribly depressing room and pull herself together before she wakes up. He got all that just from seeing the look on her face and how much he wanted to pull it against his chest.

“Okay.”

“You stay right here.”

She handed him the unicorn and went out of the room.

Jason:

“Jason?”

At the call of his name, the first thing his eyes darted off to was the clock up on the wall. Jason had been standing with his arm over the waiting room’s water cooler for five minutes now. He hadn’t moved or even realized that any of his brothers weren’t anywhere around him. And it took even longer to turn around, see that Y/N was right behind him, her face widened and startled at his reaction before he finally snapped back into place.

“S-sorry,” he coughed. “Where is everybody?”

“We just, uhm,” her thumb pointed behind her. “We went to visit someone.”

“Sophie?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“I knew where she got adopted. I just figured.”

“Ah,” she held her own hands and kept her attention to her fingers. “Could you, uh, scooch over?”

He still hadn’t moved away from the cooler.

“Sorry. You need water?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll get it for you.”

She thanked him, and when he handed her the plastic cup, she could feel her hands shaking. He thought not to bring it up, not when his own hands were shaking as well.

“You alright?” she asked.

“Yeah. You?”

“I guess.” She brought the cup up to her lips.

“Hospitals don’t do well for me.” His lips were stuttering and he didn’t even notice how he was blabbering at that point. “I haven’t exactly been to a birth or anything so when I come here it’s mostly bad news.”

“Oh,” she licked her lips. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” They sat on one of the benches and she went on with her cup as if it wasn’t already empty.

“It’s okay to be nervous.”

Her eyes were on the cup’s brim. “I know. I shouldn’t be. I just hope this is all enough.”

“It’s more than enough.”

So close. Jason was so close to just suddenly reaching for her hand. Thankfully, he didn’t.

“I know what it’s like to wake up in a place like this. And suddenly your life isn’t your life anymore,” she said. “It sticks to you, doesn’t it?”

Of course, it does. When he woke up in a hospital bed, what used to be rotting flesh suddenly flushed hot red, blood boiling like he was stored in a pot, and his eyes painfully pried open from being closed for so long. Three months treating the broken bones and wounds, and the doctors never believed how he could have possibly lived through any of that. He didn’t.

“Yeah.”

“We’d know.” She chortled. “That’s why I want this all to be enough. Kids shouldn’t have to go through that kind of trauma. And when they have to, at least it’ll be a bit better.”

Saying something wouldn’t be ideal. Anything at all. He should be none but ashamed.

And how ashamed he should be, to not do what she was doing, to think that what he did to deal with the thoughts was to… do what he does. It was his way to help. Or what he thought would help.

For not using his trauma to help the way she used hers. The most admiring way one could. It wasn’t his way, one that no one should look up to. Her way was something to make her the kind of woman any kid would look up to and someday hope to be.

“I’ll stay here,” Jason said. “I’ll call you when the nursery’s ready.”

Tim:

To not just suddenly run and pull her to his chest was something far too difficult to do, with every bit of the winds and breezes rushing about in the air around him so greatly pushed him the moment he saw her slowly making her way down the hall. She only got out to get water, it seems, but her lips were pale, hair still a mess, and her neck popping with veins with the way she was gritting her teeth. As she looked up, caught Tim’s eyes, everything around in the hospital seemed colder.

She reached the door. “Hey.”

“She’s awake.”

He could see her limbs stiffen, her lips hidden beneath the safety of her teeth, and when she let her eyes rest on the blankness of the doorknob.

She wouldn’t be able to turn that knob on her own, but she’ll have to. If it were him, Y/N will have to go in unprepared.

“Come.”

It surprised him, however, when she grabbed him by the wrist. He stopped any sort of resistance there was, even the rubber on his soles when he let himself be dragged over to the corner away from prying eyes. Y/N wasn’t crying, no. But she was scared.

Tim took to holding her shoulders, just to give her that little bit of warmth.

“I told myself I can take this,” she said. “I didn’t even know I’d be nervous.”

“And it’s okay that you feel that way…”

“I know it is.”

Her hands were stuck to her sides. She didn’t want to hold him. She wanted to be held.

“Sophie loves you.”

“I haven’t seen her in a year. I should have visited more often.”

“You wouldn’t have known she’d be back here.”

“I should have. Things were never any good for her. It’s a miracle she’s alive at all.”

His glance fell on a passing nurse, who looked at her, then at Tim, before she turned back to her clipboard and stepped into one of the rooms. The ambiance wasn’t of any help. The white. The chill. That horrible smell that just wouldn’t go away.

His hands fell from her shoulder to her hands, held them so tight he could feel her fingers grow numb.

“If her brother were alive, she’d be a lot better.”

“Y/N, just look at what you lost trying to save that boy.”

She didn’t want to look. And he probably shouldn’t have said that. But what was he going to let her do? Lose herself to that innate instinct of hers to save as much of the innocent, the children, to the point where she had to lose her damned leg?

Her eyes were no longer on him. Instead, they were on the blank floor, and the jealousy that stemmed from that urged him to grab her cheek and turn her to him.

“I just think it’s unfair… that I’m okay and she’s not.”

“She’ll be okay. She’s always been strong. Stronger than any of us.”

“She has…”

Sophie’s door opened. Dick peered out, saw them, then nodded for them to come in. The girl was looking for them. For her.

Dick:

The child’s eyes lit up, just how anyone’s eyes would, when she stepped into the now brightly lit room.

And anyone sane enough to have any sense at all would falter and tear up at the sight of her smile, the way she looked so dearly at the child, Sophie, who never would be able to look into the mirror, look past the scars and the burn marks and think of herself as a beautiful girl, even when she was, in fact, the most beautiful sight there was.

Sophie didn’t seem to know she was sick at all. She shot up from her bed, hands up and raised and Y/N wasted no time to have the girl snug in her arms, carrying her so close and having her face buried into Sophie’s hair.

Everything about it was so warm, so homely, something Dick would have thought had come out of the sights of heaven, or even the charity commercials to make you tear up. Nothing had ever been so enthralling than the sound of the little girl’s laughter and Y/N’s awful jokes that at that time sounded like the funniest shit he’s ever heard. She didn’t put the girl down, not once she was in her arms.

Much like the bright sun untainted by the mess of clouds, of the sky grim and dark or rainfall that had grown jealous of its reign. She was the sun. Not a sight could possibly be warmer, softer, and he wondered what changed in this world to look to others when this was the only thing they’d ever have to turn to and have that bit of hope everyone needed.

Jason came in. It was ready. Sophie couldn’t leave Y/N’s arms when they made their way out of the burn unit to the section right beside it. The one so newly built, and the star for today’s charities. Y/N’s greatest work, far more admirable than any painting, as unbelievable as it may seem.

The nursery was not opulent, overly impressive, or over the top in any way at all. In fact, it was small. But it was just the right size. And it wasn’t just for toddlers, but for any child even at Sophie’s age to enjoy, to give them that one glimpse of color in the otherwise chilling white of the hospital they’d never be able to escape to. Now, this was their escape. The money she raised from the auction had been traded in for toys, tables, chairs, puzzle mats, tablets, a castle fort, even more toys, and a large TV right at the center.

Thomas Palvin Memorial Nursery, it read on the plaque outside the door.

The boy she couldn’t save that dreadful day, the same day everything about her changed. Sophie’s brother.

Sophie whispered something into Y/N’s ear, and her eyes were on Dick. He looked at the child, then at Y/N.

She walked over to him with the child in her arms.

“Looks like someone has a crush on you.”

The best instance of flattery there could be. Dick smiled and he instinctively turned to the ground, but the handsome man already reached out for the girl and took her in his own arms.

And the way Y/N watched him, so lovingly and serene, he wished she never had to look away.

Jason:

Was this what the Grinch felt like, when his heart grew three sizes that day?

It was annoyingly heartwarming, the scene that took anyone’s breaths when they stepped into this little cocoon of fun and laughter and color to distract them from whenever the world couldn’t afford to hand out niceties, even for the children. So they wouldn’t have to be so haunted with the pain like she was, like Jason was.

She never was the best fighter. Never the best gymnast. Never the best at being Falcon and often had to function at Tim’s side just to have her own little contribution to the team.

But she did want to help, save lives, make the dreadful world a bit more of a bearable place. Y/N didn’t want to understand that this wasn’t the only way to help, at least at first. And it had to cost her a limb.

Now, she did understand that.

And she’s helped so much more, for the people who deserved help the most, than they ever could.

The kids were calm at first, but not even the nurse could stop them from running to whatever toy they could grab onto when they ran into the room. Screams of laughter, from children who haven’t laughed in so long, everything was just too beautiful to witness. And Jason never did look to things and immediately see the beauty that was always there.

And boy, did he know that fact, when his attention left the mounds of children that almost toppled him off his feet, and locked onto the smiling girl giving each of them a hug.

And he hadn’t looked away. If it were anything like in the car, he’d have watched her for another two hours.

Y/N took one of the chairs for the kids so she was standing at their level. The seat right beside her was empty. And it won't be if he doesn’t hurry.

Chest warm from something within him that wouldn’t stop beating around, Jason wanted so much to just walk right to that chair, sit next to her, be close enough to see that smile shine brighter and her hair’s scent that always threw him off the rails, but he couldn’t. Three children had already beat him to it, and right at that moment he stopped and remembered he was insane to have thought of it at all. They weren’t close. Not for the last several years. Not even now. Not like she was with Tim or even Dick. Just suddenly taking the seat next to her was far too out of the loop, especially for him.

But he can watch. So what if he gets caught?

Tim:

Dick was all the way over to the other table, teaching Sophie how to finger paint. Sophie, who had Y/N as her only companion recovering in the burn unit back in Gotham. Y/N, who sought at nothing to find that old man sitting fresh from his nap beside her hospital bed just to get her adopted, after the orphanage had burned down and her brother, her only family, gone beyond the then six-year-old’s understanding.

She never truly got over Sophie, even after two years. Now, it won't just be her. Every child flocked around her right then will remember Y/N.

Watching her from a distance, even when he was so used to watching her so closely, there was definitely something so magical seeing her from the eyes of others, when she stood far enough to see just how tiny that glint in her eyes could be yet still be seen despite it being so dark, how her smile changed the whole of her face from something admirable to one so breathtaking. No wonder his brothers who’d only had to see her from so far couldn’t help but get lost in the labyrinth that was her.

And he was, without a doubt, the luckiest to have been the one to see her up close so often, even after such history. He was the one who got to stay close and never be whisked away no matter how much had changed. Nothing could change when it came to her.

He can never take that for granted. Not anymore. Not like he did.

Dick:

The kids all turned to one of the walls, one that had been filled to the corners with paint, paint that could have only come from the hands of Y/N. Dick knew her technique well enough to recognize it amongst hundreds of other artists.

It was a scene of a beautiful lake, one that was far away from the confines of the hospital, and a small boy leaning over to fish from the water. To let them know that there is, in fact, a world out there and that being in the hospital doesn’t mean they’ll have to miss out on any of it.

Y/N never had to be a vigilante to help. That wasn’t meant to be who she was.

It was her paintings, her story, her heart.

It was all she ever had to do, and what difference had she made already, at such a young age.

“Your brother looks beautiful up in that wall, don’t you think?” Dick leaned over to Sophie beside him, whose missing teeth was the most heartfelt smile he’s ever seen.

“He does.”

He pretended to be so focused on what Sophie had to paint, but really, all anyone could ever look at was Y/N, who was now standing in the middle of the room playing some parlor game with the children who couldn’t get enough of her, and Dick couldn’t blame them.

Jason:

Of course, out of all the kids swarming around the room without much care at all of the fact that they were sickly or weak, it was that one child at the far corner that caught his attention. One with a dark hoodie over his head and a face no one could quite see.

Jason was standing right next to the table, arms guarding his chest, and he took that as a distraction just to steer his attention away from Y/N and the kids.

The boy looked up at him as well, then down, probably intimidated at his large size. Jason wasn’t exactly one so easily approached, so he took the chair right beside him and looked over at the book he had his face buried into.

Half his face, now he could see, was burned off. It covered the whole of his left eye, and it seemed his hoodie covered the part of his head that had burnt off as well. The kid couldn’t have been any older than nine. He wasn’t thin. In fact, he was quite chubby. And the look he had on his face, with a permanent frown that just wouldn’t go away, Jason wanted to snicker at how this must have been what he looked like at that age. Angry and cynical.

“What are you reading?”

He was shy, and all he gave Jason was a shrug of his shoulder. Probably thought it was a stupid question, since Jason could very clearly see what he was reading. Some science book, it seems. If it were a classic, they’d actually have something to talk about.

But Jason just thought to stay there, be with the kid that so obviously didn’t want to be with anybody else. He didn’t send him away, nor did he show any discomforting signs that would have otherwise driven him away, so just sat there.

Y/N was singing with the kids now. Her voice was horrible. She couldn’t carry a tune to save her loved ones. It made him laugh.

“I’m too old to be in here.”

Jason snorted. Maybe the kid was ten.

“You’re going to love this place, I promise you. Y/N over there made sure of it.”

The boy looked up from his book then joined Jason in watching you.

“She your girlfriend?”

Was this kid eleven?

“She… She’s not… I mean she was… kinda… Not…” he scoffed. “It’s complicated, kid.”

“Is it?”

Yeah. This kid was twelve years old. That, or he was just as good at paying attention to detail as Jason was. Impressive.

His girlfriend. Could he imagine? Never has he called anyone that, or even settled on whatever label there was with anyone he’d had some sort of engagement with. That was all it ever had been. Engagements. Flings. Happenings.

Girlfriend.

Calling someone that would be something.

Something great, now that he thought of it.

Inevitably, without even his notice, he had his eyes on her cheekbones that looked like it hurt from how much she smiled, and when Y/N picked up the smallest child in the pack, he knew it was done for.

It was all over.

He had fallen in.

“Is she your girlfriend or what?”

It was just a kid of twelve, and Jason might never see him again anyway.

He’ll enjoy himself with this, have this kind of happiness he never even sought out until now. Even if it weren’t true, he wanted it to be.

Jason smiled.

“Yeah…”

Tim:

The smallest child, a young boy who looked at her with so much wonder and hope. It had only been an hour since the room opened, and already the once drowned spirits had been so heavily lifted, only by the strength of one woman. She always did love children, always took the chance to save every one she came across and even with themselves so young, when they were children as well, she said to have loved them so much she was determined to have a dozen.

He opposed, of course. Tim would have a couple tops. A couple wasn’t enough for her, apparently, and it became one of the most stupid arguments they had that he often liked to look back to when he needed those pleasant memories to stay afoot. She wouldn’t want a dozen anymore, of course.

But if she wished that now, to him, he’d say yes.

If this was what it meant, if this was the beautiful sight he’d wake up to everyday and see, Y/N carrying a beautiful child and a smile nothing else would have ever emulated, a dozen children it is. She’s never looked so happy in so long, not after years of what she had to go through.

A life with her, with this kind of happiness, and a family to look forward to.

And it’ll have to be nothing more than a dream. Not after what he’d done. Not after forgetting just how much of a treasure he once had that he so easily let go of.

It had haunted him for years, and it will haunt him forever, that he ever left her so hurting when he could have stayed, and he could have given her the family she always wanted. Maybe even by now.

Dick:

It was stupid of him to have ever thought of being with another, to have ever thought that the kind of contentment and warmth Y/N could give him could ever be present in another’s arms. He never, ever, should have thought that it would have been okay if it didn’t go the way he always dreamed of. That all this, this sight before him, one he promises to never forget, could ever happen again in the room where Y/N wasn’t around at all. Because it was impossible. This could never happen if it weren’t Y/N. It wasn’t because of the sun so kind of the air so cool. It was her and her smile, her laughter, her horrible singing and her awful jokes. The kids and their screams, their arms up and about, asking to be carried by her and only her.

This wasn’t something he could ever just forget. This was sight no camera could remember.

But he didn’t even trust his mind enough to know that. It was good to have a backup, something to look back to outside of what stuck to his head.

Dick pulled out his phone and snapped one, two, ten pictures of her. In every single one of them, she looked beautiful.

Jason:

He shouldn’t at all be staring this much. It wasn’t healthy. It was stupid. It was delusional. It was the amount of staring the kind of morons his brothers would do that he so often laughed at. But whatever the hell was that kind of force that he just couldn’t fight against, it was a lot stronger than him, than he ever could be. No brute force or taunt could go up against Y/N.

And already, that lie that Y/N was ever even his, even at just one point of his life, blatantly admitting to her being his girlfriend even if it were a mile away from being true, it got to him like a fucking reptile’s hold in the edge of a swamp. He was shaking. Was he shaking? He didn’t even know anymore. He just wanted this to be over with.

No, he didn’t want this to be over with.

How often does he even get to see her this pretty? Was she always this pretty?

Today. Just for today.

He’ll let himself take his look. Just for today.

Tim:

It was funny at this point, at the realization that one wouldn’t notice her at the first look.

Y/N had to be his best friend for years and it took him far too long to fall in, to realize her beauty.

She wasn’t the sort that would turn the heads of so many around her, one that would reel in a modelling deal just from a stroll down the street or even a face in a pile of hundreds that you’d so easily pick out. She wasn’t one to stun or amaze or leave you frozen in awe at first glance.

She was the kind of girl Tim would see at a coffee shop, reading a book as she settles herself in next to the glass of the window, of either rain or snowfall cooling her skin, a girl that he’d glance at once and think nothing of, only to take the second look when she leaves. And he’d see her everyday for so long as he visited that same coffee shop, and by the end of those days, without so much as a word out of her, he’d think, shit, he’s in love.

Dick:

She was miles away from the likes of who he used to date. And, ironically, she was the only one he actually stuck to and never forgot. One he’d thought of endlessly when not at all was he exaggeratingly thrown off his feet or got his breath stolen or even hit in the head with a metaphorical bat. At least, not at first. Not until you’ve been staring at her for so long.

She wasn’t the girl he’d meet in any case out of the ordinary.

She was the girl he would’ve been lifelong friends with since the day they were born, one he’d be so grossed out and disgusted with at the thought of her as pretty or anything more than a friend, the kind he once used to run away from because of cooties and suddenly, they decide to go to prom together and he sees her descend from the up the stairs of her childhood home he’s also grown up in, and only then, as he looks at her for the first time, he’d realize she was the most beautiful girl he’s ever laid eyes on.

Even if Dick wasn’t that lifelong friend, even if he wasn’t her best friend, he just knew that was what it felt like.

Jason:

He didn’t even of her that way, even after she broke up with Tim. Not once. Not for a long time.

But that might be what it tends to be, with the girl she is and how anyone could think when they meet her.

He might think of her as someone he’d see reaching for a book in the section of the library he frequents, a girl he’s never seen before. And he’d ignore her for a while until she’d be the one to converse about the book he’d picked out, and they’d talk about it for a few minutes, him wanting to get out of it as soon as he started talking. And he’d be relieved to be out of that forced socialization until she inevitably leaves the building, with him on his seat until the library closes and she never comes back.

And even then, when he comes home alone in the apartment, would he think nothing much about it but never forget to recall that one time a girl talked to him in the library, as uninteresting as it may be.

Then, a week, two weeks later, he still hasn’t forgotten about it.

A month into that, and he comes back to the library subconsciously trying to look for her, only to fail at her absence. Only then would he wish he’d have asked for her number when he had the chance.

Tim:

Her smile was too bright, and her hair was falling to her face and it had to take one of the kids to reach up and brush it away from her cheek. He wanted to do that himself.

Dick:

Her arms must have been hurting by now, with the kids fighting over who gets to be carried around. It wasn’t so obvious, however, with the sun so perfectly hitting her face and her hair and everything about her.

Jason:

She looked so perfect. So happy. So genuine. Everything about her was real. That had always been her appeal. She was real. She was here. And she was beautiful.

Tim:

Her voice never sounded so sweet.

Dick:

Her hair was in this perfect mess no one would otherwise fix.

Jason:

Her eyes could only ever see the light, even after seeing so much darkness.

Tim:

The kids started painting her face. She just let them. Her smile wasn’t something anyone could easily forget.

Dick:

The colors on her cheeks, as silly as they looked, could make even the cynical, diabolical villain turn just an inch closer to the light.

Jason:

He choked when Y/N turned over at him and smiled.

He loved her.

Of course, he loved her.

Tim:

He never did stop loving her. Not after they broke up. Not for a second. Not even when he thought he did.

Dick:

He couldn’t stop loving her if he tried. And he tried. Really hard. He didn’t want to fall in love but here he was. In love.

Jason:

Eventually, the hours passed, as they inevitably do. And the sighs and cries of the children in a swarm were no different from his, who never would have thought he wanted more out of this day than he even thought.

Tim:

Y/N never missed even one kid in the room, giving all of them a hug and some a kiss. These kids who haven’t laughed so much in so long, all couldn’t leave without the widest grins on their beautiful faces.

Dick:

When she said goodbye, and the sun settled below the ground, even the nurses wanted to weep. Hell, he wanted to weep. It was a wonderful day. And every step she graced, no one will be able to forget.

Jason:

It was a painstakingly delightful day, one he thought he’d dread, and ended up not dreading at all. Not even when he thought he’d so badly want to go home; he didn’t even think about the late hours and how they’ll have to leave before the sun sets if they wanted a safer drive. That didn’t do so much as cross his mind, and to that, he needed a smoke.

The day was over. And his promises he’ll have to comply. All the happiness and singing and the staring will have to stop, even that confession to himself won't be something he hoped would last.

But promises prove to be empty when the moment he’d settled on staying strong, immediately he gave in when from the corner outside the hospital building, just a few feet away from the entrance where he opted to stand alone, Y/N came along and peaked over with her arms pressed up against her body to shield herself from the chill.

It wasn’t that cold. He was fine. Whatever fine was, when he immediately took to throwing the cigarette butt onto the ground and stepping on it with his heel.

“It’s fine-“

“Too late,” he coughed. “You tired?”

“Very.”

She had her face washed out with whatever soap they had in their bathrooms, scrubbed off to rid itself from the paint she let the children splatter all over her hair. A bit of green was still stuck to her roots. It took so much of his urges to stop himself from picking it off.

It was dark, silent, and so peaceful.

And maybe she saw that same kind of peace in him that he saw in her, when he laid back against the cement fence he was standing against, not close enough to touch his clothes but enough for him to bask into her heat.

It would be wrong not to be so hopeful. She did want to choose him, at one point, and he was stupid enough to turn her down.

But Jason knew he didn’t have her heart to its fullness the way she had his.

And, to be honest to himself and everyone who spectates, he was far too late into this little fiasco of theirs, when already she had Dick and Tim long before he even came into the picture. If he were to insert himself into this narrative, it was far, far too late.

He loved her too late.

Perhaps, there could be a chance he wasn’t.

And maybe it wasn’t his choice to make.

It was always hers.

“Thank you for coming along,” she said, and the winds blew a bit of her hair and he could feel it tickle his shoulder, even with his clothes on. “I’m glad I convinced you.”

Jason was wrong.

This was the moment of today he didn’t want to forget.

Just her. Alone with him. Under the calming night sky where the stars littered about where it wouldn’t reach the city. It wasn’t so often he got to have that.

“I am, too.”

It lasted a lot longer than he thought, and a lot sooner than he’d hoped. He only had so much time with her.

But it was all the more fulfilling, even when it was far from enough.

Dick:

His brothers were asleep over at the back. Everyone was exhausted.

Her especially.

But that didn’t stop her from never missing a second of watching the views of the countryside, this time at night, flashing about like fast moving pictures before her behind the glass. She was tired, he could see, but she wouldn’t let herself fall asleep.

He’ll take her out again. Soon enough.

It wasn’t so easy to mend their relationship after the damage he’d done, not like Tim, but it was even more rewarding each time he made her laugh, or even just witness that glint in her eye when she sees the stars or the mountains or the wonders of the world she doesn’t so often see.

“Hey,” he coughed. “Talk to me. I’m close to passing out here.”

“Don’t you dare.”

She stopped looking out the window and looked to the windshield onwards. He had so much to say, so much to pour out. There might never be anything at all to explain what he wanted to tell her, thank her, first of all, for how well things have been going.

Thank her, most of all, for being the most wonderful human being she was.

“You really are amazing,” he started. It was a first. “What you're doing… I don’t think even Bruce has done anything like it.”

He heard her snort. “Bruce has donated millions to-“

“He doesn’t actually visit the sites, or visit the children, or the victims, or even talk to these people. He just hands them a check. You. You’re something else. You show up and actually become the beacon of hope for these kids. It’s what they really need.”

All it made her do was laugh. “I’m not that-“

“I haven’t seen anything like that since Diana.”

“Are you actually comparing me to fucking Wonder Woman?”

Her disbelief, it wasn’t at all from humility. Because she was right. She wasn’t Wonder Woman.

“No,” Dick said. “Diana Spencer.”

Princess of Wales. The People’s Princess.

The woman who wouldn’t let a child go on without having them in her arms, especially when she knew they needed it.

Y/N didn’t want to get into that, but if she’d asked him, he would have told her why he thought that way.

Y/N was too real. Someone you’d look at and actually believe was in front of you, someone so believable yet still so beautiful.

“Thank you.”

It was dangerous to look away from the road, but he couldn’t help it. Dick glanced over at her just to catch the way she was smiling at her right then.

“Dick…” she sighed.

“Hmm?”

“My leg’s pretty tired now…”

Oh. Of course. She’d been walking all day. She’s not supposed to be up all day.

“Do you mind if I-“

“Please. Not at all.”

“Thanks.”

It wasn’t at all weird, even with it being a first for him.

But had he really succeeded then? To fix what he’d so horribly broken? Did the strain come to relax? And had all else been forgiven?

Y/N took off her prosthetic and sighed, let her back rest onto the seat and she closed her eyes.

Then, as if the words hadn’t already choked him into silence, she reached over and held his hand.

Dick held it tight, even with her asleep, and never for a second did he let it go.

Tim:

He’d been awake for a while, but it was only until they reached her apartment when she sat up from lying on her seat, which she hadn’t even reclined, otherwise he would have choked to death with the limiting space he already had.

Which pushed him further to insist he go walk her to her door. It wasn’t too far off, but they had to cross the street. Tim and Y/N stepped out the door and she waved goodbye to his two brothers from outside the window.

Today wasn’t one he’d ever forget, not even if he’d try. To remember her face, the children, the cries of laughter at each time she spoke, he should have taken more pictures. What he had, or rather, what he saw Dick had taken that he’d ask for when they go home, surely wouldn’t be enough. It was well into the night, late and a bit chilly in the midst of October. Y/N looked tired, though there was that smidge of contentment that glowed at each pull of a smile, especially when they stood under the lamppost just outside her apartment door.

“Thank you so much, Tim,” she went on. “You deserve so much more credit.”

“No. I don’t. This was all your doing.”

And nothing she says can change that.

“Yeah, but you dealt with the paperwork and the checks and everything-“

“All the money was yours. I never had to pull out a cent.”

“Still,” she shrugged. “I wouldn’t have done any of this without you.”

Her face.

Loving her will always be the best decision anyone could ever make, if it was at all a decision in the first place. It surely wasn’t a choice of his. It wasn’t something so sudden at all. It was from years and months of gradual development that made it so hard to climb out of. His best friend. One he fell so hard for and thought would have never felt the same.

But should he tell her the truth now? That he’d always loved her and never stopped? Even when he told her, and himself, that he did? Would it to be right to make yet another confession and possibly break what they had now? For good?

No risk could match her worth. His own happiness wouldn’t match her worth.

He was lucky, then, that she made him happy anyway.

“I stole this.”

A teddy bear with a red bow. He pulled it out from his hoodie. “I hope the kids won't mind.”

And that was the last of her smile that he’d see for that day, and he let himself believe it was the brightest, most beautiful one just yet. She took the toy, lovingly stared at it while her finger brushed over the bow.

Then she hugged him so tightly around his neck. He couldn’t bear not to hug her back for even a second too late.

“I love you, Tim.”

Eyes shut, and the tug at his heart that will forever haunt him of his mistakes.

It hurt, more than anything, that he was sure she said it much too lightly for it to mean the way he wanted her to mean it.

Best friend. That was who he was.

He shouldn’t think so much of it. He can’t cause himself any more lingering thoughts.

He was her best friend.

That, he will always be. No matter the cost.

“I love you, too.”

When she disappeared into the door, it took him a while before that hurt morphed into a smile, and the happenings of today turn into nothing more than sheer memories.

Click.

Shift.

Thud.

Like the parade had settled and in came the storm.

It was just laughable at that point, how differently the air shifted the moment he walked back into that car and not a word was spoken. Not by any of them.

Dick.

Jason.

And Tim.

Dick had his eyes on the windshield. Jason out the window, hand over his lips.

Tim settled on the passenger seat next to Dick, and even he knew not to turn and look at any of them in the eye.

None of them had to.

It was so silent, it was haunting. They should be terrified of each other, knowing what they were all capable of. But all it was, was laughable.

It was laughable, how three brothers who knew each other well enough, too well, far too well, to possibly ignore what just happened over the course of just one day.

Not a smile, a word, a remark, or even a nod.

For a moment, Dick twitched his jaw. It must have hurt from all that gritting.

And Jason. For fuck’s sake. His hand should have been a goner by now with how much he clenched his fists.

They all wanted to speak up.

But oh, they didn’t have to at all. They didn’t even have to look at each other.

Not when they had been since dawn that day. Watched each other, knew exactly what the other thought.

Tim was first to turn to Dick.

Dick’s face was blank, and he eyed Tim like he was just so uninteresting.

Then they both turned back at Jason, who’d already had his brows raised at them both.

Jason shook his head and looked back out the glass. It was starting to rain.

It didn’t take long for Dick to start up the car and drive away.

He knew, they all knew, that all this will have to be settled. This strain. This obvious. The elephant they had long ignored and never confronted.

It was too hard to ignore now.

And when they don’t, it won't be pretty.

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MASTERLIST | 3 BIRDS 1 STONE MASTERLIST

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A/N: I’LL TAKE THIS AS A CHANCE TO DISCLOSE THE FUTURE FOR THE SERIES. 3 BIRDS 1 STONE WILL END AFTER 15 CHAPTERS, WITH THE LAST TWO BEING THE PRE-FINALE AND THE FINALE TO BE POSTED 24 HOURS APART. I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT SO FAR. HERE’S TO FINISHING THIS THING.

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#dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #dick grayson x reader #jason todd x reader #tim drake x reader #batboys x reader #batboys #batfamily #bruce wayne #damian wayne #nightwing #red hood #red robin #3 birds 1 stone #3 birds 1 stone series #batarella #batarella series

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thebonggirll · 3 years

Text

chapter sixteen

< previous: chapter fifteen

A Coast Guard boat picked them up, but they were too busy to keep the kids for long, or to wonder how three kids in street clothes had gotten out into the middle of the bay. There was a disaster to mop up. Their radios were jammed with distress calls.

They dropped the demigods off at the Santa Monica Pier with towels around their shoulders and water bottles that said I'M A JUNIOR COAST GUARD! and sped off to save more people.

Their clothes were sopping wet. When the Coast Guard boat had appeared, Percy'd silently prayed they wouldn't pick him out of the water and find him perfectly dry, which might've raised some eyebrows. So he'd willed himself to get soaked. Sure enough, his usual waterproof magic had abandoned him. He was also barefoot, because he'd given his shoes to Grover. Better the Coast Guard wondered why one of them was barefoot than wonder why one had hooves.

After reaching dry land, they stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. It felt as if they'd just come back from the dead-which they ACTUALLY had. Percy's backpack was heavy with Zeus's master bolt. His heart was even heavier from seeing his mother.

"I don't believe it," Annabeth said. "We went all that way-"

"It was a trick," Percy said. "A strategy worthy of Athena."

"Hey," she warned.

"You get it, don't you?"

She dropped her eyes, her anger fading. "Yeah. I get it."

"Well, I don't!" Grover complained. "Would somebody-"

"Percy ..." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry about your mother. I'm so sorry...."

"The prophecy was right," Percy said. "You shall go west and face the god who has turned.' But it wasn't Hades. Hades didn't want war among the Big Three. Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt, and Hades's helm, and framed me because I'm Poseidon's kid. Poseidon will get blamed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And I'll have caused it."

Grover shook his head, mystified. "But who would be that sneaky? Who would want war that bad?"

Percy stopped in my tracks, looking down the beach. "Gee, let me think."

"...It isn't him. There's a spy in camp," Y/N said looking forward, "I can feel it in my gut."

And there he was, waiting for them, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. His motorcycle rumbled beside him, its headlight turning the sand red.

"Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see Percy. "You were supposed to die."

"You tricked me," he said. "You stole the helm and the master bolt."

Ares grinned. "Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power-that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."

"Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice."

The idea seemed to amuse him. "Doesn't matter. The point is, kid, you're impeding the war effort. See, you've got to die in the Underworld. Then Old Seaweed will be mad at Hades for killing you. Corpse Breath will have Zeus's master bolt, so Zeus'll be mad at him. And Hades is still looking for this ..."

Y/N thought about it when they continued talking to each other. That's right, who would it be? It wouldn't be Clarisse for sure because she might be good at fighting but strategies and making a plan work? A plan kept from everyone else? No, she would need help in that. It wasn't her. It's someone else. She tried her best not to think about the one person she admired a lot but she couldn't help it. There's a high chance that it's from a certain person who gifted them with a pair of flying shoes.

From his pocket Ares took out a ski cap-the kind bank robbers wear-and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet.

"The helm of darkness," Grover gasped.

"Exactly," Ares said. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn't know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going."

"But they're your family!" Annabeth protested.

Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say."

"You gave me the backpack in Denver," Percy said. "The master bolt was in there the whole time."

"Yes and no," Ares said. "It's probably too complicated for your little mortal brain to follow, but the backpack is the master bolt's sheath, just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, sort of like that sword you got, kid. It always returns to your pocket, right?"

Percy wasn't sure how Ares knew about that, but a god of war had to make it his business to know about weapons, right?

"Anyway," Ares continued, "I tinkered with the magic a bit, so the bolt would only return to the sheath once you reached the Underworld. You get close to Hades.... Bingo, you got mail. If you died along the way-no loss. I still had the weapon."

"But why not just keep the master bolt for yourself?" he asked. "Why send it to Hades?"

Ares got a twitch in his jaw. For a moment, it was almost as if he were listening to another voice, deep inside his head. "Why didn't I ... yeah ... with that kind of firepower ..."

He held the trance for one second ... two seconds.... Percy exchanged nervous looks with Annabeth.

Ares's face cleared. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught red-handed, holding the thing."

"You're lying," he said. "Sending the bolt to the Underworld wasn't your idea, was it?"

"Of course it was!" Smoke drifted up from his sunglasses, as if they were about to catch fire.

"You didn't order the theft," Percy guessed. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go. You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. That thing in the pit is ordering you around."

"I am the god of war! I take orders from no one! I don't have dreams!"

"Who said anything about dreams?"

Ares looked agitated, but he tried to cover it with a smirk.

"Let's get back to the problem at hand, kid. You're alive. I can't have you taking that bolt to Olympus. You just might get those hardheaded idiots to listen to you. So I've got to kill you. Nothing personal."

He snapped his fingers. The sand exploded at his feet and out charged a wild boar, even larger and uglier than the one whose head hung above the door of cabin seven at Camp Half-Blood. The beast pawed the sand, glaring at him with beady eyes as it lowered its razor-sharp tusks and waited for the command to kill.

Percy stepped into the surf. "Fight me yourself, Ares."

He laughed, but Percy heard a little edge to his laughter ... an uneasiness. "You've only got one talent, kid, running away. You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don't have what it takes."

"Scared?"

"In your adolescent dreams." But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes. "No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You're not at my level."

Annabeth said, "Percy, run!"

As the boar rushed towards him, Percy uncapped his pen and sidestepped. Riptide appeared in his hands. He slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at his feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.

He shouted, "Wave!"

Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.

He turned back to Ares. "Are you going to fight me now?" Percy asked. "Or are you going to hide behind another pet?"

Ares's face was purple with rage. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into-"

"A cockroach," I said. "Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I'm sure. That'd save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn't it?"

Flames danced along the top of his glasses. "Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot."

"If I lose, turn me into anything you want. Take the bolt. If I win, the helm and the bolt are mine and you have to go away."

"What are you saying?" Y/N said, panicking.

Ares sneered.

He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?"

Percy showed him his sword.

"That's cool, dead boy," Ares said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.

"Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."

"He's a coward," he told her.

She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck."

She took off her necklace, with her five years' worth of camp beads and the ring from her father, and tied it around his neck.

"Reconciliation," she said. "Athena and Poseidon together."

Percy face felt a little warm, but he managed a smile. "Thanks."

"And take this," Grover said. He handed him a flattened tin can that he'd probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles. "The satyrs stand behind you."

"Grover ... I don't know what to say."

He patted him on the shoulder. He stuffed the tin can in his back pocket.

Y/N silently walked to him and looked at his face. She took his hand and held it for a moment. She was checking on his health and his heart...was racing. "Look, I don't have anything but.." she took off her necklace that Harris offered her, "I'm sure they would all stand by you." She tied it around his neck and said, "Come back in one piece and you'll get to hear me sing."

Percy's face brightened momentarily. His heart started calming down. "Thank you, Y/N...for always being there. I know we just met but I mean it."

"You all done saying good-bye?" Ares came toward him, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. "I've been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. What have you got?"

Police cars were burning behind them. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth, Y/N and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching the water flood back around Ares's feet, his glowing golden ichor dissipating in the tide.

Ares lowered his sword.

"You have made an enemy, godling," he told me. "You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware."

His body began to glow.

'''Percy!" Annabeth shouted. "Don't watch!"

He turned away as the god Ares revealed his true immortal form.

The light died.

When he looked back. Ares was gone. The tide rolled out to reveal Hades's bronze helm of darkness. Percy picked it up and walked toward his friends.

But before he got there, he heard the flapping of leathery wings. Three evil-looking grandmothers with lace hats and fiery whips drifted down from the sky and landed in front of them.

The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward. Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn't look threatening. She looked more disappointed, as if she'd been planning to have him for supper, but had decided he might give her indigestion.

"We saw the whole thing," she hissed. "So ... it truly was not you?"

Percy tossed her the helmet, which she caught in surprise. "Return that to Lord Hades," he said. "Tell him the truth. Tell him to call off the war."

She hesitated, then ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips. "Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again ..."

She cackled, savoring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats' wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared.

"That's a weird way to say I wish you growth and flourishment in life," Y/N chuckled.

They were all staring at Percy in amazement.

"Percy ..." Grover said. "That was so incredibly ..."

"Terrifying," said Annabeth.

"Cool!" Grover corrected.

Percy didn't feel terrified. He certainly didn't feel cool. He was tired and sore and completely drained of energy. "Did you guys feel that... whatever it was?" He asked.

They nodded uneasily. "Must've been the Furies overhead," Grover said.

But Percy wasn't so sure. Something had stopped Ares from killing him, and whatever could do that was a lot stronger than the Furies. He looked at Annabeth, and an understanding passed between them. Percy knew now what was in that pit, what had spoken from the entrance of Tartarus.

He reclaimed his backpack from Grover and looked inside. The master bolt was still there. Such a small thing to almost cause World War III.

"We have to get back to New York," he said. "By tonight."

"That's impossible," Annabeth said, "unless we-"

"Fly," he agreed.

She stared at him. "Fly, like, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, and carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?"

"Yeah," he said. "Pretty much exactly like that. Come on."

"Word travels fast, and I think the gods know by know what went on," Y/N said.

Percy turned to her and smiled weakly, handing her back the necklace, "Don't forget your promise."

"I won't," Y/N said wearing it, "But for now, give me your hand."

"Wh-what?" Percy blushed a bit, looking momentarily at Annabeth's direction. He didn't want her to misunderstand whatever Y/N was planning on. Annabeth on the other hand was looking at her best friend with a smile, but...a concerning smile.

"I'm not taking it fully, it will be evenly distributed. Don't worry," Y/N said, smiling at Annabeth. She knew that she would be worried for her. Grover didn't have much idea of how far Y/N has learned but Annabeth did.

"Can you tell me what you guys are talking about?"

"Geez calm down Percy," Y/N chuckled, "I'm not asking for your hand in marriage."

Percy blushed and quickly held out his hand. Y/N took it for a moment and stayed quiet. She checked on his organs and it was all fine. He was okay, but his energy was...low. She smiled and closed her eyes.

He could feel something at that moment. Like a connection has formed, and he felt light...a bit better and stronger than before. Ofcourse, he still felt tired but it was a lot less now.

Y/N opened her eyes and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Better. Thanks,"

He tried removing his hand but she gripped it tight and said, "We are gonna have to walk like this till we reach Olympus." He looked at his friend, who was looking away at Grover. He gripped her hand with a smile and saw a blush form on her face. Grover had a strange look on his face. If it was some other time, he would've never thought of holding her hand and smile, but he was too tired to think about that. He just thought about how he wanted to protect her, and he did.

"Uh...and in the mean time I...will sing to you," Y/N said quickly, "We should go."

"I was promised a solo performance," Percy said, chuckling.

"Not really," she smirked, "I said you can hear me sing. I didn't say it was going to be solo."

Suddenly, Percy felt his mood dip down for a moment. But then he decided that there was going to be time left for that argument.

"Come on grandpa," Y/N laughed, "Stop being grumpy. The police are walking at us. I guess there's a bigger audience now."

next: chapter seventeen >

book one: the lightning thief

percy jackson x reader series

MASTERLIST

Tags: @the-natureofme @jumpingtrainsandflyingskies @idk-bye-no

#percy jackson x reader #percy jackson #percy and annabeth #percabeth #percy jackson and the lightning thief #percy x annabeth #annabeth pjo #annabeth chase #annabeth x luke #pjo #pjoverse #pjo apollo

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misslilli · 3 years

Text

Thank you guys, for going on this adventure with me 🥰 I'm having such a blast reading your comments!

Felix Felicis

MSR. AU. PG-13. | tagging @today-in-fic | AO3

Chapter 13 - Fantastic Mulders And Where To Find Them

[ DS ]

“Well, little lady, you’re pretty young and inexperienced, you’ll learn to distinguish when it’s appropriate to call in parents and when it’s clearly not necessary.” Stunned, I stare at the father of a girl in my class sitting across from me, trying to control my flaring temper. ‘What a misogynistic, condescending asshole!’

“I can assure you, sir, when a child comes to me with a concerning story from home, I will always want to clear it up with the parents. Now that we’ve cleared it up, I think we’re done here. Thank you for coming.” I get up and hold out my hand, hoping to end this nightmare of a conversation on a positive note.

Once he left, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, anger boiling in the pit of my stomach. There’s not much that I hate more than being belittled and I yank my book bag off my table angrily, spilling the cup of pencils in the process, scattering them everywhere. I want to scream. Okay, now I’m Pissed. Royally.

I pick up the pencils and shove them back into the cup before turning off the lights and leaving for today. As I head outside, I notice a small gathering of women down the front steps and they’re giggling and laughing at something Fox Mulder had said. At the sight of him, my heart skips a few beats. ‘Oh that’s just great. I’ll keep my head down and walk by quickly, I’m in no mood to be dragged into a conversation with the PTA brigade.’

I try to pass them by inconspicuously, walking briskly down the stairs and keeping my head down, but I’m stopped with a hand on my arm and a “Miss Scully, do you have a moment?” I turn to him trying to hide my exasperation. ‘Ugh, why do you have to be so damn handsome. And please, get your hand off my arm before I burst into flames. Victim: Dana Scully, cause of death: Spontaneous human combustion from being touched by Fox Freakin’ Mulder. Try and put that on a headstone.’

My mask of professionalism only slips for a brief moment, though, and I smooth out the frown on my face. “Yes, Mr. Mulder?” ‘Why is your hand still there? And why is it so hot all of a sudden, it’s freakin’ September.’

“I was hoping you could give me another opinion on something.” He leans into my personal space conspiratorially and I raise my eyebrow in a silent question. ‘Mmmh he smells really good too. Why, God, why? Ugh, that low tone of voice is driving me insane.’

“Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?” The women around me giggle and I blink at him slowly. ‘What the fuck kind of question is that?’ I draw myself up to full height - don’t you dare laugh - thankful that I wore my heels today and gather the few braincells I have left that are not occupied with wondering how that broad chest would feel under my fingers.

“Logically, I would have to say No. Given the distances needed to travel from the far reaches of space, the energy requirements would exceed a spacecraft’s capabilities.” I can tell that my answer somewhat surprises him but he’s not done yet.

“But there are obviously unexplained phenomena out there, now when convention and science offer us no answers might we not finally turn to the fantastic as a plausibility?”

‘What I find fantastic is your ass in those jeans…’. “What I find fantastic is any notion that there are answers beyond the realm of science. The answers are there, you just have to know where to look!” The other moms watch our argument as if they’re watching a tennis game.

He flashes me a wry grin. “That’s why they put the ‘I’ in FBI.” ‘Huh, so he’s with the Feds? I wonder where he keeps his gun. Well, I know where I’d check first but… Okay that’s enough. I wonder how many Hail Mary’s Father George will make me say for what’s going on inside my head.

Felix comes running down the stairs at this moment and wraps his arms around his dad’s legs. “Well thank you for this fantastic point of view, I’ll see you tomorrow ladies. Miss Scully.” He tips his imaginary hat to us and walks Felix back to the car. The little boy turns and waves at me, briefly. I smile and wave back.

My mood has miraculously improved during this odd bit of conversation and I bid the PTA moms goodbye as well, walking over to my bike to head home.

----------

[Felix]

“Hey dad, what did you and Miss Scully talk about back there?” I need to know. Please don’t let it be something embarrassing. Dad smiles at me in the rear view mirror.

“I asked her if she believed in aliens!”

“Noooo DAD, please tell me you didn’t!” ‘This is even worse than I thought. Can I give him up for adoption?’Dad shrugs his shoulders.

“She was having a pretty bad day, I just wanted to cheer her up. I think I did a pretty good job, too, she did smile at the end didn’t she?” Okay that is kind of sweet and yes she did, maybe I’ll keep him after all. I decide to change the subject.

“Dad, can we go to a soccer game sometime?” I just found out at recess today that our school has a soccer team and I really want to see that game. There’s another reason, too, but I keep this bit of information to myself.

“Sure, just tell me when!”

----------

[ FM ]

During the week, I’m treated to various stories from Felix’s school day on the car ride home, but his favorite daily segment of the Felix Show is “Dad, Do You Know What Miss Scully Did Or Said Today?” I’m bat-shit crazy about her too, so I get where he’s coming from, but he’s downright obsessed and I worry that this kind of attachment is not healthy for a kid.

I talk this over with our therapist on Thursday, in a one-on-one session and she thinks that maybe because he lacks an emotionally available mother, he looked for a suitable substitute and found it in his teacher. I shouldn’t worry too much about it, she’s sure when it’s too much, that the teacher is capable of handling the situation. She also promised to talk to Felix next time, to maybe tone it down just a little.

Our time is up before I can tell her about my own concerns about this situation. How I’d like to ask her out on a date but I don’t know if I should because I don’t want my son to get hurt in the process. I’m too inexperienced in dating to know the proper ways to handle this and frankly, the thought of getting back into dating terrifies me a little too. Okay maybe a lot. Felix is not the only one who has been scarred by the divorce.

----------

[ Felix ]

“Dad! Do we have any glitter glue in the house?”

It’s Thursday night and I’ve been working on my project for hours, wanting to get it just right. I had asked dad to write out a text for an invitation for me and I copied it onto the paper carefully. Pleased, I look at the two invitations I made, I can’t wait to hand them out. I really really hope they’ll accept the invite. My dad’s voice is getting louder while he talks, he’s coming upstairs. He enters my room and looks over my shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s in one of the drawers in the office. Tell me again why you’re making extra invitations when we had official ones made this week?” For someone who spends the whole day at work getting into other people’s heads, he’s not very good at understanding people.

“Because I reallywant them to come, dad! They’re my special guests!”

“Well, if there’s glitter glue, they won’t be able to say no! You did a really good job, Felix.”

“I hope so, dad. I’m pretty sad that mom’s out of the country and grandma can’t make it either.” He strokes a hand over my head.

“I know, son. I’m sorry!”

Chapter 14 - Last Chance For Spotting A Rainbow

Notes:

I stole some lines from the pilot. Please don’t sue. They’re just too good. Asdldlgdf

Also, the scene in the beginning is not entirely made up, a version of it happened to me last year.

#xf #the x files #xf fanfic #msr #felix felicis

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stardancerluv · 4 years

Text

To the Rescue...

Warning...blood...holding Cassandra hostage...language...

This is to @queenofgotham800 I hope you like this!

You were sitting curled up on the sofa reading a book beside Roman, who was reading the paper. You kept on shooting him glances. You were enjoying your book but Roman had been terribly busy all week as he tried to get his hands back on the diamond that Victor had lost.

He finally slid you a look and smiled. “Hi baby.” He tossed the paper onto the coffee table. He beckoned to you. “Come here.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” You put your bookmark in the book, then happily you climbed into his lap.

He was wearing the joke pajama’s that you and Victor had bought him for his birthday. His face was splashed across the soft creamy material.

You sighed as he wrapped an arm around you. He brushed some hair our of your face as he looked down at you. A warm smile was spread across his face. The stress of earlier in the week was not there.

“By tonight’s end, we will have that diamond and we will be unstoppable.” He whispered.

“Finally.” You took his hand and kissed his palm. “We will have to celebrate.”

He smirked. “We will certainly do that.”

The phone rang, the sound disrupting the calm and peaceful silence in the penthouse.

He bent down and kissed you. “I better answer that.”

“Ok.” Moving, you watched as he quickly strode to his private line was.

You don’t know why but something worried you about the sudden call. You stayed close.

****

Roman, was excited. Victor was probably about to give the news he has been wanting all week.

“She betrayed you boss. She betrayed you.” Shock knocked him.

“Are you sure?”

How could she? Her mother had been horribly shot down on the streets. He had come by her her not long after. He raised her as if she was his own. Gave her small jobs around the club till he discovered that she could sing. Then she was headline performer at the club. He also set her up with her own place once she was old enough. He wanted to give her a better apartment when that entire neighborhood went sound but she wouldn’t budge so he had made sure a few of his men would keep an eye on her, make sure she was safe. Victor had to be wrong. Not his little bird. She was the only person he cared about besides you.

“Your little bird’s a fucking rat.”

Uncontrollable sobs over took him. He couldn’t stop the pain this caused in him.

“You want me to kill her?”

“No.” Anger soon filled him, replacing the pain. “No. No.” He swallowing back the tears. Swallowing the pain. “I’ll come to you.”

“You’re the only one who fucking matters.” He barked when be turned and he saw you. He stormed off then without another word. You got dressed. He could not go alone. Not in that state.

*****

As the car pulled up, you saw him jump down from the back of a pickup truck.

“I told you the hang back.” You shook your head.

You watched as he walked over. There was a fluidity to his stride you only saw when he took care of things related to business.

You got out of the car and met him half away.

“Y/N what the fuck are you doing here?” His voice was dark and deep, there was an edge that had never been directed at you.

Tears fell from your eyes before you could stop them. Worry twisted and turned in your stomach. “I...I...” you twisted your fingers. “I didn’t want you to do this alone.”

He came over you. His blue eye only softened a little. “I can’t make you live...but I don’t want them hurting you.”

“I’ll stay safe...I promise.”

“Good.”

*****

“Follow him!”

You demanded, when you saw the Roman’s rolls peel off.

Anxious...you watched as Harley appeared with her roller skates. Fear stuck your heart. The driver slowed and stopped..she went on when she saw it was just you.

“Ok, go after them!”

“Nah, I don’t want to die to day.”

“You son of a bitch!” You screamed. Tearing out of the car, you began running after what you saw. One of the cars flipped and ignited.

*****

Hearing, and turning he watched as if in slow motion one of his cars flipped through the air and exploded.

Cassandra chuckled beside him. “Was that your girl, you bastard?”

“She never hurt anyone!”

“Yeah, but she fucking loved you.”

He had no words. There was so much he could say. But the pain of your death stole his voice. Now all that mattered was he was going to get that fucking diamond from this little bitch.

*****

He swerved at the last minute and the car careened and slammed into a barrier.

*****

You saw as the motorcycle crashed. Out of breath you needed to get there. “Look, are you ok?”

The woman, nodded. “You’re his girl arn’t you?” She dusted herself and stood up.

“Yeah. I am. I love him.” You swallowed. You pulled up the motorcycle to a proper standing. She looked over the bike. At this moment, you didn’t care what role she had in tonight but you needed to get to Roman. “Will this get me to the pier?”

“It should.”

“Good. i need to get there.”

The woman sighed. “Don’t make me regret this. Hop on.”

“Thank you.”

*****

You hopped off. “Thank you.”

You ran off. “Roman..Roman!” You screamed out. You stopped and your balance wavered. This pier was in shambles.

*****

Roman, paused but he didn’t loosen his grip on the girl.

“Sounds like she’s alive.” Casandra whispered.

“That can’t be her. I saw the car.” Sadness and anger consumed him.

*****

“Listen, I should be the one thing they should be afraid of.”

“Harley..Harley stop.” You screamed, you came up behind her.

She turned to you. “You!” Surprise was splashed across her face. “What are you doing here?”

“Because, I love him.” You screamed. And finally reached her.

“Y/N is that you?”Turning, to look in the fog you saw him and the girl materialize.

“Roman.” Tears fell from your eyes, as you saw him. He had a knife to a young girl’s throat. You knew he must have his reasons.

You had never seen his darker side. You only read about it, heard murmurs. But you also saw that he was banged up, blood dripped down his face.

“Y/N, I thought you were killed. I saw the car.”

“I was in the car behind that car.”

“Ok, happy ending. Will you let me go now?” The kid whined.

“Enough!” Harley screeched. “We don’t need another Mr. J.” She pulled out her gun.

You immediately stepped in front of him. “You can’t kill him!” You screamed.

“Y/N, I don’t want to shoot you.”

“Then don’t!” You looked at Roman and the girl and then back at Harley. “Look that fucking diamond has enough of a value for us...for all of us. Can’t we split it?”

Harley, pulled back on the hammer. “Harley, please.” You held out your hands. “Look our only enemy is the Gotham PD and they damn bat.”

“You’re not one of us.”

“Yes, I am the moment I fell in love with Roman.”

“You love him?”

You nodded. “He’s a monster like Mr. J.”

“No, he’s not.”

“I beg to fucking differ.”

You turned to the girl. “Alright, well why did you have to swallow the fucking diamond?” The girl shrugged.

“Roman, will let her go if we can agree now that we split the value.”

Dinah walked up then. Behind her was girl, that gave you a ride to the pier.

Harley put back the hammer.

“Alright, listen I do. I love him more then I ever thought possible. Sure he has his mood swings but he never hit me or forced himself on me. He genuinely cares.”

Harley, looked passed you.

Roman, nodded. “I do. I never thought I’d care for someone like I care for her. But I fucking do. I like waking up to her, and after a long night in the club I like taking her in my arms and falling asleep.”

“You do?”

He grimaced. “Even when you snore while having a bad head-cold.”

“I do not snore.”

“You do.”

“Ok...enough.” Harley screamed. “Roman, if you let her go...a large portion for to Helena then it goes to me, Cassandra, to Dinah and finally you.”

“Fine.” He said flatly, he let go of the girl.

“I guess I won’t need this.” Cassandra threw a grenades over her shoulder. The explosion over the ocean, what there was of a beach shook all of you.

He winced. “You had that the entire time?”

The girl smirked. “One has to be prepared.”

You looked between them and then went over to Roman.

“Roman.” You said, as you looked over the bruises. Grabbing his handkerchief, you wiped away the blood. He grabbed your hand.

“I really thought I lost you.” A soft smile pulled at his lips. He put his knife away.

You smiled. “Not till you tire of me.”

“Never.”

“Romy, you are such a softy.” Cooled Harley.

He gave a look but it softened. “It’s all Y/N’s fault.”

You beamed.

“Good for you, girl.” She winked at you.

You turned to Roman, sometime later after the girls began to walk away. You laid a hand on his cheek. “I thought she was going to kill you. I was so scared.”

“I thought, you were already dead.” He shook his head. “I...I...don’t know what I was going to do.”

He kissed you then. You wrapped your arms around him and you felt his. Never had a kiss felt so right...so needed.

A soft moan came from you as you kissed...it only deepened between the two of you and the rest of the world melted away.

#roman sionis x you #roman sionis imagine #roman sionis x reader #ewan mcgregor #bop #birds of prey #black mask x y/n #black mask fanfiction #black mask x reader

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redhoodieone · 4 years

Text

Star-Crossed Universe

A/N: Yes!!! I’M BACK!!! This project has been on the back burner for so long and its finally time to upload it on here. I’m not sure what you all will think but hey...it’s fan fiction and everything and anything goes.

Warnings: Language, Humor (bad and good jokes), Sexual Conversations, and an ultimate Team-Up.

Plot: When Y/N is thrown into a mission way out of her league, she, and magician best friend Zatanna must stop strong demonic forces from entering earth through an unknown portal that John Constantine may have opened. With the assistance from the Dark Knight himself, a mysterious 1967 black Impala arrives in Gotham just when things start to go to hell. But who called the Winchesters? Why is there a clairvoyant bond between Y/N and Dean Winchester? And why does Castiel, an angel of the Lord, believe John Constantine isn’t who he says he is? And will Dean wear the Batsuit?

Move over Scooby-Natural because it’s Batman’s turn! The Winchesters join Batman and Y/N (You!) in taking down a villain who isn’t an everyday monster for Supernatural!

Please enjoy and comment! If you want a Part 2, please let me know.

Part 1

I don’t remember a time where tears felt like my own. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m standing on the ledge when Gotham is down pouring like it always does at night. It shouldn’t be a surprise, really. Gotham is the only city in the US of A that is dark, depressing, manic, and suicidal.

Even Superman refuses to stay here for more than a day.

I’m not any better. The only reason why I’m literally dangling my feet over the edge is because I’m numb.

Numb to feelings.

Numb to pain.

Numb to life.

Bottom line is breakups fucking suck period. Especially if your ex-boyfriend is Bruce Wayne.

And Batman.

I don’t know why I put myself through this. The bitter pain of having to work with someone you love but to know they’ll never love you as much. Maybe this is why I should have never worked with Bruce.

Dick left first and has successfully made a name for himself, Nightwing, in Bludhaven.

Jason comes and goes throughout the months and has his own team of misfits who do good but cause chaos as well.

Even Tim and Damian are working together. They’re training and leading the Titans. The last I heard from them is that they’re doing just fine.

Except me.

Who am I kidding? I can’t compare myself to Bruce’s kids even though I’m closer to Dick’s age than Bruce’s.

Maybe that’s why it didn’t work out between us. Bruce is almost my father’s age, late forties early fifties. And he’s still sexy as fuck; stronger than ever.

And here I am in my early thirties, expecting more than just a wordless promise of something more than casual sex and the uncertainty of the future.

After three months ago, I’m trying desperately hard to not care anymore. The only constant thing in my life is being Night Bat, and I’ll die with only that part of me.

Death.

The one place where everything and nothing hurts anymore.

“Y/N.”

My head jerks to the right side where Zatanna is standing. With her hands on her hips, I can see her blue eyes blinking sadness and guilt. For a beautiful woman like Z, her broken expression is almost tragic enough to make me cry like her.

If my own tears were my own. Maybe my tears are Gotham’s.

“It’s Etrigan. He’s...” Zatanna chokes on her words. She literally holds her neck and tries to stop sobbing. “He’s dead.”

I can feel my eyebrows raise as confusion and disbelief crash over me.

“Dead?” I repeat. I can’t even believe that word is coming from my mouth. Etrigan is tough. Etrigan is a shithead. Etrigan cannot be dead. “How?”

Zatanna shrugs her shoulders as her lips quiver. Seeing her broken up makes me feel like an asshole for not comforting her. So, I stand up and go over to her. Taking her by surprise, I hug her tightly.

She’s my best friend. My sister. My partner in crime whenever we get into bad shit. (Sometimes...maybe).

After Zatanna hugs me, she takes a step back and wipes her tears with her gloved hand.

“He-he was stabbed. I... I don’t know by what but he bled and he was never one to really bleed, you know? I checked everything out and he’s dead. He’s really gone. But it was...a very fucking strange thing. Really,” Zatanna rambles on anxiously. Whenever she cusses, I know she’s angry and stressed out. “Whatever killed him, it’s not from around here. What I sensed near him, it’s not human. It’s not magical. It’s not even Kryptonian or extraterrestrial.”

I swallow hard. “What do you think it is then?”

“Demonic.”

_________________________________________________

“Have you contacted John?” I ask. My voice is rough and breathless. I’m busy shoving as much weapons as I can in my backpack, along with a few clothes and a book from Alfred about demonology. He said it was a gift from Constantine himself.

I stare down at my long, silver triple-edged dagger that I found on one of my solo missions in Kansas when Bruce was fighting

“Not in... six months.”

The guilt in her voice makes me turn to glance at her. “Seriously?”

I glance down at my black pants and boots to make sure I’m appropriately and comfortably dressed for tonight. I slip on a red and black checkered flannel over my form fitting black tank top. After rolling up the sleeves to my elbows, I put on my black leather jacket and turn to face Zatanna.

“What, am I supposed to keep in touch with my ex-boyfriend? I thought ex-boyfriends were meant to stay ex-boyfriends, not friends. And besides, you keep in touch with Bruce,” Zatanna responds smugly.

“He’s...a co-worker...that’s-thats different.”

“Bullshit,” Z laughs.

I roll my eyes. “Whatever. I need a drink before we start...” I say, waving my hand up dramatically. “Whatever this is. I think a stop at Lucky’s is what we need.”

“A trip to the bar is what YOU need,” Zatanna replies.

She follows me out of my apartment until we stop in the parking lot where my motorcycle is parked. I don’t see her standing behind me with her arms crossed and eyebrow raised, as I take a seat on my bike and set myself up to ride.

“What?” I ask, genuinely confused.

“I could just you know...poof is there.”

“Yeah, you could like you always do, but I need to ride my baby right now. It’s like, therapy for the low self-esteem, loner, rebels,” I say.

To my surprise, Zatanna nods her head and gives me a small smile. I’m grateful she understands how much riding my motorcycle makes me happy. Makes me breathe. Makes me feel alive.

“I’ll see you there, Y/N/N.”

“See ya, Z.”

And with that, Zatanna poofs for real. Her magic still surprises me. Whenever I see her perform her spells and tricks, I feel like I’m reliving magic shows I saw as a kid that I used to believe were real and powerful.

But to know what Zatanna does is real is still unbelievable sometimes.

And to think we have been best friends for five years now...amazing how time flies by I’m between laughs and heartbreaks.

Revving my bike, I waste no time speeding out of the parking garage and into the streets of Gotham. The rain and wind in my hair sends me chills, as the lights and buildings pass me by so fast that I feel like everything I see is a blur; almost like in a dream-like state.

Lucky’s is just a small country rustic bar outside of Gotham. City people usually don’t go there as the place is purely meant for drifters and stranded loners. I happen to love the bar. If I’m ever feeling down or angry, I always drop by to get drunk or frisky if I’m ever in the mood. Bruce was always disappointed in me for that. He always used to say I’m better than that and I shouldn’t put myself down.

I sometimes think he’d want to say I’m easy, but Bruce is just so complicated sometimes. He can either be a total asshole or be the gentle sweetheart he is. You never know which side you’d see sometimes.

Almost like Two-Face.

Swerving into the mud to park alongside trucks and other bikes, I climb off my motorcycle and glance around the dirt lot. I recognize a few vehicles parked already. A new black Escalade parked closer to the bar is different and catches my attention rather quickly.

I pull my hair back into a ponytail and start my way over to the expensive ass vehicle when suddenly a black car speeds right pass me and parks right next to my bike, sending mud flying to my pants and on my bike! Rage suddenly takes over me. I can feel my blood boil and my jaw clench as several curse words come to mind. I twist around and instead make my way to that motherfucker’s car.

A black 1967 Impala? What a fucking joke.

As if this motherfucker owns this American classic. This self-righteous, prick probably stole it from some old fool or maybe his own old man.

I’m ready to break this douchebag’s face. Knock all his teeth out and break his cock into two…maybe three pieces.

I finally reach the driver’s door and quickly open it; door swinging back. This must piss off the man a lot, but I don’t care right now.

“Look, you motherfucker! You think you can just drive like a bat out of hell and get fucking mud on MY baby?! Get out of this fucking car so I can break you apart with my bare hands!” I yell angrily and loudly.

The man climbs out of his car, but my anger suddenly vanishes. What the hell?

Holy fucking shit…this man is…hot.

Standing at 6’1, this man is almost intimidating. With short brown hair, tan skin, hypnotizing green eyes, and freckles splattered over his nose and cheeks, he’s fucking adorable…and sexy. I can’t help but stare up at him.

He smirks down at me. Underneath his dark jacket, he’s wearing a flannel shirt and black Henley, where I can already see his strong chest, muscled arms, and soft tummy.

“Looks like sweetheart likes what she sees, Sammy. I’d say we made the right choice for coming out to Gotham,” the man speaks smugly. His voice is deep and husky, more addicting than any liquor inside the bar.

Another man comes over to us from around from the car. This man, I’m assuming his Sammy, is FUCKING TALLER than the hot one in front of me!

Sammy chuckles lightly at me. Pushing his longer brown hair from his face, he quickly reaches out to shake my hand.

“Hi, I’m Sam Winchester and this is my brother, Dean.”

The second those words leave his mouth; we hear someone quickly approaching us. Zatanna. And from the looks of theirs, they’re shocked and surprised to see my friend in her usual, sexy magician number.

Zatanna smiles, nonetheless. “Well, if it isn’t the Winchesters. We’ve been expecting you.”

#dc comics #batman #supernatural #bruce wayne #dean winchester #sam winchester #zatanna #batman x y/n #dean winchester x y/n

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plush-anon · 3 years

Text

SCOOB! Stream of Consciousness Review

Here we are folks - I finally review the originally cinematic, fully CGI animated Scooby Doo Movie (one year later... I did not queue this as I thought I had last June - damn you, Tumblr. I’m not changing much here, so enjoy as it was intended).

Created by a team who have professed their affection for this mystery team and their meddling dog too, will this be a lush experience fit to satisfy any Hanna-Barbera fan? Or will it be a hot garbage cash-grab, littered with Easter eggs and references that do nothing to hide a meatless mess of outdated memes and shallow character development?

LET’S

FIND

OUT

Below this cut is my entire stream-of-consciousness review on the SCOOB! Movie, as experienced. SPOILER warning here - I’m digging into everything, no plot points spared.

Here we go~

And we start off with a decent shot of the California coastline (looks like the kids backstory is front and center), some 90s hip-hop synthwave song about California, and OH SWEET JESUS THESE MODELS LOOK TERRIBLE

Ahem

Yeah, this is a problem right off the bat - some of these people in the opening shots look remarkably unfinished - think three shades above “Rapsittie Kids: Believe in Santa” level - and the animation on them is less than stellar.

On the plus side, we do see a fantastic variety of ages, sizes, and races - there’s a brief blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Sikh man on roller skates playing a sitar - but when the designs look rushed in the opening shots, it’s not a fantastic sign. At least they’re brief, but it’s hard to see if this is a lower level of the film’s style due to rushed animation, or if they didn’t care to polish it up as much, given that it’s maybe a 30 second scene.

Still, kudos to actually going for variety in the crowd shots. Minus kudos to making most of the clothes look like Play-doh draped over a Barbie doll. I’m not even kidding on that one, the clothes are super basic and barely have any sign of texture or creasing or even fabric/cut variety. Almost reminds me of the first Toy Story movie’s design for human clothes, yeesh.

----

Ahh, our first introduction to Scooby Doo at a Greek gyro food stand. That’s foreshadowing right there folks! 😉

Sadly, he is really weirdly animated in his run sequence - he looks out of proportion as he’s running on his hind legs, and the human animation has really bad consistency - some background characters are really janky, while others actually move really nicely. The characters we immediately focus on seem to be pretty smooth at least, but that’s still very strange.

On a side note: Ruby and Spears Sub Sandwich shop. Nice 😁

----

They are reaaaally pushing the super over-the-top dramatic music for a bike cop chasing a dog that stole gyro meat

Why

It’s not even interesting chase music, just generic super-hyped-up chase music

----

And now we finally get to see a young Shaggy, standing next to a tie-dye food stand called Casey’s Confections that… sells meat. Hm. Guess WB hasn’t learned after all these years 🙄

Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan of the kid they got to play him, Iain Armitage. He’s not a bad voice actor by any means, but he just doesn’t sound right for Shaggy. I know that as a kid he’d be much less likely to have a cracking/squeaky voice, but he sounds… it’s hard to pin down a word, but - precocious? Darling? Either way it doesn’t quite match, especially given how Shaggy sounds when he grows up via Will Forte. Just… no connection there.

I tie it down to the particular vocal twangs and nuances the gang usually has. I’ll touch base on that note later I think, once we hit the teenage versions of the gang, but for now I’m just not feeling it.

----

On the one hand, I empathize deeply with Shaggy and his Spotify’s unsettling ability to pinpoint his insecurities with song choices, and also deeply enjoy that one small gesture where his fingers kind of shake & tighten around his phone while he takes a deep breath to calm himself- it’s a very nice, subtle sign of frustration

On the other hand we just passed two guys with no nipples and an unerring likeness to a Ken doll in those Barbie movies, so I’m distracted by that now

(between this and Fred’s no-nipples in Happy Halloween SD!, is WB just terrified of giving men nipples in animated movies now? what gives?)

Also distracted by the thrifty lesbians who bought those two shirts that come together to make a heart in the middle, on the store’s 2 for 1 day

happy pride y’all!

---

Finally got context for the two sand piles!

Very, very sad context, but still! Progress!

Basically Shaggy’s practicing talking to people in order to learn how to make friends, since he either has no idea how, or has never had a friend before. So he’s trying to learn the right way to do it since his own attempts have failed

And him talking to these sand piles not only counts as practice, but he’s using them so that his mom thinks he’s spending time with friends like he told her

Ow :)

---

So ketchup leather is apparently a thing that exists

I’m learning so much today!

---

Given that Shaggy has no friends at this stage, but he’s still called Shaggy, I’m kind of wondering if that was a mean nickname that everyone called him, but he was just grateful for the interaction/pretended it was from friends, so he kept it 🤔

Actually, take it back, his mother is calling him that. Family nickname, maybe…?

----

Shaggy has Blue Falcon (classic) and Dynomutt funko pops

noice

---

Oof, you can reaaaaally hear the age in Frank Welker’s Scooby voice. Can we get Scott Innes back? He sounds almost identical to his performance 20+ years ago :/

Also talking waaaay too much - even SDMI Scooby wasn’t this wordy, and he NEVER shut the hell up

----

Okay wait

So Shaggy met Scooby on Halloween day - then met the rest of the gang hours later?

Huh. And here I was thinking it would have been a few weeks minimum

Although I have to say there is a lot here to work with, if it paces out how I think it does

Shaggy meets Scooby. Bare hours later, he buys him a collar (instead of his mom? weird) and asks him to stay with him, despite not really knowing him. Then, only a couple hours after that, he finally makes some friends… but only when Scooby is with him.

Given that it looks like the gang are all around the same age in the same neighborhood, there’s a solid chance that they’ve taken classes together at the same school. If none of them met/knew/made friends with Shaggy then, but only did so AFTER Scooby came into the picture, that might lead to the argument we know about later when they split up; afterwards, S&SD go to the bowling alley, then get abducted by the Blue Falcon, plot continues. This could make it seem like they were only friends with him at the start because he had a dog.

And the brief scene earlier with the music device shows that he tries to tamp down on his anger/doesn’t really address it - could lead to something more later

hmmmm 🤔

---

Wait what

These two kid bullies just came out of nowhere, stole Shaggy’s candy… and then started on about how Halloween is only a marketing ploy to get companies to rot your teeth and go to the dentist more, before throwing the bag through a window and telling the two that ‘your blood sugar will thank us for it!’

Are - are these the brainwashed children of a Karen? Is that what I’m seeing?

I mean we could have had a Red Herring cameo, but apparently informing children about candy conspiracy theories is more important :/

----

Daphne: It’s Halloween - no one should go home without their candy

FD&V: *none of them have candy/candy bags*

???????

(Wouldn’t it make more sense if the bullies had stolen their candy too? What the hey man)

----

I do find it neat that we actually get to SEE the wires the ‘ghost’ uses to fly in full effect - that’s actually pretty cool, and not really something we get to see up close in older Scooby shows. Most of those just have the bad guy randomly flying about, and the wires revealed after the fact

---

Actually, given how FD&V react to this ghost almost immediately… have they already been solving mysteries? It seems like it, given how smoothly they move together to capture him

That’s kind of odd in kids. Like, even in PNSD they weren’t perfectly in-sync on stuff

This then leads to the gang solving mysteries together… in spite of the fact that all Shag and Scoob did was hide in the wardrobe that had the stolen goods, while FD&V captured the dude

Granted, they do ask Shag and Scoob if they wanna join in and say yes, but that seems like an strange jump after what could have been a one-time deal

I just find that a touch odd - esp when they could have had a five minute scene or so of them wandering around the house, touching on some old SDWAY traits. Heck, show that they’re SCARED in some way, and don’t immediately move to tackle what looks like a murderous spirit at age 8-9 or so. Even just showing the kids learning about each other would be enough, but what do I know. I’ve only watched Scooby Doo everything since I was 4 🙄

---

Ahhhh, and now for the updated rendition of the theme song

Where they’re all still kids doing everything the teenage gang did in the theme song

It doesn’t look as good as the OG, though - kind of like a computer game simulating the SDWAY intro using the PNSD kids in CGI. It’s honestly strange to see, and a little jarring - especially when we then transition to the older teenage gang right in the middle

Like, we don’t get to see you guys age through the song as you’re chased by/catch different monsters? That could have been pretty neat honestly - shows how long they’ve been doing this

Tho I gotta admit, seeing the Spooky Space Kook with his OG sound effects is pretty awesome, brief as it waoH MY GOD FRED WHY ARE YOU HAVING A ROMANTIC BEACHSIDE DATE WITH THE MYSTERY MACHINE

THAT WASN’T IN THE ORIGINAL AND NO ONE ELSE GETS A CHARACTER INSIGHT SHOT LIKE THIS

WHY

----

Huh, looks like Ruby & Spears gave up their subway sandwich shop for a coffee shop

That apparently the gang goes to in order to eat malt shop food

okay?

----

Ah, and here’s where we finally look at the voice acting of the older teenage gang. Buckle up folks, cause I gotta lot to say

We’ll start with Fred, bc honestly? I think Efron actually fits him pretty dang well. He’s got a different cadence from Welker, true, but as far as an update goes? I think he’s a solid fit. Very much in line with the all-American kid that Fred’s kind of been slated as for the past 50 years or so, but updated more for the modern perspective. I call it solid (and possibly a replacement for whenever Welker decides to retire).

Next? Oof. Velma is, IMHO, the weakest casting. Velma, no matter her voice actress, has ALWAYS had some form of nasal twang to her voice - that’s part of what makes her Velma to begin with, and helps her stand out. Nicole Jaffe, Pat Stevens, BJ Ward, Christina Lange (PNSD), Mindy Cohn, Kate Micucci, Linda Cardellini -heck, even Haley Kiyoko from ‘The Mystery Begins’ and Sarah Gilman from the ‘Daphne and Velma’ movie understood this! They all had that nasal twang to their voice - differing between actresses, of course, but still recognizable as Velma. Gina Rodriguez though? Honestly, it just sounds like she’s acting it straight. Not bad acting at all, by any means - she just doesn’t sound like Velma, and doesn’t seem to be trying to. (Honestly wondering if she was only hired bc she voices Carmen Sandiego in the reboot cartoon for the lolz fun reference! type connection)

Daphne is sort of similar in voices, but hers is more of a pitch her voice hits - Heather North, Mary Kay Bergman, and Grey Delisle Griffin all have that pitch they hit naturally when speaking. Amanda Seyfried? Does not - in fact, her voice is actually deeper than I was expecting - but it’s not quite as big a difference as it is for Velma. It fits her character type okay, and she does well with it overall.

And finally, the most controversial one: Will Forte’s Shaggy.

I’ll go ahead and say this: he’s not Scott Menville levels of bad Shaggy voice acting. If I were to place him on a list, I’d probably put him around Billy West level - kind of sounds similar via vocal tics (voice cracking, likes and zoinks, etc), but his own voice just overtakes the impression he’s seeking to hit. When I hear him speak, I don’t really hear Shaggy; I just hear Will Forte trying to do an impression of Shaggy.

In comparison: when Scott Innes took over for Shaggy, it was like Casey Kasem’s, just a touch more of a twang to his voice and just a dash over-the-top - but it was still Shaggy, and you didn’t doubt that for a minute.

Same thing for Lillard, but maybe moreso - he was pretty much the most perfect casting for a live-action Shaggy there could be at the time Scooby Doo (2002) was made. Him taking over for Kasem from there made perfect sense: he was honestly the best cast Mystery Inc member of the live-actions, and a lot more recognizable to the general public as Shaggy than Scott Innes was. He could also do different emotions with Shaggy that not a lot of the other voice actors had the chance to do (mainly bc script), so for future stuff they have that flexibility, if they wanted to play around a little more.

With any luck Forte will get better over the course of the movie, but honestly the casting could have been so much better with Matt Lillard and Kate Micucci.

----

Shaggy Rogers, evading taxes since 2020

----

siMON COWELL??!?

WHAT THE

WHY?!?!?

ALSO HIS CHARACTER DESIGN STYLE IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE GANG WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON?!!?

IS HE SUPPOSED TO BE THE SD CELEBRITY CAMEO

IF YOU WERE GOING TO DO A CAMEO FROM AMERICAN IDOL WHY NOT RYAN SEACREST

HE TOOK OVER FOR CASEY KASEM ON THE AMERICAN TOP 40 WOULDN’T THAT MAKE MORE SENSE

aaauuuggghhh

---

Also he’s there as a potential investor in Mystery Inc as a detective agency

A music industry professional… is interested in funding a detective agency.

Like… did he miss out on Josie & the Pussycats? Is that why he’s here?

----

Wait a minute

Oh noooooo

I know why he’s here

I remember this spoiler

Shit

-----

And once again, here is your reminder to tell Simon Cowell a great big fcuk you

Only this time it’s for making Shaggy and Scooby feel worthless and saying that friendship is worthless and cannot be counted on for anything worthwhile

Simon Cowell: Professional Dickhead

---

Welp, at least this gives a solid reason why they leave: Simon Cowell was being a professional dickhead, and the gang didn’t really say anything against him or interrupt him on his whole ‘Shag and Scoob are worthless spiel’

Or, well... Daphne stepped up some, but more to say ‘they’re our friends!’ rather than ‘that’s entirely wrong, our friends aren’t worthless!’ Better than nothing, but yeesh

----

Ahhh, Takamoto Bowling - the emptiest bowling alley in the evenings this side of Coolsville

(no seriously, the past few times my dad has taken my sister and me bowling pre-pandemic, no matter the day or time? it’s ALWAYS got more than 6 lanes of people there, what the heck)

Also Scooby wears three bowling shoes, which honestly makes more sense than I thought it would - that pup goes spinning and sliding every which way on a normal floor, bowling alley floors would be like ten times worse

----

here’s a nice little detail - when Scooby sees one of the bowling pins peek out with red eyes and he yells that to Shaggy, Shaggy actually squints and walks closer to see if it actually does have eyes

aww

----

Huh, okay

Panicked Will Forte Shaggy actually sounds more like a good Shaggy voice than normal talking Will Forte Shaggy

I can dig it

---

Still kind of underwhelmed by the Shag and Scoob disguise scene - wouldn’t it make more sense to have them like, dish up hot sauce or something on a plate that nonsensically makes the robots overheat before they discover their ruse?

Idk, maybe they’re off their game after Simon ‘Dickhead’ Cowell

---

Carlton Way - must be named after Fred’s only other voice actor, Carlton Stevens of PNSD

Also Hanna’s Barber Shop is next to Barbera’s Pizza! Cute.

And… Pitstop’s Pink Perfume ad. Wait, who is that? *assorted googling noises*

...ahhh, Penelope Pitstop from Wacky Races! Who, according to Wikipedia, was revealed to have Greek ancestry in the 2016 Wacky Raceland comic book, having been born on the island of Aegina

Now I’m wondering if we’ll see her in this too, given Cerberus...

----

Honestly kind of fascinating to see the gang with a police radio in their van

Also fascinating to see that only main characters are allowed clothing variety and texture/creases/folds

---

it’s actually really sweet to see Fred, upon hearing that Shag and Scoob are likely in danger, immediately makes a 90 degree turn in traffic

---

It looks like they changes Dee Dee’s name a hair - now it’s Dee Dee Skyes, instead of Sykes

It works well for the Falcon aesthetic, so that’s cool

----

Shaggy, after Dee Dee tells them that Dastardly’s trying to kill them: Scoob, someone thinks we’re important enough to *mimes slitting throat*!

Scooby: It’s nice to be wanted.

Excellent! This movie has captured Shag and Scoob’s blasé attitude towards death! Now we’re onto a solid Scooby film :D

Dee Dee: Hmm, I hear that!

And they even have a friend to share in their attitude! Splendid!

----

Christ, I can work photoshop better than Blue Falcon can, and I don’t even know how to use photoshop

I will give major kudos on his costume tho - it maintains the important elements of the OG Falcon, while still updating it with more bird-related aesthetic, like the feathered appearance of parts of his costume, the split cape resembling the tail feathers, and the talon gauntlets & boots. neat!

---

Yooo, Dynomutt, I thought secret identities were still a thing with Superheroes, what the hey are you doing giving it out to a duo you literally just picked up behind a bowling alley

Ngl, I’m kinda hoping we get some scenes where Dynomutt messes up a little like in the OG cartoon - this one feels really serious, which is kind of strange

---

Okay now I want to see older!Blue Falcon come in for a cameo

Mainly bc I’m getting the feeling that this one is a major dumbass, and not in the fun and friendly himbo kind of way 😑

---

Wait, THAT’S our first look at Dastardly? That’s a bit abrupt, isn’t it?

Also his ship must be pumping thousands of gallons of toxins into the air, that smoke cloud looks hideous. Forget logging into his mom’s Netflix account like the trailer said, EPA should probably be hunting him for sport with a laser cannon, jesus fcuking christ

---

Honestly kinda want a plane you can pilot like a motorbike now

---

Welp, it looks like we have a fun, mustache-twirly, puns-aplenty, loves-to-be-bad kind of villain on our hands folks! This is gonna be FUN AS HECK

---

Eurgh, this scene - the super-stiff-but-stretched-out ‘yeeurgh’ faces really squick me for some reason, but I can’t really pinpoint why

---

I have decided I highly dislike the Brian Blue Falcon, or Brian Falcon for short, and would like to see Dastardly tie him to some railroad tracks

---

North St for Heather North, and… wait… Funland Carnival? Like where Charlie the Robot hung out?

Apparently that’s in Romania.

A very yellow-greenfilter Romania at that.

Like, I’ve seen blue washes on movies trying to portray evening in the middle of the day so they don’t actually have to shoot at night, but yellow? That’s normally used for deserts and hot days and uhhh

NOT for evenings in a country with landscape like THIS

odd

(I mean I guess they got the mountains and trees right, but still. Yellow filters make a place look arid, which Romania is Not, to my knowledge)

----

Dude, Brian Falcon is such an idiot even Shaggy and Scooby, commonly portrayed as the idiots of Mystery Inc, look at him like he’s a moron.

(They are Not Amused.)

Also Brian Falcon is an absolute coward. That’s new. Even Shaggy and Scooby face off against the robots directly in a Whack-a-Mole game and destroy some. Dude, get your head in the fcuking game already, yikes

Woah, Laff-a-Lympics, Wacky Races, Hex Girls, The Banana Splits, Penelope Pitstop, Space Stars, Posse Impossible, and Hong Kong Phooey easter eggs in one shot

Geezus

---

Another nice moment: when cornered by Dastardly, Shaggy moves to stand in front of Scooby to protect him

---

Dastardly (to Shaggy): I don’t care about YOU. You’re not REMOTELY important!

*proceeds to shoot Shaggy THROUGH the ceiling and up into the highest car on a Ferris Wheel where Brian Falcon is hiding like a man baby*

Welp, so much for a fun and zany villain. Time for this Plush Anon to kill a bitch *cocks shotgun*

I will, too - kudos to the animators for hurting me so badly with the face Shaggy made right before being shot because

---

Ehehehhehe, yess, the infamous ‘Dick’ scene

Dastardly: No, I’m a DICK. With a D!

You sure are, you sack of dildos with a D!

This scene had to be put in on purpose - if this had been released in theaters, I just know the adults would be dying in laughter 🤣🤣🤣

----

Shaggy: Brian, do something!

Brian Falcon: Like what?

Shaggy: Like, drop some F-Bombs!

love it 😂

---

Is it like movie law now, that if there’s an action scene with a Ferris Wheel in the background, it has to fall off and roll down a mild incline like a wheel? Because it kinda feels like it

---

Aha! Dastardly said his drats! Perfection.

Now to shoot him through a ceiling to make them matter even more :D

---

OOF.

Well that hurt.

Poor Shaggy - basically internalizing now that he’s the worthless one and weak link of the group now that Scooby is considered more important

---

Holy fcuk I’m crying

Shaggy just broke Brian Falcon down to his deepest insecurities without even trying while talking to him

He even used the words ‘imposter syndrome’

Shaggy hon, you’re the best

----

Oh hey, Fred, Daphne, and Velma! It’s been a while since we saw you guys again, what are you doing?

Arguing about the metric system and realizing that Shaggy and Scooby reminding them to eat periodically helped them keep a clearer head...

And using the word ‘hangry’.

But then looking through a ridiculously cute photo album of the two and a video the gang took together (the video is honestly really heckin’ cute, 10000/10 would recommend)...

And then getting pulled over so Fred can have a brief ‘oo-la-la’ montage about the pretty blonde cop who honest-to-gods looks like a Barbie doll.

Where Daphne then describes how ugly Dastardly is...

Right before the petite blonde cop who’s maybe like 5’7” at best rips off her outfit to reveal it was Dick Dastardly this entire time, all 7ish feet of him.

And then kidnaps them all along with the Mystery Machine while he makes terribly fun dorky puns

…

...SO BACK TO SCOOBY AND SHAGGY...

---

...where Scooby is making kissy faces in the mirror while wearing his Blue Falcon uniform

Hrm, that’s not really better is it

We actually see Shaggy reading (OG) Blue Falcon’s autobiography, and making hurt but snide comments about Scooby’s ego

Which are actually pretty clever tbh

-----

Cooooooongratulations, Fred Jones! You are now officially a full-on himbo!

----

Alas, poor Daphne. While your knowledge of the tropes of your show might have served you well in other places, this was to be a theatrical release once upon a time, and so such knowledge falls to ruin.

----

You know, I just realized - we’re never really told HOW the Cerberus skulls work, both in how each skull can be used to find the others, and, presumably, in releasing Cerberus itself. We’re given a brief glance-over of Scooby’s ancestry (and I mean REALLY damn brief), and a quick mention that these are supposed to be Cerberus’ skulls being stolen, but… that’s it. Nothing else is given.

Now, I read the first few chapters of my SCOOB! Junior Novelization, and it actually went into further detail about the skulls themselves and what Dastardly’s initial plan was early in the book - open the gates of Hades and obtain the seas of treasure therein. It acted as an introduction both to the climatic endgame we’ll face at the end of the movie, and to Dastardly, who uses the same disguise trick he used as the Barbie cop when he stole the first one in South America.

(They actually DID plan to use this as Dastardly’s intro, but cut this… 3 minute scene for time. Yeah. See below video for the details - honestly think they should have kept it in. Saves time later and definitely more show than tell, compared to what we got)

youtube

I feel like that would be a better introduction to him than the one we got - hell, it would have fit in quite neatly after the revamped theme song montage. They could have the scene with Dastardly finding/stealing the first skull as an introduction (as above), then have him answer a call or something. Exposit openly “You found the key! Excellent! Now where are we going next?”

THEN cut to the diner/coffee shop scene we had earlier. We still wouldn’t know exactly what the key was/entailed off the bat, and they could still have FD&V find out on their own - maybe by hacking the little robot instead? IDK.

---

The final skull is on Messick Mountain.

Cute.

On a side note, I do love how Dastardly’s ship interior looks - very dieselpunk

---

Velma just hacked into Dynomutt… somehow, and I finally get my wacky Dynomutt shenanigans! Hazoo!

...sadly that was really dang brief. Realistic, yes, but still too brief.

---

Eyyyy, we finally get the whys of why Scooby is needed! … really dang fast.

Also Fred says Jinkies.

----

Hey, Muttley popped up! In a shrine… to his demise… that we find out he reached when Dastardly pushed him forward into the Underworld to steal the treasure of Alexander the Great in a portal he rigged up… only for both of them to find out it was a one-way deal unless they used the key to be able to come back. The key, of course, being Scooby Doo, descendent of Peritas, Alexander’s dog.

Eh, workable enough-ish. It’s interesting to see that Dastardly, despite how much he disliked Muttley in the older cartoons, still cares about him to a certain extent.

---

Pfff, Fred’s a poor man’s Hemsworth XD

---

Sweet, we’re in ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ now!

---

O W W W

You guys really had to do the ‘me or them’ thing with Shaggy and Scooby… and tHeN hAvE sCoObY cHoOsE tHe FaLcONs?!? Just because they said he was important as “the key” and gave him a spandex costume.

Over at least 7 years of friendship.

Booooooooooooo

---

actually no I’m Not Done Yet

This whole scene is a mess.

Shaggy’s turn was really dang fast… but I can still see how he gets to it. It’s at least a day between Scooby being chosen as a pseudo-sidekick and the island arrival, during which Shaggy’s talk with the main adult (who has taken up the mantle of his favorite superhero) essentially confirms his feelings of worthlessness and leaves him to stew for HOURS on end (on top of another adult, Dastardly, who also calls him “not even REMOTELY important” at the carnival before freaKING SHOOTING HIM THROUGH THE CEILING NO I AM NOT OVER THIS). Tie that to a teenager who also believes his only friends have come to think he’s meaningless baggage, and suddenly his entire support system is vanishing underneath him to one of his former idols without ANY sign of hesitation from Scooby’s part (with the exception of the collar scene, but I don’t think that that means the same to Scooby, given how quickly he bounces back)

Scooby tho… hrm. It could be that he’s clinging to the good feelings Brian Falcon inspires in him (by choosing him as the next possible Dynomutt), as a way to overpower how FD&V hurt him, while also building on how he came to love the duo because SHAGGY loved them so much. But the movie doesn’t frame that up… at all?? At least compared to Shaggy.

Idk, maybe I’m missing something, but this scene is a mess through and through

Boooooo

----

Scooby: *tries to leap into Brian Falcon’s arms like he did with Shaggy but falls*

Brian: Uh, what are you doing?

Scooby: Rhaggy never missed.

Damn straight he didn’t

---

oh hey, it’s Captain Caveman

I was wondering when we’d see him.

---

AAAUUGGHH

It’s that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene from the trailers I sobbed over - the one with Shaggy holding Scooby’s collar

Fun fact it actuALLY FADES INTO THE FLASHBACK

THAT WAS NOT A TRAILER THING THAT’S ACTUALLY HERE IN THE MOVIE

---

Oh No

Fred is here, alone, after that whole scene with Dastardly saying he had a use for Fred

...while that’s likely Dastardly in a Fred suit (that sounds creepy just typing it), I’m still going to enjoy this brief but absolutely lovely hug Shaggy and Fred share...

(seriously tho, look at this, it’s a genuinely close, squish-your-lungs-out kind of hug, I love it)

...as well as Shaggy, who's still hurt from his fight with Scooby, immediately gearing up to go help him after hearing Dastardly’s trying to kidnap him.

----

Brian Falcon and Scooby Doo now have to take on Captain Caveman in gladiatorial combat in order to claim the final skull of Cerberus

I love cartoons sometimes

----

Captain Caveman just put the smackdown on Brian Falcon and punched him into the ground up to his CHEST

Then smacked him so far into a wall he cracked the stone around him!

GodDAMN is this satisfying 😆 altho minor question here: how did he gain the rank of Captain? Do cavepeople have a naval force?

---

He just whirled Scooby around his head, then spun him so fast his costume broke off

I may have to look into some Captain Caveman stuff now, that’s fantastic

---

Shaggy and Fred - sorry, “Fred” - just smashed through to the colosseum in the Mystery Machine

And Dynomutt just fired missiles at Captain Caveman to smash him into an Amigara-shaped hole of himself

I REALLY love cartoons sometimes

---

Oh No

Just as Shaggy starts trying to apologize, “Fred” kicks him in the back, rips off his disguise to normal Dastardly self, and kidnaps Scooby atop the skull, before revealing he destroyed the Falcon Fury jet

New tagline for this movie? Shaggy Rogers and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day

...at least the rest of the gang is back together?

---

Brian Falcon: *Immediately tries to blame Shaggy for inadvertently leading Dastardly to them, while storming up to get in his face*

Fred: *upon realizing BrianF is blaming Shaggy for everything, without a SINGLE moment’s hesitation, immediately leaps in to defend Shaggy and physically push back Brian Falcon several feet*

We stan one Himbo, theydies and gentlethem

Also?

Velma (sneering): What kind of hero blames other people for his problems? *Walks over to comfort Shaggy with Daphne, while Shaggy looks dumbfounded they’re defending him bc he also blames himself for Scooby’s kidnapping*

This. This right here, is the kind of Mystery gang content I wanna see.

I don’t care how the rest of this movie goes now, this scene right here is ambrosia to the Scooby fan’s soul, and therefore makes this entire movie worth it, outdated memes, lingo, and all

---

Cackling rn - Fred and Brian Falcon are in a point-off a la the Spiderman meme 😂

or, more specifically, the post-credits sequence of Spiderverse where they’re arguing about who started pointing first

It gets better when Velma and Daphne try to pull each other off of their pushing fight, and Velma grumbles “Toxic Masculinity” I’m crying

---

WOAH

More super Shaggy stuff here (apart from being flung through a building roof without a scratch) - he pushes apart both groups effortless, and even knocks them back several feet

If we estimate Dynomutt as… we’ll say 450 since he’s made of metal, Falcon at 220, Dee Dee at 160, that’s about 830 lbs on one side

Then Fred, Daphne and Velma on the other (hmm, 180, 150, 130?) would be around 460 lbs

Dang boi

---

Oh honey no, it’s not your fault

But dang if he didn’t get a good message from it, one I’ve done my best to transcribe here:

“I was afraid that... things were gonna change. And they did change. But like, that’s okay! People can grow. But it doesn’t mean that we’re growing apart. Because the one thing that will never change is that Scooby Doo is my best friend! Ten years ago, a little boy made a promise to a stray puppy that he’d never leave him no matter what. And I’m gonna keep that promise! Now it’s time we stopped that mustachioed menace from opening the gates to the {underworld} and letting loose that fearsome {Cerberus}. So what do you say we get out {of here}, and go get my always-snacking, never-lacking, often-napping dog back? Who’s with me?”

Honestly not a bad message for kids. Things will change, people will change, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop being friends. (Obvs real life exceptions apply, but that’s not a bad note honestly)

...shame that that conclusion comes right the FUCK outta nowhere

How, exactly, did he come to this conclusion? WHEN? What inspired him to realize this, what was the impetus for this specific line of thought, that it’s okay for friends to change?

It kinda feels like this should have been either the happy ending speech given after they’ve saved the world, or one at the start of the third act, like if Shaggy arrives when Scooby thinks he’s chased him away and ruined everything, and Shaggy & the gang still save him. And Scooby asks him why he did that - when Scooby tried to change himself to fit what Brian Falcon wanted, instead of treasuring the friend he still had, or maybe why Shaggy reacted the way he did. THEN Shaggy gives the speech we hear, a la:

“I yelled at you because… like, because I was scared. I was scared that... things were gonna change. And they did change. But like, that’s okay! People can grow. But it doesn’t mean that we’re growing apart. Because the one thing that will never change is that YOU’RE my best friend! Ten years ago, a little boy made a promise to a stray puppy that he’d never leave him no matter what. And I mean to keep it!”

At least that would make a little more sense to me. Again, not a bad speech, but a little rearranging would help to really hit home.

---

Okay, now we’re back with Dastardly in Greece, and suddenly the background people all look MILES better than the ones at the start of the movie. Did they just forget to polish the first two minutes of film, what the heck?

Also, Dastardly’s ship is literally the entire length of the Greek ruins presented o_O

---

HOLY SHIT THE SKULLS TURNED BACK TIME AND MADE THE RUINS INTO AN ENTIRELY RESTORED PALACE WITH THE GATES OF THE UNDERWORLD BEFORE THEM

They’re also colored a very atmospheric neon arrangement that’s surprisingly quite tasteful ^.^

----

The Mystery Machine can fly now!!! eeheeheeeheeheeheeheeee

----

And so we finally see Cerberus, a massive, towering figure with sharp teeth and pffffffhahahhahaa why are all three heads wearing Spartan helmets

To its credit, they’re also wearing basic body armor, wrist guards, tail spikes, etc, but the helmets are killing me 🤣 who thought to stick that onto the dog? Did Hades forget to remove the armor after winning the Gods’ Pet Costume Contest, or was it like that horse in the ATV costume - it felt safer so it didn’t let anyone take it off?

Or was this a precaution against Herakles coming back? These are questions - hilarious, hilarious questions 😁

---

Awww. Scooby immediately runs to the battered Mystery Machine to rip the doors open for the gang!

And… wait. THIS is where that wonderful hug was in the trailers? I thought that was at the end of the movie when everyone was safe!

This now does not bode well. But we’ll worry about that later. Time to enjoy this gorgeous wonderful hug of the entire gang, and Shag and Scoob apologizing to each other for fighting 🥰

Yet another scene to make the rest of this movie worth the rest

(halfway wanna frame this shit and put it on the wall, it’s that lovely)

----

Fantastic! Dastardly is now in Hell, where I’ve been wishing him this entire movie! :D

And dang… he actually apologizes to what he believes is a dead Muttley. Who is, naturally, snickering at all of this. The two bicker predictably, but eventually hug and make up, too happy to see each other to resort to old habits. Honestly a nice little scene, all-in-all.

---

Back to the gang and they’re doing the glowy eyes in the dark bit! I actually haven’t seen that in a Scooby movie forever, it’s neat.

Also Fred is now going full Liam Neeson over his van, war paint and all, using the tire cover as a shield and… holy shit.

HOLY SHIT

THE ASCOT IS BAAAnnnnnd it’s gone. Boy, that was… short.

Fred just ran full-tilt at Cerberus, screaming like a mad man, before getting flicked away by its big toe, and losing the ascot and makeshift shield. It punched so hard his facepaint came off

It was fun while it lasted y’all

---

Heyyy, Shag and Scoob just came up with the plan, and it’s actually solid! I’m so proud, and so is the rest of the gang! Also willingly going to distract Cerberus while the rest figure out how to close the gate and stuff Cerberus back in

I love my boys 😊

---

Annnnd there goes Brian Falcon like the coward he is

To… call his dad? And admit he isn’t a hero.

Only for Dynomutt to point out Shaggy and Scooby are taking him on and are terrified.

This then cuts to Shaggy and Scooby running around in a chariot and gladiator wear, running back and forth a la the door gag from Cerberus to the OG SDWAY theme

I think I love this movie

(although they’re hinting at Dynomutt being resentful of OG Blue Falcon essentially abandoning him to his incompetent son, and I really wish it had been touched upon more

that’s actually rather heartbreaking, when you stop to think about it, and there’s a lot that could be done with an additional two minutes of screentime)

---

Huh, another good message for kids: it’s okay to fail and be scared, so long as you keep going and try to do what’s right.

Two good messages for kids in one movie. Not too shabby, on the whole.

---

Brian Falcon just flew in and punched the three-headed dog, then jumped into its mouth as it tried to eat Scooby, resisted the MASSIVE JAW STRENGTH, and got them out of there safe and sound

Finally, something heroic!

I was wondering where Dastardly and Muttley got off to - apparently they’re off to take a money bath.

Aight

---

Shag and Scoob have now convinced the Rotten Robots to turn into bowling balls to knock Cerberus off their feet a la the classic marbles pratfall back into the underworld

That is a sentence I just wrote

----

OH FCUK NO

ABSOLUTELY NOT NO

YOU ARE TELLING US THAT AFTER ALL OF THIS - ALL OF THIS - ONE OF THEM HAS TO STAY IN THE UNDERWORLD TO LOCK THE GATE

THAT OCTOBER LEAKER WAS RIGHT WHAT THE HELL

LITERALLY SO

I mean i know its a kids film specifically Scooby Doo so happy ending but what the literal FUCK

---

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGHHH

SHAGGY NOOOO

“Buddy, back when we were kids, you saved me. Now, it’s my turn.”

and he dOES THIS WHILE HOLDING SCOOBY’S HEAD TENDERLY IN HIS HANDS

AND WHEN EVERYTHING REVERTS IT’S JUST RUBBLE AND RUIN AND SCOOBY’S LEFT SOBBING OPENLY AT NOTHING

AND THE GANG ALL COME TO CLING AT HIM AND CRY OVER THEIR FRIEND WHO THOUGHT HE WAS WORTHLESS MOST OF THE MOVIE AND THOUGH THAT THE GANG THOUGHT THE SAME ABOUT HIM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH

---

WELP, TIME TO COPE WITH INAPPROPRIATE HUMOR

Shaggy: I yelled at my dog, got him kidnapped, and ended up helping the bad guy to open the gates to Hell. Guess I’ll die.

Dee Dee: Well actually, this is more Dastardly’s fault because -

Shaggy, yelling as he slams his hand against the lock: GUESS I’LL DIE!!!

----

Ah, so the writers wrote themselves into a corner, and the only way out was a Deus Ex Machina (at least, I think I’m using that term correctly…)

Because to get Shaggy back, a giant statue of Alexander the Great and Peritas appears out of nowhere - literally, since it definitely wasn’t there before - with an inscription Scooby has to read to get Shaggy back.

This would have been a lot more effective if we’d seen it when Dastardly arrived in Greece - maybe even as the marker for where the gate to the Underworld was. Have Alexander facing one way, and Peritas facing the other. You open the gate on Alexander’s side, and come home on Peritas’ side. Having this unfold into the gate gives it more purpose than “magically appears right the fcuk outta nowehere” and you could have a pun with the “backdoor” escape. Everybody wins!

And if that’s too good for ya, how about a brief lingering shot by it at some point as Dastardly flies into Greece, behind where the gate materializes, or directly across from it on the plaza? Maybe have one of the gang kick it after Shaggy leaves, and say ‘This is all your fault! Why would you make something like this?’

It’d still be a magical contrivance, but at least it would make some fcuking SENSE.

(Granted it DID lead to this hilariously ominous shot, so maybe I shouldn’t complain:)

---

Velma: I finally figured out what you guys are! You’re the heart of Mystery Inc.

Me: YEAH BABY! *flips over table* I’VE BEEN SAYING THAT SHIT FOR YEARS AND NOW, I’M FCUKING VALIDATED AT LAAAAAAAAST!

----

Shaggy: *rips off Dastardly’s face to reveal…*

ALL: SIMON COWELL??!?

Me, choking on food: I’m sorry WHAT?!?!?

Velma: *takes off mask again to reveal*

ALL: DICK DASTARDLY?!?

Dastardly: Drat! No one ever goes for the double unmasking.

So I was right all along - Simon Cowell truly was a Dick this entire time.

-----

And so we close on the gang unveiling a Mystery Machine paint job on their official detective agency building, Brian Falcon living the good life as the DJ at their party, the Falcon team gifting a sleek new Mystery Machine to the gang (which honestly looks pretty unique - it’s not the classic, but it is something new that isn’t awful, so kudos there), and the gang on their way to another mystery.

So, at the end of the day is this a good Scooby movie?

Meh? *waves hand in meh motion* But it definitely had its moments.

This Scooby film is flawed as heck, no doubt about it - the plot has a MAJOR problem with telling instead of showing, some parts feeling out of order or WAY too short, and of course the deus ex machina ending. I honestly would have loved some more time for their first mystery as kids, where we actually got more character moments/bonding from Fred, Daphne, and Velma as they solved it the more traditional route, as well as not framing FD&V as super duper mystery solvers right off the bat???

The stuff with Blue Falcon isn’t AWFUL, per se, but it is ridiculously satisfying to see him get smacked around. Captain Caveman was honestly one of the funniest bits in the movie, same with Dynomutt.

As far as the character stuff? It all felt fairly natural, progression-wise. Shag and Scoob don’t have this big break-up with the gang - they’re hurt by the literal Dickhead’s comments the gang don’t speak up against, and go to blow off some steam together. Shag and Scoob don’t have this giant blow-up argument - it builds over the film into a hurt spat they both recognize they overreacted to almost immediately. The gang (FDV) go looking for them almost as soon as they leave, and, upon hearing they’re in danger, turn and head towards them to save them, realizing how important the two are to Mystery Inc along the way. They defend each other, help each other, have some of the Best Dang Animated Mystery Inc hugs I ever did see - THIS feels more like the Gang I’ve been waiting for forever to come back to DTV (and in a rough sense, did). While I do wish we’d gotten more screen time of FD&V, what we got wasn’t too bad.

Weirdly enough, at the end of the day, I’ve actually grown more accustomed to Forte’s Shaggy - it feels like it fits this different style a touch more than I originally thought, and holy hell if I didn’t come close to tears at that ending gate scene, he knocked that one out of the park. Velma still doesn’t feel much like Velma, but I did get used to it by the end. I kept cracking up at Efron’s Fred, and no complaints on Seyfried’s Daphne.

Jason Isaacs as Dick Dastardly absolutely killed it. Blue Falcon Crew was okay (excepting Mark “The Racist” Wahlburg - it was just him talking, no real effort. You could recognize Wahlburg right off the bat, acting as a goofy douche) and freaking Captain Caveman was awesome. Apparently they combined both Billy West and Don Messick’s recordings for Muttley (awesome!!!), so this may very well be Don Messick’s final role in a Scooby Doo film.

It got off to a rough start, but ended well enough. The animation was solid, the writing has some unexpectedly clever and funny moments sprinkled throughout, with some pretty fun action sequences on the side. Watching this, I really do believe that the people working on it love Scooby Doo and all things Hanna-Barbera… at least in their own way.

I ended up buying this instead of just renting it ($5 more, why not) and I am honestly glad I did so. Despite its flaws, it has some great moments with the gang as friends, and I have been Craving That Shit for DECADES

And if these writers/directors ever did another Scooby film? I think I’d be up for giving them a chance - at least so long as we got some more absolutely BEAUTIFUL hugs with the gang

I hope you enjoyed this stream-of-consciousness reaction to SCOOB! (2020)... a whole ass year LATER, admittedly (I didn’t switch my Save Post to Queue, curse my hubris), but hopefully y’all’ve been entertained. Good night everybody!

#scoob!#scoob 2020 #scoob #scooby doo #plush reviews: final thoughts #note to self: never use queue for the big posts

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leverage-ot3 · 4 years

Text

notable moments from The Beantown Bailout Job

leverage 2.01

(see link for a video on this episode that captured literally all of my reactions and will undoubtedly capture yours too)

Manager: You found that stolen Monet in Florence, saved your company a $25 million payout. That identity-theft case, you saved $15 million.

nate sees .00005 seconds of normal life and yeets the hell out

- - - - -

(The lobby is teaming with people when Nate walks in. A sign shows that Sophie is starring in The Sound of Music. He sees Parker at the ticket counter)

Parker: Picking up for one.

Ticket Agent: Last name?

Parker: Parker.

Ticket Agent: First name?

Parker: No. Just one name.

Ticket Agent: Great. I hope you enjoy it.

(Parker turns to see Nate across the room and smiles)

Hardison: Parker?

(Parker looks to her right to see Hardison. The sound of Eliot’s laughter from across the lobby draws Hardison’s attention)

Eliot (to women): All right. After the show, then. I'll see you.

(Eliot turns and sees the others. The all meet in the center of the lobby)

Nate: Eliot.

Parker: Nate.

Hardison: Parker.

Eliot: Hardison.

Eliot: So, how have you...

Nate: Good. Good. Great. You?

Eliot: Fantastic. Six months of traveling. Did a couple of big jobs.

Hardison: eah. Me, too. Great off time. Well, I bought an oxygen tank. Cool, nice.

Parker: Yeah, super. I've been really super, too.

Nate: Yeah, she didn't tell me that you guys would..

this is that dinner scene from shrek 2 right???

also, parker’s lil smile when she sees nate, hardison’s big smile when he sees parker + hardison says parker and eliot says hardison = ot3 acknowledging each other

- - - - -

Hardison: I didn't know you could sing.

Sophie: You know. Not as well as I act, but, yeah.

Hardison: Oh

- - - - -

Sophie: Uhhgh…

Hardison: Yeah, you know, I'm sure the reviews will be...

(Sophie hands Hardison her phone)

Hardison: …on the news website already.

Parker (grabs the phone): Really? Wow. "Never before has a production of 'The Sound Of Music' made me root for the Nazis. (Hardison gestures something like ‘WHY’ to Parker and she gestures something like ‘JDJSJSJ SORRY’ back)

POOR SOPHIE LMFAO

- - - - -

Sophie: No. No, no, no. Stop it. There is nothing you can say that's gonna make me feel better.

Parker: I know what could make you feel better. We should steal something.

Nate: No, no.

Sophie: Yes! We could do it together.

Eliot: I like this. Get right back up on the bike.

Parker: Bike of crime.

Nate: Didn't you earlier tell me how great your new lives were?

Parker: Yeah, well, I stole the Hope Diamond.

Nate: What?

Parker: (Everyone looks surprised. Eliot looks like he is going to say something.) And then I put it back. Yeah, 'cause I was bored. Didn't care.

Hardison: I spent three days hacking the white house e-mail. No buzz.

Nate: See?

Hardison: But we are doing some pretty hinky stuff in Pakistan. Hinky.

Sophie: Look, I'm miserable. They're miserable. (to Eliot) Okay, what have you been doing the last six months?

Eliot: I was in Pakistan. (Parker grins)

Hardison: You see what you did? You took the world's best criminals, hitter, hacker, grifter, thief, you took us, and you broke us.

Nate: No, no. I-I, what I did, I taught you how to help people. That's all.

Parker: Exactly.

Sophie: Yeah.

Eliot: This is the problem, with being the good guy. It gets under your skin.

Sophie: Look, Nate. You have to have some poor, little lost soul somewhere who needs a little extra-legal aid.

Nate: Look, we all agreed that we'd just move on.

Sophie: Yeah, but we're... We're thieves.

Nate: Not me. Look, it was great. It was fun. It was wonderful while it lasted, but I was drunk most of the time, to be honest with you. And I… A little crazy.

Eliot: Yeah, but you were good.

Parker: You were the best.

Hardison: We were the best.

Parker: Yeah.

Nate: Listen, really, I owe all of you. And I'm very proud of what we did. I-I really am. But I got my life back, and I intend to keep it that way. And I am not a thief. (stands up) It was great to see all of you. Good night. (leaves)

BIKE OF CRIME + also bruh let them have their found family, nate

- - - - -

(Nate enters the dim room and looks around. Behind him, the Thug opens the door and comes at him with a knife. Nate sees the reflection in a pot lid and turns to block the blow. Sophie comes in behind the Thug)

Sophie: Oi! Does your mother sew? (headbutts Thug) Stitch that.

(Thug runs out of the condo. Nate runs out after him, but Thug gets away. As he reenters the condo, Sophie hits him in the head with a cookie sheet and Nate falls to the floor)

Sophie: Ah! Bugger

she tried, your honor + her tough talk and then AH BUGGER

- - - - -

(the next morning, Nate wakes up on the couch to the sound of Parker eating. Parker is wearing a Nun’s habit, smiles and moves away. Sophie comes downstairs wearing Nate’s shirt)

Nate: That's my shirt.

Sophie: Yeah. I stayed the night to make sure you were okay. You what? But don't worry. I didn't look under your bed. I know that's where guys keep weird, kinky stuff.

Nate: There's nothing under my bed.

Parker (opens cupboard): This is all coffee.

Nate: Get out of there! (sees Hardison and Eliot at the table) What are you guys doing? (gets up) Come on, get out of here. Get all this stuff out of here. You're planning something. I know it. Come on. Get out of my house.

...

Hardison: Look, nobody else is gonna help that guy and his little girl. Okay, that's what we do. We help people. By the way, I compared Sophie's description of your attacker to the accident footage from the security camera.

(Hardison pushes a few buttons on the laptop and zooms in on the Thug’s face to begin a facial recognition search through various cameras in the area)

Hardison: Do you realize, on average, people are caught on security cameras 13 times a day? ATM cameras, traffic cameras. It's crazy, man, but we can track him. We can. Well, I lost him in this.

Eliot: Yeah, well, I found this empty briefcase belonging to a Matt Kerrigan at that intersection.

...

Eliot: Yeah, well, the problem is, these two cats went down to the safety deposit boxes.

Parker: Which is the only room in every bank, with absolutely no cameras.

Hardison: Which means we up, baby. (puts on a priest’s collar) They tried to kill Kerrigan for what was in the briefcase. We're gonna steal it back.

Eliot (laughs): She was dressed that way 'cause she's doing a con.

Nate: What, you thought she was dressed like a nun for no reason?

Eliot: It's Parker.

...

(Nate walks away)

Sophie (to Eliot): So, you going?

Eliot: I'm not going anywhere. The man has 700 sports channels.

Sophie: You want to see what he's got under his bed?

Eliot: N-no, I do not.

Sophie: Icky

- - - - -

(Parker opens her Bible to reveal a lock duplication kit with a depression in the plastic of the master key)

[Flashback]

(Parker takes the key from the Bank Manager’s pocket as Hardison talks, pressing the key into the form before replacing it into the Bank Manager’s pocket)

Hardison: And the children... The children thank you. They will send you a card just as soon as we buy them tiny pencils. And teach them how to spell. It's a two-step process, you see.

[Bank Vault]

Parker: Superglue and a heat-activated polymer to set it. Seven seconds, instant plastic key. (hands Hardison the Bible) Shake it.

Hardison: What?

Parker: Shake the bible.

Hardison: This is even more wrong.

(Hardison: takes the Bible and begins shaking it while Parker picks box 5076)

they’re so competent ugh

- - - - -

Hardison: I did look for you. For six months.

HE LOOKED FOR HER FOR SIX MONTHS

- - - - -

Parker: I think people are like locks. Really complicated and frustrating. But you can't force them. You have to take time and be fiddly.

Hardison: Fiddly?

Parker: You learn to be patient, and just wait until you hear the...

(the lock opens and the door swings wide)

- - - - -

(Hardison is sitting on the couch going through some paperwork and working on a laptop. Several boards have been set up with information about the case)

Nate: Now, this is not "gone." This is "more."

Hardison: Yeah, I, uh, I scanned the documents in Leary's box, but I wanted to print out a few pages.

Nate: I asked—I asked Eliot to get rid of this stuff. Now there's more stuff.

Hardison: Did you? Oh, we-we crossed, but didn't see each other. He didn't tell me.

Nate: Oh, that's how you're gonna play this?

Hardison: Oh, man. Look... (stands up and sniffs)

Nate: What?

Hardison: Is that... What is that aroma? That's that apple shampoo that's open.

Nate: You've been up in my shower, rummaging around?

Hardison: Man's in a strange bathroom, he's got a lot of time to kill... Nate, Nate, Nat-

I CANNOT

- - - - -

Nate: Grew up in the same neighborhood. The O'Hares are mobbed up. These are all mob businesses you're talking about here.

Hardison: Mob?

Nate: Where's Eliot?

Hardison: Oops.

Nate: What?

[Warehouse]

(Eliot is going through boxes when his phone rings. He answers)

Eliot: Yeah, Hardison. This is the third place I checked. It's all the same. What do you mean mob?

Thug: Hey!

(three men approach, one of them the Thug, who has his nose bandaged and is carrying a baseball bat)

Eliot: Oh, that mob. (hangs up)

hardison’s “whoops” followed by I HAVE TO WARN MY BOYFRIEND + in this episode we have eliot using a baseball bat as a weapon which is yet another piece in the continuation of eliot using things as weapons that are not supposed to be used as weapons

+ he apologizes to the guy that just had a nose job for beating him up and punching him in the nose he’s baby

- - - - -

(Nate opens the refrigerator to find it full of Hardison’s orange soda)

Nate: Seriously?

(Nate turns to see the island covered in food and dishes)

Nate: You know, guys, there is a dishwasher here.

Eliot: You're out of ice.

he literally can’t get rid of them + also I WONDER whose orange soda that is

- - - - -

parker robot dancing in the 80s jacket and looking DIRECTLY at eliot lmfao

- - - - -

Nate: What? Sophie, how do you catch mob guys?

Sophie: Ah, two glasses of Chianti and a story about my grandma in Sicily

- - - - -

Nate: Well, yeah. I mean, if you have a body in the trunk of your car, you're gonna drive under the speed limit, aren't you?

Parker: You know, when you're sober, your metaphors get creepier

- - - - -

eliot and parker sitting next to each other? cute

- - - - -

Hardison: Mr. Leary, I'm Detective Costello, with the Massachusetts State Police. This is Detective Costigan. I believe you met with our chief, Lieutenant Bonanno

more aliases to keep track of

- - - - -

Parker: We're investigating your colleague Matt Kerrigan's (air quotes) "car accident."

Leary: So you don't think it was an accident?

Hardison: Of course not. She did the finger thing. You got that. Everybody gets that.

Parker: Did I do it right?

Hardison: No. No. This guy just... (pulls picture from his pocket)

~ a few moments later ~

Parker: I did it right, didn't I?

Hardison: It was perfect.

Parker: I knew I did it right.

Hardison: It was beautiful execution. Absolutely.

Parker: Just like you taught me. I did it. (she smiles brightly)

Hardison: Yeah. Yeah, you did it. I like it. Yeah. (gives her a thumbs up)

SHES LEARNING IM SO PROUD OF HER

- - - - -

Eliot: Hey, this detonator - If I'm around the corner, is it still gonna be in range?

Hardison: Should be. I haven't worked out all the kinks yet. Sometimes the things just go off.

Eliot: Whoa, whoa, wait. Hey. I thought you said this thing was safe.

Hardison: Mostly. Mostly safe. I was very specific. Sometimes the frequencies get messed up.

Eliot: What frequencies, man? Huh? I got these things in my pants.

Hardison: Like, you know, a garage-door opener, a car alarm.

(a car alarm chirps then goes off, making Eliot jump. He moves away angrily)

Parker: What are the odds that Eliot's crotch will actually explode?

Eliot: Damn it, Hardison! (stalks off)

chaotic ot3

- - - - -

Sophie (shows passport): Annie Kroy.

O’Hare (grabs passport): Name's familiar.

Sophie: My family does business in North London with Terry Adams, and a couple of other organizations. We handle the money.

Nate (getting up): Yeah, see, what they do is they clean the money.

some people think that annie kroy is sophie’s true identity. I think, if anything, it would be her duchess alias but can you IMAGINE mob child sophie??? also, hi. im jackie and I wholeheartedly believe annie kroy has killed a man.

- - - - -

(Eliot is parked outside of the bank when Leary comes out, looking at files. Eliot hits a remote and the sound of gunfire fills the street as the squibs go off. People scream and Leary dives for cover. Eliot laughs and closes his window.)

chaotic eliot

- - - - -

Leary: And for that, the government hunts them down like dogs. People like me, we took billions from the banks. Billions. And what did the government do when they finally caught us? They wrote us a giant check and begged us to make it all better.

that’s disturbing

- - - - -

(Parker uses a taser on O’Hare and Hardison pulls up a recorder)

I think that was the first time parker tasered someone and we love to see it

- - - - -

Nate: So, how did you do it?

Eliot (gets up): Detonator, (holds up remote, reaches into his shirt and pulls out ketchup wrapper) ketchup.

Nate: Ah, the classics.

Sophie: Oh (hops happily), I love a good death scene

- - - - -

parker in a nun costume smelling money and saying “ahhhh” is certainly a mood

- - - - -

Leary: I was tricked. I was tricked. It wasn't me, you understand?

Bonanno: Somebody tricked you into bringing a briefcase full of evidence of your own crimes straight to the police? Come on, Mr. Leary. Nobody's that smart. Get him out of here

THEY ARE T H A T SMART

- - - - -

Zoe: Thank you. There are wolves in the world. But sometimes they're the good guys, I guess.

I didn’t like that whole metaphor because it felt kinda cliche but whatever, they ARE the good guys

+ bruh why is hardison wearing glasses??? him and eliot will sometimes wear them and honestly I don’t know who actually needs them and for what at this point ???

- - - - -

(Nate enters the condo to find that Hardison has installed five of six large monitors on the wall and is working on the last one)

Nate: Whoa, whoa. What are you doing there?

Hardison: I'm running this cat 5 cable to the--

Nate: Oh, no, no, no, no. You don't understand. No, I don't want to have these monitors in my apartment. No.

(Parker opens the door and walks in carrying a large painting)

Parker: Coming through!

Nate: No, these must go. What? No! Parker, no! Not that paint--I don't ever want to see that painting.

Parker: (shaking the painting as she talks in a funny voice) “Hi, I'm old Nate, and I live here, too."

Nate: You can't just break in here and start hanging--

Hardison: Oh, yeah, yeah. For repairs or renovation, your landlord has full access to your dwelling. It's in the lease.

Nate: What are you doing reading my lease?

Hardison: I bought the building.

Nate: You bought the... You're my landlord?

Hardison: Yeah. (holds his hand out for a fistbump) Yeah.

(Nate looks away, then hears the sound of a chain saw. He turns to see the end of a chain saw come through the wall)

Nate: No, no! No! No!

(Part of the wall falls to reveal Eliot holding the chainsaw and grinning. Nate coughs and both Parker and Hardison put their arms around him)

CHAOTIC OT3 + THEIR TIRED DAD

#leverage #leverage 2.01 #leverage 2x01 #the beantown bailout job #leverage season 2 #season 2 #notable moments #mine

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thepartyresponsible · 5 years

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here’s a short, relatively fluffy fic about what happens when jason todd and clint barton, a pair of career criminals and expert thieves, steal the winter soldier.

and to the anon who asked for a fluffy fic featuring hot chocolate, blankets, and warm feels shared by clint, jason, and tony....um. i’m really sorry. i’ve had a lot of cold medication. my reading comprehension is compromised.

Popular opinion would no doubt suggest that stealing the Winter Soldier is the ballsiest heist Jason and Clint have ever pulled. Jason’s not sure he’d rank it that high. After all, their Batcave stunt was pretty egregiously ill-advised, and then there was the time they stole fifty grand worth of Kryptonite with the use of a clipboard and some fake EPA inspector badges they printed out at a public library.

But keeping the Winter Soldier. Yeah. Sure. That’s pretty ballsy.

No real other options, though. At least none that either of them could live with.

Jason knows they’re doomed the moment he hears the quiet horror in Clint’s voice, the way his words catch, just a little, when he says, “Um. Jay? I think it’s a person.”

Because stealing a serial killer robot from HYDRA and then handing it off to the League of Assassins for “decommissioning” is one thing, but turning over a living, breathing human being is another. He and Clint walk all kinds of fuzzy ethical lines. God knows even Selina gets shrill about their activities sometimes. But they don’t deal in people. Not ever.

“Okay,” Jason says, nudging Clint gently out of the way. “Go steal us something fast. I’ll handle this.”

Because, between the two of them, Clint’s got the softer heart. He doesn’t get fussy about what happens in an honest fight, but he can get downright melancholy about the necessities of after-battle cleanup, and Jason’s happy to spare him from it, when he can.

So Clint goes to get them a car that’ll get them out of the country before Ra’s realizes he’s been screwed around, and Jason goes to hover over the Winter Soldier, freshly defrosted, still barely twitching his way back to consciousness.

And Jason’s not an asshole. Whatever this guy’s done, he hasn’t done it to Jason or anyone who belongs to him, so none of this is personal. It’s gonna be fast and easy, just a bullet between the eyebrows, but the Winter Soldier blinks his pretty eyes open, looks up the barrel of the gun, and stares right into Jason’s face.

“я готов отвечать,” he says.

Ready to comply, Jason thinks.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jason says.

And so, after that, Jason doesn’t have the heart to kill him, either.

There’s a lot of yelling in the days that follow. From all conceivable sides. Ra’s al Ghul threatens every kind of unpleasant thing, and HYDRA hounds after them like they’re supposed to be scared of a group of megalomaniacal old cult assholes too creepy to get invited to the local Free Masons, and Selina calls Jason every day for a week to shriek at him about how she didn’t save him from the streets of Gotham so he could get murdered for stealing the world’s most brutal assassin.

“Selina, c’mon,” Jason says, muttering into the phone. Winter’s asleep in the backseat, shackled up like Houdini before a trick, and they’ve had a couple exciting moments, but he’s mostly just been quiet and kinda eerily empty-eyed. He keeps asking Jason about the mission. “He’s fine. I mean, he’s a little rough around the edges, sure. But I found Clint in a dumpster.”

“Hey,” Clint says, whisper-hissing at him from the passenger seat.

“And he looked great,” Jason tacks on quickly, with a wink he hopes will smooth things over. “Amazing. That dumpster didn’t know how lucky it had it.”

“You need to be careful,” Selina says. She put down two HYDRA goons this morning. They barged in on her in her pajamas, and she’s probably more pissed about getting caught with bed hair than having to dump two bodies before noon.

Although, she never was much of a morning person.

“We’re being careful,” Clint promises, leaning over to talk into the phone. “We couldn’t leave him, Selina. You didn’t see him. It was--- it was really bad.”

Selina’s quiet for a moment. “He’s an international criminal,” she says. And then, probably after she remembers that every single person in this conversation has their own personal INTERPOL file, she adds: “He’s an assassin.”

“I think he’s nice,” Clint says, stubborn and loyal. As always.

He only thinks that because Winter keeps trying to palm him extra food. Jason has to make a big show out of giving Clint food at the same time as he unlocks Winter for meals, or Winter will only eat half his food and then stash the rest so he can sneak it to Clint later.

Jason does not consider this behavior an endorsement of HYDRA’s caretaking expertise.

“He’d better be worth all the trouble,” Selina says. But she doesn’t mean it. Selina’s a thief and a liar and sometimes a killer, but she’s just like Clint, really. Softhearted for lost causes, both of them.

Jason can’t complain. It’s that shared weakness that brought both of them to him.

“Well,” Jason says, “if he’s not, we’ll just drop him with whatever country’s offering the biggest bounty.”

“That’s my boy,” Selina says. “But remember to start a bidding war first.”

The thing about Winter is that he’s actually James Buchannan Barnes, Captain America’s best friend. He’s a Goddamn war hero, and HYDRA took him, tortured him, blended his brain, and made him kill people.

Jason grew up in Gotham, spent his formative years playing sidekick to Catwoman, so he’s seen some fucked-up situations. But it makes him sick, watching Winter work it out. Catching those sporadic flashes of Bucky Barnes, the miserable, devastated way he closes his eyes when the memories come, like it was better, somehow, when all he knew how to say was Yes, No, and Ready to comply.

And Clint was right. He is nice. He’s painfully sweet, really, in the way he frets over Clint until he figures out that Jason doesn’t actually run things, doesn’t own Clint, and sure as hell would never hurt him. And then he frets over both of them. Stoic and steely-eyed and stone-jawed, fretting like a Goddamn mother hen.

HYDRA wants him back, and Ra’s wants him dead, and Jason and Clint, as insistently and dramatically as they can, invite both of them to fuck right off.

They don’t really mean to keep him. Not forever. Just until people stop trying to murder him. Just until they can stash him in some nice town, where no one knows who he is, where he can go back to being Bucky Barnes full time and forget all about everything HYDRA made him into.

But people don’t stop. The whole world keeps coming after them. And Bucky, for his part, doesn’t want to leave them.

Six months in, Clint catches a bullet, and Bucky gets stolen, and Jason has to choose to leave Clint so he can go grab Bucky before they wipe him clean out of his own head. And Clint’s going to be fine, knows how to look after himself, didn’t get shot anywhere vital. But Jason crashes into that transport van with Clint’s blood on his hands, and it makes him crazy, a little. It makes him a nightmare.

So, afterwards, Selina brokers a meeting with Batman, and Jason goes, because Batman’s owed him a favor ever since that years-long game of tag he used to play with Nightwing resulted in him accidentally stumbling into a situation where he saved Nightwing’s life.

He doesn’t bring Clint, and he doesn’t bring Bucky, because he figures Batman’s not going to kill him, but he might throw him in prison. If he does, Selina will bust him out on principle, and she’d almost certainly do the same for Clint, but Bucky’s so new and so much trouble that she might just leave him where he’s less likely to get Jason killed.

“Look, Bats,” Jason says, when they’re finally standing uncomfortably on the same rooftop. “We don’t like each other. You’re the delusional iron fist of the bourgeoisie acting out your punishment kink on the unsuspecting poor, and I’m just a guy trying to make a living. But we gotta work together on this, okay? Or I’m gonna leak the porn I found on the Batcave computers.”

Batman takes a long breath in through his nose. He seems to visibly weigh out which issue to raise first. “You planted those files on the Batcave computers.”

And he hadn’t, actually. Clint did that. He’d spent the whole night before the job downloading Superman-themed porn, and he’d filled Jason’s laptop with so much malware that Jason eventually just burned the thing in a purifying pyre. But Jason had to admit that running those videos on every screen in the Batcave had resulted in a truly awe-inspiring, immersive experience.

“We were just trying to be supportive,” Jason says. “Anyway. Look. You owe me a favor.”

There’s a lot of back-and-forth after that, consisting mainly of Batman holding forth about how saving a life is its own reward and he doesn’t owe Jason a favor and Jason really needs to reconsider his life choices while he still has the opportunity to do so. But he seems to listen when Jason tells him what he knows about HYDRA, about how deep its infiltration of SHIELD and various world governments goes. He’s quiet when Jason talks about Bucky. And, when Jason hands over all their intel, he takes the flash drive readily enough.

“If this is more porn,” he says, holding up the flash drive, “I’m throwing all of you in Blackgate.”

“Jesus, Bats,” Jason says, not even trying to bite back a laugh. “If it had that much of an impact on you, you should do some solitary self-reflection about it. Maybe some of those documentaries we left for you could help.”

Jason leaves Gotham and drives through the morning and afternoon and early evening, doubling and then tripling back on his route, making sure he’s not being followed. When he finally makes it to the safehouse, he’s shivery cold and dead tired. Bucky goes over his bike, checking for any trackers Jason might have missed, and Clint bullies him right into the shower.

Afterwards, Jason faceplants on the couch, and Clint hauls him up a few minutes later so he can press a mug of hot chocolate into his hands. “Drink this,” he says.

“Coffee,” Jason groans.

“No,” Clint says, as he settles next to him. “You’ve gotta sleep, you asshole. You’ve been up for three days straight.”

“Whiskey,” Jason tries, a little less plaintive and a little more mutinous.

Clint sighs. “I already put bourbon in there.”

Jason hums, appeased, and leans over to press a smacking kiss to Clint’s cheek. “You’re a fucking saint,” he says.

“Oh, a fucking saint,” Clint mutters, rolling his eyes. There’s a pleased blush settling along the lines of his cheekbones. “Didn’t know they made those.”

“The patron saint of fucking,” Jason declares, sipping at his hot chocolate. “Endowed with the power of---”

“This should be good,” Bucky mumbles, from across the room.

“Oh shit,” Jason says, and nearly sloshes the hot chocolate on himself. He tries not to talk about sex too much in front of Bucky. He tries not to think about sex too much in front of Bucky. He’s helplessly in love with Clint, and has been since he hauled him out of that dumpster in Gotham, but, as Winter fades and Bucky manifests more confidently in this new century, there’s been a growing tension between the three of them that Jason, frankly, has no idea what to do with.

“No, go on,” Bucky says, like this is the conversation he wants to have. Like he’s not the slightest bit curious about the mission Jason just ran, the one that’s supposed to clear his name, open a path that allows them to work with SHIELD to burn HYDRA to the ground. “He’s the patron saint of what, again?”

“Yeah,” Clint says, blinking at him with his innocent face in place. “What were you saying?”

Jason rolls his eyes and takes a pointed drink of his hot chocolate. It’s nice, he decides. That everyone’s comfortable enough to shit-talk him these days. Real refreshing. A Goddamn triumph of the resiliency of the human spirit.

“It went alright?” Bucky says, because he’s almost always the merciful one. Maybe he enjoys the novelty of it.

When he wanders over, he snags a blanket off the nearby chair, and he curls up on the end of the couch beside Clint, tossing the blanket over the three of them. He holds his hands out toward Jason, and Jason, without even thinking, passes his hot chocolate over. Bucky’s fingers brush Jason’s, and linger.

Jason isn’t making this shit up. He knows he isn’t.

First of all, he spends half his life watching people hit on Clint. He knows the signs.

Second of all, people get hot chocolate on their lips every day, but nobody licks it off like that unless they’re trying to plant ideas in people’s heads about what else those lips and tongue could do.

“Um,” Jason says, when he realizes they’re both staring at him. “Yeah. I mean. He didn’t throw me off a roof or put me in prison, so. I think he’s gonna help.”

Clint and Bucky exchange a look and then shrug. By their standards, that’s the start of a highly promising business relationship.

“Well,” Clint says, as he sprawls out, tucked in tight against Jason’s side, with a casual ankle hooked around one of Bucky’s. “You guys wanna watch Dog Cops?”

Jason figures, between the bourbon, and the blanket, and the warm weight of Clint’s body, he’s gonna be asleep in fifteen minutes. But he’d give Clint anything he asked for. “Sure,” he says, eyes already drifting closed. “Sounds great.”

Two days later, they meet with a reserved, competent, endlessly unamused man named Phil Coulson. He doesn’t smile or laugh or seem to like them even a little bit. But he doesn’t try to kill them, either.

Four years later, they’re Strike Team Delta, and they’ve acquired Natasha Romanoff and a hell of a reputation. Coulson smiles more and yells more, and still hasn’t tried to kill them. Not once. Not even after Budapest.

HYDRA is ashes, and Bucky is theirs.

So what the hell. Maybe stealing the Winter Soldier wasn’t their ballsiest heist. But it was definitely their best.

#writing #fic

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writings-of-dumpy · 4 years

Text

McCall Twins

Summary: Scott and Scarlett McCall are twins, and Scarlett likes Stiles. Happy Valentine’s day!

Warnings: NSFW, unprotected sex, mild violence

Tags: @mindingmyownbusiness

“You sure you’ll be okay, Scar?” Scott asked his twin sister before heading on a date with his girlfriend, which left Scarlett alone in their house. Tonight their mother had to work an overnight shift and Scott was given the opportunity to spend the night camping with his girlfriend.

“Yes, I’ll be fine! Go have fun with Kira, okay? Text me when you’re coming home,” she requested. He smiled and waved at her before closing the door and heading out on his bike. Scarlett locked the door after him and immediately felt a small twinge of anxiety creep up on her. Deciding that she’s not going to let it get the best of her, she turned on Netflix for a distraction.

Scarlett was no fool—even though Scott had never told her anything was amiss, she knew that something was up with him. For the past two and a half years, he would disappear in the night and sometimes come back like he’d gotten into a boxing match. Scarlett and Scott had been best friends and nearly inseparable their whole lives and shared everything—food, toys, and problems—so it was disheartening to Scarlett to think that Scott felt he needed to keep something from her. She worried about him when he’d go off somewhere and not tell her or their mother, and with each occurrence, Scarlett wanted to know even more.

But tonight, she didn’t want to dwell on it. She had the house to herself and even though the thought of being utterly alone terrified her, she tried to think of the positives it would bring. For example, she could watch whatever she wanted and not worry about pleasing anyone, and she could eat whatever she wanted without anyone (Scott) trying to take her food. She skimmed through the list of movies and decided on one that she would probably regret watching alone, but wanted to see anyway. She gathered a fluffy blanket, a pillow, and a few snacks for herself and pressed play.

“I’m so smart. I’m the smartest person I know,” she told herself sarcastically as she turned off the lamp next to her and the eerie music of the opening credits began to play. The only light in the room was from the television now, but once the music stopped playing, she found herself calmer and becoming immersed in the movie.

As the movie progressed, Scarlett sunk deeper into her blanket. About thirty minutes into the movie, Scarlett heard a loud noise coming from upstairs. At first she passed it off as a fluke, but then even more noises happened and she thought she could hear a male voice. Nearly frozen in fear, she thought quickly about what to do next. She paused the movie to focus on the noise, then she took a deep breath and exited her cocoon of blanket and quietly grabbed the baseball bat their mother kept by the door. She didn’t have time to feel self-conscious about her clothes (or lack thereof, given that she was currently pantsless), but she did find herself running through the possibilities of grabbing one of Scott’s pants from the dryer and making a run for it. She crept upstairs, bat in hand, and made her way down the hall towards where the footsteps were coming from. She isolated them to Scott’s room and readied her phone to call 911.

Without another thought, she opened the door to Scott’s room and rushed in ready to swing.

“AAGH! HOLY SHIT!” she heard a familiar voice yell in fright.

Scarlett flipped the light on to reveal the intruder to be Stiles.

“Stiles, what the hell are you doing?! Why didn’t you use the front door like a normal fucking person?!” Scarlett said, completely exasperated as she lowered the bat.

“Why do you have a baseball bat?!” Stiles asked her in a similar tone.

“I thought you were a murderer!” Scarlett explained. She could feel her heart begin to slow down once she knew she was no longer in danger.

The two of them caught their breaths and looked at each other. Scarlett and Stiles had always been close given Stiles and Scott’s bond, so it wasn’t uncommon for Stiles to show up unannounced, and Scarlett often welcomed his presence. She had always been romantically attracted to Stiles, but never acted on the feeling for fear of what Scott would say. Also, Scarlett didn’t want to lose Stiles, so she decided long ago that she’d admire him from afar and put their friendship—which she cherished—first.

“Hey, that’s my shirt…” Stiles noticed and took a step towards Scarlett with an outstretched finger.

“Well, I stole it from Scott, so you’ll have to ask him about it,” Scarlett said with a sly smile.

“Hm. I like it better on you anyway,” Stiles said with a nod.

“So, why are you here, Stiles?” Scarlett asked and crossed her arms around the bat she still held.

“Well, I um… Well I was looking for Scott!” Stiles managed to stammer through.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. “Scott sent you here to watch over me?”

Stiles shrugged with an apologetic look.

Scarlett rolled her eyes and sighed. “Well, you still could have used the front door. As you can see, I’m fine, so you don’t have to stay.”

Suddenly, thunder boomed and shook the house and rattled the windows around them.

“Or not…” Scarlett said. The pair made their way downstairs and Scarlett could feel Stiles’ eyes on her bare legs, but neither of them said anything to acknowledge Scarlett’s lack of clothing. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Stiles glanced over at the living room set-up.

“Having a little movie night?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah. You can join me if you want. The movie’s pretty scary and I don’t think you’ll want to be driving in this weather…” Scarlett said and motioned to the downpour outside.

Stiles looked out the window and nodded. “Alright, let’s get this sleepover going!”

Scarlett smiled and went to sit back on the couch. It had been a while since Stiles had slept over, and Scarlett remembered fondly the times when he did where they would play games with Scott and they’d watch movies together with an abundance of snacks. Stiles kicked his shoes off and joined Scarlett on the couch where she then offered him some of her blanket.

“Thanks. So how scary is this movie?” Stiles asked and draped the blanket over himself.

“I’m only a half-hour in, but so far it’s pretty scary. Especially the part where someone broke into my house,” Scarlett teased. Stiles let out an embarrassed smile and shook his head.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry,” he said to her.

Scarlett shook her head, then played the movie. The more intense the movie become, the closer she inched to Stiles without even realizing it. Before long, she was nearly touching him with the blanket covering the both of them. A clap of thunder startled her and then the movie’s monster popped out, so Scarlett yelped and pulled the blanket close to her. She heard Stiles chuckle lowly and then felt his arm wrap around her shoulders. She accepted his gesture and let him pull her close to his body with her head laid against his firm chest.

“Better, bug?” Stiles asked her. Scarlett’s cheek heated up at the pet name and she nodded against the soft material of his shirt. She continued to watch the movie, but was more focused on how great Stiles felt around her. She felt secure and safe with him, and his touch was something she would never take for granted. She felt his fingers rub slow circles on her upper arm and the gentle touch soothed her. She readjusted herself against him, and Stiles moved his arm from her.

“Here, let’s just do this…” he mumbled and slid himself beneath her. Scarlett was thankful for the dim light because she was sure that the color of her cheeks gave her name justice as he gently pulled her back down to him. Her head rested comfortably beneath his chin and slightly in the crook of his neck. His arms draped around her under the blanket and she felt herself become encased in his embrace. She inhaled deeply and found Stiles’ cologne to be one of the best smells she had ever experienced and she secretly hoped that her blanket would keep the scent for a while after he had left.

The movie ended on a relatively happy note, for which Scarlett was thankful. She propped herself up with her arms on either side of Stiles’ chest and the two looked at each other with smiles.

“Another one?” Stiles suggested. Scarlett nodded and they searched through the collection of movies together. Once they decided, the movie was a romantic comedy, which made Scarlett’s stomach turn to knots. She didn’t fully pay attention and was more focused on Stiles’ hands lazily rubbing her back as the pair stayed in each other’s arms. Before long, though, Scarlett felt her eyes grow heavy.

“You’re staying, right?” she asked in a low and groggy voice.

“Of course,” Stiles agreed. Scarlett nodded and let her eyes fall closed and let her mind drift off into sleep on Stiles’ perfect chest.

Stiles could barely keep himself together. He had come to Scott’s house to look after Scarlett at Scott’s request, but he had no idea how incredible the night would turn out. It was about one in the morning and the girl of his dreams had just fallen asleep on him. Stiles felt his heart melt with every steady breath she took. He let his hands rub her back in soft circles, and when his fingers felt the soft strands of hair form her head, he switched to light strokes of her hair.

Stiles knew that she couldn’t sleep on the couch all night—she’d be much more comfortable in her own bed. Careful not to wake her, Stiles sat the two of them up so that he could cradle her in his arms to carry her to bed. His left arm supported her upper half against him while his right arm hooked underneath her bare legs and he lifted her with ease. His skin was set ablaze by the feel of her soft legs on his bare hands, and he could feel his heart swell. Once he reached her room, he gingerly placed Scarlett on her bed with her head on her pillows and her body under the covers. Before he left for the night, he leaned down and planted a soft and delicate kiss to her forehead.

“You are precious,” he breathed out to himself. As he went to leave her room, he heard her voice coo his name.

“Stiles… Stiles, stay…” she said. He wasn’t sure if she was talking in her sleep or if he had imagined it, but the tug at his heart was undeniable. He climbed into bed with her and the pair snuggled beneath the covers together.

Scarlett awoke in the early morning to find herself in her bed and being held close by none other than Stiles. His mouth hung agape and his eyes were closed, which was all she needed to confirm that he was asleep.

“Oh, Stiles...-==” she mumbled to herself with a smile and snuggled back into him. The two had shared a bed a few times before, so this wasn’t a new occurrence, but Scarlett still relished in the feel of Stiles in her bed with her.

~*~

The buzz of the crowd around her made Scarlett uncomfortable. She didn’t enjoy crowds at all, but she wanted to do her best to support her brother’s games. After about ten minutes, the match began with the players running onto the field. Scarlett was sat near the front of the bleachers, so she could easily make out the names and numbers of the players. When she saw her brother run out with the rest of his team, she stood and cheered with her mother, who was sat next to her. Scott looked up and waved to the pair and their mom waved back.

Scarlett saw Stiles right next to Scott and waved to him, which prompted Stiles to shoot finger guns at her to make her smile.

“Oh my god,” Scarlett said with a grin and gave finger guns back to him.

The game began with Scott on the field and a few players, including Stiles, sat on the bench until it was time for them to play. Scarlett wasn’t sure exactly what the rules of lacrosse were or what the pays were, but she could tell that Scott was enjoying himself and he was quite good. Scarlett had only ever been to one other game of his—when they first started high school three years ago and he made the team, so Scarlett hadn’t seen his progression, but was proud of her twin anyway.

After a while, Stiles was called in to play and he jogged onto the field. Scarlett smiled widely and cheered for him by calling out his name and words of encouragement. The game began again, and Stiles managed to make a goal, which seemed to impress his teammates and the coach. During the brief pause, Stiles looked up and made eye contact with Scarlett, pointed to her so that everyone could see, then blew her a kiss from the field.

“Wow, that’s quite the gesture,” Scarlett’s mom commented over the various “aw”s and “ooh”s that the crowd made.

Scarlett’s face heated up and she knew her cheeks were turning pink. “He’s such a dork.”

“A dork who likes you,” her mom told her with a smile.

Scarlett rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile. After about another 45 minutes of the game, Scott and Stiles scored the winning goal, which caused the bleachers to empty and everyone rush the field to congratulate the players.

Among the chaos, Scarlett managed to find Scott and Stiles, who had taken their helmets off and were grinning from ear to ear.

“You won! Congratulations, that was so cool!” their mother said to Scott once she and Scarlett met him on the field.

“Good job, Scott,” Scarlett told her brother and gave him a swift hug, and then saw Stiles come over.

“Hey Stiles, good job out there! Congrats on winning, too!” Scarlett told him.

“Yeah! We won!” Stiles exclaimed. Without warning, he scooped Scarlett up in his arms and spun her around a couple of times before putting her down again. Scarlett couldn’t help but giggle and blush like crazy at his actions, and when he put her down, his arms remained around her and a bright smile lit up his face. Scarlett was ecstatic to see him so happy and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him, but she held herself back from that. He was just a friend, after all.

“Hey, you’re coming to get food with us after, right?” Stiles asked her with hope in his voice.

Scarlett looked at her mom and brother. “Uh, I mean, sure… If it’s okay with Scott… And I rode here with mom, and Scott’s going to Kira’s…”

“That’s okay, I can take you home,” Stiles offered.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun!” Scott agreed.

After the team went to the locker rooms to shower and change, Scarlett went by Stiles’ jeep and waited for the boys to arrive. She felt uneasy being alone in the lot, but she knew that Scott and Stiles wouldn’t be long to shower and change. After aimlessly looking around the empty lot, she sighed to herself and cast her head to her feet. She kept thinking about Stiles’ actions from tonight and the butterflies in her stomach grew. She felt flattered that he scored a goal and blew her a kiss afterward, and she was thrilled when he picked her up in celebration. Scarlett was so lost in thought that she didn’t realize the figure standing about twenty feet away and encroaching on her.

Scarlett looked up and saw an animal-like figure walking on its hind legs. The figure was covered in fur and its eyes glowed a brilliant blue. It stood much taller than anything she had ever seen and had claws that looked like they were designed to kill. She had no idea what she was looking at, but it chilled her to the bone. Scarlett’s heart started to race. When it bared its fangs at her and started to run at her on all fours, she ran as fast as she could towards the school.

She screamed when the beast seemingly picked her up and threw her against a light pole. She almost instantly felt a bruise form on her back and arm, and the blow knocked the wind out of her, but she recovered soon enough. She expected another hit, but instead what she heard was a whimper. She looked back to see the creature had been hurt and stumbled back a few steps. Standing before it and seemingly the one to injure it, was a silhouette that Scarlett recognized to belong to her brother.

“Scott?!” she called out to him and stood up. He turned around to face her. His eyes weren’t brown anymore, instead they glowed red. His face had morphed into an image that resembled an animal, and from his mouth a set of fangs protruded. Scarlett’s eyes went wide—she knew that she was looking at her brother, but she didn’t recognize his face.

“Oh my god,” Scarlett breathed out in shock. She stumbled backward and Scott turned toward the beast and let out a deafening roar. Scarlett stumbled back and was caught by someone whose arms she recognized.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Stiles told her and supported her against him.

Scarlett could barely speak. Her eyes were glued to Scott, who had successfully shooed the beast away. Scott ran over to Scarlett and Stiles.

“I’m going after it. Keep her safe, okay?” Scott told Stiles.

“Wait! Scott!” Scarlett called after him and broke free from Stiles’ gentle hold. Scott stopped and looked at her with his face still contorted.

Scarlett stepped closer to him and looked into his red eyes. “What… is this?”

Scott sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m a werewolf, Scar. I know you’ve noticed that I’ve been acting strange these past couple years and that’s why. I’ve been protecting you and everyone else from the supernatural threats. What attacked you was also a werewolf, but a different kind—a kind that is so far gone that it kills without a thought.”

“I have so many questions...” Scarlett gasped out.

“I know, and I promise we’ll talk about it later. But right now, I have to stop that thing from hurting anyone else,” Scott assured her.

“What do I tell mom?” she asked Scott in a low and dumbfounded tone.

“She already knows,” Scott said with an apologetic grin. Scarlett’s jaw dropped and she smacked him upside the head.

“You told mom, but you didn’t tell me?!” she yelled.

“Like I said, I was protecting you… I’m sorry. I have to go,” Scott said and started to run.

“Be careful!” Scarlett called after him.

“He always is,” Stiles said from behind her. She turned around and looked at him with watery eyes. Stiles let out a breath and opened his arms to her. The pair walked toward each other and met in the middle with a comforting embrace.

“Are you hurt?” Stiles asked softly. Scarlett shook her head, but she was sure she’d feel sore in the morning.

“Let’s get you home…” Stiles said softly. He helped Scarlett into the passenger’s side of his jeep. Scarlett felt like the world she knew was a lie and that everything she had ever known was a fabrication. She felt relieved to finally know the truth, but hurt deeply that Scott kept this huge secret from her.

“How long have you known?” she asked Stiles when they were closer to Scarlett’s house.

“As long as he has,” Stiles sighed out.

Scarlett shook her head and let out a quiet sob. Not a moment after Stiles parked the car, his arms were around her. She felt safe with Stiles, like she always had and right now she needed that more than anything. The pair went into the house and Scarlett found a note from her mother that read: ‘Got called in, feel free to let Stiles over again ;)’

Scarlett was too upset to be worried about her mother’s hidden meanings and welcomed Stiles inside. Once her adrenaline had subsided, Scarlett started to feel a throbbing pain in the middle of her back, and she winced when she bent over to take off her shoes.

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked.

“I think so… can you check my back? It kinda hurts..” Scarlett asked him.

“Um, sure…” Stiles said lowly. Scarlett led him to the upstairs bathroom and turned on the light. The room was well-lit and Scarlett decided that this would give him the best chance to see any injuries that she incurred. Before she could think much about it, she took her shirt off with her back facing Stiles. She couldn’t see his face, but she felt her cheeks heat up and she silently thanked her past self for wearing a decent bra. It’s not like Stiles hadn’t seen her in a bikini before, and this was essentially the same thing, but Scarlett still felt vulnerable and nervous under his gaze.

She didn’t dare look back at him, but she did ask over her shoulder, “Do you see anything?”

She heard Stiles’ footsteps walk towards her, and she felt the cool touch of his gentle fingers against her back. Her skin became a conflagration in Stiles’ hands wake. He felt along her spine and splayed his hands along her shoulder blades. He was so close to her that Scarlett felt his breath hit her neck.

“Does this hurt?” Stiles asked in a low voice and Scarlett swore she thought his octave dropped.

Unable to trust her voice, Scarlett shook her head. She felt Stiles’ hand slide under where her hair fell on her back and gently move the tresses around her shoulder. Scarlett’s heart jumped at the motion and she could feel him even closer now.

“What about here..?” Stiles asked and pressed his hand in the middle of her back.

“No,” Scarlett mumbled out.

“You have some bruising on your shoulder blades, but it doesn’t look like anything is broken…” Stiles told her. Scarlett noticed one of his hands remained on her waist and she had to remember to breathe.

“Thanks, Stiles…” she said to him. Her heart was pounding and she felt Stiles’ hold on her waist give a gentle squeeze. Scarlett smiled and faced him with red cheeks.

Stiles’ face was centimeters from hers when she turned around and she noticed his eyes traveled her face and found themselves at her lips. His own were a blush pink and part of his lower was tucked behind his front teeth.

“I’m really glad you’re okay…” he breathed out. Scarlett felt both of his hands on her now—one at her waist and the other at the base of her head, with his thumb resting against the side of her jaw.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Scarlett told him. He leaned in and closed his eyes, then pressed his forehead to hers. Scarlett hoped that Stiles didn’t hear her heart pounding faster than it had when she was running from a beast an hour ago.

“Scott’s gonna kill me, but I can’t wait anymore,” Stiles muttered to himself. Before Scarlett could ask him what he meant, his lips had collided with hers. She felt for a moment like she had died and gone to heaven because his kiss was so powerful and filled with emotion.

She kissed him back with equivalent emotion and purpose. Stiles pulled her body flush against him and hooked his arm around her waist and his other hand supported her head firmly in their kiss. Scarlett was so lost in the feeling of his soft lips on hers that she barely heard the soft moan that came from Stiles’ throat. When she recognized the sound as coming from him, she kissed him more purposefully and she knew what she wanted.

“I’m sorry… I just—” Stiles whispered to her once they disconnected for air. His head still rested against hers as he spoke but Scarlett had cut him off with a finger to his lips.

“Never apologize for that. It was what I’ve wanted for years,” she confessed to him and her hand rested on his chest.

Stiles smiled and let out a small laugh. She felt his thumb gently stroke her cheek and she leaned into the touch with a small smile.

“Can I kiss you again?” he asked with hope in his voice.

“Please do,” Scarlett told him and a second later, his lips were against hers again. This time, he kissed her lightly and slowly with their lips just past barely touching. Scarlett smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull them closer and Stiles encased her in his arms. Scarlett felt his kiss change from light and romantic to deep and desperate. She could feel his passion through his lips on hers and she felt herself grow weak in the knees. Stiles must have taken notice because he lifted her up and she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. Without separating, Stiles walked them to Scarlett’s room and he laid her on her back against her mattress. He paused only for a moment to gaze at her below him with his mouth hung agape and lips swollen.

Scarlett blushed deeply and almost got up to cover herself, but Stiles crawled on top of her and kissed her with a passion that she hadn’t seen or felt in her life. Stiles’ hands felt up her arms and he locked their fingers together above Scarlett’s head.

“I… I love you, Scarlett. Like… in love with you. Very deeply in love with you,” Stiles confessed.

Scarlett felt her heart soar and she smiled widely. “I love you, Stiles.”

Their lips reconnected and Scarlett made sure she let him know just how much he meant to her. This time, Scarlett was the one to let out a moan. With a smirk, Stiles pulled away and looked down at her.

“Now what was that?” he joked with her.

“I didn’t say anything when you did it!” she protested with a laugh.

Stiles smiled and kissed her cheek. “Hm, well I’d like to hear it again.”

Scarlett blushed. “Then make it happen…”

Stiles let out a sound that Scarlett barely recognized as his voice in her ear as he made his merry way kissing and nibbling on her earlobe. “If you’ll let me, I’ll make you moan more than you ever have.”

Scarlett felt herself nearly melt into the sheets as she nodded and whispered out, “Yes please.”

Stiles made quick work of removing his shirt and Scarlett smiled at the small tuft of hair he had grown in the middle of his chest since the last time she had seen him shirtless. With flushed cheeks and a doofy smile, Stiles dove in for another passionate kiss with Scarlett. She smiled into his affection and let her hands wander around his mole-speckled torso. She felt his hands slip down to the waistband of her sweatpants and tug.

“Off with these,” Stiles mumbled into her mouth and she assisted his hand in removing her pants. He broke away and looked down at the form below him. His cheeks flushed red again and his hands roamed around her torso. She bit her lip and let her hands undo Stiles’ jeans. He helped her with removing them, and flung both his jeans and his briefs to the floor of her room. Scarlett had never seen Stiles naked before, but now that the sight was in front of her, she knew her imagination could never compare. She saw his cheeks flush and Scarlett pulled him down to kiss her deeply. She felt his hardened cock press against her and she instinctively ground her hips upward against him.

Stiles seemed to get her hint because before Scarlett could even blink, her underwear had been pulled away and Stiles went to work on removing her bra. His mouth attached to the crook of her neck and he left love bites all along her shoulder as his fingers fiddled with the clasp.

“Damn it,” he swore under his breath and Scarlett chuckled and helped him remove the garment.

She bit her lip and hoped that he liked what he saw. She noticed his swollen tip begin to ooze a clear fluid and the rest of his shaft twitch in desire.

“I can’t wait anymore… I need you. I’ve needed you since I met you and god, please don’t make me wait,” Stiles begged of her.

Scarlett nodded and felt his desperation match her own. She pulled him down to her and let her legs open to allow his tip to slip inside of her.

“Oh… god,” Stiles moaned and Scarlett’s eyes shut in pleasure as Stiles and Scarlett connected.

“Fuck, Stiles…” she moaned with him. Their moves became instinct and she couldn’t help but move against him as Stiles quickly began to thrust into her. His motions began slow and longing, but as their combined desire climbed, his thrusts became rougher and more animalistic. Scarlett felt herself succumbing completely to Stiles and her love for him was expressed in this action. She felt Stiles’ passion and longing in each of his movements and she wanted nothing more than to have him this way forever.

“I’ve needed you for so fucking long. Fuck, I love you…” Stiles swore. Scarlett could find no words, but let out a cry of bliss into his shoulder as her nails dug into his back.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” Stiles panted and his thrusts suddenly froze with his whole body becoming rigid, but he never once let go of his arms around Scarlett. Scarlett’s own release came without warning shortly after his expulsion into her, with the images of him above her floating in her mind. They laid their heads against one another and Stiles gently removed himself from her to stand. Scarlett missed his touch, but had little energy to protest. Stiles grinned and pulled his briefs back on, grabbed his shirt and then handed it to Scarlett to wear.

“Remind me to get you plan b tomorrow,” Stiles told her with a wink. Scarlett laughed and smiled, then let her hand fall to his cheek in a gentle caress after pulling his shirt over her head.

“Remind me to let you over more,” Scarlett smiled at him. In exhaustion and bliss, Scarlett fell asleep in Stiles’ arms and knew that everything would be alright.

#stiles x oc #stiles smut

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