Keni
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PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
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Game of Thrones Daily
Sweet Seals For You, Always
Today's Document
Doug Jones
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@wonderwaller
The ends justify the means.
//OOC: do I know the character well? No! I just want to have a morally gray to villainous character hanging around for potential future plots.
Mun welcomes all interactions. Mun is trying to play a character who has a much higher INT score than themself.
rlly interesting that ur 30 n so heavily sexualize n fetishize a 19 y/o rape victim u clearly have 0 regard for his story or character u just want smut fr should have made an oc or smth if u didnt want to commit to rlly playing dick doesnt look like u even read his comics
((ooc))
Hey.
I wrote a lot of angry things in response to this. I had paragraphs and I deleted them.
Because it doesn't matter.
I doubt this anon is even listening.
I doubt they'll ever know that this was one of the most hurtful things I've been hit with alongside some truly horrible real life timing.
But hey, at least they defended an imaginary character. They hurt a real life person, but who cares, right? I'll never be as real as Dick Grayson is, not to them.
I'm tired.
I'm busy.
I'm only awake because someone close to me died and then I found this little gem on my dash.
So fine.
Consider @illiteratedickgrayson on hiatus for the time being. I'll not be starting any new RP with him on Tumblr, though I hope to continue the ones that are active.
I'll also be officially putting my other DC RP blogs on hiatus, and even unmasking one that's been getting constant streams of this kind of comment for months now.
@flyingprodigy | @grantagonist | @wonderwaller | @akatarantula | @pk-dick-grayson
@gothamgabber will remain as my Roomie Gabe's rare venture into Tumblr. My personal blog will probably be quiet for awhile, too.
I'll be active on the DCRPLR Discord if anyone wants to duck this latest wave of purity politics and bigotry. DM me for an invite or ask one of my usual RP buddies.
One more Queer person chased off the dash 👍🏼
The Letter
[Following the murder of an aged Amanda Waller, @smilekitty-lharper is left with a metal lockbox holding the entirety of the woman's professional life and a good portion of her personal one. Every secret Waller died knowing is now in the hands of the girl who had been trained to replace her. To become better than her]
[There is a letter in that box, written in the first successful code that Lian had created as part of her training. Only two people in this time would have been able to decipher it without weeks of attempts; one person remains]
After coming back to earth, some things john unpacked magically, not wanting to be bothered with it, but there were things that were too special to do like that. When Roy came into their bedroom, john was hanging the wedding gift he had gotten him, the dreamcatcher.
Hey baby... does it look good here?
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy smiled fondly, walking over to stand behind John, chin resting on his shoulder as he looked at the dreamcatcher. “I think that’s the perfect place for it.”
Yeah? It looks good?
John smiled at Roy.
Now it feels like home again. This was missing. Sorry I took so long in unpacking it.
He turned his head to kiss at John’s neck before pulling back a bit, glancing at the dreamcatcher with a fond look. “No, it’s perfect there.”
I've been feeling a bit... I don't know, reticent? I guess? About making this our home again. But Lian is back and I truly missed our family here so... im ready to settle down again
Roy nodded. “It makes sense we’d have some conflicted feelings since we made a home in that palace, but John,” and he said his name so he’d take it seriously as Roy continued, “you and Lian are my home. I’m a nomad that way, finding refuge in the people I love.”
And Donna and Jinx and Rose all had places in their family too, they were lucky in that.
John turned around fully and hugged him tightly.
I'm scared everything will get taken away again... that we'll lose her. I- I want to take us to the palace and lock us up there, make sure neither of you ever suffer in any way again and I- I know thats messed up and wrong... but I'm too scared for that pain to come back, Roy. Im terrified.
“I still have nightmares about the crash,” he admitted quietly. “I get it.”
We cant go through that again...
John pulled away a bit to look at roy in the eyes.
I won't survive losing her a second time, my love
Roy nodded in agreement, frowning. “We need to handle Waller, and then she’ll be safe with us. She was trained, so I’m not worried about her being out there patrolling, that would be hypocritical of me, but Waller is a threat. An active one. Any idea on how we can locate her?”
A tracking spell. Finding her wont be a problem. How do you want to handle this?
“We can start with talking to her, I’m curious what her excuse for faking the death of a child will be,” Roy told him.
Alright... I want her dead and when thats done im taking her soul down to hell with me.
Roy nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed easily. “If anyone deserves eternal torment it’s her.” She’d made them miss their baby girl growing up, and that was unforgivable.
Good. We can go to her whenever youre ready.
“Let me suit up and we can go now? I’m not meeting with her unarmed,” he explained. He knew Waller too well for that.
Of course. We did tell Lian we'd do this with her too... I dont like her being involved tho
He’d turned to get dressed in his Arsenal gear but paused. “Right. Neither do I, but she has a right to be there. She has a right to answers too.”
I know. I- you get suited up and I'll go let her know we're going after Waller.
He nodded, turned to go put on his gear. It usually took him a good few minutes to get all the weapons in place.
John went to Lians bedroom and knocked.
Sweetheart? We're going after Waller, get suited up, come on
@smilekitty-lharper
she walked out already suited up and ready to go. "ready"
@arrowsnsarcasm
When he walked back out he was still adjusting his hat with it on backwards. He paused when he saw Lian all suited up though. “I’m never getting used to this.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Yeah... me neither. If you're scared or you need help, you come you either of us, okay? I trust you, youre a good fighter, but we're there with you.
John said to Lian. He didn't need to change, the armor, crown and sword appearing on their own.
I've tracked the bitch already, so if everyone is good to go... I'll open a portal there
@smilekitty-lharper
"I'll be fine dad ... dads"
she nodded to show she was ready, pulling her mask down over her face
@arrowsnsarcasm
He started to reach for his bow, then reconsidered and readied his sidearm instead, holding it steady and ready in two hands. “Okay.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Alright... I have Wallers' location. You'll do the talking, Roy, because I'm not feeling very diplomatic right now.
John opened the portal to where she was, sword in hand. He went in first because he had no idea where they were going to appear, just that Waller was there. His eyes were glowing with flames and John felt ready for war. That was why Roy was the diplomatic one of the marriage. As soon as Lian and his husband walked through the portal, it closed behind them.
@wonderwaller
[Amanda Waller looks older than the last time any of them had seen her. Even Lian might note the extra gray in the woman's hair and the lines at her mouth. She stands in a nearly empty room as if she had been anticipating their arrival. There's a small table covered in files between them and her.]
[The gun is already unholstered and held loosely in one hand. Waller's dark eyes assess them and look almost...pleased...at what she sees.]
"Welcome home."
@smilekitty-lharper
Lian doesnt speak, staying quiet behind her mask letting her dad also doing to talking because anything she had to say would be unintelligible or full of emotion which wasn't something she wanted to let waller see. She simply stayed on gaurd behind John and Roy
@arrowsnsarcasm
“Home? Home? You made me bury my little girl, you don’t get to pretend to be her fucking home.” He’d thought he could handle this, but the echoes of Lian’s scream in his mind were fresh again.
He took a step forward and raised his gun towards her head. She should know him for the marksman he was, should know he’d fire without hesitation to make a kill shot if he had to. “Give me a reason you should remain breathing. I fucking dare you.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy was the diplomatic one of the relationship, John would've lunged at her viciously.
If you think you can survive this... think again
His voice was deep and angry, he could barely see with the fury clouding his mind.
@wonderwaller
[Waller eyes the men cooly, acknowledging their danger and their anger with a detached air. Her attention is focused on Lian, on the girl she had ordered to be taken. It had been a longshot, this plan of hers. One of the other schemes might pan out better in the future]
[But to be honest, if only with herself, Amanda hopes most for this one to work. Maybe not today, maybe not for years, but someday]
"I was welcoming you two, actually. Hell is your new abode, is it not? You believed your daughter died in an accident and it sent you both running away and back to your addictions."
[There is, surprisingly, no censure in her tone. She knows the pain they'd felt; she's buried two of her own children and her husband, besides. She had dragged Floyd Lawton to rehab. She'd grown up in Chicago's poorest district. She knew what people could become after the loss of a child]
[She had hoped that Roy and John would be among the few who grow stronger through enduring loss. There had been enough variants of them both who had become pragmatic and able to make the hardest decisions after personal tragedy]
[It's a pity these two didn't make the cut]
"Lian. You've reunited with your family; is it everything that you'd hoped it would be? Three of the most powerful and well-connected people on Earth grieved you desperately...and nothing came from it. They each ran to their chosen vices and let the rest of the world rot without them."
"Wouldn't you rather have found that the world had changed while you were away? That they had done something, anything, to better the world in your memory? Not so much as a scholarship set up to support more trauma surgeons."
[A great deal of Lian's education would have been reinforced with the philosophy that people have the responsibility to grow from tragedy. That not trying to prevent a tragedy from reoccurring was as good as committing it]
@smilekitty-lharper
It was as if she was back being the little girl controlled by Waller, she stayed quiet, unable to really speak. She stood her ground though, tightening her graspon her knife.
She really hated this, maybe she wasn't as cut out for this as she thought. Waller was getting in her head though, why didn't they try? They were gone eight years surely they could've gone back sooner to try and make things better.
@arrowsnsarcasm
He pressed the gun physically against her head, bringing a knife out in his prosthetic for good measure.
“You don’t get to decide how people grieve,” Roy told Waller bitterly. “You saw flashes of it, not our entire lives. We were getting high, sure, but I never quit training or working out with the goal of being exactly where I am right now with a gun pointed at the cause.” Sure he’d thought that cause was the other driver, but things had changed with Lian coming back.
“Losing you broke us,” he told Lian. “But don’t believe her lies of that making us useless.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Were you expecting my baby girls death would make me a hero?
John asked, more than surprised by that. If anything, it made him a worse of a man.
Why did you take her? Why her?
He spent those eight years in hell torturing the killer of his daughter. John never grew tired of it either, he even took joy from it. He stayed away from Waller, close to Lian, for two reasons. One, his daughter probably needed him close by. And two, if he got closer, he would kill her and they wouldnt get any answers.
@wonderwaller
[Her lips curl in distaste at the gun in Roy's hand and the showmanship of the knife. There is no fear in Waller's countenance nor does she make any move to defend herself with the gun in her hand. Her survival is not the goal]
[Not this time]
"Your excuses are self-serving and weak. I'd theorized a better showing from both of you; it's unfortunate that you've always been exceedingly selfish people. You focus only on what is immediately in front of you and give the barest thoughts to the future. You think you can make hard calls, but what you actually do is defend only the people and things you personally care about. You do nothing to better the world beyond your own tiny group. Even now you're so self involved that you miss the obvious."
[The hand not holding the gun slides a metal box across the desk towards Lian with a strong grunt of effort. Waller's hand is wrinkled and spotted with age. Lian has known this woman for so long, however reluctantly]
"This was never about either of you."
[Her eyes bore into Lian and there might be something like pride deep within them. Something like affection. Something like hope]
"Whatever happens here, Lian, this is yours. It's coded to open only for your DNA sequence. You've been trained and taught by the best warriors and strategists. You have untapped potential even now, even after everything you've been through. But there isn't anymore time."
@smilekitty-lharper
"What are you talking about?"
she finally got the words to speak, and those words were bitter. she was angry and hurt. but.. she was starting to realize there was a part of her that maybe wanted her. she had spent most her life with her, theres only so much hate she could have against the woman who raised her.
@arrowsnsarcasm
“I was a motherfucking Titan. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. I died for this mission, so nice try with the selfish angle, but that doesn’t apply here,” Roy told her.
He glanced at the box though with worried eyes, sharing a look with John, hoping he’d take a look at it magically to make sure it wasn’t a threat. And he cocked his gun just to be a dick about it, hand still holding it steady.
One bullet is all it would take.
But Roy knew they’d have the government on their asses if Waller died. He knew how this worked. Even if he hated it with everything he was, she was probably walking away from this.
@john-brendan-knowles
John was selfish, he was everything she said and more, worse even. He still found her words insulting, only because Roy was none of those things. He looked at Waller with disgust.
I am a monster, Waller. I am someone people write cautionary tales about... if you think the world, humankind, or just innocents matter to me, even a little bit, you're deadly mistaken. The man with a gun to your head is the only reason I haven't gut you open yet. So you better start giving us answers before he loses his patience.
He turned to Lian.
Nick your finger, with just a bit of your blood i can open it. We're not risking your wellbeing, after I make sure its safe, you can look it over
@wonderwaller
"Your heroism was a childhood ego trip."
[A trace of annoyance crosses her face before being smoothed over. Waller is unusually calm for a woman with a primed gun being held to her forehead. Her eyes follow John's movement and a curl of satisfaction winds through her, though nothing shows on her infamously cold face. The aged bureaucrat is glad that the girl is hearing him admit this; it will help her make difficult decisions, someday]
[The girl...Lian. Amanda's attention keeps returning to her. The mother she had once been looks at this girl and sees Damita. It's unforgivable, the things Amanda Waller has done in the name of protecting the human race. This might be the most cruel...yet, she doesn't regret it. She knows that she chose well]
[Amanda Waller is silent as the box is opened to reveal...everything. The complete documentation of every project she's ever had a hand in or been aware of lies in that box, on coded paper and USB sticks, along with her notes. The personal letter she's left Lian about her own case is mixed in with them all]
[The keys to a kingdom]
@smilekitty-lharper
She stared at it while sucking her finger to stop the bleeding. She was at a loss for words and this whole thing was feeling like too much for her. Thankfully her parents were there.
She wanted to reach out to any of them for comfort but they were all a bit occupied so she just did what she always does, takes a breath and stops thinking just focusing on the task at hand
@arrowsnsarcasm
Roy nudged her head slightly with the gun before pulling it away finally, frustrated at her assessment of his hero career. It fed into his own insecurities that he was nothing more than a junkie pretending to make a difference.
He glanced at the box, then at Lian. “It could be a trick.”
@john-brendan-knowles
This doesn't really make me not want to torture you, Waller.
We have what we came for, I guess. Why should I spare you?
His eyes lit up again and the room felt hot. John rested a hand on Lians back, wanting to offer her some comfort. The truth was, he wouldn't do anything to Waller while his daughter was there with them.
If you want to go home and go through all this so you dont have to see what happens... its okay sweetheart
@wonderwaller
"Your ego is even more outrageous, John; this was never about you or what you may or may not want."
[Waller reaches up to rub at the mark on her forehead, vague annoyance again crossing her features. She's never been one to care for the dramatics of the cape types]
"Lian."
[Amanda had raised this girl more than she'd raised her own children. She knows that she's a nasty piece of work and a battle-axe, always demanding excellence and punishing failure. And yet, there had been moments of affection from both of them. Pride in the girl's successes. Amusement at her cleverness. Fondness.]
[Amanda had done what was necessary]
"You've done well."
@smilekitty-lharper
she just shook her head at her dad, she could do this. she needed to do this.
"thank you.." it was instinct to say to Waller.
@arrowsnsarcasm
You’ve done well.
Like she had any right. Like Lian was hers. Like she knew the girl, and wanted what was best for her. Like she’d raised h…he stepped between his daughter and Waller.
Roy lifted the gun and fired that single bullet. For everything she’d stolen and everything she’d just given Lian. Years of her adolescence, and now with this added weight. He was unbothered by the blood splatter, hardly even blinked, but that’s why he’d stepped in front of Lian first, to shield her from the splatter not the gunshot.
Unfortunately, he knew the gunshot was something she could handle.
@john-brendan-knowles
John smiled, and he was thankful Lian couldn't see it on his face. It was something not many were capable of, to find joy in the pain of others in that way. To him, it was like a breath of fresh air. He couldn't just blame it on the demon blood. Something was different about John compared to everyone else. Maybe it was how he was raised or where. He didn't know and didn't care. The truth was, seeing his husband shoot someone, felt good, felt right, even if it meant Roy's soul kept getting darker the longer John was there to contaminate it.
@wonderwaller
[The kill is efficient and professional; Waller would have approved if she had been more than a corpse dropping inelegantly to the floor. She'd known this would be the outcome of this particular plan; Amanda had known Lian would have a greater chance to take up the positions Waller had held someday if the girl witnessed the death of one parental figure at the hands of another. Unchecked power and authority in three acts. The revenge that is useless in the long term, only bloodying hands unnecessarily and denying Lian a potential resource by a few weeks]
[Amanda Waller has been dying the entire time Lian was with her. A terminal diagnosis had ignited her search for her heir, someone who could make the choices necessary to protect the world from those with unearned power and their fragile morals. Someone with the potential to become better than Waller herself had been]
[She had found Lian Harper and she had done everything in her power to teach the girl what she would need to know. Amanda had prepared her for just about everything she could think of until her illness decided to finalize her timeline. Even her death, though, Waller uses as a lesson opportunity. Her execution here is a useless act that only damns Roy further. Amanda Waller's fierce soul rejects all options for the afterlife - there will be nothing but a soul dissolving like seafoam if John attempts to take it for punishment]
[She dies satisfied]
@smilekitty-lharper
After coming back to earth, some things john unpacked magically, not wanting to be bothered with it, but there were things that were too special to do like that. When Roy came into their bedroom, john was hanging the wedding gift he had gotten him, the dreamcatcher.
Hey baby... does it look good here?
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy smiled fondly, walking over to stand behind John, chin resting on his shoulder as he looked at the dreamcatcher. “I think that’s the perfect place for it.”
Yeah? It looks good?
John smiled at Roy.
Now it feels like home again. This was missing. Sorry I took so long in unpacking it.
He turned his head to kiss at John’s neck before pulling back a bit, glancing at the dreamcatcher with a fond look. “No, it’s perfect there.”
I've been feeling a bit... I don't know, reticent? I guess? About making this our home again. But Lian is back and I truly missed our family here so... im ready to settle down again
Roy nodded. “It makes sense we’d have some conflicted feelings since we made a home in that palace, but John,” and he said his name so he’d take it seriously as Roy continued, “you and Lian are my home. I’m a nomad that way, finding refuge in the people I love.”
And Donna and Jinx and Rose all had places in their family too, they were lucky in that.
John turned around fully and hugged him tightly.
I'm scared everything will get taken away again... that we'll lose her. I- I want to take us to the palace and lock us up there, make sure neither of you ever suffer in any way again and I- I know thats messed up and wrong... but I'm too scared for that pain to come back, Roy. Im terrified.
“I still have nightmares about the crash,” he admitted quietly. “I get it.”
We cant go through that again...
John pulled away a bit to look at roy in the eyes.
I won't survive losing her a second time, my love
Roy nodded in agreement, frowning. “We need to handle Waller, and then she’ll be safe with us. She was trained, so I’m not worried about her being out there patrolling, that would be hypocritical of me, but Waller is a threat. An active one. Any idea on how we can locate her?”
A tracking spell. Finding her wont be a problem. How do you want to handle this?
“We can start with talking to her, I’m curious what her excuse for faking the death of a child will be,” Roy told him.
Alright... I want her dead and when thats done im taking her soul down to hell with me.
Roy nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed easily. “If anyone deserves eternal torment it’s her.” She’d made them miss their baby girl growing up, and that was unforgivable.
Good. We can go to her whenever youre ready.
“Let me suit up and we can go now? I’m not meeting with her unarmed,” he explained. He knew Waller too well for that.
Of course. We did tell Lian we'd do this with her too... I dont like her being involved tho
He’d turned to get dressed in his Arsenal gear but paused. “Right. Neither do I, but she has a right to be there. She has a right to answers too.”
I know. I- you get suited up and I'll go let her know we're going after Waller.
He nodded, turned to go put on his gear. It usually took him a good few minutes to get all the weapons in place.
John went to Lians bedroom and knocked.
Sweetheart? We're going after Waller, get suited up, come on
@smilekitty-lharper
she walked out already suited up and ready to go. "ready"
@arrowsnsarcasm
When he walked back out he was still adjusting his hat with it on backwards. He paused when he saw Lian all suited up though. “I’m never getting used to this.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Yeah... me neither. If you're scared or you need help, you come you either of us, okay? I trust you, youre a good fighter, but we're there with you.
John said to Lian. He didn't need to change, the armor, crown and sword appearing on their own.
I've tracked the bitch already, so if everyone is good to go... I'll open a portal there
@smilekitty-lharper
"I'll be fine dad ... dads"
she nodded to show she was ready, pulling her mask down over her face
@arrowsnsarcasm
He started to reach for his bow, then reconsidered and readied his sidearm instead, holding it steady and ready in two hands. “Okay.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Alright... I have Wallers' location. You'll do the talking, Roy, because I'm not feeling very diplomatic right now.
John opened the portal to where she was, sword in hand. He went in first because he had no idea where they were going to appear, just that Waller was there. His eyes were glowing with flames and John felt ready for war. That was why Roy was the diplomatic one of the marriage. As soon as Lian and his husband walked through the portal, it closed behind them.
@wonderwaller
[Amanda Waller looks older than the last time any of them had seen her. Even Lian might note the extra gray in the woman's hair and the lines at her mouth. She stands in a nearly empty room as if she had been anticipating their arrival. There's a small table covered in files between them and her.]
[The gun is already unholstered and held loosely in one hand. Waller's dark eyes assess them and look almost...pleased...at what she sees.]
"Welcome home."
@smilekitty-lharper
Lian doesnt speak, staying quiet behind her mask letting her dad also doing to talking because anything she had to say would be unintelligible or full of emotion which wasn't something she wanted to let waller see. She simply stayed on gaurd behind John and Roy
@arrowsnsarcasm
“Home? Home? You made me bury my little girl, you don’t get to pretend to be her fucking home.” He’d thought he could handle this, but the echoes of Lian’s scream in his mind were fresh again.
He took a step forward and raised his gun towards her head. She should know him for the marksman he was, should know he’d fire without hesitation to make a kill shot if he had to. “Give me a reason you should remain breathing. I fucking dare you.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy was the diplomatic one of the relationship, John would've lunged at her viciously.
If you think you can survive this... think again
His voice was deep and angry, he could barely see with the fury clouding his mind.
@wonderwaller
[Waller eyes the men cooly, acknowledging their danger and their anger with a detached air. Her attention is focused on Lian, on the girl she had ordered to be taken. It had been a longshot, this plan of hers. One of the other schemes might pan out better in the future]
[But to be honest, if only with herself, Amanda hopes most for this one to work. Maybe not today, maybe not for years, but someday]
"I was welcoming you two, actually. Hell is your new abode, is it not? You believed your daughter died in an accident and it sent you both running away and back to your addictions."
[There is, surprisingly, no censure in her tone. She knows the pain they'd felt; she's buried two of her own children and her husband, besides. She had dragged Floyd Lawton to rehab. She'd grown up in Chicago's poorest district. She knew what people could become after the loss of a child]
[She had hoped that Roy and John would be among the few who grow stronger through enduring loss. There had been enough variants of them both who had become pragmatic and able to make the hardest decisions after personal tragedy]
[It's a pity these two didn't make the cut]
"Lian. You've reunited with your family; is it everything that you'd hoped it would be? Three of the most powerful and well-connected people on Earth grieved you desperately...and nothing came from it. They each ran to their chosen vices and let the rest of the world rot without them."
"Wouldn't you rather have found that the world had changed while you were away? That they had done something, anything, to better the world in your memory? Not so much as a scholarship set up to support more trauma surgeons."
[A great deal of Lian's education would have been reinforced with the philosophy that people have the responsibility to grow from tragedy. That not trying to prevent a tragedy from reoccurring was as good as committing it]
@smilekitty-lharper
It was as if she was back being the little girl controlled by Waller, she stayed quiet, unable to really speak. She stood her ground though, tightening her graspon her knife.
She really hated this, maybe she wasn't as cut out for this as she thought. Waller was getting in her head though, why didn't they try? They were gone eight years surely they could've gone back sooner to try and make things better.
@arrowsnsarcasm
He pressed the gun physically against her head, bringing a knife out in his prosthetic for good measure.
“You don’t get to decide how people grieve,” Roy told Waller bitterly. “You saw flashes of it, not our entire lives. We were getting high, sure, but I never quit training or working out with the goal of being exactly where I am right now with a gun pointed at the cause.” Sure he’d thought that cause was the other driver, but things had changed with Lian coming back.
“Losing you broke us,” he told Lian. “But don’t believe her lies of that making us useless.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Were you expecting my baby girls death would make me a hero?
John asked, more than surprised by that. If anything, it made him a worse of a man.
Why did you take her? Why her?
He spent those eight years in hell torturing the killer of his daughter. John never grew tired of it either, he even took joy from it. He stayed away from Waller, close to Lian, for two reasons. One, his daughter probably needed him close by. And two, if he got closer, he would kill her and they wouldnt get any answers.
@wonderwaller
[Her lips curl in distaste at the gun in Roy's hand and the showmanship of the knife. There is no fear in Waller's countenance nor does she make any move to defend herself with the gun in her hand. Her survival is not the goal]
[Not this time]
"Your excuses are self-serving and weak. I'd theorized a better showing from both of you; it's unfortunate that you've always been exceedingly selfish people. You focus only on what is immediately in front of you and give the barest thoughts to the future. You think you can make hard calls, but what you actually do is defend only the people and things you personally care about. You do nothing to better the world beyond your own tiny group. Even now you're so self involved that you miss the obvious."
[The hand not holding the gun slides a metal box across the desk towards Lian with a strong grunt of effort. Waller's hand is wrinkled and spotted with age. Lian has known this woman for so long, however reluctantly]
"This was never about either of you."
[Her eyes bore into Lian and there might be something like pride deep within them. Something like affection. Something like hope]
"Whatever happens here, Lian, this is yours. It's coded to open only for your DNA sequence. You've been trained and taught by the best warriors and strategists. You have untapped potential even now, even after everything you've been through. But there isn't anymore time."
@smilekitty-lharper
"What are you talking about?"
she finally got the words to speak, and those words were bitter. she was angry and hurt. but.. she was starting to realize there was a part of her that maybe wanted her. she had spent most her life with her, theres only so much hate she could have against the woman who raised her.
@arrowsnsarcasm
“I was a motherfucking Titan. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. I died for this mission, so nice try with the selfish angle, but that doesn’t apply here,” Roy told her.
He glanced at the box though with worried eyes, sharing a look with John, hoping he’d take a look at it magically to make sure it wasn’t a threat. And he cocked his gun just to be a dick about it, hand still holding it steady.
One bullet is all it would take.
But Roy knew they’d have the government on their asses if Waller died. He knew how this worked. Even if he hated it with everything he was, she was probably walking away from this.
@john-brendan-knowles
John was selfish, he was everything she said and more, worse even. He still found her words insulting, only because Roy was none of those things. He looked at Waller with disgust.
I am a monster, Waller. I am someone people write cautionary tales about... if you think the world, humankind, or just innocents matter to me, even a little bit, you're deadly mistaken. The man with a gun to your head is the only reason I haven't gut you open yet. So you better start giving us answers before he loses his patience.
He turned to Lian.
Nick your finger, with just a bit of your blood i can open it. We're not risking your wellbeing, after I make sure its safe, you can look it over
@wonderwaller
"Your heroism was a childhood ego trip."
[A trace of annoyance crosses her face before being smoothed over. Waller is unusually calm for a woman with a primed gun being held to her forehead. Her eyes follow John's movement and a curl of satisfaction winds through her, though nothing shows on her infamously cold face. The aged bureaucrat is glad that the girl is hearing him admit this; it will help her make difficult decisions, someday]
[The girl...Lian. Amanda's attention keeps returning to her. The mother she had once been looks at this girl and sees Damita. It's unforgivable, the things Amanda Waller has done in the name of protecting the human race. This might be the most cruel...yet, she doesn't regret it. She knows that she chose well]
[Amanda Waller is silent as the box is opened to reveal...everything. The complete documentation of every project she's ever had a hand in or been aware of lies in that box, on coded paper and USB sticks, along with her notes. The personal letter she's left Lian about her own case is mixed in with them all]
[The keys to a kingdom]
@smilekitty-lharper
She stared at it while sucking her finger to stop the bleeding. She was at a loss for words and this whole thing was feeling like too much for her. Thankfully her parents were there.
She wanted to reach out to any of them for comfort but they were all a bit occupied so she just did what she always does, takes a breath and stops thinking just focusing on the task at hand
@arrowsnsarcasm
Roy nudged her head slightly with the gun before pulling it away finally, frustrated at her assessment of his hero career. It fed into his own insecurities that he was nothing more than a junkie pretending to make a difference.
He glanced at the box, then at Lian. “It could be a trick.”
@john-brendan-knowles
This doesn't really make me not want to torture you, Waller.
We have what we came for, I guess. Why should I spare you?
His eyes lit up again and the room felt hot. John rested a hand on Lians back, wanting to offer her some comfort. The truth was, he wouldn't do anything to Waller while his daughter was there with them.
If you want to go home and go through all this so you dont have to see what happens... its okay sweetheart
@wonderwaller
"Your ego is even more outrageous, John; this was never about you or what you may or may not want."
[Waller reaches up to rub at the mark on her forehead, vague annoyance again crossing her features. She's never been one to care for the dramatics of the cape types]
"Lian."
[Amanda had raised this girl more than she'd raised her own children. She knows that she's a nasty piece of work and a battle-axe, always demanding excellence and punishing failure. And yet, there had been moments of affection from both of them. Pride in the girl's successes. Amusement at her cleverness. Fondness.]
[Amanda had done what was necessary]
"You've done well."
@smilekitty-lharper
After coming back to earth, some things john unpacked magically, not wanting to be bothered with it, but there were things that were too special to do like that. When Roy came into their bedroom, john was hanging the wedding gift he had gotten him, the dreamcatcher.
Hey baby... does it look good here?
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy smiled fondly, walking over to stand behind John, chin resting on his shoulder as he looked at the dreamcatcher. “I think that’s the perfect place for it.”
Yeah? It looks good?
John smiled at Roy.
Now it feels like home again. This was missing. Sorry I took so long in unpacking it.
He turned his head to kiss at John’s neck before pulling back a bit, glancing at the dreamcatcher with a fond look. “No, it’s perfect there.”
I've been feeling a bit... I don't know, reticent? I guess? About making this our home again. But Lian is back and I truly missed our family here so... im ready to settle down again
Roy nodded. “It makes sense we’d have some conflicted feelings since we made a home in that palace, but John,” and he said his name so he’d take it seriously as Roy continued, “you and Lian are my home. I’m a nomad that way, finding refuge in the people I love.”
And Donna and Jinx and Rose all had places in their family too, they were lucky in that.
John turned around fully and hugged him tightly.
I'm scared everything will get taken away again... that we'll lose her. I- I want to take us to the palace and lock us up there, make sure neither of you ever suffer in any way again and I- I know thats messed up and wrong... but I'm too scared for that pain to come back, Roy. Im terrified.
“I still have nightmares about the crash,” he admitted quietly. “I get it.”
We cant go through that again...
John pulled away a bit to look at roy in the eyes.
I won't survive losing her a second time, my love
Roy nodded in agreement, frowning. “We need to handle Waller, and then she’ll be safe with us. She was trained, so I’m not worried about her being out there patrolling, that would be hypocritical of me, but Waller is a threat. An active one. Any idea on how we can locate her?”
A tracking spell. Finding her wont be a problem. How do you want to handle this?
“We can start with talking to her, I’m curious what her excuse for faking the death of a child will be,” Roy told him.
Alright... I want her dead and when thats done im taking her soul down to hell with me.
Roy nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed easily. “If anyone deserves eternal torment it’s her.” She’d made them miss their baby girl growing up, and that was unforgivable.
Good. We can go to her whenever youre ready.
“Let me suit up and we can go now? I’m not meeting with her unarmed,” he explained. He knew Waller too well for that.
Of course. We did tell Lian we'd do this with her too... I dont like her being involved tho
He’d turned to get dressed in his Arsenal gear but paused. “Right. Neither do I, but she has a right to be there. She has a right to answers too.”
I know. I- you get suited up and I'll go let her know we're going after Waller.
He nodded, turned to go put on his gear. It usually took him a good few minutes to get all the weapons in place.
John went to Lians bedroom and knocked.
Sweetheart? We're going after Waller, get suited up, come on
@smilekitty-lharper
she walked out already suited up and ready to go. "ready"
@arrowsnsarcasm
When he walked back out he was still adjusting his hat with it on backwards. He paused when he saw Lian all suited up though. “I’m never getting used to this.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Yeah... me neither. If you're scared or you need help, you come you either of us, okay? I trust you, youre a good fighter, but we're there with you.
John said to Lian. He didn't need to change, the armor, crown and sword appearing on their own.
I've tracked the bitch already, so if everyone is good to go... I'll open a portal there
@smilekitty-lharper
"I'll be fine dad ... dads"
she nodded to show she was ready, pulling her mask down over her face
@arrowsnsarcasm
He started to reach for his bow, then reconsidered and readied his sidearm instead, holding it steady and ready in two hands. “Okay.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Alright... I have Wallers' location. You'll do the talking, Roy, because I'm not feeling very diplomatic right now.
John opened the portal to where she was, sword in hand. He went in first because he had no idea where they were going to appear, just that Waller was there. His eyes were glowing with flames and John felt ready for war. That was why Roy was the diplomatic one of the marriage. As soon as Lian and his husband walked through the portal, it closed behind them.
@wonderwaller
[Amanda Waller looks older than the last time any of them had seen her. Even Lian might note the extra gray in the woman's hair and the lines at her mouth. She stands in a nearly empty room as if she had been anticipating their arrival. There's a small table covered in files between them and her.]
[The gun is already unholstered and held loosely in one hand. Waller's dark eyes assess them and look almost...pleased...at what she sees.]
"Welcome home."
@smilekitty-lharper
Lian doesnt speak, staying quiet behind her mask letting her dad also doing to talking because anything she had to say would be unintelligible or full of emotion which wasn't something she wanted to let waller see. She simply stayed on gaurd behind John and Roy
@arrowsnsarcasm
“Home? Home? You made me bury my little girl, you don’t get to pretend to be her fucking home.” He’d thought he could handle this, but the echoes of Lian’s scream in his mind were fresh again.
He took a step forward and raised his gun towards her head. She should know him for the marksman he was, should know he’d fire without hesitation to make a kill shot if he had to. “Give me a reason you should remain breathing. I fucking dare you.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy was the diplomatic one of the relationship, John would've lunged at her viciously.
If you think you can survive this... think again
His voice was deep and angry, he could barely see with the fury clouding his mind.
@wonderwaller
[Waller eyes the men cooly, acknowledging their danger and their anger with a detached air. Her attention is focused on Lian, on the girl she had ordered to be taken. It had been a longshot, this plan of hers. One of the other schemes might pan out better in the future]
[But to be honest, if only with herself, Amanda hopes most for this one to work. Maybe not today, maybe not for years, but someday]
"I was welcoming you two, actually. Hell is your new abode, is it not? You believed your daughter died in an accident and it sent you both running away and back to your addictions."
[There is, surprisingly, no censure in her tone. She knows the pain they'd felt; she's buried two of her own children and her husband, besides. She had dragged Floyd Lawton to rehab. She'd grown up in Chicago's poorest district. She knew what people could become after the loss of a child]
[She had hoped that Roy and John would be among the few who grow stronger through enduring loss. There had been enough variants of them both who had become pragmatic and able to make the hardest decisions after personal tragedy]
[It's a pity these two didn't make the cut]
"Lian. You've reunited with your family; is it everything that you'd hoped it would be? Three of the most powerful and well-connected people on Earth grieved you desperately...and nothing came from it. They each ran to their chosen vices and let the rest of the world rot without them."
"Wouldn't you rather have found that the world had changed while you were away? That they had done something, anything, to better the world in your memory? Not so much as a scholarship set up to support more trauma surgeons."
[A great deal of Lian's education would have been reinforced with the philosophy that people have the responsibility to grow from tragedy. That not trying to prevent a tragedy from reoccurring was as good as committing it]
@smilekitty-lharper
It was as if she was back being the little girl controlled by Waller, she stayed quiet, unable to really speak. She stood her ground though, tightening her graspon her knife.
She really hated this, maybe she wasn't as cut out for this as she thought. Waller was getting in her head though, why didn't they try? They were gone eight years surely they could've gone back sooner to try and make things better.
@arrowsnsarcasm
He pressed the gun physically against her head, bringing a knife out in his prosthetic for good measure.
“You don’t get to decide how people grieve,” Roy told Waller bitterly. “You saw flashes of it, not our entire lives. We were getting high, sure, but I never quit training or working out with the goal of being exactly where I am right now with a gun pointed at the cause.” Sure he’d thought that cause was the other driver, but things had changed with Lian coming back.
“Losing you broke us,” he told Lian. “But don’t believe her lies of that making us useless.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Were you expecting my baby girls death would make me a hero?
John asked, more than surprised by that. If anything, it made him a worse of a man.
Why did you take her? Why her?
He spent those eight years in hell torturing the killer of his daughter. John never grew tired of it either, he even took joy from it. He stayed away from Waller, close to Lian, for two reasons. One, his daughter probably needed him close by. And two, if he got closer, he would kill her and they wouldnt get any answers.
@wonderwaller
[Her lips curl in distaste at the gun in Roy's hand and the showmanship of the knife. There is no fear in Waller's countenance nor does she make any move to defend herself with the gun in her hand. Her survival is not the goal]
[Not this time]
"Your excuses are self-serving and weak. I'd theorized a better showing from both of you; it's unfortunate that you've always been exceedingly selfish people. You focus only on what is immediately in front of you and give the barest thoughts to the future. You think you can make hard calls, but what you actually do is defend only the people and things you personally care about. You do nothing to better the world beyond your own tiny group. Even now you're so self involved that you miss the obvious."
[The hand not holding the gun slides a metal box across the desk towards Lian with a strong grunt of effort. Waller's hand is wrinkled and spotted with age. Lian has known this woman for so long, however reluctantly]
"This was never about either of you."
[Her eyes bore into Lian and there might be something like pride deep within them. Something like affection. Something like hope]
"Whatever happens here, Lian, this is yours. It's coded to open only for your DNA sequence. You've been trained and taught by the best warriors and strategists. You have untapped potential even now, even after everything you've been through. But there isn't anymore time."
@smilekitty-lharper
"What are you talking about?"
she finally got the words to speak, and those words were bitter. she was angry and hurt. but.. she was starting to realize there was a part of her that maybe wanted her. she had spent most her life with her, theres only so much hate she could have against the woman who raised her.
@arrowsnsarcasm
“I was a motherfucking Titan. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. I died for this mission, so nice try with the selfish angle, but that doesn’t apply here,” Roy told her.
He glanced at the box though with worried eyes, sharing a look with John, hoping he’d take a look at it magically to make sure it wasn’t a threat. And he cocked his gun just to be a dick about it, hand still holding it steady.
One bullet is all it would take.
But Roy knew they’d have the government on their asses if Waller died. He knew how this worked. Even if he hated it with everything he was, she was probably walking away from this.
@john-brendan-knowles
John was selfish, he was everything she said and more, worse even. He still found her words insulting, only because Roy was none of those things. He looked at Waller with disgust.
I am a monster, Waller. I am someone people write cautionary tales about... if you think the world, humankind, or just innocents matter to me, even a little bit, you're deadly mistaken. The man with a gun to your head is the only reason I haven't gut you open yet. So you better start giving us answers before he loses his patience.
He turned to Lian.
Nick your finger, with just a bit of your blood i can open it. We're not risking your wellbeing, after I make sure its safe, you can look it over
@wonderwaller
"Your heroism was a childhood ego trip."
[A trace of annoyance crosses her face before being smoothed over. Waller is unusually calm for a woman with a primed gun being held to her forehead. Her eyes follow John's movement and a curl of satisfaction winds through her, though nothing shows on her infamously cold face. The aged bureaucrat is glad that the girl is hearing him admit this; it will help her make difficult decisions, someday]
[The girl...Lian. Amanda's attention keeps returning to her. The mother she had once been looks at this girl and sees Damita. It's unforgivable, the things Amanda Waller has done in the name of protecting the human race. This might be the most cruel...yet, she doesn't regret it. She knows that she chose well]
[Amanda Waller is silent as the box is opened to reveal...everything. The complete documentation of every project she's ever had a hand in or been aware of lies in that box, on coded paper and USB sticks, along with her notes. The personal letter she's left Lian about her own case is mixed in with them all]
[The keys to a kingdom]
@smilekitty-lharper
After coming back to earth, some things john unpacked magically, not wanting to be bothered with it, but there were things that were too special to do like that. When Roy came into their bedroom, john was hanging the wedding gift he had gotten him, the dreamcatcher.
Hey baby... does it look good here?
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy smiled fondly, walking over to stand behind John, chin resting on his shoulder as he looked at the dreamcatcher. “I think that’s the perfect place for it.”
Yeah? It looks good?
John smiled at Roy.
Now it feels like home again. This was missing. Sorry I took so long in unpacking it.
He turned his head to kiss at John’s neck before pulling back a bit, glancing at the dreamcatcher with a fond look. “No, it’s perfect there.”
I've been feeling a bit... I don't know, reticent? I guess? About making this our home again. But Lian is back and I truly missed our family here so... im ready to settle down again
Roy nodded. “It makes sense we’d have some conflicted feelings since we made a home in that palace, but John,” and he said his name so he’d take it seriously as Roy continued, “you and Lian are my home. I’m a nomad that way, finding refuge in the people I love.”
And Donna and Jinx and Rose all had places in their family too, they were lucky in that.
John turned around fully and hugged him tightly.
I'm scared everything will get taken away again... that we'll lose her. I- I want to take us to the palace and lock us up there, make sure neither of you ever suffer in any way again and I- I know thats messed up and wrong... but I'm too scared for that pain to come back, Roy. Im terrified.
“I still have nightmares about the crash,” he admitted quietly. “I get it.”
We cant go through that again...
John pulled away a bit to look at roy in the eyes.
I won't survive losing her a second time, my love
Roy nodded in agreement, frowning. “We need to handle Waller, and then she’ll be safe with us. She was trained, so I’m not worried about her being out there patrolling, that would be hypocritical of me, but Waller is a threat. An active one. Any idea on how we can locate her?”
A tracking spell. Finding her wont be a problem. How do you want to handle this?
“We can start with talking to her, I’m curious what her excuse for faking the death of a child will be,” Roy told him.
Alright... I want her dead and when thats done im taking her soul down to hell with me.
Roy nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed easily. “If anyone deserves eternal torment it’s her.” She’d made them miss their baby girl growing up, and that was unforgivable.
Good. We can go to her whenever youre ready.
“Let me suit up and we can go now? I’m not meeting with her unarmed,” he explained. He knew Waller too well for that.
Of course. We did tell Lian we'd do this with her too... I dont like her being involved tho
He’d turned to get dressed in his Arsenal gear but paused. “Right. Neither do I, but she has a right to be there. She has a right to answers too.”
I know. I- you get suited up and I'll go let her know we're going after Waller.
He nodded, turned to go put on his gear. It usually took him a good few minutes to get all the weapons in place.
John went to Lians bedroom and knocked.
Sweetheart? We're going after Waller, get suited up, come on
@smilekitty-lharper
she walked out already suited up and ready to go. "ready"
@arrowsnsarcasm
When he walked back out he was still adjusting his hat with it on backwards. He paused when he saw Lian all suited up though. “I’m never getting used to this.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Yeah... me neither. If you're scared or you need help, you come you either of us, okay? I trust you, youre a good fighter, but we're there with you.
John said to Lian. He didn't need to change, the armor, crown and sword appearing on their own.
I've tracked the bitch already, so if everyone is good to go... I'll open a portal there
@smilekitty-lharper
"I'll be fine dad ... dads"
she nodded to show she was ready, pulling her mask down over her face
@arrowsnsarcasm
He started to reach for his bow, then reconsidered and readied his sidearm instead, holding it steady and ready in two hands. “Okay.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Alright... I have Wallers' location. You'll do the talking, Roy, because I'm not feeling very diplomatic right now.
John opened the portal to where she was, sword in hand. He went in first because he had no idea where they were going to appear, just that Waller was there. His eyes were glowing with flames and John felt ready for war. That was why Roy was the diplomatic one of the marriage. As soon as Lian and his husband walked through the portal, it closed behind them.
@wonderwaller
[Amanda Waller looks older than the last time any of them had seen her. Even Lian might note the extra gray in the woman's hair and the lines at her mouth. She stands in a nearly empty room as if she had been anticipating their arrival. There's a small table covered in files between them and her.]
[The gun is already unholstered and held loosely in one hand. Waller's dark eyes assess them and look almost...pleased...at what she sees.]
"Welcome home."
@smilekitty-lharper
Lian doesnt speak, staying quiet behind her mask letting her dad also doing to talking because anything she had to say would be unintelligible or full of emotion which wasn't something she wanted to let waller see. She simply stayed on gaurd behind John and Roy
@arrowsnsarcasm
“Home? Home? You made me bury my little girl, you don’t get to pretend to be her fucking home.” He’d thought he could handle this, but the echoes of Lian’s scream in his mind were fresh again.
He took a step forward and raised his gun towards her head. She should know him for the marksman he was, should know he’d fire without hesitation to make a kill shot if he had to. “Give me a reason you should remain breathing. I fucking dare you.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy was the diplomatic one of the relationship, John would've lunged at her viciously.
If you think you can survive this... think again
His voice was deep and angry, he could barely see with the fury clouding his mind.
@wonderwaller
[Waller eyes the men cooly, acknowledging their danger and their anger with a detached air. Her attention is focused on Lian, on the girl she had ordered to be taken. It had been a longshot, this plan of hers. One of the other schemes might pan out better in the future]
[But to be honest, if only with herself, Amanda hopes most for this one to work. Maybe not today, maybe not for years, but someday]
"I was welcoming you two, actually. Hell is your new abode, is it not? You believed your daughter died in an accident and it sent you both running away and back to your addictions."
[There is, surprisingly, no censure in her tone. She knows the pain they'd felt; she's buried two of her own children and her husband, besides. She had dragged Floyd Lawton to rehab. She'd grown up in Chicago's poorest district. She knew what people could become after the loss of a child]
[She had hoped that Roy and John would be among the few who grow stronger through enduring loss. There had been enough variants of them both who had become pragmatic and able to make the hardest decisions after personal tragedy]
[It's a pity these two didn't make the cut]
"Lian. You've reunited with your family; is it everything that you'd hoped it would be? Three of the most powerful and well-connected people on Earth grieved you desperately...and nothing came from it. They each ran to their chosen vices and let the rest of the world rot without them."
"Wouldn't you rather have found that the world had changed while you were away? That they had done something, anything, to better the world in your memory? Not so much as a scholarship set up to support more trauma surgeons."
[A great deal of Lian's education would have been reinforced with the philosophy that people have the responsibility to grow from tragedy. That not trying to prevent a tragedy from reoccurring was as good as committing it]
@smilekitty-lharper
It was as if she was back being the little girl controlled by Waller, she stayed quiet, unable to really speak. She stood her ground though, tightening her graspon her knife.
She really hated this, maybe she wasn't as cut out for this as she thought. Waller was getting in her head though, why didn't they try? They were gone eight years surely they could've gone back sooner to try and make things better.
@arrowsnsarcasm
He pressed the gun physically against her head, bringing a knife out in his prosthetic for good measure.
“You don’t get to decide how people grieve,” Roy told Waller bitterly. “You saw flashes of it, not our entire lives. We were getting high, sure, but I never quit training or working out with the goal of being exactly where I am right now with a gun pointed at the cause.” Sure he’d thought that cause was the other driver, but things had changed with Lian coming back.
“Losing you broke us,” he told Lian. “But don’t believe her lies of that making us useless.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Were you expecting my baby girls death would make me a hero?
John asked, more than surprised by that. If anything, it made him a worse of a man.
Why did you take her? Why her?
He spent those eight years in hell torturing the killer of his daughter. John never grew tired of it either, he even took joy from it. He stayed away from Waller, close to Lian, for two reasons. One, his daughter probably needed him close by. And two, if he got closer, he would kill her and they wouldnt get any answers.
@wonderwaller
[Her lips curl in distaste at the gun in Roy's hand and the showmanship of the knife. There is no fear in Waller's countenance nor does she make any move to defend herself with the gun in her hand. Her survival is not the goal]
[Not this time]
"Your excuses are self-serving and weak. I'd theorized a better showing from both of you; it's unfortunate that you've always been exceedingly selfish people. You focus only on what is immediately in front of you and give the barest thoughts to the future. You think you can make hard calls, but what you actually do is defend only the people and things you personally care about. You do nothing to better the world beyond your own tiny group. Even now you're so self involved that you miss the obvious."
[The hand not holding the gun slides a metal box across the desk towards Lian with a strong grunt of effort. Waller's hand is wrinkled and spotted with age. Lian has known this woman for so long, however reluctantly]
"This was never about either of you."
[Her eyes bore into Lian and there might be something like pride deep within them. Something like affection. Something like hope]
"Whatever happens here, Lian, this is yours. It's coded to open only for your DNA sequence. You've been trained and taught by the best warriors and strategists. You have untapped potential even now, even after everything you've been through. But there isn't anymore time."
@smilekitty-lharper
After coming back to earth, some things john unpacked magically, not wanting to be bothered with it, but there were things that were too special to do like that. When Roy came into their bedroom, john was hanging the wedding gift he had gotten him, the dreamcatcher.
Hey baby... does it look good here?
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy smiled fondly, walking over to stand behind John, chin resting on his shoulder as he looked at the dreamcatcher. “I think that’s the perfect place for it.”
Yeah? It looks good?
John smiled at Roy.
Now it feels like home again. This was missing. Sorry I took so long in unpacking it.
He turned his head to kiss at John’s neck before pulling back a bit, glancing at the dreamcatcher with a fond look. “No, it’s perfect there.”
I've been feeling a bit... I don't know, reticent? I guess? About making this our home again. But Lian is back and I truly missed our family here so... im ready to settle down again
Roy nodded. “It makes sense we’d have some conflicted feelings since we made a home in that palace, but John,” and he said his name so he’d take it seriously as Roy continued, “you and Lian are my home. I’m a nomad that way, finding refuge in the people I love.”
And Donna and Jinx and Rose all had places in their family too, they were lucky in that.
John turned around fully and hugged him tightly.
I'm scared everything will get taken away again... that we'll lose her. I- I want to take us to the palace and lock us up there, make sure neither of you ever suffer in any way again and I- I know thats messed up and wrong... but I'm too scared for that pain to come back, Roy. Im terrified.
“I still have nightmares about the crash,” he admitted quietly. “I get it.”
We cant go through that again...
John pulled away a bit to look at roy in the eyes.
I won't survive losing her a second time, my love
Roy nodded in agreement, frowning. “We need to handle Waller, and then she’ll be safe with us. She was trained, so I’m not worried about her being out there patrolling, that would be hypocritical of me, but Waller is a threat. An active one. Any idea on how we can locate her?”
A tracking spell. Finding her wont be a problem. How do you want to handle this?
“We can start with talking to her, I’m curious what her excuse for faking the death of a child will be,” Roy told him.
Alright... I want her dead and when thats done im taking her soul down to hell with me.
Roy nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed easily. “If anyone deserves eternal torment it’s her.” She’d made them miss their baby girl growing up, and that was unforgivable.
Good. We can go to her whenever youre ready.
“Let me suit up and we can go now? I’m not meeting with her unarmed,” he explained. He knew Waller too well for that.
Of course. We did tell Lian we'd do this with her too... I dont like her being involved tho
He’d turned to get dressed in his Arsenal gear but paused. “Right. Neither do I, but she has a right to be there. She has a right to answers too.”
I know. I- you get suited up and I'll go let her know we're going after Waller.
He nodded, turned to go put on his gear. It usually took him a good few minutes to get all the weapons in place.
John went to Lians bedroom and knocked.
Sweetheart? We're going after Waller, get suited up, come on
@smilekitty-lharper
she walked out already suited up and ready to go. "ready"
@arrowsnsarcasm
When he walked back out he was still adjusting his hat with it on backwards. He paused when he saw Lian all suited up though. “I’m never getting used to this.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Yeah... me neither. If you're scared or you need help, you come you either of us, okay? I trust you, youre a good fighter, but we're there with you.
John said to Lian. He didn't need to change, the armor, crown and sword appearing on their own.
I've tracked the bitch already, so if everyone is good to go... I'll open a portal there
@smilekitty-lharper
"I'll be fine dad ... dads"
she nodded to show she was ready, pulling her mask down over her face
@arrowsnsarcasm
He started to reach for his bow, then reconsidered and readied his sidearm instead, holding it steady and ready in two hands. “Okay.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Alright... I have Wallers' location. You'll do the talking, Roy, because I'm not feeling very diplomatic right now.
John opened the portal to where she was, sword in hand. He went in first because he had no idea where they were going to appear, just that Waller was there. His eyes were glowing with flames and John felt ready for war. That was why Roy was the diplomatic one of the marriage. As soon as Lian and his husband walked through the portal, it closed behind them.
@wonderwaller
[Amanda Waller looks older than the last time any of them had seen her. Even Lian might note the extra gray in the woman's hair and the lines at her mouth. She stands in a nearly empty room as if she had been anticipating their arrival. There's a small table covered in files between them and her.]
[The gun is already unholstered and held loosely in one hand. Waller's dark eyes assess them and look almost...pleased...at what she sees.]
"Welcome home."
@smilekitty-lharper
Lian doesnt speak, staying quiet behind her mask letting her dad also doing to talking because anything she had to say would be unintelligible or full of emotion which wasn't something she wanted to let waller see. She simply stayed on gaurd behind John and Roy
@arrowsnsarcasm
“Home? Home? You made me bury my little girl, you don’t get to pretend to be her fucking home.” He’d thought he could handle this, but the echoes of Lian’s scream in his mind were fresh again.
He took a step forward and raised his gun towards her head. She should know him for the marksman he was, should know he’d fire without hesitation to make a kill shot if he had to. “Give me a reason you should remain breathing. I fucking dare you.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy was the diplomatic one of the relationship, John would've lunged at her viciously.
If you think you can survive this... think again
His voice was deep and angry, he could barely see with the fury clouding his mind.
@wonderwaller
[Waller eyes the men cooly, acknowledging their danger and their anger with a detached air. Her attention is focused on Lian, on the girl she had ordered to be taken. It had been a longshot, this plan of hers. One of the other schemes might pan out better in the future]
[But to be honest, if only with herself, Amanda hopes most for this one to work. Maybe not today, maybe not for years, but someday]
"I was welcoming you two, actually. Hell is your new abode, is it not? You believed your daughter died in an accident and it sent you both running away and back to your addictions."
[There is, surprisingly, no censure in her tone. She knows the pain they'd felt; she's buried two of her own children and her husband, besides. She had dragged Floyd Lawton to rehab. She'd grown up in Chicago's poorest district. She knew what people could become after the loss of a child]
[She had hoped that Roy and John would be among the few who grow stronger through enduring loss. There had been enough variants of them both who had become pragmatic and able to make the hardest decisions after personal tragedy]
[It's a pity these two didn't make the cut]
"Lian. You've reunited with your family; is it everything that you'd hoped it would be? Three of the most powerful and well-connected people on Earth grieved you desperately...and nothing came from it. They each ran to their chosen vices and let the rest of the world rot without them."
"Wouldn't you rather have found that the world had changed while you were away? That they had done something, anything, to better the world in your memory? Not so much as a scholarship set up to support more trauma surgeons."
[A great deal of Lian's education would have been reinforced with the philosophy that people have the responsibility to grow from tragedy. That not trying to prevent a tragedy from reoccurring was as good as committing it]
@smilekitty-lharper
After coming back to earth, some things john unpacked magically, not wanting to be bothered with it, but there were things that were too special to do like that. When Roy came into their bedroom, john was hanging the wedding gift he had gotten him, the dreamcatcher.
Hey baby... does it look good here?
@john-brendan-knowles
Roy smiled fondly, walking over to stand behind John, chin resting on his shoulder as he looked at the dreamcatcher. “I think that’s the perfect place for it.”
Yeah? It looks good?
John smiled at Roy.
Now it feels like home again. This was missing. Sorry I took so long in unpacking it.
He turned his head to kiss at John’s neck before pulling back a bit, glancing at the dreamcatcher with a fond look. “No, it’s perfect there.”
I've been feeling a bit... I don't know, reticent? I guess? About making this our home again. But Lian is back and I truly missed our family here so... im ready to settle down again
Roy nodded. “It makes sense we’d have some conflicted feelings since we made a home in that palace, but John,” and he said his name so he’d take it seriously as Roy continued, “you and Lian are my home. I’m a nomad that way, finding refuge in the people I love.”
And Donna and Jinx and Rose all had places in their family too, they were lucky in that.
John turned around fully and hugged him tightly.
I'm scared everything will get taken away again... that we'll lose her. I- I want to take us to the palace and lock us up there, make sure neither of you ever suffer in any way again and I- I know thats messed up and wrong... but I'm too scared for that pain to come back, Roy. Im terrified.
“I still have nightmares about the crash,” he admitted quietly. “I get it.”
We cant go through that again...
John pulled away a bit to look at roy in the eyes.
I won't survive losing her a second time, my love
Roy nodded in agreement, frowning. “We need to handle Waller, and then she’ll be safe with us. She was trained, so I’m not worried about her being out there patrolling, that would be hypocritical of me, but Waller is a threat. An active one. Any idea on how we can locate her?”
A tracking spell. Finding her wont be a problem. How do you want to handle this?
“We can start with talking to her, I’m curious what her excuse for faking the death of a child will be,” Roy told him.
Alright... I want her dead and when thats done im taking her soul down to hell with me.
Roy nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed easily. “If anyone deserves eternal torment it’s her.” She’d made them miss their baby girl growing up, and that was unforgivable.
Good. We can go to her whenever youre ready.
“Let me suit up and we can go now? I’m not meeting with her unarmed,” he explained. He knew Waller too well for that.
Of course. We did tell Lian we'd do this with her too... I dont like her being involved tho
He’d turned to get dressed in his Arsenal gear but paused. “Right. Neither do I, but she has a right to be there. She has a right to answers too.”
I know. I- you get suited up and I'll go let her know we're going after Waller.
He nodded, turned to go put on his gear. It usually took him a good few minutes to get all the weapons in place.
John went to Lians bedroom and knocked.
Sweetheart? We're going after Waller, get suited up, come on
@smilekitty-lharper
she walked out already suited up and ready to go. "ready"
@arrowsnsarcasm
When he walked back out he was still adjusting his hat with it on backwards. He paused when he saw Lian all suited up though. “I’m never getting used to this.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Yeah... me neither. If you're scared or you need help, you come you either of us, okay? I trust you, youre a good fighter, but we're there with you.
John said to Lian. He didn't need to change, the armor, crown and sword appearing on their own.
I've tracked the bitch already, so if everyone is good to go... I'll open a portal there
@smilekitty-lharper
"I'll be fine dad ... dads"
she nodded to show she was ready, pulling her mask down over her face
@arrowsnsarcasm
He started to reach for his bow, then reconsidered and readied his sidearm instead, holding it steady and ready in two hands. “Okay.”
@john-brendan-knowles
Alright... I have Wallers' location. You'll do the talking, Roy, because I'm not feeling very diplomatic right now.
John opened the portal to where she was, sword in hand. He went in first because he had no idea where they were going to appear, just that Waller was there. His eyes were glowing with flames and John felt ready for war. That was why Roy was the diplomatic one of the marriage. As soon as Lian and his husband walked through the portal, it closed behind them.
@wonderwaller
[Amanda Waller looks older than the last time any of them had seen her. Even Lian might note the extra gray in the woman's hair and the lines at her mouth. She stands in a nearly empty room as if she had been anticipating their arrival. There's a small table covered in files between them and her.]
[The gun is already unholstered and held loosely in one hand. Waller's dark eyes assess them and look almost...pleased...at what she sees.]
"Welcome home."
@smilekitty-lharper
//OOC
I made an argument months ago that the 🥚 Anon trend is transphobic and a "quirky" and "harmless" form of transvestigation. This is what my inbox currently looks like:
It goes on.
"It's just a prank, bro" energy, entitlement, and embarrassment - you didn't like that your funny thing was not funny. You're trying to minimize your mistake. You are trying to make me seem like a bad person so you don't have to acknowledge or care that you've been behaving badly.
Grow up, you yolkless egg.
To everyone who's tagged me, was plotting with me, or sent a genuine ask, my apologies for another day of no replies. Clearing my inbox of trash is going to drain me.
Child Oswald (Marshmallow Picrew)
Picrew link: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/2574340
This is Non-commercial and Personal use only! You may post or use this Picrew as long as it's not used for profit, AI, NFTs, or claimed as y
Tag Game!
Child Victor
(Mushmallow Picrew)
This is Non-commercial and Personal use only! You may post or use this Picrew as long as it's not used for profit, AI, NFTs, or claimed as y
I didn’t know what to do with him so here’s my take on him
Tagging ppl bc I can. Do this with your characters if you want to!!
@miss-tuesday @redhood-offical @e-nygmaofficial
Child Tuesday
@squid-turtles @director-of-arkham-city @e-nygmaofficial
Child Squid (he's trans)
@juliusday @vintageaviatorartwork @askd0ctorjcrane
//AWH. Baby jon. Frightened lil guy.
@director-of-arkham-city @e-nygmaofficial @blood3red
I was not invited but I’m here now. Sue me.
I made child Autumn :3
(I’m @/assisting-gothams-horror-king mun if it wasn’t obvious)
@crowsinthecornfield @theoneandonlyscaregoon @batwoman-or-whatever
This is baby Kate. I'd like to imagine she was happy before...you know...she wasn't. Put the pride flag as foreshadowing.
I couldn't figure out how to save it so here's the link to make your own.
@batgirlspain @gotham-response @arkhambird @hero-helpers
@belladonna-ismyfavoritecriminal @supergirlofmetropolis @batmanspain
Thanks for the tag! Baby bat girl is adorable, and so are all the other babies <3
No pressure tags (mostly I just want y'all to see baby Bella)
@bestbunnyever @cutelover76 @prosecutor-paledew @loony-lupus
His older sister used to dress him heh.
Spoiled brat sighs.
Uhm uh. Gulps... Who to tag, who to tag... NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING GUYS. @bunnyinatrenchcoat @criminal-or-child @kirkbridelabs-rescues (You can show the one you already did for Lewis or make one for Assistance, again, no pressure gulps!!) @the-stars-little-wing @everyones-confused-dad
* the knife flew into my hand !!! i swear !!!
* baby blake was a quiet baby, dick might’ve died if he met them early
* @flyingprodigy @obsession-withthenight and everyone else who wants to join :3
Bitty Brad discovering his first circus
((Blatant, Shameless symbolism with the props and his future family - Eleanor's a tree frog and the Robins are his favorite heroes))
((also, not many vibrant clothes when he's young))
(( @jean-paul-azrael, @eleanor-wayne, @izakk-tiberius-kyle, @jericho-wilson30, @dreiderswords ))
((tag another character of mine I wanna play again!))
The Horrors
@angelofmercy-angelofdeath @shadowovergotham @illiteratedickgrayson @sleep-deprived-tim @moontress
((it's a bit old and sun damaged, but it's a cute photo...))
((I'm just going to shotgun tag whether we've interacted or nah @tired-archer, @iamnotredskull-blackmask, @richard-of-the-grayson @henchmen4hiresmiley, @boundtobeahare, @red-vector, @theowlmanofgotham , @seam-queen, @supergirlincestblog, @star-spangled-kid, @kountesskane, @wonderwaller, @bearspiracies, @gothams-greatest-actor, @gothidaii, @demon-in-the-sheets, @deathstroke-the-mercenary, @darlingrat ))
[Cute kid. Wonder what killed her]
@xirunafer-the-worldshaper, @officialbruciewayne, @gothams-dark-prince, @f41l3d-s4f3, @penny-plundering, @gotham-dm, @john-brendan-knowles
[sorry, been busy. This was fun though]
[Amanda Waller is attending the Wayne Gala]
[She has her eye on you people]
[That is all]
"Amanda," Bruce greets, all glamor and glitz and precious little substance as he saunters into her space. He's devastatingly casual, even dressed to the nines, body language light. "So good of you to come. How have you been?"
"Bruce."
[Sharp eyes look over the man, assessing him. The two of them make an interesting pair; the Orphan Prince of Gotham and Chicago's Widow. A bureaucrat and a benefactor. A man born into luxury and a woman molded from the Cabrini-Green]
[They've both buried children]
[Neither of hers came back]
"My work keeps me busy. I was able to make time for tonight."
[She turns her stone gaze to the crowd. People tend to keep their distance from her and that's the way she likes it. Watching is better.]
"You must be proud; the party is a success."
Beau would be .....wandering around the gala, just mingling and stealing the occasional name.
[One of the pearls on Amanda's necklace grows chill when she passes the fae. She shows no reaction to the charm's warning and continues on, but makes a mental note that Something is inhuman about that guest]
Beau takes a second and looks back..."wait ..Amanda waller? You got an invite?" They make note of the small charm and raise an eyebrow
I'm here, aren't I?
[Amanda pauses in her stride to turn and directly regard the individual who had spoken up. One of the Fair Folk, a minor noble who has opened their home to a number of unusual and powerful individuals. Confirmed to experiment on a select number of those individuals after they become comfortable with the Fae's generosity]
I take it you are here to represent the Manson family?
"Nah...im here to crash it, you know how it goes. Influential family holds a party, forgets to invite the fae, or a witch and they show up to cause chaos" he shrugs a bit "what i want to know ...is how you got ahold of your charm there ...its..interesting ...I take it you have a magic user on staff?"
[She remains silent while he speaks and wonders if the Waynes are even aware that they have been snubbing such a powerful creature]
"The Justice League had been known to assist the American government on occasion."
[Factually true and utterly unhelpful. Exactly the kind of answer Amanda prefers]
"The necklace was a gift from my late husband."
"Now....I think your leaving some stuff out...for example, I know its not my uncle's work or zatana....I think youve got someone else on retainer"
"Condolences about your husband though"
[As expected of "The Wall", she stares at the Fae with a look of unimpressed stone. It's an expression and a pointed silence that invites the speaker to consider whether they've accidentally said something monumentally foolish or crass]
.
.
.
[The empty air seems to be growing heavy as Walker takes a slow drink from her champagne flute]
[Her eyes narrow minutely at something over the Fae's shoulder]
"Your regards are appreciated. Excuse me."
[Amanda sets the flute on a passing server's tray of empty stemware and marches solidly past Beau. She's witnessed another guest pour wine over the blind young man who had bumped into them. From the look of the boy's companion, a punch is- ah. There it is. Terrible form, but it got the job done]
[Waller clears her throat as the guest begins to cause even more of a scene. Despite her status, she appears to be looming over the small group of well-heeled heels. Slowly at first, then faster as the disapproving silence grows, the guests not directly involved find excuses to be elsewhere]
[Good. Waller will escort this one to the door]
Beau would be .....wandering around the gala, just mingling and stealing the occasional name.
[One of the pearls on Amanda's necklace grows chill when she passes the fae. She shows no reaction to the charm's warning and continues on, but makes a mental note that Something is inhuman about that guest]
Beau takes a second and looks back..."wait ..Amanda waller? You got an invite?" They make note of the small charm and raise an eyebrow
I'm here, aren't I?
[Amanda pauses in her stride to turn and directly regard the individual who had spoken up. One of the Fair Folk, a minor noble who has opened their home to a number of unusual and powerful individuals. Confirmed to experiment on a select number of those individuals after they become comfortable with the Fae's generosity]
I take it you are here to represent the Manson family?
"Nah...im here to crash it, you know how it goes. Influential family holds a party, forgets to invite the fae, or a witch and they show up to cause chaos" he shrugs a bit "what i want to know ...is how you got ahold of your charm there ...its..interesting ...I take it you have a magic user on staff?"
[She remains silent while he speaks and wonders if the Waynes are even aware that they have been snubbing such a powerful creature]
"The Justice League had been known to assist the American government on occasion."
[Factually true and utterly unhelpful. Exactly the kind of answer Amanda prefers]
"The necklace was a gift from my late husband."
Beau would be .....wandering around the gala, just mingling and stealing the occasional name.
[One of the pearls on Amanda's necklace grows chill when she passes the fae. She shows no reaction to the charm's warning and continues on, but makes a mental note that Something is inhuman about that guest]
Beau takes a second and looks back..."wait ..Amanda waller? You got an invite?" They make note of the small charm and raise an eyebrow
I'm here, aren't I?
[Amanda pauses in her stride to turn and directly regard the individual who had spoken up. One of the Fair Folk, a minor noble who has opened their home to a number of unusual and powerful individuals. Confirmed to experiment on a select number of those individuals after they become comfortable with the Fae's generosity]
I take it you are here to represent the Manson family?
Beau would be .....wandering around the gala, just mingling and stealing the occasional name.
[One of the pearls on Amanda's necklace grows chill when she passes the fae. She shows no reaction to the charm's warning and continues on, but makes a mental note that Something is inhuman about that guest]
{{ooc. Rate the fit fr}}
[Showy, overblown, extravagant, and loud. The outfit is as subtle with the wearer's intentions as a brick through a window]
[So, it's a perfect match for Hal Jordan]
