#takes like eight months for them to get there but they Get There

[fairyblossomsav]

when would be that right time? ; K.M

¡! pairing: kate martin x fem!reader

¡! summary: the team gives kate some encouragement to talk about her feelings.

¡! warnings: none

ps: this is my first time writing here, english is not my first language so be nice on me :(

be free if you wanna request a story just send it to me and i will work on that as soon as i can ! :)

✵ :･ﾟ✧ :･ﾟ✵ *:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✵ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ

You and Kate have been friends since their third year and your first year of college, they met thanks to gabbie, since you’re classmates and one random night of drinks you and kate really connected.

Your friendship has always been beautiful, Kate is a girl who takes care of and looks after her friends at all times, and you could never say no to the blue eye. During all those years you never had any feelings for Martin, until a trip they took to the beach.

You were in the sand taking the sun, until you feel someone sitting next to you, you raise your sunglasses and see Kate in her green bathing suit, smiling at you. "I got you this” She extended her hand and opened it, showing sea shells, which she had collected just for you. You make a pout looking at it, and taking the sea shells very carefully, and storing them in your bag.

“Thank you sweetheart” You laugh and start hugging her making you fall into the sand, Kate laughs and holds you tight.

While the two of them were already in the sand, none of you intended to separate themselves from that hug and so you stayed for the rest of what was left of tanning time and finally got up to be in the sea with the girls.

Recently on your birthday, Kate waited all night until you returned to your apartment to give you her gift. She took a small box out of her pocket, and opened it, showing a necklace with Kate’s initials engraved in gold.

KM.

“You have to be joking with me right know” you say with one hand covering your mouth.

“Don’t you like it?” Her worried face quickly became noticeable.

“Of course not, Kate! This is incredible” You say jumping for joy and jump into her arms to surround her body with your arms.

The clock rung, warning that it was midnight. “Happy birthday beautiful” She put a warm kiss on your forehead while she kept hugging you.

When she separated she helped you put on the necklace, and you happily invited her to spend the night, it was late and you didn’t want Kate to be driving late, it was one of the excuses you said to yourself not to accept that you really wanted to spend a night with her.

Finally, now you find yourself getting out of your bed at ten in the morning on a Saturday, you leave your room and find Kate in the kitchen cooking a delicious breakfast for both of you. It’s been 4 months since you unconsciously live together in your house.

The first times that Kate spent a few days at your house she brought a backpack with clothes and shoes according to the days she would stay, until a day you opened your closet and half of it was full of Kate’s clothes and shoes. It didn’t bother you, on the contrary, you wanted her to be with you, not in that way, without any commitment, but you hope that one day Kate will tell you if she feels the same as you.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty” she said, putting the breakfast on plates and leaving them at the table. “I made you breakfast” she gave you a smile.

You smiled back at her and took a fork to sit down and start eating the two together.

“Today is the night with the girls, it’s ok if I bring them here” Kate ask. Every end of the month, the girls of the iowa basketball team have a girls night in at the house of the person who has to be a hostess. This time it was Kate’s turn.

“Kate you don’t need to tell me, is your house too” you say.

“I feel like I should always ask you” She took her phone and started writing to invite the girls.

Kate Martin

📍*adress*

i’ll see you guys at eight 🤠

Jada Gyamfi

ok y/n’s house

caitlin clark

y/n house ???

“What time is it?” When you finished eating, you took what they had used to the dishwasher.

“I told them that at 8” She said, looking at you with her blue eyes.

“Maybe I’ll arrive at about 8:30.” You would meet with some girls from your class to finish a class project, you would leave the house around 6:30 and you would be a little late for Kate’s meeting. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, no problem, I will go to buy some snacks, do you want to come?” You said yes happily, you went to your shared room, oh yea, because the two of you sleep in the same room, in the house there is one more room, but both have no interest in sleeping separately.

You took turns to shower, first it was Kate since you would decide what to use for the day, so she took a shower first, when she left the bathroom she came out changed with her typical iowa set of nike. When you got out of the shower you also got dressed, and you went to buy the snacks they will give at the girls’ meeting for tonight.

Kate was arranging everything while you picked up the things you would take to the library, you said goodbye to Kate and left the house.

The doorbell rang, someone had arrived, Kate left the potato plates on the living room table and went to open the door.

“Hey K,” Jada and Gabbie arrived, they entered the house since the blonde stepped aside so they could do it.

“Caitlin and Kylie are on their way,” Gabbie said, sitting on the couch. “While, Kate, what the hell is going on with you two.

“Hi losers,” Caitlin opened the front door, had arrived next to Kylie while they had a pizza in their hands.

“I brought donuts,” Hannah said, opening the box of donuts.

“What are they talking about?” Sydney closed the door, indicating that no one was missing.

“Kate and Y/N,” Jada said, taking a slice of pizza.

“Oh yes, you two definitely fuck,” Hannah looked at Kate with a mocking smile.

“Girls,” the blonde’s face turned red, she laughed nervously, “Y/N and I don’t have anything, I promise.

All the girls looked at Martin believing nothing she just had said. “Kate you literally have a necklace on with her initials, what do you mean” Caitlin laughed touching the necklace.

The blue eye remained silent, and it was definitely even redder. “Well, maybe there’s a possibility that I like Y/n,” she hid her face in her hands.

“We all knew it,” Sydney slapped him on the back.

And what will you do? It’s obvious that she likes you too, because another reason would let you move in with her and sleep in her same bed—Gabbie said eating a donut.

“I don’t know, we haven’t talked about this.

“You should do it, it’s obvious that the two of you are in love with each other , it’s miserable to see,” Caitlin laughed.

“Hello girls,” you opened the door and they all greeted you, you left your backpack in your room and went back with them to the living room.

“Pretty necklace y/n/n” Kylie told you since you sat next to her.

“Ow, thank you, Kate gave it to me,” you replied blushing. All the girls on the basketball team looked at each other laughing.

They had a good time full of laughter and games while all ate from the different meals they brought, the night passed quickly until 11 arrived, all of them were already gone, and it was only Kate and you throwing garbage and storing the food in left over.

Kate’s head was spinning a lot, she didn’t know if it was the right time to talk about her feelings. But when would be that right time?

“Can we talk?” the blue eye asked.

”yea.” you gave her all the attention in the world, when she spoke to you, you stopped doing everything you were doing just to listen to her. And this was no exception.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, without sounding so strange and I’m sorry for keeping this for so long but, I like you, very, too much, in the sense that I would like to be your girlfriend.” Martin was nervous about your answer.

You were paralyzed, is this a dream? You thought, this is real, Kate is confessing her feelings to you, now, right now in the kitchen. You just couldn’t find the right words and the only move you made was to approach her and join her lips in a kiss. A dream come true for both of you, the two of you wanted that so much, to feel close, yes, you slept together but not that kind of approach, but one where they will connect all your feelings and energy.

Finally you separated, a smile drew on your face, as well in Kate’s. “I really wanted to this all this time” you said looking at the tall blonde girl that you were in love with since you met.

“Me too” Martin said, she kept her hand on your waist, she wouldn’t let you go now, you were hers now. “I don’t like the idea of asking you to be my girlfriend like this, i promise i’ll make better the official. But for now, do you wanna be my girlfriend?” She did it.

“Yes! A hundred times yes” You said happily jumping on her, she hold you and you wrap your legs in her torso. You two join your lips together in a kiss

“I love you” Kate says looking at your eyes.

“I love you too” You press your lips against hers one more time. And then she pulls you down, and walk together to your room. It wasn’t a dream, Kate and you were now a couple. Finally.

✵ :･ﾟ✧ :･ﾟ✵ *:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✵ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ

all the love

-sab <3!!

#visualization #kate martin #iowa hawkeyes #iowa women’s basketball #basketball #wnba basketball #wnba draft #martin #kate martin x reader #wlw post #lv aces

[ladykailitha]

Sweet Home Indiana Part 5

Hey all! Heads up for those that missed my previous announcements, I'm going on vacation starting today for about a week.

No WIP Wednesday tomorrow as it's my niece's graduation, but it should be back on next week, depending on how late I get in.

We finally hit pinnacle douche Eddie and the beginning of his turn to the lovable Eddie we know and love.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4

****

Steve walked into his house after a long day at the shop to find Eddie in the kitchen making dinner. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked behind him at the door he clearly unlocked to get in and then back at Eddie.

“How the fuck did you get into my house?” he growled, throwing his keys in the dish by the door and kicking off his shoes.

Eddie didn’t even bother looking up from his dicing of vegetables. “Robin always forgets her keys, so you have to have a spare for her to get in, and because she’s so forgetful it has to be in the same spot.”

Steve let out an annoyed huff. “Under the second flower pot with duck.”

“Right in one, darlin’,” Eddie said, looking up at him with a grin.

“So is this your new strategy to get me to sign the divorce papers?” Steve asked pulling out a beer from the fridge. “Buttering me up?”

“Well,” Eddie said going back to his cutting, “since we’re still married and all with you refusing to sign the papers, I figured I’d just move back in.”

Steve dug around his crock drawer for the bottle opener. “Like you’d give up your cushy tattoo job up in Seattle.” He popped open the lid and took a sip.

He immediately went to the sink and spat it out. “What the fuck is that?!”

“Craft beer!” Eddie said with another grin. “It’s all the rage out on the West Coast. But anyway, I was in town and stopped by the furniture shop because that couch is hideous and has to go. And of course we're going to need a bigger bed.”

Steve scoffed and shook his head. “Whatever, babe. It’s your money.”

Eddie stopped chopping and said with all the innocence he could muster and said, “But Stevie, I thought it was our money.”

Steve who had opened a bottle of his own beer and was drinking it, suddenly froze. His throat still moved, swallow after swallow but the rest of him was stock still.

“I bet the words ‘joint checking account’ are flashing through your mind right now,” Eddie sneered.

Steve emptied his bottle and threw it into the sink with a loud crash. “How much did you take?”

Eddie turned around and faced him, crossing his arms over his chest. “All twenty-nine thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven dollars and fourteen cents.”

Steve’s jaw formed a hard set line and he clenched his fists. “You put it back, right now.”

“Why don’t you use it for something useful, Steve?” he asked, waving his hands in front of him. “You have a shop, why aren’t you putting the money toward that? Christ that is almost life changing money.”

Steve stormed out of the room and was back before he could even raise a protest. “This is what it’s for, asshole and if you don’t put it back I will never forgive you. Do you understand me?”

Eddie looked down at the papers in his hand in confusion, gingerly taking them from Steve. In big bold letters were the words NON DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT.

“Am I allowed to read this?” he asked with a gulp.

“It expired five years ago,” Steve bit out. “So yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t be giving it to you, would I?”

Eddie nodded and began reading. The date was roughly three or four months after he left and god was it a mess. It chronicled Susan Hargrove’s addictions to drugs, alcohol, and sex. And that if Steve wanted custody of her daughter, Maxine Maxwell he had to jump through so many hoops, including signing the NDA. His hand shook as he turned page after page of what boiled down to fifteen page document.

“The money is part of the settlement from the court,” Steve said through gritted teeth. “I put it in the old account because I didn’t feel like opening another one and forgot your name was still on it. It pays for her schooling, rent, and food until it’s gone.”

Eddie’s lip quivered. “Shit, Steve, I’m sorry. But I’m still in contact with most of the kids. Even Max and no one told me about this. Not ever.”

Steve frowned and took the pages from Eddie’s trembling hands. “I thought you knew. Hell, it was more than a nine day wonder here in town when the dust finally settled.”

Eddie thought for a moment, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. The more he thought about it the more it actually made sense. And fuck if that didn’t hurt like a kick to the ribs.

One of his worst parting shots was that the kids would be fine on their own. They had parents and friends and other people who cared about them. But that fucking NDA proved him to be the biggest asshole in that regard. Because it irrefutable proof that he had been dead wrong about that.

“Fuck,” he whispered, drawing his hands over his face. “It’ll be back in there by tonight, I swear. I’m so, so sorry, Steve. I swear I am. I know you won’t believe me and that’s okay. But I would never do anything that would harm those kids. Not if my life depended on it.”

Steve’s bottom lip quivered and then he pinched his nose and rubbed the end. And fuck if that didn’t break Eddie’s heart. That was Steve’s little tell that he was fighting back tears.

“You really didn’t know?” he asked, his voice cracking.

Eddie shook his head. “I didn’t know. Here...” he pulled out his phone and immediately transferred the money back. He had transferred it in several small amounts as to not trigger that that Fed law thingy and reversed every one of them. “All back.”

Steve let out a shuddering breath. “Were you really going to blackmail me with the money to divorce you?”

Eddie hung his head and let out a sigh of his own. “I can’t tell you why, but me and Chrissy are on a timetable and if we don’t get married by certain date, things can go very badly. So yeah. I was going to do whatever it took.”

Steve’s bottom lip quivered so him bit down on it to stop it shaking.

“Come on,” Eddie murmured. “Let me finish making dinner and we’ll talk. I think there are a lot of things between us left unsaid. I thought it was all on my side, but I’m starting to think there has been a lot of things that I haven’t been told about what’s being going on with you and this town.”

Steve nodded.

****

It took Steve a fair bit of breathing techniques to get his heart rate back to normal after that little stunt. And if he was honest, he couldn’t say had their situations been reversed, he wouldn’t have tried the same thing.

But there wasn’t anyone in his life right now that measured up to Eddie. Or at least that starry-eyed boy he fell in love with the first time.

Eddie had actually made his favorite meal. Manicotti. He had been cutting up the vegetables for the bolognese sauce that he poured over the top.

They sat down on the hideous neon green sofa while it went into the oven to cook.

“This sofa really is grotesque, Steve,” Eddie muttered, bringing one knee up so he could turn and face him.

Steve threw back his head and laughed. “That’s what everyone has said once they’ve seen it.”

“So why keep it?”

He ran his fingers over the worn surface thoughtfully. “Because despite how ugly it looks, it’s soft and comfortable. Great for naps and movie nights. If I spill something on it, I won’t freak out about it getting ruined.”

Eddie’s heart sank to his stomach. That was something that had made having movie nights over at Steve’s parents’ house such a nightmare. No feet on the sofa, no drinks anywhere but on the coffee table with a coaster, no dips or salsa, nothing red or orange, drinks or otherwise. It was the biggest house with the biggest screen, but it was a museum and not a home.

He actually looked around him for the first time, taking in the homey surroundings, the pictures on the wall of not just Steve and Robin, but all the kids. Birthdays, graduations, dances, you name it, if Steve was there with a camera, it was there up on his wall in some way.

The house was neat, but in a lived in sort of way instead of the strict tomb quality of his parents’ house. Christ. He had been joking about wanting to move back, but now he actually did. He could see himself slotting himself into this home as easy as breathing.

Eddie cleared his throat. “Right. So how long have you had this place?”

“About three years now,” Steve murmured. “That’s about when the shop started making a profit and not just coasting along above red.”

“I like it,” he said with a fond smile.

Steve gave his shoulder a shove. “You do not. You don’t need to pretend with me.”

Eddie grasped his hands to his chest. “Ah! I doth protest!” He paused for a moment and tapped his lips thoughtfully. “You’re right, I don’t like it.”

“See?” Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“I love it.”

Steve stared at him for a moment before blushing and looking away. “So how long have you and Chrissy known each other?”

“Two years,” Eddie replied. “She came in for a tattoo to cover up the name of her ex-boyfriend and we became really good friends.”

“And she’s a paralegal?” Steve asked.

“Legal assistant,” Eddie said. “Don’t ask me what the difference is, I don’t know. But she’ll always correct people when they say ‘paralegal’.”

Steve nodded.

“So, is it just you and Robin?” he asked, looking around the house for clues there was another person here. Either for Steve or for Robin.

“Yeah,” Steve said with a sad smile. “But not for much longer. She’s starting school in the fall. She just needs to pick which one she wants and let the other know she’s pulling out.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked. “What are her choices?”

“NYU and University of Washington,” Steve said. “I don’t get wanting to go to either except to get as far away from Hawkins as possible and still be in the country.”

Eddie laughed. “Well can you blame her?”

Steve leveled him with a glare and Eddie gulped.

“Right, sorry. That was a shit thing to say,” he said ducking his head. “I ran away and kept running away and you didn’t deserve that.”

“So why did you? Run away, I mean?”

Eddie ran his fingers over his face and let out frustrated sigh. “I thought it was what I wanted. The fame, the fortune, the screaming crowds every night. And maybe it still is, but the other guys got tired of it. Of the being away from family and on the road all the time, so by the time that all fell apart, it was just too much.”

Steve cocked his head to the side and regarded Eddie fully. He took him all in and not just the cursory glance he got at the bakery.

Eddie had filled out in a good way. He would always be thin, but he was no longer that waif he was in high school. He had more tattoos, which made sense considering his job. His hair was still as wild and untamed as always. He had stubble on his jaw and on his upper lip. There was a weariness to those dark brown chocolate button eyes.

“What was too much, Eddie?”

“The amount of pain I put you through,” he said softly. “And continued to put you through. You didn’t deserve any of it, sweetheart. You deserve a white wedding with all your friends and loved ones around you. You deserve to have someone standing by your side as an equal partner. You deserve someone who isn’t going to run the moment things get rough.”

“I always thought that would be you,” Steve admitted.

Eddie nodded. “So did I, once upon a time.”

“But not anymore?” Steve asked, breathless.

“No. Not anymore.”

****

Tag List: CLOSED

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2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi

3- @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @vecnuthy @irregular-child

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1

5- @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

6- @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95

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8- @swimmingbirdrunningrock @steddie-as-they-go @captain--low @micheledawn1975 @thespaceantwhowrites

9- @mac-attack19 @blondie1006

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #rom com au

[multidimensionalguidance]

Taurus/Scorpio Insights for June 2024

Let me start of by saying that 3's and 9's seem to be quite relevant for these signs, so if you peep these angel numbers around you, take it as a confirmation that you're definitely on the right path.

Enjoy this month my stubborn beauties, you are heading towards a very meaningful summer. Continue below for your tarot readings.

This messages apply to Taurus/Scorpio risings, Moon, Sun, and even Venus.

Scorpio: Nine of Pentacles, The Chariot, and Three of Cups. Success and Stop from Prism Oracle

June will greet you with a fresh breath of air, Scorpio. After what might have felt like a long storm for these past few months is now finally dissipating into a beautiful clear sky. You will feel very motivated and with plenty of willpower to achieve a lot of things during this month. There is a lot of chances that you'll be having a solo vacation and basking in not just the feeling of abundance, but the material forms of it. Finances will not be an issue for you this month as you will be using your drive towards these matters, so if you're still feeling stuck in the mud money wise, rest assure that things will be resolved. There will also be plenty of celebrations and happiness surrounding your friend circle as well. You will be feeling emotionally supported by your loved ones, and perhaps even expanding your own social network by going out a bit more than often. You're definitely being encouraged to leave behind the hermit energy, and be out in nature or social settings more than ever. Your magnetic and mysterious appeal will be naturally attracting those around you, which can land you into even more abundance during this month. Expect lots of traveling or even getting a new vehicle as well.

The experiences from this months will be confirming every step along the way just how much effort you've put on yourself on the past months, and all the things that you've been able to achieve so far. Even if your current life might not be exactly what you would define as success, remember that this is a feeling after all, and even those who have an abundant material world might lack the feeling of success within them. Sit down to think of all the ways in which you've accomplished small to big goals in your life, and truly feel grateful for them. The universe is inviting you to stop, reflect, and collect your thoughts, perhaps even take a break for a bit. In what ways have you associated a break with stagnancy or laziness? How have you handled your inner world when things slow down a bit or you're put in a position of having to re-direct your path? Slowing down is actually quite necessary for you Scorpio, and that is one of the primary lessons to learn from your sister sign Taurus.

There's also a mention of sadness peeking through on both decks, so its likely that the universe is truly trying to help you let go of anything that you might be holding onto and no longer serves you. Whatever might have been the situation you've previously experienced, there was a lot of grief, guilt, shame, and disappointment surrounding it. As a fixed water sign it is essential for you to release this feelings by experiencing them, and then making your peace with what you can no longer control, such as your past experienced or actions. This month holds a lot of positive transformations for you, and the first step starts with closing certain doors for good. You got this!

Taurus: Nine of Pentacles, Eight of Wands, and Three of Pentacles. Frustration and Happiness from Prism Oracle.

There's truly no denial that you're very connected to your sister sign because despite clearing the deck and shuffling there's still a very similar energy going around for you. You will also be in a state of independence, financial stability, and abundance as well. There will also be plenty of movement during this month and you will definitely receive many good news your way, particularly about work and collaborating with others to achieve your goals. It is finally the time for you to reap your rewards of all the efforts you've given during the beginning of this year. You will feel a strong desire to be more mature and grounded, which will work amazingly for you since earth is your element.

You will see a lot of progress in your life during this month, so stagnancy or delays will not be a thing to deal with. This could be great in one side, but a bit unnerving on the other since you're used to taking slow consistent steps with everything. Remember that we all need a bit of movement and chaos in our lives to keep things interesting. If there are any projects with a team that you've been working on, there will also be a lot of positive results from it. The same goes for investments that you might be making with others to obtain more luxury or comfort into your life.

You will also be traveling be it short or long distance, and it might occur in a rather spontaneous way but you will make not just good memories but meet people who could push you further into financial success. There will be an interesting duality between feeling frustrated when certain things might not go your way, yet feeling content at the end because you'll notice that whatever didn't go the way you expected actually turned out even better. As a fixed sign it can be hard to lose the grip on control, but often times it is precisely recognizing the ways in which we can attain peace and serenity. Surrender to the universe the things that are outside of your control and focus instead on the small delights that are surrounding you all the time.

If something disappoints you see it as an opportunity to find a solution or an better route than what you were trying before. This month will be essential for your growth even if you might not see it yet. Old patterns are staying behind and welcoming a version of you that will make you shine and thrive. You got this!

#astrology #astro community #astro observations #astro placements #taurus #scorpio #astrologer #astrology readings #astrology signs #astrology lessons #astro notes #astro posts #astrology observations #astrology notes #vedic astrology #astrology tumblr #astrology community #astrology blog #astro tumblr #astrology placements #horoscopo #astrology horoscope #horoscope #zodiac #free tarot #tarot reading #tarot cards #tarot #tarotblr #tarotcommunity

[pinkiemachine]

GOTHAM FILES: SEASON 4

Jason Todd is dead. Bruce Wayne will never be the same. He stops going to and hosting galas, the paparazzi haven’t seen him in months—his own company hasn’t seen him in months—and the only times his closest friends and family ever see him is when he’s Batman. He’s barely left the Cave. He’s barely eating. He’s not talking to anyone. He’s beating villains to a pulp even more than usual, and he’s obsessed with trying to track down the Joker. This time… it might not matter if he’s set himself against killing… this time… maybe he just doesn’t have the self control. He wants revenge. Everyone is worried about him, and not Dick, not Barbara, not even Alfred can get through to him.

Enter Tim Drake (13).

Tim was a rich kid who lived in the same neighbourhood as Bruce—just down the road at another fancy-pants house with wealthy parents and a lavish lifestyle. The most notable thing about him, however, is that he’s got a genius level IQ… and he’s a fanboy of Batman. He had scoured the internet for clips of him caught on tape, had written a college-level paper about him in high school (Because he got moved ahead two grades), and at the moment, he’s getting worried about his hero. If what he’s seeing is correct, Batman is… starting to go off the deep end. The last criminal found by the police was barely breathing, which is not the Caped Crusader’s style. Something is wrong. Tim wants to find some way to talk to him (1, because he wants to meet his hero, and 2, because surely these extreme take-downs have a reasonable explanation, like there’s another vigilante in town doing this, or something). The deeper Tim goes, the more the name Bruce Wayne keeps popping up. It’s mostly just coincidences, though—the two of them never crossing paths despite the fact that Batman has saved Wayne Ent. before, Bruce Wayne coming back to Gotham after vanishing for eight long years, and then just a few months later, the Batman rumour started, stuff like that. But again, Tim can’t count them as anything more than coincidences… until he hears his parents talking about their neighbour Bruce. He hasn’t been seen or heard from for a long while now, and when they tried to phone, to ask if they could invite him over for dinner like old times, the butler said that Bruce wasn’t accepting any invitations right now. And this on the heels of the recent Robin vanishing? Tim had to check it out. Maybe Bruce was funding Batman’s exploits—like they were working together?

So one day, after school, he goes and spies on Wayne Manor. The rumours are true—Bruce does only have one butler. Weird for a guy as rich as him, especially in a house as big as this. And sure enough, he never caught any glimpses of Bruce in the manor, despite the fact that the butler had made it sound like his employer was home. Tim can’t be there all the time, though, so he sets up cameras to monitor the house. The next day, he finds the cameras all broken laying on his bedroom balcony. Now he’s even more determined to figure out what’s going on. So he hides one more camera extra well and he manages to catch a glimpse of a dark car that looks a lot like the Batmobile leaving the grounds of the house, but not on the main road. He has to do some triangulating and other smart stuff to figure out where the car had come from and eventually discovers a hidden entrance. To what, he’s not sure, but he’s getting excited. So he uses his big brain to fiddle with the wires of the special door he finds behind a waterfall and then he follows a dark tunnel into—THE BATCAVE. He’s flabbergasted. This has been here all this time!? He spends way too much time down there, geeking out, then tries to get a grip. He doesn’t know when Batman will be back, he has to decide what he’s going to do now.

Batman gets an alert that one of the secret doors to the cave is malfunctioning, so he heads back. He runs into the cave, expecting a criminal, but instead finds a 13-year-old boy sitting at the Bat Computer, waiting for him. Immediately, Batman tells him to get out. Tim tries to ask a few questions—respectfully, at first—like, are you okay? What happened to Robin? What’s been going on with you lately? But he sort of answers his own questions now that everything’s been laid out in front of him… and the Robin suit is right over there, in a glass case. Batman continues to get more and more aggressive with Tim, trying to physically force him to leave and threatening him and his parents if he ever thinks about spilling his secret identity, and just like that, Tim is banned from Wayne Manor. But he’s not giving up. His hero needs saving. He needs a Robin. (Or, that’s how he views it, anyway.)

While Tim was in the cave, he thought about stealing some gadgets, but he knew Bruce would catch him. Instead, he stole their blueprints on a hard drive and makes his own *improved* versions. He also makes his own Robin costume and away he goes, sneaking out one night to find Batman in Gotham. Which he does… followed immediately by Batman getting angry at him again and telling him to go home. Tim stands his ground, though. He’s not going to leave his side until he knows that Bruce is okay. This isn’t him, this isn’t Batman, he needs a reality check. He needs to be a hero again! Over and over this happens, with Tim pressing in more and more, following him around on missions until finally Bruce breaks. Silently, he takes Tim to the cemetery where Jason is buried. Tim pays his respects. Bruce asks if Tim has ever lost someone he cared about. Tim says no. But even so… he doesn’t want to lose Batman. Bruce hasn’t realised it, but he’s been making an incredible difference in Gotham. The streets are, by and large, getting safer. The police force is starting to shape up. He’s inspired other vigilantes to rise up, like Batgirl. He’s saved the world with the Justice League! He’s a hero! Or, at least, he was… until he started going dark. Maybe he just needs to take a break from being Batman for a while—

“No!”

Bruce won’t let Tim finish. He could never stop being Batman. Batman is the only thing keeping him going right now. It was his training that kept him from tearing himself up over his parents death, it was being Batman and saving the world with Robin that helped him get to an even better place, and right now, if he stops fighting, the only thing he’ll be left with is the empty Manor and memory of Jason and how he couldn’t save him. Tim takes his arm and invites him to go on a little trip. Tim’s dad sometimes takes him out to their second house in the country where they go fishing at the lake. It’s quiet out here. The trees are nice. The water’s nice. Tim and Bruce just shoot the breeze and catch some fish together. And Bruce… doesn’t have a terrible time. Tim can be a little pushy and he might think he’s got all the answers (when he really doesn’t) but he’s a hoot to watch when he tries to be “outdoorsy.” He’s not exactly the best at setting up his rod, or casting the line, or catching the fish, or basically anything to do with fishing, so Bruce ends up having to help him out, and… it turns into a nice little day trip. Bruce isn’t healed… and he’ll probably never heal… but at least… at least now he doesn’t feel completely alone. Tim makes sure that he never feels alone. He keeps following him on missions, and Bruce eventually just accepts that he’s got a new Robin now. But he’s not going to make the same mistake twice. He’s very strict with Tim and makes sure that he never disobeys orders. If he puts one toe out of line, he’s done.

On into the season we go, meeting new villains like Cluemaster, and also new heroes, like his daughter, Spoiler. She was fed up with her abusive, criminal father, and decided to help out Batman by spoiling his elaborate schemes. Once they helped take down Cluemaster together, Spoiler began to pop up again… a lot. She’d developed something of a crush on Tim, you see. And he was about to meet his match in terms of someone who’s persistent. Bruce thought it was very satisfying karma.

Nightwing and Batgirl are both let back into Bruce’s life over time, and things begin to move forward again.

The Hush storyline takes place in this season.

THEN Tim’s parents find out about his vigilante shenanigans and force him to stop, prompting Spoiler to temporarily take up the mantle of Robin. But then she and Bruce get into trouble, and Tim sees what’s happening live on the news, and he knows that he has to do something! Tim’s struggle to remain loyal to both his parents and his duty as a crime-fighter leads him to have a big argument with his dad. Like, “if you put on that mask again, we’re cutting you out of the will” kind of big. Which then escalates to, “I’d rather be poor and save Bruce’s life than be rich and let him die!” Which then leads to Tim getting kicked out. His father secretly hopes that this method of “tough love” will snap Tim out of the stupid ideas he’s got in his head, and that sooner or later he’ll come running back, but… all this does is hurt Tim tremendously. But there’s no time to wallow just now. He’s got to get to the Batcave! He goes, he helps save the day, Batman and Spoiler are alive, she hands the title of Robin back to Tim, and Tim explains about his situation to Bruce. When Bruce tries to fix things, though, Tim and his dad refuse to speak to one another. For the moment, it looks like Tim will be staying at the Manor.

Throughout this whole season, though, something’s been brewing in the background. Ra’s is moving again. He’s been popping up a little bit here and there over the last few seasons, but it’s nothing noteworthy. No big schemes… except for when he tried working with the Joker back at the end of Season 3. Ra’s was trying to cook up a new plan that involved Jason, but it had to get scrapped when Joker went off script and blew up the building. Now Joker’s on Ra’s “I don’t like you” list. Which is an extensive list. Anyway, Ra’s does still want Bruce to marry Talia and join the family business, so before the funeral, way back when, he went and stole Jason’s body in the dead of night. Jason is then brought to the League’s secret headquarters in Nepal where it’s revealed how Ra’s has been able to master all these fighting forms to perfection: he’s hundreds of years old! And he’s been keeping himself alive using a secret “Fountain of Youth” called the Lazarus Pit. With it, he brings Jason back to life.

DUN DUN DUN!!!!

END OF SEASON JUMP SCARE!!!

Oh, and after this season comes THE NEW TEEN TITANS and YOUNG JUSTICE!!! See, Tim gets a look at how the TTs are kinda not really teens anymore… and the team hasn’t really been active for a while… shoot, one of the members is a Justice Leaguer now. So he comes up with the idea for Young Justice, the B team as it were for the Justice League. Meanwhile, he revamps the Teen Titans (the NEW Teen Titans) and sets it up as like a training thing for young superheroes who might go on to join Young Justice or The League. ✨

Stay tuned for more!

Part 3 👇

#dc #dc comics #batman #bat family #bat brothers #Bruce wayne #tim drake #robin #batman and robin #Gotham files

[ragzonacamrencruise]

Azutara #49

oooooh prompt 49 is boss/intern au

this is going to be fun 😈

***

Katara bites her lip in anticipation. "Should I be scared?"

"Oh, definitely." Sokka nods his head without taking his eyes of the screen. "Your knees should be giving way underneath you right now, trust me."

Katara gulps. She looks all around in nervousness. It's a huge bull-pen. Eight in the morning and the whole area is already bustling, telephones ringing insistently, loud chatter providing a strange ambience, exchanges of good morning and news about their weekends.

Everyone's pristine and crisp here at Agni Incorp., and Katara already feels overwhelmed. She has no idea how her brother does it sometimes, being the Head of Engineering at the most prestigious and posh company like this one. She's just managed to land an internship opportunity here, due to her brother's heavy recommendation, and it's just her first day! Because the company had been looking for young and brilliant minds to do their work, she'd been instantly selected by someone called Zhu Li.

She tries not to worry too much. But Sokka's recent updates on who'll be leading them for the next 6 months had already made her gut bottom out.

Azula Agni.

People knew very little about her. Mostly because she always worked in the shadows of their company, Sokka had told her. There's a reason the main hall, Which Ozai Agni runs, is somewhere below them in an easily accessible, busy floor, rather than high up at the top floor, which Azula was allocated to.

It also did not help when Sokka told her about the time Azula had made an employee literally pee his pants the very first day she arrived here at the Strategic Management Department. Sokka had been complaining the whole time about what an engineer is doing 'strategically managing', but then he'd also said that he's never worked more in his entire life. Azula's been taking over things here. She's brought forth humongous changes that always boost up the sidelines.

There's a reason they call her the Shadow Director of the entire company in just two months.

Sokka's eyes lift up to Katara from where he's stitting at his desk, a lowly shift from what he was accustomed to in Ozai's floor. "Don't worry. You're a smart girl. You'll fit in just fine. Also, make sure not to talk back. She hates that."

Okay, now Katara's pretty sure that Azula isn't that haughty. Sure she's a little intimidating from what she's been hearing from not just Sokka, but literally everyone present at the bull-pen, talking about how they need to get something right cuz if Azula finds even a single mistake, she's gonna burn the whole place to the ground.

But how bad can it be, right?

Right?

Wrong.

All heads suddenly turn to the elevator when it dings sharply at 8 on the nose. Silence falls heavily inside the great hall and Katara's heart rate increases tenfold. The elevator door opens and it first reveals a short woman with Harry Potter spectacles on her button nose, her hair in a bun and her body clad in official dark green, business suit. She has short bangs that frame her forehead and she walks out in crisp strides.

And then, Katara's heart really does stop.

Behind her, is one of the most beautiful girls she's ever laid her eyes on, if not the most beautiful girl in the world. Her skin is pale, compared to Katara's darker complexion, and her hair is also in a bun, but two strands of hair loose from the bun frame her face perfectly in the most mind-numbingly gorgeous way possible. Katara tries not to drool. But it's hard not to.

She steps out of the elevator, her posture as straight as a rod. Unlike the first woman, she takes slow, deliberate steps into the bull-pen, sliding in, right into the middle of the whole hall. She pauses.

From this angle, Katara can see that the girl is quite young. In fact, Katara's sure she's not older than herself. She's clad in a simple but quite a fine suit Katara's ever seen. It's a black shirt with a deep red blazer thrown over her delicate torso, completing the look with a black pant and a red tie.

The girl turns her head in deadly precision, sweeping the room with her eyes, looking at every single person present. If it's not for the occasional telephone ringing somewhere in the corner, you could've droped a feather and it would've made noise, Katara's pretty sure.

Everybody is on alert and that immediately puts Katara on edge, her body stiff as a post. The girl's head is turning, slowly, and for some strange reason, Katara feels like she's going to pass out, from all the anticipation and the stress that this whole situation brings her.

When the girl's head turns completely to her right, the first thing Katara notices is that her eyes are striking golden. A rare gold mixed with brown that she hasn't seen on anyone ever.

And she almost does pass out when those eyes suddenly fall directly on her.

She lets out a silent whimper, not really sure why she's having a physical reaction to the girl just looking at her. But it's not just any look. It's the kinda look that could melt stone if you point at it long enough. Katara feels her face heat up under the scrutinizing gaze, completely giving herself over to the girl's stare.

Then it's gone. The eyes are completely gone and they move on to Sokka standing next to her and then to the next person whoever that is, and Katara's breath returns back to her lungs.

She feels her head spin for a second, but she holds her composture. And suddenly, there's a snap of fingers in front of her face. She looks up and almost jumps out of her skin when she finds the girl looking directly at her, again.

But this time, she gestures with a finger to follow her into her office, and then, like a whirlwind, she's gone. Completely out of sight.

Katara remains frozen in place, her brain in a frenzy, not really sure what just happened. Chatter and indistinct noise returns back to the bull-pen and Katara feels the world come crashing down.

She feels a sharp nudge to her ribs. This time, she does jump out of her skin. "Wha-?"

"What are you standing here for?!" Sokka whisper-yells in her ear. "Azula just called you into her office!"

Katara blinks. "Wait- That's Azula?!"

"No, it was the queen of Ba Sing Se." Sokka gives her a look. "OF COURSE IT WAS AZULA! And if you aren't in her office in about 10 seconds, she's gonna burn the whole place down. Go! Go! Go!"

He pushes Katara heavily towards her office door at the end of the bull-pen. She stumbles across, trying to find the strength to face the golden-eyed girl again. For all the accounts she's heard, she didn't expect Azula Agni to be as pretty as that. In fact, to be honest, Katara was imagining Ursala the sea witch the whole time.

When she nears the door, she notices a big, secluded booth, where the lady with the Harry Potter spectacles is seated, her eyes lazer focused on the computer screen in front of her, looking like she's going over a dozen different things at once. And it hasn't even been like 5 minutes since she got here.

Feeling Katara's presence loom over her, she talks without looking up from her work. "Tell her I asked you to be here and she'll leave you alone." She states, her voice almost sounding like a robot.

Katara frowns, not really sure what that means, she doesn't really stick around for clarifications, seeing that the woman is already back to her work, not that she ever looked up.

Katara sucks in a deep breath before she raises her hand to knock but the woman's robotic voice beside her halts her. "Don't bother. She hates when people knock."

Katara's hand falls limply to her side. Okay, so this Azula seems to hate a lot of things. It's almost as if the things she hates are literally everything that makes a human, well, human.

She hesitantly opens the door, her body strangely building up confidence that she really needs right now as she steps through into the room.

It's huge. Everything is huge. The first thing she notices is the giant floor to ceiling glass window that has this incredible view over Republic City, as if it's some kind of a palace that governs over the whole of the city. The second thing she notices is the deep red couch placed right beside the window, and how fucking comfortable it looks. And only then does her eyes fall on the desk that is placed far inside the rectangle room, and the most comfortable swivelling chair she's seen, occupied by a tiny figure clad in red and black.

Katara looks at her nervously for a second, before walking inside, her confidence fading with each step. When she gets closer, Azula's face becomes clearer and well-defined and Katara has to physically stop herself from ogling.

A few seconds pass and Katara doesn't know what to do with herself, standing there awkwardly, staring at the girl. Then suddenly, the golden eyes fall on her and Katara has to stop herself from falling down on the ground with the sheer force of the glance.

"Who are you? Why are you here." The girl demands after a second, leaning back in her chair.

Katara blinks. "You called me here-"

"I was talking about your general presence in this building." each word is ice-cold, hitting like bullets inside Katara's brain. "Are you a spy?"

"Spy?"

"To the Cabbage Corp."

"No. Of course, not." Katara's well aware of the rivalry between the Cabbage Corp., and Agni Incorporation. She'd even briefly considered applying for a job in the Cabbage Corp., before her brother pestered her to come work here.

Azula doesn't answer. Instead, she just narrows her eyes, and Katara knows that she's looking for an explanation. So she provides her with one instantly. "I'm the new intern here." Azula's eyes narrow to slits, and Katara continues, noticing it. "Today's my first day."

Azula still doesn't answer, her face now sporting a full-on scowl. Katara immediately panics, not really knowing what she should be saying here. She squeezes her brain in a hurry, and then suddenly, she remembers.

"I was selected by her." Katara jerks her thumb in the general direction of the robotic lady sitting outside Azula's office.

That seems to do it. Azula's eyebrows immediately raise up slightly. "Zhu Li selected you?"

Katara nods slowly, finally putting a face to the name Zhu Li.

"An intern for what?" Azula asks her sharply.

Katara gulps. "I was told I needed to be assesed for at least a week before getting assigned for a catagory of work that I would go to."

Golden eyes scrutinize her for a long minute silently, making her feel suddenly naked. She looks all around the office room awkwardly, not really strong enough to meet those sharp, calculating eyes anymore.

"You will shadow Zhu Li for not one but two weeks. Learn what and why of the things we do here. When I get a report from Zhu Li at the end of the two weeks, I'll decide whether to keep you or kill you."

Wait- Kill her?!

Katara's eyes widen comically.

"Dismissed." Azula waves her hand non-chalantly, and Katara feels her feet getting a life of their own, following the order Azula Agni's hand gave them.

When she comes out the door, Zhu Li's voice sounds beside her. "How long?"

Katara turns to her, her eyes still not back to normal from the shock. "Two weeks. I'm supposed to shadow you for two weeks before she apparantly keeps me or kills me."

And only then Zhu Li looks up from her hectic typing on the computer, giving her a smirk. "Then you better start right away."

...

It feels like a whole year was cramped into one week, cuz that's how long the week was for Katara. Her neck hurts, her feet hurt, her back hurts and even her butt hurts!

She now understands why this was such a big deal. Why when she got here, all heads were either buried in their work or drowning in copius amounts of diluted cactus juice, cuz this shit is hectic.

She was looking forward to her weekend like she was crazy. She'd followed Zhu Li around like a puppy, taking notes of her notes, keeping track of Azula's schedule that Zhu Li had provided her with, and typing through endless amounts of transcripts of meetings after meetings Azula seemed to attend.

It's Friday afternoon and Katara can't wait to hit the bed in the lovely apartment she shares with Sokka.

She'd had a couple of run ins with Azula, her golden eyes poring into her soul every time she looked at her. And if Katara has learned anything in the past week, it was that Azula was ruthless.

She always wears red and black, and always holds her poise. Every time Azula walks into the bull-pen at sharp 8 o clock, she scans the room completely before heading into her office without fail. Katara's never once seen her lose her composture, sharp and to the point all the freaking time.

Katara still hasn't had the privilege of attending Azula's meetings. But she can imagine what it's like, just by reading through the transcripts. Every word she types as Azula's is pure golden, akin to her eyes. They hold such brevity and clarity that Katara can't help but be fascinated by the girl.

Every time she walks into a room, she holds this kind of regality, as if she was born to rule over them all, and Katara shudders thinking of the way Azula's eyes seems to peruse her, leaving her breathless and unnerved with just a singe glance.

The intern shakes her head, to pull herself away from day-dreaming. She's almost done with typing out the transcript for the meeting Azula attended to in the morning. And another meeting seems to be going on now. If she's done typing that out too, she's free to go and enjoy her weekend. So, her fingers fly on the keyboard as fast as they could possibly go.

She suddenly pauses, her eyes drawing attention to one line from Azula in the meeting minutes laid out on her desk :

"Perfection is always one step better than what you thought was perfect."

Katara blinks, flabbergasted. That is one of the most thoughtful things she's ever heard someone say. Or in this case, seen. And Azula's said it in a room full of the board of directors. The amount of power she holds just stuns Katara. The way she demands respect from every one that meets her is mind-blowing really.

It takes a long moment for Katara to move on from that line, as she wills herself to start typing again. She gradually forgets what's happening all around her, as she drowns herself in her work, making progress at record speed.

She's almost done with the work when she hears her name.

"Katara." Zhu Li is looking directly at her, standing before Katara's desk with a phone pressed against her ear. When Katara looks up snapping her eyes away from the monitor, Zhu Li gestures with her eyes and a tilt of her head to follow her.

Katara immediately springs into action, grabbing her notepad and pen, to rush behind Zhu Li. If she's supposed to be Zhu Li's shadow, she's gonna be just that.

Zhu Li makes her way to the other side of the bull-pen, where the meeting room is. Katara's heart starts beating faster when Zhu Li leads her straight to the meeting room, opening the door.

Katara's stomach flips in excitement. She's never been to the meetings and she's eager to see one where Azula's at the top of her game. Zhu Li steps inside through the door, and Katara follows right behind her.

". . . preserving the quality but also the cost. Design B is fuel efficient as well." Azula's saying, standing at the head of the table. When Zhu Li walks in, Azula's eyes snap to her. "Anything important, Zhu Li?"

Her tone is dangerous, and Katara's been here long enough to read it as, "This better be important or i'm gonna fire you for interrupting my meeting."

"Are you sure you wanna hear it here?" Zhu Li asks, looking around the meeting table, filled with board members and Katara guesses, the top order people of the company.

Azula narrows her eyes, seeming to contemplate it. But then she nods once, giving Zhu Li a green light.

Zhu Li hangs up her phone, the one that was pressed against her ear before saying, "Our shipment's been stolen."

Katara's eyes widen.

So does Azula's. "What?" She snaps.

All eyes in the room swivel to Zhu Li.

"I got the news just now." Zhu Li says, her usually robotic voice now tinted with a dash of worry. "An entire shipment's been stolen."

Shocked whispers begin to erupt from all around the table.

"Which shipment?" Azula asks, her brows furrowing together.

"The one with the parts for our new airship design." Zhu Li is quick to answer.

Azula breathes out a quiet curse. "Okay. I'll look into it."

One of the board members pushes his chair back and stands up. "You'll look into it?! Really?! That's all you have to say?!"

Azula braces her palms on the table in front of her and leans forward, hanging her head.

"Yeah." Another member quips. "We've just lost our latest technology. And all you have to offer is looking into it?!?!"

Another voice speaks up. "Having our valuable shipments stolen isn't exactly very strategic of you, is it? And my sources have reason to believe that this has been happening for months now. Maybe it's time for you to step down and let Mr. Zuko take care of things here, Miss Azula. Shouldn't you be taking action already? Looking into it isn't really going to help, now is it-?"

Azula snaps her head up and the asshole that was talking shuts his mouth in a hurry.

The whole room falls silent when they notice the look Azula's giving the guy. A chill runs up Katara's spine, and she permanently decides that she definitely does not want to be at the receiving end of that piercing glare.

"Loosing composture in a time like this isn't going to help either." Azula's voice is even and cold. "So, unless you have a trick up your insolent little sleeves, I'd like to see you all presenting your design idea on another day. The meeting's adjourned."

Everybody shoots out of their seats in a hurry, wanting to get the hell away from Azula's raising wrath before they get caught in the middle of it.

"Your father will be hearing about this when he returns back from Ba Sing Se, Miss Azula." The asshole says before walking out of the room.

Azula just stares at his retreating figure, her face surprisingly even.

"Zhu Li." Azula says.

"Yes, Miss Agni?" Zhu Li perks up.

"My office. Now."

...

The door to Azula's office automatically shuts close the second Katara walks into it. Azula's already pacing back and forth in front of her desk as Zhu Li walks up to her.

"It's the Cabbage Corp., I'm sure of it." The secretary says.

Azula stops on her tracks, mid-pace. "Of course it is. Who else would it-" Then her eyes suddenly fall on Katara and she stops talking.

Zhu Li seems to follow her line of sight. "Oh, don't worry. Katara's fine. We need all hands on deck if we're gonna handle this."

"And you think she's capable of it?" Azula points a lazy finger at Katara.

"More than." Zhu Li says and Katara feels a rush of affection towards the woman.

Azula nods once before taking in a deep breath. "Zhu Li . . ."

"Yes?"

Azula stares at her for a second long, before her sculpted full lips curve up in a smirk. "They swallowed the bait and the whole damn hook!"

Zhu Li's usually neutral face morphs into a genuinely surprised one. "Wait- WHAT?!"

Azula lets out a loud guffaw suddenly, throwing her head back and clutching onto her chest tightly.

Zhu Li looks at her like she's gone completely crazy. "Azula?!"

"Hmm?" Azula hums, before losing it and staring to laugh again.

"What is going on?!" Zhu Li panics, and Katara can't help but silently watch the whole debacle. "What bait?!"

Azula wipes at the corner of her eyes. "Oh god, this is perfect!"

Zhu Li blinks at her. "Should I be worried?!"

"No." Azula says before humming in mirth again, letting out a small chuckle.

Azula walks over to her swivel chair and plops down heavily. Zhu Li and Katara take the queue, confused out of their minds, and sit down on the chairs opposite to Azula's across the desk.

"Okay." Azula clears her throat. Then she looks at both Zhu Li and Katara in the eye with mirth dancing in her normally striking cold eyes. "What I'm about to say, must not leave this room untill and unless I give you explicit permission to do so."

Zhu Li nods and Katara does the same, already not believing her luck.

"Especially you, new girl." Azula's eyes fall on Katara. "If I find out you're a leak, it'll be years before the cops shovel out your bones."

Katara gulps, her eyes widening.

"Will you just tell us already?" Zhu Li impatiently asks.

Azula rolls her eyes. "Fine. The whole shipment? That was my bait. And the Cabbage Corp., gobbled it up hook and meat."

Zhu Li gives her a look. "So you're saying, you purposefully left a shipment unattended for the Cabbage heads to take it?"

"Yes." Azula leans back in the chair and crosses her legs, fingers clasping in front, her elbows resting on the arm-rest.

"Why would you do that?!" Zhu Li sounds annoyed. "You know they've been swiping our stuff for months right?"

"Yes. And that's exactly why I was forced to come up with this."

Zhu Li raises her brow. "You have a catch." It's not really a question but a statement.

"Of course I do." Azula leans forward, waving her hand. "I'm not an idiot."

Zhu Li holds her silence for a second before speaking. "Cameras?"

"The size of a pea." Azula smirks. "It can even fit in a pen." She says before tapping one one of the many pens kept in a cup on her desk.

"And if they found it out?"

"Oh, I'm counting on it. It'll be really nice to see the look on their faces if they discover it, don't you think?" Azula types something quickly in her keyboard and then a second later she turns the whole monitor of her computer towards us. "This is going to be my soap opera from now on. Zhu Li, make sure to get some fire flakes, yes?"

Zhu Li's too busy looking at the screen. There are at least 12 camera footage that Katara notices is definitely live, trained on a bunch of people gathered around a huge warehouse, playing Pai Sho. Near them are huge containers with the Agni Incorp., emblem on them. Clearly, they're unaware of the little eyes that are watching their every move. What's even interesting is that the emblem of Cabbage Corp, is blatantly visible behind their Pai Sho table.

Katara almost face-palms at their stupidity. Thank god Sokka insisted her on joining Agni Incorp., huh?

"Are they really this dumb?" Zhu Li's face screws up in disgust. "Good work, Miss Azula." She stands up. "I'll make some calls to Long Feng, arranging a meet up."

"Make sure you stay quiet about this." Azula warns. "I wanna see that scum's face personally when he realises what's coming for him."

Zhu Li gives Azula a smile before clip-clopping her way out of the office.

Katara should've left with her. She should be helping Zhu Li set up the meeting. Yet, the wheels in her head are turning and she stays rooted to her chair, mind racing a hundred miles per second.

A snap in front of her face, jolts her awake from the spiral she just fell into. She looks up to find Azula's fingers in front of her face, looking at her with a slight tint of annoyance.

"I said, 'dismissed'. And I believe that's your cue to exit my office immediately." Azula is saying, but Katara's not interested.

Katara's brilliant blue eyes snap to Azula. "What will your meeting with Long Feng be about?"

Azula stares at her. "Do not take advantage of your position, new girl. These are matters that do not require your concern."

Katara's face hardens. "I've typed enough transcripts of your meetings in the past week to know more about your management than any other person on this whole floor." She states. But then she tilts her head slightly to the side. "Well, except Zhu Li, of course, but that's Zhu Li."

Azula leans forward in her chair and places her forearms on the desk, clasping her fingers.

Katara mentally cheers herself for speaking up and continues, hearing no response from Azula. "If I were a spy, I'd be halfway to Ba Sing Se by now, selling all your information. But I didn't. So, tell me. What are you going to discuss with the Cabbage Corp's first director?"

Azula scans her face for a long moment. So long that Katara almost ups and leaves from the sheer weight of her gaze. It's piercing and calculative, making Katara squirm in her seat, feeling oddly heated and flustered.

Azula speaks finally, much to Katara's relief. "I was thinking of giving him the scare of his life. But I haven't really gotten around to the details yet."

Katara's face lights up.

This is it. This is the perfect opportunity laying itself in front of her and Katara reaches out and grasps it so freaking tightly, you'd think she's crazy.

"They've been giving you hell for the past few months, right? What if I tell you, that we can take their obvious stupidity and use it to bleed them dry?"

Azula's brows lift up ever so slightly. She stares at Katara a second longer before yielding. "What are you suggesting?"

The smirk that takes up Katara's face could've summoned a fleet of dark spirits. "The perfect scam." She sneers, her mind already racing, making out the details.

...

The clip-clop of Azula's heels probably alerted them or something, Katara isn't sure, but the moment they enter an empty warehouse for the meeting with Long Feng, the little group huddled together right at the middle of the room turn to look at them.

"Ah!" A guy, almost in his 50's, with long hair plaited behind him and adorned in an extremely exquisite kimono, tilts his chin up, turning to Azula and Azula alone. "Miss Azula. We were expecting you for a while now."

"No, you were not." Azula's quick to reply.

The meeting was set up for 4 o clock Saturday afternoon and Katara was pretty sure they were walking in right on the nose of it, given the obsession Azula had for being perfectly on time. No, scratch that. Being perfect all the time, Katara thinks.

Zhu Li had told her that Azula had specifically asked for the 'new girl' for the meeting, and Katara couldn't help but feel euphoric. Every time she's even thinking of her boss, she gets all dizzy and alert at the same time, it's annoying really.

Now, walking behind, just shy of Azula's steps, she's sure they look like professional demons, here to destroy Cabbages, not with swords, but with pens and words.

A smile almost takes up Katara's face at the thought, but she schools her features. No, professionals are supposed to hold a neutral expression, practiced and poised. She glances slightly over to Azula, the perfect example and straightens her back on instinct.

When they near the small group of elite officials, Azula halts abruptly, in a calculated step that only she can master, and Katara almost stumbles behind her, before regaining her composture just as quickly.

A young guy suddenly appears in front of us, carrying a huge video-camera on his shoulder.

Azula rolls her eyes. "Seriously, Mr. Feng? The camera crew again?"

"If we're going to make a deal, I need all the precautions, Miss Azula." The guy with the long plaites looks smug. Katara realises him as the First director of the Cabbage Corp. "I'm surprised you didn't arrange for the same." He cocks his head and gives a smirk that's supposed to indicate his silent victory or something.

Even Katara knows it's a pathetic attempt. And a poorer execution. She can't even begin to think how Cabbage Corp., even achieved this level of power in the market.

"Oh, I like to keep things simple." Azula says before tapping the suit pocket on her chest, which holds a rather unique pen.

Katara's eyes widen when she realises what's inside that pen.

Hot diggity dog! Azula's amazing!

Long Feng's smirk falters as he catches on too. But then he manages to boost his composture back. "Shall we begin?"

...

"Your resources just took a massive hit, according to my sources." Long Feng crosses his legs. "You're at the brink of collapse, if you don't recompense yourself fast. Why would I want to deal with you?"

Azula doesn't answer. She stares at him without a single expression on her face. Katara squirms in her seat. They've sat down for like, what, ten minutes? And this guy already thinks he owns Azula. It's pathetic because Katara knows what's gonna hit him. And the second-hand embarrassment that she's feeling for him right now is unbearable.

Long Feng, seeing that Azula isn't going to answer him any time soon, continues. "Since I have a particular interest in watching other companies shine and provide me with a better competition, I'd like to offer you financial aid. To recover from your loss. What do you say?"

Azula smiles. "I think you're very generous. But I had something else in mind."

Long Feng narrows his eyes. "Oh?"

Azula looks all around the warehouse, non-chalantly, before letting out a short breath. "A merger."

Her words hang in the air. Katara's face can't help itself but break out into a slight smirk. The whole thing was her idea and she's never been prouder for coming up with anything than when she came up with this. But Azula's making it 10 times better.

Long Feng looks at Azula for a long moment. Then he bursts out laughing. He laughs so hard that he almost falls out of his chair.

"Y- You're serious?!" He asks inbetween peels of laughter, before guffawing out loud again.

Azula looks at him with a smile on her chiseled face. She holds her hand out, and Katara immediately gets her cue. The blue-eyed girl carefully fishes out the laptop from the bag she's holding and opens it.

Live footage of the hidden cameras placed in Azula's stolen shipments, starts to play and Katara instantly places the laptop on her boss's extended arm.

Azula doesn't even look at it, when she turns it around towards Long Feng.

And, oh boy. Katara's pretty sure she would watch how the colour and mirth drains from Long Feng's face, over and over again for the rest of her life after she gets hold of Azula's pen camera footage. It's just so damn satisfying when his laughter slowly turns to chuckles and finally stops abruptly as he makes sense of what's being shown to him.

"I believe we have an excellent deal in our hands. It's a shame about your generous offer though, Mr. Feng. I might not accept it, considering my busy schedule of managing two companies simultaneously from now on. I'll even be kind enough to let you work in the inner circle of the board after the merger, if you're willing."

Long Feng's eyes almost fall out of his head in shocked rage. He grits his teeth to the point where it makes a racket and echoes along the large warehouse.

"My secretary will meet you in a week's time, with the necessary documents regarding our merger. Be sure to bring your camera crew too! They're most welcome! Good day, Mr. Feng."

Azula stands up and turns on her heels, walking crisply away from the chaos she just caused. Katara follows right behind, not exactly sure why she's so fucking turned on at the moment.

...

[Three months later]

Katara's desk is filled with notes and diagrams and draft proposals of anything and everything Azula's been engaging with. It's late. Friday night, 10 PM to be precise. Katara leans back in her chair with a sigh of relief, looking up and all around, having completed her work just moments ago, observing and absorbing how strange it is to see the bull-pen so empty.

She's beat and would do anything to have a nice, long, warm shower and a comfortable snuggle only her bed gives.

She packs her things up from the mess of her desk, tidying up a bit so that she won't have to worry about it first thing on Monday.

Then she hears it

And because it is so quiet, she hears it clearly. The soft clicking of keys on a keyboard. Her sharp ears pick out the sound immediately and she decides to follow it, trying to figure out where it's coming from.

She wanders around the empty desks for a few seconds before halting abruptly in front of Azula's office. The sound seems to be coming from there.

She hasn't gone home yet?

Katara frowns. Maybe she got too caught up in her work to realise that Azula hasn't gone home yet.

Pumping herself with some much needed assurance, she slowly opens the door to Azula's office. She knows the girl hates knocking.

Katara peeps inside the room tentatively. Her eyes fall on her boss, typing feverishly on her computer, brows furrowed in concentration. And Katara, knowing that it's too late to be doing heavy work like what Azula seems to be doing right now, decides to go interrupt.

She steps inside the room quietly. Her boss doesn't seem to notice. But when Katara starts walking towards the desk, closing more distance, Azula's eyes snap up to hers suddenly, without turning away from her computer. Katara stops dead on her tracks, panic griping her heart, faster than a race horse. She stares at her boss, not really sure about what she's doing with herself, praying to all spirits silently that she isn't overstepping any boundaries.

Azula considers Katara for a moment, her fingers halting for a second, before she snaps her golden eyes away to the screen again to continue typing. The blue-eyed girl's heart begins to beat faster.

She's not encroaching any boundaries?!

Katara takes a tentative step forward. And when she meets no resistence, she walks freely, closer to Azula's desk. Her boss, seemingly, is absorbed in her work. And Katara doesn't like it. It's Friday night for spirits sake! And she's the boss! She doesn't have to work this hard!

Katara reaches the desk and walks around it to the side where Azula's seated. It's a large desk, and it gives Katara ample space to lean her butt against the edge of it and stand facing Azula with her arms crossed over her chest.

She watches her boss type so fast, she's sure they keys are just minutes away from flying off the keyboard. It's silent between them. Katara knows that her boss is blatantly ignoring her, so she just waits in order to get her attention.

A moment later, Azula finishes up in a flourish, ending her furious typing, and shuts her computer down, before she turns in her chair to face Katara.

"Why aren't you home yet?"

"Haven't you gone home?"

They both speak at the same time. Katara purses her lips, and looks down at her feet, trying to hide her fast forming blush.

"And not to mention," Azula gets up from her chair, unbuttoning her sleeves, "You've walked in here without permission. I could fire you right here."

Katara looks up in a hurry. "No, you won't."

"Oh, yeah?" Her boss begins to roll up her sleeves. Katara gulps, tracing her eyes over Azula's hands. "What makes you so sure?"

The intern averts her eyes away to her boss' face. "I'm too valuable."

Azula gives her half a shrug. "Meh. You're tolerable."

Katara smiles in reply, teasing and taunting. She takes a moment before asking. "You know, you're the boss right?"

Azula finishes rolling up her sleeves before meeting Katara's eyes in an answer. So Katara continues. "You can go home whenever you please. Why haven't you gone already?"

Azula stares at her silently, reaching her hand up to the back of her head and pulling the band that holds her hair together in a bun. The volume of her hair comes crashing down to her shoulders and her back, and Katara can't help but not take her eyes away from the girl.

Katara knew she was attracted to her boss, months ago. But this . . . this is too much. This is like watching the always poised and alert exterior of Azula that she's spent half an year to build, come crashing down; and Katara's the glad witness of the mind-blowing event, all in slow-motion that her brain seems to put her in.

Her boss steps forward a little, getting a better view of Katara leaning against her desk. Golden brown eyes hold the intern in a daunting stare, before Azula looks away. "I had to draft a proposal."

"This late? You could've asked any of us in the bull-pen to do it for you."

"I don't trust them enough to do this." Azula moves a bit forward. She reaches for the red tie around her lithe neck and gets it loose with a few rough tugs. Then her delicate fingers wrap around her collar button and she unfastens it in the blink of an eye.

Katara's brain freezes over, her eyes trained on the sharp collarbone peeking out from under her boss' collar. "Y- You don't?"

Azula shrugs. "Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way."

Katara gulps as she snaps her gaze to Azula's striking ones trained on her intensely. "What about Z- Zhu Li?"

"Ah, Zhu Li . . ." Azula takes another step forward. "She doesn't fear me. And that's the only reason why I respect her enough to remember her name. The others could be eaten by spirits for all I care." She waves her hand dismissively.

"What about me? I don't fear you."

Azula steps closer, almost a foot away from Katara. "You sure about that?"

"Y- Yes."

Azula just smirks in reply.

Then something clicks in Katara's brain. "Wait- Is that why you keep calling me 'new girl'?! You don't even know my name!"

Her boss moves closer again, and this time, Katara can differentiate the various shades of brown sprinkled in those golden eyes from how close she's standing. "Your achievements shall make me remember you. Not your worthless name. So, tell me, new girl. What have you achieved in order for you to make an impression on me and urge me to remember your name?"

Katara presses herself against the desk behind her like her life depends on it. "I- I um . . . I gave you the idea for the merger deal with the Cabbage Corp!!"

Azula leans forward and places her palms on her desk, on either side of Katara, trapping her. Katara's heart rate increases tenfold. She almost whimpers at the intoxicating smell her boss seems to posess.

"And that's supposed to have impressed me?" Azula raises one chisled brow, silently mocking Katara with just her eyes.

Okay, now Katara's definitely sure that this isn't something that's supposed to be happening between a boss and her intern. But does she care? Oh, spirits no! She finds herself slipping into a daze, her mind filled only with Azula's scent and her goddamn eyes.

"I- I . . ."

"You're gonna have to do lot more than that." Katara feels fingers as soft as silk place themselves on her thigh. They find the gap between her suit-skirt and her burning skin and slides inside effortlessly like butter. Katara shudders at the touch.

"W- What are you doing?" The intern's voice is unstable, riddled heavily with something thick; something raw.

Azula stares at her, slowly moving her hand higher up inside Katara's skirt. "Waiting for you to tell me to stop."

Katara closes her eyes, overwhelmed with a rush of new feelings she knows she shouldn't be having for her boss. She feels hot breath hit her face just and inch away.

"Do you want me to stop?" Azula whispers against her lips, taunting her; teasing her in a way that drives Katara crazy.

And Katara makes a decision. "No." She breathes. "Don't stop."

A smirk takes up her boss' face immediately before she crashes her lips against Katara with such force that pushes Katara flush against the desk, the edge digging into her butt. She pushes back with equal fervour, clasping her fingers tightly around Azula's loose tie and pulling her forward with it.

But Azula's having none of it.

She pushes Katara's skirt up, massaging the intern's thigh with her hand as she spreads the girl's legs apart. She wastes no time, moving forward to come and stand in between her legs, giving Katara a delicious friction to rub herself against.

Their mouths dance against each other, fighting in the most intimate way possible to gain control. Azula's hand that is not presently engaged with Katara's thigh, comes up to untuck the intern's blue blouse from her skirt, dipping her hand inside to caress the soft skin there.

Katara jumps on cloud nine. Her hungry desire for her boss ever since she laid her eyes on the girl, hits her with full force as her hand find Azula's shirt to crumple under her fingers. She lets out a needy breath when Azula leaves her lips to dip her head down to place a hot, wet, open mouth on Katara's neck, sucking the supple skin there in a way that makes Katara pretty sure it's gonna leave a mark.

It's wrong. Katara knows it's absolutely wrong. But it feels so damn right and so damn good that she silences all the other nonsensical thoughts riddling her brain and pulls the dark, raw, unadulterated hunger she feels for her boss to the forefront, throwing away all reason. She doesn't know when exactly she became this shameless animal, wanting, no- needing to be satisfied by Azula, and only Azula, but she doesn't seem to care.

Especially not when Azula's caressing hand unbuttons her skirt and sneaks its merry way down to pure, wet, heat. Katara feels herself pounding in time with her heart, gushing wetness all over Azula's now bold and teasing fingers. She arches her back, aching for her boss' touch, and gasping out loud when Azula finally, finally puts pressure exactly fucking where she needs it.

Katara's hand flies out to grip the desk and accidentally hits the pen stand and it comes crashing down with a loud BANG!

Katara jolts awake.

She sits up straight in her chair, blinking rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the sudden hit of light. She looks all around, shocked to find that she's at her desk in the bull-pen. She must've fallen asleep on her desk or something.

Heat flushes into Katara's face as her brain catches up with what she was dreaming. She looks toward Azula's office, and most definitely, there's not a single soul there; lights out and door locked.

Her body's still buzzing, completely on edge, still not over the mind-numbingly vivid dream she just had.

God dang it!

Now she's never going to be able to look at her boss in the eyes again. She packs her stuff up and heads home in a hurry. She's taking the coldest freaking shower known to mankind when she reaches home, for sure.

...

"The proposal's been approved." Azula's sharp voice rings around the meeting hall. "I want the draft for the first design by this Thursday. Any delay on your part and I will not hesitate to terminate you from my office. Understood?"

There are terrified nods all around the hall.

"Good." Azula narrows her eyes. "Dismissed."

Zhu Li, beside Katara, gets up to go have a seat near Azula, to run over the details regarding the discussions in the meeting, just as everyone hurriedly scurries out of the hall. Katara follows her mindlessly. Even after 3 months, Katara still shadows Zhu Li around, learning as much as can from the secretary.

The intern thought that if she spent the whole of the weekend having slumber parties with her friends, it just might take her mind off of the dream she had last Friday.

But, nope.

She tried all the trick in her book, but nothing seems to be working. Sitting here in the meeting hall, along with Zhu Li and Azula alone, she can't help but let her eyes wander to her boss' tie, noticing the way it stands crisp and how it came so beautifully undone under Azula's sculpted fingers in her dream. She can't help but imagine what witnessing the real thing would be like. It also does not help when Azula picks up a pen and starts twirling it inbetween her fingers.

Katara sucks in a sharp breath and pulls her eyes away reluctantly to her notepad.

"Katara?"

She hears her name and looks up instantly to find Azula's sharp eyes looking directly at her.

"Zhu Li's gone already. I said dismissed two minutes ago."

Katara looks around the hall, confused, and feels her cheek heat up at the realisation. She and Azula are the only ones in the hall. But then she frowns. "Wait-" Her eyes snap back to her boss. "You know my name?!"

Three months under Azula's leadership, and not once has Katara heard Azula call her by her name. And the same three months of experience tells Katara that the look Azula's giving her is the one she wears when she's confused.

"What do you mean?" The golden eyed girl asks.

"I- I thought you always called me 'new girl' cuz you didn't know my name!"

Azula arches her brow. "I always call you 'new girl' because you are a new girl."

Katara frowns. "Then . . . I'm not a new girl anymore?"

Azula snorts. "You've not been new since your mom pushed you out of her."

The intern scowls at her boss. "Not funny. My mom died when I was 5."

Azula stares at her employee for a second longer before shrugging slightly. "Sorry."

Katara perks up. Sorry? The great Azula, shadow director of Agni Incorp., is capable of uttering that word?!

Seeing that Katara's confused, Azula explains without prompt. "Look, you've improved the status of the company since you arrived here, so much so that I could kiss you with how pleased I am. So, it's importat that I don't treat you as just another employee although they're important too, but as a colleague."

Katara gulps. "Y- You could kiss me?!"

Azula raises her eyebrows. "Figure of speech." She says but there's amusement in her eyes. "Were you really about to say 'no' to Azula Agni kissing you?"

Katara's eyes blow wide. "What?! No! That's not what I was-" She notices Azula's expression. "You're playing me, aren't you?"

The corner of Azula's lips curve up into a smirk, her eyes twinkling. "You should've seen your face."

"I know, I know." Katara rolls her eyes. "Very funny."

Their shared moment hangs in the air softly, bathing Katara with an unnatural elation. She finds Azula staring at her with the twinkle never leaving her eyes. Her stomach flips involuntarily. She sobers up, playing with a strand of her own hair in sudden nervousness.

"Zhu Li's planning on resigning." Azula states and Katara looks up with shock at the sudden news. "I tried to keep her in, but it really is no use. She needs to work on her career and she can't do that wiping my ass for the rest of her life."

"When?" - Is the only thing Katara can ask.

"In three months." Azula looks down at the table. "She says she'll train you for another month and then issue me her notice."

Katara frowns. "Me?"

Azula's gaze finds Katara's confused ones. "Yeah, you. You're gonna be Zhu Li's replacement."

The intern's heart pounds against her ribs. Being Azula's secretary means being close to her at all times, arriving at her beck and call and . . . Katara really isn't sure if she's cut out for the job with the kind of dreams that she's been having.

"You . . . don't want to be?" Azula frowns slightly.

Katara decides to be honest. At least about one thing. "I don't think I'm cut out for the job is all."

Azula's frown deepens. "I just told you how I could kiss you because of how good you're at this job. Just . . . think about it and make sure to let me know before Zhu Li hands in her notice."

Katara knows that her decision is already going to be a 'yes'. But she nods to Azula's suggestion anyways, as if to mull it over.

"Dismissed."

Katara walks out of the meeting hall, with a light heart.

***

i've been writing this fic for THREE days. that's how long this is 😭🖐🏻

i hope i satisfied your prompt, anon!! if anyone wants a part 2 for this... all u need to do is ask me 👀 it's that simple.

#thank you for the ask anon! #when katara bags another major profit for the company #azula DOES kiss her #on the mouth #in front of the whole bull-pen #sokka's jaw is just a gaping hole when he witness's it #azutara #ragzie yaps #atla #azula #katara #kazula #katzula #azutara drabble #drabble #fanfic #one shot #zhu li moon #cabbage corp #tlok #the legend of korra #avatar the last airbender #sokka #atla sokka #long feng #atla long feng #dai li #ba sing se #zuko #ozai

[cloakedsparrow]

When did Jason & Damian Meet?

More random DC thoughts while tending to my goats:

Jason died shortly before his sixteenth birthday and Tim arrived a few months later, aged thirteen. Rounding Jason up a month or so for convenience, this makes a three year age difference.

Batman Annual 25 states that Jason was dead for six months “until time decided to set things right” (because he wasn’t supposed to die but Superboy Prime fucked up the timeline similar to Flash in Flashpoint). Then he spent a year in the hospital/on the streets before Talia takes him in. Then, he spends a year with her before she drops him in the Lazarus Pit and immediately gets him away from Ra’s. After that, he goes through a series of teachers before returning to Gotham for the events of Hush and Under the Red Hood. This had to have taken around a year at least.

Tim is fifteen during the attack in Titan’s Tower, which takes place during the events of Under the Red Hood (sometime between Jason revealing himself to Bruce and taking a Batarang to the neck). If we go by the timeline shown in the Annual, Jason should be nineteen, which would be a four year age difference. Which means either one of those ‘one year later’s is wrong or Dick was right when he guessed Tim was twelve in A Lonely Place of Dying and Tim lied about being thirteen.

So we’re looking at an age difference of either three years or four years between Jason and Tim. This is the important point.

Damian turns thirteen shortly after Tim died (and was immediately resurrected by Dr Manhattan but the family didn’t know that and it doesn’t really matter here anyway). DC really made sure no age was stated ever during the A Lonely Place of Living storyline, even with Zor-El asking after why Tim had to step in and save Batman as a child. However, after Tim returns, Bruce barges into the hospital room and identifies himself (among other things) as “the boy’s legal guardian”. Which would mean Tim isn’t emancipated like he was in New Earth and, most importantly for this train of thought, is still a minor. So he’s most likely sixteen (as he was in New52) or seventeen (as he was when New Earth ended). It would make no sense for DC to have gone younger.

That makes a three or four year age difference between Tim and Damian as well.

Which makes a six-to-eight year age difference between Jason and Damian.

So if we say Jason was seventeen when Talia took him in, then Damian would have been anywhere from nine to eleven. Certainly old enough to notice his mother stressing out (over Jason) and possibly ask questions. Jason wasn’t cognizant the whole time he was with the League and Talia appears to have kept him pretty secured as well. At the time, Damian had been canonically adopted out (he was retconned back into Talia’s custody later), so he’s never mentioned, but it’s during Jason’s post-Lazarus training period that Talia leaves her father (and works for Lex Corps), and near the end of Red Hood: The Lost Days, is tortured by her sister in Death in the Maidens before rejoining the League. There’s no way she left Damian behind for all that, so she either has him with her or has left him in the care of someone she trusts while she sets up their new life (before it gets derailed by her sister).

All this means it’s very unlikely that Jason ever met or even knew about Damian. It’s possible Damian saw, or at least knew about, Jason, but it’s also possible that he never did.

Since Damian didn't exist as a character during the time DC was bringing Jason back and establishing his post-death character, it’s probably more convenient for them to go with neither of them knowing about the other.

Personally, since DC set Damian up as unbelievably spoiled at his introduction and proceeded to show him being very nosy and lacking boundaries with those of interest to him or that he cares about (spying on Tim, spying on Bruce, disguising himself as Jon’s school bus driver, etc), I think it would have been easier for Talia to tell him about Jason (probably leaving out the Bruce connection just in case) but refuse to let him see Jason than try to keep the whole thing from him. So I headcanon that Damian knew of Jason. He was always curious about him because of the way his mother spoke of the older boy: with love, pride, and concern. However, he didn’t get to meet him until after he was living with his father and Jason starting coming around.

Jason had no clue Talia and Bruce had a child that she’d been taking care of the whole time.

#dc #comics #thoughts #opinions #observations #headcanon #bat family #bat brothers #jason todd #red hood #damian wayne #talia al ghul #tim drake #tim wayne #robin #red robin #Batman: A Death in the Family #Batman: Under the Red Hood #Red Hood: The Lost Days #A Lonely Place of Dying #A Lonely Place of Living

[rewritingcanon]

do you have any headcanons about post-hogwarts scorbus? :)

oh DO i!!

scorpius gets a huge glow-up after hogwarts sometime around his mid twenties and everyone is shocked by it except albus (who always thought scorpius was drop dead gorgeous) and draco (who knew astoria’s model genes would kick in sooner or later)

i think most of nextgen would do better than their parents and not marry as mind bogglingly early as them. all except scorbus, who would probs marry each other at 19 or some ridiculous bs.

would have the weddings to end all weddings too. theres no “small intimate gathering” absolutely not, not with DRACO MALFOY being the grooms father 💀💀 its more fancy than the royals i swear its making headlines.

also albus would take on the malfoy name in my opinion. no hyphenation, just full integration

scorpius will be over at the potters house every second week just to suck up to all of them and win the favour of everyone especially ginny (because ginny is the alpha of the household). hes of the opinion that he cant ask albus to marry him unless everyone accepts him (they all do but scorpius doesn’t believe it for at least eight months).

he also tries to win rose’s favour but she pretends to not gaf just to fw him.

i always go back and forth between their careers, im never set on one. for scorpius i predominantly like the idea of him being a healer and going through the wizard-equivalent of med school because it just feels like something he would needlessly put himself through. i also like him doing a career he’s passionate about, like something to do with history, or working in a really obscure department of the ministry.

i fluctuate with albus’ career the MOST. i can see him working a desk job and hating it and being that guy whos disassociating staring at the clock on the wall waiting for his shift/workday to be over do he can go home and love all over his husband. i also see him quitting it all to go full house-husband/stay-at-home dad when he gets sick of it. but i think he’d like having a muggle career better than a wizard one.

albus does ALL the cooking. scorpius is BANNED from touching the kitchen because he burns everything (poor thing tries his best)

the only reason they didn’t move out immediately after graduating was because scorpius was scared to leave draco alone in the manor. so draco pretended to be sick of albus basically staying over at the manor every night to push scorpius to do what he wanted

i think scorpius and albus would move into a young-adultish flat/apartment when they first move in together, even though they can def afford a proper home 😭😭

they still literally follow each other everywhere. deadass cannot separate them.

ginny goes on solo holidays with the boys 😭😭💀💀💀

scorpius is an early waker and albus will sleep until 3pm if not roused. albus keeps wanting to wake up early to make scorpius breakfast in bed but alas hes not built for it…..

albus has to teach scorpius how to not be so ostentatious when buying things for their home or nursery or whatever. that boy has no idea how to save his money 💀

always go to family functions in matching accessories like ties or watches or socks or jewellery or SOMETHING. they just have to outdo all the other couples there smh.

also always wears matching pyjamas because they’re sickening

albus would be more passionate about following the tradition of naming their kids after stars/constellations than scorpius would be.

albus is very wifey material like he gives scorp the best massages after work, runs him hot baths, cooks and cleans, handles financials, spoils scorpius by buying him lots of things he likes (tbf scorpius is very easy to please), listens to his rants, so whenever scorpius feels hes not doing enough he’ll panic and buy out an entire cinema for a date night or something similarly corny 💀

albus gets the white streaks in his hair that make him a honorary malfoy

albus gets a pot belly when he’s older im so passionate about this

i also like the idea of scorpius needing to wear glasses when hes old too

lmk if you want more scorbus hcs i am always ready and willing to yap about scorbus

#wait until i make a post about old man yaoi scorbus my beloved #harry potter #hp #hpcc #cursed child #scorpius malfoy #albus severus potter #scorbus #scorbus headcanons #ginny weasley #draco malfoy #rose granger weasley #hpng #hp nextgen #hp next gen #scorpius malfoy x albus potter #astoria greengrass #rewriting #ask #anon

[owl-with-a-pen]

“Are you sure about this? Because, if not, I can still cancel the reservation.”

Nia rolled her eyes. This must’ve been the third time Alex had asked her that same question since picking up the call. She shook her head, adjusting her phone against her ear. “No, no way Alex, you’ve been talking about this dinner with Kelly for weeks, you deserve this date. You need this date.” She drew in a breath, closing her eyes. “I can still take Esme for the night, it’s not a problem.”

“I just don’t want you to have to deal with any more stress. Not after—”

Nia winced. Well, there it was again, the big ol’ elephant in the room that Alex had deftly skirted around this whole conversation. Well, technically. She supposed the elephant wasn’t so much in the room with her than he was in the room over, committed to bedrest until further notice.

It wasn’t exactly ideal, but nothing ever ran according to plan when it came to the whole superhero life. Two weeks ago, Nia and Brainy would have been more than capable of taking on Esme for the night. Then, less than forty-eight hours ago, an alien with insane super strength had decided to ruin that by throwing Brainy through a cement wall and over a balcony.

To anyone else, it might have been dumb luck, except Brainy wasn’t anyone, and differential calculus usually kept him at least three steps ahead of an opponent. Nia hadn’t seen it coming either, and her dream instincts had only been getting stronger these last few months.

It was only after the alien had been formally logged onto the DEO database that they realised the species was capable of sending out otherwise undetectable frequencies that affected higher brain function.

Dumb luck indeed, although Nia wasn’t convinced. Neither was anyone else, which was why the DEO had been having a hell of a time drawing up possible tie-ins to recent criminal activity ever since. It was also why Alex was in desperate need of a night off.

And, as for Brainy? The only reason he’d stopped working was on account of the back trauma and three broken ribs.

Nia had to admit, the bruising was pretty gnarly. She’d seen it first while Alex had been bandaging him up, like a pale-yellow rash that stretched across his whole lower ribcage. Since then, the bruising had developed, darkening into the crevices of his broken ribs, spreading out and over his spine like a spilled paint jar. Alex had told him he was lucky he hadn’t punctured a lung, and though her tone had been light, Nia had seen the worry in her eyes.

Brainy had been signed off on medical leave that same day, and he wasn’t expected back until he’d made a full recovery.

The good news? Coluans healed fast, although even Brainy had to admit he couldn’t work through this sort of an injury. For starters, he was barely able to walk, and that was with the alien grade pain meds Alex had prescribed. He was in for a steady recovery at least, but Nia understood where Alex was coming from. Neither of them had expected this when they’d agreed to babysit and, like it or not, Brainy’s assistance tonight was way out of the question.

“It’s fine,” Nia assured her for what felt like the millionth time. “He’s fine. Besides—he’s resting, so actually, I could really use the company.”

“You’re sure?” Alex didn’t sound convinced.

“Totally. Nothing wakes him up in the restorative cycle, so unless Esme comes home with earthquake powers--”

“I mean, that is a real possibility,” Alex warned, although her voice had started to soften, “but I get your point.” She sighed. “Okay look, if you’re really sure, then fine. I’ll drop her off at five-thirty, which still gives you both plenty of time to change your minds if--”

Nia rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you at five-thirty,” she said flatly, hanging up before Alex could argue otherwise.

Nia leant heavily against the breakfast bar, snapping her phone against the cold surface, lowering her head.

She’d meant what she’d said about wanting the company. With Brainy out of commission, the apartment was uncharacteristically quiet. Keeping herself busy was never this difficult when Brainy was out of town or off-planet, but with him so close-by, Nia couldn’t help but gravitate towards the bedroom whenever she didn’t have something else to occupy her time. Aside from bathroom breaks and mealtimes, Brainy didn’t need anything from her - his restorative cycle took care of that - but that didn’t stop the persistent itch underneath Nia’s skin, driving her to do something, anything that could help.

At least having Esme there would give her just that.

In the meantime, Nia found herself back at the bedroom door, hovering just outside. It was dumb, and even though she knew she wouldn’t wake him, she still felt like an intruder when she shouldered open the door. She kept it open just a crack, enough to spy Brainy’s face in the dim light, exactly where he had been that same morning.

He was curled in protectively on his side, one pillow propping him up with another clutched tightly to his chest. His free arm cushioned his head as he slept, the muffled glow of his life projectors casting long shadows over his closed lids.

Brainy’s life projectors always shone a little brighter when he was locked in a restorative cycle - something about his consciousness retreating that bit deeper into his AI core – but whenever he was sick or hurt, Nia noticed that the glow was especially potent. Like right now; even beneath layers of bandages and bedsheets, they shone as fiercely as ever, burning away like tiny suns.

The restorative state couldn’t disguise everything though, and Nia knew that Brainy was still in a lot of pain. There was a sallowness to his green skin, and his blond hair was tufted to his brow, odd ends clinging to his face by a sheen of cold sweat. The meds were helping where they could, but they couldn’t take away all of his discomfort, which was why Nia was relieved he’d managed to slip into the restorative cycle at all. Usually, it only triggered on his back, but the bruising on his spine made that position pretty impossible right now. Thankfully, his body had compensated, making the necessary adjustments to give him the best opportunity to heal.

It didn’t make it easier to look at, and Nia could still hear the impact Brainy’s body had made with the ground every time she so much as closed her eyes.

She only wished she’d been dreaming of it before, not after. Guess she had their alien prisoner to thank for that.

He looked peaceful at least, and she knew the longer he stayed in the restorative state, the faster he would heal. This was a win - she had to remind herself of that. Besides, Brainy had been the one to assure her that Esme was still welcome to stay over. As crappy as things had turned out, he was of the same mind as her:  Alex and Kelly needed this.

It wasn’t like Nia had any hang-ups about babysitting solo, she’d done it plenty of times before. Esme was a good kid and as much of a handful as a young Dyralian could no doubt be, Nia knew she had nothing to worry about.

And yet, that nagging dream sense wouldn’t leave her alone. The one that called out to her at her lowest, that liked to whisper what if, what if, what if…

She ignored it. Bad vibes didn’t mean bad visions. She was just working herself up over nothing.

~~~

Brainy hadn’t stirred once by the time Alex arrived with her overactive payload. The second Nia opened the door, Esme beamed up at her, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Auntie Nia!”

Nia laughed, hoisting Esme up just enough to spin her once before letting her loose into the apartment. “Hey, gremlin, how’ve you been?”

Alex and Nia both watched on fondly as Esme shrugged her overnight bag onto the stool by the breakfast bar, scoping out the apartment as she went. She had a keen eye, instantly marking out the box of toys Nia had left out for her.

“Thanks again for this, Nia, you really are a life saver here,” Alex said earnestly once Esme was out of earshot. She leaned forward conspiratorially. “We’re trying to get her down by eight or nine at the latest.”

Nia offered a mock salute. “Got it.”

Alex’s face creased sympathetically. “I mean it though, Nia, if Brainy needs some peace and quiet or if she gets to be too much of a handful, you can call me, and I’ll be right—"

Nia raised her hand, effectively cutting her off. “Don’t worry about that.” She winked, shooing her off. “Now, go and enjoy your date! You look amazing by the way.”

Alex laughed, nodding sheepishly before finally heeding Nia’s instructions.  

Once Nia had closed the door, she turned back to Esme. “Okay, now your mom is finally gone, what d’you wanna do tonight?”

Normally, that would’ve elicited a squeal from Esme, and about a dozen and a half activities she had primed and ready on the tip of her tongue.

Tonight, though, her attention seemed to be elsewhere.

Esme padded quietly across the apartment, exaggerating her steps like she might come across a stray Lego. She stopped at the sofa’s arm, leaning her whole body into it, balancing with one foot in the air as she peered curiously towards the hallway.

She pointed suddenly. “Is that where Uncle Brainy is?”

Nia’s stomach clenched. Clearly, the kid didn’t miss a beat.

She smiled tightly, folding her arms. “Uh-huh,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “I’m uh- guessing your mom told you about that?”

Esme nodded reservedly, her attention aimed solely at the hallway. “She said I need to be on my best behaviour.” She scowled, pushing herself up from the sofa so that she could place her little hands squarely on her hips. “I told her that I’m always on my best behaviour!”

Nia chuckled, ruffling Esme’s hair as she crossed by. “I know you are, kiddo, and that’s very sweet of you to think of Uncle Brainy.” She perched herself on the edge of the sofa, meeting Esme’s eye at her own level. “He’s, well, he’s resting right now, but you don’t have to worry. Coluans have a cool trick they can do when they have to sleep real deep, so you don’t have to walk on eggshells while you’re here, I promise.” She ushered Esme over, pulling her up onto the sofa with her, meeting little resistance. Nia pressed her chin into Esme’s hair, squeezing her against her chest. “We can watch a movie if you want?”

Esme nodded, although she was still a little on the quiet side.

They settled for an old classic: The Wizard of Oz. Kara had kind of managed to get Esme hooked on it the last time she’d babysat. Ever since, Esme treated it as a comfort movie, especially when she was missing her family. With Kara and J’onn currently off-world on Mars, Nia suspected she hadn’t seen much of her family in the last few weeks.

Esme retreated to her own side of the couch once Dorothy had crossed into Oz, her eyes fixed on the screen. At least it had her attention, although Nia couldn’t help but feel like she had something else on her mind.

Her thoughts were confirmed a little after the Tin Man showed up. “Want anything to eat?” Nia prodded.

Esme shook her head, not looking up from the TV.

Nia frowned, nudging Esme with her foot. “Everything alright?”

Esme nodded.

“Hey, I know!” Nia announced, sitting up. “Wanna play the bubble game?”

Headshake.

Nia’s frown deepened. Esme never passed up the bubble game, it was one of her favourites. Now, Nia knew something was really up with her. She pursed her lips, crossing her legs beneath her. “Esme, hey, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t feel him.”

Of all her abilities, super hearing was not one of them. Nia scooched forward, unsure if she’d heard her right. “What do you mean?”

Esme’s nose scrunched at that, as though she was frustrated. She clenched her hands, twisting them against her lap. “Uncle Brainy,” she said, her voice trailing off like a sigh. She shifted, biting her cheek. “My moms told me that my powers are tele-phony.”

“Telepathic,” Nia corrected gently, taking her shoulder.

Esme nodded emphatically. “Uh-huh. Normally—I feel powers when they’re nearby. Yours.” She pointed suddenly to Nia’s centre. “That’s right there. But I can’t feel Uncle Brainy’s. And I always feel his.” She worried her lip, for the first time letting her eyes wander away from the TV. She looked up at Nia, her expression so open and forlorn. “Is it—is it because he’s hurt?”

Nia’s stomach sank. “Oh, honey, no, no, it’s alright. He’s alright.” Nia squeezed Esme’s shoulder, pulling her back up onto her lap. She could feel her little heart drilling an anxious rhythm into her chest. She ran her hand idly through Esme’s hair, folding odd curls behind her ears. “I should’ve explained, that’s my fault, okay? It’s just—that super cool trick I told you about? It’s sorta… a psychic blocker. When Uncle Brainy’s that deeply asleep, nothing can get to him, not even psychic powers. Like… like my dream powers. Or yours, Esme. Even Grandpa J’onn wouldn’t be able to connect to his mind.”

“That sounds scary,” Esme said softly, her hand curling around Nia’s arm.

“It is a little scary sounding from the outside,” Nia admitted, “but for Brainy, it’s kinda the opposite. Like the deepest, most peaceful sleep someone can have. It helps his body heal from just about anything.”

“Is he hurt real bad?”

“Not really, really, but I bet you get sleepy too when you’re not feeling great, right?”

Esme nodded reluctantly.

“Same.” Nia smiled down at her. “Although, I’m sleepy all the time.” She splayed her hand out in front of Esme’s face, a burst of dream energy erupting from her bracelet, springing across every finger.

Esme did crack a smile at that, her eyes wide and full of wonder as she watched the energy dance. Nia grinned, shaking out her hand. “It’s the same for Coluans, too, just, they have a special sleep state for it, that’s all.”

“Okay...”

Nia pressed a kiss into Esme’s hair. “Now, do you want a snack?”

This time, Esme nodded.

Nia smirked. Progress.

She stood up with a stretch, heading over to the kitchen. “Cool, did mom pack anything for you, or d’you think we can get away with ice cream?”

“Ice cream! Ice cream!”

Nia’s smirk grew into a grin. She was sure Alex wouldn’t mind her indulging Esme’s sweet tooth for just one night. After all, she was a life saver.

Before Nia could dish out the first scoop, Esme launched herself from the sofa, trotting over towards the kitchen and her overnight bag. “Wait!”

At first, Nia assumed there was a snack in there she really wanted. That was until Esme produced a different sort of container from her backpack. It was a clear plastic box, with something that rattled furiously inside.

It looked like some kind of craft kit. Nia raised a brow. “Oh, that’s cute. What is it, Esme?”

“Beads and string,” Esme announced proudly, sliding it onto the breakfast bar. “To make bracelets!”

“Oh, you wanna make one while you eat?”

“Mhm.”

Nia grinned, helping lift Esme the last stretch onto the stool so that she could order out her beads with keen focus. As she pulled the lid off, Nia got her first good look at what was inside.

They were… beautiful. Not your average store-bought bead kit, that was for sure. They came in a variety of colours, most of which had a transparent crystalline centre that wrapped around the whole length. Some had little letters engraved on them, but none from a language that Nia recognised.

“Those are some pretty cool beads,” Nia said, sliding Esme’s ice cream over to her. She leant her elbows on the counter, fishing a bead from the container curiously. It was a little heavier than she had expected, like the density of a tiny pebble on the palm of her hand. “Where’d you get them from?”

“Friend from school,” Esme said around a mouthful of ice cream. She pushed the bowl to the side, pulling out a piece of string. “Her dads are from a planet real far away. They brought lots of stuff with them. Rocks and crystals. To make beads.”

Nia’s eyes popped wide open. “So, wait, these are alien rocks?”

Esme shrugged. “Think so.”

“That’s really cool.”

“My friend told me they have protective hor-hor-uhs”

“Oh, auras?” Nia nodded along. “Yeah, lots of planets have special rocks that can do a ton of things.”

Esme took a handful of beads, evening them out across the table. “She told me these ones protect,” she explained. “So, I made some for my moms, and for Auntie Kara and Grandpa J’onn. And-and I can make one for you, too! And then, I can make one for Uncle Brainy.” She nodded seriously to herself. “Maybe-maybe that’d make him feel better.”

Nia’s lips crumpled into a smile. “Oh, that’s a really good idea,” she told her gently. “Here, I can make my own, why don’t you focus on Uncle Brainy’s?”

Esme agreed, poking out her tongue as she lined her first bead up with her piece of string, threading it into place.

They both neglected their ice cream in favour of bracelet making. Nia had to admit, she may have gotten a little carried away. The beads were gorgeous, and she was even able to find a set with a blue crystal centre that was nearly identical to the shade of her super suit. Needless to say, she could totally see herself accessorising these with all sorts of outfits, which would make Esme very happy.

Although, she did wonder if what Esme had been told held any merit. While the beads were different from anything Nia had ever seen before, she wasn’t so sure they could offer any real protection. Although, as she’d learned, alien rocks could do just about anything, and it would’ve been nice if one could do some good for a change. Most of the time they were out to get people, especially Kryptonians.

Suddenly, Esme tugged on Nia’s sleeve, declaring she was finished.

The second she saw Esme’s design, Nia couldn’t help but grin. “Oh yeah,” she said. “He’ll love that.”

Esme had decorated her bracelet with little green and purple beads, in a sort of three-by-three pattern that mimicked the dot formation on Brainy’s chest, especially when it was pinched in at the sides.

Esme bounced eagerly on her stool. “Can I give it to him?”

“Oh, now?” Nia deflated slightly, glancing towards the bedroom, then at her watch. It wasn’t Esme’s bedtime yet, but time really had flown. Brainy hadn’t surfaced though, which she took as a good sign. As much as she knew the restorative cycle wasn’t going to lift on account of their presence, she was reluctant to put any sort of barrier between Brainy’s most necessary healing function.  

Nia deliberated for a moment. “We can leave it at his bedside, how about that?”

Esme slipped off her stool with a wobble, running ahead to the hallway, beads in tow.

“Wait for me, wait for me!” Nia called out, taking Esme’s hand to still her as she pushed the bedroom door open.

The room was darker since the sun’s decline, the only light issuing in from the steady thrum of Brainy’s life projectors, their intense radiance a sure sign he was still well and truly asleep. Nia bit her lip before letting Esme run ahead.

The glow from Brainy’s light cores illuminated a path straight to his nightstand. Esme followed it dutifully, reaching out her arm to place her gift at his bedside.

At the last second, she stopped herself, spinning towards the bed. “I feel him again!” she announced excitedly.

Nia winced – that was definitely not the indoor voice they’d been practicing. A second later, the mound of blankets shifted as Brainy stirred, his life projectors dulling to a soft white as he lifted his head. Esme must have sensed the end of his restorative state before he’d even begun to wake. Nia couldn’t help but feel a little impressed.

Brainy propped himself up against his pillow, rubbing a hand over his eyes in the low light. “Greetings, Esme,” he croaked, his voice still a little mechanised from sleep.

Esme beamed up at him, holding out her arms. “Uncle Brainy!”

Nia took that as her cue. She rushed over, holding Esme back with a gentle hand. “Steady. He’s just woken up.”

Esme frowned. “Uh-oh, is he grumpy?”

Nia smirked. “The grumpiest.”

“I take offence to that assumption,” Brainy mumbled, a touch of humour in his voice. It was already starting to strengthen, though Nia could detect the strain behind his words. He was still diverting too much energy to his injury.

“How are you feeling?” Nia asked seriously, an arm placed strategically across Esme’s front.

“Improved,” Brainy managed, cradling his chest. He tried to sit up, only to gasp out when the movement aggravated his ribs. “Although not fully… myself. I think I need more time to recuperate.”

Nia watched him carefully. “Can I get you anything while you’re up?”

“I’m fine, just, I should hydrate.” He glanced over to his empty water glass, shifting again beneath the sheets, as though preparing to stand.

Nia spoke up before he could give himself another excuse to exacerbate his injury. “I’ll get you some water,” she said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Before he could say anything against her, she turned on her heel, throwing her voice over her shoulder. “Esme, make sure our patient here doesn’t move! Your mom gave him very strict bedrest orders, understand?”

“Okay!” Esme agreed happily, a little too eager to be a nuisance. Nia grinned as she ducked around the corner, confident Brainy would stay put - if only for Esme’s benefit.

Once she was back with the water, she found Esme sat up on the bed at Brainy’s side, half the covers tucked beneath her feet. She watched intently as Brainy took the water from Nia, popping his next round of pills into his mouth before swallowing them down. Nia counted out the hours in her head as he drank, realising belatedly that he must’ve woken himself the second his next dose was due.

When Brainy put the glass down, Esme shuffled closer, nearly knocking her elbow with his. “I made this for you,” she announced, unfurling her fist so that the bracelet dangled from her fingers.

“Impressive,” Brainy observed, making a quick study of the design. His eyes widened. “Those beads,” he said, “they’re from Alteria?”

“My friend gave them to me,” Esme said proudly. “They’re meant to protect you.”

Brainy lowered his head in earnest, taking the bracelet from Esme as though it was as delicate as a pressed flower. “Then I shall wear it with pride,” he said, slipping it onto his wrist. Nia smothered a smile with her hand. It was adorable watching the exchange, especially while Brainy was trying to accessorise in his pyjamas. “Thank you, Esme Olsen-Danvers,” he continued softly, “this gift will be very useful… and fashionable.”

Esme giggled at that, throwing her arms around Brainy’s waist before Nia had a chance to stop her.

Brainy gritted his teeth, but managed to return the hug before Esme pulled away, eyes wide. “Sorry! I’m sorry! Are you okay, Uncle Brainy?”

Brainy nodded, breathing out a quiet reassurance. He’d paled considerably though, his lips pinched with pain.

Nia swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat, taking Esme’s shoulder. “Okay, I think that’s enough excitement for tonight. Uncle Brainy needs to rest.”

“Can I stay and rest too?” Esme asked.

Nia eyed her suspiciously. “What? Am I boring you to sleep, because that’s not how my powers work.”

Esme giggled. “No, silly! But, I wanna stay here with Uncle Brainy. We all should!” Esme held out her wrist, pulling up her sleeve to reveal a bracelet of her own. “Then all our bracelets can protect him, so he won’t get hurt anymore!”

Nia stared at the bracelet for a long moment, not sure what to say. Her heart squeezed sympathetically. “Oh, Esme, honey, I’m not sure that’s-“

“It’s fine,” Brainy said quickly. A little colour had returned to his cheeks, deepening the natural green of his complexion. He was still washed out, and the bruising beneath his eyes really spoke for itself, but he still managed to turn back to Esme, tilting his head in consideration. “That’s… a very logical mindset to have at your age.”

Esme puffed out her chest. “I’m nearly seven!”

Brainy softened. “My error,” he said with wink. “Then you are developing at an expected rate.”

“Heeeey!”

Nia rolled her shoulders out, trying to dispel some of the nervous energy still clinging to her heart. She clapped her hands together. “Alright, Esme, shall we get you in your jammies?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Once Nia had ushered Esme into the bathroom with her change of clothes, she headed back to the bedroom to wait for her, peeking in through the door to make sure Brainy was still awake.

He was.

“Sorry about this,” Nia said softly, climbing up onto the bed. She drew her knees towards her chin, pushing her back against the headboard. “How’s your--?”

Brainy wound an arm around his chest, smiling tightly. “Delicate,” he admitted. “The pills will manage that soon enough.”

“I didn’t realise she was gonna jump at you like that.” Nia snorted, tipping her head back. “I probably should’ve, she’s been thinking about you all night. She made it her mission to make that bracelet for you.” She nodded towards Brainy’s wrist, brows drawn. “Any truth to that?”

Brainy ran a hand around the beads thoughtfully, lowering his chin. “Like many cultures across the universe, faith plays a large part in what precious materials can and cannot do. To the Alteri, their telepathy enables a very real connection to their environment and so yes, I suspect that these beads could to a degree protect those who wear them. Especially if someone with a psychic affinity put them together.”

“Like Esme,” Nia said.

“Or, like you, Nia Nal,” Brainy murmured, leaning towards her. His lips skimmed hers and Nia closed her eyes, sighing softly into his mouth.

When they parted, Nia smiled, glancing down at her own bracelet, comparing it to Brainy’s in the low light. “Well, maybe Esme’s right,” she said. “Maybe three are better than one.”

~~~

Once Esme had brushed her teeth, Nia hoisted her into the bed so that she could nestle between them both. Although she had self-appointed herself Brainy’s personal ward for the night, it surprised no one when she fell asleep first, her head tucked towards Brainy’s chest.  

Brainy lay still in the dark for so long, Nia thought he might have already fallen back into his restorative state, although his life projectors were still muted. She used that soft light to her advantage, studying every inch of her bracelet, the small carvings on the beads she’d selected without knowing which letters they denoted.

After a while, she let a spark of her dreamlight creep up across her wrist, illuminating areas she might have otherwise missed. The crystals appeared to glow under that ethereal swirl, each bead holding within itself a microscopic pulse, a thrum of something more. Magic felt like a silly word for it, but after everything Lena had shown her, Nia was certainly willing to believe it. Maybe it was just a science this world hadn’t discovered yet, or a whole new meaning to the term… life.

Whatever it was, Esme had sought it out just for them. All because…

“Nia?” Brainy mumbled, his voice half smothered by his pillow. “You okay?”

“Huh?” Nia looked up, closing off her dreamlight with a snap of her wrist. “Yeah… fine.” She cleared her throat, flexing her hand out in front of her. “I guess I was just thinking… about…” She glanced down to the young Dyralian bundled between them, her thumb tucked beneath her two front teeth. Nia sighed, folding in on herself with a shrug. “It just can’t be easy when not just your moms, but every adult in your life are superheroes. All this time, Esme’s believed that her family were the safest they ever could be, because they’re the most powerful, y’know? But she’s never seen any of us get hurt before.”

Brainy shifted uncomfortably. “Ah,” he murmured. “Until now.”

Nia picked at her bracelet idly. “You know she made one of these for every single one of us? And yours—she was determined to get it to you the second she was finished making it. She wants to protect us, just like we protect her.”

“It is a noble thing to do,” Brainy mused. His dark eyes flickered to her when he noticed her hesitation. “You have concerns?”

Nia shrugged again. “I dunno, she’s just a kid! She shouldn’t have to worry about that stuff.”

Brainy frowned, pushing up from his pillow. “Nia, no matter how hard we try, she will discover these things organically. That knowledge will help her better understand this life as well as her own abilities. That, too, will protect her.”

“I hope you’re right.” Nia sighed, finding her gaze once again trailing back down to Esme. At how peaceful she was. How perfect. She swallowed, that same dream sense from earlier twisting her stomach into knots. “I guess I never thought about it before, but… Alex and Kelly are the first of us to start a family. Every time I see Esme struggle with something like this, I think… what if— when we—you know—eventually—”

Brainy kissed her again, and Nia’s eyes fluttered, welcoming his warmth. She felt his knuckles against her jaw, working their way beneath her chin. When Brainy broke away, he held her gaze firmly, his breath a buzzing reassurance against her lips. “Then I suspect our child will be the most loved and adept of us all.”

A bubble caught in Nia’s throat and she laughed, nuzzling her nose against Brainy’s. In response, Brainy’s lips continued their path along her jaw, trailing lazy kisses towards her ear. “Esme will fair just fine,” he breathed, a smile curving against her cheek. “After all, she’s already found ways to look out for us, even if she doesn’t understand the power she carries quite yet.”

Nia kept her head inclined towards Brainy even as they settled back onto their respective pillows, careful not to jostle Esme in the process. “She’s strong, that’s for sure,” Nia admitted, stroking a few stray hairs away from Esme’s nose. “In more ways than one.” She reached out her hand for Brainy to take, his pulse a grounding presence on her palm. “Thanks.”

Brainy squeezed her fingers, his lashes fluttering to a close. He was more tired than he would have ever admitted with Esme in earshot, Nia could see it written all over him. She kept her fingers threaded through his, their hands joined on the pillow above Esme’s head.

When Brainy’s projectors intensified as the restorative cycle successfully took hold for the second time that day, Nia let herself relax, allowing the dreams teasing the edges of her subconscious to finally flood through.

One thing was for certain: Alex and Kelly definitely didn’t need to worry about cutting their date short tonight.-

#supergirl #supergirl fanfiction #brainia #nia nal #brainiac 5 #alex danvers #dansen #esme #esme olsen danvers #brainy #querl dox #my writing #this idea just randomly came to me and i had the dialogue down before i realised maybe i could make it into a proper lil fic #also gave me a chance to expand on random headcanons i have for brainy's sleep states #and some brainia babysitting adventures because we deserved that i think #also. this is embarrassing. but i don't actually remember if esme's age was ever stated in the show. #so.. i made it up. #that and the planet. i wanted to try and use a dc-canon one that might work in this context but alas. that's made up too. #enjoy!

[whaliiwatching]

annual winners of most annoying couple award

#spider man: into the spiderverse #spider punk #spider noir #hobie brown #noirpunk #they are married and it is OBNOXIOUS #yeah they could be lowkey with pda #or they could be the couple everyone both envies and despises #takes like eight months for them to get there but they Get There #hobie is already naturally affectionate and noir isn’t far behind #i just think.. they are… so lovely #im getting better at drawing his wicks!! aaa!!! #or at least i rlly like how i did em here #theyr in LOVE in love…. #debating whether they signed the papers and had a stranger as a witness for a wedding.. #or if they didn’t have one/arent legally married (since neither of them can in their worlds) #and just don’t care. fuck the government :)

[mattodore]

best part of having ocs is that i can just write them doing whatever i want. like i can just do anything with them and it's like oh yeah. that's happening. and no one can be like hang on you can't do that bc actually i can since they're mine <3

#river dipping #like hell yeah brother of course i make aus for my ocs and daydream about them as like. vampires or whatever #anyway hello :) i really meant it when i said the suck session finale would put me out of commission for a few days #there's a ton to catch up on i bet but i'll take my time with it... tho i will be checking on kmik and valentine gen. 3 EXPEDITIOUSLY #i'm actually busy in google docs atm tho!! i'm using oc questionnaires to further flesh out mattodore. i 100% yoinked these questions #from an ask game i saw. there's like... sixty of them? theo's doc is already like 2k long and i still have ten more questions to answer... #matthias's questionnaire is finished but now i feel bad that his is only 1.8k so i might go back and add more... #sorry matthias </3 maybe be a little more nuanced as a character next time #i'll probably be posting these here actually so i can put them in my oc extras tag... tho idk how well the formatting will carry over #what else... oh i finally started working on editing the photos i took of mattodore back in march (and showed a bit of before) #i don't think i'm going to edit them as intensely as i did my pinned post bc that was... very time consuming... but we'll see #i wound up selecting just eight photos but that's still eight photos to edit so... hm. idk when i'll post 'em #oh and it's pride month!! so i'm determined to at least try to make the two final characters from echthroi this month... #i think i'm kind of getting an image of jackson going now but everett still alludes me... i'm also thinking abt changing her name #these two have gone through so many changes in the last seven months character-wise... fdgfhjkfgh #dutchie too tbf like his name originally was EDWIN... smh #OH....... and i see i have messages i need to reply to i'm sawrry </3 i will get to them........... i swear................................

[queenerdloser]

i'm not trying to be mean but if you're not american and you have no idea how the american voting system works, maybe just shut the fuck up about the 2024 election. thanks.

#seeing a bit too many people who go 'well why can't americans just xyz' and it's s/t that literally doesn't exist in the voting system #if you want to discourse about the election maybe do some basic research on how it works first & then come back with ur loopholes #gonna be honest. losing it over how many people are tying to suggest voting third party this election. THIS election. #im sorry but the political landscape in america is so aggressively binary right now that it will literally take years to make a viable #third party candidate and so far there's been literally no one with the charisma and backing to pull it off in like 8 months #the last person to get any significant vote as an independent was 30 years ago and even that was only 18% of the vote #and he didnt even get ANY electoral votes. NONE. you cannot! win! without! the electoral votes! #something libs have been trying to fix for YEARS but can't. bc republicans know how much electoral voting helps them. #anyway im getting mad about it again but pls shut up about third-party voting until you've actually looked at third-party candidate history #bc i promise you it is actually not an option esp for an election in EIGHT MONTHS.

[flippedorbit]

guy who feels annoying All Of The Time for rambling gets told it’s fine to do so unapologetically…… sobs :’] <3 /pos

i shall dm you i guess????? i think that’s most comfy for Me lol??? <- is so bad at social interaction omg save me

(responding to tags again: you fucking GET IT!!!!! shakes you so much omfg dude RAHHHH!!!!!! /affectionate

your cat is so cute…… she is goals (i’m catkin lmao) she looks so cozy and warm and soft and yeah she’s just great. giving her a little kiss because what cat doesn’t deserve lil kissies?)

-gregarious anon

:D yeah i ramble constantly about whatever’s on my mind and am constantly worried about being annoying so when someone else feels that way about rambling to me i just go with it, no being annoying here, just fun and chatting about whatever comes to mind :3

and o7 looking forward to it, gregarious anon

#asks #Apollo answers #gregarious anon #do not be fooled by how cozy she looks. she can be a huge asshole when she wants to be #mostly she’s rather sweet but she has her moments. to be fair she was an outside cat for most of her life before we got her (she was my #aunt’s cat (mother’s full blood younger sister) before she moved and decided to give her to us instead of taking her on a long drive across #numerous state lines (about a 24 hour drive from here where she used to live to the state she lives in now) and Pickles already hated the #drive from my aunts old house to here. but she’s really adjusted well to now being an inside cat. we’ve had her since may i think? maybe #april at the earliest. i know we got her on my senior prom day (literally just an hour before. i was super worried about being late) so its #been about seven or eight months. she was at least relatively socialized with people before we got her thankfully so that wasn’t much of a #problem or thing to worry about. however the only like slight problem we have is that she wasn’t really raised around kittens and we #recently got two (Scamper and Eclipse) so we’re trying to train the kittens to not tear up stuff in the house and train Pickles to be nice #and be gentle with them and share toys and stuff. currently the kittens go up at night into an enclosed mesh playpen and Pickles sleeps in #my room with me like before the kittens came along. we supervise them playing most of the time. i think she’s getting a bit better at being #gentle and playing nice with them. its a slow process but we’re getting somewhere at the very least) #wow that was a lot more than i meant to type. anyway. free Pickles’ lore

[sarah-yyy]

“Hwang Na-ro,” the prison guard says, “there’s someone here to see you.”

There’s only one person who does that anymore. 

“No, thanks,” he says. 

“She said to remind you it’s her birthday.”

Na-ro knows. He’s thought about it all week. Dreamt last night about what they could’ve been doing now to celebrate her birthday if he’d just ran away with her like they spoke about. His heart still aches thinking about it. 

“No, thanks,” he says again. 

It’s better for Seo-a this way. She’ll cry about it, and then she’ll forget him.

--

(She won’t. She won’t. 

He knows she won’t. 

She hadn’t last year, and she won’t this year.)

--

It’s tough in prison, always is, but Na-ro knows the drill by now. 

The less of a fight you put up, the more boring it becomes to pick on you. 

Na-ro takes the initial beatings in stride. It’s easier to bear this time round. He doesn’t bother fighting back or making snide comments, he doesn’t bother sucking up or finding someone to rely on. 

He stays quiet, and he counts the days. 

--

(Seo-a is waiting for him. 

Na-ro just has to count the days.)

--

There’s nobody waiting for him when he’s released. 

This in itself is not a surprise, but perhaps, perhaps a little part of him thought-

He tells himself that he wasn’t expecting Seo-a, that it was just a trick to help himself get through the days, that it’s good that Seo-a moved on.

--

(She kept coming. 

Every month without fail, she kept coming. 

Na-ro thought-

Seo-a was waiting.)

--

His feet take him to Samgwang Villa. 

He just wants to see. Wants to know that they’re fine, that they’re doing well. Wants to be able to imagine what it could’ve been like for him had he not made the choices he did. 

He chances upon a reunion, of course he does, that’s just the way life works, and it’s almost stupid how much he yearns to be a part of this goddamn family. 

Seo-a is there. 

Na-ro doesn’t tear up at the sight of her. He doesn’t. If he has to hastily swipe at the wetness on his face, nobody sees. 

He turns, and walks away. 

Nobody comes after him. 

--

(He dreams of Seo-a that night.)

--

Na-ro settles down in Jeonnam. 

He gets a job at a construction site. He works hard. He keeps his head down. 

Occasionally, he has urges to go back to his old ways. Whenever that happens, he thinks about Seo-a, takes a deep breath, and keeps working. 

A month passes, and nothing happens. 

Na-ro tells himself that he isn’t disappointed.

Seo-a goes to visit him every month. She’d have found out at the last visit that he’s been released. He wonders if Seo-a felt relief that Na-ro has not come to see her. He wonders if Seo-a is happy to finally be free of him.

He thinks about going to Seoul, of just...looking at Seo-a from afar. He thinks about that a lot. But he’s already hurt her enough, and she’s better off without him. She’ll find someone she can rely on. All Na-ro has to do is to just stay out of her life. 

--

(He dreams of Seo-a every night.)

--

About four months into his new life at Jeonnam, Seo-a finds him.

It’s a particularly hot day out, and Na-ro is sweating like a pig, and covered in dust and grime. He’s so far from the Hwang Na-ro that she must be used to that he thinks (hopes) for a second that she doesn’t recognise him.

He almost bolts when he sees her, but he doesn’t, because Seo-a is crying, and it triggers this instinct within him to comfort her, to make her stop crying. 

“Seo-a...”

“How could you do this?” she asks. “How could you not seek me out? How could you just run away?” 

She’s here. So close Na-ro could reach out and hold her. He reaches out slowly, and takes her hand in his. She clutches back tightly. 

She’s shaking. They both are. 

“Seo-a,” he whispers.  

“Don’t you know I was waiting for you?” she continues. She’s still crying, and Na-ro feels like a monster. He should’ve gone home to her. He should’ve gone straight to her when he was released. “Haven’t I been waiting long enough? Why would you keep me waiting?”

“I’m sorry,” he tells her. “I love you.”

She cries even harder. “Why would you be sorry for loving me?” 

Despite everything, Na-ro smiles. 

--

(He dreams of Seo-a that night.

He wakes up, and relives his dream with Seo-a next to him.)

#ficlets #homemade love story #goddamn korean soap getting me invested in a side couple just to give me NO CLOSURE #i really REALLY wanted them to redeem na-ro like they did park pil-hong T.T #not jiejie taking an eight month writing break only to return with this......... #y'all can ignore this this is mostly for me ahahahaha

[fingertipsmp3]

Me getting the job:

Me immediately being hit with imposter syndrome:

#do you ever just. realise that you’ve definitely bitten off more than you can chew #because that’s about where i’m at right now #basically i just got hired for an esol job and i haven’t taught esol in nearly three years and when i did teach it i only taught it #for a month; and i wasn’t the best at it. don’t get me wrong i wasn’t the worst. i definitely wasn’t the worst. there was a guy #who just gave his students worksheets and said ‘do them’ and also never opened his teaching practice journal the whole time #but like. i still wasn’t that great. both of my grammar presentations were borderline and i basically think i coasted through #by being likeable and getting a good score on my exam #and also the fact that i never had to teach the elementary class really helped. i’m too verbose for anyone who isn’t at least B1 in english #and i am trying SO hard to change but when i panic i talk fast and i say too many big words #and my boss has dropped the bombshell that a lot of my students will be complete beginners which.. is completely normal and expected #but i am just SO worried #you’d think introductory english would be easiest to teach but actually it’s really hard. it’s SO hard to go right back to basics #and explain the simplest concepts. and i feel like a real berk acting things out #so basically i’ve come up with an action plan #step one is to panic which i am going to do until the books i’ve ordered arrive #that’s step two. read the esol & efl teacher manuals cover to cover. internalise and memorise them #step three is to watch esol lesson demos and probably act them out until i’ve got that slow; clear; loud voice i need #step four is to check the website for the awarding body and see what i’ll actually be teaching #step five is to go to staff induction. apparently my predecessor has left various resources and unless anyone stops me i’m taking them all #step six is to panic again. step seven is to meet my students and probably still know nothing. step eight is uhhhh cry most likely #step nine is i either get my shit together or i get fired. so uh. that’s fun #anyway if you need me i will be implementing step one. ✌🏻 #personal

[grimzeyblogs]

chapter seven is almost done :']

#its literally taken two-three months #best writing work i've ever done fr #also aimed to make it longer than normal because i'm not too good at describing anything other than tones of voices and character #appearances. so it is mostly dialogue but I like stories like that. so long as that's not all they are. I do hope to have less dialogue in #chapter eight. but the the most important thing in writing is making sure that you like it before anyone else #its your thing and you do what you want with it #it takes me so long to write chapters because I just don't know what to do with them (and the obvious 'I have ADHD' mention but #I have no hyperfixes rn. well save for database itself but i don't feel entirely like that counts since i made it. so i have all the time #to come up with ideas as to whats going to progress the plot to its major points) #hoping to get it out soon. maybe even tonight and then think of where to send chapter eight direction-wise #lex shouts into the void

[awearywritersworld]

megumi's teacher — gojo satoru x reader

tags/warnings: fluff. fem!reader. gojo beefing with an eight year old. 700 words.

ever since megumi started the second grade, it's been (l/n)-sensei this. (l/n)-sensei that.

gojo picks up megumi's favorite ice cream, only to be scolded by the young boy. "(l/n)-sensei's favorite flavor is strawberry, so that's my favorite now!"

gojo tries to help him with his math homework, and it's "(l/n)-sensei did it this way. that means you should too!"

gojo reaches down to tie megumi's shoes for him, before his hand is promptly smacked away. "(l/n)-sensei said big boys tie their own shoes!"

honestly, gojo is starting to feel a little jealous. megumi's known you for what? two months?

he's been raising megumi for the past few years, but does that earn him an ounce of the adoration the young boy seems to have for you?

apparently not, though he perseveres nonetheless.

he and megumi are spending the afternoon out in the city and they stop at a small bakery for lunch.

while megumi is distracted looking at all the sweets behind the glass counter, the bell on the door draws gojo's attention.

his eyes fall upon a pretty young woman. actually, you might just be the prettiest woman he's ever seen.

and of course, a smirk forms on his lips when he catches you looking his way. he's puffing out his chest, running a hand through his hair.

he's always had a certain effect on the ladies, and he's never been more happy about that until this very moment—

"megumi?" you call from a few feet away. the wide smile adorning your face makes you look even more radiant.

while gojo visibly deflates, megumi's head whips around at the speed of light. "(l/n)-sensei!"

oh.

gojo very quickly comes to understand why the boy is so enamored by you.

megumi launches himself at you, while you crouch to meet him with open arms.

"i'm so happy to see you!" he practically sings, clinging to your neck.

you chuckle at his enthusiasm. "i'm happy to see you too, 'gumi."

gojo clears his throat, hoping that megumi will take the chance to introduce you two, but he is completely ignored.

"what are you going to get? i'll buy it for you," he states proudly, despite having zero money of his own.

your gaze shifts to gojo for the first time, and having your attention even just for a brief moment takes his breath away.

"that's very sweet megumi, but that's alright." you ruffle his hair when he pouts at your words, standing back up. "who's this?"

"oh that's just gojo. don't worry about him," he states with a wave of his hand.

the white haired man gawks at him in response. the nerve on that kid! he silently decides megumi will be losing dessert privileges for a week. no, two.

you stifle a giggle before offering your hand to him and introducing yourself as megumi's teacher.

he repeats your name, taking satisfaction in the way it sounds rolling off his tongue.

"that's a pretty name," he compliments, trying to recover from megumi's dismissal. "heard a lot about you. in fact, the kid never shuts up about you."

this earns him a glare from megumi, but gojo is too preoccupied with the shy look that crosses your features to notice.

gojo insists on paying for your order, a show of appreciation for taking such good care of megumi in class. you chat with the pair of them for a little while longer before eventually excusing yourself.

"thank you again, gojo-san. i'll see you on monday, megumi!"

just as you're turning on your heel, gojo calls your name and you look back at him expectantly.

"when, uh," he struggles, scratching the back of his neck. "when do i get to see you?"

nice.

"oh! well, parent-teacher conferences are only a few weeks away! i'll look forward to seeing you then," you answer sweetly, misunderstanding the meaning behind his words.

you bid them goodbye once more and they both watch your figure disappear down the street.

megumi turns to look at gojo smugly. "weeks? that sounds like a really long time—"

"shut it, kid."

#m!writes #im trying to get better at writing shorter fics #so bare w me #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen fluff #jjk #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #gojo #gojo x reader #gojo fluff #gojo satoru #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru fluff #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jjk imagines #gojo imagines #gojo satoru imagines