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#day 2: confrontation
cinlat · 2 years
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Whumptober: Day 2
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Thanks for the ask @dingoat​ and for letting me borrow Ahuska (kinda) and Crow (Rev, I can’t tag you! Did you change your url?)
2: Nowhere to run Corners | Caged | Confrontation
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Word Count: 208 I don’t want to give away too much! haha. But, I really wanted to do this because this scene has been in my head for two weeks.
The weight in Fynta’s hands shouldn’t have felt as heavy as it did. The night air turned her lungs to ice, amplifying each wheezing breath in her ears. Moonlight spilled over the land, painting hills in silver and trees in the deepest of blacks. 
“Just—hear me out, will ya?”
Crow stood with his hands raised while a monster frolicked behind him. Fynta couldn’t make the shot from here, not with a pistol; even with her augmentations. Her gaze flickered to the blur of fur as if flitted in and out of view. Crow took a step to the side, filling Fynta’s view again. 
“You don’t wanna do this.”
Fynta bared her teeth as if she were the animal her name claimed. Like the one she’d come so far to kill. “You don’t know—”
“I do,” Crow assured. His hands never strayed towards his weapon, though he hardly needed that to make things more difficult for Fynta. There was a sliver of her friend in those blue eyes. “Believe me, I do.”
Shaking her head, Fynta tightened her grip on the blaster. She could feel him worming into her mind, his words making sense. She couldn't let it all be for nothing. Otherwise, why had she become a monster?
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lemissingmask · 2 years
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[ID: Sketch of Eliot, with blood stains on his clothes, punching a man in a suit while behind him Hardison ducks out of the way to start running towards the pickup truck that Parker's driving, and two more guys in suits hone in on Eliot, one of the guys holding a gun towards him. End ID]
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Whumptober 2022 Day 2: Confrontation
During a road trip, the Leverage OT3 wind up getting attacked by Very Distinctive Generic Goons at a gas station. Eliot is shot by one while inside, then hurries outside to take care of the other goons while Parker and Hardison get to the truck (don't worry - they won't leave Eliot there, but he can clear his own path quite effectively).
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mustakrakisch · 2 years
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hajihiko · 1 year
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what do you MEAN what's the difference
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guardian-of-da-gay · 9 months
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Knuckles Wachowski who grew up with people chasing him, the last echidna, to use as a weapon or enjoy as an oddity, hearing stories of the savage, greedy echidnas who were vanquished by the noble, wise owls (echidnas who may or may not have even been real!) and this is all out in the open; common knowledge around the galaxy: Knuckles. Last echidna (that possibly fictitious species from the villains.wiki page). "Most Dangerous Warrior in the Galaxy" -- a title earned via involuntary participation in the Casino World coliseums.
And then he comes to earth where nobody knows any of these things about him or his people and he's not gonna tell them because why invite more of that into his life (also, he asked, and his trauma said he can’t show any weakness Or Else).
Only one who knows anything (and thus has context for some of Knuckles' more bizarre behavior and hang-ups)? Tails. Who is eight.
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acespacedweller · 9 months
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moghedien · 11 months
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they spent the first half of the episode making it absolutely clear that Haruka and Michiru were being chill and looking after baby Hotaru and her dad, so them showing up on the top of the ruins, Michiru playing the fucking violin, and then provoking Usagi and the other girls into a fight is sooooo fucking hilarious
because they knew Usagi was right at this point. They knew she was the messiah, and they knew they were gonna leave this fight by basically swearing allegiance to her. they weren't even bothered by it, it seemed. they had like fully accepted all of this and were ok with it.
but FIRST they were gonna show up and be dramatic haters one last time
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fluffypotatey · 16 days
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computer, how do i blast a person with lasers from my mind because they said the fact that they haven't seen my character cry makes them too perfect
computer, how do i stop myself from throwing a table because i remembered them telling me that the best abuse example they had was trauma porn that explicitly demonstrated current abuse and not the after effects and i was too mad to respond to them
computer.....'puter do you hear me????
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pepsicoughdrops · 27 days
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hey girl. you are full of centipede venom. (infodumping in taaaags heart emoji 🫶)
(click for better quality)
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akingyouniverse · 2 years
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BAD BUDDY WEEK | Day 3: Favorite scene
↳ Is that true? I had to hate Pran, to compete against him, because of you? You can’t take it out on me.
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tennessoui · 1 year
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For The propmts, "I can't trust you"
hi hello!!!
this is set in my "there was only one desk" au, where obi-wan and anakin, well. share a desk in the office and hate each other.
"""""hate each other"""""
(1.5k) (angst here and now but actually the stupidest thing ever)
The person sitting at Obi-Wan’s desk is not, in fact, Obi-Wan Kenobi. For one thing, it’s a woman with a severe red bobcut and better fashion sense than Kenobi’s ever had. For another thing, Anakin can’t actually remember a time when he’s made the trek up to the twelfth floor just to annoy Kenobi only for the man to not give him attention. So this woman, who doesn’t even raise her eyes to look at him when he’s standing next to her desk, can’t be Kenobi.
“Uh,” Anakin says. He’s holding a singular cupcake on a plate in both hands, red velvet because Obi-Wan hates red velvet and with a candle in the icing because Obi-Wan is extremely paranoid about the sensitivity of the sprinkler system. “Who are you?”
The woman’s fingers pause on the keyboard and she looks up at him sharply. With a raised eyebrow, she tilts her head to the nameplate on Obi-Wan’s desk.
Bo-Katan Kryze it reads.
Anakin blinks. “Do you—share this desk with Obi-Wan?”
“I don’t know who that is. I sit here every day,” Kryze says. “Is there something I can help you with?” She makes it clear that she believes there is absolutely nothing she wants to help him with.
“Um.” Anakin stares at her uninterested face, the nameplate, the desk itself.
He realizes rather suddenly that the plants are gone. All of Obi-Wan’s plants are gone, and in their places are picture frames filled with pictures of strangers, a standing calendar, and a souvenir mug.
“No,” he says slowly. “Sorry.”
“No worries,” the woman says, turning back to her computer. “Have a nice day.”
Anakin turns around and goes back to the elevators around the corner. He feels a bit stupid, holding a plate wth a cupcake on it, so he tosses it into a small trashcan next to a desk as he passes by, plate and all.
He still feels a bit stupid, and the feeling lingers all the way from the twelfth floor to the tenth, where his desk is. If Obi-Wan was playing a prank on him, he just fell for it like an idiot. 
But if he hadn’t—
“Obi-Wan wasn’t at his desk,” Anakin says to Vos as he sits down in front of his own computer. “There was this woman there instead, and she’d moved all of his stuff. Even the nametag.”
Vos doesn’t look up from his screen. He’s been sort of distant since Anakin came back, like he forgot how to talk or some shit during the month and a half he was away.
His silence would make sense if Obi-Wan asked him to help with the prank. And Vos probably would hop on the opportunity to fuck with Anakin. He tries to say he doesn’t play favorites of course, but he very clearly does. 
And his favorite very clearly is Kenobi, not Anakin. 
Anakin remembers the chair incident, after all.
So if Obi-Wan told him about trying to pull a fast one on Anakin his first day back at the office, hire a woman to sit at his desk and change all of its decorations just to confuse him, Vos would probably help out by pretending everything is normal.
Anakin narrows his eyes and looks at his desk. Nothing’s been moved or changed since he last saw it. No new cameras to video his reaction.
“Where’s Obi-Wan?” he asks, looking over at Vos. “I mean, it’s a lot of work, isn’t it? Points for creativity, I guess though.”
Vos’ fingers still on his keys and he finally looks up, going as far as to take his hands off the keyboard completely. “What?”
“Like where did he put his plants? And the zen garden with all the sand, you know? He moved that zen garden somewhere else just to fuck with me for a bit? And the name too, her name— Bo-Katan? Kryze? He could have tried a little harder to make up something believable.”
Vos looks at him, eyebrows furrowing. “Sorry,” he says slowly. “But–sorry, but what do you think is happening here, exactly?”
Anakin frowns. Usually Vos would be laughing by now. “Joke’s on him though, I brought him a cupcake to celebrate my first day back, and me and Bo-Katan split it instead. No cupcake for Obi-Wan. It’s what he deserves for such a lame prank.”
“Skywalker,” Vos’ voice sounds even slower. “Skywalker, there is no prank.”
There’s a very weird feeling in his gut. He forces a laugh. “Uh, right, of course not,” he says. “But seriously, where is Obi-Wan? I’ve been taking pictures I want to show him for months. He’s going to love them.”
He better love them, at least, if he knows what’s good for him. But Luke and Leia are adorable, especially now that they’ve stopped teething on everything in range. Even someone as heartless and deplorable as Kenobi will be swayed by their big eyes and general all-encompassing cuteness.
The look Vos gives him is uncharacteristically cold. “Two things, Skywalker. First, there’s no prank. Obi-Wan quit. Sounds like you brought cupcakes to his replacement, like some. One man office welcome brigade. Second, if you really think Obi-Wan Kenobi wants to see your fucking baby pictures, you’re more stupid than I thought.”
Anakin blinks and then stares as the feeling in his stomach spreads to his chest. “What? No. No way.” He blinks again, eyebrows furrowing. “Is this the prank?”
Vos pushes his chair away from his keyboard, rolling it to the edge of his desk. “Skywalker. Anakin. There is no prank. I’m telling you the truth. Obi-Wan has separated from the company. He is not here today, and he won’t be here tomorrow. He left.”
“But—” Anakin’s mouth is open, but no words are coming out. “But. He didn’t tell me.” 
There’s a knot in his stomach, one that may be bigger than his stomach altogether. No, it has to be some sort of—of prank. Of practical joke at his expense. When Obi-Wan pops out in an hour or so, Anakin is going to hit him so hard in, like. The shoulder. For the crime of being really, really not funny.
“Why would he tell you, Skywalker?” Vos asks, carefully putting his hands on his knees as he looks at him with an unreadable expression on his face. “You don’t like each other.”
“I—I mean. We do!” Anakin splutters. “We spent quarantine together! And last summer when we did the office expedition and got lost, we camped together! For two whole days!”
“Those aren’t bonding activities,” Quinlan says. “You know that, right? No one else would consider those things as foundations for a friendship or even workplace relationship.”
Like he always seems to do when Kenobi and “workplace relatitonships” are brought up in the same sentence, Anakin flushes. He can feel the tips of his go red.
“Look, I get that you’re—friends or whatever,” he mutters, pitching his voice down low so that no one else can eavesdrop. Not that anyone else is really paying attention, but just in case. “But we’ve—you know, you saw us. During the. The quarantine. We. Spent the night together.”
“Yeah, you fucked,” Vos rolls his eyes. “You fucked.” “So if he were going to leave the company, he’d tell me, alright?” Anakin puts his hand down flat on the desk. “Yeah? He’d tell me.”
“Only if sleeping with you meant something to him,” Vos points out, pushing his chair back fully behind his desk. “So I guess it didn’t.”
The words—sting.
A lot.
The words fucking hurt like Vos has just thrown a fucking cactus into his dick. Because—alright, they’d never talked about it afterwards or anything, but—kissing Kenobi, his annoying and annoyingly attractive deskmate, sleeping with him, touching him and being touched in return…it’d changed things for Anakin. Things he didn’t want to name then, and things he definitely doesn’t want to name now, if—if Obi-Wan really…really just.
Left.
Anakin shakes his head, wordless. “It meant something,” he says, practicing the words, even if it’s only Vos around to hear him.
“Yeah?” and Vos’ voice is cold. “Then why’d you just take almost two months of paternity leave, huh? If sleeping with my friend meant something.”
Anakin shakes his head again, staring fixedly at his keyboard. “Did he really—Vos, you’re not lying, are you? Did he actually quit?”
Vos is silent for several long moments. “Yeah,” he says, sounding strange. “Yeah, he did. This is—you’re upset about this, aren’t you?”
It could still be a joke though, because sometimes Vos goes too far and sometimes he doesn’t know when to quit, even though Anakin thinks he’s pretty obviously begging him to stop right about now.
He stands. “I—I don’t believe you. I can’t— I can’t trust you.”
Vos watches him swing his jacket on with raised eyebrows. “I suppose you don’t need his address then,” he says, expression guarded. “If you’re going to fact-check this yourself.”
Of course Anakin is going to fact-check this for his fucking self.
And either way, Obi-Wan Kenobi is going to have a lot of explaining to do.
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One Bad Day.... (Did You Know?)
Whumptober 2022: 1. “This wasn’t supposed to happen”, 2. Confrontation, 31. Comfort Fandom: Batman, Batfam, Batmom
Word Count: 3523
TW: References to Repeated Sexual Abuse, References of Being Drugged, Angst
Note: This one-shot contains extremely triggering and sensitive topics. Because of that, while it gives more context to the overall story, this part can be skipped without losing major plot details for the next chapters.
Series Masterlist
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Laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, you can’t sleep yet again. In the three nights since your confrontation with Bruce, you had maybe gotten a total of eight hours of sleep. Every time you close your eyes, that night begins replaying in your mind: seeing Bruce for the first time in five years and finally having the argument you should have had long ago, actually being able to hug Dick again, revealing the truth about your baby to Jason. And as terrible and emotional as that night had been, you are still glad to have gotten some closure.
But there is still one unanswered question that continues to haunt your mind more than any other. The one you couldn’t ask in front of Dick or Jason. The one you have needed the answer to for years but never had the opportunity to ask. And now that you have seen Bruce again, it is all you can think about.
Rolling over, you snatch your phone off the bedside table and quickly type in a number from memory. You know it’s stupid even to try. Bruce has probably changed his number a hundred times over the past five years but it’s the only way you can think of to contact him. After you send your message, you groan and throw the phone onto the bed next to you.
Not two minutes later, it buzzes. Bolting upright in surprise, you snatch up the phone and gawk at his message:
We need to talk. In person. Tell me when and where
Holy shit, it worked! You honestly didn’t expect him to receive the text, and even if he did, you never dreamed that he would agree to meet. But then again…. Was it possible he had been thinking of you these last few days too?
You type your response but this time you don’t even have time to put the phone down before he replies:
Meet me where we first met. 1 pm. Come alone I’ll be there
You collapse back against your pillow. It’s happening! After all this time, you’re finally going to get to look him in the eye and ask him what you need to ask. Now you just pray you can live with the answer.
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As you climb yet another flight of stairs, you silently curse yourself for choosing this location. Your knee is still giving you trouble so choosing to meet on top of a six-story walk-up in the East End was probably not the smartest choice. But you grit your teeth and continue climbing.
When you finally reach the top, he is already waiting for you, and for a moment, you can only gaze at him in awe. While the sight of him in his batsuit under the dim lights of the warehouse had taken your breath away, seeing him now in the light of day is a hundred times more painful. 
Now, he isn’t Batman. Now, he’s just Bruce. The same Bruce you fell in love with all of those years ago with his playboy good looks and fancy suit that fit him perfectly. Damn. Why did he still have to be so handsome? Why couldn’t he have started to lose his hair or something? But no, he still looks exactly the same as you remember, if just a little more tired. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for you.
You wonder what he sees when he looks at you. As much as you had tried to keep a stiff upper lip and hold your head high when you had met days ago, you knew you were a broken shell of the woman you were before. Both physically and mentally. Jason’s return had helped you pull yourself together in some ways but there were some wounds that would never heal. Some cuts that were just too deep, breaks that were too severe. And yet, when Bruce looks up, the way he gazes at you makes your stomach flutter.
But of course, you wouldn’t ever tell him that. So instead, you smirk at him as you climb onto the roof and say, “Wow. You got old.”
He stares at you wistfully. “You didn’t. You look exactly like you did the last time I saw you.”
You scoff. “We both know that isn’t true. Prison doesn’t allow people that luxury.” He looks you up and down for a moment, analyzing you in that annoying way of his. Feeling uneasy under the weight of his stare, you limp towards him, your hands jammed in the pockets of your jacket so he can’t see you trembling. “I half expected you wouldn’t show up. Or if you would go to the other place we first met.” 
“I don’t think the Museum of Antiquities would be the safest place for you to show your face, so I took an educated guess,” Bruce says flatly. He doesn’t seem hostile at the moment, but he does seem guarded and on edge. But you can’t really blame him given the circumstances.
“No, I guess not. But thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you would after our…. meeting the other day.”
“Even now, I will always come if you call.” Bruce sighs as you come to a stop a few feet in front of him with a grimace. 
“Are you okay?” Bruce asks as he nods towards your leg.
“Why does it matter? You haven’t cared about me for the last five years, why start now,” you say through gritted teeth as you try to push the pain to the side.
“That’s not true. I still care about you. I never stopped.”
“Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it,” you reply bluntly. “But I’ve learned to live with it for the most part. And what I can’t handle, I have Red Hood to help me with.”
“Red Hood,” Bruce scoffs. “I have to ask, why him? Why is he helping you? I’ve spent days pouring over any information I could find and the two of you never had any form of communication before the night he broke you out. So why did he do it?”
You shrug. “He was a fan who knew what I did and why I did it, and he respected me for it. He didn’t believe I deserved to rot in prison for the rest of my life so he did something about it.” Nothing you said was a lie. Eventually, you are going to have to tell Bruce that Jason is alive but for now neither you nor Jason are ready for that secret to be revealed so you quickly change the subject.
Smirking slightly, you say, “Besides, why should you get to be the only one who gets a sidekick? Dick told me you have yet another new Robin.”
Bruce bristles. “I didn’t go looking for him. I had planned to let the title die with Jason but he came to me and wanted the job.”
“That didn’t mean you had to give it to him.”
“Just stop it!” Bruce growls. “What’s the real reason you called me? You wouldn’t have asked to meet unless it was important so what is it already?”
You still. Bruce is right. As much as you need answers, you are also dreading what you will hear so you have been stalling for as long as possible. But it seemed like your time was up.
You take a few deep breaths as you stare down at the ground before you whisper, “I have to know. I keep telling myself that not even you would be that cruel, but I have to know for sure.”
“You’re starting to scare me. What are you talking about?”
“Did… did you know everything they did to me in there? I mean… everything?”
Bruce is quiet for a long time as he mulls over the question. And just when you can’t stand the silence any longer, he says, “I knew about the fights, Harley’s assassins, and solitary confinement. I was sent weekly reports to see how you were holding up and Dick sometimes told me about his visits. He said there were times when you were so roughed up, it looked worse than that time you went after Solomon Grundy by yourself. I pulled some strings to get you extra protection, but I guess it didn’t help. I’m sorry.”
“No, it didn’t,” your voice trembles as you whisper. Taking a deep breath, you look Bruce straight in the eye. “Bruce, I need you to swear to me that was all you knew. Nothing else.”
“Yes, I swear,” he says confusedly. “What more is there?”
But you ignore his question. “Look me in the eye and swear on our child.”
Bruce looks as if you had just slapped him in the face. His expression flashes between shock, disbelief, hurt, and anger, as he tries to grasp the words you just said. “What?”
Tears begin to well up in your eyes. “I know how messed up it is for me to ask that, and I hate myself for it, but it’s the only way I can believe you. So, please…”
“Yes,” he spits out. “Yes, I swear on… on our child… that is all I knew about.”
Slowly, you sink to your knees as a euphoric rush of relief washes over you. Bruce didn’t know. He hadn’t just stood by and let it happen. The fact he knew about the fighting and your constant injuries still hurts, but you figured Dick would have told him at some point so that was no surprise. But if he had known about the other thing… 
Bruce takes a few steps closer to you. “Now what don’t I know? What could be so horrible that you would bring our child into this?”
You look up at him, your lip trembling. “I- I can’t.”
“Please…. What did they do to you?”
Hanging your head, you whisper, “We both knew what everyone thought of me, even before I killed the Joker. I already had a reputation around Gotham that we pretended to ignore. I was the whore who was so good, I got billionaire Bruce Wayne down on one knee. And once I was in prison, everyone there wanted to see what the fuss was all about.”
It takes Bruce a moment to understand what you meant, but you see the horror sweep across his face the moment it registers. “No… That’s not… that shouldn’t have…. What about the guards?”
Tears are streaming steadily down your face at this point. “Once they figured out I didn’t have the Wayne name to protect me anymore, they started getting more lax about stopping it from happening. They even started turning off the cameras when I was in solitary and allowing inmates into my cell for a few bucks. And when one of them got hold of my medical file and saw I couldn’t get pregnant…. That’s when the guards started taking turns too.” 
You closed your eyes as you tried to block out the memories. Because you remembered every single moment of every single time. You would always either be too injured from the latest attack to fight back or they would drug you until you were barely coherent. But no matter how out of it you were, you could never forget what they did. 
You feel Bruce kneel down beside you and he whispers, “Oh, sweetheart…. I am so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I swear. You were supposed to be safe in there and if I had known what they were doing–”
‘So that’s where you draw the line, huh? Physical violence is okay, but as soon as someone whips their dick out that’s going too far?” Your eyes snap open and you dodge the hand he was reaching out towards you. “Yes, I cannot tell you what it means to me that you didn’t know, that you didn’t let that happen to me over and over and over again. But you still left me to fight for my life on a daily basis. And all because they wanted revenge on you for something or other. Because I had once been your wife. So, I’m unbelievably relieved you didn’t know. But it doesn’t change anything.”
Bruce sighs as he runs his hand through his hair. “That’s fair. I didn’t handle this situation the way I should have… but I just… I didn’t know what to do. I might not have shown it, but Jason’s death… I was so angry and so hurt. I know the two of you had a special bond, but he was still my son too. And regardless of what you said the other day, I blame myself for what happened. I should never have left him alone and I should have gotten to that warehouse quicker. I didn’t know what to do or how to deal with his death, so when I came home and you began to pull away from me…. I didn’t know how to handle that either.
“And then when you did what you did…. I was hurt you would go behind my back like that, especially after I explicitly told you not to and you agreed. You promised me and I felt betrayed…. But I also felt ashamed.”
“Ashamed?” you ask confusedly. “About what?”
“That you did what I was too weak to do.”
Your eyes grow wide as he hangs his head. “Bruce…”
“I should have done it. I should have killed him. I knew what it was doing to you to see him still running around free and I knew even if I captured him again, he would find another way to escape. But… I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t break my code. So when you did it instead…. I was ashamed I couldn’t protect you from that. And I couldn’t face you.”
“So because you couldn’t face me, you left me there to rot in jail for five years? Thanks.” You leap to your feet and Bruce quickly stands as well.
“I told you, I tried everything I could but I couldn’t get you released. They needed to make an example of you so others didn’t go out and try to take down other villains by themselves. You forget that people don’t know who you are. The other part of who you are, with your training and skills. To them, you’re just a rich socialite who managed to take down the Joker. So, if you could do it, why couldn’t anyone? And while you could hold your own, the average citizen wouldn’t be able to and a lot of innocent people would die. I was trying to work something out once the publicity of your case died down, but then you escaped,” Bruce sighs. “I might still be able to get them to let you go. Claim Red Hood kidnapped you for leverage against me. It might be enough to work out some sort of pardon.”
“I won’t turn my back on Red Hood like that,” you snap. “He saved me when you didn’t. I’m not going to throw him under the bus now.”
“Fine, but then I don’t know if I can help you,” Bruce says wearily. “So whatever it is you two have planned, just don’t get caught and don’t kill anyone.”
You nod before taking a few steps back towards the stairs. “Thank you for understanding. And for showing up today. Despite everything, I feel better knowing you didn’t know what was happening.”
Bruce’s eyes darken. “There will be consequences for this. I swear.”
“Thank you.” You turn to leave but pause and turn back. “And please promise me that Dick and Jason will never find out.”
Bruce freezes. He takes a few steps closer and stretches out his hand once more. “Sweetheart, you know Jason is gone…. Right?”
Shit. You were so upset, so in your head, you hadn’t remembered that Bruce still doesn’t know Jason is alive. Lowering your head, you mumble, “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I was just always so used to referring to them as ‘Dick and Jason’ as if it were a singular word. It feels wrong not including both of them.”
He nods slowly but still eyes you cautiously. “I slip up sometimes too. It still doesn’t feel real that he’s gone. Yet, other times it feels like it’s the most real thing in the world.”
You sigh heavily. “Things would have been so different if he hadn’t been taken from us.”
“Yeah…” Bruce says. “Or if we hadn’t lost-” He cuts himself off and turns away but you know exactly who he was talking about.
“In prison, I used to dream about us every night,” you say softly, “You, me, Dick, Jason, and our baby on the way. The life we could have had.” The tears begin to trail down your cheeks once more. “Their birthday would have been around now. Their ninth birthday. Can you believe that? A nine-year-old girl or boy running around. If only that night would have gone differently. It would have changed everything.” 
You felt a small twinge in the scar on your side as if it knew you were talking about the accident. But then again, it had never stopped hurting since the day it happened. Some kind of nerve damage that caused a constant ache. Like your knee, you’ve learned to pretty much ignore it, though right now it seems to hurt more than usual.
You wrap your arms around your middle as your tears begin to flow faster. Bruce crosses the rooftop and hesitates as he reaches you, just a few inches apart. His silent question is clear in his eyes and you nod softly. Instantly, he wraps his arms around you and pulls you into his chest. 
It is the first time you have touched him in five years yet it feels as if you have never left his arms. The way your bodies fit together, the beat of his heart against your cheek, the way the rise and fall of his chest seems to sync with yours. It feels like coming home. 
A sob bubbles up in your throat as you bury your face deeper into his chest. His arms tighten around you, holding you together as you feel yourself falling apart. This wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to let him see this side of you. You were supposed to stay strong, stand firm, but the moment you felt his touch, you were putty in his hands. 
You still love him. Despite everything he had done to you, all the pain and heartbreak his actions had caused, you want nothing more than to grab his face and meld your lips with his. Yet you know if you do, it'll be over. There will be no going back and Jason will never forgive you for it. Jason, the one person who was there when Bruce turned his back on you. Jason, your son who needed you more than you needed Bruce.
Reluctantly, you pull yourself away from Bruce’s embrace, though he remains holding your hands. “I’m sorry,” you whisper. “I shouldn’t have let you do that.”
“Why not?” Bruce asks, releasing your right hand to cup your face. “I know we have so much to work through, but I don’t want to lose you again. Please, sweetheart, just give us a chance.”
You hesitate as you consider if you can really forgive him for everything he has done to you. As he waits, his finger rubs over the spot on your left hand where your ring once sat. “You know,” he whispers, “I still have it. It’s in the safe at the manor and it’s still yours to do with what you wish. Keep it, sell it, toss it in the river, whatever you want.”
It was the wrong thing to say. It would have been easier hearing he had thrown it away. But instead, he kept the symbol of your love and marriage locked away, just as he left you locked away. You pull your hand from his, clutching it against your chest as you back away from him.“Give it to Selina, or whoever you wind up with next.” 
“And what if I don’t want there to be a next?”
“Well, you should have decided that a long time ago.” You turn quickly and head for the stairs, making it down the first few steps before Bruce reaches out and grabs your wrist.
“My heart… It’s never too late,” he says, his eyes silently begging you to come back to him.
You remember your dream from your last night in prison. How you had begged not to leave that Bruce, and how he had said those exact same words. But this wasn’t a dream, and it was time for you to wake up. 
Yanking your hand from Bruce’s grasp, you look directly into his eyes and coldly say, “I believed that once. But we are the proof that it isn't true.” 
And before he can respond, you hurry down the stairs as quickly as your knee will allow.
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bluberimufim · 1 month
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I just discovered that there's a biblical figure named Seth who has absolutely nothing to do with the Seth that I named my protagonist, Seth, after
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digital999placebo · 2 years
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oh hell naw Ludwig is forced to reconcile with his own selfish actions and battle through personifications of his trauma and guilt.
hetalia but make it survival horror au
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One Bad Day.... (Did You Know?)
Whumptober 2022: 1. “This wasn’t supposed to happen”, 2. Confrontation, 31. Comfort Fandom: Batman, Batfam, Batmom
Word Count: 3523
TW: References to Repeated Sexual Assult, References of Being Drugged, Angst
Note: This one-shot contains extremely triggering and sensitive topics. Because of that, while it gives more context to the overall story, this part can be skipped without losing major plot details for the next chapters.
Series Masterlist
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Laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, you can’t sleep yet again. In the three nights since your confrontation with Bruce, you had maybe gotten a total of eight hours of sleep. Every time you close your eyes, that night begins replaying in your mind: seeing Bruce for the first time in five years and finally having the argument you should have had long ago, actually being able to hug Dick again, revealing the truth about your baby to Jason. And as terrible and emotional as that night had been, you are still glad to have gotten some closure.
But there is still one unanswered question that continues to haunt your mind more than any other. The one you couldn’t ask in front of Dick or Jason. The one you have needed the answer to for years but never had the opportunity to ask. And now that you have seen Bruce again, it is all you can think about.
Rolling over, you snatch your phone off the bedside table and quickly type in a number from memory. You know it’s stupid even to try. Bruce has probably changed his number a hundred times over the past five years but it’s the only way you can think of to contact him. After you send your message, you groan and throw the phone onto the bed next to you.
Not two minutes later, it buzzes. Bolting upright in surprise, you snatch up the phone and gawk at his message:
We need to talk. In person. Tell me when and where
Holy shit, it worked! You honestly didn’t expect him to receive the text, and even if he did, you never dreamed that he would agree to meet. But then again…. Was it possible he had been thinking of you these last few days too?
You type your response but this time you don’t even have time to put the phone down before he replies:
Meet me where we first met. 1 pm. Come alone I’ll be there
You collapse back against your pillow. It’s happening! After all this time, you’re finally going to get to look him in the eye and ask him what you need to ask. Now you just pray you can live with the answer.
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As you climb yet another flight of stairs, you silently curse yourself for choosing this location. Your knee is still giving you trouble so choosing to meet on top of a six-story walk-up in the East End was probably not the smartest choice. But you grit your teeth and continue climbing.
When you finally reach the top, he is already waiting for you, and for a moment, you can only gaze at him in awe. While the sight of him in his batsuit under the dim lights of the warehouse had taken your breath away, seeing him now in the light of day is a hundred times more painful. 
Now, he isn’t Batman. Now, he’s just Bruce. The same Bruce you fell in love with all of those years ago with his playboy good looks and fancy suit that fit him perfectly. Damn. Why did he still have to be so handsome? Why couldn’t he have started to lose his hair or something? But no, he still looks exactly the same as you remember, if just a little more tired. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for you.
You wonder what he sees when he looks at you. As much as you had tried to keep a stiff upper lip and hold your head high when you had met days ago, you knew you were a broken shell of the woman you were before. Both physically and mentally. Jason’s return had helped you pull yourself together in some ways but there were some wounds that would never heal. Some cuts that were just too deep, breaks that were too severe. And yet, when Bruce looks up, the way he gazes at you makes your stomach flutter.
But of course, you wouldn’t ever tell him that. So instead, you smirk at him as you climb onto the roof and say, “Wow. You got old.”
He stares at you wistfully. “You didn’t. You look exactly like you did the last time I saw you.”
You scoff. “We both know that isn’t true. Prison doesn’t allow people that luxury.” He looks you up and down for a moment, analyzing you in that annoying way of his. Feeling uneasy under the weight of his stare, you limp towards him, your hands jammed in the pockets of your jacket so he can’t see you trembling. “I half expected you wouldn’t show up. Or if you would go to the other place we first met.” 
“I don’t think the Museum of Antiquities would be the safest place for you to show your face, so I took an educated guess,” Bruce says flatly. He doesn’t seem hostile at the moment, but he does seem guarded and on edge. But you can’t really blame him given the circumstances.
“No, I guess not. But thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you would after our…. meeting the other day.”
“Even now, I will always come if you call.” Bruce sighs as you come to a stop a few feet in front of him with a grimace. 
“Are you okay?” Bruce asks as he nods towards your leg.
“Why does it matter? You haven’t cared about me for the last five years, why start now,” you say through gritted teeth as you try to push the pain to the side.
“That’s not true. I still care about you. I never stopped.”
“Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it,” you reply bluntly. “But I’ve learned to live with it for the most part. And what I can’t handle, I have Red Hood to help me with.”
“Red Hood,” Bruce scoffs. “I have to ask, why him? Why is he helping you? I’ve spent days pouring over any information I could find and the two of you never had any form of communication before the night he broke you out. So why did he do it?”
You shrug. “He was a fan who knew what I did and why I did it, and he respected me for it. He didn’t believe I deserved to rot in prison for the rest of my life so he did something about it.” Nothing you said was a lie. Eventually, you are going to have to tell Bruce that Jason is alive but for now neither you nor Jason are ready for that secret to be revealed so you quickly change the subject.
Smirking slightly, you say, “Besides, why should you get to be the only one who gets a sidekick? Dick told me you have yet another new Robin.”
Bruce bristles. “I didn’t go looking for him. I had planned to let the title die with Jason but he came to me and wanted the job.”
“That didn’t mean you had to give it to him.”
“Just stop it!” Bruce growls. “What’s the real reason you called me? You wouldn’t have asked to meet unless it was important so what is it already?”
You still. Bruce is right. As much as you need answers, you are also dreading what you will hear so you have been stalling for as long as possible. But it seemed like your time was up.
You take a few deep breaths as you stare down at the ground before you whisper, “I have to know. I keep telling myself that not even you would be that cruel, but I have to know for sure.”
“You’re starting to scare me. What are you talking about?”
“Did… did you know everything they did to me in there? I mean… everything?”
Bruce is quiet for a long time as he mulls over the question. And just when you can’t stand the silence any longer, he says, “I knew about the fights, Harley’s assassins, and solitary confinement. I was sent weekly reports to see how you were holding up and Dick sometimes told me about his visits. He said there were times when you were so roughed up, it looked worse than that time you went after Solomon Grundy by yourself. I pulled some strings to get you extra protection, but I guess it didn’t help. I’m sorry.”
“No, it didn’t,” your voice trembles as you whisper. Taking a deep breath, you look Bruce straight in the eye. “Bruce, I need you to swear to me that was all you knew. Nothing else.”
“Yes, I swear,” he says confusedly. “What more is there?”
But you ignore his question. “Look me in the eye and swear on our child.”
Bruce looks as if you had just slapped him in the face. His expression flashes between shock, disbelief, hurt, and anger, as he tries to grasp the words you just said. “What?”
Tears begin to well up in your eyes. “I know how messed up it is for me to ask that, and I hate myself for it, but it’s the only way I can believe you. So, please…”
“Yes,” he spits out. “Yes, I swear on… on our child… that is all I knew about.”
Slowly, you sink to your knees as a euphoric rush of relief washes over you. Bruce didn’t know. He hadn’t just stood by and let it happen. The fact he knew about the fighting and your constant injuries still hurts, but you figured Dick would have told him at some point so that was no surprise. But if he had known about the other thing… 
Bruce takes a few steps closer to you. “Now what don’t I know? What could be so horrible that you would bring our child into this?”
You look up at him, your lip trembling. “I- I can’t.”
“Please…. What did they do to you?”
Hanging your head, you whisper, “We both knew what everyone thought of me, even before I killed the Joker. I already had a reputation around Gotham that we pretended to ignore. I was the whore who was so good, I got billionaire Bruce Wayne down on one knee. And once I was in prison, everyone there wanted to see what the fuss was all about.”
It takes Bruce a moment to understand what you meant, but you see the horror sweep across his face the moment it registers. “No… That’s not… that shouldn’t have…. What about the guards?”
Tears are streaming steadily down your face at this point. “Once they figured out I didn’t have the Wayne name to protect me anymore, they started getting more lax about stopping it from happening. They even started turning off the cameras when I was in solitary and allowing inmates into my cell for a few bucks. And when one of them got hold of my medical file and saw I couldn’t get pregnant…. That’s when the guards started taking turns too.” 
You closed your eyes as you tried to block out the memories. Because you remembered every single moment of every single time. You would always either be too injured from the latest attack to fight back or they would drug you until you were barely coherent. But no matter how out of it you were, you could never forget what they did. 
You feel Bruce kneel down beside you and he whispers, “Oh, sweetheart…. I am so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I swear. You were supposed to be safe in there and if I had known what they were doing–”
‘So that’s where you draw the line, huh? Physical violence is okay, but as soon as someone whips their dick out that’s going too far?” Your eyes snap open and you dodge the hand he was reaching out towards you. “Yes, I cannot tell you what it means to me that you didn’t know, that you didn’t let that happen to me over and over and over again. But you still left me to fight for my life on a daily basis. And all because they wanted revenge on you for something or other. Because I had once been your wife. So, I’m unbelievably relieved you didn’t know. But it doesn’t change anything.”
Bruce sighs as he runs his hand through his hair. “That’s fair. I didn’t handle this situation the way I should have… but I just… I didn’t know what to do. I might not have shown it, but Jason’s death… I was so angry and so hurt. I know the two of you had a special bond, but he was still my son too. And regardless of what you said the other day, I blame myself for what happened. I should never have left him alone and I should have gotten to that warehouse quicker. I didn’t know what to do or how to deal with his death, so when I came home and you began to pull away from me…. I didn’t know how to handle that either.
“And then when you did what you did…. I was hurt you would go behind my back like that, especially after I explicitly told you not to and you agreed. You promised me and I felt betrayed…. But I also felt ashamed.”
“Ashamed?” you ask confusedly. “About what?”
“That you did what I was too weak to do.”
Your eyes grow wide as he hangs his head. “Bruce…”
“I should have done it. I should have killed him. I knew what it was doing to you to see him still running around free and I knew even if I captured him again, he would find another way to escape. But… I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t break my code. So when you did it instead…. I was ashamed I couldn’t protect you from that. And I couldn’t face you.”
“So because you couldn’t face me, you left me there to rot in jail for five years? Thanks.” You leap to your feet and Bruce quickly stands as well.
“I told you, I tried everything I could but I couldn’t get you released. They needed to make an example of you so others didn’t go out and try to take down other villains by themselves. You forget that people don’t know who you are. The other part of who you are, with your training and skills. To them, you’re just a rich socialite who managed to take down the Joker. So, if you could do it, why couldn’t anyone? And while you could hold your own, the average citizen wouldn’t be able to and a lot of innocent people would die. I was trying to work something out once the publicity of your case died down, but then you escaped,” Bruce sighs. “I might still be able to get them to let you go. Claim Red Hood kidnapped you for leverage against me. It might be enough to work out some sort of pardon.”
“I won’t turn my back on Red Hood like that,” you snap. “He saved me when you didn’t. I’m not going to throw him under the bus now.”
“Fine, but then I don’t know if I can help you,” Bruce says wearily. “So whatever it is you two have planned, just don’t get caught and don’t kill anyone.”
You nod before taking a few steps back towards the stairs. “Thank you for understanding. And for showing up today. Despite everything, I feel better knowing you didn’t know what was happening.”
Bruce’s eyes darken. “There will be consequences for this. I swear.”
“Thank you.” You turn to leave but pause and turn back. “And please promise me that Dick and Jason will never find out.”
Bruce freezes. He takes a few steps closer and stretches out his hand once more. “Sweetheart, you know Jason is gone…. Right?”
Shit. You were so upset, so in your head, you hadn’t remembered that Bruce still doesn’t know Jason is alive. Lowering your head, you mumble, “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I was just always so used to referring to them as ‘Dick and Jason’ as if it were a singular word. It feels wrong not including both of them.”
He nods slowly but still eyes you cautiously. “I slip up sometimes too. It still doesn’t feel real that he’s gone. Yet, other times it feels like it’s the most real thing in the world.”
You sigh heavily. “Things would have been so different if he hadn’t been taken from us.”
“Yeah…” Bruce says. “Or if we hadn’t lost-” He cuts himself off and turns away but you know exactly who he was talking about.
“In prison, I used to dream about us every night,” you say softly, “You, me, Dick, Jason, and our baby on the way. The life we could have had.” The tears begin to trail down your cheeks once more. “Their birthday would have been around now. Their ninth birthday. Can you believe that? A nine-year-old girl or boy running around. If only that night would have gone differently. It would have changed everything.” 
You felt a small twinge in the scar on your side as if it knew you were talking about the accident. But then again, it had never stopped hurting since the day it happened. Some kind of nerve damage that caused a constant ache. Like your knee, you’ve learned to pretty much ignore it, though right now it seems to hurt more than usual.
You wrap your arms around your middle as your tears begin to flow faster. Bruce crosses the rooftop and hesitates as he reaches you, just a few inches apart. His silent question is clear in his eyes and you nod softly. Instantly, he wraps his arms around you and pulls you into his chest. 
It is the first time you have touched him in five years yet it feels as if you have never left his arms. The way your bodies fit together, the beat of his heart against your cheek, the way the rise and fall of his chest seems to sync with yours. It feels like coming home. 
A sob bubbles up in your throat as you bury your face deeper into his chest. His arms tighten around you, holding you together as you feel yourself falling apart. This wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to let him see this side of you. You were supposed to stay strong, stand firm, but the moment you felt his touch, you were putty in his hands. 
You still love him. Despite everything he had done to you, all the pain and heartbreak his actions had caused, you want nothing more than to grab his face and meld your lips with his. Yet you know if you do, it'll be over. There will be no going back and Jason will never forgive you for it. Jason, the one person who was there when Bruce turned his back on you. Jason, your son who needed you more than you needed Bruce.
Reluctantly, you pull yourself away from Bruce’s embrace, though he remains holding your hands. “I’m sorry,” you whisper. “I shouldn’t have let you do that.”
“Why not?” Bruce asks, releasing your right hand to cup your face. “I know we have so much to work through, but I don’t want to lose you again. Please, sweetheart, just give us a chance.”
You hesitate as you consider if you can really forgive him for everything he has done to you. As he waits, his finger rubs over the spot on your left hand where your ring once sat. “You know,” he whispers, “I still have it. It’s in the safe at the manor and it’s still yours to do with what you wish. Keep it, sell it, toss it in the river, whatever you want.”
It was the wrong thing to say. It would have been easier hearing he had thrown it away. But instead, he kept the symbol of your love and marriage locked away, just as he left you locked away. You pull your hand from his, clutching it against your chest as you back away from him.“Give it to Selina, or whoever you wind up with next.” 
“And what if I don’t want there to be a next?”
“Well, you should have decided that a long time ago.” You turn quickly and head for the stairs, making it down the first few steps before Bruce reaches out and grabs your wrist.
“My heart… It’s never too late,” he says, his eyes silently begging you to come back to him.
You remember your dream from your last night in prison. How you had begged not to leave that Bruce, and how he had said those exact same words. But this wasn’t a dream, and it was time for you to wake up. 
Yanking your hand from Bruce’s grasp, you look directly into his eyes and coldly say, “I believed that once. But we are the proof that it isn't true.” 
And before he can respond, you hurry down the stairs as quickly as your knee will allow.
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kevin-sedai · 5 months
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The vibe really deteriorated as the day went on, and now I'm sitting in bed, awake, feeling like garbage
#it was an okay weekend but i was jittery and numb for most of it#tried to write christmas cards for the first time in 2 years. cried while doing so and then had to lie down after i did 5#i got frustrated with the story i'm writing and considered dropping it or deleting the whole thing#spent friday alone pretty much all day which normally i'm fine with but for whatever reason made the loneliness really hit hard this time#spent all thanksgiving day waiting for a familial confrontation#got asked by my 6 year old nephew how old i was and then he followed up with 'well why arent you married what are you doing'#which i'm pretty sure is something he heard in a conversation someone else was having and he repeated it bc he's 6 fucking years old#which btw i don't hold against him or am mad at him about bc he's an innocent kid#but that made me feel really shitty#spent an hour today panicking about this dog virus#and in between all of that i was self diagnosing myself with mental illnesses#which made me feel awful bc it made gaslight myself in thinking maybe i wanted one?#which is so fucked up to the max and i'm so sorry for even putting that here#but i put this all here bc i could never have this conversation with people irl#they'd get too worried or they'd think i'm overreacting or i need to date or need to do something with myself besides read#i'm so sorry everyone#i'll try to be better#i just had to put this out somewhere#and i didn't put this in a journal bc my last entry sounds so teenagerish out of context i don't even want to look at it#anyway i have to try to sleep i have to go into the office early tomorrow#i'm sorry guys#i really am😔
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