This City’s Only Hope @stellarofficial - Tumblr Blog

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.

"Well, im no bruce wayne. You wont know who i am by my face, so all i have to do is not share my name. Well, my last name. Just dont take any pictures, okay?"

Jade was a bat. Well, a bird, but a bat. She wouldnt put Stellar in danger. On purpose. She hadn't really proven that she could keep a secret... but who would she tell anyway? The other bats would probably leave Stell alone.

Jade shrugged.

"Figures. If y' were someone famous we'd prob'ly already know by now. An' no pictures, promise."

She hummed under her breath, glancing out the window to the white-speckled sky. She'd be out there soon, swinging from place to place as had become routine. She wondered absently what Stell was thinking.

Stellar followed Jade's gaze to the window. Maybe they could swing together. She was, unfortunately, tired. But maybe.

She returned to her task. She took a deep breath, and peeled off her mask.

"Tada," she said.

She figured she looked about the same. The mask was only there to distract and be a useful piece of technology.

Jade turned back to look at her. She blinked, tilting her head. Birdlike. Probably something she picked up from her siblings.

"Pretty eyes."

She shrugged and stood up, tossing the last stray pencil into the cup on her desk.

"TV's in the livin' room. Want blankets?"

Stellar was ready to squawk at Jade for her head tilting, and then was sucker punched by the compliment. She pumped her fist triumphantly. She felt like she would be hanging onto that forever.

"Yes to blankets," she said. "And by the way- funny thing about my name- my real one is Stella. I figure i can tell you that much."

Jade grinned, holding back a snicker.

"Really? Isn' the hero name a bit... on the nose?"

She waved one hand as if to say nevermind and turned to open her closet, pulling out three different throw blankets. One was the same sage green color as Jade's sweater, the other two different shades of red. In the closet there were another few, blue, purple, black, yellow, and the last one a lighter shade of green. Jade tossed one of the red ones at Stell.

"C'mon. Popcorn?"

Stell caught the blanket. "Yes to popcorn."

"L hates my name, mainly for security reasons. But she came around enough to make my suit. Im just glad its not Gadget Girl."

Jade snorted softly and closed the closet doors, dropping the green blanket on the floor by her bed and throwing the second red one over her shoulder.

"Y' gotta admit tha's risky, but I don' think 's the end of the world. L's got a point, whoever she is."

She moved toward the door, throwing a grin over her shoulder.

"I'll be right back wi' popcorn. Get settled an' pick somethin'."

Stella stared at the empty hallway through Jade’s doorway.

“L’s got a point?” she muttered with confusion.

Ew.

She made a “urgh” sound, but looked around for those alledged movies.

[I’m deciding that] Jade had a bookshelf in her room, and the top shelf had dvd cases on it. Stella walked over to check them.

Lord of the Rings, of course. The Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Some stuff she didn’t recognize. Barbie Swan Lake was left on its side in front of the lineup. She picked it up. That seemed… odd for Jade to have? But maybe it was part of a precious childhood memory. She kept reading movie names.

Jade poked her head in a few minutes later with two comically oversized buckets of popcorn, already chewing on a mouthful.

"Y' pick somethin' yet?"

Stella dropped the dvd back on the shelf, because she was not a baby, and she did not like Barbie movies.

“Not really,” she said, turning around. She was delighted to see just how much popcorn Jade had brought. “Your taste in movies is too good. I want something bad. Like…” she grinned. “Ever seen Madame Web?”

Jade mirrored her grin and set the popcorn buckets down.

"I know exactly who's got a copy of tha'. Hold on."

She dissapeared back through the door and came back five minuts later with a scowl and spider webs in her hair, but still holding a copy.

"So m'stealth's not as good as I was hopin', but I got it."

Stella was holding her popcorn bucket when Jade returned, munching as she waited.

She raised her eyebrows. "You fight a real spider to get that? Shelob?"

Jade tossed the DVD to her and flopped on the bed with a dramatic groan.

"Peter. Startled 'im."

#uhhhh does jade have a tv in her room? she does now. i bet she rarely uses it but its there

Stella cackled. "That's dangerous business."

She set the popcorn bowl on the ground and put the dvd in the player. She hopped on the bed, screamed into her blanket for a moment, and then arranged said blanket around herself.

@tired-baby-bird this song reminds me of you <3

https://youtu.be/8NNYc6JNMVc

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.

"Well, im no bruce wayne. You wont know who i am by my face, so all i have to do is not share my name. Well, my last name. Just dont take any pictures, okay?"

Jade was a bat. Well, a bird, but a bat. She wouldnt put Stellar in danger. On purpose. She hadn't really proven that she could keep a secret... but who would she tell anyway? The other bats would probably leave Stell alone.

Jade shrugged.

"Figures. If y' were someone famous we'd prob'ly already know by now. An' no pictures, promise."

She hummed under her breath, glancing out the window to the white-speckled sky. She'd be out there soon, swinging from place to place as had become routine. She wondered absently what Stell was thinking.

Stellar followed Jade's gaze to the window. Maybe they could swing together. She was, unfortunately, tired. But maybe.

She returned to her task. She took a deep breath, and peeled off her mask.

"Tada," she said.

She figured she looked about the same. The mask was only there to distract and be a useful piece of technology.

Jade turned back to look at her. She blinked, tilting her head. Birdlike. Probably something she picked up from her siblings.

"Pretty eyes."

She shrugged and stood up, tossing the last stray pencil into the cup on her desk.

"TV's in the livin' room. Want blankets?"

Stellar was ready to squawk at Jade for her head tilting, and then was sucker punched by the compliment. She pumped her fist triumphantly. She felt like she would be hanging onto that forever.

"Yes to blankets," she said. "And by the way- funny thing about my name- my real one is Stella. I figure i can tell you that much."

Jade grinned, holding back a snicker.

"Really? Isn' the hero name a bit... on the nose?"

She waved one hand as if to say nevermind and turned to open her closet, pulling out three different throw blankets. One was the same sage green color as Jade's sweater, the other two different shades of red. In the closet there were another few, blue, purple, black, yellow, and the last one a lighter shade of green. Jade tossed one of the red ones at Stell.

"C'mon. Popcorn?"

Stell caught the blanket. "Yes to popcorn."

"L hates my name, mainly for security reasons. But she came around enough to make my suit. Im just glad its not Gadget Girl."

Jade snorted softly and closed the closet doors, dropping the green blanket on the floor by her bed and throwing the second red one over her shoulder.

"Y' gotta admit tha's risky, but I don' think 's the end of the world. L's got a point, whoever she is."

She moved toward the door, throwing a grin over her shoulder.

"I'll be right back wi' popcorn. Get settled an' pick somethin'."

Stella stared at the empty hallway through Jade’s doorway.

“L’s got a point?” she muttered with confusion.

Ew.

She made a “urgh” sound, but looked around for those alledged movies.

[I’m deciding that] Jade had a bookshelf in her room, and the top shelf had dvd cases on it. Stella walked over to check them.

Lord of the Rings, of course. The Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Some stuff she didn’t recognize. Barbie Swan Lake was left on its side in front of the lineup. She picked it up. That seemed… odd for Jade to have? But maybe it was part of a precious childhood memory. She kept reading movie names.

Jade poked her head in a few minutes later with two comically oversized buckets of popcorn, already chewing on a mouthful.

"Y' pick somethin' yet?"

Stella dropped the dvd back on the shelf, because she was not a baby, and she did not like Barbie movies.

“Not really,” she said, turning around. She was delighted to see just how much popcorn Jade had brought. “Your taste in movies is too good. I want something bad. Like…” she grinned. “Ever seen Madame Web?”

Jade mirrored her grin and set the popcorn buckets down.

"I know exactly who's got a copy of tha'. Hold on."

She dissapeared back through the door and came back five minuts later with a scowl and spider webs in her hair, but still holding a copy.

"So m'stealth's not as good as I was hopin', but I got it."

Stella was holding her popcorn bucket when Jade returned, munching as she waited.

She raised her eyebrows. "You fight a real spider to get that? Shelob?"

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.

"Well, im no bruce wayne. You wont know who i am by my face, so all i have to do is not share my name. Well, my last name. Just dont take any pictures, okay?"

Jade was a bat. Well, a bird, but a bat. She wouldnt put Stellar in danger. On purpose. She hadn't really proven that she could keep a secret... but who would she tell anyway? The other bats would probably leave Stell alone.

Jade shrugged.

"Figures. If y' were someone famous we'd prob'ly already know by now. An' no pictures, promise."

She hummed under her breath, glancing out the window to the white-speckled sky. She'd be out there soon, swinging from place to place as had become routine. She wondered absently what Stell was thinking.

Stellar followed Jade's gaze to the window. Maybe they could swing together. She was, unfortunately, tired. But maybe.

She returned to her task. She took a deep breath, and peeled off her mask.

"Tada," she said.

She figured she looked about the same. The mask was only there to distract and be a useful piece of technology.

Jade turned back to look at her. She blinked, tilting her head. Birdlike. Probably something she picked up from her siblings.

"Pretty eyes."

She shrugged and stood up, tossing the last stray pencil into the cup on her desk.

"TV's in the livin' room. Want blankets?"

Stellar was ready to squawk at Jade for her head tilting, and then was sucker punched by the compliment. She pumped her fist triumphantly. She felt like she would be hanging onto that forever.

"Yes to blankets," she said. "And by the way- funny thing about my name- my real one is Stella. I figure i can tell you that much."

Jade grinned, holding back a snicker.

"Really? Isn' the hero name a bit... on the nose?"

She waved one hand as if to say nevermind and turned to open her closet, pulling out three different throw blankets. One was the same sage green color as Jade's sweater, the other two different shades of red. In the closet there were another few, blue, purple, black, yellow, and the last one a lighter shade of green. Jade tossed one of the red ones at Stell.

"C'mon. Popcorn?"

Stell caught the blanket. "Yes to popcorn."

"L hates my name, mainly for security reasons. But she came around enough to make my suit. Im just glad its not Gadget Girl."

Jade snorted softly and closed the closet doors, dropping the green blanket on the floor by her bed and throwing the second red one over her shoulder.

"Y' gotta admit tha's risky, but I don' think 's the end of the world. L's got a point, whoever she is."

She moved toward the door, throwing a grin over her shoulder.

"I'll be right back wi' popcorn. Get settled an' pick somethin'."

Stella stared at the empty hallway through Jade’s doorway.

“L’s got a point?” she muttered with confusion.

Ew.

She made a “urgh” sound, but looked around for those alledged movies.

[I’m deciding that] Jade had a bookshelf in her room, and the top shelf had dvd cases on it. Stella walked over to check them.

Lord of the Rings, of course. The Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Some stuff she didn’t recognize. Barbie Swan Lake was left on its side in front of the lineup. She picked it up. That seemed… odd for Jade to have? But maybe it was part of a precious childhood memory. She kept reading movie names.

Jade poked her head in a few minutes later with two comically oversized buckets of popcorn, already chewing on a mouthful.

"Y' pick somethin' yet?"

#// i have not seen madame web but it is a goal of mine.#it was HARD to think of something because what isn’t dc or marvel or sw???#even then i picked marvel because i feel like madame web could be a movie that exists in the mcy #mcu

Stella dropped the dvd back on the shelf, because she was not a baby, and she did not like Barbie movies.

“Not really,” she said, turning around. She was delighted to see just how much popcorn Jade had brought. “Your taste in movies is too good. I want something bad. Like…” she grinned. “Ever seen Madame Web?”

0racle404

ALERT: Due to recent posts on vigilante social media accounts, mandatory family therapy with Black Canary will resume at the cave.

Times and dates have been added to your personal schedules.

Do not make me hunt you down for this.

gothamitenightingale

Do I get t'skip cause 'm in the medbay? Pleeeassseee

0racle404

Literally went over this with Nightwing. No. I will send BC to visit you.

gothamitenightingale

Friiiiiick.

Y're never gonna find me

Just tell them all that you have a therapist in another town

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.

"Well, im no bruce wayne. You wont know who i am by my face, so all i have to do is not share my name. Well, my last name. Just dont take any pictures, okay?"

Jade was a bat. Well, a bird, but a bat. She wouldnt put Stellar in danger. On purpose. She hadn't really proven that she could keep a secret... but who would she tell anyway? The other bats would probably leave Stell alone.

Jade shrugged.

"Figures. If y' were someone famous we'd prob'ly already know by now. An' no pictures, promise."

She hummed under her breath, glancing out the window to the white-speckled sky. She'd be out there soon, swinging from place to place as had become routine. She wondered absently what Stell was thinking.

Stellar followed Jade's gaze to the window. Maybe they could swing together. She was, unfortunately, tired. But maybe.

She returned to her task. She took a deep breath, and peeled off her mask.

"Tada," she said.

She figured she looked about the same. The mask was only there to distract and be a useful piece of technology.

Jade turned back to look at her. She blinked, tilting her head. Birdlike. Probably something she picked up from her siblings.

"Pretty eyes."

She shrugged and stood up, tossing the last stray pencil into the cup on her desk.

"TV's in the livin' room. Want blankets?"

Stellar was ready to squawk at Jade for her head tilting, and then was sucker punched by the compliment. She pumped her fist triumphantly. She felt like she would be hanging onto that forever.

"Yes to blankets," she said. "And by the way- funny thing about my name- my real one is Stella. I figure i can tell you that much."

Jade grinned, holding back a snicker.

"Really? Isn' the hero name a bit... on the nose?"

She waved one hand as if to say nevermind and turned to open her closet, pulling out three different throw blankets. One was the same sage green color as Jade's sweater, the other two different shades of red. In the closet there were another few, blue, purple, black, yellow, and the last one a lighter shade of green. Jade tossed one of the red ones at Stell.

"C'mon. Popcorn?"

Stell caught the blanket. "Yes to popcorn."

"L hates my name, mainly for security reasons. But she came around enough to make my suit. Im just glad its not Gadget Girl."

Jade snorted softly and closed the closet doors, dropping the green blanket on the floor by her bed and throwing the second red one over her shoulder.

"Y' gotta admit tha's risky, but I don' think 's the end of the world. L's got a point, whoever she is."

She moved toward the door, throwing a grin over her shoulder.

"I'll be right back wi' popcorn. Get settled an' pick somethin'."

#are you picking up what im putting down

Stella stared at the empty hallway through Jade’s doorway.

“L’s got a point?” she muttered with confusion.

Ew.

She made a “urgh” sound, but looked around for those alledged movies.

[I’m deciding that] Jade had a bookshelf in her room, and the top shelf had dvd cases on it. Stella walked over to check them.

Lord of the Rings, of course. The Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Some stuff she didn’t recognize. Barbie Swan Lake was left on its side in front of the lineup. She picked it up. That seemed… odd for Jade to have? But maybe it was part of a precious childhood memory. She kept reading movie names.

@stellarofficial @petercanparkacar

I'm going to Arkham.

I need you both to be on standby in case I need backup.

Okay im heading over. I'll stay on lookout until you call... i guess.

ALERT.

Nightingale has gone missing. She was last seen roughly six hours ago on patrol, helping a civilian near Gotham Botanical Gardens in full gear. Anyone with news or clues on her whereabouts come forward immediately.

@stellarofficial @bats-are-for-the-weak @the-blood-son-robin @petercanparkacar

missing? MISSING?! Dont you have a tracker in her skin or something?!? How can she be missing?!?!

Her line went dead. There's no signal to trace. She left her tracker in Cherry Hill Park.

Stellar, I'm sorry.

Okay well maybe this is on purpose? Maybe she removed it for some undercover thing?

That's the thing. She did. But it's a reckless mission that will get her killed or worse.

Yeah, it'll get her killed. Because IM going to do it.

ALERT.

Nightingale has gone missing. She was last seen roughly six hours ago on patrol, helping a civilian near Gotham Botanical Gardens in full gear. Anyone with news or clues on her whereabouts come forward immediately.

@stellarofficial @bats-are-for-the-weak @the-blood-son-robin @petercanparkacar

missing? MISSING?! Dont you have a tracker in her skin or something?!? How can she be missing?!?!

Her line went dead. There's no signal to trace. She left her tracker in Cherry Hill Park.

Stellar, I'm sorry.

#we are pretending she is in gotham as usual #// GLORIOUS tag #<ehehehe #Galehunt

Okay well maybe this is on purpose? Maybe she removed it for some undercover thing?

ALERT.

Nightingale has gone missing. She was last seen roughly six hours ago on patrol, helping a civilian near Gotham Botanical Gardens in full gear. Anyone with news or clues on her whereabouts come forward immediately.

@stellarofficial @bats-are-for-the-weak @the-blood-son-robin @petercanparkacar

thefutureisbulletproof-saidmcr

missing? MISSING?! Dont you have a tracker in her skin or something?!? How can she be missing?!?!

Congrats, Signal!

Red Robin????

LOLLL GET WREKT

TAG GAME GUYS

think of a caracter with the same beginning letter as the beginning of ur account name

me first

nancy (from fancy nancy)

@da-police-offical @paranoia-offical @evilpineapple-offical @illegaldoctor--offical @isopod-offical @purple-morphsuit-guy-offical @supervillain-offical @sketchy-doctor-offical @somebody-offical @bill-cipher-offical @mabel-pines-offical @laciffo-natas @mean-girl-offical i think this is everyone i know

(open tags x)

riddlemethis5373

R for.....ROACH!!

Free tags plus tagging these people!

@gary-le-rochas @whentheangelsweep @knowledge-of-the-stars @wayward-victorian-man @decorakidd

wayward-victorian-man

William Murderface. I genuinely don't know how I feel about him, tbh.

Tags:

@badmufz1ns @puppet-string @draagsdaughter @localcelestialcreature62 and whoever else wants to hop on idk

localcelestialcreature62

HER. LYDIA DEETZ. I like the cartoon version of her more tho. Her relationship is BJ is less.. weird there.

@rayyanishere1

@left-lateral-incisor

@greenbunny7

@chaseerr0rcode

@cameforstuff

@tinfoil-jones

@consumerofshorthomies

@willapines618thesecond

@tigersharktheautisticseawing

@nico-the-overlord

@lunathetunaaa

@car9723-t

@hellohellohellohellohello3579

etc etc

willapines618thesecond

uh

WILLIM AFTON

hehe

open tags! would tag specific ppl but I'm tired rn lol

peskybird87

PIERS PIERS PIERS PIERS !!!!!

Tagsss -

@yakitako @attemptedartist + anyone else who wants to join ! =-]

attemptedartist

uhhh hmmmmmm oh right ALEC HARDY !!! :]

he's such a creature

uhhh

@anyablossom @fullmentalcritter @funk32517 @anglptera @t0nn1x @cartoonboingsfx

+ anyone else who wants to that i forgot !!

t0nn1x

My first thought was Timmy Turner and my second was Thundercracker, gang who wants a new crack ship (platonic)

No pressure tags — @androgynouschaosfury @renbugs-copper-crown @xx-icaruss-wings-offcal-xx @jjay-mess & company :3

androgynouschaosfury

Amelia bedelia

Yea I dunno that was the first thought so.

Tags! @radfr0g @rysi0m1mic @nonbinary-dinosaur7 @efrftfrc @honorarycrashout

nonbinary-dinosaur7

My first thought was Nardole :/

Uuuuh @sodiumvaporss @gay-stardrake anyone else?? idk who to tag gjnkrfgjnk

redhoodguythethird

Joining because I thought it would be really funny to point out that my answer could just be Red Hood.

But in the spirit of the game, my second thought was Rocky from Project Hail Mary because of fucking course it was why would it be anything else.

Alright, let's see. @dc-rose-wilson @thefutureisbulletproof-saidmcr uuuuummmmm I can't think of anything else, so just join if you want.

Thanks for the tag :]

I can only think of Tim Drake

@silverpenguin13 @m-ozzy @guysandcorpses @boo-its-nightmare-fuel @bats-are-for-the-weak @candytheclowndeer

silverpenguin13

i was tempted to say silver the hedgehog but it felt like cheating so I'll go with Susan from the Walton files

@redhoodisalive @autism-milkeyway @oswaldsrightfoot @nightwingdickrider

oswaldsrightfoot

I love my man

@jesuswarriordaughter

jesuswarriordaughter

J for... Jason!

@undersideofaleaf @nerdynonnativenarnian

nerdynonnativenarnian

N…N… !!! NANCY DREW!!! Ah, good books. They were my introduction into the mystery genre, dontyakno. Her and the Hardy Boys.

@dimensional-phaser @margindoodles2407

@marlynnofmany @randomgothamgirl @lennasandlinnerdygothamrp

Ooh.. thank y' Nerdy :)

R for... Rancisis!

(Ya ya, Richard was right there, but I wanna flex my star wars knowledge so sue me)

@stellarofficial @bats-are-for-the-weak

#in character #oc rp #//thanks for the tag

Seneca Crane. I laugh at this man every day.

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.

"Well, im no bruce wayne. You wont know who i am by my face, so all i have to do is not share my name. Well, my last name. Just dont take any pictures, okay?"

Jade was a bat. Well, a bird, but a bat. She wouldnt put Stellar in danger. On purpose. She hadn't really proven that she could keep a secret... but who would she tell anyway? The other bats would probably leave Stell alone.

Jade shrugged.

"Figures. If y' were someone famous we'd prob'ly already know by now. An' no pictures, promise."

She hummed under her breath, glancing out the window to the white-speckled sky. She'd be out there soon, swinging from place to place as had become routine. She wondered absently what Stell was thinking.

Stellar followed Jade's gaze to the window. Maybe they could swing together. She was, unfortunately, tired. But maybe.

She returned to her task. She took a deep breath, and peeled off her mask.

"Tada," she said.

She figured she looked about the same. The mask was only there to distract and be a useful piece of technology.

Jade turned back to look at her. She blinked, tilting her head. Birdlike. Probably something she picked up from her siblings.

"Pretty eyes."

She shrugged and stood up, tossing the last stray pencil into the cup on her desk.

"TV's in the livin' room. Want blankets?"

Stellar was ready to squawk at Jade for her head tilting, and then was sucker punched by the compliment. She pumped her fist triumphantly. She felt like she would be hanging onto that forever.

"Yes to blankets," she said. "And by the way- funny thing about my name- my real one is Stella. I figure i can tell you that much."

Jade grinned, holding back a snicker.

"Really? Isn' the hero name a bit... on the nose?"

She waved one hand as if to say nevermind and turned to open her closet, pulling out three different throw blankets. One was the same sage green color as Jade's sweater, the other two different shades of red. In the closet there were another few, blue, purple, black, yellow, and the last one a lighter shade of green. Jade tossed one of the red ones at Stell.

"C'mon. Popcorn?"

#hey are those blankets color coded to the bats #also if you havent realized #shes an unreliable narrator

Stell caught the blanket. "Yes to popcorn."

"L hates my name, mainly for security reasons. But she came around enough to make my suit. Im just glad its not Gadget Girl."

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.

"Well, im no bruce wayne. You wont know who i am by my face, so all i have to do is not share my name. Well, my last name. Just dont take any pictures, okay?"

Jade was a bat. Well, a bird, but a bat. She wouldnt put Stellar in danger. On purpose. She hadn't really proven that she could keep a secret... but who would she tell anyway? The other bats would probably leave Stell alone.

Jade shrugged.

"Figures. If y' were someone famous we'd prob'ly already know by now. An' no pictures, promise."

She hummed under her breath, glancing out the window to the white-speckled sky. She'd be out there soon, swinging from place to place as had become routine. She wondered absently what Stell was thinking.

Stellar followed Jade's gaze to the window. Maybe they could swing together. She was, unfortunately, tired. But maybe.

She returned to her task. She took a deep breath, and peeled off her mask.

"Tada," she said.

She figured she looked about the same. The mask was only there to distract and be a useful piece of technology.

Jade turned back to look at her. She blinked, tilting her head. Birdlike. Probably something she picked up from her siblings.

"Pretty eyes."

She shrugged and stood up, tossing the last stray pencil into the cup on her desk.

"TV's in the livin' room. Want blankets?"

Stellar was ready to squawk at Jade for her head tilting, and then was sucker punched by the compliment. She pumped her fist triumphantly. She felt like she would be hanging onto that forever.

"Yes to blankets," she said. "And by the way- funny thing about my name- my real one is Stella. I figure i can tell you that much."

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.

"Well, im no bruce wayne. You wont know who i am by my face, so all i have to do is not share my name. Well, my last name. Just dont take any pictures, okay?"

Jade was a bat. Well, a bird, but a bat. She wouldnt put Stellar in danger. On purpose. She hadn't really proven that she could keep a secret... but who would she tell anyway? The other bats would probably leave Stell alone.

Jade shrugged.

"Figures. If y' were someone famous we'd prob'ly already know by now. An' no pictures, promise."

She hummed under her breath, glancing out the window to the white-speckled sky. She'd be out there soon, swinging from place to place as had become routine. She wondered absently what Stell was thinking.

Stellar followed Jade's gaze to the window. Maybe they could swing together. She was, unfortunately, tired. But maybe.

She returned to her task. She took a deep breath, and peeled off her mask.

"Tada," she said.

She figured she looked about the same. The mask was only there to distract and be a useful piece of technology.

*tap tap tap*

[@ Jade's window]

- @stellarofficial

Jade blinked up, sleepiness from a while of homework after a ton of patrol junk ebbing away. She groaned, sliding her window open with a weary look.

"Get y' butt in here. Whaddya want?"

Stellar climbed in, but was surprised at Jade's mood. There was, at least, a rough affection there. She had been invited in, after all.

She wouldve expected this from anyone else. Probably wouldnt have even come over. But she had just assumed Jade would be awake. It seemed a bit silly now.

"Sleeping at this hour?" Stellar asked.

It was 1 am.

"Nah. 'm not sleepin' for another couple hours, jus' worn out. Today was busy."

She shrugged, shuffling schoolpapers into a messy pile and leaning back to stretch in her chair.

"Whassup?"

Ah, school. Stella had sorted out her papers for the day in the car. Normally it would be half finished, but she wanted to look busy during the ride.

"I was in town," Stellar said lightly.

She would introduce the idea gradually.

Jade raised her head and squinted at her friend, clocking pretty quick that there was something else. Hm.

"Yeah? Why was tha'?"

She had known there were holes in her plan, but she hadn't expected to be immediately asked, point blank, about the thing she was avoiding.

She blinked at Jade. What to say?

"My mom is on a trip," she shrugged.

Jade hummed in understanding, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes and tossing Stell a water bottle.

"'kay. Drink tha', y' can hang out for as long as y' want 'ere. Y've eaten or no?"

Stellar's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked loudly. She couldnt help but smile from relief.

Jade turned to squint at her again, one eyebrow raised.

"You tell me, what's so shockin'? I said y' could come over whenever. An' parents havin' t'leave sucks."

She shrugged.

"So. 'ave y' eaten yet or no?"

She was greatful for the reassurance.

She wasnt sure whether to hate the insistance about eating, because it was like the mothering she had come to resent, or to appreciate the concern.

Stellar looked at her water bottle, then opened it and took a swig.

Jade had gotten the wrong idea about why she was here, and she could see exactly why. But she wasnt sure whether to correct it.

"I ate already," she said. "Although... I guess dinner was 7 hours ago now. I still dont feel hungry, though. My body thinks its asleep, I guess."

Jade watched her absently, tossing a few pencils into a cup to clear up space on her desk. Stell's presence was comforting just to have around, it let a little of the stress bleed out of her tight frame.

"'kay."

She squinted a sparkling pink glitter pen that she most definitely did not remember getting and made a mental note to ask Steph if she'd been in Jade's room that day.

"What else's going on? Y're kinda bad at keepin' y' thoughts off y' face."

Yikes.

She swished the bottle around.

"I'll tell you if you show me how to do a poker face some time."

"Yeah, sure."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow.

"Y' do know tha' if I see y' poker face it'll tell me y're hiding something too? But whatever. Spill."

"Eh i'll need it anyway. Maybe it can help me handle my... mom. Thats why im here. She wanted to come to Gotham of all places." She paused. She almost couldnt say it. "She's meeting up with a guy."

She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"She wants me to join them for breakfast. Introduce him to me. Or rather, me to him. She won't care what I think. She'll only accept my approval."

She paused. "It's only been a year since the divorce. I guess she's hated Dad a lot longer than that."

Jade stayed quiet for a long time. That was a pain she didn't know, didn't understand. There wasn't much she could say. And she didn't know Stell the way was necessary to know what she needed here. She didn't know if Stell needed the spotlight taken off her or if she needed to be seen.

"Sucks."

She eventually mumbled.

"Tha'... it happens a lot. Different in the details but same whole sucky picture. Knew a gal called Marlen who had somethin' like tha', but it was her father."

She rolled her shoulders and stretched again.

"Wanna watch a movie or wait a minute? Y' can pick if y' wanna watch somethin'."

Stellar smiled.

"Its nice to know other people can be as awkward at this as I am," she gently punched Jade's arm. "I think we might be even now."

[Your dialogue here]

The movie idea seemed good in her flight-mode brain. All she wanted to do was run away from tomorrow. In fact, she vaguely planned to not show up.

"Yknow," she said, "if we're gonna watch a movie, i dont really want these lenses impedeing my view," she tapped her mask.

She was grinning. Her heart was racing, but she'd been thinking about this for a while, and she knew she wanted to do it. What could Jade even do? Make a police sketch an- well wait she was an artist. Hopefully she only did landscapes.

Jade smacked her playfully upside the head.

"Not tha' awkward! Y're unrivaled Stell."

She laughed.

When Stell spoke again, Jade raised one eyebrow as it clicked in her brain. Oh. Okay.

"Y' don' 'ave to."

She leaned back on her hands and kicked her feet absently, an almost childish motion. She did want to see Stell without the mask, kinda. It's not like it was a big deal, but the trust would be nice to have. She shrugged.