and I could sit with you for hours, tracing the veins along your hand, and counting each birthmark along your back. Like streets and stars in a city made of you; all leading me back to my home;your heart.
Honestly my first draft of this post said “my neighbor’s son” and then I was like wait a second that’s functionally the same as saying “my cousin’s sister.” That’s still my cousin and that’s still my neighbor.
The nine-year-old was literally driving the vehicle after knocking the gear shift into Drive apparently by accident. Seven- and five-year-olds in the backseat. Nine-year-old knows in movies people stomp down on the thing on the floor and the car stops. He stomps. It is the gas.
and I could sit with you for hours, tracing the veins along your hand, and counting each birthmark along your back. Like streets and stars in a city made of you; all leading me back to my home;your heart.
(Julie Martinez)
Previous--Masterlist--Next
You had been carrying Cheese's carrier home after the uber had dropped you off a few blocks away, pain bloomed through your arm. The carrier in your arm almost falling, warmth seemed to drip down which made it concerning. The blade sticking out of your arm made the concern turn to fear.
"I found you Meta." The word was practically spit out like it was a slur. Turning just in time to miss another knife flying through the air. He wasn't the typical villain, probably the villain of the week. How he knew your meta status that you worked so hard to keep hidden was odd.
The man ran at you with another knife, you couldn't take animals with you. It would hurt, cause insanity. The only thing you could do, to was run. A game of cat and mouse with how he chased you.
"Get back here you dirty meta!" He yelled as he gained on you, another knife knew just passed your ear. He was catching up. So taking a quick corner, you set Cheese down. Dropping down into shadows, you were welcomed into the darkness.
Since you had turned into a meta, the shadows welcomed you into their darkness. The darkness was cold, borderline frigid. Your eyes were used to it, able to see the world when it wasn't there to be seen. The sounds of the shadows were like background noises. Screams and yells about what they wished, always chaos as they tried to convince you to join them.
Today, they weren't chaos. They did not beg for you to join them, they didn't try to drag you down into insanity. Today they screamed in unison.
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
HES GOING TO KILL YOU
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
DON'T LET HIM CATCH YOU
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
HE'S KNOWN FOR KILLING METAS
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
HE WILL KILL YOU
They had never helped you before, they had always tried to drag you down with them. Today, you decided to listen given the situation.
Something wizzed into the shadow. Nothing had ever been able to enter them without your permission. Nothing had ever been able to hurt you like this. Nothing could kill like this.
IT HURTS
PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN
LET US HELP
PAIN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN PAIN PAIN RUN
ACCEPT US LET US HELP
PAIN PAIN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
LET US HELP YOU
LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US
TAKE OUR HAND.
All you had to do was reach out. Reach out and accept it, no one was there to help. No one was ever there. No one cared. No one was waiting.
There was no one but the shadows. No one would come for you.
You took their hand.
The voices went silent. Everything went still.
Then it consumed you and your vision melted with the darkness.
Something tried to reach you, words that didn't quite reach your ears. It tried again, and again, and again. It was annoying the darkness. You were the darkness's arms, it wanted you to stop it. To end it. To stop it from distur-
"Habibi!"
The shadows dropped.
"Habibi, are you ok?" Warmth soaked into your cheeks as the shadows retreated.
"Damian? What happened?" Everything was spinning, your legs shaky. You didn't hear what he had to say as the darkness came back. It was warm this time.
Waking up was painful, everything hurt. But there was warmth around you and slow breathing against your neck.
"You awake now?" The whisper came from your right, when you looked, Jason was sitting there with a book in his lap. "Caused quite a stir but you only hurt Tony. Apparently, he has made a carrier out of killing Metas. And no, you didn't kill him. He is in one of our prison cells. Do you remember what happened?"
"No." He offered water for your dry throat.
"Well, as far as we can gather. He attacked you, you put Cheese down, and then you took him out. We found you wandering the roofs looking like a Shadow creature out of a horror movie. Damian said he had never seen you like that before. You almost didn't hear him talking."
"I accepted the shadows. The voices told me they'd help and since he could get things into my shadows I listened to them." Damian adjusted against your side.
"… The voices comment isn't concerning at all…" He closed his book. "Damian has been arguing with B on your behalf since we got you here. Bruce is waiting to talk to you but Alfred won't let him until you've been cleared."
"How long have I been out?"
"About 7 hours? Bruce had you excused from school for a few days so you don't have to worry about that." That helped with that, but now no one else would be looking for you so that was great.
"Duke and Cass are currently trying to convince B since Damian crashed… He was terrified when we found you. He wouldn't say much about why but I figured you would know why. Bruce tried to force him to bed but he refused and came down here, passed out pretty soon after laying down."
"Did someone get Cheese?" He smiled as he stood up.
"Yeah, he's tearing Damian's room up. He's perfectly ok. I'm going to head up and tell Alfred you're awake. You're not restrained, Damian refused to allow it and Duke, Cass, and I knew you wouldn't run." He headed up some stairs and left you there with Damian laying at your side.
"I know you're awake." Damian sighed, not moving. "I'm ok Dami. Just sore."
"You accepted the shadows. You always said you were afraid you'd loose yourself if you did." He spoke softly but the concern and fear in his voice was loud.
"I was scared and they promised help." You whispered back. "The shadows like to twist things and with the fear they brought back old feelings. The ones you make go away, but I listened to them and took their hand." He pulled you closer, turning you to face him. Green eyes staring into yours.
"I'm always here for you Habibi. I will always come when you need me. I will always care about you. I will always wait for you. I will never leave you. I will never purposely hurt you. I love you Habibi, with all my soul." He never broke eye contact, his hands on your cheeks.
It was everything you had wanted to hear growing up. Always feeling alone and left behind. A bad family and bad circumstances around your childhood leading to court cases and being passed around other family members like a burden no one wanted.
He meant it. It had taken him a year to convince you of the truth, he had never lost his patience. Telling you every time you needed to hear it and then more in between. And when you finally believed him, finally took the step out of your walls of safety, he was there to hold your hand through everything.
"Promise?" A broken whisper.
"Promise." No hesitation.
Alfred gave you some pain medication in the IV and after it kicked in and you were able to eat and drink a little more, Damian was forced to leave and Bruce entered. Clearly ready to question you on many things from the look of it . He took a seat in the chair that Jason had been sitting in.
Silence filled the room as he stared at you like a puzzle that needed to be solved. He was unreadable, probably because you had never met him before and had nothing to base his reactions on other then Damian's stories.
"There's a no meta rule in Gotham. I know you were aware of it, Why did you break it?" His voice was even and calm. Too calm. This was an interrogation. Were you going to tell the truth? If you failed, you might have to leave Damian.
"No one thinks to check Gotham for missing teens and no one really does background checks. So I just tried not to do anything with it." You admitted. "Then, I met Dami..—Damian, Sorry."
"You're missing?" An eyebrow raised.
"Technically I'm probably a runaway if they cared to report me missing. I left a note." He nodded.
"You said Damian is part of why you wanted to stay. You're his girlfriend? For how long? Tell me about your relationship with him."
"Yeah. A year now. Though the year before that was mostly him just working on getting close to me. I was really closed off and couldn't trust anyone… But he kept trying and eventually convinced me to take the chance. He was right about it." Bruce seemed to soften a bit at that.
"What happened yesterday with the shadows? Damian seemed shocked to see you like that, like it wasn't normal." You told him about the voices, accepting them, and then hearing Damian's voice snapped you back.
"Are they still talking?" You listened, catching some whispers.
"Yeah… But they're quiet now? Calmer. Like they're peaceful." He stared at you for a few minutes.
"Do you have any intentions with your abilities?"
"Not really? Sometimes they're convenient and if Damian needs help I'd step in but if your asking if I want to go out in a weird costu—No offense…."
"None taken." Amusement tinged his voice. "What about a not weird costume?"
"What?"
"Would you go out if your costume wasn't weird? I want to keep an eye on you and A few of my kids are determined to convince me that your an exception. Including the original exception."
"I don't know, I'm not really athletic… I don't like running either."
and I could sit with you for hours, tracing the veins along your hand, and counting each birthmark along your back. Like streets and stars in a city made of you; all leading me back to my home;your heart.
(Julie Martinez)
Previous--Masterlist--Next
You had been carrying Cheese's carrier home after the uber had dropped you off a few blocks away, pain bloomed through your arm. The carrier in your arm almost falling, warmth seemed to drip down which made it concerning. The blade sticking out of your arm made the concern turn to fear.
"I found you Meta." The word was practically spit out like it was a slur. Turning just in time to miss another knife flying through the air. He wasn't the typical villain, probably the villain of the week. How he knew your meta status that you worked so hard to keep hidden was odd.
The man ran at you with another knife, you couldn't take animals with you. It would hurt, cause insanity. The only thing you could do, to was run. A game of cat and mouse with how he chased you.
"Get back here you dirty meta!" He yelled as he gained on you, another knife knew just passed your ear. He was catching up. So taking a quick corner, you set Cheese down. Dropping down into shadows, you were welcomed into the darkness.
Since you had turned into a meta, the shadows welcomed you into their darkness. The darkness was cold, borderline frigid. Your eyes were used to it, able to see the world when it wasn't there to be seen. The sounds of the shadows were like background noises. Screams and yells about what they wished, always chaos as they tried to convince you to join them.
Today, they weren't chaos. They did not beg for you to join them, they didn't try to drag you down into insanity. Today they screamed in unison.
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
HES GOING TO KILL YOU
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
DON'T LET HIM CATCH YOU
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
HE'S KNOWN FOR KILLING METAS
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
HE WILL KILL YOU
They had never helped you before, they had always tried to drag you down with them. Today, you decided to listen given the situation.
Something wizzed into the shadow. Nothing had ever been able to enter them without your permission. Nothing had ever been able to hurt you like this. Nothing could kill like this.
IT HURTS
PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN
LET US HELP
PAIN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN PAIN PAIN RUN
ACCEPT US LET US HELP
PAIN PAIN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN
LET US HELP YOU
LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US LET US
TAKE OUR HAND.
All you had to do was reach out. Reach out and accept it, no one was there to help. No one was ever there. No one cared. No one was waiting.
There was no one but the shadows. No one would come for you.
You took their hand.
The voices went silent. Everything went still.
Then it consumed you and your vision melted with the darkness.
Something tried to reach you, words that didn't quite reach your ears. It tried again, and again, and again. It was annoying the darkness. You were the darkness's arms, it wanted you to stop it. To end it. To stop it from distur-
"Habibi!"
The shadows dropped.
"Habibi, are you ok?" Warmth soaked into your cheeks as the shadows retreated.
"Damian? What happened?" Everything was spinning, your legs shaky. You didn't hear what he had to say as the darkness came back. It was warm this time.
Waking up was painful, everything hurt. But there was warmth around you and slow breathing against your neck.
"You awake now?" The whisper came from your right, when you looked, Jason was sitting there with a book in his lap. "Caused quite a stir but you only hurt Tony. Apparently, he has made a carrier out of killing Metas. And no, you didn't kill him. He is in one of our prison cells. Do you remember what happened?"
"No." He offered water for your dry throat.
"Well, as far as we can gather. He attacked you, you put Cheese down, and then you took him out. We found you wandering the roofs looking like a Shadow creature out of a horror movie. Damian said he had never seen you like that before. You almost didn't hear him talking."
"I accepted the shadows. The voices told me they'd help and since he could get things into my shadows I listened to them." Damian adjusted against your side.
"… The voices comment isn't concerning at all…" He closed his book. "Damian has been arguing with B on your behalf since we got you here. Bruce is waiting to talk to you but Alfred won't let him until you've been cleared."
"How long have I been out?"
"About 7 hours? Bruce had you excused from school for a few days so you don't have to worry about that." That helped with that, but now no one else would be looking for you so that was great.
"Duke and Cass are currently trying to convince B since Damian crashed… He was terrified when we found you. He wouldn't say much about why but I figured you would know why. Bruce tried to force him to bed but he refused and came down here, passed out pretty soon after laying down."
"Did someone get Cheese?" He smiled as he stood up.
"Yeah, he's tearing Damian's room up. He's perfectly ok. I'm going to head up and tell Alfred you're awake. You're not restrained, Damian refused to allow it and Duke, Cass, and I knew you wouldn't run." He headed up some stairs and left you there with Damian laying at your side.
"I know you're awake." Damian sighed, not moving. "I'm ok Dami. Just sore."
"You accepted the shadows. You always said you were afraid you'd loose yourself if you did." He spoke softly but the concern and fear in his voice was loud.
"I was scared and they promised help." You whispered back. "The shadows like to twist things and with the fear they brought back old feelings. The ones you make go away, but I listened to them and took their hand." He pulled you closer, turning you to face him. Green eyes staring into yours.
"I'm always here for you Habibi. I will always come when you need me. I will always care about you. I will always wait for you. I will never leave you. I will never purposely hurt you. I love you Habibi, with all my soul." He never broke eye contact, his hands on your cheeks.
It was everything you had wanted to hear growing up. Always feeling alone and left behind. A bad family and bad circumstances around your childhood leading to court cases and being passed around other family members like a burden no one wanted.
He meant it. It had taken him a year to convince you of the truth, he had never lost his patience. Telling you every time you needed to hear it and then more in between. And when you finally believed him, finally took the step out of your walls of safety, he was there to hold your hand through everything.
"Promise?" A broken whisper.
"Promise." No hesitation.
Alfred gave you some pain medication in the IV and after it kicked in and you were able to eat and drink a little more, Damian was forced to leave and Bruce entered. Clearly ready to question you on many things from the look of it . He took a seat in the chair that Jason had been sitting in.
Silence filled the room as he stared at you like a puzzle that needed to be solved. He was unreadable, probably because you had never met him before and had nothing to base his reactions on other then Damian's stories.
"There's a no meta rule in Gotham. I know you were aware of it, Why did you break it?" His voice was even and calm. Too calm. This was an interrogation. Were you going to tell the truth? If you failed, you might have to leave Damian.
"No one thinks to check Gotham for missing teens and no one really does background checks. So I just tried not to do anything with it." You admitted. "Then, I met Dami..—Damian, Sorry."
"You're missing?" An eyebrow raised.
"Technically I'm probably a runaway if they cared to report me missing. I left a note." He nodded.
"You said Damian is part of why you wanted to stay. You're his girlfriend? For how long? Tell me about your relationship with him."
"Yeah. A year now. Though the year before that was mostly him just working on getting close to me. I was really closed off and couldn't trust anyone… But he kept trying and eventually convinced me to take the chance. He was right about it." Bruce seemed to soften a bit at that.
"What happened yesterday with the shadows? Damian seemed shocked to see you like that, like it wasn't normal." You told him about the voices, accepting them, and then hearing Damian's voice snapped you back.
"Are they still talking?" You listened, catching some whispers.
"Yeah… But they're quiet now? Calmer. Like they're peaceful." He stared at you for a few minutes.
"Do you have any intentions with your abilities?"
"Not really? Sometimes they're convenient and if Damian needs help I'd step in but if your asking if I want to go out in a weird costu—No offense…."
"None taken." Amusement tinged his voice. "What about a not weird costume?"
"What?"
"Would you go out if your costume wasn't weird? I want to keep an eye on you and A few of my kids are determined to convince me that your an exception. Including the original exception."
"I don't know, I'm not really athletic… I don't like running either."
Yowww izzz me again and read through most smau stuff... me thinks and saw the forever taglist stuff and yeee did not put that in my first ask soooooo... Forever taglist 🥺 and thanks a bunch!!! Once again I hope you're doing well, keeping yourself hydrated, and not starving yourself 😤✨
Thank you!!! I'll absolutely add you!!
I literally bought a new water bottle yesterday to help with drinking more water so im working on that lol
and I could sit with you for hours, tracing the veins along your hand, and counting each birthmark along your back. Like streets and stars in a city made of you; all leading me back to my home;your heart.
i want damian to bond with tim because tim's the only grave brother he has. like, dick and jason are idiots. they came straight from the golden era and have been through so much bullshit in their lives that the only thing they have going for them is their level of whimsy; so they treat everything like it's a scooby-doo adventure. damian grew up having to be jason's impulse control at the league and by the time he gets to gotham he's so fucking tired. dick isn't any different, because dick takes one look at damian and goes 'yeah this kid hasn't smiled once in the past five years i need to give him a childhood' and he just will not take anything seriously. in damian's mind, dick is just jason if jason was real fuckin' bendy, and damian's so over that.
but tim? fucking- joined the squad to stop batman from killing/suiciding himself on the street? had the deaths of all his loved ones faked as a fucking 16th birthday present? fucking joker junior? yeah tim doesn't have time to fuck around. damian considers tim a rival right up until they're working together on a case and tim says 'ok no messing around if we do this right we can get the job done in three minutes no bullshit,' and damian decides right then and there this is his favourite brother and they will be best friends.
and I could sit with you for hours, tracing the veins along your hand, and counting each birthmark along your back. Like streets and stars in a city made of you; all leading me back to my home;your heart.
I keep meeting artists who complain that Tumblr Is Dead then when I check their blog they've made four posts in six months and all of them were self promo lmao. Influencers whining that "tumblr is useless for engagement" tells me every part of the problem, like sorry you can't just show up and farm this userbase for clicks by waving buzzwords around the way you can on tiktok. This is the Excited About Stupid Things website reblog some shitty fanart or die
Bringing back this ancient post because I would like to add that I think another reason people have trouble connecting with others on here is that nobody even glances at their new followers' pages or checks out the regulars who DO show up in their notifications. You should be checking for bots anyway but like you could already have cool creators hanging around you and you don't even know it because you log in to drop your posts and immediately leave, you have to Live Here dude. Meet the neighbors.
and I could sit with you for hours, tracing the veins along your hand, and counting each birthmark along your back. Like streets and stars in a city made of you; all leading me back to my home; your heart.
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