step by step

[Semi-AU RP blog for Melanie Walker from Batman Beyond. Multi-verse friendly. NSFW and 18+]

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Before We Grow

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

“I feel you,” she said. Her first experience with drugs or alcohol was at a party for the jocks when she was fourteen. She had met some at freshman orientation, and then that was that. 

Blade smiled and raised a brow. “What kind of candy do you have there?” she asked. She knew better than to take things from strangers, but she liked Melanie, and it didn’t seem like she’d hurt her. She had a pretty good judge of people, she thought. But then again, her senses were fogged by the alcohol.

[theroyalten]

That was such a fun expression. I feel you, it conveyed so much about a situation. Could be literally feeling a person or just connecting on a deep, emotional level. Which Melanie supposed Blade could definitely do. She was definitely, definitely high as a kite right now.

“The good kind,” she replied with a smile. Melanie left the packet on the counter next to her as she pulled out a tube of black lipstick to touch up her make up. Her hand was steady even as her heart raced with the exertion of the night and the substances in her. Her hands were always steady unless she remembered to tremble. 

She lowered the lipstick back into the tube and tucked it away safely. “I might look small, but assholes learn not to fuck with the shit I get.”

[theroyalten]

Break All the Rules | powerhungryrewire

[powerhungryrewire]

“Yeah…you get used to it” Davis grumbled. “My first week I felt like I was going more nuts than the folks at Arkham thought I was.” Being cooped up against his will wasn’t the same as staying in one spot by choice. Even then, Davis hated staying in one spot for too long. 

“Oh thank god” Davis muttered. “I was worried that Doc Nasty would have material.” He did his best to wiggle out of Melanie’s sitting spot but gave up. “You got a couple of options. I know there’s some guard that sells some contraband stuff. Don’t know who but he got some transfer here from the maximum security wing by the time I got in. That’s all I know.“ That was only one option.

“Then you got the Jokerz. They have a channel but they may make you do something stupid or want something in return.” Credits, food, whatever. “You also got one other spot, but anything could be there and maybe not cigarettes. It’s where they keep all the contraband.”

[theroyalten]

‘Doc Nasty’ was an event she had yet to sit in on. Melanie still had to laugh at Davis’ reaction. She laid like dead weight on him. He was stuck with her until she had her information. Really, Willie could’ve warned him that she was ridiculously starved for touch and was the type of person to even sleep touching someone.

“Definitely not Jokerz. How are any of them even here?” She sighed heavily and slid onto the floor to lean against the bed. “Guard it is. Though he’s probably really skeevy and the biggest dreg.”

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Before We Grow

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

“For someone who’s rolling, you seem to have a pretty good grip on things,” Blade smirked, keeping her grip neutral on Melanie. The men flashing them smiles and hand gestures could rot in hell. Every man other than her daddy had been an utter disappointment, so why bother keeping them for a prolonged amount of time? 

Blade laughed, going along with her. Usually, she tried to avoid the public restroom, but nature called when it did, and she didn’t want to leave Melanie alone, especially now that she knew she was rolling. It wasn’t safe to do that in a new place where she didn’t know anyone.

She turned to the mirror while she figured the other girl was going to pee, but then she spoke. Blade smiled at her in the mirror, reapplying her pink lipstick. “Oh? You’re not so bad yourself.”

[theroyalten]

“Practice,” she stressed. Lots of practice, lots of time to figure out how much she could take and what would make her sick. Never try something new in a new place. Try it at home when it was just her and Jack. Never do anything ‘hard’ two days in a row. She gave herself rules because rules she made were better than rules imposed on her.

The stall she had been waiting for finally opened and Melanie headed for it to wiggle out of her skin tight skirt. “Thanks,” she called as the closed the stall door. She snickered when she saw the lock was indeed broken. Whatever, she rigged it with a bobby pin before sitting down.

A couple seconds later and she exited the stall to wash her hands. She dried her hands under a dryer before pulling out her little packet of pills to wiggle them in Blade’s direction. “Want one?” She needed another before she headed back out.

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Before We Grow

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

“I’m not rolling yet, unfortunately…just drunk as fuck.” she laughed, reluctantly parting from her new friend, shivering when her dreads brushed against her. She could really pull those off, though with her bone structure, Blade doubted there was much she couldn’t pull off.

She took her flask back and pocketed it. “They’re all perpetual dregs, you mean. I love men, but god, sometimes I just need a break.” she huffed.

Raising a brow, she took Melanie’s hand again, not wanting to get separated. “An adventure, huh? The adventure of you peeing and me holding the door shut because the lock is broken?”

[theroyalten]

The only man in her life that hadn’t disappointed her was her brother. But even then he pushed the boundaries of what she could take from him. She had to nod her head in agreement, Blade was so totally right on the topic of men. All dregs forever and ever.

Melanie made sure that her grip on Blade’s hand wasn’t too tight or too loose. She never knew when she was high as a kite what was what. And with nearly twenty four hours of her own time, it was party time. She laughed again and flashed the fellow blonde a grin.

“Definitely the adventure! And locating it too!” It seemed to have shifted positions from when she was sober. Hm. Melanie used her Girl GPS to sort it all out before she stumbled into the small line that was formed due to girls checking their makeup before they exited the bathroom.

It was quieter here and they’d be able to hear each other without shouting. Melanie bounced on the balls of her feet a little as she looked at Blade. “You’re really gorgeous, hey?”

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Before We Grow

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Blade had been seeing Jurgen on and off since she dumped Nelson after Homecoming. She may have pitted the boys against each other, but Nelson had lied in saying he’d just talk with Willie, and in turn he’d almost died. It still haunted her, the knowledge something awful could have happened to him. She made him snap, though. It was her fault. She shook the thought out of her head.  It didn’t exist with this new friend.

The blonde laughed, not wanting to tell this other girl that she was grinding against in a club that her real name was Bobbi. She purred as she felt Melanie’s hands on her hip, rolling them back against her. It surprised her that they seemed to have a good natural rhythm together, in sync. 

“Me too!” Blade said over the music, relaxing into the other girl’s movements. “I’m glad I came out tonight! It’s rare I come solo!”

It was also rare that she took to another person this quickly. Melanie had a realness about her that drew Blade in. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, though. It may have just been the liquor, which she needed more of anyway. Out came the bedazzled flask for another drink.

“Want some?” she offered. “Club drinks are mad expensive and it’s not like I’m going to buy my own. And I just don’t feel like dealing with guys tonight, you know?”

[theroyalten]

It was the greatest thing when she felt in sync with another person. Far too often she ran on her own rhythm that people just didn’t click with. But Blade was a different story. She was immediately enjoying herself, though the substances in her might have been contributing to that.

Melanie laughed and felt herself focusing on the feel of the fabric beneath the pads of her fingers. Ah. Vocalize a reply. “I always roll solo,” she answered simply enough. Never knowing people did that to a person.

Her fingers reached for the flask as soon as it was offered. “Of course! Thank you~.” She took a drink before handing it back, shaking her head. Her dreads brushed Blade’s shoulders with the movement. “They’re all dregs tonight.”

The song came to an end and led into another. Melanie scrunched her nose before backing away from Blade. Nature called and she hated to leave. “I haveta pee,” she laughed. “You coming for an adventure?” And it would be an adventure, considering she couldn’t remember where the ladies stalls were.

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Before We Grow

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Blade was much more discerning with people, but the new girl seemed schway enough to warrant some attention, or even some real friendship. Brandi Sommer was a social butterfly, and Blade had inherited that trait from her, though unlike Melanie, she wasn’t willing to make friends with just anyone. 

She’d never had a real girlfriend, but she flirted with just about everyone regardless. “How can I say no to such a good offer?” she smirked.

“I’m Blade. It’s nice to meet you, Melanie!” she swayed with the beat and with the liquor in her blood stream. She was tempted to ask if she went to school with her, but that would defeat the purpose of not thinking about school and her current set of friends.

“If you like dancing, I should take you to the electro swing place a few blocks from here sometime. It’s always crazy on Saturdays.”

[theroyalten]

Flirting was definitely something they had in common. Although Melanie wasn’t particularly one for having more than one semi-serious relationship at once. Far too much work to juggle people while she was having to break-and-enter nightly as well as steal things.

Blade fitted the other girl much more than Melanie’s name fitted her. Her mother expected her to be more than what she was and she just lived to rebel. She didn’t particularly care to think about her family right now. Not when there were things like Blade’s hip to run her fingers along as they danced.

“That would be schway!” No sense in telling her that she’d be gone within the week. Less if Batman interfered with their plans. “I love this song!” Her hips rolled with the beat as she lost herself in it for a few moments, the E in her veins contributing to it.

Last night she had been to wary to come inside, had enjoyed from the outside looking in. Tonight she was determined to lose herself until her lungs heaved and her legs ached.

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Before We Grow

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Blade blinked for a moment, struck by the similarities between them, both blonde and pale, though this girl was pulling of a really schway grunge thing, whereas Blade was Barbie gone clubbing. The alcohol must have already impacted her (or maybe it was the fact that she pregamed before she came?) but she smiled back. A smile was a rarity from her.

“Yeah, I’d like that! It’ll keep the gross guys away, too.” she said, jerking her head towards a few men oogling them from the bar area. “Wanna be my girlfriend for the night?” she laughed, this chick didn’t know her. What was there to lose by a joke?

“But really, what’s your name? Why haven’t I seen you here before?”

[theroyalten]

Melanie had a way with making friends with everyone. She didn’t care if someone was a trust fund baby or poorer than a mouse - everyone was fair game for temporary friendship. Her mother hated every friend she made in every city they went to, but it had been her to teach Melanie how to blend.

Every sense in her body was on alert with the drugs and alcohol mixing in her bloodstream. She was so free. The returned smile made her feel fuzzy inside. Fuzzy. That was such a great word.

Oh. Girlfriend. She enjoyed having girlfriends - both of the friend type and the dating type. They were easier than boys sometimes. Though Terry... Focus on the girl for now. Melanie’s fingers ran along a dreadlock, enjoying the sensation of her twisted hair as she giggled at the joke. “If you’ll be mine,” she laughed back.

“I’m Melanie! I’m new in town. What’s your name?” She took her new friend by the hand and backed up towards the dancing crowd as she waited for an answer.

[theroyalten]

Break All the Rules | powerhungryrewire

[powerhungryrewire]

Davis looked over her, eyebrow cocked as she laid slighlt on him. This was…different. “You’re pretty excited.” Chipper was more like it. She was anxious and seemed very happy to suddenly see him. He was slightly uncomfortable but the mention that came next made him frown.

“If you need cigarettes I know some places…but I’m not interested in sexual favors” he grumbled, a deep frown on his face.

[theroyalten]

“More like I’m going stir crazy,” she corrected. Melanie was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet when she stood for more than a few minutes. She was used to having personal freedom and this place was the farthest thing from it. She needed to get out ASAP.

She laughed at his reaction and remained where she was. “Good because I don’t wanna give them out anyway. So who do I need to rob and-or kill to get a cigarette?”

[my-deception-and-perfection-dea]

Before We Grow

The night air felt cool on the blonde bombshell’s skin as she got out of the taxi. The club was so loud, she could already hear the muffled music inside, and as she walked closer in the dangerously thin, sky-high heels she could feel the bass making the ground beneath her feet tremble. She needed a break, to be on her own. There had been a schism in Hamilton Hill’s popular kids since the incident with Willie Watt going completely nuts.

Dana and Chelsea maintained that Blade had been wrong to lead him on, and called her out on it. Blade and Jackie (and most of the other football jocks) thought differently, and Blade did not back down from her opinion. He was a creepy stalker, and it wasn’t like he was dead. But the constant bickering, both aggressive and passive-aggressive needed to end, and she needed a night to herself. No social media, no nothing. 

She smirked at the bouncer, handing him her I.D. though she knew he was looking more closely at how the pink tube dress she was wearing clung to her, how short it was. As her mother would say, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. 

There was no way in hell she was paying for her own drink here, so she pulled out her pink bedazzled flask, took a long drink, and began to dance alone. She wished her girlfriends were here with her for a brief moment, but then she remembered she was angry with them. Spitefully, she decided she’d have more fun without them. Maybe she’d make some new friends by the end of the night. Who knew. It was still early.

Lost in her thoughts and the music, she stepped backwards, bumping into someone. Her first reaction was to snarl, but then she softened, remembering her promise to herself to make some friends. “Oh, Jesus! I’m sorry.” she apologized to the girl. 

[theroyalten]

A new city, a new start. Always a new start with new people, never staying in touch with old ones. Melanie learned very early on not to get attached to a place or to people. She dated, she made friends, and she left them. It would’ve been easier to do neither of those things but that made for a very lonely existence. It was better to find people who lived and loved fast and hard.

The club was where she had met Terry only the night before. But he was busy tonight and she was given a break so that her father could plan for Batman. Melanie didn’t want to think about Batman or her family. She just wanted to enjoy her night and maybe make a friend for a few hours. Maybe Terry would call her - he had fallen as hard as she had in those first few hours.

For now alcohol warmed her veins and a tablet had dissolved on her tongue like candy. More little heart-stamped tablets rested in a pocket for later use, if she chose to go through with it. A sudden bump as she was pondering further drinks caused her to turn around, lips parted to scold the person.

But the girl looked almost like her. A little taller - but they had a lot in common appearance-wise (except for Melanie’s very black lips and nails). Instead she smiled. “No damage!” She called back, voice lifting above the music. “Wanna dance?”

[theroyalten]

Break All the Rules | powerhungryrewire

[powerhungryrewire]

Davis was in the midst of reading. Zhora was in the free world and he still had a little bit of time left before he got out. He spent most of his time turning pages and enjoying some relative peace and quiet. That wasn’t to say he ignored everyone. He had a few people he enjoyed seeing. Lorelai Larson was a recent metahuman convict and had the two were similar in many aspects.

He looked up and saw another of his friends. “What?” he said. He closed the book shut, remembering where he left off whenever he returned to this.

[theroyalten]

“DavisDavisDavis - oh there you are,” she said, giving him an award-winning smile. Melanie glided towards him before flopping on his legs, laying awkwardly half on him and half on the furniture. It was his own damn fault for talking to her the first week she’d been here.

“I neeeed a cigarette.” It was practically a plea. He had to know some way. Someone she could bribe somehow. “I’ll trade sexual favours for the information.” A tease with a straight, but hopeful, face.

[theroyalten]

Not Quite a Full Deck

[pixelated-persephone-deactivate]

“No fucking shit,” Zhora grumbled under her breath with a snort. “Goddamn cow’s shaking down one of the senior inmates. Did you hear about this at all?” It was in the Gotham social celebrity news column for a bit: Alex Bellamy married Arkham lifer Maxie Zeus…and took over his fortune and company. “Woman’s the most shameless gold digger I ever met.”

She shrugged her shoulders and stretched her long legs. Her ankles went to the nearby table, propping her up as she sprawled out like a way-too-comfortable cat. “Did you hear, though? Somebody cleaned out one of her personal accounts. She flipped.”

[theroyalten]

She shook her head at the question. Melanie had avoided everything to do with Bellamy except for knowing where she was and if there was any contracts on Melanie’s head. So far everything had been on that end. 

Zhora was... nice. As nice as someone who was locked up could be. She was usually a pretty good judge of character, so Melanie found herself settling down rather than letting the jitters get to her. No point in being wary when they were being supervised anyway.

The redhead earned a grin then. “She deserved it,” she replied firmly. Melanie hesitated for a moment before shrugging. “Tell you a secret of mine - I took a job from her. Didn’t finish what she wanted me to do, but her money is tied up in my various accounts. It was keeping me from redlining.”

[theroyalten]

Break All the Rules | powerhungryrewire

It was free time and she was getting more restless being locked up. It wasn’t supposed to be this long that she’d be here but the therapists managed to see through her bullshit. Melanie was supposed to be an A+ actress, she could fool the best of the best, but the doctors seemed insistent that she wasn’t cured.

Well fuck that. She was getting a cigarette if it was the last thing she did. And she was going to get into a little trouble if she wasn’t going anywhere anyway.

Melanie headed for a friend’s cell to see if he was home. He’d been here longer. He’d know where she could get things that they didn’t want smuggled in. Maybe she’d help him get outside for a few hours before they went back - it’d be good to stretch her legs. Selina had done the security here, after all.

“DavisDavisDavisDavisDavis,” she chanted softly, on the hunt.

[theroyalten]

This Is A Robbery || Mel & Willie [AU]

[digital-darwinism-deactivated20]

The dig on Batman made Willie laugh internally, though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that in front of the other hostages in this situation. Would they end up trying to negotiate their way into a clean getaway with their prisoners or would this turn into a mess? Willie closed his eyes, took off his glasses, and was quietly relieved (for once) that he didn’t make much more than minimum wage with the Nerd Herd. Why? It meant there wouldn’t be much for the Royal Flush Gang to steal.

“How did you know the grid was shut down?” another hostage whispered at Willie. “Are you working with them?”

“No,” Willie snapped back, not appreciating the hostile tone this dreg was taking with him. “You think I’d be working a job as lame as this one if I did?” The answer to that question was a resounding no. Ford, that had to be way more exciting: seeing the world, taking what you wanted, enjoying every last thing this whole planet had to offer…

[theroyalten]

She hated when hostages didn’t follow orders. You’d think with multiple guns in the area (and two swords) that they’d follow to the letter, but it just went to show that some people were just like sheep that bleated when scared. Ten grabbed the first one to start whispering and pulled them down to her level. Just because she was short didn’t mean she didn’t know how to put the fear of her into people.

“Last warning before I start shooting. I didn’t take my crazy pills today,” she vocalized, staring at them from behind the red eyes of her mask. Her hand twisted the gun and swung forward to strike the man in the jaw hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to knock him out. “I want everyone in the middle right now! Anymore talking or crying or disobeying and I swear to whatever god you pray to, it won’t be pretty.”

Ten turned on her heel and paused. Her eyes settled on Ace, patiently waiting for orders, before turning to grab the boy in the nerd squad shirt. “You’re coming with me.” She dug her fingers into his shoulder as a warning not to make her any angrier as she headed to the gang’s android. King took control of the cashiers as Queen kept an eye on the hostages and Jack followed the youngest of the group.

“We have a vault to get into, sweet pea.”

[theroyalten]

my-deception-and-perfection liked your post:// *drapes self here* I have found my password I...

[theroyalten]

// *drapes self here* I have found my password

I am extremely good at losing them

Come to me

[theroyalten]

flames, new & old

[falling-at-terminal-velocity]

Most people, fortunately, left Carter to his own devices. They kept their distance because they couldn’t quite tell some days which version of him they were speaking with. After all, they’d confiscated the grease paint. Even if he was an ex-Joker, Terminal hadn’t quite gotten with the new program yet. He was rebellious and defiant as ever on the inside, even destructive.

“Oh, she didn’t. She treated that position like a legitimate job.” Right. As if they were paying her proper wages. It was probably still way more than she got to keep on her home level. “The good news is that the Jello Girl always gives it back. We all just have to suffer until she does.” No one trusted Nepenthe in the kitchen anymore, after all. Not after something nearly killed Shriek.

“Mothers are overrated,” he found himself saying, either in an attempt to console her or to keep Terminal at bay. Dissociating would do neither of them any good. “I’m serious, though; I have some instant meals from commissary that will probably be better than gelatinized liverwurst or whatever else Miranda’s going to torture us with.”

That was sticking in his mind, though. Someone else in here had a control freak for a mother. “You had to be perfect for her, didn’t you? Your mother, I mean.”

[theroyalten]

Melanie found herself trusting Rebel, she was one of the good ones. Zhora had been nice to her when she had first been turned out of her room and Willie had reassured her that she was good. She trusted Willie with everything. There was no one else in the world, besides her idiot brother, that she trusted as much as that. Maybe Carter could be one of few she called a friend.

She relaxed as he continued to talk without questioning what she had meant by that. Too many people wanted to pry into her mind and her memories, to know what made her tick and why she tried to destroy herself. Right now, in this crappy place, Melanie just wanted someone to smile at her and let her touch them affectionately.

“If you don’t mind sharing -- I think we should probably submit to instant meals,” she admitted. “At least we’ll know most of the things in them.” Carter managed to make her smile before it caught and she was tensing again.

Her blue eyes left his to look out over the people quietly talking in the cafeteria. Why did he care? How could he even guess? Didn’t most parents punish their kids that way? Finally she found the words inside to softly answer him though part of her wanted to shut down. He’d been nice.

“There were no room for mistakes in the Royal Flush,” she replied, still not looking at him. “What Mother wanted, Mother got.” Melanie chewed the inside of her mouth before smiling up at Carter with her black lips - lipstick safely tucked inside a shirt pocket now.

“Take me somewhere else? I don’t want to be poisoned today, I think.”

[sesat-svati]

Photography by Rachel Baran