#or... well retirement in Titus' case | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

zwy01 · 2 years ago

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Original Noble Clan + Clan Leader OCs!!!

Yay!! Super excited to introduce my fourth original clan, the Paradiso, Clan of Miracles and Wisdom!

About a month ago, I introduced three original clans: the “Volo”, Clan of the Healers, the “Pyradros”, Clan of the Sun and Fire, and the “Ceresthalassa”, Clan of the Earthshakers. It’s time for a fourth one yayy!!!! p.s. I have the links to my other original clan introductions at the end of this post, so feel free to check them out later!

Again, these characters aren’t necessarily exclusive to a specific/fixed setting. They can be interpreted as headcanons that exist/fit in the canon storyline, characters specific to my Millennium AU, characters that exist by themselves and don’t fit anywhere,…etc. Anything really, as I do want them to have some flexibility. So feel free to interpret them as whatever makes the most sense to you. Personally, I see them as existing in both the canon storyline as my headcanons, and in my Millennium AU. In this post I’ll be (mainly) approaching and discussing them in the context of my Millennium AU, though there will also be some references to canon/pre-canon events of my interpretation.

For context, age-wise Titus the Clan Leader is somewhere between Gejutel and Lagus. So older than Gejutel, but younger than Lagus. In terms of title/position, Titus was appointed as Clan Leader either during or even before the Previous-previous Lord’s (Raskreia’s paternal grandfather, another OC of mine) reign. He’s old! Currently, he is still active as Clan Leader in Raskreia’s reign, so technically he can be grouped with the current generation of Clan Leaders (aka Raskreia’s peers). He simply loves his job too much to retire, which makes him Doris’ refuse-to-retire buddy, lmao. Titus’ twin daughters and heirs Anastasia and Anabella are actually younger than Raskreia and my other original clan kids (Azurine, Rufus, Marina), and possibly even younger than some of Raskreia’s peers. Titus just kind of had his kids super late, just like Lagus and Doris.

The Paradiso Clan is a bit of an unusual one. They are the only non-combat based noble clan in Lukedonia. You have the Mergas, who are more focused on defense, and the Volo, who specialize in support such as buffs, debuffs, healing… etc. but in the end they can still fight pretty impressively when it comes to offense. The Paradiso is a completely different case. Their clan simply has nothing to do with fighting at all. Just nothing. They aren’t interested in fighting, and can’t fight even if they tried. Well, they can do the simple stuff. Nothing fancy. Basic moves such as punches and kicks, and small aura beam blasts, sure. But that’s pretty much it. This puts them on the very, very bottom of Lukedonia’s power scale when it comes to raw power. On the surface, this may seem like a great weakness, and maybe even something abnormal, but the reason behind this is much deeper.

The Paradiso were never meant to fight in the first place. None of its clan members receive any combat training in their education and upbringing, as opposed to basically all the other clans, to whom learning how to fight is both essential and mandatory. Instead, the Paradiso are interested in something else. Rather than wasting effort on things that would never become their forte, they invest all their time and resources in improving themselves and thriving in the way that aligns with their clan’s specialty the most. Since the very beginning, starting with their first ever Clan Leader, the Paradiso’s role in Lukedonia is to preserve. Specifically, the safekeeping of all kinds of knowledge, including but not limited to: old and new noble traditions, the rise and fall of noble factions, the beginning and end of eras, the reign of each and every Lord and their respective beliefs and leadership approaches, transcribing works of literature/language/philosophy etc. And this goes beyond just knowledge passed down within their own clan. The Paradiso keeps records safe on behalf of the entirety of Lukedonia, which includes the work and traditions of all noble clans.

It doesn’t stop there. While the priority of the Paradiso’s preservation work is centered around information inside Lukedonia, they are avid collectors of all kinds of knowledge. They are enthusiastic fans of folklore, fables, poetry, drama, fantasy, legends, biographies, memoirs, journals, cookbooks, and much more. Authors of the works they collect could be anyone. Nobles, humans, occasionally werewolves, and maybe even supernatural beings and creatures. As long as it’s interesting, the Paradiso are in. They welcome to their collection great works from around the world, and are always seeking for new ones to fuel their love of knowledge. In addition, many of their own clan members are established authors and creators. While these noble creators usually don’t publish their works outside of Lukedonia for non-nobles to read, occasionally, they’d trade a book or two with a human/werewolf creator as a means of obtaining knowledge. Usually, the Paradiso would buy works from members of other races with money or things, but every now and then one of them demands “an exchange of equal value”, so they exchange book for book. After the Paradiso get their hands on a new book, they would go home to Lukedonia, gather one of their many teams of scholars, analyze the material, transcribe it a couple times, then store some of the transcribed copies and the original in safety somewhere in their vast library tower. Their collection of books is ever growing. Truly the deeds of the clan of wisdom. As for the Paradiso’s special ability, since they can’t fight, their strength manifests in a different way. They aren’t called the “walking libraries” for no reason. Aside from their innate love of knowledge, they are born with the talent of being able to very quickly and thoroughly dissect and master any material presented to them. They learn much more efficiently, and can retain and recall information at a much higher rate than others. Analyzing literature is easy and fun for them. They are very creative and innovative with words, and they even speak in a very poetic and melodic manner.

Going back to record keeping on behalf of others. Of course each and every clan does a good job of passing down traditions and knowledge to their own descendants. Sure, they can manage by themselves. You might think, why does Lukedonia even need a whole clan, whose job is keeping extra copies on everything for everyone, to work behind the scenes? Firstly, the Paradiso exists to preserve, because that’s what they’re meant to do. They cover everything they can possibly get their hands on, from beginning to end. This extends to all types of knowledge that had ever existed and ever will exist, so traditions and history of other noble clans simply get grouped in there. Secondly, this serves an extremely important purpose in the worst case scenario where a clan perishes completely and all their records somehow disappear alongside them. It could be due to an unfortunate event of a total massacre done by an outsider, or a deliberate, malicious attempt by a Clan Leader whose goal is to destroy and end both them self and their whole clan. Whatever it is, in the extremely unlikely chance where there is no one left in a specific clan to provide knowledge and other crucial information essential to restoration, complete records that still exist thanks to the Paradiso’s safekeeping can then be used to restore the clan and help them get back on their feet, and eventually return them to what they once were. In a way, this is like the Paradiso keeping the ultimate backup plan for everyone in case something terrible happens. This effectively prevents any clan from perishing completely, whether by external or internal threats, or both. Specifically internal, in case a Clan Leader goes insane and tries to sabotage their entire family.

This applies to the line of Lords as well. If for some reason one Lord fails them all, the Paradiso have complete records of all the Lords before them, which could be helpful as a reference, analyzing what were and weren’t successful, and where to make adjustments from then on. While this doesn’t guarantee whoever’s on the throne will actually listen, it’s better than nothing.

For the above reasons, the Paradiso are never expected to fight or provide aid in battle. In fact, they are urged to avoid ever getting caught up in one, and evacuate to a safe place if there is a threat. This is because if the Paradiso die out, it means that Lukedonia’s last resort has died out as well. The safekeepers of knowledge must hang on no matter what. In a way, the Paradiso symbolize hope. To guarantee their safety, somewhere along the line of Lords, one of Raskreia’s ancestors decreed that Paradiso Clan Leaders and their heirs must each be assigned a team of elite bodyguards made up of powerful nobles. Usually, the bodyguard teams consist of members from different clans, and each team has around twenty members. Their job is to protect Paradiso CLs and heirs from threats. The bodyguards keep an eye on the surrounding and put anyone in proximity under surveillance, help the Paradiso evacuate to safety in an emergency, and fight on their behalf in life-threatening situations, even if it means sacrificing themselves in the process. These bodyguards are ready to give up their lives at any moment for the Paradiso. All of them are volunteers, and while they may have different reasons for becoming a bodyguard, they are completely devoted to their job.

Regarding the Paradiso’s place in canon. During the invasion of Lukedonia, as soon as Lord Raskreia was aware of the presence of Lagus and the traitor nobles, she ordered Titus, his daughters, and their clan members to immediately evacuate to safety. That’s why they never made an appearance. They were being guided to safety by their teams of elite bodyguards. The Lord also ordered them to hide and not come back until the traitors are eliminated and all threats are cleared. Though, before the Paradiso finished evacuating, the traitors were taken care of, so they stopped evacuating and settled back to where they were before. No harm was done to them but it sure did give them a massive heart attack. Titus recalls heating up his tea and getting comfy on his couch and ready to read a new book and all that, and then suddenly everyone was panicking and his bodyguards literally picked him up and started running towards the secret passage that hadn’t been opened since eons ago. Not fun.

Now that’s the backstory on the “wisdom” part of the Paradiso, Clan of Miracles and Wisdom. What about “miracles”?

That is, aside from being the guardians of knowledge, the Paradiso are also wish-granters. Granting wishes, making the impossible possible, turning crisis into opportunity, performing miracles … those are just a few ways the humans describe what the Paradiso do. Or, what they think the Paradiso can do.

What they don’t know is that the truth is much more complicated. The thing is, there is no such thing as a miracle. Everything is always, always set in a balance, and the universe intends for it to stay that way. What the Paradiso do is simply changing up the order of things in which they are perceived to happen, and in the end, it all cancels out. The difference is while the humans don’t know about the truth behind this “wish granting”, the nobles do. The nobles understand that ultimately there is no gain, and that all they can possibly get from “wishing” upon the Paradiso is temporary relief and happiness in the present while greater misery and disappointment await in the future. For this reason, virtually no nobles ever ask for a “wish” from the Paradiso, because they know how it truly works. Ask for something that’s not meant to happen, pay the price later. It’s a fair trade. Think wisely before you ask for the impossible. The nobles merely use the word “miracle” as a way to address the Paradiso out of respect and admiration for their preservation work of Lukedonia, as well as appreciating them for being a symbol of hope.

But this is a different situation with humans, who very much believe that these weird, seemingly omnipotent red-eyed gods really could perform miracles. And these humans are always begging for more. Many previous Paradiso Clan Leaders couldn’t say no to these helpless humans, and they eventually gave in to the begging. There are a lot of examples throughout history. Human A wished to become super rich, the Paradiso granted it, human A got their desired pile gold and grand castle, only for things to “balance out” later where they lose all their gold, and their castle collapses to a precise meteorite strike while they’re gone, and they’re back to exactly where they started. Human B wished to cure a loved one’s terminal illness, the Paradiso granted it, Human B’s loved one became free of illness, but one year later, human B’s other loved one gets the same exact illness. Human C wished for their rival to get in an accident and lose a limb, the Paradiso granted it, human C’s rival’s left leg indeed got crushed in a carriage crash, but human C’s left leg gets ripped off by a predator several weeks later. The motivation behind the wishes didn’t matter. Whether it stemmed from the desire to do good or evil, whether it was out of selflessness or selfishness, etc. it all balances out in the end.

The Paradiso’s power simply changes the order of things happening, not the things themselves. It’s an odd ability, yes, but it exists. Objectively, this “miracle performing” power simply is. If you add one now, you subtract one later. It eventually goes back to zero no matter what. The nobles all understand this. However, this is where it gets tricky. The humans refuse to believe that their so-called “wishes” have consequences. They always, always believe that they are an exception, that luck will always be on their side, that their wishes are so great and meaningful they will, and must, bypass the laws of the universe. They always say they won’t regret it, and that they’d be willing to do anything it takes for a wish to come true. Apparently, that’s not true. When they eventually realize that wishes get balanced out and they have to bear with the consequences, every ounce of gratefulness they previously had will turn into hatred and vengeance. False gods, is what some humans started to call the Paradiso. Evil beings who intend to cause misery by granting the illusion of happiness and satisfaction, dumping them in hell after giving them a taste of heaven. And so on. The Paradiso never claimed to be gods, nor did they ever ask to treated as such. The humans just decided to do that on their own, until they didn’t want to anymore. Anyways, things got ugly real quick. At one point tens of thousands of humans gathered together to declare war on the “false god” nobles. Though, no real harm was done, as the nobles had mind control powers after all. They made the humans forget about all that had happened. After this situation was quickly resolved, the Paradiso Clan Leader at that time declared that from then on, their wish-granting power should never be used on humans again. They are only allowed to interact with humans to trade knowledge and books. Only books, no wishes. Fast forward to several generations later, Titus, the current Clan Leader, follows this philosophy. He would also teach this same philosophy to his daughters and warn them about the dangers of the unpredictable human mind. One century they would put up statues of you, declare themselves as your followers, pray to you every day, and even kill members of their own kind to offer as “tribute”, centering their entire lives around you. In the blink of an eye, they would destroy and burn those very same statues, and seek revenge on you. Unpredictable indeed. Luckily, thanks to mind control, the humans don’t remember the Paradiso as their loved and hated wish-granter gods anymore. Curiously, there are a few surviving records by ancient human scribes on certain pink-haired gods of miracles. In the present day, modern humans just study these works without being too serious about it. Titus thinks it’s mildly amusing.

Before I introduce their Soul Weapon, I’ll explain the mechanics of their wish-granting skill a bit more. It happens supernaturally as part of their weird noble powers. This power applies to mundane things as well. Say you got unpleasant bowel moments? Go to a Volo and ask for some herbs. It could take some time for the herbs to kick in, but you’d actually be cured, and your guts won’t upset you anymore. Go to a Paradiso and “wish” your inconvenience away? Well, the symptoms disappear within a millisecond and you’re seemingly cured, eeeeexcept a few days later those same exact bowel movements “return”, perhaps by chance at an even more inconvenient timing. Same intensity and duration and all that. And say you wanted to ace an exam but don’t have the time to study, or don’t want to study, and on average, you’d score a 70 out of 100. Go to the Paradiso and “wish” for a 100 on your next exam. You’d indeed score a 100, but for the exam after that, you’d get a 40.

And say you wanted to dry your laundry but don’t want to put it in the dryer? “Wish” for it and your basket of laundry over there would be dried magically. However, the next time you use the dryer, it would malfunction on the first cycle and you’d come back to discover that your clothes are still wet. Basically, you never save effort or time. You can’t possibly cheat around it. It’s just a matter of now, or later. For this reason, some nobles think this skill is hilarious and they often use it as a form of entertainment, in a game of truth or dare when one of them loses a bet. Just harmless, funny stuff. Titus the Clan Leader thinks it’s hilarious as well but of course as a role model he can’t openly say that in front of the others, lol. But he knows that they know, and they know that he knows that they know. In the end they aren’t humans and actually understand how wishes work so it’s just another day for them.

Soul Weapon: Liebe. A book. Emits a light pink aura. Its wielder can choose to hold it or have it levitate on its own. Its front and back covers are black, and have no text on them. Its book corners are golden, and its ribbon pink. Its pages are white and seem to be blank, though it’s actually covered in text which usually only its wielder can read. If anyone else tries to read it, they see nothing unless Liebe’s wielder gives the okays. No peeking, fellas, sorry. Somehow, the pages seem to never run out no matter how much writing goes in there. That’s because the “text” isn’t actually ink on paper, it’s a SW after all (duh) and it’s almost alive in a sense. The text can appear and disappear, and move around at its wielder’s will to display whatever its wielder wants to read. The pages can flip on their own and the bookmark moves as well. Strange, fascinating little SW it is.

Liebe’s wielder can use it to do a variety of things. Firstly, it can instantly display text from any other book at any given time, as long as that other book was transcribed/written by a fellow Paradiso clan member. From the very first book written by the very first Paradiso CL to the newest addition by a young Paradiso apprentice scholar? Yup, every single one of them. That’s what makes it so powerful, its innate connection to essentially their clan’s entire history of knowledge. This may sound a bit invasive considering how some clan members may not want their CL to read everything they write, so to be polite, the CLs always ask people before using Liebe to view their work. Most clan members are very happy and even honored to have their works read by their beloved CL. Yes, even those private gossip diaries, lmao. Liebe’s wielder can also write in it directly. And by writing I don’t mean actual ink on paper. It could be, but doesn’t have to be. CLs can speak their thoughts out loud, or even just think inside their mind with the idea of having Liebe record it, and boom it’s in the book. There are many ways to “write” in Liebe. Titus thinks it’s hilarious to watch the others look super confused when he tells them he’s writing but then they see that he isn’t “doing” anything and nothing seems to appear on the pages anyway. He just likes messing with them lol.

Secondly, Liebe can be used to grant wishes. Specifically, “greater” wishes that would be history-changing, legend-worthy miracles by humans standards (p.s. nobles don’t think of wishes as miracles because they understand how wishes work, they simply refer to them as “time transactions” in a very symbolic way. As for the less grandiose stuff, smaller wishes etc. can be granted without Liebe, by both CLs and heirs, and ordinary clan members). However, due to previously mentioned incidents with humans, the CLs no longer use this aspect of Liebe’s powers anymore. In the past, humans used to refer to Paradiso CLs as “the gods with books” for a good reason.

Thirdly, Liebe can be used to speak with the deceased. Specifically, nobles who have entered eternal sleep, if their souls are still out there somewhere. This is a great and terrifying power, of course, one that cannot be used casually or even revealed at all. That’s why no one else except for the Paradiso CLs themselves know about this skill because of the dangers it may bring, if the others find out. This is the only thing that the Paradiso omit from their library of knowledge. Titus’ predecessor only told him about this before they passed down Liebe to him, and Titus himself is keeping this a secret from his twin daughters until one of them becomes CL. Liebe lets its wielder speak with the deceased through its connection with the deceased’s souls. If Titus wanted to, he could speak with the predecessors of any clan, whose souls now reside in their descendants’ SW. Usually there is no reason to and ultimately it’s no good because the risks of getting lost and emotionally caught up in the past exist. But for those who died by forced eternal sleep for whatever reason, the Paradiso CL can connect with them and offer them solace and help them feel peace for once and all, if they should have any regrets and lingering feelings. Titus was the one who comforted and guided Seira and Regis’ predecessors after they were murdered, and the traitors CLs after their deaths as well, but since it’s a secret, he can’t tell anyone. Meanwhile the other content and fulfilled souls would rather be left alone so Titus doesn’t bother them, so this aspect of Liebe’s skill is almost never used. (For clarification this only applies to noble souls. Liebe can’t talk with dead humans/werewolves. Liebe also can’t talk with devoured souls like those who fell to Dark Spear e.g. Gradeus)

Lastly, Liebe’s wielder can use it to forcefully retrieve information out of any living being. Like literally going deep into someone’s mind, sucking out everything they know from the moment of their birth to the present. It can then display the retrieved knowledge on its pages and add it to its library as well. This spell can be cast without consent and is extremely invasive, and the recipient has a 30% chance of dying after the process because forcefully dissecting and pulling out contents of a person’s soul does irreversible damage. The Paradiso are generally nonviolent and against unnecessary deaths so they never use this skill because doing so is considered evil and taboo. As much as they love to learn, they aren’t desperate enough to do that, and they have their morals too. For a non-combat based clan, this is probably the closest to an “offensive” skill there is. Other than that, Liebe being called a SW is already weird enough considering how it isn’t even remotely close to a typical weapon. Titus jokes about this too. Well, he insists that him knowing your embarrassing cringy secrets IS a weapon so.

The Paradiso cover an impressive amount of territory in Lukedonia. They have countless libraries scattered throughout the land, big and small. These libraries are always supplied with plenty of paper and ink in case one of their clan members feel a sudden spark of inspiration and just want to get straight to writing. Titus and his daughters do have a manor which serves as their main residence, but they don’t actually live there much. They spend most of their time in the Paradiso library tower, Minerva, a wonder of more than 500 floors. There they have everything they need to live comfortably, so they don’t live in their actual home. As splendid and grand as Minerva is, it’s actually quite cozy so they think of it as their “true” home. Also stairs. A ton a stairs. You just keep getting stairs. More stairs after stairs. Titus claims it’s a good workout. The other clan members, maybe not so much lol. But it’s worth it! Minerva’s top floor is open to the sky and there blooms a single supernatural cherry blossom tree. Its trunk and branches are made of iridescent crystal and its glittering petals fall like snowflakes, disappearing just before they touch the ground. The Paradiso’s supernatural owls also reside on this floor. Sometimes they’d also visit the other floors to help scholars retrieve and shelve books.

And time for the character introductions!

Titus Paradiso: the current Clan Leader. A visibly older man with prominent wrinkles on his face and hands. Quite short and his daughters tower over him. Has a very cute and friendly-looking face, and is always smiling. Basically the sweet grandpa that everyone loves. Raises his bushy eyebrows when he spots something interesting, or as a greeting when he sees someone. Eyes are extremely expressive. His beautiful, curly pink hair looks like a combination of a cotton candy cloud and a cherry blossom tree in full bloom. His hair is actually so soft, if you run your fingers through it, it’d almost feel like touching a cloud. His twin daughters made his beard ribbon bow tie for him when they were children, a treasure which he cherishes very much and has worn ever since. Affectionately calls his girls “Sia” and “Bella”, and loves to pat them on their heads even though he’s kind of too short to do that anymore since they’re too tall for his hands to reach. He’s just so proud of them, hehe.

Titus is a jolly, lively, happy-go-luck man beloved by all for his pleasantness and knowledgeability. He is often referred to as “Professor Titus” by the people of Lukedonia. Titus is a humble man and he has never claimed to be a professor nor he does he think of himself as one, but since everyone loves him that way, he reluctantly accepts the title. He’s super flattered though. He still thinks he has a long way to go and much yet to learn before he deserves to be referred to as such, but the truth is he very much is the most eligible person in the entirety of Lukedonia to have the title of Professor. It’s just a way the other nobles show their appreciation for him. Not really having anything to do with this title but rather just a coincidence, he has his own lecture hall in the Paradiso library tower Minerva and teaches all kinds of subjects there. Ever since his days of youth, he’s been doing research, writing books, transcribing ancient texts, composing poems etc etc. right there in that space of his. After he took over as CL, he started teaching there as well.

Non-Paradiso noble guests are allowed to freely enter and leave Minerva as long as they don’t venture into the “clan members only” off-limit floors, so Titus always has a lot of guests. Some are diligent students who have come to listen to his lectures and take notes from him, some are just curious, some think this is a nice location to go on a date with their partner. A few regulars even come here just to nap. Titus doesn’t really care about what you’re here for as long as you don’t talk too loudly and keep the noise level to yourself. As for Titus’ lessons, he doesn’t really have a fixed schedule or curriculum or anything. Actually, nothing is planned. He could be quietly reading a book on a couch by himself or something, then boom he feels the motivation and he’d get up and teach a full-course lesson right away. Just like that. He never schedules these lectures, and they are quite spontaneous, so his devoted students are basically tower hermits who live there full time and wait for his random but phenomenal lessons. You can see why the others all call him Professor Titus, lol. He still insists he has a long way to go, though. Man doesn’t even know how amazing he truly is. His daughters insist that he should be proud of himself and boy, he’s SO happy to hear that from his beloved girls!

Titus is a very interesting person by himself. He smiles, giggles, and laughs a lot. Even something slightly funny can make him break into laughter and gleefully clap his little hands. Being older than a lot of the population means that he sees them as kids, and he loves kids, so of course he’s going to find the things they say and do to be cute. Kiddie shenanigans. Titus also moves around a lot, so he’s either fidgeting or playing with something in his hands. Could be his beard, a pen, chocolate bar wrapper, anything really. He was super delighted when Ludis’ daughter Susanna gifted him a toy once. “Rubik’s cube… is this what you call this little thing? Ho ho, thank you, kiddie! It’s amazing!!!! I love it!!! Eeeeeeeee!!!!!”, he exclaimed. He’s been playing with it ever since and stores it in his beard, weirding people out when they find out that’s where he keeps it. His excess energy is also obvious when he walks. In fact, he’s almost always skipping around on his feet like a little kid. He’s kind of clumsy though, so sometimes he’d trip and fall. Not helpful when your tower is literally full of stairs. He gets by just fine. Titus also hums to himself a lot, whether he’s organizing books in his tower, reading something, or walking around. Could be humming to the tune of a human detergent commercial, lol. If someone asked a Paradiso clan member where their CL is, they’d point to one of their bookshelves and Titus is right there, with a book in one hand and a back scratcher in another, happily humming and skipping around from aisle to aisle checking for incorrectly shelved books. Are you here for a lecture? Well great, because I’m about to give one in ten minutes!! See you at the lecture hall!! Truly a sweet, funny grandpa. If you manage to answer all his questions correctly, maybe he’ll give you a lollipop, lol.

Titus also has a few distinct hobbies. First of all, he’s an excellent winemaker in his spare time. He has his own vineyard and he gives names to every plant. Lady Violet, Curly, Sir Bubbleton, etc. He loves them dearly. He works closely with Leona Pyradros and Doris Ceresthalassa to cultivate delicious grapes of all sorts. The wine he makes is heavenly. In my headcanon all nobles are naturally immune to several types of poison and alcohol is one of them. They can’t get drunk even if they want to, so alcohol is more like flavored water to them. Nevertheless it still tastes absolutely amazing to them so it’s a drink loved by all. Titus has like dozens of wines. Each of them has a distinct flavor and he’d host parties with them. Out of all his types of wines, his two most prized ones are named after his beloved girls, whom he loves more than anyone else in the world. His wines are so famous that even werewolf Lord Maduke is rumored to be a huge fan and imports them regularly (in my headcanon Maduke hates nobles but he loves their alcohol. He knows what the fine stuff is. He doesn’t want to admit that he has an entire cellar full of that stuff lol). In general, if Lukedonia needs human money for some reason, wine exports is a way to do that. Titus’ other hobby is ink making. Your typical black ink, blue ink, green ink, pink ink, glittery ink, metallic ink, ink that changes color with temperature, ink that is invisible until you shine a specific light on it, etc. anything really. He loves to craft ink and even his intricate little ink bottles are tailor made. He totally has “Zephyrus Volo slipped and landed on a cactus and his kids had to pluck the thorns from his bum” written in his super fancy glittery pink ink, in super fancy and elegant Lukedonian cursive, in his gossip journal. Hey, something that funny deserves to be remembered with style and pizazz, so. No one can stop him, lol.

P.s. in present day Millennium AU Titus travels to the outside world a lot. His clan no longer granting wishes for humans doesn’t mean that he has to avoid them altogether. He can’t fight so his team of 20+ elite noble bodyguards always accompany him on his trips. And carry his things for him. And help him make maps of the best donut and milkshake shops. His job is still the same, buying books from humans/werewolves and occasionally trading them. He’s very up to date with the latest, trendiest things, so he even has a whole book on modern memes. After he gets home he’ll get one of his clan members to transcribe all that so he can look at funny memes on his book SW Liebe, lol. Trendy grandpa. You’d never expect Titus to flip around his SW and show you a meme. What an honor!

Before I introduce the Paradiso twins, I want to talk about them together first. Anastasia and Anabella were born after the combined soul fragments of Titus and their other parent split into two. This is a “complete” split, and it isn’t too uncommon. That’s how identical twins are born. In a “complete” split, the resulting now-separate soul fragments are stable and whole on their own. Nothing to worry about, no need to do anything. Just congrats, you thought you were having one kid, now you’re getting twins. In this case, each parent donated only one soul fragment, aka two total, but they got two kids instead of one. Usually, two kids require four total soul fragments, three kids require six total, etc. (P.s. Garyth and Alethea are technically twins. However, their split was incomplete and unstable, and Alethea was going to die, as she was the tiny, tiny piece that broke off from Garyth. This had never happened before in all of recorded history. In this emergency Regis had to offer an another soul fragment to Alethea’s which shortened his lifespan even more, but it saved her in the process. Garyth’s birth was normal but Alethea’s birth was delayed as the stabilizing took a long while so she is technically her elder brother’s much younger twin. I’ll elaborate on this in the future. Anyways)

The Paradiso twins are eerily similar. No one except their parents and Seira could tell them apart before they changed their hair and clothes to be more distinct. They move and speak in the same way, complete each other’s sentences flawlessly, everything like that. If they speak at the same time you’d just hear echos of the same thing, so whenever they’re seen together, one of them does the talking for the two of them. These twins even have a secret language consisting of tongue clicks, finger snaps, and eyelid movements that no one else understands except for themselves. They developed this language when they were toddlers and they still communicate like this when they don’t want others to know what they’re saying. Fun stuff. Sometimes they’re even unaware that they’re speaking in this secret language, and have to consciously switch to a normal spoken language, or when someone kindly reminds them. Whoops, didn’t mean to be rude there. Excuse us.

Regarding the twins’ other parent. It’s a secret for now, hehe. All I will say is that their other parent is one of Titus’ bodyguards. Probably not a surprise either. This character I have yet to reveal, so stay tuned lol.

For now, no one knows who will become Paradiso CL after Titus. Both of Titus’ heirs are competent and eligible for the position. It just depends on which one of them is more interested. For now, they aren’t too concerned with it. They don’t really care. Whoever doesn’t become CL will definitely have the privilege of more free time, so. Either way, time will tell.

Anastasia F. Paradiso: Titus’ eldest daughter, the older twin, and one of his heirs. Anastasia is the more pragmatic of the twins. She prefers to deal with things in the most efficient and logical way. She is also her father’s assistant and is seen by his side more othen than her younger sister. She manages the communication part of the work when it comes to other clans and nobles, representing her father when he is busy with something else. For this reason, people assume that she will become Paradiso CL after him and inherit Liebe. Though, that is just speculation and Anastasia dislikes how people give her little sister Anabella less credit than she deserves. Anastasia is basically only a millisecond older than Anabella yet she treats her like a baby lol. Anastasia is very serious about taking care of Anabella and watches over her even after they’ve grown up. She’d brush her little sister’s hair, ask if she’d forgotten anything, etc. the big sister stuff. When these two hold hands, Anastasia is always the one holding Anabella’s hand. Anastasia’s hobby is making books from scratch. She sources her own leather, paper, threads, etc. and it is a tedious craft, but she enjoys the process very much. It’s like meditating to her, just like how her father enjoys making ink. Her other hobby is poetry composition. She does have a mischievous side where she’d talk in rhyme and only rhyme in a conversation with another person just to annoy them. She thinks it’s hilarious. Apparently she inherited Titus’ mischievous side, lol. Anastasia eventually settles down with Seira in the far future in my Millennium AU.

Anabella F. Paradiso: Titus’ youngest daughter, the younger twin, and one of his heirs. Anabella is the more idealistic of the twins. She isn’t a typical dreamer but she is more open to ideas that her older sister Anastasia wouldn’t consider. Anabella likes to think outside the box and sometimes, that works better. She’s also more flexible when it comes to new approaches to old ways. Because of their differences, the sisters are perfect for working with each other. While big sister Anastasia does more work centered around communication in public with their father, Anabella prefers to work behind the scenes. She manages the storage room, updates catalogues, imports books, etc. stuff that seem less significant on the surface but are equally important in making sure the clan runs smoothly. Anabella does get a bit embarrassed when big sister Anastasia treats her like she’s so much younger, but she appreciates the sentiment and it feels nice to be taken care of. Anabella’s hobby is also winemaking, just like her father, except she uses some unconventional ingredients: body parts of supernatural creatures. Dragon’s scales, griffin’s talons, pegasi feathers, anything with magical properties she can get her hands on. Of course she obtains them with consent. Hey Mr. Scissors, it’s molting season soon, right? Can I have your shell once you’re done? Etc. The alcohol she makes is… impressive but it is an acquired taste so might take some getting used to. Her other hobby is writing science fiction. She publishes her own novels in the human world under a pseudonym and every single release is a big hit. They’re about to get movie adaptations too, so she’s excited about that. Anabella eventually settles down with one of her bodyguards, just like her father.

And that’s it for now! Check out my other original clans here!

#noblesse #manhwa #myart #oc #original character #original clan leaders #titus paradiso #anastasia f. paradiso #anabella f. paradiso

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todaypatch · 10 years ago

Text

Former Southport A&E Doctor Made Up Qualifications in Bid to Win Lucrative Work as Expert Court Witness

A former Merseyside A&E doctor who filled his CV with bogus qualifications in a bid to win work as an expert witness in court cases was struck off.

Dr Titus Odedun, an ex-consultant in A&E medicine at Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, pretended to be a specialist in trauma, orthopaedics and surgery.

A medical misconduct tribunal ruled he had “no right to use the various titles he awarded himself” and found he did so “in order to obtain a greater volume of medico-legal work at a significantly higher fee”.

Odedun gave expert evidence in court cases while claiming to be more highly trained than he was, as well as exaggerating his professional experience in witness statements.

He also claimed to be a consultant in trauma and orthopaedic surgery in an online database of medical experts, despite having no such qualifications.

The tribunal described his lies as “persistent misbehaviour over a long period of time” and ruled his name should be erased from the doctors’ register.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) said in its ruling: “His conduct amounts to persistent dishonesty and an abuse of his position as an expert. Dr Odedun’s misconduct was a serious breach of good medical practice.”

A medical expert, known only as Mr A, who testified against Odedun, said he would have been the “youngest consultant ever” if his alleged work history had been accurate.

The MPTS made the following rulings:

That Odedun “falsely stated” on his profile on the website expertsearch in 2011 that he was a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon.

That he “falsely stated” he was a member of the Surgical Research Society.

That he prepared 18 medico-legal reports in which he “falsely stated” he was a consultant in trauma and aesthetics surgery and orthopaedics – as well as making this same claim “whist giving evidence in court” in November 2007.

That he “falsely stated” in a witness statement in June 2008 that he had worked as a consultant surgeon at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Southport and Ormskirk hospitals.

That, during a court hearing in February 2009, he “agreed that you were a consultant trauma surgeon when you knew that you were not”.

That while giving evidence in court in August 2010, Odedun “falsely stated” he was a fellow of the Faculty of A&E Medicine when in fact his membership had lapsed, as well as claiming to be a consultant in trauma and aesthetics surgery and an orthopaedics consultant.

That in a witness statement in December 2011, he “falsely stated” he was a consultant trauma and A&E surgeon.

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust confirmed to the MPTS that Odedun worked as an A&E consultant from 1992 until his retirement in 2005, after which he began taking on medico-legal work as an expert witness.

The doctor’s prognosis

The ECHO approached Odedun at his luxury Southport home. He told an ECHO reporter that a solicitor’s firm based in Manchester had brought the case against him because he was so successful with whiplash claimant reports.

Odedun said: “The General Medical Council (GMC) have found me guilty of practising in three different areas - accident and emergency, cosmetic and orthopaedics. The GMC only qualified me in accident and emergency but I am a surgeon trained in cosmetics and orthopaedics.

“I have more than 25 years of cosmetic experience and no single complaint from any patient.”

The former doctor who is now retired, said: “This has spoilt my name. I have 38 years of unblemished medical practice with medical certificates to prove it.”

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chainedwarden · 3 years ago

Note

“Father?” Lucius stepped into the dimly lit study, his cane touching the thick carpet with a muffled thud, as he anchored himself with it a little too much, before hastily taking a seat on the chair nearby.

His left leg was not of much use and he feared this time the pain in his joints had settled in permanently, making it almost impossible to move. Such ailments had been his constant companions since he had been a child, but he could feel his frail body reaching its limit and crumbling at last.

And as such thoughts occupied his mind more often, Lucius couldn’t help but think of what and whom he was leaving behind.

The last few days had been a blur. He had excused himself and retired to his bed early. He saw Varis and his faithful companion, young Regula, playing in the gardens and sneaking the sweets off the tables, and couldn’t help but chuckle from the endearing display. He had all but drifted off after an hour of reading, when he heard the commotion and Hypatia rushed to his side, dishevelled and teary eyed, telling him that their son had been poisoned, along with several other children.

She reassured him that lord Caelus had saved him, but that he would still have to spend the night in the medical wing and be monitored. She stopped in her tracks after that and stood silent for a moment, uncertain of her following words, but still daring to speak them.

And now, Lucius was paying this visit to his father’s personal study; a privilege a few in the empire could fancy having, even among their family.

“If it was Titus, I must know.” There wasn’t much he could do, even if that were the case. Not unless he was willing to start a war with his brother. Unless there was irrefutable evidence, of which there was none, he couldn’t dream to bring the case to the senate. No, he had to swallow this despicable deed or face his brother with dishonour.

His brows furrowed in distress, Lucius sighed, closing his eyes. “Varis has done no wrong to anyone. He is only a child. If my brother wants the throne, I am right here, brittle, and useless to our cause.” Lucius lamented in a low voice. “I could not be by my son’s side after his brush with death. I tried leaving my bed but my body would not allow me. I let Hypatia sit by his sickbed by herself.”

“If he wishes to succeed you, then so be it.” Golden eyes finally looked up at his father, as Lucius spoke, his slim features pale and sordid. “But, I want to know; did my brother try to kill my son?”

The Emperor is intermittently enjoying time with an... "entertainer" at the moment, merely enjoying the young servus that was presented to him, letting him sidle up to him, pour him drinks, and compliment him and kiss up to him. Solus didn't always accept such offers, but he knew if he rejected, he would have to offer large quantities of presents and heavy handed compliments to the lithe little creature if he didn't want the servus to be executed for failure. This time he allows himself the entertainment for the night, and by now he relaxes by the fire, sipping a drink -- the urgent and panicked guards already came, and Solus sent them away. Hypatia came, and again he sent her away, and even the blasted infamia dared to come and show his face -- and all the same Solus sent the man away.

Only Lucius dares approach without any fanfare, without warning, and knowing full well how disarmed Solus is by him. The Emperor sighed, and finally placed his hand upon the hip of the young man sitting in his lap, and told him. "In cubiculo." He tells him. "Vade." A careful pat on his behind, and a gesture to the door, and the stranger leaves the two of them, shutting the door behind them.

A sharp sigh.

"Sit." He snaps.

How loving and kind Solus once was to Lucius... and how brittle and broken said love had become. As Lucius grew sicker and sicker, Solus grew crueler and crueler. He had pushed his son away from him. Sneered in contempt at doctors -- all the while did he pay for everything to make Lucius's life as comfortable as he could, medical bills, social security, his own life insurance and many other things, but it wasn't a kindness. Lucius was a well manicured corpse. Solus kept up appearances and hardly anything else anymore.

"Sit before you fall down." Solus says, and he gets up himself, dusting himself off. There's a number of alcohols on the table, open, lip stains from his pretty little friend on the rim of glass cups, and Solus fetches a clean one, before pouring the rest of the hard liquor out into two glass cups, sliding one across the coffee table to Lucius.

"Yes."

Solus says the answer bluntly.

"Is that what you wanted to hear? Yes then. Yes. He did it." Solus hissed and swirled the clear fluid in his glass. "Now what?" He drank -- grimaced, and slapped the cup on the table. "There. He did it. Now what are you going to do?"

Bitter words shoot at his beloved son, and Solus's eyes could drill holes into his precious prince. A giant. Massive and imposing. Yet slender, frail, and so very gentle. He tries to be intimidating to his father, but it doesn't work on Solus, he knows what Lucius is trying to do, demand confirmation that an Emperor cannot dare give, but Solus hardly cares.

"You think you can do something about it don't you?" Solus huffed. "You think you can march to Titus's house and demand he stop? You think you can fight him? Kill him? Will you condemn your brother? Exile him? Shall you turn him to a viator? Force him to wander the tundra?"

"Look at yourself. What can you do?" Solus hissed. "What right do you have to demand the truth from me? To demand action from me? After everything I have done for you, I gave you the home your family lives in, the summer villa you enjoy your time in, I gave you hospital staff, medicine, food, shelter, clothing, I would give you my blood, my bones, I would rip my teeth out for you with my bare hands -- and this is how you act? This is how you talk to me? You come here, accusing me of knowing Titus's thoughts and actions? You come here, thinking I know who did what, and why he did it? I am your father. I am the Emperor. I am not a fucking God. If I was, you think I would be this cruel? You think I would give you this fate?"

Solus almost crumples at his words, his eyes are glassy and wet, but he refuses to cry, not for Lucius, not for anyone, not now at least.

"I don't know what happened." Solus finally admits. "The situation will be investigated. Just know that Varis still lives. Whatever attempt on his life that was done has failed. If there is anything to tell me what truly happened tonight, I will find out, I will bring it to the senate, I will see justice done upon it. When have I ever denied you such a justice?" Solus finishes his drink, and sighs, getting up, he feels a little dizzy, but he composes himself and walks over to the window, overlooking the courtyard below.

"What did I do wrong?" Solus murmured under his breath. "What did I do to make you even ask me this? How did I fail you so much that we would believe Titus capable of doing such a thing?"

His eyes scan the horizon.

"... Rest, Lucius. I will make sure someone checks on Varis through the night for you." Solus hobbles over to Lucius, and grabs his chin, looking down into his eyes, so mixed with a torturous swirl of emotions.

Solus leans forward, and presses his forehead to Lucius's own, touching their third eyes together, and he exhales, leaning into his son, holding him in this precious embrace.

"Pacta sunt servanda." He hissed, and finally let his dear son go. Solus looked down upon him, and sighed, almost pitying him, it was natural, this rage, this festering anger, not only as a Garlean, but from Solus himself, he knows Lucius adopts it, despite his pretty face, and calm demeanor, he is enraged, he wishes to handle this like any Garlean man would, with anger and outbursts -- but that wasn't their way.

"Go home, sleep, and visit your son in the morning. We shall see what happens." While they may not act now, they would act later, and as much as it enrages Lucius, Solus is sure, he can't do anything about it.

#rp #ic #long post #furorastra #my son

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kelelamentia · 6 years ago

Text

Dogs are a Ladybug’s best friend

@ozmav

This came from @thebookwormfairy idea “What if Marinette had a Retired Police Dog as a Pet”

@realrandomposts and I discussed which Miraculous would be used and, while my initial thought was turtle, @realrandomposts was the one who came with the idea for the fox, and just fit better for this fic (And I want to tick Alya off), because Trixx would NEVER miss a chance to cause chaos via having a dog as a holder.

As for Trixx’s gender, the site basically told me it varied from translation to translation, so I flipped a coin; literally.

At a Gotham hotel:

Marinette couldn’t believe Captain snuck himself on to the plane! Actually, she could, he’s such a smart boy. But, how did he get past all that security? Never mind Trixx probably helped with that, he likes to cause chaos like that.

“Trixx, did you have a hand in getting Captain on the plane?” Marinette asked.

“Noooooooooo.” Trixx dragged out, trying and failing to look innocent.

Marinette sighed, running her hands through Captains fur.

“Besides he was going to miss you terribly so.” Trixx continued.

“And you would have missed him as well Marinette.” Tikki added.

“True…” Marinette agreed.

“And I know Captain never wants to leave his partner alone unless he has to.” Trixx said.

Marinette smiled, still petting Captain and him loving it, the Fox Miraculous; hidden by dog tags and a bandana, catching her eye. Marinette remembered how this came to be.

*Flash back*

Marinette was having an awful week; Lila spread rumors around the school about her, her classmates have shown to be more like sheep than classmates, Adrien wanted her to continue being a doormat, and Chat could NOT take the hint at the last Akuma attack and left her alone to fight so he could throw a tantrum.

Thankfully, Captain has proven to be the best and most loyal friend she could ever hope for. Marinette knows he would never leave her in danger just because he didn’t like what she said, he never believe she was petty and jealous of a person with such FAKE tales, and he would never ask her not to stand just for justice; being a former police dog.

That’s when an idea hit Marinette.

“Tikki, I have an idea.”

Tikki tilted her head in confusion, watching Marinette look over at her dog.

“Come on Captain, I’m going to introduce you to Master Fu.” Marinette said.

The worst the Master could do was say no, right.

With Master Fu:

“Greetings Marinette, Tikki” Fu welcomed.

“Hello Master Fu.” Tikki greeted.

“Hello Master, I hope you don’t mind but I brought my dog; Captain.” Marinette returned.

“I don’t mind Marinette; animals can be the best of companions and partners.” Fu smiled, holding out his hand for Captain to sniff.

Captain gave a cautious sniff, but accepted Fu; allowing him to give a single head pat.

“Why don’t we sit down, I feel we have much to discuss.” Fu offered.

“Thank you Master.”

Once they were seated at Fu’s low table, Fu began talking.

“What would you like to discuss Marinette?”

“Can a Miraculous be given to an animal?” Marinette asked.

Fu raised an eyebrow.

“May I ask what brought this on?”

Marinette steeled herself.

“First Chat Noir; he’s late or doesn’t show to battles, when he does he’s pretty much out of the fight immediately, he flirts at the worst times even though I’ve told him I’m not interested in him, he throws hissy hits on a regular basis, and he doesn’t see being a hero as a responsibility but as a game.”

“What of the other heroes?”

“The other heroes have proven that they see being a hero as game as well, they don’t look to see the truth went given no evidence, they like pretty words and offers of connections than working for it themselves and are unwilling to listen to reason when it’s something they don’t want to hear.”

Marinette looked Fu in the eye.

“I’m tired of fighting alone Master Fu.”

The last sentence bore a lot of weight behind it; and Fu heard it.

“I understand Marinette.”

Fu got up to retrieve the box, once he sat down again he started talking.

“You wish for Captain to stand beside you.”

“Yes Master.”

“Do you think he will be able to handle it?”

“Yes Master, he’s a former police dog, he probably has more training and experience than I do.” Marinette giggled.

Captain gave a small tail wag; he loved hearing his girl laugh.

Fu smile and nodded.

“Now it is possible for an animal to use a Miraculous, but the process is different.”

“How so Master?”

“Normally the Guardian would choose the hold, but in the case of animals; the Kwamii’s get to choose if they want to work with them or not, so I cannot guaranty anything Marinette.”

“I understand Master.” Marinette nodded.

“Good, first we must…”

Fu was cut off by a box shaking and jumping around until Trixx popped out. Once he was out he grabbed Marinette’s hand and began to beg.

“Please, please, PLEASE let me team up with you and your dog! This looks like it’s going to cause chaos and so much confusion! Please let me, I know how to speak canine, so I know when to transform and stuff, I get along really well with Tikki, my Miraculous can hang with his tags, and my charge up food is really easy. Please, please, PLEASEEEEEEE!”

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh.

“I have no problem working with you Trixx, but let’s see what Captain thinks.”

Marinette turned to her dog, he liked Tikki, but that doesn’t mean he’d like Trixx.

Trixx flew over to Captain; Captain gave him a sniff.

“Hi Captain, do you want to team up with me to protect your girl?” Trixx asked.

Captain was quiet for a moment, but eventually gave a gentle woof in agreement.

“Yes!” Trixx cheered.

Marinette, Fu and Tikki laughed as Marinette clipped the Miraculous on Captain’s collar; behind the tags, but that laughter was cut short by screaming and crashing outside.

“AKUMA!!!!”

Fu turned to Marinette.

“Go.”

Marinette nodded her head.

“Alright Tikki; Spots on!”

Captain gave a stern bark.

Once the transformation light died down Marinette could see what Captain looked like.

Captain wore an orange, black and white vest that was modeled after a normal police dogs vest; it had the fox tail symbol, in white, on the back and a ladybug symbol on the front where a police badge would be. Captain also had arm guards on his front legs that covered the top of his paws; they faded from orange to white, but Marinette’s favorite part was his mask. It was just a normal orange, black and white mask, but just looked so cute.

“Well, I can’t call you Captain, no matter how common that name might be.” Marinette said, looking at her dog. “How about…Hunter?”

The newly christened Hunter gave a soft woof in agreement.

“Come on Hunter, we have an Akuma to fight.”

And then they were off.

“Good luck.” Fu said as they left.

Where the Akuma was:

The fight with the Akuma, which Chat did not show up to, went smoothly. Hunter cast his illusion by howling and apparently, he could also sniff out the akumatized item, this made things so much easier. Ladybug didn’t even need to cast Lucky charm! They even did a ‘Pound it’ where Hunter bumped his nose against her fist.

But once everything was fixed by the cure, Chat showed up.

“Hey Bug-a-boo.”

“You missed everything Chat.” Her voice was hard, causing Hunter to tense up.

“Aww, don’t be like that Love bug, it couldn’t have been bad.”

Chat reached out to grab Ladybug only to be blocked by a snarling Hunter.

“What the heck is that?!” Chat exclaimed, back away from the costumed dog.

Ladybug smiled sickly sweet smile at Chat.

“This is Hunter the new, and permanent, fox holder and my new partner.”

“But what about Rena Rouge?! And I’M your partner” Chat demanded.

“She has been retired, and don’t worry about the Guardian; he’s already agreed to this. As for being my partner; tell me Chat when was the last time you showed up on time for a fight, didn’t get turned against me, or thrown a hissy fit and leave just because you didn’t get what you want?” Ladybug asked.

Chat couldn’t answer her, his mouth flapping uselessly.

“That’s what I thought.” Ladybug then turned to Hunter. “Come Hunter we should leave before your time runs out.”

Hunter gave a woof in return and jumped away with his girl, not before giving one last hard look at Chat.

*End flashback*

Trixx had been appalled by Chat’s attitude and was steaming while he ate his marshmallows, Tikki doing the same while eating cookies.

Marinette smile as she remembered Alya’s outrage at being replaced, and by a dog at that. But Hunter proved to the people of Paris how good he was and how great of a partner he was for Ladybug; Their ‘Pound it’ was all the rage in the internet and is now the most popular trick to teach your pet.

So here she was in Gotham with her super hero dog, which snuck aboard a plane, and two powerful little gods.

What was her life?

“Well, sulking around this hotel won’t do us any good; how about we go for a walk guys?” Marinette suggested.

Captain, Tikki and Trixx agreed; Tikki flying into Marinette’s bag and Trixx flew under Captain Bandana.

At a nearby Park:

Marinette felt so much freer at the park, the only thing people would see was a girl and her dog.

She was just throwing the ball she got for Captain when another dog, a Great Dane, came up and began sniffing Captain. Captain held still, ball in mouth, and let the other sniff; eventually Captain seemed to like the other dog and began leading them over to Marinette.

“Did you make a friend Captain?” Marinette asked, petting her dog.

Captain gave a slight wag of his tail and Great Dane’s tail was going so fast in was a blur. Marinette reached out her hand for the Dane, so they could get her scent; she was rewarded with a lick on her hand.

“Well aren’t you a sweet heart! Let’s find out your name.” Marinette laughed, before reaching for the Dane’s tags. “Titus? Well it’s nice to meet you Titus!”

Titus barked his hello, trying to get closer to Marinette’s hands for petting.

“Alright buddy, you want to play fetch with me and Captain while you wait for your owner?”

Titus barked again, this time jumping around in excitement.

“Okay, okay,” Marinette laughed before winding up the ball. “FETCH!”

Marinette let the ball go and both dogs shot after it; tussling a bit to be the one to bring it back. This went on for a while before Marinette heard a voice shouting.

“TITUS!”

Titus responded to the call and ran over to a boy about her age, a very handsome boy. Titus circled around the boy a couple times before running back to Marinette. Marinette could only guess that this was Titus’ owner. He made his way over to her.

“Hello Miss, I’m sorry if Titus caused you any trouble.” He greeted.

“Titus was no trouble at all; he was a real sweet heart.” Marinette assured. “My name is Marinette, and this is my dog Captain.”

“It’s lovely to meet you Marinette; my name is Damian, you’ve already met Titus.” Damian greeted, gently taking her hand and placing a kiss on the back; Marinette couldn’t help but blush.

Watching his girl blush at the new person caused Captain to step between the two, making both of blink.

“I’m sorry Damian; Captain doesn’t like strangers getting too close to me.”

“It’s fine Marinette; I should have introduced myself to your dog before invading your space. It’s understandable that he takes me as threat.” Damian said, slowly reaching out his hand for Captain.

Captain investigated the offered hand and gave Damian a hard stare. There was a tense moment before Captain gave a snort and walked to Marinette’s side.

“I think you’ve been approved of Damian.” Marinette said surprised. “He usually doesn’t like a lot of people; really it’s just me and my parents.”

“A high honor then, I will do my best not to waste it.” Damian stated. “I would hate to ruin my chance at talking to a beautiful lady such as you.”

The blush returned to Marinette’s face.

“T-Thank you, but I’m not much.”

Damian just smirked at her, making her blush more. Damian was going to say something when he noticed Titus sniffing at Captain’s Bandana. Marinette knew he was smelling Trixx.

“That is a very well made, where did you get this Marinette?” Damian asked.

“I made it myself; I couldn’t find anything in the stores that I liked.”

“Really? Might I commission you to make one for Titus?”

“You can, but I don’t have a lot of my sewing supplies with me in Gotham, so it could take some time.”

“Where are visiting from Marinette?”

“I’m visiting with my class from Paris; we’re here mainly to see Wayne Enterprise.” Marinette clarified.

“And they let you bring your dog?” Damian asked.

“They didn’t ‘Let me’.” Marinette looked over at Captain with a mock serious look. “Somehow, someone managed to trick the entire airport and sneak himself onto the plane.”

Damian gave a snort in amusement.

“Really?!”

“I know it sounds fake, but…”

Damian cut Marinette off.

“No, I believe you; I’ve seen animals be smarter than people before, but this very impressive. Your classmates must have thought it funny.”

Marinette wilted a bit when Damian mentioned her classmates; he noticed.

“What’s wrong Marinette?”

“You won’t believe me…”

“I’ve been told I very good at telling who’s lying, so please tell me.”

“There’s a girl in my class who doesn’t like me, and she made it sound like I snuck Captain aboard the plane on purpose just to get attention. I wouldn’t even know where to start on that!”

“It sounds like she’s done more than that Marinette.”

“She has…” Marinette sighed, she then gave a brief explanation to Damian about what was going on; he was not pleased.

“Your classmates are morons; large ones.”

“Yeah, they are. Hey Damian, do you know much about Wayne Enterprise?” Marinette asked.

“I know enough.”

“Do you think they let Captain in? I’d hate to leave him at the hotel tell all day.”

“I’m positive they will Marinette, the Wayne family is a very open-minded family.”

“Thank you, Damian,” Marinette smiled, before asking another question. “Do you know any nearby dog friendly restaurants are?”

“Of course, I’d be happy to show you. Perhaps you would let me join you as well.”

“I’d like that Damian; it would be nice to talk to someone with common sense that isn’t Captain.”

Damian chuckled and held out his arm; which Marinette took, and began to guide her to the closest café their dogs trotting along with them.

While at the café Damian got Marinette to open up a bit more about her classmates; Marinette didn’t know why she did that, she was just comfortable with him. And if Damian thought her classmates to be morons before, he though them to be outright imbeciles now.

“These people clearly have no brain cells Marinette.”

Marinette smiled at Damian, it was nice to have someone who can listen to reason.

Eventually Marinette and Captain did have to go back to the hotel, not before they exchanged number though.

“Can we do this again tomorrow; my class won’t be spending all day at Wayne Enterprise.” Marinette asked just before she left; surprising herself at her boldness.

Damian didn’t seem to have an issue with her request though.

“You took the request right out of my mouth Angel.”

“A-Angel?” Marinette stuttered.

“Certainly, you’ve shown your class kindness and patience when they don’t deserve it or you, so yes Angel; unless it makes you uncomfortable Marinette.”

“It’s fine Damian, just please; never call me Princess.” Marinette pleaded.

Damian clearly wanted to ask why but left it alone.

“Of course, Marinette; I will respect your wishes.” Damian nodded his head. “Now will you allow myself and Titus to walk yourself and Captain back to your hotel?”

“Sure Damian.”

The walk was made up of Marinette asking what Damian wanted the Bandana for Titus to look like. Once they reached the hotel they said their goodbyes.

“It was wonderful meeting Damian, you too Titus.” Marinette said.

“You as well Marinette, Captain.” Damian waved goodbye.

The next morning:

Marinette, Captain and the class set off for Wayne Enterprise, Lila being Lie-le the entire time on the bus.

“The Wayne family just loves me; they always try and make sure I’m alright.” Lila boasted.

“Wow Lila, do you think you could introduce me? I’d love to have an interview!” Alya questioned.

“Maybe Alya, they are a very busy family after all; we probably won’t even see them.” Lila redirected.

“Aww, that’s too bad.” Alya was disappointed.

Marinette, keeping a hand on Captain, resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Last night before going to sleep, Marinette looked up the Wayne family; ignoring all the pictures she didn’t care about those and found many things. Like, if Alya wanted an interview she could just request one, yeah there would be some restrictions but Alya doesn’t care for doing her own research.

Adrien just kept quiet, just as always.

The class reached Wayne Enterprise; Marinette and Captain at the back of the group and were greeted by a surprise in the lobby.

“Hi everyone, I’m Dick Grayson and I’ll be the one giving you the tour around the building.”

The entire air shifted; Alya was ecstatic, Lila could get her an interview right away! Lila was terrified, because this could go very south on her and she had no back up plans on being called out by one of the people she bragged about. Marinette was confused, why were people getting excited?

Marinette was never good with icons outside fashion and music, so she didn’t know the Damian she spent time with the day before was the Damian Wayne. So, when Damian got home he spoke with his family, telling them of a girl in the French tour would likely be using their names for gain. Nobody liked the idea of being used, so if the topic came up they would shut it down; Damian figured out from Marinette’s descriptions that the topic would come up from one person or another.

Damian theory proved true when Alya; the pushy, rude, ‘always right’, Alya raised her hand.

“Go ahead.” Dick called on her.

“Hi, I’m Alya; I’m friends with your friend Lila Rossi!”

Lila froze at Alya’s exclamation; going very pale.

Dick frowned, now knowing who the liar in the group was; but was inwardly smirking at the chance to call them out.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve NEVER met a ‘Lila Rossi’ in my life; whoever that is lied to you.”

Alya looked like her world shattered with that one phrase.

Marinette realized Dick must be an important person Lila lied about; which one Marinette wasn’t sure they all sound the same after a point. Marinette looked over at Alya and saw the devastation on her face; Marinette really hoped her former friend would learn from this and start fact checking.

Marinette started running one her hands through Captain’s fur, the motion keeping her calm; watching more horror appear on her classmate’s faces as Dick continued.

"I hope she didn’t use our name to take advantage of people and she continues like this she will be hit with a lawsuit.”

Lila blanched, a lawsuit would really be bad, but she didn’t know how to backtrack from this lie; she didn’t think a Wayne would be the one conducting the tour.

“Well, now that that’s cleared up we can begin the tour.” Dick said, clapping his hands together.

But in a desperate attempt to get the negative focus off her Lila tried to get Marinette in trouble.

“Look Marinette brought her dog! He can’t be here!”

Everyone turned to look at Marinette; Ms. Bustier was quick to say something.

“Marinette why in the world did you bring your dog?!”

“I didn’t want to leave Captain alone in hotel ALL day, what kind of pet owner would I be if I did that Ms. Bustier? And how did you not see me bring him onto the bus?!”

Ms. Bustier opened her mouth to try and reprimand Marinette more but was cut off by Dick.

“This is perfectly fine Ms. Bustier; we were warned ahead of time that due to some strange events, there would be a dog in the group today.”

Ms. Bustier could only nod, not being able to argue with Dick, But Lila was outraged by this turn of events.

“Who could have possibly warned you about her dog?!”

Marinette; as much as she didn’t like Lila had to admit, that was a good question.

“I did.” Came a voice off from the side.

“Hey, Damian.” Dick greeted.

“Hello Grayson,” Damian nodded, before approaching Marinette; Titus at his side. “Hello again Marinette, Captain.”

“Damian! Titus! I hadn’t thought you might work here!” Marinette said, “Which is silly looking back now, because you knew if Captain would allowed or not.”

“It’s fine Marinette.” Damian smiled at the sweet girl.

“Oh, hold on! I was going to give this to you later, but since you’re here now.” Marinette said as she rummaged through her bag, pulling out a yellow piece of cloth. “I managed to find some cloth and made Titus a Bandana, it’s nothing fancy but I wanted to see if he even liked it first.”

The Bandana was yellow with black thread spelling out ‘Titus’ in cursive.

“Its wonderful Marinette.”

“Thank you, Damian, can I put it on Titus now to see if he likes it?”

“Certainly.”

Marinette bent down to carefully tie it to Titus; who was holding still for her.

“There.” Marinette stood up.

Titus was then bouncing around her and Captain, braking and wagging his tail in happiness. Making Damian and Marinette laugh, as Titus did his best to get Captain to play with him.

While they were in their own little world the people around them watched in awe; Damian Wayne could smile, he could laugh!

Dick was grinning ear to ear, being very thankful the lobby had cameras or else there would be no proof of this happening.

Alya could decide between being hurt or confused; hurt by Lila’s lies or confused by the fact Marinette knew THE Damian Wayne.

Adrien was concerned; this was just going to cause more problems, why couldn’t Marinette just stay low?

Lila was seething, how is it that when she finally won over the class of idiots and turns them against Marinette, Marinette goes and somehow charms one of the riches and coldest people in the world! This could not continue. Lila slipped away; unknowingly catching Dick’s eye.

The rest of the class was just in awe of the sweet atmosphere around the two.

That atmosphere was broken when the sound of screaming and breaking began, a giant form comes busting into the lobby.

“Hello everyone, I am Arachnae and with no Ladybug or Chat Noir around, you all will be nothing but flies in my beautiful web.”

Arachnae was a human torso on a spider’s body, her entire form was covered in bright orange fuzz; head to the tip of each spidery leg. The form was also very clearly Lila; she had her face and hair and the necklace she always wore, but the one thing different about Lila’s is that she now had 8 eyes.

Dick was the first to react.

“What the %&$@!”

Arachnae let out a hiss and shot webs from her hands; the strands aimed mostly at the class and Marinette. The people that got hit were turned into little soulless puppets for Arachnae to play with and amuse herself.

Marinette jumped to dodge the web, hitting the ground running; looking for a place to hide, Captain at her side.

“Marinette!”

When Marinette dodged she threw herself away from Damian, causing him to worry, but his yell brought Arachnae’s attention to them.

“Ah yes Marinette, when I catch you I’m going to make you miserable! And your little dog too!”

Arachnae charged at Marinette.

“Damian run! She’s focused on me, go get help!” Marinette yelled, before she and Captain took off.

The chase began, with Arachnae destroying anything that got in her path. As she ran Marinette began looking for a place to transform, counting on Captain to guild her around Arachnae’s attacks. Eventually Arachnae ends up bringing the ceiling down and blocked herself from Marinette and Captain.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Arachnae screamed in rage. “FINE, I’LL JUST PLAY WITH MY NEW TOYS UNTIL YOU COME BACK! I KNOW YOU WILL YOU USELESS GIRL!”

Marinette looked around for a place without cameras and spotted a closet.

“This will have to do Captain.” Marinette said to Captain, as she closed them both inside. “Tikki? Trixx?”

“Ready!” They chimed together, flying from their hiding spots.

“Alright, now; Tikki Spots On!”

*Bark!*

With a flash of light Ladybug and Hunter were ready. Looking around she saw some vents she and Hunter could crawl though, so the cameras didn’t see her.

In the Lobby:

Arachnae had gotten most of the people in the lobby, except for three; Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, and Adrien, her biggest targets outside Marinette.

“Just surrender to me, it would make this all so much easier!” Arachnae hissed at the boys, sending more webs and puppet people at them.

Dick and Damian had managed to dodge webs, puppets and Arachnae; Adrien was hiding behind a plant behind Arachnae, but they were also trapped in the lobby and running out of options. Titus was running around, unable to get to Damian and Dick.

*Bark, Bark, Bark*

“Shut up, you dumb mutt!” Arachnae hissed, raising one spider leg bring it down on Titus.

“Titus!” Damian yelled.

Just as the Arachnae’s leg was about to hit a string from a ceiling vent wrapped around it and pulled. Arachnae was pulled with such force she toppled over, and two figures fell out of the vents.

“I don’t know how you got Akumatized outside of Paris, but that doesn’t mean you’ll win.”

“Ladybug.” Arachnae snarled.

“What? Not happy to see me?”

Arachnae gave a war cry and launch herself at the duo. Ladybug and Hunter jumped out of the way, Ladybug in the opposite direction of the people, Hunter grabbing Titus and bring him over to Damian and Dick. After dropping Titus off Hunter went back to Ladybug’s side; who was dodging Arachnae’s webs and people puppets, and bit one of Arachnae’s spider legs.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH” Arachnae let loose a scream of pain, she turned to Hunter. “You God awful waste of space!”

While facing Hunter, Arachnae left herself for a hit; but the hit wasn’t from Ladybug. A small black blur cut Arachnae across the arm.

Arachnae hissed at the contact, as Batman dropped down from another vent in the ceiling.

“Batman?! What are you doing here!” Arachnae growled.

“Really Lila?! We’re I Gotham, you’re causing trouble and you expect Batman not to show up?” Ladybug’s exasperated voice came.

“Shut-up! And it’s Arachnae!” Arachnae snarled, clearly humiliated.

Batman threw a few more baterangs that exploded into smoke bombs and ran over to Ladybug and Hunter.

“What’s going on?” Batman asked.

“That is Lila, she has been akumatized,” Ladybug started. “Not sure how outside Paris, but that’s worry for later, but we need to find the akumatized object and break it. That will make her lose any power she has.”

“What’s the object?”

“The only thing it could be is the necklace, everything else is just orange fuzz, but getting close to her is dangerous. If you get hit by her web, you’ll become her puppet and I rather not fight you Batman.”

“What are your names?”

“I’m Ladybug and this is my partner Hunter.”

*Woof*

The smoke was beginning to clear from Arachnae’s face.

“We better hurry before she…”

Ladybug was cut off by a voice.

“Don’t worry Milady I’ll help you!” Chat yelled, while trying to jump in, only to get hit by on of Arachnae’s webs.

“Not again Chat!” Ladybug cried.

“Does that happen often?” Batman asked, disappointed.

“More than I’ll ever truly admit to” Muttered Ladybug.

“Oh, this perfect! Or should I say purrfect?” Arachnae jeered, as Chat puppet now dangled at the end of her web.

Batman tried to cut the web by throwing some baterangs at it, but they just bounced off. Arachnae then sent a swarm of people puppets at them. Ladybug then had an idea.

“Batman, I need you to throw more smoke bombs.”

He did as he was instructed.

“Hunter!” Ladybug called out.

Hunter let loose a howl.

Once Hunter’s howl was done Ladybug grabbed Batman and ran behind a pillar. Once the smoke was cleared Batman carefully looked around the pillar and was stunned when he saw the figures of himself, Ladybug and hunter were still there; Moving, talking and just outright distracting Arachnae.

“How?” Batman was blunt in his question.

“Hunter can cast an illusion, but he can only cast it once before he’s on a time limit.” Ladybug explained.

“And you?”

“This; Lucky Charm!” Ladybug through her Yo-yo in the air and what came down was a bottle of peppermint extract.

Batman gave Ladybug a confused look.

“Lucky Charm only gives me what I need, not what I want.” Ladybug clarified looking around and spotted the sprinklers in the ceiling. “I have an idea; do you think you can cut the necklace off of her neck?”

“Yes.” Batman replied, catching on to her idea.

Arachnae just managed to destroy the illusion; disappearing in a puff of smoke, when Hunter and Batman dropped in front of her.

“Why won’t you do things MY way!” Arachnae screamed.

“Because your way is wrong.” Batman stated, throwing baterangs at her.

Hunter jumped at her spidery legs, barking and biting at them; because he was under her she couldn’t shoot webs at him, but his biting allowed enough distraction for Batman to try and target the necklace.

As the three battled, Ladybug made her way up to the sprinkler system; carefully hooking up the bottle. Once it was secured Ladybug dropped to the floor and pulled the nearest fire alarm; causing the sprinkler system to go off.

Since Lila was currently part spider, and spiders don’t like peppermint, she started to scream and curl herself into a ball.

Batman saw the opening and accomplished cutting off the necklace; which Hunter caught and brought over to Ladybug.

Ladybug broke the necklace and release the akuma, catching it with her Yo-yo and cleansing it.

“Bye, Bye butterfly.”

After she was done cleansing the butterfly, Ladybug turned to Hunter and held out her fist.

“Pound it.”

Hunter bumped his nose against her fist

As Lady was cleansing the akuma, and ‘Pounding it’ with Hunter, Batman turned off the sprinklers a brought back the Luck Charm.

“I’m sorry for the trouble.” Ladybug said taking the charm. “I really don’t understand how she did this.”

“Gotham’s use to damage.”

“It doesn’t make it okay, but don’t worry I have something for it.” Ladybug smiled, “Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug tossed the bottle in the air and it exploded into thousands of little sparkly pink ladybugs.

The ladybugs swarmed over everything, reversing all the damage, turning people back to normal and healing any injuries.

The barricade Dick, Damian and Titus were behind was cleaned up and put away, leaving two stunned people and a very happy dog; Titus bounced over to Hunter to say Hi.

“Holy Sh*t! How!?” Dick asked looking around.

“Magic!” Ladybug chirped.

A groan caught Ladybug’s attention; it was Lila. Ladybug made her way over to her.

“So, here we are again Lila.” Ladybug said in a scolding tone.

Lila tried desperately to come up with an excuse.

“It wasn’t my Fault Ladybug! Hawkmoth…”

Ladybug cut her off.

“Hawkmoth doesn’t have the power to akumatize someone in another country, let alone one across an ocean, or he would have been doing it from the start. Now how did you get akumatized Lila.”

“You can’t prove anything!” Lila tried.

“I can.” Batman said, pulling up some security feed on his computer gauntlet, he projected it for all to see.

The video was of Lila slipping into a hallway, clearly trying not to be seen by people, and when she was done double checking her surroundings; she pulled a little glass jar out of her bag. That jar contained a purple butterfly. Lila then opened the jar and let the akuma to fuse with her necklace; creating Arachnae.

The people from Paris gasped.

“I-it isn’t what it looks like…” Lila began.

“Really, because to me this looks like you are either helping a known terrorist or wanted the destructive power at your disposal for whenever you felt necessary.” Ladybug was disgusted, turned to Batman. “Gotham, America in general, are not my territory; how do you want to handle this?”

“The young lady is clearly a threat to people and has purposely tried to harm them; she will be facing justice.” Batman said pulling out a pair of hand cuffs.

“What?...No! YOU CAN’T! I’M THE DAUGHTER OF A DIPLOMAT! TWO OF THEM!” Lila tried to fight Batman off, but without the power of the akuma she had no chance.

Around this time the GPD showed up, Batman gave them a quick run down about what happened, and they took Lila away; Batman would be dropping by later with the evidence. A few stayed behind to take statements.

A frantic beeping was heard.

“I’m sorry Batman; Hunter and I have to return to Paris, out time is almost up.”

“Before you go can you tell how you got here?”

“The horse miraculous can teleport,” Even more beeping, “Thank you for your help Batman, come on Hunter.”

*Bark*

With that Ladybug and Hunter were gone through the vent they entered, leaving Batman and a disoriented Chat behind. Batman made his way over to Chat.

“How did you get here?” Batman asked, Chat clearly hadn’t come with Ladybug, so he needed to know.

“Uhhh…Got to go!” Chat just ran off.

Batman knew he was just going revert to civilian state somewhere in the building, he’ll look at the security feed later.

“Damian!” Marinette busted into the new repaired lobby with Captain right beside her.

“Marinette!” Damian yelled running over to her “Are you alright?”

“I should be asking you that! You were the one trapped with her!”

Batman was shocked to see Damian be sweet with a girl, with anyone really, and subtlety glance at Dick. Dick smiled and mouthed ‘Future girlfriend’ to him.

As Damian and Marinette were connecting, Batman noticed a blond boy run into the lobby; from the same hallway Chat ran down.

“Marinette, what were you thinking?” the blond asked running over to her and Damian, interrupting them.

Just as Adrien was about to reach her Captain stepped in front of her in a protective stance; Titus joined him, causing him to stop short.

“Adrien, what are you talking about?” Marinatte asked, standing behind her furry guards. Damian wrapping his arm around her for comfort.

“You caused Lila to be akumatized!”

“What! No, I/she didn’t!” Marinette and Damian yelled.

“Yes, she did, if Marinette has just stayed low none of this would have happened.” Adrien insisted.

Batman intervened before Damian could break the boys jaw.

“Young man we have proof that Lila Rossi voluntarily did the ‘akumatization’ to herself. This young lady had nothing to do with it.”

“B-But Batman; if Marinette hadn’t exposed Lila…” Adrien began, only to be cut off by Dick.

“Hey kid, I’m the one who called out that liar and are you insinuating that you KNEW that she was lying to her classmates?”

“W-Well she wasn’t hurting anyone.”

“Kid you need a lesson on toxic people; BADLY.” Dick shook his head at Adrien.

Adrien was about to say something when he felt a hand on his shoulder; he turned, it was Batman.

“Please return to your class, the police will take your statement.”

“What about Marinette?” Adrien tried, wanting the girl to came back with him and away from Damian and his dog; not that Captain would let him get close.

“I’ll be the one taking her statement, now please return to your class.” Batman stood firm in this.

“I’ll take him back Batman.” Dick offered, grabbing Adrien’s shoulder.

So Adrien shuffled away; being lead by Dick, continuedly glancing over his should at the group.

“Is this normal behaviour for him Angel?” Damian asked.

“When I don’t do what he wants, yes.” Marinette confirmed.

Damian made a face at her answer, but before they could farther into that talk Batman had a question.

“Miss can you tell me more about these ‘Akuma’ and what happened with Ms. Rossi.”

“Sure.” Marinette sighed, “But you’re going to need some back story as well.”

Batman nodded his assent and Marinette gave the entire rundown about what is happening in Paris and the amount of rolls Lila played as an Akuma. When she was done Marinette was out of breath but looked like the world had been removed from her shoulders. Damian had pulled her closer as she spoke, and Captain and Titus were trying to cuddle up to her.

There was a beat of silence before Batman spoke.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how the League missed what was happening.”

“It’s fine Batman, I know the League would never let us flounder if they knew what was going on.” Marinette assured, “Honestly I think magic had something to do with that, but I’m not sure WHY the mayor didn’t contact you.”

“It will be investigated, thank you for your time.” Batman then walked off to talk to an officer.

Once he was gone Damian turned to Marinette; who was still in his arms.

“Are you sure you’re alright Angel?”

“I’m fine Damian, I promise, Captain and I hid in a closet. Thank you for staying with me though, talking about akums and Lila just takes a lot out of me.”

“Consider what you told me yesterday and what you just told Batman, I think it’s a miracle that you were akumatized yourself.”

“I work hard not to be, but I should be allowed to feel bad without Hawkmoth trying to take advantage of me.” Marinette sighed.

A commotion of noise grabbed their attention, it was Marinette’s class; they were arguing amongst themselves.

“I really don’t wat to go back over there; that looks like pure drama.” Marinette groaned.

“Drama that could have been avoided if they had any common sense.” Damian commented, “Since you don’t wish to rejoin your class, and you’ve already given you statement, would you and Captain like to join Titus and I for lunch again? We’ll still be in the building and I’ll let Grayson know what’s going on.”

“That sounds wonderful Damian.”

Captain gave a small tail wag and Titus was just happy to spend more time with Marinette and Captain.

“Then it is agreed.” Damian said, sending off a text to Dick and then holding out his arm to Marinette. “Shall we?”

Marinette giggled and took the arm.

“We shall.”

Damian began to lead Marinette and the dogs to the cafeteria.

“I hope the Wayne family isn’t too mad at the problems my class caused.” Marinette commented, making Damian freeze in his tracks.

“Damian?”

“Angel I should let you know; because I would hate you to think I lied to you, but I am Damian WAYNE son of Bruce Wayne.”

“Oh.” Marinette blinked, “Well I hope you and your family aren’t too mad at my class.”

Damian’s was stunned, Marinette saw the look.

“Damian, clearly your family is important, but that doesn’t matter to me; what matters is that you are a good person. I’ve met other kids from important families, but they were terrible, and I wanted nothing to do with them. You’ve already proven to be a great person and that’s all I need.”

Damian gave a soft smile.

“Thank you, Angel, you truly are treasure.”

“So, your family won’t be mad?” Marinette asked.

“Nope, Gotham sees more damage than any other place in America, so the problems Rossi caused wouldn’t raise any more attention.” Damian explained. “The fact is was repaired by a hero from Paris will actually draw more attention.”

“Oh.”

“Indeed, now shall we continue to lunch Angel?”

“Definitely.”

So, arm in arm Damian and Marinette went to lunch; Captain and Titus trotting along with them.

End.

That was Dogs are a Ladybug’s best friend.

Also

Extra:

The Day after the Akuma attack:

Wayne Enterprise Employee - *Crying*

Bruce - *Very concerned* What’s wrong?!

WEE - *Still crying* N-Nothing.

Bruce – But you’re crying.

WEE- *Crying* I’m happy!

Bruce – Happy?

WEE - *Crying* Ladybug fixed everything!

Bruce - *Warry* Yes…

WEE - *Crying harder* We don’t need to redo all the paper work! Or do the added paper work for the repairs!

Other Employees nearby - *Start crying in happiness as well* No extra paper work!

Bruce - *Has no idea how to respond*…

Extra 2:

Before the trip to Gotham:

Alya – *On her phone* Ooooo a new interview with Ladybug

Alya clicks on the link

Interviewer – So Ladybug who is the new fox?

Alya - *Screaming* NEW FOX!

Ladybug – This is Hunter, he is the new and permanent fox.

Alya – PERMANENT?!

Interviewer – May ask what happen to the old fox?

Ladybug – You can ask, but I won’t give you an answer; I won’t let you take what happened and turn it into a hot topic.

Interviewer – I see…What can you tell us.

Ladybug – Hunter is my trusted partner, don’t be afraid he’s here to help you and me. Please give him the same respect you would gave me.

Interviewer – Of course! There has also been a talk about you and Hunter doing a ‘Pound it’ is it true?

Ladybug – This is true, would you like to see?

Interviewer – Yes!

Ladybug – Hunter!

Hunter - *Bark*

Alya – A DOG!!!!! I’VE BEEN REPLACED BY A DOG!!!!!

Ladybug - *Holding out her fist* Pound it!

Hunter - *Bumps nose against Ladybug’s fist*

Interviewer – Awwwwwwwwwww.

Ladybug - *Smiling* I’m sorry, but hunter and I have to go.

Interviewer - *Nodding their head* Thank you for your time Ladybug, Hunter.

Ladybug and Hunter leave.

Interviewer - *Facing the camera* Well there you have folks, we have a new fox!

Alya couldn’t watch the rest of the interview.

Alya – AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Extra 3:

Wayne House hold:

They were sitting down to dinner.

Bruce – So, Damian.

Damian – Yes Father.

Bruce – When will you be bringing Marinette over for dinner?

Damian - *Chokes on food* F-Father?!

Dick – Yeah little D, we need to meet your girlfriend properly!

Damian – Grayson!

Jason/Tim – GIRLFRIEND?????

Damian - *Turning red* She’s not my girlfriend!

Bruce - *Smiling* But you called her ‘Angel’.

Damian – FATHER!!!

Tim – When did this happen?!

Jason – What the h*ll did we miss?!

Extra 4:

Batcave:

Bruce - *Looking at the security footage*

Damian – Father, what are you looking at?

Bruce – Take a look.

Damian sees the blonde boy (Adrien, if he recalled) hiding behind a plant arguing with the air, before he was surrounded by a green light and reappeared as Chat.

Damian - *Not impressed* So he’s a failure on all fronts.

Bruce – So it seems.

Extra 5:

Adrien Hiding behind the plant when the Attack was going on:

Adrien – *Whispering* Plagg we need to do something!

Plagg – How do you plain on explaining how ‘Chat’ got here?

Adrien – No ones going to ask that.

Plagg – Yes, they will!

Adrien – No, they won’t.

Plagg – Your class may not, but there are others here that have more than one brain cell!

Adrien – Plagg! That was rude!

Ladybug and Hunter show up.

Adrien – *Dreamy sigh* Ladybug…

Plagg – And her PARTNER Hunter.

Adrien - *Not paying attention* Plagg I need to transform.

Plagg – Are you nuts! You can’t transform here! People will see!

Adrien - *Still paying more attention to Ladybug* Alright Plagg let’s do this…

Plagg - *Beyond frustrated* Kid!

Adrien – Plagg; Claws out!

Plagg - *Is done and wants a new holder*

2K notes · View notes

thebookwormfairy · 6 years ago

Text

What if Marinette had a Retired Police Dog Part 2

I've have had so many request for more Captain, so here you go. Also I just want to say thank you to the maribat community for adopting Captain into the community. Hopefully I do him justice.

Damian really did not want to say goodbye to Marinette yet, but as the sun dipped behind the buildings Marinette had to return to her hotel

Standing in front of the doors of her hotels they said their goodbyes

Marinette: Thanks for the great time Damian. Captain and I had a blast

Damian: I'm glad to hear that and really the pleasure was all mine

Damain bend down giving a kiss the the back of Marinette's hand

Marinette felt the blush grow on her face

Marinette: Will I be able to see you again?

Damian: Of course Angel maybe we can meet again tomorrow I can bring my dog Titus.

Marinette: Sure here's my number I can text you when I have free roam

Damian: I'll be waiting Goodnight Angel, Captain

Damian gave a little salute to the german sheperd

Captain gave a bark in goodbye while Marinette gave a little wave before heading into the hotel

Damain watch her walk away with a dreamy smile on his face until he couldn't see her any more.

Turning around Damian was met with the sight of his brothers all with teasing smiles on their face

Damian now scowling: Shut up morons

Dick: We didn't say anything baby bird

Damian: Your face did

The rest of the way home was spent teasing Damian about his lady love and Dick dramatically called her

Once Marinette had settled down after their day out she settled on her bed and made a call that was meant to be made earlier in the day

Dialing the number she looked up earlier she waited for the person on the other end to answer

Receptionist: Hello thank you for calling Wayne Enterprise, this is Cheryl how can I help you?

Marinette: Hello, I'm sorry for calling you so late, but I'm going to be in the French school trip group coming to tour the building tomorrow and I just had a quick question

Cheryl who was told by Dick earlier about Damian's little girlfriend knew exactly what to do

Cheryl: No problem sugar let me transfer you over to your tour guide. He can answer any question you might have.

Cheryl put Marinette on hold before she could protest about bugging the tour guide and made a call to Dick's cell phone

Dick: Hey Cheryl what do you need

Cheryl: Hey Dick so that girl you were telling about called me, with a question

Dick: No way. Connect her

Cheryl: Right away

Dick to his brothers: Guess who's on the phone

Jason: Damien's girlfriend?

Dick: Ding ding ding we have a winner

Marinette from phone: Hello?

Dick: Yes hello this is Mr. Grayson. How can I help you?

Marinette: Hello I'm Marinette and I'm so sorry for calling so late, but I had an important question to ask.

Dick: Don't worry Marinette, what's your question

Marinette: Well you see thanks to unforeseen circumstances my dog is actually with me on the trip. He's not a service dog, but he's really well trained and well behaved, and I was wondering if I could bring him with me on the tour. If the answer is no that's totally okay

Dick *thinking*: Omg she's adorable

Dick: That's completely fine. We have employees bring their dogs to work all the time. One more dog in the building won't make any more trouble

Marinette: Really thank you so much. And again I'm soooo sorry for calling so late. Have a goodnight

Dick: You too, I look forward to seeing you and your dog tomorrow

Dick: omg Baby Bird your girlfriend is sssooo adorable she was so sweet and shy and polite. I swear if I was talking to her in person I would have squeezed the life out of her

Damian: Don't you dare. You would just freak her out and make her never want to talk to me ever again

Tim: So you want to see her again?

Jason: It's sound like our Demon Spawn has found his true love

Damian could feel his face turn red

Damian: Shut up you idiots

Marinette: Good news Captain you're going to be able to come on the tour tomorrow

Captain gave Marinette a lick on the cheek to show that he understood and was happy about it

Marinette: Goodnight Captain. Goodnight Tikki

Tikki: Goodnight Marinette. Goodnight Captain

Marinette wrapped her arms around Captain snuggling her face into his fur as Tikki laid down on top of Captain

The next day

The class all gathered down in the lobby Marinette and Captain came down last but on time

And of course since Marinette looked happy and had Captain with her Lila had to throw a hissy fit

Lila: What are you doing Marinette. They probably don't allowed dogs at Wayne Enterprise

Ms. Bustier: She's right Marinette you shouldn't bring your dog with you. Captain will have to stay here.

Marinette: But Ms. Bustier I made sure to call ahead of time to make sure it was okay. And you wouldn't want Captain to be locked into a small room all day would you

As Marinette said that Captain looked to Ms. Bustier with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster

Ms. Bustier looking into Captain eyes and just couldn't say no

Ms. Bustier: Fine, but he's your responsibility Marinette, and I don't want to see any funny business between either of you. If I see either of you step a toe or paw out of line Captain will be spending the rest of his time in your hotel room. Am I understood?

Marinette: Yes Ms. Bustier! Thank you so much.

Marinette gave a big smile to her teacher before heading back to the class. Standing in the back of the group little away from every one.

Marinette: Dont worry Captain we just have to get through the tour then we can go meet up with Damian again, and we get to meet his dog Titus this time.

Captain gave her another quick kiss on the cheek when he heard somebody approach them

Adrien: Marinette why do you have to cause so much trouble. Captain would have been perfectly fine in the hotel room for a day

Captain forced his body between Adrien and Marinette not wanting the rude boy near his girl

Marinette: well good morning to you too Adrien. I don't see how having Captain with me is causing any problems. He literally only interacts with me. And for your information Captain would not be okay in the hotel all day today and then have to do it again tomorrow. Yesterday I made sure to call all the places we're going to over the trip to find out of Captain could along or not. Since we're spending all day tomorrow going to different museums he won't be able to come with us it would be cruel to lock him up all day 2 days in a row

Adrien: But he's still upsetting Lila, you know could happen if she gets too upset.

Marinette: I don't think a butterfly could fly across the Pacific Ocean Adrien, much less in the time frame we'll be here

Ms. Bustier: Okay everyone let's all get on the bus

Marinette: you better go ahead Adrien. You probably want go sit with your FRIENDS

Adrien catching onto what Marinette was hinting at gave her a small glare, but still ran to catch up to Nino, Alya, and Lila

Captain pressed his head into Marinette's side and tikki did the same.

Marinette: Thanks guys I'm okay

Marinette put one hand on Captain's head and the other on top of her purse

Damian checked over him and Titus one more time to make sure they both looked good

Bruce: I don't suppose your suddened interest in how you and Titus look have anything to do with that little French girl you met the other day

Damian: Don't be ridiculous father-

Dick: It totally does! You should have seen how those two looked at eachother. It was like love at first sight

Damian: GRAYSON!

Jason: it was so ridiculously sweet and she evan has her own dog, a german sheperd

Damian: TODD!

Tim: I did a bit more research, you know to make sure she wasn't a villian in disguise, and according to the adoption records his name is Captain and he use to be a police dog

Damian: DRAKE!! Would you all just stay out of my love life!

Bruce: They just care about you Damian. Weither you like it or not. You should have seen them when Dick first brought home Cori.

Once they got to Wayne Enterprise the family went their separate ways to complete their duties

Damian and Titus hung around Dick waiting for Marinette, Captain, and her class to arrive.

Cheryl: So I heard that you met somebody special yesterday Damian

Damian: wait how do you know about Marinette? Dick???

Dick: Well I had to tell her in case Marinette called yesterday I wanted to be the one she talked to.

Damian: Do you have to share my love life with everybody you know

Cheryl: It's just because we love you Damian. Now tell me everything.

Damian was about to respond with a sarcastic comeback when the class arrived

Dick: Hello welcome to Wayne Enterprise, I'm Dick Grayson I'll be your tour guide today. And this is my little brother Damian and his dog Titus. I hope y'all don't mind but he'll be joining us on your tour today

Ms. Bustier: Not at all it's always nice to make new friends when you're some where new

Damian made his way towards the group his eyes set on Marinette who just walk in after making sure Captain did his business before the long tour, but was intercepted by Lila.

Lila: Hello I am Lila it is nice to meet you

Lila began to speak with a heavy Italian accent.

She was the worst at speaking English in the class

The rest of the class finished introducing themselves when Marinette made it to the group

Damian: It's nice to meet you all, Marinette mentioned she was here with her class.

Alya: Marinette?

Marinette: Damian?

Damian flashing a charming smile: Hey Angel, I hope you don't mind but I found out my brother giving the tour for your class and asked if I could come along.

Damian walked over to Marinette and Captain with Titus following him

Damian: Hello Captain, how are you doing buddy?

Damian slowly lowered his hand giving Captain plenty of time to move away incase Captain didn't want to get a pat from him

Captain decided he would allow it partly because he had to admit he kinda like this kid, and partly because he knew it would freak out some of her class

Kim: Ah he touched Captain

Kim sadly learned the hard way that it took a while for Captain to warm up to someone new

Marinette: And this handsome boy must be Titus

Marinette held her hand out to let Titus sniff her.

Titus being the loving goofball he is gave her hand a big lick before snuggling his head into her hand

Marinette giggling: Well he's a friendly boy huh

Alya: You two know each other?

Marinette: Yeah we met yesterday at the park and just hit it off

Lila with a strained voice: Well isn't that great that you were able to make a new friend.

Damian and Marinette noticed the strain in Lila's voice but it didn't seem like anybody else had or if they did they ignored it

Dick: Alright everybody with introductions out of the way let's get started

Damian and Marinette fell to the back of the group so the can walk side by side with their dogs

While this was going on Titus and Captain were sniffing eachother out as they walked together

Captain: Hello I'm Captain

Titus: I'm Titus. I have just met you, and I love you

Titus gave Captain a big lick on the side of his head

Captain: That's great... So he's your boy

Titus: Yep he's been my boy for years now. He acted like he didn't like me at first but I knew he loved me

Captain: Is he your first human?

Titus: Yes, his father gave me to him when I was 7 months old. What about you, is she your first human?

Captain: No, my girl didn't find me until I was 3 years old. Before her i was a police dog. My partner was my first human. He was a great man and a great police officer. He always made sure I was well fed and when it was a slow night he would take me to the park and play fetch with me...

Captain trailed off his mind going back to the night he lost his partner

Titus: What happened to your first human?

Captain snapping out of his memories: I don't like to talk about it

Titus: Well what about your girl, how do you like her?

Captain: My girl is the best. She saved me from the pound. Her parents brought her there for one of the adoption events, at the time I didn't even know if I wanted another human. I was there for a couple of months, and didn't really have much hope to find a new family. Most people just go for the puppies. So I was just sitting in a corner away from everybody else when this girl comes walking towards. She seemed so sad at the time, like me. She asked me if I wanted to be alone together with her, and i looked into her eyes and something just clicked you know? Like she was also suppose to be my person. After that life turned around for me. My girl just has so much love to give.

Titus: I know what you mean it was the same with me and my boy. Do you have any siblings or a mate?

Captain: No my girl and her family live in a small apartment, so one big dog is their limit. I wouldn't mind having a mate one day though. I do have a couple of friends in Paris and the local dog park, and there's Fang, who's crocodile

Titus: you have a crocodile as a friend cool. I have one older sister Ace, no mate myself yet. I do also have a cat and cow as a friend

Captain: Nice

During the tour Damian noticed that some of Marinette's classmates (Alya, Adrien, and Lila) kept shooting dirty looks back at his Angel

He did his best to not glare back at them, but when Adrien did it for the 10th time on the tour when Marinette wasn't doing anything but softly giggling at stuff Damian whispered in her ear Damian had enough

The next time Adrien looked back at her Damian gave him the scariest look he could muster, which is very scary

Adrien widened his eyes and turned his head around quickly not looking back for the rest of the tour

Dick seeing about half of the interaction assumed that Damian glared out of jealousy and shot him an amused looked when he caught Damian's eyes

After the tour Marinette convinced Ms. Bustier to let her go off with Damian for their free roam

Ms. Bustier let her but made sure she wore the tracking bracelet so incase something happened she would know where Marinette is at

Damian and Marinette decidind to go to a near by dog park to let the dogs roam free

On the way out Damian noticed Adrien quickly walking over to them with a determined look on his face

Not wanting to deal with the annoying blonde Damian quickly guided Marinette outside and into the car

Marinette already figuring out whi Damian really was didn't question it and just let Damian lead her into the car

Damian: I thought you'd be a little more shocked about it

Marinette: I kinda figured it out when Mr. Grayson said you were his little brother

Once they made it to the park the dogs started to run around together and seem to play a game of chase even though Captain seemed a little more reluctant to act a bit crazier like Titus

Marinette: Well it seems like they like eachother

Damian watching Titus give Captain a big lick on the side of his head before running off leaving Captain with what could only be described as disgruntled look on his face.

Damian chuckling: Yeah they sure do

The pair spent another 2 hours at the park going back and forth with sitting in the shade watching their dogs run through the nice dog park and playing fetch with a stick the dogs found

They spent the rest of the afternoon wondering around Downton Gotham Damian showing Marinette all the best sites

As sunset came Damian found himself once again standing in front of the hotel holding Marinette's hands as Captain and Titus watch the interaction

Damian blushing: I've had a great time today Marinette

Marinette: So did I

Damian: I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night, like a date?

Marinette also blushing: I would love to, but can Captain come along

Damian: Of course beside Captain is going to be stuck in your hotel room all day tomorrow it wouldn't be fair to make him stuck in a small room for even longer.

Marinette gave him a beaming smile: Thank you for understanding Damian

Damian: Of course I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7 wear whatever you like.

Marinette hugged Damian goodbye giving him a peck on the cheek as she pulled away

Marinette: I can't wait! Goodnight Damian I'll see you tomorrow

Damian in a dreamg voice: Goodnight Marinette, Captain

Once Marinette and Captain were out of site Damian jumped up and gave a whooped of joy completely forgetting that Alfred could still see him from the car.

Bonus

Alfred on the phone with Bruce: It looks like Damian just asked her put and she said yes

Bruce on the other side of the phone silently fist bumped the air mouthing yes over and over again

Bruce in a monotone voice: That's good

Dick: omg you guys I wish you were there! They spent most of the time quietly whispering to each other and Damian glared at a boy who kept glancing at Marinette it was the cutest thing.

@mikantsume @carrisarune @strudelqueen @Aloha_Posts_Stuff @shmowl @maxdark158

#maribat #daminette #Captain the Retired Police Dog #pet headcanon

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travllingbunny · 6 years ago

Text

The 100 rewatch: 2x09 Remember Me

Unlike the previous episode, this one is one of my favorites. Very character-based and emotional, wonderfully written, acted, great music and cinematography, editing, everything is perfect. Maybe it doesn’t have a crucial event like some others, but it’s very important for character development and some of the key relationships. (This was also the episode where I thought that “the subtext is rapidly becoming text” when it comes to one such relationship. But it turns out that what I find obvious may not be as obvious to the entire fandom.)

Rating: 10/10

I love the way this episode focuses on Clarke’s emotional state and the way the trauma of having had to kill Finn, and how that affects her. I may not have liked Finn as a character much, but he makes for a really effective hallucination haunting Clarke, as an embodiment of her guilt and trauma and her fear of the pain that love can bring. (Although the title feels kind of ironic now, since the fandom has pretty much forgotten Finn and his significance for Clarke’s character arc.)

What happened makes Clarke all the more determined to make the truce with the Grounders work, as a way to feel that the sacrifice was not for nothing: “If this truce doesn’t hold, I killed Finn for nothing”. Now, the alliance will ultimately fail, the Grounder army won’t help her against the Mountain Men, and instead it’s Bellamy’s inside mission (which was his idea – something that people tend to forget for very strange reasons*) that will play the crucial role in saving their people from Mount Weather. However, if not for the truce, the Grounders would have attacked them, more people would die, and they would have probably never gotten the chance to save the 47 from the MW. So, in the end, it was not for nothing.

One relationship that’s changed due to Finn’s death – and in this case, maybe poisoned forever – is Clarke’s friendship with Raven. Raven starts off being completely furious at Clarke over killing Finn, even sucker-punching her at one point and calling her a murderer. By the end of the episode, after seeing Gustus executed in a prolonged and torturous way, she realizes that Clarke was sparing Finn. But while it seemed that their friendship was fixed, I’m not sure that things were ever the same – because Raven will go on to have a few other occasions where she was unfair to Clarke and blaming her to things like deciding who lives or dies, even when she was one of the people entrusting her with that responsibility. When she was possessed by ALIE in season 3, did she still really blame Clarke on some level for Finn’s death (and ALIE picked up on that and made her say it)? Or was it just ALIE (and Raven’s subconscious) coming up with something that plays on Clarke’s insecurities – the idea that she causes harm and death to the people she loves and who love her?

One of the most emotional scenes is Clarke’s argument with Abby, which shows how complicated their relationship is, and is a resolution of the grudge Clarke has carried against her for her father’s death. Abby tries to comfort Clarke, telling her of her own experience (“The pain will fade… What got me through is my love for you”), and Clarke lets her mother comfort her only until she realizes that Abby is talking about Jake, and gets furious over that comparison, pointing out that Abby’s betrayal of Jake is nothing like Clarke having no choice but to kill Finn. She still hasn’t forgiven her, even though they have been on good terms – the wound is still there. But when Abby tries to explain herself, saying she didn’t know Jaha would execute Jake, and Clarke calls her out on the fact that she must have still realized Jake wouldn’t give up, Abby basically admits that she prioritized the big picture – what she thought was for the well-being of all her people – over her husband, and Clarke concludes, shocked, “We are the same”.

It’s interesting that, after Abby finds love again with Kane, she will do the opposite and absolutely refuse to sacrifice him in season 4, when Jaha asks that of her. It’s a do-over, determination not to do the same this time (as she said in season 3 when Kane was threatened with execution, “I cannot do this again” – which was the first time she pretty much admitted she loved him. Then she goes on to kind of betray him during the Dark Year (not at cost of his life, but at the cost of his principles and emotional well-being), which is one of the things she felt guilty about (in addition to pushing Octavia into more extreme actions and being responsible for a lot of the deaths and horror) when the guilt broke her and made her an addict. But at the end of season 5, she was again fully determined to “save the man I love”.

Clarke herself says something very similar to Bellamy (similar to what Abby later told Kane in S3), when he tells her about his plan to infiltrate Mount Weather and disable their acid fog from the inside, and she opposes it on the grounds that it’s too risky: “I cannot lose you, too”. But she eventually changes her mind, after being told by Lexa that “Love is weakness”.

This phrase is one of those repetitive phrases that we hear many times during the show (like “Blood must have blood” or “My sister, my responsibility”) – and characters either believe in it, or oppose it and declare the opposite, that “Love is strength”. In this episode, it seems like it’s something that Lexa herself came up with, due to her own traumatic experience, after the Ice Nation queen captured, tortured and killed her lover, Costia, and then sent Lexa her head. (This is the first mention of the Ice Nation, or any of the separate Grounder clans. Queen Nia was established as extremely ruthless from the start even before we knew who she was.) Later in S3, we learn it was originally something Lexa first heard from her mentor, Flame-keeper Titus. Then in S5, we learn it’s actually something that all Flame-keepers tell all Commanders. It’s probably a retcon, but a really good one. It makes sense, from what we’ve seen of the Grounder culture that this is what all Commanders would be taught. It’s not a healthy way to live, and it’s very questionable advice, but you can see where it comes from: a leader may be compromised if someone they love is captured or threatened, enemies or rivals may use that to manipulate them to their advantage, or a leader may be influenced by someone they love (and I’m sure Flame-keepers would like to be the only ones to influence them) for better or worse, or a leader may make decisions prioritizing their loved ones over the well-being of the entire group – because it’s human to care more about those close to you than a big number of people you don’t know.

Now that we know her entire history, Lexa’s entire life seems pretty sad: from a very young age, she’s been both enormously privileged and powerful, and given an enormous amount of responsibility and denied anything like normal childhood (not even what goes for normal childhood on average in this post-apocalyptic world) – raised to fight a bunch of other kids to the death, winning the Hunger Games-like Conclave at around 12, getting a chip put into her head with a bunch of dead people’s memories, seeing all the adults around her fawn over her, obey her and expect her to make decisions about everyone’s fate, while at the same time being told that she must be “strong” at all times, not show any weakness – which includes not loving anyone – because her rivals and enemies may use that to kill her and take over. (I doubt that Commanders can ever retire, or lose power and survive.) She’s still human and a young woman who wants love so she fell in love, but then her terrible experience convinced her that her mentor was right. It’s very ironic that she’s the one to tell Clarke that “love is weakness”, because she’ll soon fall in love with Clarke and start wanting Clarke to love her. I think it’s in the next episode that you can see the moment when she falls for Clarke. At this point, I think she was just impressed with/drawn to Clarke and saw in her an equal, another, slightly younger girl who’s a leader with a lot of responsibility, intelligence and courage, and who can make tough decisions. This is something new for her, because everyone else she’s ever been close to has been her subject: Costia, Gustus, Anya, even Titus. But she doesn’t know how to live without power, it or how to treat people as equals (as seen in her attempts to control Clarke in S3). Another contradiction is that Clarke is warmer and more idealistic than Lexa, and I believe that Lexa is drawn to Clarke partially because of the way Clarke can love and fight for people she cares about – but at the same time, Lexa, with her leadership lessons, is constantly trying to make Clarke more like herself, teach her to be less caring, more ruthless, readier to treat people as expendable and sacrifice them, as she herself has been taught a leader must be.

As far as I’m concerned, Clarke was a much better leader the way she was, and those lessons are not good for her. She’ll change her mind later and won’t really accept the “love is weakness” philosophy. But in this episode, in her vulnerable state and faced with the reality that she will have to make more terrible choices, she feels that it’s the only way to both do her duty, and avoid pain – by trying to repress feelings of love. Which makes her change her mind and decide to let Bellamy go to Mount Weather, after all.

…And this is the point where I thought “Wow, the show is really getting obvious about Bellarke?” The show has been making romantic hints about them since 1x08, but it was mostly subtexty and ambiguous about the nature of their feelings for each other, except for that one moment in 1x08 where Bellamy obviously realized he was attracted to Clarke but seemed like he didn’t want to deal with it. This is the first time the word “love” is mentioned in connection to their relationship, though indirectly (and the last time before Octavia’s “another traitor who you love” remark to Bellamy in season 5). First we have Clarke saying “I can’t lose you, too” and explicitly equating Bellamy’s role in her life with Finn’s. Later, Bellamy is the one to figure out that the person who actually poisoned the cup and apparently tried to kill Lexa was actually her loyal bodyguard Gustus, who was framing the Skaikru (and Raven specifically) as a way to destroy the alliance and ‘protect’ her from the backlash Gustus thought it would cause to her (his scheme did not involve any immediate danger to her, as he drank the poison, knowing he would survive). And then there’s dramatic transition from a close-up of Clarke’s face to a close-up of Bellamy’s face, all emotional and under dramatic lighting, in another scene, as he’s explaining how he figured out the culprit: “He would do anything for her, to protect her… It just makes sense” It couldn’t be more obvious he’s talking about himself and his feelings for Clarke. (Earlier on there was a scene where we can notice if we pay attention that he was standing next to Clarke protectively and even threw her cup, which was kind of funny, because it’s not like she was going to drink from it.) Octavia is like “Look at the thanks he got” – which is kind of stupid, why should Lexa be grateful that Gustus went behind her back, schemed and nearly ruined her alliance and caused a war “for her own good”? But it’s either Octavia talking about Bellamy and Clarke and bashing Clarke as she often likes to do, or the show trying to set up “Oh noes!! Will Clarke sacrifice Bellamy?? Stay tuned!” tension for the rest of the season in a slightly over-dramatic way. Then we get dramatic close-up of Clarke and Bellamy, as she tells him to go to Mount Weather after all, explaining her change of heart: “I was being weak”. Followed by the scene of her saying goodbye to Hallucination!Finn: “Love is weakness!”

As far as subtle hints go, I thought this was more like hitting the viewer on the head with a sledgehammer? But it turns out that what I thought was obvious isn’t at all obvious to many other fans, so whatever. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now, I’m not sure what exactly Clarke and Bellamy at this point thought on the conscious level their feelings for each other were, and maybe they didn’t even have the same idea what their relationship was or could be. It’s interesting that Bellamy was making the parallel between himself and Gustus – who obviously had a close platonic relationship with Lexa (going by their relative ages and the fact she used to be a child ruler, he had probably been her bodyguard since she was a little girl, and was something like a father or uncle figure to her, in addition to just a subject’s devotion to the Commander). So it can be argued that’s how Bellamy sees their relationship to Clarke at this point – or that he’s just realized how devoted he is to her, but isn’t sure about the nature of those feelings. (Which is certainly not for lack of attraction, since we know since season 1 that he’s attracted to her.) But Clarke is making parallels between Bellamy and Finn, her dead love interest, and Bellamy and Costia, Lexa’s dead lover. The implication was clear: if you are a leader and you love someone, harm can come to them exactly because of your relationship; you may be “weak” and fail to do your duty because of your feelings (like not let someone go on a mission they may be uniquely qualified for), or you may risk their life (say, letting them go on a dangerous mission) and lose them and them feel terrible pain, so it’s best to repress all such feelings. To be fair, they kind of intermingle the non-romantic and romantic relationships here in all the parallel, since there’s also a parallel between Finn and Gustus as Clarke watches Lexa kill Gustus, and Abby declares “We are not so different after all”.

The only thing I dislike about this episode are fandom’s bad interpretations of this moment. I loved the dark atmosphere of these scenes, but I was scratching my head when I saw people going on about how it’s all about Bad Clarke who doesn’t care about Bellamy and finds his life to be an acceptable risk (even though the rest of the season and subsequent seasons make it clear she doesn’t find it acceptable) and how he’s so devoted to her but “look at the thanks he got” (you mean all the times she showed she’s just as devoted and protective of him as he is of her? But let’s take characters’ lines literally instead and ignore actual events). She’s just practically said she loves him, you dummies! Bellamy himself doesn’t understand that, because he has no context to her line “I was being weak”, so he looks hurt and obviously think she doesn’t care that much as it seemed for a moment – but the audience does have the full context and should be able to put 2 and 2 together! Or even worse – people who write long ranty posts about how Bad Clarke was “abusive” to Poor Bellamy because he’s in a subjugated position to her and how she “sent” him to danger and he got tortured in Mount Weather for doing her bidding (?). As in, when she decided to stop objecting to him going on a mission that was his idea and his plan and that he wanted to do because he cares about saving his friends? When was Bellamy in a subjugated position to Clarke? He even said he didn’t take her orders and she had to appeal to their personal relationship to stop him from going. They often argue and disagree and take stands and even get in a big conflict almost every season. Funny how some people who claim to be Bellamy fans are eager to ignore his agency, accomplishments and strength of character. I guess that’s what happens when hating Clarke and being anti-Bellarke (in any form) is the priority. To be fair, the show kind of gave them something to build that one when they had ALIE!Raven taunt Bellamy in season 3 about supposedly just listening to Clarke’s orders, but to take ALIE’s attempts to play on characters’ insecurities as gospel truth, in spite of what we actually see of the character dynamics, is like taking it literally that Clarke is actually “poison” to her loved ones. (Then again, I guess some do take that literally.)

But I refuse to let bad fandom interpretations ruin a great episode for me.

*end of regularly scheduled daily rant*

Meanwhile, in Mount Weather, the last prominent Mountain Man villain is introduced – Carl Emerson, head guard and Cage’s right hand man. Probably the Mountain Man I hate the most, for the fact that he kept on being a nuisance in season 3 and wasn’t just evil at that point but also annoying. Emerson seemed to be in quite a senior position, since he was reporting to Cage about Lexa’s actions (explaining that she’s a kind of leader who makes alliances – referring probably to her efforts to unite the clans). Probably intel gotten from torturing captured Grounders.

It’s not often that the Mount Weather portion of the episode is the lighter one, but that’s the case here. It feels almost like Adventure Squad from season 1, as Miller and Monty use their respective skills in thieving/hacking, with Maya’s help, to send Jasper’s message out and reach other Arkers. Like Raven a couple of episodes ago, Monty has figured out the stuff about radio frequencies, including the fact that the Mountain Men crashed the Exodus ship in season 1.There’s also a rare comic moment with Monty as he manages to send a message by pretending to be doing maintenance work, but then has to run away when Emerson figures him out.

But it ends in a dark way, with Monty and Harper both put in cages, and the revelation that the Mountain Men had already built one for each of the 47.

(Fortunately, Monty and Harper were too smart to ever use the line “We found each other in cages” as foreplay.)

TImeline: the next day after Finn’s death, which was a day or so after 2x06, and that was 2 days after 2x05. This is maybe a week since the end of season 1 – 10 days at most?

Body count: Gustus –executed in a painful, prolonged way by a bunch of Grounders, with Lexa delivering the final blow, and telling her to “Stay strong” as his last words.

#the 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 season 2 #the 100 2x09 #remember me #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #raven reyes #abby griffin #finn collins #monty green #bellamy x clarke

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starcunning · 7 years ago

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reaper-ren replied to your post “like: what was Titus trying to accomplish? he didn’t have the better...”

It could be hinged on the fact that Solus never named an heir after his firstborn died. If Varis is the son of the firstborn, it makes sense that everyone assumed he'd be the next heir like it states in tht short story. But without a 'named heir', Titus saw a chance to contend?

Yeah. Possibly. Solus reserves the right to name whoever he wants as his heir in any case (legally speaking). My working headcanon is that Varis very publicly followed his grandfather’s example (served in the same legion; Solus’s former tribunus was Varis’s mentor--although she, pithy thing that she was, waited until Varis was twenty-five to retire so that he wouldn’t make legatus at 24) and basically in a lot of ways was telegraphed as the obvious choice to inherit.

But ... for whatever reason, Solus didn’t give him the nod. Without a specific declaration, it falls to primogeniture to establish precedence and succession. Either way, someone with a worse claim to the throne is making a bid for it.

Varis has an army, an heir (Zenos), and--although not stated outright, one might safely presume--the support of the Optimates.

Titus has the support of the Populares. While there exist military officers with Populares sensitivities (Maxima goodboy quo Priscus, fr’ex), the Populares’ antiexpansionist stance probably does not sit well with most of the military, and power is deliberately concentrated in pureblood hands (remember that no non-pureblood can rise past the rank of Praefectus Castorum). This alone isn’t really enough for me to think he’d have gone for it, unless he is incredibly foolish or incredibly idealistic.

Oh, and if the Ascians have thoughts, I think they--bringers of Chaos--are going to side with the guy who wants to continue the Imperial policy of beastman genocide over the populist whose faction is uninterested in continuing their conquest. Varis will press the beast tribes to the effect of increasing summoning frequency and potency. Titus will probably not do much that will contribute to a state of readiness for an Ardor.

I don’t think it’s impossible we’ll learn more about Titus’s agenda and motivations--they’ve hinted at having more to say about the Galvus family--but we have to have been missing something big for Titus to have walked into this meatgrinder.

#reaper ren #replies #blue radiance meta

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closetofanxiety · 7 years ago

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NXT to the Main Roster: A Haphazard Examination, Part 2 (2016)

More wrestlers went from NXT to the main roster(s) in 2016 than in any other year, so I want to examine it separately in my ongoing question to determine whether getting a coveted spot on Raw or Smackdown (or a less coveted spot on 205 Live) likely means stagnation and disappointment. Again, the grades here are for the way these wrestlers have been presented to the WWE audience, not for the wrestlers themselves. Except, I guess, for the F handed out to Big Cass.

Sami Zayn

Call-up date: January 24. The perfect underdog babyface at the top of the card in NXT (a role they’re currently trying to give Johnny Gargano), Zayn has had a respectable but mostly unspectacular run on the big shows. While they were never going to build main event storylines around him the way NXT did, after his initial feud with eternal lifemate Kevin Owens, he kind of drifted around the middle of the pack without a clear character or motivation. Hampered by injuries, his heel turn was initially masterfully handled: by saving Kevin Owens from Shane McMahon, Zayn was, in the immediate aftermath, allowed to seem conflicted, uncertain, and anxious about what he’d done. It looked like there was going to be real character development, and then, in a few months, he was challenging Bobby Lashley to obstacle course races.

Grade: C

Eva Marie

Call-up date: March 28. WE DIDN’T DESERVE HER. She could have been a sensational, crowd-baiting heel, as she was LOATHED by the super nerds in the WWE audience, who hated that she couldn’t wrestle and was only getting pushed for her looks. I mean, the same was true of Lex Luger ZING. Anyway, it wasn’t too be, and we’re left to wonder what could have been.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Baron Corbin

Call-up date: April 3. Big Banter has grown into the role that is probably the top-dollar best he can hope for in the WWE: a sneering heel near the top of the midcard who can talk well and wrestle well. He’s a plug-and-play guy for babyfaces who are being kept on the stove while the main event picture sorts itself out, and he does great at it. I saw Baron Corbin wrestle Tommy Dreamer at an NXT show in Albany once and thought, “This guy suxxxx.” But he has proved me wrong! Good for Big Breakfast Constable Corbin.

Grade: B+

Enzo Amore

Call-up date: April 4. I’ll go on record as saying he was used well as the shitty heel champion in 205 Live. Everyone hated him, and that was his role. That was probably his ceiling: top hate figure on the ‘C’ show, but we’ll never know.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Big Cass

Call-up date: April 4. His attitude and behavior must have really been something for Vince McMahon, The Big Man Liker, to so quickly part with a big man who could talk and was at least more adept in the ring than, say, the Great Khali. After the split with Enzo, they didn’t really seem to know what they were doing with him, so I’m not entirely sure we missed out on a legendary career or anything.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Apollo Crews

Call-up date: April 4. This decision remains a head scratcher. Crews made his NXT TV debut on August 22, 2015, and in less than eight months, was debuting on Raw. Although he’s an incredibly talented wrestler, I don’t know that his NXT stint was quite the rocket to the top that would justify this. Since his debut, he’s been totally lost in the shuffle and without a discernible character. His most significant match to date was a losing bid for the Intercontinental championship against The Miz on an episode of Smackdown. The Titus Worldwide stuff has helped, but not much.

Grade: C-/D+

Aiden English

Call-up date: April 7. Rusev DAAAAYYYEH. If it weren’t for his alliance with Big Matchka, English would be staring down the barrel of a D+. Initially arrived on the main roster as a tag team with Simon Gotch, the two had an undistinguished run that included Smackdown tag title tournament losses to the Hype Bros and Breezango. Now that he’s the guy who stiffly raps before Rusev comes out, English is basking in his Mizdow Moment. When it ends, though, what will become of the Operatic Superstar?

Grade: C-

Simon Gotch

Call-up date: April 7. His gimmick had a lot of potential: the super old-timey wrestler in a postmodern, post-kayfabe world. It never really got off the ground, though, and while his team with Aiden English worked at Full Sail, Vince’s dim view of tag teams generally, plus the material they were given, meant it didn’t have much of a shot on the big stage. WWE let the trademark on his name expire, which tells you a lot.

Grade: F

Dana Brooke

Call-up date: May 9. After kind of a hot start that I’ve largely forgotten - she was heel Charlotte’s protege, remember? - she quickly settled into the rut of main roster women’s booking, which tends to consist of two women fighting over the title and then everyone else forming an amorphous backdrop, occasionally emerging for random six-person tags involving the main eventers. Dana did eliminate Kairi Sane at the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, so that’s something, I guess. Since November, she’s been one of the few people in the company with a manager role, as an Alexandra York figure in Titus Worldwide.

Grade: C-

Mojo Rawley

Call-up date: July 24. Did you know Zack Ryder’s been in the WWE system since 2006? He’s incredible. He’s like one of those NBA guys who you see playing five minutes in a playoff game, years after you assumed they had retired. Anyway, Mojo Rawley. He’s done as well as he’s ever likely to do, destroying Ryder after a heel turn, feuding with No Way Jose, and no longer being hyped. His main roster run hasn’t been disappointing, largely because his NXT run was about the same thing, minus the heel turn.

Grade: C

Nia Jax

Call-up date: July 25. Rock’s cousin or no, she’s managed to remain above the midcard scrum in the women’s division by having a unique look, as the only credible monster in the locker room. She has the problem that all monsters have sooner or later, which is: what do they do after getting beaten? In her case, it was a clumsy face turn in a bullying-themed angle with Alexa Bliss that didn’t do much for either woman. Still, because of her size and ability, she’s always somewhere near the top of the card, something that’s unlikely to change.

Grade: B

Finn Bálor

Call-up date: July 25. To my mind, he’s one of the few wrestlers who’s been better served on the main roster than he was in NXT. He’s the longest-reigning NXT champion so far, but his tenure there seems largely forgettable apart from his Beast in the East match against Kevin Owens and the bloodbath against Samoa Joe at Takeover: Dallas. On the main roster, he’s regularly near the top of the card, with his painted demon character receiving the holy-shit treatment, as we saw at SummerSlam. He’s become one of their most recognizable stars and the company clearly loves him.

Grade: A

Alexa Bliss

Call-up date: July 26. One of the best examples I can think of that demonstrates how a turn can elevate a wrestler, she went from boring, sparkly cheerleader to the top woman in NXT by becoming a heel. Initially the manager of the lookalike midcard tag team of Make and Blurphy, it was clear from the start she was bound for greater things. She’s been the signal success story of the WWE System in developing stars, as opposed to repackaging stars from the indies, Japan, and Mexico: Bliss is, if not quite a mainstream star, one of the most recognizable women in the company, constantly on top of the women’s roster, and winning raves for her incredible microphone work. Nerds who complain she isn’t good at wrestling probably wouldn’t have understood Abdullah the Butcher either.

Grade: A+

Carmella

Call-up date: July 26. OH THE IRONY! When she managed Enzo and Big Cass in NXT, she was despised by the Full Sail nerds, who would chant “you can’t wrestle” at her. Two years later, and here we are: Real1 is making unlistenable hip hop tracks for his Instagram stories, Big Cazz is set to make his indie debut for Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, S.C., and Carmella is coming off a 131-day run as Smackdown Women’s Champion, having beaten Asuka in matches on pay-per-view and free TV. She’s not at Alexa’s level as a heel - not many people are - but she’s done a great job of establishing herself in a women’s roster that suffers from way too many bland characters and storylines.

Grade: B+/A-

Jason Jordan

Call-up date: August 2. Listen, Vince hates tag teams. American Alpha was a red-hot team in NXT, where they got over thanks to their phenomenal work inside the ring. But even there, they were kind of bland as individuals. On the main roster, where tag teams rarely last, this spelled trouble. Jordan has been hampered by injuries, but even without that he’s a man adrift, the highlight of his tenure so far being the kayfabe revelation that he’s Kurt Angle’s son, which has mostly been treated as an afterthought.

Grade: D

Chad Gable

Call-up date: August 2. Second verse, same as the first. They tried to spark some of that American Alpha magic after disbanding American Alpha by pairing Gable with Shelton Benjamin, with predictable results. I don’t think Gable’s been on television since May, and he’s not injured. He apparently feuded with Mike Kanellis on Main Event back in June, to give you some idea. He taped a thing for WWE’s social media channels with amateur wrestling god Dan Gable, which I liked, so there’s that.

Grade: D

Bayley

Call-up date: August 22. I will admit here that I did not “get” her gimmick in NXT. It just always seemed vaguely unsettling, and now we know that it led to the Cult of Izzy. That aside, she had an undeniable connection with the audience, largely thanks to her palpable enthusiasm and tremendous in-ring skill. I never really bought the commonplace line that she could become the female John Cena, mostly because I think that underestimates how much of Cena’s appeal comes from the fact that half the audience hates him. But she’s a true-blue babyface in a company that doesn’t really know what to do with true-blue babyfaces, and so her main roster stint has been something of a disappointment. It’s weirdly fitting that she’s locked into this seemingly endless frenemies storyline with Sasha Banks, another woman who was adored in NXT and who hasn’t really found her footing on the main roster.

Grade: C

Rich Swann

Call-up date: September 19. He had his moments in 205 Live, but it was clear his off-kilter personality and presentation were not what they had in mind as the Face of the Division. They were trying to mold him into what they have with Mustafa Ali or Cedric Alexander, when they would have been better off trying to make Swann the Dean Ambrose of the cruiserweights. Instead, well, we know what happened instead.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Austin Aries

Call-up date: December 18. I have a theory that Vince McMahon thought Austin Aries was Bobby Roode, and that when they hired the real Bobby Roode, Vince immediately said, “Well, then who the fuck is this guy?”

Grade: F

#NXT #official rankings #WWE

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ellana-ravenwood · 8 years ago

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“Titus likes you...too much” - Older!Damian Wayne x Reader

I know I said I wouldn’t write anything until Friday or Saturday, but I just realized this story was done and for some reason I didn’t post it so why not post it now right ? So here we go. Specially written for @loverandomness2. Some fluffy love for the youngest Wayne boy. I’m sorry if you didn’t want an older!Damian and if that’s not what you wanted at all but...yeah, hope you’ll like it :

PS : there’s a little surprise for @epickimmie somewhere in this fic. Hope it is ok that I did this. PPS : Also, this story kinda became some sort of sequel to another story I wrote with Damian, which is here : The First time is serious business.

You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_______________________________________________

It was early in the morning when Damian finally came home. Came back to you.

It had been a few years since his father retired and Damian inherited the Batman’s cowl. Most nights, he was out fighting crimes in Gotham, though, since his dad’s younger years, G-city was way safer, and it often happened that Damian came home early, or sometimes, didn’t go out at all (besides, he still had the help of his brothers, and they took turn to watch over the city...so really, you often had times with him, even if he was also quite busy during the day, as he became Wayne Inc’s CEO as well). It didn’t mean that there wasn’t any work ever though, like tonight, a new guy who called himself the “Joker’s son” was menacing the streets, and Damian was exhausted as he finally came home...But really, more often than not, the city was now calm.

Bruce was beyond happy about that, as he sacrificed his own life so others wouldn't have to. Sometimes, when you went over to Wayne’s Manor (you and Damian moved in a penthouse in the heart of Gotham quite a while ago), you felt a bit sad for your father-in-law...But nowadays, seeing his sons happy sufficed to make him happier than ever since his parents’ death.

None of his children still lived in the Manor, but, now that they were all grown up and understood some of the difficult choices he had to take (it took Jason a little more than his brothers to get it), they all “forgave” him for any mistakes he might have done while trying the best he could to raise them, and often visited him and Alfred.

Besides, since a little while, a certain Selina Kyle finally decided to move in with him so, Damian’s father wasn’t lonely, and that was great. He could finally live his life, after all those years, after sacrificing his youth and health...Finally, he was at peace (or almost, as sometimes, he couldn’t stay away from the bat-computer and such).

As Damian came in your bedroom, shoulders hunched with fatigue, rubbing his face softly, you couldn’t help but be happy at the mere sight of him. You guys all came such a long way since you first met him...You were barely ten years old when you first encountered the youngest boy in the Wayne family, and so much had changed since those times.

************

Jason had a small flat on Gotham’s dock. He loved the ocean and its sound, and refused any bigger place his father offered to buy him. He was still Red Hood at night, but wasn’t as violent as he used to. He didn’t kill anymore. Especially since he found a girl that looked his opposite, and tamed him down (referencing this fic here : Cutie and the Beast). Hell, they even had healthy triplets. TRIPLETS ! Two boys and a girl. Quite a busy life, as those kids were a handful...You adored them. Cute little nephews and niece.

Dick moved to Bludhaven ages ago too, got married to a certain Lydia, the famous Superman’s daughter (though most people knew him just as retired journalist Clark Kent) (this is referencing a story by @soepicsokim, go check it out :-)), and was his same goofy and happy self. Especially when he was around his wife really. He often visited you guys to your apartment, and even though Damian was now a grown ass man, he still treated him like a child.

Tim was living in a house in Gotham’s suburb, and was still the same old nerd he always been. Except now, he shared his life with a nerdy wife, and one nerdy little girl of his own. Last time you saw him, they were building a rocket in their garden...Of course they would.

Finally, Damian, your Damian, was living with you in a beautiful apartment in Gotham Central, and after years of being lost, sad, lonely and angry, he finally found balance by your side. You were his rock, his anchor to reality, and to everything that was good in life. You helped him with your love, and he thanked god, or whoever was out there, everyday for putting you on his way, years ago. You were a student in his middle school, and the only one that didn’t judge him and such, and even talked back to him when he was being an ass. A damn smart (and quite stubborn) girl too. Of course he could only fall for you.

You’d been together for a long time before he finally popped the question, giving you his grandmother’s magnificent wedding ring he got from his father. You got married three years ago, a small and intimate reception with only close friends and family (his best friend, Jon Kent, also Dick’s wife little brother, made a tear jerking speech...not because it was emotional, but because it was very funny and awkward, so everyone just laughed so much they cried). It made every newspaper big title, “The last golden boy of Gotham, the only Wayne boy who wasn’t hitched...got hitched. And with a nobody !” Oh you hated the press.

Damian was so mad some newspaper disrespected you he bought them and made them apologize for six months straight...It was cute at first, but after the hundredth daily newspaper stating : “(Y/N) Wayne is the sweetest woman in Gotham”, you got a bit tired and embarrassed of it. Once Damian realized it, he made them stop, and of course, since then, no news from Gotham city (or elsewhere in fact) dared to even speak slightly ill of you.

************

Every night, you’d wait for him to come home back to you, worrying when he’d come through only in the earliest hours of the day.

When it was the case, it meant he had a rough night. Like today.

He didn’t seem injured, but definitely drained and weary. But when he entered your shared bedroom where he found you, still awake, watching TV, a bright smile on your face as he came in, his features relaxed, and he lost ten years when he smiled back at you, of a genuine and happy smile full of sappy love.

He undressed down to his boxers, and approached your bed...Only to stop in front of it, frowning quite like his father used to, and with a little “Tt” while he was looking at a massive form next to you, he says :

-...I think Titus really likes you.

You smile at him and look at his huge dog besides you, that you guys were finally able to bring back from the Manor to your apartment. With a mischievous smirk, you say :

-Oh ? What makes you think that ?

-Oh I don’t know. Maybe the fact that this damn dog takes up more of the bed than I do !

-Hey, babe, it’s your dog. Besides, you’re not even in bed yet.

-Because he takes most of it, he’s even taking my place in your arms...

-He’s protecting the baby.

Damian cannot help the smiles that creeps on his face, as he tries to get into bed (difficult task with Titus in it already). The baby. His baby. Your baby.

His heart beats wildly just at the memories of when he found out you were with child. He almost fainted of joy.

*****************

You waited the perfect moment. A family dinner at the Manor. The room was full of laughter, stupid jokes, and giggles from your nephews and nieces. Everyone was just talking about anything and everything. It was a joyful moment. When you just blurted out : “I’m pregnant”, quickly followed by a “The family’s gonna have one more little one soon”, and the room went silent.

Bruce was the first to react, laughing like a mad man at the news, unable to hold his happiness about the prospect to be a grandfather again (he was an even better grandfather than a father). Selina quickly followed and congratulated you. Dick lost his shit and jumped up and down in the entire dining room, until Lydia got a hold of him and soothed him back to a slightly less excited him. Jason chuckled and, looking at his own kids, rubbed his little brother’s shoulders tenderly. Tim, his daughter asleep in his arms, smiled widely and said something about hoping he or she would be a genius like you and Damian, because he wished he could teach his nephews and nieces something, and Jason’s triplets were just too...full of life to concentrate on anything.

The glare Jason gave Tim made everyone laugh, and the attention went back to you and Damian. To you and a very pale Damian. You were afraid he didn’t want this child with you until...He raised to his feet, and went to you, pulling you up in one of the best hug you ever received in your life. His warm embrace was everything you needed.

Under his family’s applause, you truly became the happiest woman in the World. And he never felt such joy in his life. A child. Your child.

-Our child...

He whispered in your ear, tightening his grip on you.

***********

-Grrrrrr.

Damian instinctually takes a step away from you and “his” dog, as Titus grunts at him. Visibly, “his” dog allegiance shifted to his unborn child, as the hound refuses to let your husband come close from you and your swollen belly.

-He’s groaning at me ! He’s taking most of my own damn bed, and he dares to groan at me ! He never groaned at me before !

You can’t hold the little giggle that escapes your lips in front of your Damian’s pouty and stunned face, which makes him even broodier. You push Titus a bit on the side (he doesn’t resist, after all, right now, his sole purpose is to protect you and the baby from anyone...which includes his own master) and reach for the love of your life.

-You trained him too well honey, he’s really shielding me and our baby from any danger !

-I’m not a danger, I’m your husband !

-But how does he know you’re not a threat ?

-I never even did anything that could make him think that !

-Hey, don’t yell at me babe, he’s gonna take it the wrong way !

Damian narrows his eyes at you and his traitor of a dog, but soon realizes you’re only mocking him, and he chuckles lowly.

-Damn woman, you’re driving me crazy. Quite literally.

-Even after all those years ? Yay, go me !

He chuckles some more, and it’s such a sweet sound that you wished you could freeze time and hear his soft laugh forever. You love when he feels so comfortable with you, that he lets go of his stoic self to allow himself to smile and laugh. Only you, have that effect on him (and sometimes Dick too, because that man was just so damn silly).

-My problem still isn’t solved though.

-What problem ?

-(Y/N), there’s a dog where I’m suppose to sleep, I’m really, REALLY tired, and he groans at me whenever I approach you. I’d say it’s a problem.

-Oh right. Yeah. Just a second.

You lock your gaze on Titus, and the dog instantly stares at you. You turn your head toward the end of the bed, and the animal respond with a whiney noise. You insist, and with a small exasperated growl (yes, dogs can make exasperated noises !), he rises on his feet, looks at his own master suspiciously, and goes to lay down at the bottom of the bed. Said bed is so big, that he can sleep there without bothering you or your giant ass husband.

Damian looks at you, a bit confused, and says :

-...Did you just...Did you just talk to our dogs with your eyes ?

You shake your head positively. Of course you did. You always had a special connection with animals, and Titus was a good boy.

Damian looks at you, then at “his” dog, then back at you, and sighs. He almost miss the days when his dog was a puppy and did everything he told him to do...but in those days, you weren’t in his life, so he couldn’t really ever regret them. There was no living without you, no Damian without (Y/N).

Making sure Titus won’t do anything, he slowly crawl into bed, and carefully comes closer to you, until you rest at his side. He’s still a bit uneasy at the way his dog follows him with his eyes though. Ready to intervene if there’s any problem (it kinda reassures him though, that his dog is that protective of you and your unborn baby, because it means he can leave you sometimes and know you’ll be ok).

A loving hand on your stomach, his free arm behind your head, you snuggle against him, nuzzling his neck, and he lets out a content sigh. He’s finally home. He has you in his arms. He can even feel his future son kicking.

Everything is perfect.

You raise on your elbow and bend over his body, smiling sweetly at him. He, of course, returns your smile, and raises his head to plant a soft kiss on your lips.

-Did I say I love you today ?

-I don’t think so, no.

-Well, I love you (Y/N).

-It’s funny.

-Why ?

-Cause I love you too. Always have, probably always will.

-Probably ?

-Well, you never know...

You tease him, he knows it. And he loves it. With his trademark “batsmirk”, he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you down on him, giving you an extremely cute esquimo kiss (he sure was glad that none of his brothers or friends were around, they would totally make fun of him for being so cheesy).

-I hope you’ll always love me. It would kill me to loose you...

-So dramatic.

-And yet I speak the truth. I cannot live without you (Y/N).

Your heart skip a beat. Why did he have to be so charming and attractive ? He stares back at you with his beautiful green eyes, and you can’t help but plant loving kisses on his soft and sweet skin you love so much. You have a quick thought about how much he looks like his father, except for the eyes and darker skin, and you smile because if he ages like his dad...Well damn.

-I love you Dami. So much.

-I love you too (Y/N), so much it hurts. Don’t ever leave, please.

-I don’t make that promise unless you do the same.

-I don’t intend on ever leaving you. Or our future child.

-Well good, because I’m not going anywhere.

-Good.

He raises on his elbow, and as you plop down on the bed, he straddles you, as he knows you love how his body shields you. His hands are on each side of your face, deft fingers putting a strand of wild (H/C) hair behind your ear, and caressing your cheek with their tip. His legs are on each side of you. You’re trapped in his embrace. And you love it. He’s about to bend down and kiss you when...

-OUCH !! WHAT THE HELL TITUS ?! HE BIT ME ! TITUS JUST FUCKING BIT ME !?

The sound of your laughter at the overprotectiveness of “your” dog toward your unborn child resonate through the entire apartment.

FIN.

Hope you liked it. I’m a bit afraid it’s not what you wanted, @loverandomness2.

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wrestlinghasmelike-blog · 8 years ago

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Monday Night Raw Review December 11, 2017

What’s up, everyone!? It’s Monday again, I had half of my finals this morning, and now it’s time for Raw! Here’s my review!

Please let me know what you thought of the show tonight, and what you thought of my review. Any type of feedback is welcome! Thanks so much!

Opening Segment- Samoa Joe

The show opened with Samoa Joe calling out all three members of the Shield, but Roman Reigns was especially on Joe’s list. I love hearing Joe on the mic because he’s good at cutting a promo. He’s always very intimidating and powerful on the mic, and it just works for his character so well. I liked how they had that moment in the back where they showed Seth and Dean watching Joe and they were like, “Go get Roman and show him this.” It was just something I appreciated. I think sometime in the near future we need to see Samoa Joe as a champ again. I think he would be a fighting champ and a damn good one. Roman finally answered Joe’s challenge, and this segment ended with all members of the Shield and the Bar in an all-out brawl, with Samoa Joe hanging his head high. The crowd didn’t seem too impressed with anything until the Shield came out, but hopefully, they wake up later in the night.

Women’s Tag Match- Bayley/Mickie James v. Paige/Mandy Rose

This promises to be a good match! I’m still not over my excitement about Paige being back, it’s been so great to have her back! I think that ABSOLUTION works for Raw, and only Raw. I love Ruby Riott and her squad on Smackdown, don’t get me wrong, but I think if they wanted this, it should have been done a bit differently on both brands. I want Mandy Rose to change up her hear a little bit, though. If you wanna say “Women’s Division” or “Women’s Revolution”, I don’t think that the image she presents says that. She gives me a “Diva’s” vibe, and everyone wants to move past that. While I’m still talking about gear, I thought Bayley looked like a Wild Berry poptart! This match was okay, nothing special or hard-hitting in my eyes to be honest. Bayley had a good leg sweep on the apron on Paige that I thought really gave this match the momentum that it needed, but Paige and Mandy picked up the win in a very heel way, and that was that!

Finn Balor v. Curtis Axel

Hi um yes please don’t call Finn the “first universal champion” if you aren’t gonna give him another shot at the title. I hate seeing Finn in a position like this where he’s wrestling bottom-card guys who don’t help him get anywhere. Finn is a future hall of famer, and he just doesn’t deserve this treatment. (also I sent him a tweet this weekend and he liked it! It wasn’t a retweet, but I’ll take a like!) YOU ALSO DON’T CUT TO COMMERCIAL DURING HIS ENTRANCE WHAT THE FUCK! I did really like how Curtis and Bo were mocking Finn when they came out to the ring, that was cute, and we got a Finn chuckle in the ring! The attack on Finn in the beginning was bogus, I didn’t need that at all. Curtis didn’t look half bad for this being his first match in what feels like years, and that snapmare takedown he had was nice! This match only got like, 6 minutes, which is so not okay. A coup de grace got Finn the win, and that was it. Nothing else. Of course I’m happy to see Finn every week, but he deserves something better. #FinnBalorDeservesBetter

Seth Rollins v. Sheamus

There have been a lot of rumours circulating that Sheamus might have spinal stenosis, which is the same condition that retired Edge and Stone Cold, and I hope that this isn’t the case and that Sheamus is okay. Both of these guys are fantastic wrestlers, and with the right storyline, they could put on a great main event PPV match! During this match, I’m mostly paying attention to the bumps that Sheamus is taking, to see if he’s specifically protecting his neck. It didn’t seem like Sheamus or Seth were being too careful, and he’s getting thrown everywhere in and out of the ring! Sheamus had some really great spots all throughout the match, especially with the axe handle in the beginning, and that cloverleaf submission was beautiful! Seth found his energy again towards the end but quickly lost it because he was selling his leg/knee during the match. Seth found that energy again with a huge superplex and a falcon arrow, but another kickout from Sheamus! Sheamus looked strong the entire match, but Seth picked up his victory with that weird knee strike he does as his finisher? Best wishes to Sheamus as the week goes on, I really hope this rumor isn’t true.

“Second Chance” Fatal Four Way- Cruiserweights

First of all, I am very happy that WWE took a stand against Rich Swann following his arrest for domestic abuse. That is not okay at all, and I’m glad WWE stood by their no tolerance policy. I am hoping that this division can wow me again this week because I’ve been so happy with them lately I love it. Tonight, we get to see Tony Nese, Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, and Davari in a fatal four way to see who faces Drew Gulak next week. Over these past few weeks, I have loved seeing all the fast-paced action that these competitors bring to the ring, and tonight was no different. Cedric and Ali were my favorite ones to watch, but Tony Nese really impressed me tonight as well. Ali had that great popup dropkick in the beginning, and that was the moment that I was really into this match. The athleticism that these competitors showed was amazing, but it did falter in energy for me through the middle of the match. It picked up again when Ali hit that reverse 450 splash, and again when Cedric hit his finisher. Cedric ended up with a second chance victory, and will face Drew Gulak next week to contend for the cruiserweight title.

Cesaro v. Roman Reigns

Another “open-challenge” where we know who’s fighting before the show even starts. I guess this isn’t an open challenge then. I still love Roman’s “fighting champion” schtick and I hope he continues it for a while. Once the bell rang, these guys were ready to start fighting. This match really took awhile to get going, and it didn’t have anything behind it until the ending moments in my opinion. There weren’t many spots before the commercial break, and then when they came back from break, it wasn’t any better! Cesaro had Roman in a lot of holds and arm bars and submissions, which is fine for Cesaro, but it really keeps the momentum low and the crowd uninterested. Roman finally rallied back, and then he did that weird apron kick, and it just didn’t work for me really. The biggest moment for me I think is when Cesaro threw Roman into the ring post shoulder first because it was so loud and so hard-hitting. Cesaro is a great competitor and I feel like this wasn’t his greatest showcase. Roman finished the match with a spear, and retained his title again.

Women’s segment

I wanted this to be Asuka vs. Alicia again! I should’ve known that ABSOLUTION was gonna come out and ruin this. I wish this was an actual match and not a waste of time like it ended up being

Dean Ambrose v. Samoa Joe

I forgot this match was happening because this episode has already been so packed with matches. The opening moments of this match were already better than Roman’s match. Jason Jordan decided to sit on top of the ramp like Joe did last week and Jordan can just go away I’m so done with him. Before the commercial break, Joe hit Dean with an overhead kick, and I think Joe is more athletic than some people think and give him credit for. When the show returns, the crowd doesn’t seem too excited about anything, and it just feels like nothing is happening in this match. Dean slapped Joe in the face, and Joe had the best reaction. The camera keeps going back to Jason and I just don’t wanna see him anymore. Dean brought Joe over the top rope and I thought the way they did that was very cool! Dean also launched himself over the top and collided with Jordan and Joe, which was also great. I’m already predicting that Joe and Jordan will have a match next week and I hope that Joe kills him. Dean ended up being the only member of the Shield that lost tonight, as Joe locked in the clutch.

Braun v. Kane

The moment in the back with Titus Worldwide and Gallows/Anderson before the match was really funny because Braun just screamed his name and everyone ran away! I don’t super like this match because Big Guy vs. Big Guys isn’t really all that exciting to me, but I think this will prove me wrong because Braun is so athletic and fast. Braun is really pressing Kane tonight, and Braun’s speed is really helping here. I’m surprised Kane went for the chokeslam so fast, but Braun barely kicked out at 2! And Strowman got a chokeslam in on Kane! BOTH MEN WENT THROUGH THE BARRICADE! A DOUBLE COUNT OUT! COULD THIS MEAN THAT ONE MR. FINN BALOR IS OVER AND WILL FACE BROCK NEXT WEEK!? Thank god nothing happened in this match, I did not want to see any more of this.

I didn’t love tonights Raw to be perfectly honest. There wasn’t really a favorite match that I had, and it was just meh. A lot of times, the commentary was more interesting than the matches. I’m hoping with that double DQ tonight, Brock will come by next week and then Finn will come out and challenge him. I guess we’ll have to wait another week!

Thanks for reading!

-Casey

#wwe #wrestling reviews #monday night raw #finn balor #wrestlinghasmelike #wrestling blog #roman reigns #kane #jason jordan #samoa joe #the shield

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jewishclarkkent · 8 years ago

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superbat #19!

things you said when we were the happiest we ever were

Heavily inspired by this incredible scene from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Raindrops pattered against the windows, thunder rolling in the distance. Bracketed by the warmth of Clark’s body lying next to him, Bruce stared at the ceiling, unable to find rest. With a frown, he listened to Clark wheezing, lungs struggling to regain normal functioning after inhaling copious amounts of kryptonite powder. Carefully shifting his weight, Bruce disentangled himself from the covers and got off the bed, stretching his arms over his head to ease the tension in his shoulders. After turning Clark onto his back and sliding a pillow between his knees, Bruce turned his attention toward the sun lamps he’d set up around the bed. Though Leslie assured him Clark had received optimal exposure on the Watchtower and simply needed rest to regain his strength, Bruce preferred to err on the side of caution. He fiddled with the settings and positioning of the lamps. Clark did not stir once. Bruce walked to his side and reached to touch his face, noting the fading bruise high on his cheekbone, not quite healed.

Legs restless, Bruce came to stand by the window. Outside, the storm raged on, wind howling, causing the trees to sway in a mesmerizing dance. Maybe, Bruce thought as guilt churned in his stomach, the severe weather would be enough to deter most criminal activity. His mind was already making calculations for the hours he’d have to put in to make up for the lost night, cycling through his active cases and predicting the complications that could arise. Most importantly, though, he’d have to assure Luthor’s kryptonite supply was truly destroyed, and find out who had been selling it to him; then, he would bring down the full wrath of the Bat on them.

With one last glance at Clark, Bruce exited the room and walked downstairs. A clattering sound greeted him in the hallway and he followed it to the kitchen, where Alfred was stacking dishes, rearranging the content of the cupboards. A habit Alfred only engaged in when someone had been injured or fallen ill.

At the sound of Bruce’s footsteps, Alfred turned, lips drawn tight. “How is Master Clark?”

“Resting,” said Bruce, rubbing a hand over his face. The bedsheets had left deep creases in his cheek. “He should be completely recovered with a few more hours under the lamps.”

The tension eased from Alfred’s shoulders, betraying the extent of his concern even as he schooled his features back into British stoicism. “That is quite a relief.”

Putting his hands in his pockets, Bruce looked down to hide a furtive smile, touched by Alfred’s concern. He’d come to care for Clark like family. “The kids?”

“Master Damian is sleeping,” Alfred reported. “He’d be loathe to admit it, but he appeared relieved to learn you’d be staying in to watch over Master Clark and was quite eager for updates on his condition,” he said. “I believe he’s becoming rather fond of him.”

This time, Bruce didn’t try to suppress the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“However,” Alfred continued, “Master Timothy and Ms. Cassandra were substantially more averse to the idea of taking a night off. They were quite insistent on the need to pursue Mr. Luthor.”

“Not without me,” Bruce sighed, running his fingers through his hair. The information didn’t surprise him; both Tim and Cass needed to feel useful when someone in the family had been injured. “They know the rules. Besides, they should be focused on studying for their exams.”

“Indeed, Sir.”

“Why don’t you head to bed, Alfred,” Bruce suggested, noting the exhaustion on his face. Raising his brow, Alfred tilted his head towards the dishes lining the counters. “It’s nothing that can’t wait until morning,” Bruce said in response.

“Very well, Master Bruce,” said Alfred. “Do wake me if you or Master Clark require anything.”

Bruce nodded, watching Alfred retiring to his quarters. He waited for the telltale squeak of the stairs before he picked up the dishtowel and turned to deal with the dishes.

When he finished, Bruce returned upstairs to check on the kids. He found Damian sound asleep in his room, the heavy blanket reaching up to his chin. Titus was curled at his feet, taking up the expanse of the bed. Ears perking up, the dog lifted his head to examine Bruce before returning to his slumber, determining his owner was safe. Even in sleep, Damian’s nose was scrunched up in concentration, a furrow between his brows. Bruce ached to reach over and smooth it, but knew Damian would wake at the lightest touch. For a long moment, he simply stood at the threshold and watched the rise and fall of his son’s chest.

Panic unfurled in Bruce’s chest when he discovered Tim and Cassandra’s rooms empty. He raced down the stairs to check the common areas, finding the pair asleep in his study. Tim’s head was tipped back against the couch, mouth open, yellow highlighter smudged across his chin. Cassandra was pressed to his side, head on her brother’s shoulder. Their textbooks were strewn across the floor. Relief washing over him, Bruce picked up a blanket and covered them both, bending to lay a kiss on top of Tim’s hair and Cassandra’s forehead. She opened one eye and they exchanged a silent look as she searched his face. Whatever she read in his expression was enough to put her at ease and she closed her eyes, breathing slowing down as she fell back asleep. Heart aching at the show of trust, Bruce took it as his cue to slip out of the room.

Back downstairs, he pulled on his boots and coat. The storm had not eased and a gust of wind greeted him when he opened the front door. Still, he did not hesitate stepping into the downpour, picking up a small pebble from the driveway before trailing through the sodden gardens.

When he reached his parents’ graves, he fell to his knees, mud sticking to his trousers. In that moment, the sky opened up and the rain turned into blinding sheets, hail pelting against his skin. Bruce reached out with both hands until he found contact with the headstones, reading the engraved names with his fingertips. He let them linger on the Hebrew inscription on his mother’s grave before placing the pebble on top of it with his left hand.

“I made you a promise,” he said, tongue heavy in his mouth, voice hardly carrying over the angry storm. He did not know what he’d come to say, only that an inexplicable weight compelled him to. “But I never thought —” he tried, shutting his eyes as the wind razed across his face. He grasped the blades of grass beneath his fingers.“It still hurts, but — it doesn’t hurt so much anymore.” He bowed his head at the admission, breath hitched, shame caught in his lungs. “I never expected… I thought — I didn’t count on being happy.”

A painful constriction pierced his chest, and Bruce clenched his jaw to work through the sharp pain, taking a deep breath. When the attack passed, he turned silent, biting his lip until he could taste blood. The wind picked up its howl, violently slamming against his eardrums.

“I made you a promise,” he repeated, throat raw with the effort. A promise to dedicate his life to pursuing justice, to honour their memory. To allow no distractions. To always put Gotham first, above his own needs. But she no longer was. Bruce had broken his promise tonight and on countless others, leaving the city defenseless. He had been weak, allowing anger and resolve to recede and something else to take their place. Worst of all, he did not have the strength to uproot these new feelings, no matter how detrimental to his mission they were. “I’m sorry,” he tried, hands trembling. He clenched them into tight fists, knuckles turning white, nails digging into his palms. A bolt of lightning split the horizon. “I’m sorry I failed you. I never knew… I didn’t think I could have a family again.”

Minutes or hours passed as he sat on the wet ground, frozen and catatonic. When he found the strength to rise, his feet felt unstable, knees wobbly. The walk back seemed long, each step a greater betrayal, putting more distance between him and the ten-year-old who’d set out to achieve the impossible. Bruce pulled his coat closed against his chest, ice forming in his lungs.

When he reached the Manor, he paused in front of the grandfather clock. He thought about heading down to the Cave, getting to work on tracking Luthor’s supplier. The image of Clark waking alone stopped him, and he headed instead for their bedroom, rubbing the Kryptonese words tattooed around his ring finger.

In the bathroom, he peeled off his sopping clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor. He caught sight of his reflection in the mirror, wet hair plastered to his forehead and dripping onto the floor, accentuating his pallor and the sunken shadows under his eyes. The raised scars on his torso stood out against his damp skin. He averted his gaze and ducked out of the room, desperate to escape the ghost that haunted him.

The glow of his phone caught his attention, and Bruce grabbed it from the nightstand, glancing at Clark to make sure he hadn’t woken before opening the notification.

All quiet on patrol, read Dick’s message. Calling in an early night.

He’d attached a picture of himself parked on his couch, a bowl of popcorn in his lap, Barbara and Jason on either side of him. Bruce stared at it with a longing that terrified him, studying every detail. Jason’s expression was bored, caught in the midst of rolling his eyes, but he was there, spending time with his brother. That was the real reason for Dick’s text.

You’ve got to have patience, B, Clark was constantly reminding him. Give him time. He’ll come back to you.

Bruce brushed his thumb over the screen, lost in thought when his phone vibrated with another text from his oldest son.

How’s Big Blue?

On instinct, Bruce glanced back at Clark. The bruise on his face had faded completely, a healthy glow returning to his cheeks. His breathing had returned to normal.

Recuperating, he typed back. Should be back to full strength by morning.

Good, was the response that followed. Keep him out of trouble.

Bruce placed his phone back on the nightstand, walking to the dresser in search of underwear. A low groan accompanied by the rustle of sheets caught his attention, and he turned to watch as Clark stirred and sleepily opened his eyes.

“B?”

“Go back to sleep,” Bruce said gently. “You need rest.”

“I feel fine. Come here,” said Clark, reaching his arms from under the covers. He looked warm and inviting, and Bruce wasn’t able to resist, dropping the clothes he’d picked out back into the drawer. He climbed onto the bed, carefully propping his elbows to hold himself on top of Clark.

Clark cupped Bruce’s face, his hands comforting and familiar. “Why are you all wet?” he asked upon coming into contact with cold skin, just as another crack of thunder echoed outside. Bruce shivered in response, teeth chattering. Clark rubbed his shoulders to warm him up. “Jesus, B, you’re freezing.” He lifted the duvet so Bruce could get under the covers, their naked bodies pressed together. The light from the sun lamps shone bright, and Bruce turned to burrow his face into Clark’s neck.

They laid like that for long minutes, saying nothing, Clark’s fingers carding through Bruce’s wet hair. His other hand trailed up and down Bruce’s spine, the touch intimate. Clark always recognized when Bruce needed time to gather his thoughts, never pushed for explanations Bruce wasn’t willing to give. Instead, he allowed him the space to work through his turmoil, his presence a silent support. Never demanding, never asking for more than Bruce could give. It was precisely why and how he’d knocked down all of Bruce’s carefully-architected defenses.

Finally, Clark hooked his thumb under Bruce’s chin and tipped it up so their eyes could meet. “What’s going on, B?” his voice was gentle as he caressed Bruce’s cheek, scratching the hint of stubble on his jaw.

Bruce swallowed, struggling to find the right words. He averted his eyes, staring instead at the delicate curve of Clark’s collarbone. “I never knew.”

“Knew what?”

Bruce brought his hand to rest on Clark’s chest, fingers splaying over his heart, comforted by its strong rhythmic beat. “That it could feel like this.”

Clark’s hand came to rest over Bruce’s, lacing their fingers. “I never knew, either.”

#superbat #bruceclark #manman #bootycap #batfam #superbatfam #my fic #batfam feels #superbat feels #jewish bruce wayne #otp: make me believe #otp: because of you i know a man can be anything he wants to be #otp: we'll never give up on each other #fanfiction

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