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rubydubydoo122 · 13 days

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In every universe Jason Peter Todd dies young. It’s a fate sealed across the multiverse. Maybe he could hope that there’s one universe where he doesn’t. aka, Jason, Dick, and Bruce go multiverse hopping, and are not having a fun time. (Ps, when I started writing this fic I hced Jason as Latino, but I don't really believe in that hc anymore, so just a heads up if you don't like that hc)

TRIGGER WARNING -> Child Death, (It's Jason)

If only both Dick and Bruce didn’t have the same idea to shove Jason out of the way from opposite sides. Maybe he would’ve still gotten hit with the device, but at least both of his shoulders wouldn’t have been bruised. They were fighting Black Mask and his posse who had gotten ahold of a transportation device. And that’s what Jason got hit with. Because certain people (Cough, Batman– past, present and otherwise, Cough) refused to communicate.

Right. Bearings. Then head back to Gotham.

Ah shit. Of course he was stranded with Bruce and Dick. Of course.

They need to get back to Gotham. Tim, Damian and Cass were more than capable of taking care of themselves, but after they finish the fight, they’re going to start spiraling. Because Bruce and Dick are gone.

“Nightwing, Batman, wake up.” He lightly shook their shoulders, while looking around. They were in a warehouse, with a bunch of crates in it. He could hear people walking around, but they were pretty hidden where they were. “We gotta get back to Gotham. They’re all gonna think we’re dead again.” The setup of the wearhouse was eerily familiar. The sooner they got out the better.

He ducked the twin reflex punches from both of them and gave them a deadpan glare. Not that it could be seen through his helmet. The sentiment still stands.

Bruce grunted, “Status.”

“A little nauseous, but other than that, fine. Hood?”

“Sore shoulders from both of you ramming into me.” He peeked over the crate they were hiding behind–

No.

His heart crept up into his throat, pulse pounding like a drum in his ears

They can’t be here. How were they here? Now? At this point in time? She couldn’t still be here.

He ducked back down, “Br-atman, We’ve gotta go.” As if on cue, there was a cackle.

Jason didn’t even see the monster, just her .

Dick set himself in determination, then popped up to get a look himself, “Besides the Joker it’s just three people. No hostages.”

Jason barely heard what he said. He just had to focus on taking off his jacket without his hands shaking, to hand to Dick. Of all the places to be sent back to, why here?

He took off his helmet and domino and tore off the Bat on his chest, handing them to Bruce, “STT-1.” Situation time travel- past. Meaning they couldn’t interfere. Which sucks because, ya know, Jason was about to die.

He turned to Dick, mainly because he didn’t want to see the expression Bruce was making, “You’re off world. You’re also in your deep V-Neck era, so…” he made a zipper motion.

Dick’s face paled in realization, “No.”

“Dick–”

“No! We can’t just let you die.”

Jason looked to Bruce, because he was certain he was going to say something like ‘We can’t mess with the timeline,’ but Bruce just seemed frozen.

Jesus Christ, why does he have to be the level headed one for his own death. And he was seconds away from a panic attack. “I’ll come back.” Though he could feel his stomach twist. Knowing you’re going to come back doesn’t make watching yourself die any better. “There aren’t any windows and only one door, but they’re gonna be near the door, so I say we go up.” he reached for his grapple.

Bruce rested a hand on his elbow, but before he could say anything, Jason cut him off. “I-I don’t–” His voice cracked, “You don’t want to watch this.” because if he did, if Jason did, he would need at least four to five weeks to recover, and they didn’t have that time. They needed to get back. The longer they stayed, the more ripples they made. He’s watched ‘Back to the Future’ enough times to know that much.

God he wished Tim was here. He’d at least be better at compartmentalizing this whole situation than anyone here. They were all too emotionally involved. They were all too close to a boy who was about to be dead.

Bruce nodded, like his mind was in another place, but then grabbed his grapple and shot up to the ceiling.

Jason waited to watch Dick do the same, before following. Bruce was already out of the hole he had made in the roof, but he could hear the door opening below, and clammered after Dick. They had to hurry, because a smaller Jason was about to come in, stage right.

“Mom.”

Jason grabbed Dick in one hand and Bruce in the other and tugged them down and out of sight.

“Jason?”

He knew the conversation by heart. It’s the lines that repeat over and over and over again in his brain. It’s the sounds he hears when he wakes up from nightmares. Not the sound of a crowbar meeting skin, or the sound of laughter, but the sound of betrayal.

“You’ve got big trouble, mom. I know about it… the Joker… everything.”

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

“Come on, mom! Play straight with me! I can help you.”

“Sure, tell me about it.”

Don’t. Don’t, You idiot. Don’t tell her.

There was the sound of a zipper being undone, “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”“That… That outfit… you’re…” He could feel the hairs on his neck stand up, as his mother put the puzzle pieces together. As she figured a way out for herself. “Come with me.”

He felt Dick’s grip tighten on his hand, as if holding onto him would stop a 15 year old him from walking into that warehouse. Yet the touch felt miles away. Galaxies, even.

“Wait! The Joker–”

“Is long gone. There’s nothing to worry about, but I’ve got something to show you.”

Even in the heat of the desert, Jason felt his blood run cold. There was a static in his ears, and the floor started to spin. He was such a stupid kid.

God this sucks. He has more trauma than this moment. He’s worked through this trauma. Especially after Damian’s death. So why does it still feel like someone’s pouring acid on a stab wound?

Bruce’s hand slipped out of Jason’s as he bolted back towards the hole in the roof, but Dick grabbed his cape before Bruce could drop in. “Bruce, we can’t–”

“Why not? I can save him this time!”

He could hear them talking about embezzlement below. He could hear the obnoxious laughter as the butt of a pistol hit his face. He could feel skin on skin as the goons three times his size beat him up.

“Because this Jason needs you more.”

He could feel metal against skin. The numbness of the initial hit, followed by the bone deep pain aching across his entire body. “What hurts more? A” crack, “or B?” thwack, “Forehand,” pop, “Or Backhand?” There was laughter. Just laughter.

“Jason, you need to breathe.” Bruce’s hand supported his right hand from the bottom, “In…” Bruce gently folded each of Jason’s fingers until his hand was in a fist, “and out…” he traced each finger while unraveling them. “In…” Thumb, pointer, middle, ring, pinky, “and out…” Pinky, ring, middle, pointer, thumb. “In…” fold fold fold fold fold “and out…” open open open open open.

“Jason! You’re still alive!”

Jason shook his head. This is not the time for a panic attack. He could do that later. Preferably in the safety of his own apartment. With no one else around to see it. “We’ve gotta move. The bomb’s gonna go off. Two minutes.”

Dick had that look on his face, but turned towards Bruce “B, which way do you come from?”

He looks out in the distance towards a red truck. Dick started towards the opposite direction, shooting his grapple to slow his fall, but Bruce was still looking at the truck.

Jason gripped Bruce’s elbow and pulled him along in the direction Dick went in, “ Gotta get you outta here .” Below, his younger self was echoing the phrase to Sheila.

Lovely juxtaposition.

Bruce seemed to snap out of it as they swung down, the only thing pushing them forwards was instinct. There was heat pulsing on the back of his neck as darkness engulfed him. His ears rang as the explosion sounded, sending them tumbling.

A weight was holding him down. He could only see darkness. The smell of smoke was wrapping around his throat like a noose.

He was dying.

He was dying again .

Yet, he wasn’t. He could still breathe. The darkness and weight weren’t suffocating, they were familiar. He didn’t realize he was that acquainted with Death.

No, wait. He’s not dead. He’s breathing. He’s not choking. His lungs aren’t filled with blood. He’s not dying.

The Darkness unraveled around him, and he felt fingers on his wrist. Then his neck. He was looking at a face. He was looking at Bruce, who was searching him head to toe for any injury “Bruce, I’m ok.”

His ears were ringing though. He didn’t know if it was the explosion, or the panic attack from earlier, but he wants the ringing to stop. He wants to hear whatever threat might come their way.

He pushed Bruce’s hands away, and went to stand so he could assess their surroundings, but was immediately knocked off balance by Dick fussing over him. He swatted him away, “I’m fine.”

The warehouse wasn’t even close to looking like a warehouse anymore. Of course he’s seen it since he’s died, but freshly exploded the building looked… not promising for anyone who was inside. It wasn’t. Anyone who was inside during the explosion was dead.

“Jason! Where are you!”

It was Bruce, but it sounded farther away than the Bruce that was right next to him.

His legs started moving forwards without his permission. Until the smell of smoke was too strong. Until he could feel the heat radiating off the rebar. Until…

Until he saw himself.

Bloody, bruised, burnt. Facedown, weezing, bent at different angles. At 15 he was smaller than Damian was at 12.

Jason remembered being all alone in his final moments. Knowing Bruce would come, but he’d be too late. Even though he knew Bruce would be too late, he still hoped. He hoped someone would be there to lay him gently to rest.

He found himself on his knees. Next to the young Robin, brushing hair behind his ear. He heard Robin's breath stutter until another rasp overtook him. Mami used to do it when the days weren’t good, but they weren’t bad. Back when he’d go with her while she’d get her cancer treatments. He’d sit in her lap while she brushed his hair behind his ear, and read to him.

Jason focused on the cross that had spilled out from under his Robin suit. “To heaven's gates we wish to fly, out of this world across the sky; To heaven's gates our souls are seeking; the angel's lyres and voices speaking.” He heard gravel crunching behind him, knowing it was Bruce and Dick he continued “To heaven's gates our lifelong journey; not through these halls atop a gurney.

“To heaven's gates you start to weep; reminded I was never yours to keep. To heaven's gates why mourn with sorrow? Morning shall come, there will be a tomorrow. To heaven's gates I view their glory; glancing behind I close my story.”

He hears the last exhale, and knows. He can feel it in his soul. He knew when his own time was up. When all he could feel was pain, and then the pain suddenly went away. He knew his time was up. He knew there was nothing he could do. “At heaven's gates I find myself; not bruised, not broken, nor on the shelf. At heaven's gates I hear you cry and remind you: this isn't really goodbye.” He gently tucked the cross back into Robin’s suit, and placed a kiss on his forehead. “May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life.”

He stood up and turned back to see Dick with tears painting his face, and Bruce who looked shell shocked.

He heard the other Bruce’s footsteps stagger closer, so he dove behind the nearest piece of rubble.

“Jason?” Bruce reached out for Little Jason’s wrist. For his pulse. “No. No.” Bruce pulled him up, but he was limp in his arms, “Jay? Lad. It’s ok, it’s ok. It’s just me. It’s Bruce. You can stop pretending.” Bruce’s fingers frantically searched little Jay’s neck. Trying to find something that wouldn’t be there “The Joker is gone. You can wake up now.” He cradled him close. Hand supporting his neck like an infant “ Jason, please.” His voice was dangerously wet, “You can’t be gone. You can’t. You can’t. You haven’t finished— you’re not done with— you can’t be done— you have so much more left—” There were shutters throughout Bruce’s body, causing little Jay’s arm to fall out from where he was cradled close. Bruce couldn’t be crying though. Batman couldn’t be crying. Not for him “ Jason… my boy… my son, please. Come back. Come back. I can’t lose you. Please.”

Jason had to turn away. He had to. This wasn’t for him to see. It was for a boy who was now dead.

Everything around them turned too bright. Like they were put into a room where all the walls and the floors were made out of fluorescent lights. Then they were in an alley. A very Gotham looking alley. Covered in snow.

He was regretting giving Dick his jacket, but oh well.

There was the sound of retching, and when he looked over, Dick was kneeling by a corner of a dumpster, and Bruce had a hand on his back. Except he was staring directly at Jason.

So, naturally, Jason looked everywhere but Bruce.

Actually, this Alley looked very familiar. It looked a lot like the one he used to squat in when he was freshly homeless. He’s pretty sure if he rounded the dumpster to where Dick and Bruce were, he would find his old shelter of trash bags and cardboard boxes.

Hold up.

It’s May in their Gotham. It’s not supposed to be snowing. And they had traveled back. And the super bright light felt the same as the original ray that had sent them back.

“‘Wing, B–”

“Oh no.” Dick was apparently done throwing up, and was now rustling through the pile, “Kiddo? Can you hear–” There was a sharp inhale, “ Jason?”

“Dick,” He grabbed his elbow to stop him from engulfing his younger self in a hug for warmth. “Dick we’ve gotta go.”

He ripped his arm from Jason’s grasp, and leveled him with an incredulous look, “You’re going to freeze to death.”

Bruce and Dick already somewhat knew. They had assumed, which was rude, because you don’t assume something like that about someone. Besides, he did it because he had to do it. Otherwise he would have frozen to death. And it was only for this winter. He was hiding out in an abandoned apartment building for the rest of the time he was ‘homeless’. “Some…someone comes by.” He shivered and crossed his arms to retain warmth. He hates the cold.

If Dick or Bruce said anything, Jason couldn’t hear them. His ears were still ringing from the blast for some reason.

He shook his head and looked to Bruce for a plan. Except Bruce was still looking at him like he was a ghost.

Maybe Jason should also be a little shell shocked, but honestly, he could never forget that day. If he’s left alone to think long enough, it’s the only thing he can think of. How he shouldn’t have gone after his Mother. How he shouldn’t have trusted her word. How he shouldn’t have allowed himself to hope that there was someone who would give him unconditional love.

Even Bruce’s love was probably conditional to an extent. He loved Robin, not Jason. And the mission would always come first. Batman would always come first.

Obviously, currently, Batman wasn’t in control, Bruce was trying to grab for the steering wheel, because he was obviously debating actually talking about emotions or repressing them forever and ever and ever.

Jason groaned, they need a plan of action, “Looks like we keep going further and further into the p-past.” His teeth chattered “I want my Jacket back. You two need civies. T-there’s a Goodwill down the block.”

Dick unzipped the jacket and handed it to Jason, while slipping under Batman’s cape.

“Go up, I’ll meet you two on the third story. We were in the other time for like… two hours right? A bit more than that?” It was weird to think how long the Joker took to beat the living shit out of him. It somehow felt simultaneously like seconds and years.

Dick nodded, and reached to his ear, “but switch to line two. Just in case”

Jason reached up to his com to do that, “Can’t believe Mr. Paranoid still uses the same frequency from over 10 years ago.”

Dick snorted, “Not gonna defend yourself, B?”

Bruce just looked at Jason, long and thoughtful. He needed to stop staring. Yes, Jason understood that he was Bruce’s biggest failure. No need to stare at him until he explodes for it.

Yeah, no. This was getting awkward, “I’m gonna–”

“Why didn’t you tell me Sheila betrayed you?”

Jason felt his eyebrows shoot off of his forehead and into the sun. Bruce? Trying to fix preconceived notions and willingly opening up for a conversation that would definitely involve emotions?

Jason almost said, Because I was dead , but he didn’t. They just watched him die again, saying that would be cruel, and he needed Bruce to get his head back in the game instead of staring at him like he was about to turn into an apparition.

Master at compartmentalization my ass . “Can we have this conversation at a different time? Thanks. I’ll be quick.”

And with that, he left for the thrift store.

There was a bitter sense of nostalgia. This was his Gotham. The Gotham he knew before he died. The skyline, the corner stores, the types of small crime that’s still around, but overshadowed by the growing number of crazies in Gotham.

There were even people he remembered who had died years ago. People he couldn’t say goodbye to because he himself had died.

Right. Clothes.

He was really tempted to get Bruce a Batman shirt for shits and giggles, but who knew how far back they’d go before they managed to get back to their time. So he chose something relatively timeless for both Bruce and Dick. T-shirt, jeans, jacket. No designs that would date them. Also a duffle bag to keep their suits in.

He was just around the corner when Dick spoke into the com.

“Jason, someone’s coming into the alley.”

Now Jason wanted to throw up. He had to close his eyes and tell himself that there were no hands grabbing at him or his clothes. There was not one forcing him to do anything. “Does he have red hair? Balding with a horrible comb over?”

“Yeah.” A beat of silence, “I hate not doing anything. First with the Joker and now with… wait. He’s leaving.”

Jason almost tripped over his boots, but then picked up his pace. “What?”

“He definitely saw you– the younger you. He walked up to you, looked like he was debating something and then walked away.”

He can’t be. In a messed up way, the man saved him. If the man didn’t pimp him out, he would’ve froze to death. He would’ve never fought as hard as he did to find real shelter. He would’ve never lived long enough to meet Bruce.

Jason rounded the corner into the alley. The man was long gone. Just… leaving little Jason to die.

He knelt next to himself. God, this version of him was even smaller than the one before. If he didn’t know he was supposed to be 10, he would think this kid was eight. His cheeks were sunken from the lack of food, and his face was pale, edging on blue. Hypothermia. Maybe even frostbite at this point.

“Jay, you gotta wake up. It’s too cold for you to fall asleep.” He placed a finger to his neck.

Ice cold, and pulse too slow, but he cradled himself close, hoping he could will heat back into him. He doesn’t die here. Why is this version of him dying?

Jason placed a hand at the base of his skull, and rubbed circles into his back with the other. He doesn’t remember who used to do that with him, Papi or Bruce, he just remembers nights in the League when all he wanted was that feeling again.

Though, Bruce was holding his dead body like this, so maybe it was him.

He felt his younger counterpart shift the slightest bit in his arms, “ Papi? ” it was barely above a whisper.

Jason knew he looked a lot like him, the only thing that differentiated them from each other was his eyes, and the vitiligo. “ Mi alma.” My soul . Ironic. God, Papi hasn’t called him that since he was seven. He’d come into their apartment after work– and not the job with Two-Face, his job before that– and be happy to see both him and Mami.

Little Jay gave him a tired smile, that somehow still held the power of the sun. “You came.” Had he always smiled that bright? Even after the streets had hardened him?

“You needed me.” And he did, but Papi would also be dead with time.

“‘M tired.” Little Jason wasn’t even shivering. He didn’t even have enough energy to do that. Meaning that, trying to warm him up would be a waste of time.

“Do… Do you want to rest?” He wasn’t supposed to die here. Yet, he won’t make it. This… this doesn’t make any sense.

Little Jay gave him one slow nod, as he tucked his face into Jason’s chest.

“Alright… Alright. I’ll tell you a story, then. I know you love them.” He took a breath. He couldn’t tell him the poem he had told the 15 year old him. He knew more than one though. “ Two roads diverged in a yellow wood; And sorry I could not travel both; And be one traveler, long I stood, And looked down one as far as I could; To where it bent in the undergrowth.

“Then took the other, as just as fair; And having perhaps the better claim; Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there; Had worn them really about the same,

“And both that morning equally lay; In leaves no step had trodden black; Oh, I kept the first for another day; Yet knowing how way leads on to way; I doubted if I should ever come back.

“I shall be telling this with a sigh; Somewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—” He could feel the last of life simmer out. Like someone had placed a lid on top of a candle. “I took the one less traveled by; And that has made all the difference. ” He placed a kiss into Little Jay's forehead and cleared his throat, “May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life.”

Bruce and Dick climbed down from the fire escape.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, until Bruce spoke up, “Not time travel. Alternate Realities.”

It was like saying the words spurred up the bright lights around them.

This is going to be worse than that time with Rayner.

#jason todd #batman #batfam #dc comics #red hood #dick grayson #time travel #alternate universe

22 notes · View notes

blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk · 10 months

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Can I pls request a day in Joker's life while taking care of baby Ellis from your previous work? I keep rereading that particular writing of yours because of the delicious angst 👌 I'd like to see how he takes care of his baby while leading a circus troupe and caring for his sick wife at the same time, while actively having to follow the Baron's orders. Just pile on the fluff and angst as much as u want to. Thank you ❤️

ohohoho what a compliment! <3

listen, y'all are supposed to say angst me mommy when you request shit like this... but... I guess I'll let it slide ;P

JUST MAKE SURE U CAN LIVE WITH WHAT YOU'VE UNLEASHED HERE BECAUSE WHEW-

JOKER’s days start earlier than ever now.

The one solace is that he gets to sleep in the same bed as his wife and wake up next to her in the morning. He gets to roll over, pressed against her, and give her a kiss… cuddle with her for a precious few minutes before the day truly begins. He gets to murmur that he loves her so much, lips painting those words onto her skin, because sometimes he worries that with all the hours he spends away from her, she might not know if he didn’t say it.

He gets to rise and greet his little baby, who’s nearing three months old now. Still just as darling as the day he was born. Although (Name) is getting stronger as she recovers on the treatment plan that the Baron’s doctor gave her, most of the time she only gets up for a few minutes to feed Ellis in the morning.

Joker likes to let her sleep in. He gets up before sunrise, and it’s not fair that she should have to do the same.

Thankfully, Ellis is much less fussy after eating breakfast… and Joker has learned, the hard way, not to bounce the infant on his knee for at least an hour after he eats. (To be fair, Peter also learned that the hard way whilst trying to get Ellis to stop wailing after feeding him a bottle. The fast-paced, busy nature of being a ringleader means that his child has been briefly left with each of the other troupe members at least once, so at least he’s not the only one who’s been spit up on.)

Once he’s made sure Ellis has a quick bath and is wearing clean clothes, it’s time to head over to the fairground. The small bag he carries during the morning is packed fast ― a few nappies and safety pins, a can of Mellin’s that the Baron oh-so graciously provides, a bottle, and a toy in case Ellis needs entertainment.

Then comes the hardest part; leaving (Name). Despite the fact that he’s only going to be gone for the morning, he’ll come home for a brief tea and to drop Ellis off… it still hurts to leave. It feels like he sees so little of her during the day. He almost wishes he didn’t have to go run the circus. One of these days he’s just going to say fuck it all, leave one of the others in charge for a day, and spend the whole morning here at the manor with his wife and child.

He perches himself on the bed with Ellis cradled against his chest in his good arm, and leans down to give his wife a kiss. A soft murmur of, “’Ey, darlin’, I’m off tae work wit’ Ellis now, alrigh’? I’ll be back this afternoon. Love ye,” falls from his lips against hers.

She returns the sentiment with a groggy smile and gives him her usual reply of, “Mmh, okay, sweetheart. See you then. I love you more.”

It kills him to leave. He does anyway… only after carefully tucking the covers back around her to replace how he moved them when he got up. The baby bag is slung over his shoulder, and he looks down at Ellis. “C’mon, wee lad. Let’s let y’r mama sleep ‘n’ we’ll go start our day. Get tae see all y’r aunts ‘n’ uncles.”

With that, he slips out the bedroom door and through the estate’s back exit, and he heads toward the fairground.

By the time he gets to the mess tent to grab a bite, the rest of the first-stringers are nearly done with breakfast. Thank God he gets to spend a short while with them before the hectic rush of the day sets in, or else he’s sure he’d never survive till afternoon. As soon as he sets the bag down and takes a seat, his free hand starts to dig in to the plate the others have fixed for him. “Mornin’, all. How’s ev’ryone doin’?”

As his family all mumble variations of, “Jus’ fine, not bad,” Freckles squeals and reaches over to take Ellis. “Aaaaah, y’ brought the baby!! Oiii, Ellis, sweet boy, c’mere ‘n’ spend some time with y’r Auntie Freckles while Papa eats!”

Sitting next to them, Wendy reaches over to ruffle Ellis’ little mop of auburn hair. “Joker, y’ gotta tell this kid t’ stop growin’. ‘e was jus’ a li’l, tiny thing, then we turn round ‘n’ ‘e’s gettin’ so big already.”

Peter beside her scoffs. “Oi, yeah, at this rate ‘e’s gonna end up taller’n us. Tell ‘im t’ cut it out; I don’t need someone thir’y years younger’n me towerin’ over me like some giant!”

“Aw, would y’ shut y’r yap? It’s big enough t’ make up f’r the rest’a y,” Freckles giggles, leaning down simply so Ellis can grab and play with their hair. “We should be ‘appy ‘e’s growin’! Look at ‘im, ‘e’s jus’ perfect.” When the baby coos and laughs at them, with a fistful of their hair in his hand, they look up at the ringleader almost pleadingly. “Oh, my God, Joker, I want one!!”

Joker has to pause to take a drink so he doesn’t choke on the last bite he took. God, they’re so funny… and yet, he knows they desperately want to start a family like he has. He almost feels bad that he ‘beat’ them to doing so. “Hah! Well, then, ye better find a beau an’ get busy, Doll, ‘cause that one’s mine!”

Dagger nudges Freckles in the ribs with his elbow. “Yeah, I think (Name) would ‘ave somethin’ t’ say ‘bout y’ takin’ ‘er baby!”

“Oh, yeah?” The fact that Ellis tugs on their hair apparently doesn’t dissuade them from wanting to keep him. They just grin bigger. “Bring ‘er ‘ere, I’ll fight ‘er! Winner takes ‘im!”

Everybody shares a laugh, and soon it tapers off into more subdued chatter as the meal is finished. It’s a welcome few moments before the day begins in full.

Joker lets Freckles keep holding the baby, making sure they’re fine to watch him for a few minutes as he makes his morning rounds. Of course, they don’t mind a bit. They’re probably disappointed they don’t get to spend more than a few minutes with him.

Things are always bustling in the morning, bright and full of activity when he walks around the tents. The second-stringers are heading to get breakfast now that the first-stringers are done, and the rest of his little family are practicing or getting ready to do so. He sees some of the newer members hurrying back from the mess tent, food in hand, to gather round Jumbo; as he often does during downtime, he’s started to play his harmonica.

Maybe he’s become soft, too soft, after Ellis’ birth, but Joker lets himself linger for a moment. He puts a hand on the newbies’ shoulders and sings along to the harmonica’s tune. Makes a few puns, gets a couple of laughs. Smiles at everyone. As much as he considers only the other first-stringers, his wife, and child his real family, he’s started to feel more and more like a father to the new members, especially the young ones.

After all, every single one of them was somebody’s child once. Don’t they all deserve to feel loved and protected like that?

His heart leaps into his throat when he thinks about his own baby. He remembers what he must have been thinking when he agreed to the Baron’s deal after Ellis was first born; Joker feels everything so intensely, just the hint of a future grief trying to raise his little boy without his wife was more than he could bear. Because Ellis is his, because (Name) is his, he can’t help but feel like they deserve all that love and protection more than anyone else.

Is he selfish for thinking that? Is he, or is that how everyone feels about their wives and children?

His voice trails off before he knows it, mind haunted by the shadow of future grief replaced by a future in which he’s eaten alive by guilt.

Soon enough, he disappears, shaken by his own thoughts, and collects his baby from Freckles. They give Ellis kisses on the head and pout when they have to relinquish him. The infant giggles in response; tugging a few strands of their hair in his little hand.

As Joker takes Ellis back against his own chest, he looks at Freckles. He hopes they get their own baby someday, someday soon if they meet the right person, and he prays they don’t make the same mistakes he’s made.

The day passes as normally as any day has passed by this point. Joker is sure it’s funny to watch him rehearsing whilst holding Ellis. Although he never moves around too much like this, it must be a sight to see him moving and pointing and gesturing with his bad arm with a baby nestled up in the crook of his good arm.

Not only that, Ellis makes all manner of little baby sounds. Which, while quite normal, are amusing additions to whatever Joker himself happens to be saying. In one breath he’s suggesting a change to the trapeze routine, and the next, Ellis is laughing at the sight of Peter missing his cue in such a way that his hat hits Wendy in the face. (Really. It’s entertaining in itself that not even a troupe full of troubled circus performers can resist laughing along after a baby starts to laugh. Even Peter and Wendy join in laughing.)

Despite the fact that his work is never really done, Joker has to leave shortly after they’ve all had tea. He’ll be back for the evening show, but now that Ellis has been fed, he’s been awake for long enough to start fussing because he’s sleepy. So it’s back to the Baron’s to put the baby down for a nap. Several hours of being fawned over and cooed at is tiring when you’re not very old, after all.

Besides… if Joker doesn’t go back for a short while, he won’t see (Name) again till he crawls into bed after midnight. He needs a few moments with her.

Thankfully, his darling wife is awake by afternoon. Even though she still gets tired easily, she’s usually regained some of her strength after being able to rest in the mornings. She’s not so weak anymore that just feeding the baby drains her, at least, and that means she’s in better spirits. Once Joker puts Ellis down, she’ll be able to stay up to watch him for the rest of the day.

Seeing her always perks him up. Just being able to kiss her and hold her in his arms for a couple of minutes is enough to get him through the rest of the day’s drudgery. Her smile, the sparkle of her eyes when she looks at him, the loving way she cradles Ellis before Joker sets him down in the crib… he still doesn’t know how he got so lucky.

Even though he wants to stay, he forces himself to slip out. One last kiss for his wife, one last kiss to the crown of his son’s head, and he has to head back to the fairground. If he doesn’t, he’ll just get greedy enough to not leave at all.

He’s at least resolved to get through the night once he returns to the circus. He keeps his memories close, and they drive him.

The show is a success. It always is. They all make sure to give the audience something spectacular to look at… and despite the fact that they’re certainly not getting rich, they manage to scrape by. They survive, they earn just enough so that no one has to go hungry. If nothing else, Joker can be proud of that.

Everyone is tired by the time night falls, but the first-stringers still have more to do. They all leave Snake to watch over everyone else, and they gather a short distance away from all the tents.

They all make their last adjustments — Freckles grumbling as they fidget with their parasol, Dagger trying to work out the kinks in his bad leg, Peter and Wendy quietly bickering in the affectionate way only siblings can. Joker’s almost unaware he’s been lost in thought until suddenly Beast is tightening his scarf like she thinks he’s about to catch his death of cold.

“Y’ need ta get some sleep,” she sighs.

He tilts his head, and he’s certain the smile he gives doesn’t meet his eyes. She can see right through it, at least. “Oi, I get ‘s much sleep as the rest’f ye lot.”

She scoffs. “No, y’ don’t. Ellis ain’t old enough t’ sleep through the night, which means you ain’t sleepin’ through the night. Y’re the only one’a us who’s got a baby. Wish y’d let (Name) come back ‘ere with ‘im. Maybe the two’a y’ might get some sleep if we take turns watchin’ ‘im at night.”

It’s painful for all of them. Beast feels guilty, too, he knows that; she also misses (Name)’s company. He knows everyone would be happier if she could have stayed here, especially after giving birth. Things just… didn’t work out that way. There would have been none of her staying here with how sick she got after Ellis was born. She might have died.

And now that she’s getting better… can he even bring her and Ellis back here? Everything is so different, so much worse.

“Soon,” he says softly, even though he’s not sure he means it. He gently brings Beast’s hand down, a silent reassurance that for right now, he’s fine. “She’s startin’ ta feel better… maybe she can come back soon.”

Beast huffs, and her eyes soften, and she shakes her head, and that’s the end of it. Distractions won’t serve them right now.

When they move into the streets, Joker notices that he still hesitates. Every move he and the others make, it puts him in physical pain. To do the things they’re doing, the things the Baron orders them to do… fuck. It makes him hate himself more than ever.

Least of all because if he doesn’t follow orders, then that’s it. His life is over.

If he talks back, if he shows regret, if he does anything that implies he’s questioning his ‘father’… then the Baron will cut off the medicine that’s been helping (Name) to recover. And he’s so done with Joker’s second guessing, he’s been threatening to pull out every little bit of security he’s affording the entire troupe.

If he doesn’t do these things that make him sick, his wife will die. His family will wither. Any chance at saving anything that’s meaningful to him disappears into thin air.

Once they’re all done for the night, once everyone else has returned to their tents, Joker has to stop on the way back to the Baron’s manor. He has to brace himself against a building and struggle to catch his breath.

He doesn’t know whether his body is trying to make him vomit or cry, but whichever it is, tears of strain and sorrow burst to life at the edges of his eyes regardless.

His throat is raw by the time his body decides to stop tormenting him. So his voice comes out raspy as he settles into bed, murmuring, “Jus’ me, darlin’,” when he puts his arms around (Name). He could barely look at Ellis upon walking into the room, his sweet baby fast asleep, after everything he’s done tonight.

He worries about both of them when he isn’t here. But they both seem alright, and his wife was just awake enough to be waiting for him. She rolls over to greet him, to kiss him goodnight, to snuggle in against his chest.

And he holds her, as tight as he possibly can without hurting her. Like she’s the one thing keeping his head above water.

He never sleeps well these days. He closes his eyes all the same, tired from the weight of this life he’s been living.

Tomorrow, he has to get up and do it all over again.

He knows he’s going to wake up more exhausted than he is falling asleep now.

His mind taunts him. How much longer can you keep all this up, Joker?

He doesn’t have an answer.

He just buries his face in (Name)’s neck, tells her one more time that he loves her, and lets sleep take him.

For the millionth time, he knows he will wake up to unanswered prayers.

At least, he thinks, he still has his family, his wife, and his child.

So for the millionth time, because of them, he prays anyway:

Please, God. Let things be better in the morning.

#Black Butler #Kuroshitsuji #Joker #romantic #platonic #familial #angst #fluff #drama #I'M GONNA S C R E A M!!!! HOW DARE UUUUUU #... and honestly how dare ME for writing it #I promise I'll make the next thing in the queue really fluffy to make up for this XD #one hell of a queue

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prjctstarfall · 16 days

Text

I don't have a personal nor safe place I feel comfortable giving my response so I'll state it here.

Hi, I'm Sheepie/Sheep. The creator of the 2 callouts on this blog as well as being Torchic. I wanted to be shielded with that alias so I could post without Star saying I was back to stir the pot. There is another moderator here since I don't have the mental energy to go through inboxes and information myself and posting information only Sheepie knew would get me found out. I still shake uncontrollaby when the mention of Star is made and the past few days have taken a major toll on me. That said as events have transpired I feel more than safe to let it be known although I still feel weird sending an anon for the other moderator to post on my behalf.

I'm well aware of the apology doc and my feelings on it are a jumbled mess. I never thought I would get any sort of closure, that I would always have to live in the shadows and in fear of her. Not that Star would take any form of accountability. With that said, the doc leaves a lot to be desired. Her apology doesn't come close to healing the many emotional wounds she had left but I never was expecting that much in the first place.

I'm glad she apologized and cleared up the issues with my gender identity. Since recieving that screenshot last year everyday has felt like who I am as person doesn't matter to people. That something stuck to the first part of my rules and even in my Discord's about me were just so ignorable. I don't fully know why people use she/her for me considering my very first mun name was masculine leaning (Garret/Garry/Joker [persona weeb era lmao]) and I had that identity for years. I'm glad and in some sense validated that she was never purposely misgendering and that cap was just misinformation Loke had sent to me to get a rise from me. And I am incredibly remorseful that I didn't double check that information.

Having my vents shared was never really that big to me, in comparision to the countless other things you did that hurt me, it was just painful that you always jumped to aggression with me when I had opened up about how it is something I cannot handle. It hurts that in any of the situations you had been aggressive with me you never apologized for that fact and made it all out to be my fault. In some cases it was, back then I was dealing with countless mental health issues and took everything incredibly personally. That is my own fault and I have been working on it, I'm still a broken person but I feel as if I'm getting better. I was the one constantly apologizing even when it was your actions that hurt me. I didn't have a backbone and it always felt like I was doormat to you.

But you made me feel welcomed and were there for me when I was exoeriencing something I will keep private, so I had become attached and turned a blind eye to countless things that I truly shouldn't have. How you would say mean things about other muns, how others wrote their characters, how people shipped, etc. I turned a blind eye because I was scared you'd get aggressive or that you would turn around and do the same to me.

What I didn't know is that you already were. You apparently talked about me a lot / ragged on my ocs in the same breath that you said you loved them, and that truly hurts and it still hurts to this very day. You were someone I loved and cared for, who I stayed up to talk and plot with. I enjoyed are small talk and threads. Our ships are something I still have a hard time recovering from as they meant the world to me... And it was a hard decision to cut you off.

I should have had a proper conversation with you back then but I was a coward. I got upset and blocked you out of the blue. And I think deep down I wanted you to feel even a fraction of the same amount of hurt as I had. That was wrong and uncalled of for me and it is something I deeply regret to this day. I wish we could have ended things amicably instead of letting our feelings spiral out of control to the point it took us almost 2 years to even get this far. A lot of things and feelings could have been avoided if we had been civil.

If there was any good that came out of this mess, it cemeted who my true friends are. Who cares about me most at the end of the day. I was able to become closer to Daisy and I got to reconnect and meet a lot of people. People who like me were victims of you or were victims of Loke. They are people I love and deeply cherish to this day. And I guess I should be thankful to you for that fact, even if it is a fucked up one.

I'm glad that you are healing and trying to make amends for all the hurt you have caused. And although I can never find it in me to truly forgive and forget. I can at least forgive you for the things you did apologize for. I hope one day there is a chance for us to fully talk and settle our differences as I am no longer the scared Sheep I was back then. But that time will come after you've taken a break and worked on yourself. Even if you have hurt me to the moon and back I still genuinely hope you are able to find happiness and not be used by the people around you. You are a victim too and you deserve to heal and be treated with respect.

I hope you can find friends who love you and won't mock you for your mental health. I don't think we could ever be friends again but I will root for you to do and be better.

I'm not sure if this blog will remain active, that is up to your behavior, Star. If you continue to hurt others I and plenty of others will still hold you accountable. But for now I am taking a step back to enjoy the positivies in life and I think you and everyone else should as well.

To others who aren't Star, hi and hello. Thank you for reading this far. I want everyone of you to knkw that you are loved and you are cherished by someone. I never want to call this drama as it belittles the feelings of everyone who was hurt, but reading the post between all the blogs is draining so be sure to take care of yourself.

And if you are Loke, who assumed that just because you wrote a half assed apology and shared misinformation that I would stop documenting you and help with you trying to knock Star down. Surprise surprise, get fucked. You are an i credibly disgusting individual.

Remember to stay hydrated and take care everyone, this is Sheepie signing off.

Touch some grass today

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sassykai10 · 1 year

Text

The Batman who laughs (Eng version)

Bruce knew something was wrong.

Ever since he had woken up that morning, the laughter of that maniacal Joker was still echoing in his head. He also felt distinctly more tired physically and mentally.

The billionaire tossed and turned in bed, rubbing his eyes, which felt heavier than usual. He knew it was late in the morning and it was unusual for him to wake up at that hour, but at that moment he didn't care about anything.

He felt like a wreck and just wanted to stay in bed for the day.

He shifted again, on his side this time, to look at the window which, closed with dark curtains, still let in the light of what must have been a beautiful sunny day, which he knew he would spend for the umpteenth time locked in the dark cave beneath his mansion.

A shiver, however, ran down his back, reaching his hairline, stopping him.

At that moment he felt it. It was turning in his chest and desperately trying to get out.

He immediately sat up. His wide eyes looked ahead without focusing on anything in particular. His mind travelled fast in search of an explanation.

One hand moved quickly to his chest as if to make sure he was not about to have a stroke, the other closed tightly over his mouth, to block out what was about to come out.

He felt in horror the corners of his mouth turn upwards against his own will. He felt the sweat slide copiously down his neck and his body temperature rise rapidly.

And then it came out first as a choked sob, then clearer.

The Joker's laugh.

-----------------

Alfred, as a good butler and substitute father, had realised from the late hour that his little master was unwell.

As was his wont, he put a teapot on the stove and while he waited for the Wayne family members he set the table with various protein foods, perfect for recovering from the previous night.

Just enough time to arrange the toast on the plates that the teapot began to whistle. Alfred approached, slipping on his potholders ready to move the boiling object away from the fire.

But something made his skin crawl. Not something, but someone, or rather, a voice. A laugh.

Alfred thought he had heard wrong. Perhaps it was the overly sharp whistling of the teapot or perhaps it was his ears that were no longer young.

Slowly, but straining his ear, he moved the boiling crockery to the cold marble shelf.

He took off his potholders and placed them, too, on the counter.

"Mr Wayne?" He called out. The voice was slightly hesitant.

Silence.

"Master Bruce? Master Richard?" He tried to call out, thinking it might be a joke by some of the younger members of the family.

Silence, however, pervaded his ears again. The situation was becoming strangely stressful and unsettling.

Alfred took a step towards the door leading to the kitchen, which gave directly onto one of the villa's dining rooms.

Sunlight streamed through the windows slowly discolouring the old wooden furniture. Dust floated lightly in the air, clearly visible in the light.

The butler leaned in a little more, on guard for any eventuality. The fear hidden in his mind was slowly coming to the surface.

"Alfred?" Bruce Wayne's voice called from behind him, jolting him out of his fright.

"Master Bruce? What are you doing here? How come you didn't answer when I called you?" Alfred asked, placing a hand over his heart as if trying to slow him down.

The elder of the family looked him over, searching for an answer to that strange feeling he still felt in his chest. In front of him Bruce stood with what seemed to be a calm air, his big shoulders however not so relaxed.

'He's probably still thinking about last night's mission,' Alfred questioned himself.

'I beg your pardon, I thought you heard me coming. I didn't answer because I'm still a bit tired,' the man apologised.

"Certainly no problem Mister- he adjusted his shirt- please take a seat. Breakfast is ready" Alfred pointed to the chair at the head of the table.

Bruce stood still for a few seconds and then, as if pulled by some strange entity, shuffled his feet forward to the chair. All under the watchful gaze of Alfred, who followed his every move.

The air was growing tense, but the butler did not understand why. Was it still the strange feeling from before that was gripping him?

Before long, however, he was no longer alone. The room filled with voices and youthful energy. Bruce's adopted and non-adopted sons and daughters sat at the table starting to gorge themselves on food, hungry and ready for a new day.

Alfred, who had eaten before, was mainly busy clearing or filling empty plates, quietly listening to the voices of the family members in the room.

"You could have at least followed orders, Todd- complained the youngest, Damian- your stubbornness has led us to lose sight of the Joker again."

"Hey!- forcefully Jason, the second-born male, slammed his hands on the table, making it shake and risking knocking over some glasses- this was definitely not my fault! Be more careful, because if you haven't noticed I was doing my part better than all of you!"

"Tsk," snorted Damian.

"Guys please..." Dick, the eldest son, intervened as usual to calm things down, but unfortunately neither of them was willing to stop. Any excuse was good to quarrel, especially with their brothers.

'If at least you weren't so boring and repetitive, you would be more fun. Even the Joker is capable of being funnier at times like these..." Puffed Stephanie, the second 'acquired' daughter but not 100 per cent part of the Wayne family, boredly.

"hihihi...-"

Silence fell quickly in the room.

The gazes all shifted to the source of the noise. At the head of the table sat Bruce as his usual self, but in between no one had noticed that his behaviour was different than usual that morning. Everyone except Alfred, with whom he had had a quick confrontation earlier.

The man's head was slightly bent forward, as was his body. The face was therefore obscured and could not be seen clearly.

"Bruce?-he called to him in a firm but attentive voice Dick-are you all right?"

The appointed emitted a quick cough and brought his hand to his mouth, later raising it to those present in apology.

"Everything's fine- he replied in a hoarse voice, which did not escape the attentive ears of those present- I just found Stephanie's joke funny" his lowered head showed no sign of his face, still darkened.

Silence fell again.

Those present now looked at each other attentively. They were looking for information to give themselves a logical explanation.

It was true that Bruce had become an increasingly less talkative person over time, but did he suddenly find a joke (not even that funny) funny? So much so that he had to laugh?

If it was just the fact that it was unusual for him, the youngsters would have teased him jokingly, but that was not the reason.

The truth was that the laughter emitted by their father made everyone's skin crawl, as it was all too similar to the laughter of the Clown Prince of Crime.

"Bruce - Jason's firm, but impatient voice was heard - raise your head."

But no one, least of all the head of the family, moved.

"Bruce!" Jason stood up after increasing his own tone to call him back, but like the first time no one else moved.

The second son then quickly moved the chair and with large steps approached his father.

"Jason- Bruce called him in a calm but stern voice- sit down."

But well known for his stubbornness, especially towards Batman and therefore Bruce, Jason continued with great strides to walk along the side of the table.

As soon as he was beside him he called back to him.

"Bruce, get your fucking head up."

He knew that wasn't the way to put it, but he of all people was justified in being the most stressed in that situation, especially after what had happened to him when he was younger.

"Jason...-The billionaire's voice came out as a choked hiss- go sit down"

"No fucking way! Now get your fucking head up and tell everyone what's wrong with you. We're not idiots. Tell us what's going on-"

"JASON!- raised his voice Batman, slamming a hand down on the table so hard that it knocked over the glasses- I told you to go sit down!"

Taken aback, Jason's eyes widened in disbelief. He quickly shifted his gaze to his brothers, who like himself were quite confused.

"Master Bruce- Alfred appeared behind Jason's back, ready to mediate in what was about to result in yet another argument- you seem more stressed and tired than usual. Why-"

But for the second time someone present was interrupted by a hand on the table, which made everyone jump back in their chairs.

"More stressed?" Bruce's voice wasn't getting any better. His usually so low voice had risen a few decibels, more snickering it seemed. "I've never been so well..." he resumed.

Dick immediately noticed his father's shoulders moving in rhythm. They were shaking as if he were cold. He saw Bruce's body bend forward as if to close in on itself so as not to let anything out.

Alfred took a step forward, resting a hand on his host's shoulders. The latter, however, shifted it badly and with who knows what speed rose to his feet.

It was at that moment that everyone saw her.

Creepy and psychotic, the typical Joker expression was stuck on the billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne.

A smile that took up the whole face was badly pulled upwards. The eyes had green pupils and as much as it didn't look like it, in everyone's eyes Bruce was trying to fight this sudden and dangerous moment.

"Bruce- called him agitatedly Dick- how come you're like this? What happened?"

"Joker...hihihi...before he escaped- the attempt to speak was difficult between giggles- he released a gas...hahAHAH!"

Bruce quickly took a few steps back, aware of what was happening to him, trying to get as far away as possible so as not to hurt those he loved.

His hands futilely tried to cover his mouth to keep the laughter from coming out, but to no avail.

Some of his children tried to approach to help him.

"NO! ahahah... Get back!" He warned them, trying to catch his breath. But as stubborn as he was, they did not listen to him, concerned about the situation.

"Bruce, is there an antidote? Something we can-" Tim, the third male son-in-law and the brains of the family, was thrown backwards several metres.

"Hihihi...- the raspy voice, increasingly resembling that of the original owner, was heard again- there's nothing you can do...hahaHAH!" He chanted uneasily.

Panic spread in the family.

-----------------

Years later, Alfred prepared breakfast in the usual way: starting by putting a teapot on the stove.

The lost look indicated a person who had not slept well for days, perhaps months or years.

For him, the answer was simple: the recurring nightmare of that morning now five years earlier.

The teapot whistled and Alfred, absorbed in his thoughts, did not realise how quickly time had passed.

He picked up the boiling object, put an old, used teabag in it and waited for the now non-existent taste to mix with the semi-pure water from his hiding place.

His mind travelled again. There was not a day that passed without him wondering how he had ended up in that situation. Why it had happened to his family.

Five years earlier Batman was fighting one of the usual battles against the Joker, his nemesis par excellence. Little did he know, however, that this time the villain had a very dangerous ace up his sleeve: a highly contagious toxin rich in his own DNA.

The moment Batman leapt at him to capture him, the Joker sprayed him with the toxin and once he had stunned the bat, he fled on the run, not caring too much about what he had just created.

Back at the cave Bruce stripped off his costume and went straight to bed, followed closely by his children.

The next morning, however, during breakfast the toxin took effect and before long the situation worsened.

Alfred witnessed the whole scene. One of those no one would want to participate in.

Bruce, by now brain numbed by the toxin, lashed out at his own family, and after grabbing a knife began to use it as a weapon, injuring and unfortunately killing them.

Alfred somehow or other, aided by Dick and Jason managed to escape before anything happened to him and holed up in what was to be his refuge for the next five years.

______________________________________

Now the situation had changed.

Batman, Red Hood, Nightwing, Red Robin and the others no longer existed. There were no heroic symbols in Gotham.

The already rotten city had sunk into chaos and was now ruled by a single monster and his followers:

The Batman who laughs and his Robins

#batman #the batman #batfamily #the batman who laughs #myfanfic

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residesatshamecentral · 3 years

Text

Policeman, holding a gun to the Joker’s head: tell me where you have the hostages you clown piece of shit!

Joker: can you feel your heart burning? can you feel the struggle within? the fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make. you cannot kill me in a way that matters.

Policeman, cocking the gun, tears streaming down his face: I’M NOT FUCKING SCARED OF YOU!

#sorry #still recovering from 'Joker Rising' here #incorrect batman quotes #the joker #that weird mushroom shitpost

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soulmate-game · 3 years

Text

Hawkmoth was a bitch, and Marinette meant that with every fiber of her soul. Fu was also a bitch, and Marinette actually had good memories of the guy. Not many, but she had some. The fact that the guy got two ten-year-olds to become super heroes and fight a supervillain for him kinda soured those memories, though. But with Chat Noir not allowed to leave his house? Yeah, even as young as they were it only took about a year to find out who HawkMoth was and another year to take him down.

Except, that left Marinette alone. The final battle took her mom away, and Chat had to move out of Paris after his dad was arrested. Luckily Jagged allowed her and her papa to move into his house in Gotham, and everything was…

Well, it was okay. For about a month.

Then her dad was gone too, and she had no way to talk to Jagged, and the police were scaring her—

Yeah, that was the basic order of events that led to where she was now. Pushing fourteen years old, ex-superhero, protector of a magical box of gods, stealing the tires off of a very nice motorcycle.

Marinette was tempted to just take the whole thing, she loved bikes and knew she could drive it. But the thing had more security than she knew what to do with, and the fact that it belonged to Red Hood… she didn’t want to deal with trackers today, thanks. So the tires it was.

Should she maybe care more about the fact that she was stealing from a vigilante with a violent streak? Maybe. Did she? Hell no. For all she knew, maybe Red Hood was a bitch too. (Yes, she was still learning English slang. She was fluent by educational standards, but learning how to curse in a foreign language was fun and she still had a little bit to go. Her few street friends were very happy to help).

A shadow dropped down in front of her, and Marinette’s hero instincts kicked in. The tire iron she was using cut through the air, slamming right into the side of Red Hood’s knee.

—*—*—*—*—*

“Hood,” Batman’s voice grumbled over the comms, instantly grabbing the attention of everyone else who was on the comms. It wasn’t as gruff as he usually sounded, in fact it almost sounded like… he was trying not to laugh?

“Did you get gassed by Joker?” Dick asked before Jason got a chance to respond. “Need backup?”

“No,” Batman responded, sounding a little more composed. “Not a rogue. But Hood, I need you to join me at my location as soon as possible.”

Finally getting the chance to talk, Jason responded a little warily; “Sure, B. Wait,” he blinked at the location that was sent to him. “Isn’t that where my bike is parked?”

Batman didn’t respond at first, only the sound of labored breathing— again, as if he was trying not to laugh. “Just get here, Hood.”

Sighing, but not too mad since the night had been fairly quiet so far, Jason decided to humor the old man and head over. When he could see the cape-clad back of Batman, he easily leapt over the last roof and sauntered over.

“Okay, B,” he had his thumbs tucked in his pockets as he drawled. “What’s the issue?”

Batman was grinning. As in, actually showing amusement. And he just pointed down, straight at Hood’s bike.

Jason rolled his eyes under his helmet, turning to look. At first he didn’t see anything amiss, until he saw movement and looked harder. Oh. Oh, holy shit.

“Is that a kid?”

“Yep,” Batman’s grin grew.

“Is she… stealing my tires?” Hood was so, so glad he wore a helmet that hid his expression. Because… wow.

“Yep,” Batman finally lost his composure, chuckling. “This seems like Karma, don’t you think?”

“And you just watched her so you could rub it in,” Jason groaned, throwing his head back in exasperation. Of course he would. Nobody knew it (except the other heroes who knew him) but Batman was a petty little jerk when he wanted to be. He bought the whole Daily Planet just to spite Clark, for crying out loud.

“Don’t adopt her,” Batman said as he stood up, patting Red Hood’s shoulder. “It looks like she’s almost done.”

“Shit,” Jason hissed, looking down to see that she was, actually, very close to being done. She had already had one tire completely free by the time he had arrived, and now she was only seconds away from getting the other one completely free.

He took a quick assessment— she was tiny, and really thin. Definitely a street kid, he thought, though he didn’t recognize her. He knew most of the street kids that stole to get by, nowadays, which meant she must have been fairly new. But even though she seemed to know what she was doing, her small frame made her take longer unscrewing the tires than it normally would have taken. Sure that she wasn’t a threat by any stretch of the imagination, he jumped down. His plan had been to startle her a little by showing up out of nowhere, but he didn’t want to scare her too badly. Just make her jump a little.

But he had underestimated her, it seemed. Without wasting a second, she jumped up and swung her tire iron at his knee. He cursed, she was a lot faster than her had been expecting. He was able to move so that the weapon only clipped the side of his knee, his knee pad thankfully taking the worst of it. She still hit hard enough to make him stumble and hiss in pain though, which was an accomplishment.

That’s when she abandoned her weapon and her tires, darting to try and escape only for Batman to drop down and block her escape. Though really, it was the grin Batman had that scared the girl most of all, apparently, making her slowly back away from him.

“Please stop smiling,” she begged with a faint French accent to her words. “It is not natural.”

That made Red Hood laugh, already recovered and right behind her. He plopped a gloved hand on her head.

“I know, it’s creepy right?” He joked. “What’cha doin’ stealing my tires, kid? I kinda need them to drive anywhere,” he was careful to keep his voice light and devoid of any anger. He wasn’t really upset, all told. It would be hypocritical of him if he was.

She looked between the two vigilantes for a moment, clear intelligence behind those bright blue eyes as she seemed to consider something. Suddenly she pulled away from Red Hood and stepped away from his reach, straightening up and trying to look tall.

“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said as firmly as she could. “My father was Tom Dupain, he was killed in a mugging three months ago. We were living in a house that our family friend leant to us after my mother’s death six months ago, and we moved here from Paris. I haven’t been able to contact him, and the police… I don’t trust them,” she admitted, clearly seeing this as the chance she had been waiting for. “I have been living on the streets since my father died. I am sorry for trying to steal your tires, Monsieur Red Hood. But it was a risk I had to take.”

“Did you expect us to catch you?” He asked, crossing his arms as he re-evaluated the girl. She was a lot stronger than he had assumed earlier, both physically and mentally. She seesawed her hand to indicate ‘kinda’.

“Even if you didn’t, I could make good money off your tires,” she justified with a shrug. “To me, I would win either way.”

“Who is your family friend? Can he help you now, take you in?” Batman asked, moving forward and kneeling down to be closer to Marinette’s height. Neither he nor Jason had missed the part where she was an orphan, but they had expected that considering what they had caught her doing. And they both knew that she wasn’t likely to take any apologies they tried to offer very well. It was best not to show pity, or she might get angry.

Marinette frowned. “... Our family friend is Jagged Stone. He lets me call him Uncle Jagged,” she told them, clearly expecting the disbelieving grunts they gave. “I mean it! You can call him, he might even be looking for me! I—“

“We know,” Hood assured her, now kneeling down as well. Man, she was short. “Calm down, we know you’re telling the truth. Jagged has made several public announcements about his missing honorary niece, we just didn’t recognize your name right away. And Jagged doesn’t have access to very many pictures of you, those he does have the Mayor isn’t allowing him to show because that spineless jackass—“

“Language, Hood.”

“—Cares more about keeping bad press off the air than finding a kid, even if it’s a world famous rockstar who’s asking. That’s probably why you haven’t heard anything, the mayor’s keeping it off the radio and not many reporters are brave enough to take the story and get on his bad side.”

“Oh…” Marinette took a deep breath, fighting the tears that were threatening to rise up. “He has been looking…” she sniffled, curling in on herself a little. “Can you take me to him?”

“I think we can do that,” Batman agreed, standing up. “I’ll contact him. Red Hood, can you handle everything here until I give you a place to meet up with Jagged Stone?”

Jason nodded. “No problem, B. Come on, little rabid pixie. Step one of gettin’ you back to your uncle is to help me fix my bike back up.”

Marinette sighed, shoulders dropping. “All my hard work, undone…” she playfully complained. But in the end she didn’t argue or fight against it, she just sat down and helped him reattach his tires.

All the while, Jason’s family kept teasing him over the comms. Clearly they were also thoroughly amused by the cosmic display of karma.

“...Monsieur Hood,” Marinette asked once they were done repairing the motorcycle and he had given her his too-big extra helmet. He tilted his head a bit to show he was listening. She squirmed. “Can… can we stop by my hideout? I have something really important I have to get.”

Jason smiles gently under his mask. She might not have been a street kid for very long, but she really did bring back some memories for him. He got on his bike and held a hand out to her.

“Sure thing kid. Wanna grab something to eat after? Can’t have a reunion on an empty stomach.”

She gave him a lopsided smile— not quite overjoyed, but definitely hopeful and thankful. Maybe this was the end of her streak of bad luck, she could only hope.

“Only if you don’t mind, Monsieur Hood,” she agreed before taking his hand and letting him help her onto the bike.

“No skin off my back, pixie,” he assured her. Then they were off. He followed her directions until they got to an abandoned building about three miles away, not in a good part of town at all but at least not in crime alley. Marinette easily led him through the building, skirting around other piles of ratty blankets and up broken stairs until they got to the badly-maintained top floor. She led him over to an almost invisible door in the concrete wall that pulled out to reveal what was probably a broom closet once upon a time. It was crowded with what looked like junk and empty boxes, along with a few blankets and two or three changes of clothes that were clearly her’s. A few belongings scattered around— a book, a small pink purse, and… Marinette came out of the pile of mess holding what had clearly been a very carefully hidden box. She also grabbed the purse and slung it over her shoulder, but didn’t seem worried about anything else.

Jason frowned at the box. It wasn’t that big, but it was clearly made of old wood. There were intricate carvings that were painted pink, in a symbol that was itching at the back of his mind. He recognized that symbol, but from where?

“Ready to go, kid?” He asked as he thought about it, getting a nod from Marinette. Twenty minutes later they were at a Batburger, sitting in a shaded booth that couldn’t be seen from the street.

She never let the box out of her sight. She kept it on the seat next to her, and Jason noticed that she tried to keep one hand on it at all times. But when she spoke, now her French accent stood out to him even more than before. But why—?

And then it clicked. Paris. Hawkmoth. Ladybug, Chat Noir, magic artifacts called Miraculous. Wonder Woman had raised a fuss when the heroes disappeared, declaring that something was wrong but she couldn’t put her finger on what. Then the magic users they trusted were called in, and returned from Paris with the grim news that the former Guardian of those artifacts had activated a failsafe and passed the guardianship on to someone else while erasing his own memories at the same time. But nobody knew who he could have passed it on to, so Batman had been given the green light to do all the research he and his team could into the Miraculous box to try and help track it down.

And here it was. The carvings were in pink now, which might have been the “cosmetic change” that Constantine had mentioned might happen when the box changed guardians. He had found the box full of super powerful magical artifacts… in the hands of a newly orphaned street kid who couldn’t have been older than fourteen at best.

What the hell?

“...” Red hood reached into his pocket and pulled out an old receipt and a sharpie. He scrawled on the back of the receipt and handed to Marinette. The girl was halfway into a bite of her burger when he did, and blinked at him owlishly before swallowing and cautiously reaching out to grab it. She frowned at the numbers scrawled there.

“What’s this?” She asked.

“My contact info,” he explained. “I won’t ask questions about why you have that box,” he watched her instantly stiffen but continued as casually as he could; “but it doesn’t matter. You can call me if you ever need help with anything, kid. Help with that box, help if you get in trouble in Gotham again, or even if you’re having a bad day. You can call me for whatever, got it? I don’t care if you think it’s stupid, if you can’t talk to anyone else in your life you can always call or text me and I’ll do whatever I can. Got it?”

“...” Marinette sniffled for a second and looked down at the table in silence for a second. “... what if I want your motorcycle?” she joked, but the watery tone of her voice gave her away.

Jason laughed, patting her head. “I need my bike, but we can talk about getting you your own once you are old enough to get a license. You almost done? Bats says that Jagged is ready to meet you, I can take you to him right now.”

“Yeah, lets go!” she was newly energized and shoved the last bite of burger into her mouth greedily. “And Red Hood?” She asked as they headed out to where he had parked.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Thanks.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Permanent tag list (I remembered it this time!)

@rosalineandrosemary @neakco @justanotherfanficlovinbitch @trippingovermyfeet @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @bigpicklebananatree @fantasylover-92 @prongs-flowers @jumpingjoy82 @prettylittlebutterflie @queenz-z @literaryhiraeth @waffelyunsure @deathssilentapproach-blog @waiting247 @theirlmikan @unoriginalmess

#maribat #ml x dc #mlb x dc #dc x mlb #dc x miraculous #soulmate-game #platonic jasonette

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filthy-vigilantes · 3 years

Text

Batman: Where to start

***long post***

Getting in to comics is rather hard and finding a good starting place or a good recommended must-reads is hard and confusing and you typically get hundreds of different answers.

This is my personal list, that I'm working through and hope to collect. I've done quite a bit of research and feel like this is a adequate reading list for modern (post-crisis) Bruce Wayne

Anyways here's the list in primary chronological order:

Batman: Year One (Batman Vol 1 #404-#407)

This story line established the back story for Batman in the post-crisis timeline, along with the back stories for Commissioner Gordon and Selina Kyle. Not necessarily canon anymore, but a good story to get the feel of the characters

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

This is a one shot that was published in 2005 that tells the story of Batman's first encounter with the Joker roughly a year after the Batman's debut in Gotham. Based on the Joker's original first appearance in Batman Vol 1 #1.

Batman and the Monster Men

This is a 6 part mini series that takes place sometime after Batman: Year One and Batman: The Man Who Laughs. First half of the Dark Moon Rising series. Story revolves around Batman's first dealing with Hugo Strange

Batman and the Mad Monk

This is another 6 part mini series that is the second half of the Dark Moon Rising series. It is a retelling of a story from Detective Comics Vol 1 #31-32

Batman: The Long Halloween

This is a 13 part limited series, that serves as a re-introduction of the Calendar Man and features a wide array of Batman's rouge gallery such as Two-Face, Scarecrow, Riddler, Joker, and Poison Ivy.

Batman: Dark Victory

This is a 14 part limited series that is a sequel to The Long Halloween. The main case in the story is a turf war between Two-Face and the Falcon Mafia. It also serves as a re-telling of Dick Grayson's Robin origin.

Batman: Birth of the Demon (TPB)

This is a collection of 3 Batman one shots: Son of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, and Birth of the Demon. All stories center around Ra's al Ghul and Talia al Ghul.

Batman: Strange Apparitions (Detective Comics Vol 1 #469-479)

This collection reintroduces Golden Age villains such as Hugo Strange and Dead shot along with introducing new villains such as Doctor Phosphorus and Clayface III.

Batman: The Killing Joke

A 60 page one shot that hints at the Jokers true identity, along with pushing the Jokers madness to new extremes, and showing just how dangerous he can be.

Batman: the Cult

This is a 4 issue mini series, in which Batman gets captured, torture and brain washed by Deacon Blackfire. This is also one of the few stories written by Jim Starlin that shows Jason Todd in a favorable light, as Starlin had a dislike for the character and kid sidekicks.

Batman: Death in the Family (Batman Vol 1 #426-429)

The famous 4 issue story arc that allowed readers to vote on the fate of the then current Robin, Jason Todd.

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (Batman Vol 1 #440-442)

This story is the introduction of Tim Drake and his taking of the Robin Mantle. The story also involves a case with Two-Face

Batman: The Last Arkham (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-4)

This story shows us the inner workings of Arkham Asylum, along with introducing new villains such as Zsasz, Jeremiah Arkham, and Amygdala

Batman: Gothic (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10)

In this story we get to see glimpses of Bruce Wayne childhood.

Batman: Venom (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20)

This story introduces us to the strength-enhancing drug, venom

Batman: Knightfall (Batman Vol 1 #492-510, #512-515; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16-30, 32-35; Catwoman Vol ? #6-7, #12-13; Detective Comics Vol 1 #659-677, #679-682; Justice League Task Force #5-6; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #59-63; Robin #7-9, 11-14; Showcase '93 #7-8; Showcase '94 #10)

The Knightfall collection is a trilogy consisting of Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. In the story, Batman is crippled by Bane leading to him enlisting help from Jean-Paul Valley, while he recovers. Jean-Paul becomes increasingly unstable and violent, ruining Batman's reputation until Bruce can finally put an end to it. The story had long term ramifications in the batcannon as Bruce had to rebuild the trust everyone had for him.

Batman: Contagion (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #48-49; Detective Comics Vol 1 #695, #696; Robin Vol 4 #27-28; Catwoman Vol #31-32; Azrael #15-16; Batman Vol 1 #529; Batman: Chronicles #4)

A cross over even where a deadly virus sweeps through Gotham. One of the story lines leading in to the No Man's Land event.

Batman: Legacy (Batman Vol 1 #533-534; Batman: Bane; Bane of the Demon #1-4; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53-54; Catwoman Vol 2 #33-36; Detective Comics Vol 1 #700-702; Robin Vol 4 #32-33)

Another crossover, this storyline serves as a wrap up for Contagion as well as Knightfall. One of the story lines leading in to No Man's Land event.

Batman: Cataclysm (Azrael #40; Batman Vol 1 #553-559; The Batman Chronicles #12, #14; Batman: Arkham Asylum- Tales of Madness #1; Batman:Blackgate- Isle of Men #1; Batman/Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma #1; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73-79; Catwoman Vol 2 #56-57; Detective Comics Vol 1 #719-722, #724-726; Robin Vol 4 #52-54)

The final crossover storyline leading in to No Man's Land. After a earthquake, Gotham's heros have to band together to help the citizens in the aftermath.

Batman: No Man's Land (Azrael #47-61; Batman Vol 1 #560-574; Batman: Harley Quinn; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #116-126; Batman: No Man's Land #1-0; Batman No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins; Batman: Day of Judgement; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #80-94; The Batman Chronicles #16-18; Catwoman Vol 2 #72-77; Detective Comics Vol 1 #727-741; JLA #32; Nightwing Vol 1 #35-39; Nightwing Secret Files and Origins; Robin Vol 4 #67-73; Young Justice: In No Man's Land)

After several catastrophic events in Gotham, the US government decides to cut off Gotham, destroying all bridges to the city leaving Batman and allies to keep order in the city.

JLA Tower of Babel (JLA #43-46)

This story deals with the discovery of Batman's plans and files on how to take out the members of the Justice League in the event of them going rouge.

Bruce Wayne: Murderer? (Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure #1; Batgirl #24; Batman Vol 1 #599; Batman: Gotham Knights #25-26; Birds of Prey Vol 1 #39-40; Detective Comics Vol 1 #766-767; Nightwing #65-66; Robin #98-99

Bruce Wayne is arrested for murder and the rest of the bat family are forced to solve the crime and help clear his name.

Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (Azrael #91; Batgirl #27, #29-33; Batman Vol 1 #600-601, #603, #605-607; Batman: Gotham Knights #27-28, #30-31; Birds of Prey #41-43; Nightwing #68-69; Detective Comics Vol 1 #768-775)

This story is the follow up to Bruce Wayne: Murderer. After getting out of jail, he must full solve to murder, as those around him begin to doubt his innocence.

Batman Hush (Batman Vol 1 #608-619)

This story arc share a bit about Bruce Wayne's childhood along with introducing a new billion, Hush and furthering Batman and Catwoman's romantic relationship. This story also teases the resurrection of Jason Todd, the second Robin.

Batman: Heart of Hush (Detective Comics #846-850)

A follow up to Batman Hush, once again furthering Batman and Catwoman's romantic relationship. Also serves as a prelude to Batman R. I. P.

Batman Under the Red Hood (Batman Vol 1 #635-#641, #645-650, Annual #25)

This Story focuses on Jason Todd, the second Robin's resurrection and return to Gotham

Batman R. I. P. (Batman Vol 1 #667-669, #672-686, #701-702; Detective Comics #846-853; Nightwing Vol 2 #147-153; Batman and the Outsiders Vol 1 #11-14, special #1; Robin #175-183)

This story leads up to Bruce Wayne's apparent death in the DC Final Crisis event.

What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Batman Vol 1 #686; Detective Comics Vol 1 #853

These two issues deal with the aftermath of Bruce Wayne's apparent death.

Battle for the Cowl

This is a 3 issue minis series that shows the remainder of the bat family hold Gotham together in the wake of Batman's death and Nightwing ultimate decision to take up the mantle.

Batman: Hush Money (Detective Comics Vol 1 #852; Batman Vol 1 #685; Batman: Streets of Gotham #1-4)

Batman's enemy Hush alters his face to look like Bruce Wayne and begins pretending to be him.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne

A 6 issue limited series that shows Bruce Wayne's journey through time to return to present day Gotham.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

A limited series that details the return and aftermath of Bruce Wayne's return. Batman Vol 1 #703 is a prelude to the series.

Batman: House of Hush (Batman: Streets of Gotham #14, #16-21)

A story arc that ties up the Hush Money story and the return of Bruce Wayne.

Batman Incorporated

This series focuses on Bruce Wayne franchising the Batman name across the globe, while Dick Grayson still serves as Batman in Gotham.

Batman: The Gates of Gotham

A limited series that features Dick Grayson as Batman, but was used as a lunching point for major Batman story lines in New 52.

Batman New 52

After the New 52 reboot, DC began Batman Vol 2, aka Batman New 52

Batman Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for a year, reintroducing numerous villains in to the New 52 canon, along with Stephanie Brown.

Batman and Robin Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for 6 months as a follow up to Batman Eternal. The story jumps between Dick Grayson's first year as Robin and the present. Cassandra Cain is reintroduced in to the New 52 canon in this series.

Batman Rebirth (ongoing)

Current Batman title

#batman #bruce wayne #jason todd #red hood #robin #tim drake #dick grayson #dc comcis #bat family #batfam #bat fam #comics #selina kyle #catwoman #batgirl #barbra gordon #stephenie brown #cassandra cain #where to start

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itrytowrite-things · 3 years

Text

New Years kiss

Tate Langdon x reader

Summary: Y/N tries to warn off some unwanted attention when Tate steps in and loses his shit.

Warning: There is a brief mention of unwanted sexual attention nothing is written detail.

The house was filled to the brim with people, each one creating more noise than necessary. I stood at the foot of bed gasping for an ounce of unobtained oxygen. My parents insisted on throwing the New Year's party here this year.

We had just moved into the new house a couple months ago when my parents decided that our apartment would be too small for our growing family. They wanted to show off the new house with a bang, inviting practically everyone they knew to this party.

The door slammed shut startling me out of my thoughts, Kevin McDay leaned against the wooden door. He was my mother’s best friend's son. We are exactly five months apart in age and our wedding has been planned since the joint gender reveal party our mothers had. The problem with that plan was that Kevin was a total tool.

“What do you want Kevin?” He gave me a raised brow accompanied by a smirk.

“Just looking for you sweetheart.” He licked his lips, throwing me a wink. I grimaced and crossed my arms.

“Every other girl at the party shut you down?” I snarked. He only smirked wider and moved towards me, hand clasped over his heart.

“Woah, baby that hurt.” Kevin teased his red mouth still in that smirk. He pressed forward until the tips of his shoes overlapped mine. I glanced down at them and set my jaw.

“Piss off, Kevin.” I hissed, pushing him square in the chest, he wobbled slightly, but insufferably remained in place. He laughed, I had been doing this my entire life, pushing Kevin away or telling him off. You would think that the guy would get a hint by now.

“Come on Y/N, I was hoping you would be my New Year’'s kiss at midnight.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, in a way that was attempting to be charming. I laughed flatly in his face.

“As if Kevin. Go find some other girl downstairs. I am sure there is someone desperate enough to kiss a pig.” I spat and attempted to push him again, putting a little more force behind this shove. He stumbled back a little before recovering quickly.

He slid a hand up my face, I was quick to swat it away. “Cut it out Kevin.” He just laughed, leaning in closer to me. I had never been afraid of Kevin. I always believed that he would back up after I pushed him away a couple times, but anxiety now started to rise in my chest.

“Pretty sure she told you to leave her alone.” Tate's voice rang throughout the room bouncing off the ceiling. Kevin spun around at lightning speed, losing his footing. Tate had not made a single sound upon his arrival. I was used to it from months of living in the ghost filled house.

“Where the hell did you come from?” Kevin spat. He had regained his footing now, his head still spinning with the suddenness of Tate’s appearance.

Tate just gave him a wicked smile that honestly scared me a little. Five months and I had never seen this side of the young boy. I knew he had some problems, he had spoken briefly of them in passing conversations; rage and rash decisions he had made in the past. But I had never seen it first hand.

A calm anger seemed to take over his entire body, bubbling out to show a tranquil smile. His eyes seemed too empty in that moment, the dark brown had faded into a black abyss. Kevin was just as taken back by the look as I was. He immediately backed away trying to get as far away from Tate as possible. The blonde simply wasn’t allowing the other boy to get away; he continued his advances, backing Kevin into the corner.

I could see Kevin start to shake, his eyes trying to find a way around Tate to catch my eye. I never liked him, but his fear had sparked something loose in me. I had grown up with this kid and as much as I wanted to punch him in the face, I didn’t want Tate to inflict pain on him.

“It's okay Tate, let’s just go.” I tried my best to sound calm and made my move towards the door, hoping to forget this whole encounter and get some time alone with Tate away from the bustle of people. However, Tate didn’t budge from his spot. A hand now fisted a wad of Kevin's shirt.

I placed a hand on Tate’s shoulder, his muscle there so tense I could feel every clenched nerve. “Come on Tate let him go, it’s not worth it”. He stayed stapled in his spot.

He started to shake, his whole body convulsing with anger, Kevin didn’t know what to do. Tate's grip was still deathly tight on his shirt. I was panicking at the reaction from both boys. I did the only thing I could think of which was to get in between the two of them.

I could understand why Kevin was petrified, Tate's face was truly haunting. I had expected a wet rage to be displayed on his face, however the truth was far more terrifying.

Tate wore a joker-like smile, it took over his entire face. His eyes held no emotion; they were void of everything besides darkness. His whole expression had the calmness of a practiced killer looking down at his next victim. Everything in me wanted to run. I reached up touching a thumb to the corner of his smile, I could feel the subtle twitch of his lip.

“Hey, Tate it’s okay.” I hadn’t known that I was crying until the tears seeped into my voice. “I am okay, we are good.” My voice had slipped into a slightly begging tone. I just wanted him to look like him again. The Tate I knew and loved, not this scary guy.

“Tate, please.” I begged, giving up on the dignity, the pleading seemed to snap him out of the trace as he released the front of Kevin’s shirt.

A loud thud sounded throughout the space as Kevin’s knees hit the floor, he didn’t even bother standing up, opting to crawl out of the room. I would have found the gesture hilarious if I wasn’t still mildly terrified.

“Oh god.” Tate said as if his actions had just caught up to him. “Oh god.” He repeated as his eyes started to fill with tears. The thing was Tate always looked so beautiful when he cried, it was like everything inside of him melted and flowed down his face showing his true self.

My hand was still on his face rubbing soft circles with the pad of my thumb. The anxiety started to leave my body as I saw my Tate return to me.

“I am so sorry.” His voice was wet with tears and disbelief. Something in my body took over and pulled him into my grip before I could react. I was still scared shitless of him, but my mind had overridden itself. The urge to hold him overweighting my fear of him.

“I am so so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Tate sobbed out. I ran my hand through his hair soothing down the messed up pieces. I couldn’t speak, still too in shock to do anything, but hold him. “Please don’t be scared of me Y/N, please.”

And the thing was I wasn’t. I wasn’t scared of Tate. I was scared of whatever darkness had taken over his body. Turning Batman into the Joker was not an easy task, yet this house had managed to do it. I shushed him, rocking us back and forth.

“3. 2. 1. Happy New Year!” Downstairs erupted with noise, people yelled and cheered while blowing into noise makers. I pulled back placing a shallow kiss on Tate’s lips, they were cold and hesitant. He hadn't made up his mind to kiss me back by the time I pulled away.

“Happy New Year Tate.” I whispered, the sound getting lost in the ongoing noise. He placed a kiss underneath each of my eyes, kissing away the remaining tears.

“Happy New Year.”

#tate langdon #tate langdon x reader #tate x reader #tate fluff #tate angst #tate #ahs #ahs murder house #american horror story #langdon x reader

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smolstarthief · 3 years

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Persona 5/Persona 5 Strikers: Pro-Police or Anti-Police?

Hoo boy... So this honestly has been a LONG time coming on my end because I have seen so much of that debate on social media (Twitter namely) and I can see the points of BOTH sides but there have been moments where it just got out of hand... Especially whenever people tried to put in a more grey/nuanced take only to be slammed and taken out of context. Even repeatedly mentioning the interrogation at the beginning of P5 which, I will admit has gotten tiresome. At least for me, I do still feel for Joker and I wished the game acknowledged his trauma more but there's a thing called, "beating a dead horse" and this is one along with "Haru says ACAB" in Strikers (which was done THREE TIMES in the same arc and it got annoying fast, like shut up already! We get it!). So, let's dive in a little bit:

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!!

Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal

Now let me just say I know! Police in Japan are just as bad if not worse than the West and I STILL hate the idea of Makoto wanting to become a cop for such naive reasons (especially with what happened to Sae, her own sister!)... But there are at least some of form of nuances sometimes and by that I mean, I can see what they were trying to do? I do agree that P5/P5S backpedaled SEVERELY by deciding to sweep issues under the rug after addressing them and not continuing from such. In fact I feel like it could have been a hell of a lot better. But P5 did something different compared to previous games and addresses the issues DIRECTLY right at the beginning of said game! It was tense and horrifying, but needed. Of course... They then sweep it under the rug and act like nothing traumatic happened to our protag which is NOT a good look at all and I'm still pissed off about it. In the main game's case, it's portrayed as more black and white with only a SMALL amount of nuance like that cop that was trying to help Futaba when she went out by herself and got lost (which people ignore entirely by the way). So I CAN see where people got the "anti-police" message from... But that's only the tip of the iceberg as it's ACTUALLY more about Systematic Corruption, not exactly or JUST police corruption. Namely in politics with Shido and the Conspiracy (which is apparently still somewhat around in Strikers until Owada's downfall) controlling everything all the way to law enforcement. The force had been basically under his payroll (including the corrupt SIU Director before his death) whether by force or not (mostly not in this case though). Now honestly, the police depicted there are undoubtedly rotten to the core save for a VERY SMALL handful (the cop that was trying to help Futaba which, again, gets ignored by several). Look at the interrogators who ruthlessly beat and drug a minor without any second thought or remorse for example. But again, the black and white narrative the game kept unwittingly doing ended up being to its detriment in a way. I'm not defending those assholes AT ALL! They deserved every punishment given to them! But for a game that goes on about grey morality... It doesn't quite deliver on that. Still though, it does emphasize that it's more of the fault of the whole corrupt system, not just one part of it. There needs to be change and reform which is what our MCs were trying to do in a way (more like inspiring change but still). In the end, it's all about the following:

Corruption and abuse of power.

Again the police depicted in this game were incompetent at best, corrupt at worse with very few silver linings. But it's not just them but rather the one person responsible for the whole mess. Who had them under his payroll? Who controlled them and by extension all of Tokyo? Who was willing to dispose of anyone who "outlives their usefulness" or is perceived as a threat to what he wants (including his own family)?

SHIDO AND BY EXTENSION THE CONSPIRACY

Bottom line: They are definitely a problem but it's not just them.

"But, Joker and his trauma?"

I definitely understand that and still do. I fully believe he has and still has trauma with the police. Easy! But... I do feel like people go too far with it sometimes. It's hard to explain but there have been moments where people either use it as a justification/argument against someone trying to provide a more nuanced view of things or... Dare I say, depict him like a "uwu soft traumatized boi." Like I said, it's hard to explain on my end so feel free to ignore it. Everyone deals with trauma differently so there is STRONG chance that I'm overanalyzing it. I just remember moments where I just feel a little, I guess annoyed? I'm not sure exactly but final thing: I understand what he went through and I can't imagine how long it would take to recover but I hope he DOES overcome it.

"Sae? Akechi?"

Yep, even though their jobs are different, they are by and large members of law enforcement no matter how you spin it. Both were broken in a way. Akechi is pretty easy to explain with how Shido negatively impacted his life but not much about Sae, who dealt with sexism/misogyny at her workplace along with the trauma of her father's (also a cop) death. She no doubt had some idealism only to be hit with the fact that she's gonna have to use underhanded/downright illegal tactics to get by and even rise up the ranks. She, therefore ended up (well, nearly) corrupted herself before coming to her senses. That's honestly one of the BIGGEST REASONS why I felt like Makoto joining the force to become a police commissioner isn't a good, even a downright naïve, idea. I honestly would have been somewhat fine with it if it weren't for that fact among other things. Regardless of her willpower, it will go south fast.

Now... Onto Strikers!

Persona 5 Strikers

Since the game came out and I started playing it, I still feel like the system is still beyond saving, especially when attempting to do it from the inside. But I don't mind the added nuances that P5 didn't do much of. It's still continuing the critiques, just shows more of what does happen within said system and even has an ACTUAL officer (Zenkichi) say, "Yeah, my job sucks, everyone's corrupt, there are much better ways to do things and make a change but not this. I'm only staying because I have a daughter to take care of and it's all I know. I'm no different from them." Was it all handled well? I wouldn't say "yes" (Joker's trauma is BARELY addressed at all of course) but a little better than what P5's narrative did which only addressed the issues but not exactly follow up on them. Now to be fair... In the system, regardless of where you live, any one within it who remotely tries to do something or speak against it either lose their jobs or even go "missing" irl. Those have happened and it's more proof that yeah, it's rotten to the core. There's no denying it but regardless, that's NOT what the game is about at all. At least that's what I feel about it as it's only PART of the narrative. I think Zenkichi puts it best here:

Speaking of Zenkichi... Oh boy... Now I definitely understand some of the criticisms with him but honestly, he was the best written (PT) character I've ever encountered! He was honestly the perfect representation of those that genuinely want to help and do good, only to be held back by an extremely harsh reality. It was already hinted at with Sae but here? It 100 percent confirms just how harsh and even cutthroat it can be if it could break someone's idealism so badly. Even Kaburagi of all people thinks the same thing Zenkichi said:

Then there's his past and it's a tragic one! But let's look more at the decisions he ended up making:

While it was no doubt done to protect his daughter, he ended making a selfish decision along with a selfless one (which was brilliant!) with not only allowing the cover up of his wife's death and denying justice for her, but also ruining an innocent person and their family's lives.

It's horrible, but also... There's a grey area/nuance as with the rest of his character. It was both understandable, but also wrong as he, as Akane's Shadow puts it:

He sacrificed his values, his morals, all for the sake of having a peace of mind. Speaking of Akane, she's also an interesting case in a way that she more or less perfectly represents the more "black and white" views on justice in general. Namely the more toxic/biased kind. Her reasons are also understandable but she was also acting selfishly by only focusing on how SHE was effected by Aoi's death and not even considering those that were also grieving her death and/or that people grieve/handle grief differently than her. But back on topic.

Her own views and beliefs that law enforcement basically SHOULD be dismantled (mostly out of said childish bias and black & white views) and it's framed as WRONG and it's very much correct on that. Chaos and order are two sides of the same coin, one can't exist without the other. When I say ACAB, I'm calling for reform, defund, have the corrupt held accountable for EVERYTHING and even face jail time for their crimes! Defund the police, have the ones that arrest, harm, and even murder out of bias (race, gender, etc.), lose their badges/jobs and locked up, make improvements! It's saying that there IS still corruption out there and there's no denying it. But fully eliminating the law in general will just lead to more problems. Now granted, she's young and clearly doesn't fully understand why those views are ultimately wrong but still... It was a very interesting subject to tackle and I feel like they handled it well.

Now back to Zenkichi, he was at first in denial about his decisions ultimately being the wrong ones too and even tries to justify it. Of course, his Shadow said otherwise and that was when he finally admitted that he really did act no different from the criminals he despised. But it also doesn't mean he can't redeem himself and that's what ultimately leads to his new resolve:

That right there along with everything else! There's the nuance! And ultimately despite some hiccups, Strikers handled the grey morality and nuance beautifully! Especially regarding law enforcement! Dare I say, even better than the base game! It continues the critiques with no problem but also showing different sides and areas of it! There is good and evil, but what about in-between? What about the more greyer area? It still says that there IS corruption, sometimes even beyond saving but... Sometimes a small silver lining is hidden somewhere.

Now, the ultimate question:

Is P5 & P5S (namely the latter) Pro-Police or Anti-Police?

Personally, my answer is this: Neither.

Why? What theme do they both have in common?

JUSTICE

Someone puts it best on Twitter that the games are more pro-justice and I fully agree!

P5/P5S gives the idea about following your OWN justice, your OWN moral code and rules, paving your OWN path and not let others dictate it! That's what the MCs ultimately start to learn in both games. Therefore it's pro-justice. Again, do I agree that the system is beyond saving? Yeah. Do I at least acknowledge and understand what the narratives are trying to say and nuances regardless even if I don't agree with some writing decisions (ex: Makoto wanting to become a commissioner despite everything)? Also yes. But at the same time, don't judge a book by its cover for other people (not just law enforcement and politics mind you). Especially some that genuinely DO want to help at best. That there is nuance and greyness, just have to look closely. Some of the MCs are still TERRIBLY written and executed (even annoying) but the message was still somewhat there.

Final Thoughts

Now I fully understand how you all feel of course! I still believe in ACAB and even I agree that maybe I'm one to talk and have a lot more to learn about the world... This is just my own attempt at putting my own two cents in. If you disagree, that's fine! This is just what I've felt should be at least talked about more often. And I tried to phrase it as best as I can without coming off as insensitive or ignorant and if I did, I sincerely apologize for that! I'm not trying to say, come off as a "bootlicker" or any of the sort. I'm just trying show discuss more of the grey areas and nuances that are, more often than not, constantly overlooked. How one interprets both games is ultimately up to them. You, the player. And this is my own interpretation. Simple as that. I hope you all have a good day/afternoon/evening!

#starchild rambles #analysis #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #persona 5 strikers #p5 #p5r #p5s #p5s spoilers #p5r spoilers #p5 spoilers #long post

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filthy-vigilante · 3 years

Text

Batman: Where to Start

*** long post***

Getting in to comics is rather hard and finding a good starting place or a good recommended must-reads is hard and confusing and you typically get hundreds of different answers.

This is my personal list, that I'm working through and hope to collect. I've done quite a bit of research and feel like this is a adequate reading list for modern (post-crisis) Bruce Wayne

Anyway, here's my list:

Batman: Year One (Batman Vol 1 #404-#407)

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

This is a one shot that was published in 2005 that tells the story of Batman’s first encounter with the Joker roughly a year after the Batman’s debut in Gotham. Based on the Joker’s original first appearance in Batman Vol 1 #1.

Batman and the Monster Men

This is a 6 part mini series that takes place sometime after Batman: Year One and Batman: The Man Who Laughs. First half of the Dark Moon Rising series. Story revolves around Batman’s first dealing with Hugo Strange

Batman and the Mad Monk

This is another 6 part mini series that is the second half of the Dark Moon Rising series. It is a retelling of a story from Detective Comics Vol 1 #31-32

Batman: The Long Halloween

This is a 13 part limited series, that serves as a re-introduction of the Calendar Man and features a wide array of Batman’s rouge gallery such as Two-Face, Scarecrow, Riddler, Joker, and Poison Ivy.

Batman: Dark Victory

Batman: Birth of the Demon (TPB)

This is a collection of 3 Batman one shots: Son of the Demon, Bride of the Demon, and Birth of the Demon. All stories center around Ra’s al Ghul and Talia al Ghul.

Batman: Strange Apparitions (Detective Comics Vol 1 #469-479)

This collection reintroduces Golden Age villains such as Hugo Strange and Dead shot along with introducing new villains such as Doctor Phosphorus and Clayface III.

Batman: The Killing Joke

A 60 page one shot that hints at the Jokers true identity, along with pushing the Jokers madness to new extremes, and showing just how dangerous he can be.

Batman: the Cult

Batman: Death in the Family (Batman Vol 1 #426-429)

The famous 4 issue story arc that allowed readers to vote on the fate of the then current Robin, Jason Todd.

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying (Batman Vol 1 #440-442)

This story is the introduction of Tim Drake and his taking of the Robin Mantle. The story also involves a case with Two-Face

Batman: The Last Arkham (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1-4)

This story shows us the inner workings of Arkham Asylum, along with introducing new villains such as Zsasz, Jeremiah Arkham, and Amygdala

Batman: Gothic (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #6-10)

In this story we get to see glimpses of Bruce Wayne childhood.

Batman: Venom (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #16-20)

This story introduces us to the strength-enhancing drug, venom

The Knightfall collection is a trilogy consisting of Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. In the story, Batman is crippled by Bane leading to him enlisting help from Jean-Paul Valley, while he recovers. Jean-Paul becomes increasingly unstable and violent, ruining Batman’s reputation until Bruce can finally put an end to it. The story had long term ramifications in the batcannon as Bruce had to rebuild the trust everyone had for him.

Batman: Contagion (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #48-49; Detective Comics Vol 1 #695, #696; Robin Vol 4 #27-28; Catwoman Vol #31-32; Azrael #15-16; Batman Vol 1 #529; Batman: Chronicles #4)

A cross over even where a deadly virus sweeps through Gotham. One of the story lines leading in to the No Man’s Land event.

Batman: Legacy (Batman Vol 1 #533-534; Batman: Bane; Bane of the Demon #1-4; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #53-54; Catwoman Vol 2 #33-36; Detective Comics Vol 1 #700-702; Robin Vol 4 #32-33)

Another crossover, this storyline serves as a wrap up for Contagion as well as Knightfall. One of the story lines leading in to No Man’s Land event.

The final crossover storyline leading in to No Man’s Land. After a earthquake, Gotham’s heros have to band together to help the citizens in the aftermath.

Batman: No Man’s Land (Azrael #47-61; Batman Vol 1 #560-574; Batman: Harley Quinn; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #116-126; Batman: No Man’s Land #1-0; Batman No Man’s Land Secret Files and Origins; Batman: Day of Judgement; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #80-94; The Batman Chronicles #16-18; Catwoman Vol 2 #72-77; Detective Comics Vol 1 #727-741; JLA #32; Nightwing Vol 1 #35-39; Nightwing Secret Files and Origins; Robin Vol 4 #67-73; Young Justice: In No Man’s Land)

After several catastrophic events in Gotham, the US government decides to cut off Gotham, destroying all bridges to the city leaving Batman and allies to keep order in the city.

JLA Tower of Babel (JLA #43-46)

This story deals with the discovery of Batman’s plans and files on how to take out the members of the Justice League in the event of them going rouge.

Bruce Wayne is arrested for murder and the rest of the bat family are forced to solve the crime and help clear his name.

This story is the follow up to Bruce Wayne: Murderer. After getting out of jail, he must solve the murder, as those around him begin to doubt his innocence.

Batman Hush (Batman Vol 1 #608-619)

This story arc share a bit about Bruce Wayne’s childhood along with introducing a new billion, Hush and furthering Batman and Catwoman’s romantic relationship. This story also teases the resurrection of Jason Todd, the second Robin.

Batman: Heart of Hush (Detective Comics #846-850)

A follow up to Batman Hush, once again furthering Batman and Catwoman’s romantic relationship. Also serves as a prelude to Batman R. I. P.

Batman Under the Red Hood (Batman Vol 1 #635-#641, #645-650, Annual #25)

This Story focuses on Jason Todd, the second Robin’s resurrection and return to Gotham

Batman R. I. P. (Batman Vol 1 #667-669, #672-686, #701-702; Detective Comics #846-853; Nightwing Vol 2 #147-153; Batman and the Outsiders Vol 1 #11-14, special #1; Robin #175-183)

This story leads up to Bruce Wayne’s apparent death in the DC Final Crisis event.

What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Batman Vol 1 #686; Detective Comics Vol 1 #853

These two issues deal with the aftermath of Bruce Wayne’s apparent death.

Battle for the Cowl

This is a 3 issue minis series that shows the remainder of the bat family hold Gotham together in the wake of Batman’s death and Nightwing ultimate decision to take up the mantle.

Batman: Hush Money (Detective Comics Vol 1 #852; Batman Vol 1 #685; Batman: Streets of Gotham #1-4)

Batman’s enemy Hush alters his face to look like Bruce Wayne and begins pretending to be him.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne

A 6 issue limited series that shows Bruce Wayne’s journey through time to return to present day Gotham.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

A limited series that details the return and aftermath of Bruce Wayne’s return. Batman Vol 1 #703 is a prelude to the series.

Batman: House of Hush (Batman: Streets of Gotham #14, #16-21)

A story arc that ties up the Hush Money story and the return of Bruce Wayne.

Batman Incorporated

This series focuses on Bruce Wayne franchising the Batman name across the globe, while Dick Grayson still serves as Batman in Gotham.

Batman: The Gates of Gotham

A limited series that features Dick Grayson as Batman, but was used as a lunching point for major Batman story lines in New 52.

Batman New 52

After the New 52 reboot, DC began Batman Vol 2, aka Batman New 52

Batman Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for a year, reintroducing numerous villains in to the New 52 canon, along with Stephanie Brown.

Batman and Robin Eternal

A weekly limited series that ran for 6 months as a follow up to Batman Eternal. The story jumps between Dick Grayson’s first year as Robin and the present. Cassandra Cain is reintroduced in to the New 52 canon in this series.

Batman Rebirth (ongoing)

Current Batman title

Previously posted on @filthy-vigilantes

#Batman #Bruce Wayne #dc comics #Dick Grayson #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #Robin #barbra gordon #stephenie brown #cassandra cain #batgirl #batfam #batfamily #gotham #mp

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bullshxtvixen · 4 years

Text

Icing on the cake.

Tendou Satori - Public Sex HC’s

Pairing: Tendou x Fem!Reader

Request: Happy birthday Tendou! Maybe some Tendou x Public or Semipublic sex??

Warnings: Ass play, anal, pain kink??, over stim, spanking, hair pulling, Dom!Tendou, Semi Public sex, 18+

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

☆ It was no secret that Tendou had always been into kinky stuff, and he’d make it well known that he’d been dying to try ass play for a while now.

☆ However you’d always been a bit reluctant to experiment with it any further because of the horrors stories you’d heard, but with his birthday coming up, you decided that you were going to surprise him in some way.

☆ You’d bought yourself a princess plug with a heart shaped red crystal on the base of it that matched the exact shade of Tendou’s hair.

☆ It’s tucked firmly between your cheeks as you stood naked in front of him in the hotel room you’d rented to celebrate.

☆ The way his eyes would rake over your body has a flush rising on your cheeks.

☆ He’ll start circling you slowly, -almost as if you’re his prey- trailing his fingers along your skin as he goes.

☆ “Well well well, what’s this?” His fingers ghost over the plug as his breath hits the back of your neck, as soft sigh leaving your lips as the plug shifts slightly under this touch, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through your lower body, “did my princess plug her tight little ass all for me?”

☆ Then he’s going to apply more pressure to the plug as he wraps an arm around your waist, securing you in his hold before he begins to slowly play with it, easing it in and out of you with shallow thrusts.

☆ “‘Tori, ahh, fuuuuck that feels so good.” Your arousal becomes evident as it coats your pussy lips, your rear clenching around the plug as it moves inside you.

☆ “That’s it, beautiful. Cum just like this for me,” his slender fingers move the plug faster as his other hand moves to rub tight circles on your clit. “Cum. Now.”

☆ He’s pulling the plug from your ass as his fingers press roughly against your clit sending you into your first orgasm, your breath catching in your throat as it crashes over you.

☆ “Come with me, I know just how to finish off this little birthday treat.”

☆ Then he’s dragging you outside towards the balcony and before you can protest he’s got you forced up against the metal rail of the balcony, the feel of the cold against your chest making you hiss as he presses his still clothed chest against your back.

☆ “Satori, people will see,” you turn your head protest, but his hand is already covering your mouth, silencing you as his teeth nip at the shell of your ear.

☆ “I’m going to fuck your ass right here on the balcony, y/n. I’m going to shove my cock so deep in here,” a harsh smack to your ass has your inner walls clenching, as your hips press back against him, searching for some kind of friction. “you’re going to feel me for days, baby girl. I’m going to wreck you.”

☆ You’re a mess of feelings at this point. The cold metal of the rail is clashing with the heat of his body as he presses himself against you. You’re torn between being embarrassed that someone could see you, but secretly thriving off the risk of getting caught. Your mind is in overdrive.

☆ “Are you going to be a good girl for me if I take my hand off your mouth?” You nod, pressing a kiss to his palm before he removes it. “That’s what I like to hear. Now. Spread those thighs of yours, beautiful.”

☆ He doesn’t even take his pants off, he only slides them down to his thighs as he pulls his cock out, rubbing it between your wet folds to coat himself in your juices.

☆ He’s also going to spit on his cock as well as the top of your ass, watching it drip down to your puckered hole before using a finger to spread it around.

☆ You’ll feel his tip pressing against your rear, easing himself into you inch by inch.

☆ One of his hands will rub small circles into your back, because even though you used the plug, his length is still far bigger, stretching you to a painful degree. It doesn’t matter, it only brings you closer to another orgasm.

☆ “You’re taking my cock so well.” He coos in your ear, “You’re such a good girl, that tight fucking ass is stretching around me so perfectly.” His voice is strained, he’s holding back from pounding into your warm hole.

☆ “Please ‘Tori...more.” That’s it then. The way the plea falls from your lips has his hips snapping into you, sheathing his entire length inside you.

☆ You have to bite down on your hand to stop yourself from screaming out as the movement alone sends you into another orgasm.

☆ You watch through blurry vision as people below go about their normal day, completely oblivious to the sinful behaviour going on above them.

☆ He won’t give you any time to recover. His hand is fisting in your hair as the other grips your hip, forcefully pulling you back to meet every single one of his deep thrusts.

☆ “Play with that naughty little clit of yours, beautiful. Let’s see how many more we can get out of you.”

☆ If you think he’s only stopping at 3, you are so so wrong. He’s insatiable when it comes to you, he’ll stay buried inside you for as long as he can, bringing you orgasm after orgasm until there are tears streaming down your face and your legs are shaking.

☆ He’s filled you up with so much cum that it’s spilling out of you and dripping down your inner thighs.

☆ You know for his last orgasm he’s pulling out of you and cumming all over your ass before he stands back and admires his work.

☆ He’ll look at your wobbly legs and your abused hole that’s still trying to clench around air as his cum drips down the curve of your ass.

☆ A satisfied smile finds it’s way to his lips.

☆ “Wow. That really was the icing on my cake.” Fucking joker.

☆ P.s - if you think he’s done with you, you’re so wrong. He’s going to feed you some snacks and water before losing himself in you again.

☆ It is his birthday after all, and you still have two other holes that he can put to use.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *: *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*

Thank birthday, Satori <3

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagine #tendou x reader #tendo x reader #haikyuu hc #vixenscribbles

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silveriken · 2 years

Note

She finds Asugi in a moment of peace, and she takes that as an opportunity to strike. Before he can rise from where he sits, Mitama has already rested her crossed arms across his shoulders and leans her weight onto him.

“A ninja captured / without any effort too / I should get a prize.”

She rests her chin atop his head. “Hello Asugi. I see you have also been possessed by the spirit of poor decisions.” She does not like him being here in Fodlan. But she missed her friends terribly as well. An unfortunate complication of feelings.

“So? How on earth did you convince your father to let you shirk your duties and come here, hmm?”

fodlan winds are different, yes, but this does not halt the intensity of his hearing. he hears her approaching — the immediate shift in her steps, how they quicken with a purpose. although he hears this, there is also the life of faint laughter and running as classes finally release their students from within the classroom walls. asugi hears her, yes, but the identity of those footsteps is unknown to him. so, he ignores them. allows them to fall beneath the wind’s whisper as it brushes against his bare arms and the space on the back of his neck where his uniform collar has been tugged back by minor itching.

but all pleasures must come to an end. the tree he sits beneath is beautiful, a great place to have a picnic and lay out the bags of candy he’s brought upon his arrival. no matter, asugi sighs and rolls his shoulders, reaching down to support himself against the ground as he—

—does not move. he cannot move. there’s a sudden weight against his shoulders that would cause him to lean forward if not for the lightness of the being. it’s an action that he would have reacted toward with mere instinct if not for the voice that speaks over the wind’s song.

asugi grins, wide and amused at the haiku. he cannot count the beats properly but he knows that it is a haiku only because of its form and whom says it. “ if it isn’t my star! ” he doesn’t move to look at her — her chin laid atop his head is one of the reasons why. — but his hand reaches back to grab her. it’s an immediate reaction, his fingers curling around her elbow as he laughs. his laughter does not falter at mitama’s words; always the playfully snappy. it seems as though her haikus have become more simpler for him to understand, huh?

he squeezes her elbow, “ spirit of poor decisions? says the one who’s standing in the same place as i am! besides, it’s not that bad of a decision if i’m with the rest of my friends now. ” the only downside of applying to this academy? leaving shiro alone in hoshido. well, no, he isn’t alone but he’s stupid and can make stupider decisions that asugi can’t chase after now — with a big ol’ bag of solutions, sweet as candy.

mitama seems perfectly fine, as if she had never left hoshido ( but that’s a lie. she’s definitely different. there’s a change in her voice, not so much volume as it is character. appearance wise? he isn’t sure, yet. he’d have to turn around and find out. either way, she’ll still be the mitama he became friends with many moons ago. )

“ uh, well—” he laughs but the squeeze he absentmindedly gives her clearly trembles with awkwardness. or embarrassment at the memory of his interaction with his father on the topic of leaving to fodlan. “—to be honest, he didn’t let me leave at first. something ‘bout me not being on top of my training enough. but ya’ know how great i am with sweet - talking my way out of things! ” sweet - talking; meaning that asugi was persistent in his attempts to plead for saizo to give him a break. sweets don’t work on his old man, unfortunately. the one joker card under his sleeve proven always to be useless against the one man he’d need to use them against.

a pause before he bursts into a small fit of laughing, only recovering from it when he realizes the open bag lying in his lap. asugi hums, pulling out a wrapped piece of candy and holding it up for mitama to take. “ oh, and here’s your prize for catching me, heh. ” it wouldn’t be difficult to feel the grin beaming on his face.

“ i’ll stop kiddin’ — i had to spar with him to get permission to leave. and look where that got me! ” there’s a lot to catch up on, she’s been gone for so long. not much has changed in hoshido but still, it was a home they both were bound to; updates were a necessity. and he’d give them alongside the delicious taste of cake! maybe a pie if he remembered to bring all the ingredients... did he?

#〳◌ ⁀ « a sweetness in the air » ( INBOX. )#〳♤ « what is destiny / if not given by fathers / come.. let us rest here » ( MITAMA. )#verseandrhyme #{{ this kinda got long-ish? msdksddkds #{{ mitama.... :softsmile: hello bestie

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diyunho · 4 years

Text

The Joker x Reader - “Trapped” Part 5

Almost one year ago, someone tried to kill The Joker in a speeding car and Y/N pushed him out of the way, getting hit instead. With a fractured skull and broken bones, she was out of business for 6 months; when she finally recovered, The Queen of Gotham wasn’t the same anymore. Trapped inside her own mind and exhibiting severe cognitive impairment, Y/N’s life switched upside down without any hope of ever returning to normal.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

4 Months Pregnant

“I need customized stickers that say Baby On Board for my purple Lamborghini and the other cars I drive,” The Joker growls at his own idea whilst sharing it with the person fulfilling his wacko trades: Franco Rossi, the leader of best underground supply chain in Gotham.

“When would you like them ready Mister J? After Y/N gives birth?”

“Nope! Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?...” Franco hesitantly inquiries about the sudden emergency since he can’t understand why The King of Gotham demands them so fast.

The Joker hates explaining yet certain people are obtuse thus they necessitate enlightenment.

“Y/N’s pregnant: when she gets in a car, the baby is also. Baby on board! Hello??” the father-to-be loses his temper.

Who can argue with The Joker’s logic? Nobody. It sort of makes sense anyway.

“Of course, Mister J. I’ll have them ready. If you drop by after 6pm, I’ll have your guns ready too.”

“Perfect!” the Joker hangs up among the ruckus coming from the office near the kitchen: sounds of shattered objects and yelling alert Richard aka Panda you’re at it again. He nonchalantly passes by in order to deliver the items to The Clown.

“Your drinks Mister J,” he gives one cup with Starbucks caramel latte to his boss and the other is placed on the table. Why does your boyfriend require 2 identical containers? It won’t take long to solve the mystery.

“Are the lids glued?”

Strange question but there’s a purpose in it.

“Yes sir. How is she doing?”

“She’s hormonal: breaking things makes her feel better which reminds me we have to hoard porcelain objects for her to wreck. NO glass!”

“Sure, I’ll tell the crew,” Richard leaves the kitchen while texting Frost. “Hulk needs more to smash,” he types the code name they gave you in the last weeks although The King knows about it: J’s the one that came up with it.

“Hey Pumpkin,” you are greeted as soon as you pop up from the office. “How’d it go?” he scrolls down on his phone and takes a sip of hot liquid.

“Ugghh!” a frustrated Y/N swings the yellow teddy bear The Joker stole for her on their first date, hitting his hand in the process. The drink flies near the fridge and splatters on the floor with minimal damage: only a tiny puddle instead of a disaster, that’s why the lids are glued.

Safety measure for The Queen’s unpredictability.

J grabs his reserve cup of coffee, paying attention now hence he dodges your renewed attack and keeps his coffee intact.

That’s why his drinks have the lids glued, in case you catch him off guard the second time it will result in negligible destruction.

It happened before.

“I don’t think so Princess,” The Joker strong grip on the container calms you a bit because you won’t be able to win this round. “Are you hungry?”

“No,” you pout and sit in his lap.

“I bet the baby is,” the secret weapon is unleashed: J discovered such a gem by accident and it works like a charm. How can Y/N say “no” if the baby is involved? She can’t.

A plate filled with a bunch of your favorite breakfast food is placed in front of you and strangely enough you’re instantly hungry.

“Extra bacon,” he purrs. “Plus chocolate dip and honey mustard for your pickled cherries. I added peanut butter olives as a bonus.”

In your defense, you’ve been having weird cravings lately.

You place the toy on the chair nearby and start eating, ogling a Joker texting back and forth with his business partners. He chews the morsel you just offered and shivers: waffle dipped in clam juice is disgusting. Maybe he should look at the food you shove in his mouth.

“Gross,” J washes the terrible taste with coffee and gets a kiss for encouragement, yet he’s aware of the connotations. Another kiss confirms it.

Let’s put it this way: besides the hormonal episodes and food demands, The Queen has had a fresh type of craving recently - The Joker kind.

More than usually.

That’s why he has to clear it up.

“I’m flattered for being the center of attention; we gotta keep in mind that contrary to the popular belief, I don’t have unlimited stamina, Pumpkin.”

You nod in agreement and unbutton his pants, then unzip them also.

“Y/N, pay attention!” J insists since you don’t give a damn about his woes. “Think about it as a two way street: The Joker Street and I Want To Break Things Street. Are you with me so far?” he double checks.

Why is he yapping so much??! I guess you should make an effort to comprehend: he’s even doodling patterns on his phone to emphasize the speech.

“When you get hormonal, Princess, let’s try and walk on the I Want To Break Things Street instead of The Joker Street, hm? The Joker Street is sometimes closed for repairs until further announcement.”

OK, OK, this is a lecture. Something about a Joker Street, he seems upset he doesn’t have one…?... Right?...

If you were him, you would be pissed Gotham didn’t name a street in your honor when you’re so important for the town.

Another peck on his neck, then your lips go down his collar bone.

“You’re not paying attention, are you?” J mutters when it’s clear his shirt won’t remain on his body for too long.

“I am,” you defend yourself.

“Oh yeah? What did I say then?”

“Ummm…” you try to piece together words among estrogen taking over. “No Joker Street?...”

“Bingo, that’s it Princess! No Joker Street, correct! Choose the other street, yes?”

This time he kisses you, excited his idea was well received when in fact, both parties are referring to unrelated concepts.

“Wait,” J dodges your touch, “Richard is calling.”

Because he’s on the phone ignoring Y/N, she is ensuring a nice surprise for later; concentrating to the maximum to avoid misspelling, the following message is sent to Franco Rossi from her cell:

“Make a landmark sign that says Joker Street.”

The King’s conversation is prolonged more than anticipated until he discerns you’re not wiggling: you feel asleep, softly snoring on his shoulder and he definitely can’t afford to wake you up.

The doctors said your body is trying to cope with the pregnancy the best way it can: if you doze off at random hours it means you ran out of fuel and you should rest. After cheating death and surviving the accident, the future mother is at high risk of serious complications which is why each day could lead to unforeseen problems.

The Joker rises from the chair holding you in his arms and after a few steps he realizes it’s difficult to walk: thanks to his unbuttoned and unzipped pants, they keep sliding lower and lower. There’s no way he will make it upstairs so maybe the sofa in the living room is the best option. He almost trips thus he begins to drag his feet on the carpet, the pants at knee level now.

“I’m reduced to a piece of meat,” J grumbles, finally making it to the couch and placing Y/N on it so she can have her power nap.

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

6:02pm

You accompanied The King to a meeting with Seraphim, the best hacker/strategist J uses: they’ve been plotting for a while concerning D.A. Kevin Winchester. The politician is becoming a huge pain in the butt for Gotham’s underworld and something must be done; either annihilation or blackmail, it truly doesn’t matter since he’s bad for business. Due to a total lack of interest in the subject, you are exploring the surroundings quite angry The Joker dragged you here.

Luckily there’s stuff to do.

Bam! you punch the fragile glass sculpture and it splinters into a million pieces on the lavish marble floor.

Seraphim jumps at the noise, immediately recognizing his beloved possession:

“That’s…,” he gulps, appalled. “That’s a Vitriol!”

Yup, the one and only Degas Vitriol, the latest sensation taking the art universe by storm.

“She’s hormonal,” J sneers. “She breaks shit!”

“That’s valued at 150,000 dollars!” the hacker breaths in much needed oxygen regarding the atrocity unfolding at his hideout.

“So??!!” your boyfriend sucks on his teeth, irritated. “Serves you right for buying that asshole’s artsy fartsy crap!”

The Joker actually has 4 Vitriol masterpieces at the mansion yet you were strictly forbidden to destroy them, alas he gave you the office for your rampages.

You continue your exploration as they talk about God knows what until you perceive an alarming detail: Seraphim is literally screaming having a gun pointed at J.

You sneak behind him then in a split second you strike the pistol out of his hand and your fist lands on his temple with such brutality it knocks him out unconscious.

“What the hell are you doing, Y/N???” The Clown hisses at your erratic behavior.

“Hm?”

“What are you doing??!!!” he repeats, annoyed.

“S-saving you…,” you stutter, confused on why J is mad. “He was yelling and…mmm, had a gun,” you wince in pain because your knuckles hurt from the impact.

“The guy’s half deaf and sometimes he raises his voice without noticing, or did you forget??!! Now I have to wait until he comes to his senses and that’s a waste of my time, Y/N!!! Seraphim wasn’t threatening me, he was showing me his newest collectible!!! I suppose someone with half a brain can’t acknowledge the mess they’ve created!!!”

A lot of accusations thrown your way still… the last sentence brings tears in your eyes.

“I…” you bite your lower lip. “…I don’t have half of brain…”

“Wanna bet??” The Joker bites more instead of leveling with your logic: you though he was in danger and took action. If it was a real emergency, yes, you would have been the hero; it’s not and apparently he can’t appreciate your fast intervention in these circumstances.

“Y-you’re stupid…” you whisper, frustrated. “You don’t understand anything…”

Here it is -- the cataclysmic event of the century: someone called The Joker stupid. He’s beyond outraged with nothing better to utter besides a very childish:

“You’re stupid!”

Y/N turns around and stomps out of the house leaving a trail of destruction outside: she slaps the bottled water out of The Shark’s hand, kicks Panda’s shin and snatches Frost’s donut basically inhaling the sweet treat.

“I want to go h-home!!” you shout and enter the first vehicle you see, slamming the door so hard the window on the passenger side cracks.

“Jesus…” Jonny mumbles and being the sensible man that he is you are offered the whole box of pastries he purchased for his family. He can acquire more, but there’s no way in hell he wants to endure Y/N in the state she’s in.

Gotta keep Hulk calm somehow…

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

3 Hours Afterwards

You sulk when The Joker strolls in the master bathroom frantically searching the cabinets.

“Did you see my shaver?” he asks.

“Hm?”

“Did you see my shaver?”

“I…I wouldn’t know. I only have half a brain,” the surprisingly eloquent phrase queues J his woman is holding a grudge for his earlier statement. Why wouldn’t she? He was a complete jerk.

At least you didn’t catch on to the obvious: The King of Gotham doesn’t own a shaver; hair just grows on his head.

He glimpses at Y/N soaking in the bathtub with a kid’s book in her left hand and the right hand fingers sunk into a bowl filled with ice placed at the edge of the Jacuzzi. The Joker leans over and switches your book since it’s upside down.

You huff at the unwanted help and stare at the pictures expecting he’ll look for his shaver and disappear.

You’re not that fortunate today.

“Imagine my surprise when I drove the main alley and detected a sign that says The Joker Street,” he brings up the topic.

Franco Rossi was super-efficient …sadly you ordered the item before J ran his mouth at the hacker’s place, otherwise you wouldn’t care he wants a street with his name.

“You said no… no Joker Street,” you stammer. “Now you have one,” the bitter tone makes him roll his eyes: Y/N’s brain got what it could from his monologue, he should have known better than to make it complicated.

“Excellent…” The King starts rubbing your tummy, “… precisely what I was aiming for. I’m washing the baby, not you!” he underlines when you move farther from him.

You scrunch your face displeased but let him do it because it’s for the baby.

“I know what you’re doing,” Y/N gives him a cold gaze. “U-using the baby… I’m not stupid!”

Busted, The Joker thinks. The schemer in him won’t accept defeat though.

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Yes you did!”

“You said it first!!!” he reckons, antagonized. “Therefore two stupid people put together gotta make up for a smart one!!’

“I… I don’t wanna make out…” you frown at his suggestion.

The Joker sighs, deciding not to correct the trajectory of your judgement; it sure sounds like an opportunity.

“Why not?”

“I’m tired and…and I h-hate you,” your heavy eyelids close.

“Both viable reasons, even if I have to admit you striking Seraphim like that got me quite worked up. He’s no small fry! I had to wait for one hour for him to recover; you got a mean punch, woman! The more I reflect on it, the hornier I get. Which reminds me, Pumpkin: guess what?... … … I’m hormonal too.”

No answer, Pumpkin’s out.

“Of course nobody gives a damn if I’m hormonal!” he complaints while grabbing you from the bathtub. You cling to him for a few moments prior to drifting back into your dreams.

“Thanks for getting me all wet,” J snarls at the cruel reality of having his favorite Prada suit ruined.

“You…you’re welcome…” his Queen replies in her sleep, somehow her mind clutching to reality amidst pure relaxation.

This is what two hormonal individuals are reduced to: one’s dozing off, the other is suffering in silence, although being the proud owner of the tiniest road in Gotham compensates for the mishap.

It’s a two way street.