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Story: [Redemption Arc] (original work) Prompt: #FFF [353] [Wolf in Sheep's Clothing] @flashfictionfridayofficial Word count: 789

Redemption Arc

Once upon a time

It was a dark and stormy night

The alarm blared and I

Starting is hard. Most people talk about the difficulties of finishing, but this opening is no easier.

The thing is.

The thing is I want you to understand. I want you to know why I did it. How you changed me. I don't want you to feel guilty for what I have to do. I need to know you won't come after me.

I'm a traitor.

There, I said it. Chris was right the whole time. You shouldn't have welcomed me in. You shouldn't have trusted me.

You know what else? It was easy. You fancy yourself leader of an army, and you're only lucky that the Consolidation believes you. If they didn't, if they came after you in force, you wouldn't last a night, wouldn't even last an hour.

You're not an army. You're too nice. And you care way too much about everyone's voice. You're teachers and social workers and do-gooders.

For fuck's sake. We've stood on opposite lines how many times? Do you remember the time I nearly pulled your memories straight out through your skull (it would have hurt like I was boring through bone too, I was looking forward to that bit)? Or the time I turned Alice into a doll, nothing more than a mannikin for my entertainment? Remember when I killed Esteban?

And you welcomed me in. Swallowed a barely sensical story of guilt and a few tears and took me into your base and clothed me and fed me and made me yours and and let me walk amongst you.

You played the game of security.

"Ooooo, that's off limits."

"We'll monitor your web use."

"You can't wander the complex alone."

Let me tell you, it was pathetically easy to get around. I was in your private diary files about an hour after Peter had finished looking me over.

Nice photos by the way. I think you look best in the green.

I could have taken what I wanted then. I could have blown up your stockpiles. I could have taken somone high value and made you crawl for their release.

I wish I had.

But I was too greedy. And maybe your PR works a bit on me too. I couldn't quite believe this was all it was, and I stayed.

No one has ever asked my favourite food before, but Vash did a passable job of making it.

I can't believe you put me in the movie night rotation and someohow managed to track down an independent horror movie. You don't even have working lights half the time, where are your priorities.

I never thought I'd be able to sleep with someone else in the room but Aisha made me feel safe.

And I don't know what you did to me. Maybe you're not as pure as you all pretend and it's some kind of conditioning or mindcontrol, maybe that would be better. Maybe it's just your thrice damned charisma. Is that what you want to hear?

That I - I - once a name to be feared throughout the sixteen kingdoms, was enamoured by you. That I would have followed you to the very gates of the Underworlds and fought the Dark One with my bare knuckles on your orders admired you as a leader.

You know the next bit. I stood along side you. I fought with you. I was proud to wore your colours.

And now

Now I have been called back to my own Master's side. And Chris was right. I am a traitor. I have no choice. I have to go.

You needn't worry though, even I don't have the stomach to give you all up.

You ruined me. I don't belong anywhere anymore.

Instead, I'll take the opportunity of a private meeting to kill him. It'll kill me. I took a blood oath.

It won't be pleasant or quick, in case you were wondering. I'll boil from the inside from the curse in my blood. I'll take the pain as long as possible, because when I let go, that curse will fragment…everything near to me.

I expect the explosion to take out most of the city. That's the only reason I'm writing this, in case you were wondering. I don't want your pity.

I just want to give you time to evacuate. I suppose this means we never have to find out if I was right, if your imagined utopia would be its own dictatorship within the year. I hope I'm not though.

I don't suggest you delay. Take your people, and get out.

I hate you.

I'll miss you.

I love you.

You win.

Cas’s head is resting on Dean’s shoulder, one arm around Dean’s waist. Sam’s head is in Dean’s lap, hands resting at his sides and he’s snoring, loudly. One of Dean’s arms is slung around Cas’s shoulder, pulling Cas as close to him as possible. His other arm is resting at his side, his fingers gently carding through Sam’s hair, just like he used to do when Sam was little to help him sleep.

Dean is just sitting there with this ridiculous grin on his face, radiating in the strange glow of joy that surrounds him.

Is there a Batman storyline that leans into the idea of Batman being one of the costumed super people of Gotham and having more in common with his "rogues" then one would think?

Also any (good) story ark where Scarecrow is the main villain would be great.

Thank you.

Hey there! Thanks for the ask

If you’re just getting into Batman, read: The Long Halloween, Under the Red Hood, Court of Owls, and Hush. Once you have a grasp of Bruce’s character, I would recommend the following if you’re a Scarecrow fan:

Year One Batman/Scarecrow

Her physical condition didn’t allow her to age

No one took her seriously as an actress

And even when she was trying to get into a happy romantic relationship (albeit with another villain) he still couldn’t take her seriously as a consenting, sexually active and romantically interested adult

That’s a lot of blows to someone’s psyche 

When Harley was re-institutionalized, he got her that dress she wanted.

In the comics based on B:tAS, there was a time during Christmas that there was snow and it was Mr. Freeze’s fault, and he was making it snow because Christmas was his anniversary with Nora and she LOVED it when it snowed on Christmas, so Batman let him finish mourning before calmly taking him back to Arkham.

He never, ever gives up on Harvey possibly recovering.

But instead, Batman sat with her on a swing and kept her company as the girl’s psychic powers slowly killed her.

No?

And what makes Noir a good style, is that the protagonist never gives up and allows themself to wallow in the darkness around them. The world is dark, and bleak, and cold hearted, yes. 

But the protagonist fights against that. 

Fights for their humanity. 

Claws their way out of that muck, and even if the ending is as dour and bleak as the world around them, the Noir Hero shoulders that burden and carries on. 

A battered lantern with a flickering light inside them. Refusing to let it burn out. 

RIP, Jane – you would’ve really loved how much queer literature is explicitly gaying up your work. *** For generally Austen-inspired work, check out: I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner George has major problems: They’ve just inherited the failing family estate, and the feelings for their best friend, Eleanor, have become more complicated than ever. Not to mention, if anyone found out they…

D: A Tale of Two Worlds, by Michael Faber: the letter D starts disappearing one day. Main character Dhikilo gets called Hikilo; people walk their ogs, not their dogs; a child protests "I in't o it!" instead of "I didn't do it!". Dhikilo goes through a portal to another world to find out where the letter D went

The Stranger Times, by CK McDonnell: a young woman gets a job at a newspaper that covers strange phenomena, and they end up uncovering an actual conspiracy involving immortals. Very funny, tho with a lotta swearing

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik: a Jewish retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, where a young woman is granted the power to turn silver into gold by the fae. Minimal romance in this one

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik: the story of a young woman in a village surrounded by a malevolent forest, who becomes apprentice to the wizard who guards her village and keeps her safe. A bit more romance in this one, and an explicit sex scene farther along

The Book Eaters, by Sunyi Dean: low fantasy/scifi (it can be considered either genre, really) about a woman who's a book eater - someone who eats books to absorb their knowledge, and who in fact can't live off of normal human food. Her son is a mind eater (he consumes people's memories and personalities instead), and she's on a quest to find a cure for him that'll turn him into a normal book eater. Again, minimal romance, though there is sex with some dubious consent

Vespertine, by Margaret Rogerson: in a world where the dead have to be given special rites to prevent them rising again as malevolent spirits, a young nun binds herself to one of the most powerful spirits there is to save the kingdom from an attack by the undead. Extremely minimal romance (two side characters are implied to get together, that's it)

Once There Was and Bird of a Thousand Stories, by Kiyash Monsef: a young girl who's a vet to fantasy creatures. The second book sets up a third, though it's just the two of them for now. Minimal to no romance (slight mention of the MC getting a crush, that's all), but as she's a vet there's a lot of discussion of animal injury

The Moorchild, by Eloise McGraw: this is an older one at this point, but it's about a young changeling who slowly discovers who she is

Guest, by Mary Downing Hahn: another changeling tale, this one about a girl who accidentally opens the door for the fae to steal her brother. She take the changeling with her to get her brother back

The Ballad of Perilous Graves, by Alex Jennings: a young boy in a fantasy version of New Orleans who has to track down magical songs that have begun to go missing, which will destroy the city if they aren't restored

headcanon that since Cesare was revived by Caligari his life depends on him, so defeating him means that...

also have a silly doodle under the cut