#and Bruce just has to stand there like ‘???? i guess this is allowed’

[dcxdpdabbles]

Phantom's number 1 Fan. Part 2

Tim wakes a few days later, half submerged in liquid and hooked to various machines. He is in a tub shaped like a bed, obviously meant to sleep in. Around him is what he hopes is a hospital room with medical tools scattered about and soft blue paint that turns to the night sky the higher it goes on the wall.

On the ceiling are paintings of various constellations. It's rather beautiful.

Tim also notices he feels no pain. None. Not even the aches of his bones after years of abuse while fighting crime. He thinks that's a bit strange since the last thing he could clearly remember was barely escaping Ra's al Ghul, losing his spleen, and gaining more wounds from angry assassins on his way out.

He had been flying half-blind, blinking in and out of awareness. He thinks at one point, Cassie had attempted to call him, and he may have answered, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what he told her.

He did remember what she said in response. She sounded so desperate as she begged over the S-Batplane speakers. "Please, Tim, you're not well. Let us help you. Just tell me where you are."

Too bad for her, since the S in S-Batplane stand for Secert because Tim had built that one on his own in Secert. There was no way she or any of the hero community could track him in it since they had no idea it existed until Tim had taken it and his supplies on his solo mission to save Bruce.

Tim will admit that he is happy they noticed he went missing- even if it was three months too late. Not that it mattered much. The rest of the Bats wanted nothing to do with him. The world only saw him as a young easy wallet as a shiny new CEO. And his friends were all dead or convinced he was insane by Dick.

Tim didn't have anyone to notice he was gone anymore. But Bruce needed him to push through the ache and get him home.

As the Robin who Bruce trained to put the mission first no matter the cost, the one that came after Jason's death so, Bruce stopped allowing himself to think of Robin as a son and more along the lines of a soldier; he quickly shut down the crying child that wailed for someone to believe him, to support him.

Sometimes it felt like Tim was still waiting by the door of Drake Manor, waiting for someone to come and care for him, to stay for him.

The door to his room opens, snapping Tim back to the present. He automatically stiffens, expecting more of the League of Assassins. He can't remember much, but he guessed he was captured by the fact he was sitting in a green glowing water.

He was not, however, expecting a Yeti to walk in, reading a clipboard.

The Yeti looks up, bearing its teeth at Tim when he notices him awake. It takes a moment to realize the action is supposed to be a smile. "Great One's Honored Guest, I am so glad you have awakened. I am FrostBite, your doctor for the remainder of your recovery."

Okay. Ra's has Yetis at his disposal.

He was the only person that Tim knew as the "Great One." Usually, his most loyal operatives too, which means he was deep within Ra's territory.

FrostBrite pauses for a response, but when Tim remains silent, he holds up his board. "It seems to me that most of your wounds have healed. The only problem is that your spleen could not be salvaged due to the damage."

Tim fights to keep the despair off his face. He figured that was the case, seeing as Ras's had it in a jar, but he had hoped.

"...I understand this may be a difficult adjustment. You will always have to be careful when being ill. Even a simple cold could be disastrous." Frostbite steps close, taping one giant claw on the tub's edge. "The Great One has ordered we keep consistent Ecoplasm Baths at the ready for the remainder of your natural life."

Fuck. The Yeti is saying Ra will never let him leave again. It's a threat disguised as a offer of help.

Tim glares down at his hands. They lay within Lazarus' water, gently healing his small scars. This must be some of the purest Lazarus he's ever seen. It must be Ra's own special blend.

The only reason he is wasting it on Tim is that Ra's wants an heir from him. Or for him to become the Heir. He doesn't know, which makes him feel worse but he does know what lust looks like.

It's one that Ra's has aimed at him for too long.

He may as well get this over with. Learn as much as he can. Plan an escape. The best way to do all that is to simply ask.

"When is the wedding?"

Frostbite freezes. "I beg your pardon? Whos wedding?"

"Th Great One and mine" because the madman would never allow a bastard to inherit his empire.

"You and the Great One....are paramours?" Frostbite sounds awe. Shoot his medic doesn't know anything. The Yeti is likely low ranking.

Tim looks away, and the giant white creature jerks into action. "I apologize for not treating the Great One's beloved properly. I shall have servants bring up a meal while you soak. And the finest robe we have! Sweets and messages....offers of gold?....humans always like gold."

He waits until the Yeti leaves, mumbles of giving him the royal treatment echoing in his wake. Tim sighs, sinking into the water. He knows he is being watched as that's what he would do, so for now he needs to stay put and heal.

He's never going to get Bruce back if he acts too rashly without knowing where he is and what else Ra has under his control. Yetis were no easy feat to beat on his own. He like to avoid....a vampire or something too.

Half an hour later, FrostBite returns with the promised meal and change of clothes. Smaller Yetis help him dress in threads of the finest silks. They feel like heaven on his sensitive skin. Tim feels soft and warm all over, pampered beyond belief.

It's been so long since he just had a moment to rest.

He asks for a walk which he is only permitted after Frostbites clears him. It's while he is wandering that he realizes he is in some winter castle. Everywhere he looks, there is ice, snow, and yetis.

He notices all the guards and makes mental maps of possible weak spots. He wonders why he's not freezing despite only being in a thin silk robe. A form of magic?

A few yetis- servants he can tell by their mannerisms- bow as he wanders about. He can't tell where he is based on the sun or the environment. It's....somehow different.

"That's him?" A young female voice asks. He turns his head slightly to catch the speaker in his provisional vision. It's one of the smaller Yetis....he assumes she's a child? Hard to tell when she still towers over him. "The Great One's future spouse?"

"Yes, I heard King Frostbite, himself, tell the Head Butler"

"He's weak," another Yeti says with disapproval. He sounds male but young as well. Not even a teenager. "He does not even have a core."

"He is a human." A much older voice replies. She sounds like Tim's age based on vocal cords. "Humans are not meant to have cores. Despite this he is a formidable fighter. He has to be to have attracted the Great One's eye."

"Maybe not. I heard humans enjoy being cared for like children. They even call partners things like Mommy and Daddy."

"Why?" The boy Yeti sounds horrified.

"Apparently it's seen as attractive"

"That's disgusting."

Tim turns a corner cutting off the conversation as the Yetis snap to attention. They bow low at the waist as he walks by.

He nods at them, which seems to startle a lot of them. Not that he's surprised. The AL Ghuls likely treated them like decorations and never fully acknowledged them.

Tim barely hears the young boy gasp. "He's beautiful."

"That's likely why the Great One is so bestowed."

Tim sighs walking back to his room with a escape plan half formed.

Elsewhere, the rumor mill in the Ghost Zone is running over time as news of King Phantom's human husband-to-be is spread far and wide. Leaders of the Ghost Zone quickly prepare for a ball that will likely be called to celebrate the union.

They have gifts gathered, each wanting to gain favor with the King. The Far Frozen gets overwhelming requests to visit the future Consort, but seeing as King Phantom had to return to the human world, thus leaving his fiancé in their care, they reject all. They do not want the boy to be overwhelmed or caught unawares if he is not tried in any form of politics.

It would not allow him to become a threat to the King's authority's pawn.

This led to even more rumors starting.

By the time they reached John Constine- the only human who has any form of contact with the Realms- the word is that King Phantom's human was currently carrying their child, wanting to marry before the baby was born, and that he was running from a group of humans known as "The Bats."

He was as beautiful as the King Phantom was powerful- which meant he was utterly breathtaking for a human- and that King Phantom was currently in the human world hunting down those who threaten his family.

Across the dimension plane, Danny is blissfully unaware of the misunderstanding as he is busy filling out college scholarship applications. He has only one more year before he graduates, but he would like to go somewhere away from Amity Park.

The Wayne Scholarship is a long and lengthy process, but it will be worth it. A full ride with board and meals? Yes, the housing will be in Gotham but it's a small price to pay.

He wonders if his number one fan has awakened. Frostbite would have contacted him if his guest had escaped the coma.

Tim Drake had been asleep for nearly a week, only kept healthy due to Danny bathing him in his Protective Core ectoplasm and the Yeti's multi-species medical knowledge. As it were, Tim appeared to only be taking a small nap, none of the adverse effects of long slumber appearing on his thin body, but Danny was getting worried.

At this point, he didn't even care how Tim knew his secret. He just wanted him to be alright.

A flash of green light causes Danny to spring away from his laptop, body falling into a natural fighter's stance only to blink at the giant gift wrap present laying on his bed. Cautiously he inspects the gift finding it from Princess Dora.

"May your love lead the Realms into a wonderous future, and may your union bear many children." He reads the small note she had attracted to her gift "What children?"

Pulling open the gift, he stares at two sets of King robes decorated with rubies shaped into snowflakes. More miniature robes and a few booties surround the pair, obviously meant as a family gift.

Tuck to the side of the box is a long and deadly-looking sword. It's pitch black, with a scull as a handle. Dora had tired a scroll to its blade, where she had written My armies are ready to yield to you. You need only to swing this sword, and they shall come to your aid. The Bats will not harm your treasure.

What in the world?

[videovamptramp]

the jealous game

// prompt idea for g!p wanda: you end your relationship with wanda because she’s always flirting with other girls to make you jealous. unbeknownst to you, wanda’s about to feel just as jealous as you when thor and bruce bring their new friend valkyrie to one of tony’s parties. the king suddenly takes a massive interest in you, making wanda immensely jealous. //

warnings: breakups, flirting with other girls while in a relationship, jealousy, sexual themes i guess (kind of??), fluffy ending, i’m a slut for wanda maximoff 🥺

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

“i can’t do this anymore, wanda!” you raise your voice as she drags you into the hall. you were forced to sit at a dinner party with a few agents, and watch wanda flirt with sharon carter all night. you stressed more and more during every function and event, because the redheads flirting was never ending. no matter how many times you told her to stop— how much it hurts you— she never listens. “you’re making a big deal over nothing, y/n.” she rolls her eyes, and you clench your fists, angry tears welling up in your eyes. “nothing?! wanda, you’ve been flirting with sharon in front of me all night!” you exclaim, and she scoffs.

“flirting doesn’t mean anything.” she mutters and you stare at her as if she’s crazy. “it means something to me, and it probably means something to her and all the other women you consistently flirt with.” you mutter, and she opens her mouth to say something, but you beat her to it. “you know, you used to be my best friend. after my best friend passed away, i never thought i could develop a bond and connection like i did with you. then i fell in love with you, and i realized you aren’t who i thought you were.” your voice cracks a bit and wanda’s smug demeanor falls immediately at the vulnerable words. “y/n—”

“have fun at your dinner party. i’ll be by your room next week to pick up my things.” you don’t even let her speak. you don’t want to hear what she has to say. you walk away from her, and you leave her standing in the hallway watching you leave. the memory now engraved into her mind. the night you got tired of her trying to rile you up, and keep the relationship ‘alive’. she didn’t think it was affecting you this badly. she never meant any of the things she said to other women in your presence, she was only trying to make you jealous. maybe have wild sex afterwards like you guys always do.

though she succeeded at making you jealous, she didn’t get the outcome she desired. no, instead wanda lost her bestest friend all because she went and decided to flirt with sharon carter. but it wasn’t just sharon, it was also the waitress at the restaurant last week, and the nurse who was doing an ultrasound on you for a cyst. she cringes as she remembers how you asked her to wait outside. she was starting to realize how much of a shit girlfriend she’s been to you. “hey wands, where did y/n go?” yelena asks on her way back from the bathroom. “she left…”

wanda spends the next few weeks waiting for you to come back. she foolishly tells herself you’ll miss her enough to return. yet, it becomes abundantly clear that that’s not the case. you end up avoiding her, and whenever wanda accidentally sees you around the compound you’re laughing at something one of your coworkers is saying, or hanging out with the members of your team. you look okay and maybe that’s what sets wanda off most of all; you’re okay without her while she’s miserable without you. she lays awake at night tossing and turning, when she’s half asleep she reaches for you but you aren’t there. she can’t get that look on your face out of her head. the look of pure betrayal and hurt.

wanda tries calling, but you don’t answer. when she visits your room at night FRIDAY doesn’t allow her access. you’ve complete shut her out, and it’s all her fault. wanda thinks about three years ago when you first arrived at the compound. you had apparently been training for shield since you got out of high school. as soon as you met wanda she immediately took a liking to you. you were genuinely kind to her, and no matter how out of control her powers were, you weren’t afraid of her. you listened as she opened up to you about the death of her twin brother and her parents. you never once judged her when she told you about the things hydra and ultron made her do.

wanda’s nightmares return shortly after your breakup. turns out having you around was more help to her than she realized. or maybe she did realize it and she took it for granted. she doesn’t know how long she can continue this way without you; barely sleeping, barely eating. she can’t even seem to focus on missions and steve has given her three warnings in the last month to get it together before she’s on temporary desk duty. maybe that’s how she ended up at tony’s halloween party; drinking the night away to forget you.

when she sees you she nearly drops the drink in her hands. you’re not even dressed up; just a simple black cropped top that fits you perfectly, dark denim blue jeans that are so tight wanda can see every curve. the outfit is matched with your favorite converse, and your hair is in loose unruly curls. wanda wants to talk to you so badly, but she doesn’t have the courage to. your eyes migrate around the room, and end up on her. you offer her a sad smile and she doesn’t react. you notice the bags under her eyes that the makeup isn’t doing a good job at hiding. she doesn’t look at all like herself. you’re about to walk over to your ex girlfriend when a voice stops you.

“y/n!” thor bellows as he makes his way over to you with a woman beside him. she’s not as tall as wanda but she’s taller than you. her eyes seem to light up as soon as she sees you, “this is my dear friend y/n! y/n, this is king valkyrie.” he introduces you both and you smile shyly as you put your hand out for her to shake. the king takes your right hand and kisses your knuckles gently. you blush profusely at the action, “king valkyrie has assisted me on many missions and frequently, as you mortals say, saved my behind.” thor continues to stroke his friends ego and she rolls her eyes modestly. “please. a literal god is trying to talk me up right now, can you get this guy out of here?” valkyrie asks you jokingly, making you giggle. the mere sound makes her stare at you in awe for a second.

“it’s truly a pleasure to meet you, y/n. i’ve heard so much about you and your amazing pancakes from thor and bruce.” she admits and you blush sheepishly, your face feeling hot. “it’s a pleasure to meet you as well, it’s great to finally put a face to the name.” you tell her, having only heard about her a few times through thor and bruce, you were surprised at how charming she actually was. you don’t normally receive any attention like this from any of the superheroes, sure a few agents have asked you out in hopes of a hookup or two, but none of the heroes that were as important as this have. well, except for wanda, but you were almost positive wanda never wanted a real relationship with you to begin with.

the disheartening thought is enough to get you to put on a fake smile, and offer to get valkyrie and thor drinks. thor politely admits he has to find jane, but he ends up leaving you and the king alone. “so, thor tells me you’ve been an agent for shield for four years?” valkyrie asks and you chuckle, “yeah, i started training right out of high school… i really didn’t know know what else to do with my life.” you confess sheepishly, “but my life is boring. i want to hear all about your life. you’re a king, you must never be bored or lonely!” you exclaim and her smile falters a bit. “well, i certainly have the means and privilege of never being bored but not even money can cure loneliness.” she admits and you frown.

“do you get lonely king valkyrie?” you ask softly, your hand coming up to her bicep and your mere touch warms her in a way she hasn’t felt in so long. “yes. but it’s a small price to pay for ruling a kingdom.” she responds, and your eyes meet her chocolate brown ones. “and your queen?” you ask in a way that causes her to smirk, “no queen, just me i’m afraid.” she answers honestly, and you raise your eyebrows. “i guess that means i’m allowed to buy you a drink without worrying about your wife challenging me to a death match?” you half joke, and she laughs. “there’s no wife you have to worry about. but i’d love a drink.” she says lightly as you grab her hand and lead her through the crowded room. you don’t notice the piercing green eyes staring at you both the entire time.

as the night goes on you get to know valkyrie and you can’t find a single thing wrong with her. she’s charming, sweet, kind, humble, and even easy on the eyes… yet you can’t shake that guilty feeling you feel. you don’t want to be here with anyone other than wanda. yet, you’re sure she’s probably flirting with some other pretty girl around here. she’s probably forgotten all about you. you force yourself to laugh at a joke valkyrie says that you shamefully weren’t paying attention to. what you don’t notice is the emerald green eyes shooting daggers at the woman you’re standing in front of. wanda’s been watching you two since thor introduced the both of you. she hates the way her stomach burns and her fists clenches around her glass so tightly she surprised it doesn’t break.

her jaw is tense as valkyrie moves a strand of loose hair behind your ear. the way you blush makes her heart crumble into a million little pieces, and she recalls the way you used to blush at all of the things she said. the way the blood used to rise to your cheeks and coat your little nose. she hates this feeling and she wonders if this is how you felt all those times when she flirted so blatantly in front of you. she mentally curses herself for making you feel this way on so many occasions. the jealousy she feels is nothing compared to the guilt. she downs the rest of her whiskey and leaves the glass of ice on the bar counter. she can’t stand to watch this anymore, she doesn’t think the remains of her heart can take it.

you notice the way the redhead leaves quickly, moving past a hoard of people. you frown; wanda never leaves these things early. there’s nothing she loves more than a party. though, you remember how down she looked earlier. as much as you want to wield yourself not to care, you can’t help it. you love her and you care about her so much. “um, excuse me valkyrie i have to make sure my friend is okay. she looked sad earlier and she just left.” you lie through your teeth and valkyrie flashes you an understanding smile. “of course. i know all about your history with wanda maximoff, i understand how you feel.” she says and you feel a guilty feeling wash over you.

“i’m sorry.” you apologize honestly, and she reaches for your hand giving it an assuring squeeze. “don’t be sorry. go to her. i understand.” she tells you softly. you smile at her gratefully, “thank you. it really was lovely meeting you, i hope to see you again some time.” you tell her sincerely causing her to nod in agreement. “likewise. i’ll be looking for you the next time i’m on earth.” she promises and you blush softly before leaving. you go in the direction wanda left in, and you push through the large amount of people. you finally see her on the balcony facing away from the party.

“you left a little early don’t you think?” you ask, and she quickly wipes away a few falling tears before holding onto the ledge of the balcony tightly. “why do you care? you’ve made it perfectly clear over the last few weeks that nothing i do matters to you.” she retorts, there’s a bit of bite to her tone but there’s a whole lot of hurt laced through it as well. “nothing you do matters? i think you don’t understand how much the things you do matter to me.” you reply, as you reach into the pocket of your coat, pulling out a pack of menthols. “doesn’t seem that way. you’ve been avoiding me like the plague and now you’re all over king valkyrie not even a few weeks after our breakup?” she questions, and you can hear the undeniable betrayal laced through her tone.

“at least i waited till after our breakup.” you mutter under your breath, and she turns to face you. a trickle of silence passes, until she lets out a chuckle. “yeah, i deserved that.” she responds, and you flash her half a smile. she loves your smile. how she’s missed it. you take in the black velour suit she’s wearing. the white collared shirt pristine and nicely buttoned; not a wrinkle in sight. she looks amazing and you try your hardest not to let her know you’re staring at how beautiful she looks. “you look perfect. i see why valkyrie was all over you.” she admits and you laugh. “she was being nice.” you try to defend yourself and wanda flashes you a look. “oh please, she kissed your hand and was by your side all night.” she points out, and you raise a brow.

“you mean the way you should’ve been?“ you ask her, and this causes her to go silent. “y/n… i’m so sorry. i was a terrible girlfriend, and i… i took you for granted. i know some of the things i did are unforgivable, and when i saw you with valkyrie tonight, i realized how badly i hurt you all those times. i’m sorry.” wanda actually sounds sincere, and you can see in her eyes she means every word. she then shakes her head, “i don’t expect you to forgive me. if i were you i don’t know if i could… i just needed to apologize. you deserved a sincere apology. you didn’t deserve anything i put you through… i do love you, y/n.” wanda adds and your eyes go wide. “you do?” you ask in complete surprise and she nods vigorously.

“so much. you’re the only person i’ve ever opened up to… you’re my best friend. i really should’ve been a better girlfriend to you.” she admits shamefully, barely being able to meet your eyes with her own. you can see the tears pooling in those emerald green orbs you’re so helplessly in love with. “then why did you flirt with all those women? what you did really hurt me, and i told you it did, and you just kept doing it. you promised me once that you’d never intentionally hurt me… so why did you?” you ask her, and she shuts her eyes for a few seconds. “i thought it would keep you from losing interest in me. i figured if you saw how many people wanted me, you always would.” she chuckles bitterly at her own mindset. “i guess i lost you either way…” she trails off, and you sigh.

“wanda… i could never not want you. trust me, i know first hand how many people want you. you don’t think i see the way everyone looks at you when you walk into a room? but i don’t care about how many people look at you as long as you’re only looking at me…” your voice is insecure and now you can’t seem to keep eye contact as you glance down at your shoes. you toss your forgotten cigarette into the ashtray and she lets a few tears fall. “you’re all i see when i walk into a room.” she admits, “i should’ve made that more clear.” she adds and you flash her a look. “yeah, you should’ve.” you murmur, and she looks down at her shoes.

“is there any way you’d give me another chance? i’d do anything to earn your trust back. anything to make you love me again.” she practically begs you, and you can hear the strain in her voice. “i never stopped loving you, wands. i just… i thought you didn’t love me anymore.” you whisper the last part, and she reaches for your hands, her touch immediately makes your body feel warm despite the cool new york air. “i could never not love you.” she reveals with a trembling voice. you observe her features, searching for any sign of dishonesty; when you find none your eyes soften in that way that makes her heart flutter. “from now on, flirting with someone else is cheating. okay? there’ll be no more chances after this one for that, maximoff.” you warn her, and she nods eagerly. “i promise to only flirt with you until i die!“ she dramatically swears, earning a soft giggle.

god how she missed being the cause of that sound. “that’s a little dramatic.” you say, but before you can say anything else she leans in and kisses you passionately. you melt into the stolen kiss immediately, moaning in surprise and delight as you kiss the redhead back. wanda let’s go of your hands and moves hers to your waist. she pulls you into her, and as soon as your body touches hers, her member begins to wake up. there’s no doubt you don’t feel it hardening against you. “i missed,” kiss, “you,” kiss, “so,” kiss, “much.” wanda says in between kisses, as if she’s in a frenzy. you pull away and she chases your lips with her own as she keeps you held against her. she whines when you don’t let her kiss you again, “looks like you weren’t the only one that missed me.”

your teasing only causes her to get harder, and you smile deviously at the appendage poking you through hers and your clothes. “should we get out of here?” she asks hopefully, and you giggle nodding in agreement. “lead the way, wands.” you unravel yourself from her, as she interlocks her hands with yours and leads you out. she takes you to the nearest exit and your stomach flutters at the thought of making up after a whole month.

//

a/n: should i upload a pt.2 of the smut ?🤫👀

[bruciemilf]

" You...Adopted...6 siblings?"

Diana nods, sunstream smile bright and golden on her lips. She proudly shows off pictures, too.

Three boys playing video games, one of them using his crutches to push the others away. " Freddy and Eugene love bothering Billy."

Another is Diana helping an adorable little cherub of a girl with outfits for her doll's world domination meeting. " Darla has such a rich imagination!"

Then there's her, helping a teenager with what looks to be her book report, as another boy serves them snacks. " Mary is a dedicated leader for her projects. Pedro enjoys cooking!"

" But...6?"

" I wasn't going to split them up! Families are strongest together! Billy wouldn't have accepted otherwise. He's a loyal, exceptional big brother. I couldn't ask for a better son."

Shazam blushes, to their confusion.

" And do they know about... You know. Mega hot Goddess guarding Earth thing, or are you just a regular milf?"

" Hal!"

" You all know what I'm about!"

" Not yet! I figure It'll come out at some point. But I enjoy being a parent. They've been a delight to have around. Parenthood is not the beast I expected."

Bruce laughs. Batman laughs. It's like watching something eerie and unnatural. Barry squints. " Am I...High? Did someone buy that brew that makes me spinny again?"

" You, - you think. This will be EASY."

Diana frowns, tilts her head like a confused puppy. " Well, yes. They've been very pleasant thus far. We haven't even argued, and they follow rules well, - "

Batman full on cackles now. Holding onto Superman's cape for support.

" I think they're very special! I'm sure they'll stay like this for longer than we all expect. They're very mature!"

They have to carry Batman away because he physically can't stand up. Diana doesn't particularly appreciate being laughed at, but the man's face deserves some happiness on it, so she'll take it.

Shazam approaches her after. " So, uh... Did you mean it? About - you know, those kids being..Good kids? Or something?"

" Of course! They're all unique and special in their own way. In fact, I have many examples of it. Billy allowed Darla to put him in a sparkly dress for the premiere of her movie and it is the sweetest act-"

" I got it! I got it," Shazam shuffles his fingers, looking younger than his massive height, asking for something that Diana recognizes but can't name,

" And... Just... You know - they're grateful for you. Even if they're going to be brats, or if they'll be angry and break rules and not listen to you...They appreciate you. A lot. I guess I just don't want you to regret them."

" I could never!" Diana is offended by the mere mention. " Children are people, and people will disappoint, and hurt. But they're so much more. I'll make mistakes, too. Hopefully I'll be mother enough to fix them."

" You are," Shazam tries to smile on his wobbly lips, before coughing around the emotion lumping his neck. " You're a great warrior. So you'll be a great mother."

" What's the difference?"

She doesn't know how Shazam figured out her favorite coffee mix, but she's grateful.

[ktficworld]

Lies and Lavish

Chapter 1: introduction

Pairing: soft dark! Andy Barber x reader, soft dark! Steve Rogers x reader, soft dark! Clark Kent x reader, soft dark! Bucky x reader, soft dark! Bruce Wayne x reader

Summary: You finally pull your head out of your studies and go to your long time friend's wedding to relax. And it's going to be alright, even if the infamous five brothers tend to linger around you a little too long, even when you share a past with one of them, even if their darkness is slowly approaching you. It's going to be okay, right?

Warnings: angst, mutual pining, manhandling, violence (by reader)

A/n: phew, it's finally here. Let me know what you think and please reblog it. It give ke motivation.

The wind whistled in the air mingling with the horns and roars of the cars, more expensive than your soul.

You sighed at the gigantic iron gate before you as the straps of your backpack dug into your shoulder. You were really second guessing your visit but the thought of your friend made you shake your head. After all, it was your childhood best friend wedding, even if it was to Ransom Drysdale. How did she managed to win that throttle? You would never know. But then again, not everybody's life revolved around school and sleep.

You glanced at the two additional bags you brought. Your backpack had essentials and your books. Even though, you came to relax, you'd still squeeze in some study. Business was no easy major and your finals were four months away.

You gripped your trolley bags and meekly shuffled towards the gate and entered the Drysdale estate through a smaller door-like gate. You sighed and looked around for any worker or someone who could help you with this maze.

Honk.

You jumped, clutching your racing heart as the loud noise pulled you out of your reverie. You began turning your head to glare at the motherfucker who almost gave you a heart attack, when an oh-so familiar voice called out your name.

"Luna! Come here."

You caught a glimpse of a Rolls Royce with a familiar sticker before you turned to beam at your friend, Alaïa. She waved at you with a megawatt smile and you thanked your lucky stars for working today as you dragged the bags and yourself towards her.

"Hi Alaïa, oh god! I can't believe you are getting married. Congratulations!" You said while intertwining your hands with hers, bouncing giddily.

"Thanks sis and gimme this," She pulled the bag off from your shoulders and deposited it on the nearby trolley bag. She glanced around and beckoned someone to where you were standing. "Leo, can you put these bags in the guest room I set up. Thank you." She politely ordered and off went your bags.

"Wow, Alaïa. You're living like a queen, huh?" You said, distracted by the large man taking away your luggage.

"Well, perks of marrying a rich man."

At that your smile faltered. You gradually dragged your gaze back to her. "Listen, Alaïa, you know I don't beat around the bush so I'm just gonna ask you. Are you okay with Ransom bringing more wives in the future?"

That was the new normal now. Apparently, 50 percent divorce rate was too alarming for the governments around the world. Add the loneliness statistics and now getting a divorce was nearly impossible. However, those who had the money to keep multiple partners, were allowed. Yes, polygamy was now legal. But the financially dependent partner had no say in this arrangement and that was why you feared for Alaïa.

Alaïa grimaced. "I know you're blunt. But you don't have to put it like that and don't worry. Ransom has promised to stay with me and only me."

They meant nothing. You were promised too. "But Alaïa, people change. What if he just said that to trap you? What will you do when he brings home some bimbo twenty years younger than him?"

People do change sometimes, even overnight. Or maybe they just hide their true face so perfectly that you couldn't see past those roses and sweet nothings.

Alaïa's lips tugged upwards into a half, bitter smile. "You think I'm a gold digger, don't ya?"

You gasped at the accusation. "God, no. And even if you were a gold digger, there's nothing wrong with it in this economy. The golden days are long gone. I'm just concerned about you, Alaïa."

"Hmmm, I know you only want the best for me. And I was just teasing you. I have signed the open marriage arrangement."

You heaved a sigh of relief but couldn't help thinking that somebody had definitely shamed her with that tag. "You scared me. It's great Ransom offered you that. Maybe, he is actually really committed to you." There were men and women who would allow the courtesy of an open marriage to their financially dependent partner, in case they marry again. So, if Ransom was really risking his fragile male ego, then he really meant it in your opinion.

"Yeah, maybe we can find you a committed one or two here. Look, their eyes are already wandering over you." She said with way too much enthusiasm and pointed behind you where few men were eyeing you with interest.

You whipped your head back to your friend, now accompanied with a sharp glare. "Absolutely not! I don't plan on marrying. Ever. And especially not to those dogs lolling their tongue."

Alaïa laughed at your little outburst and hooked her arm with yours. "I'm joking. Now, come on. Let's get you to Harlan." And began leading you inside the mansion.

But you planted your feet on the ground, causing her to stagger back to you. "Why would I meet Harlan?" You asked, bewildered.

She looked at you sheepishly. "I may have bragged about your writing and business skills way too much. Because as soon as I said you were coming today, he instructed me to bring you straight to his office."

What did your friend tell him that Harlan Thrombey wanted to meet you? And not just meet you but meet you straight away? It annoyed you nonetheless. "Alaïa, but-"

"No if and buts. You are going to the office right now." She declared and dragged your whining body with her.

_

"Harlan, look who's here." Alaïa announced as she pushed open the large doors.

You stood beside her and smiled at Harlan when his eyes lit up. "Oh, Luna. Welcome dear. I have heard a lot about you." He said with a good-natured smile.

"I don't know what she has told you but I'm definitely not what you think." You said, stepping towards him.

Harlan huffed out a chuckle. "I call it nonsense. I have seen you work, I have seen your articles. You are an asset to have-"

"How are you doing, Harlan?" A dark baritone voice called from behind as the doors flung open, sending shivers down your spine.

You gazed back and your breath hitched in your throat. In walked The Five Brothers, the richest and most dangerous people in the world. If one percent of the world's population ruled the 99 percent, then they ruled the hundred percent of it. They had unimaginable power, both legally and illegally.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company." The eldest, Andy Barber said. You didn't catch the intrigue in his voice.

Because among them was him. He was the last one to come in, your eyes locked for a second and an emotion you couldn't decipher passed through his eyes before he completely disregarded you and returned to his nonchalant attitude.

And why would he care? You meant nothing to him. Or he wouldn't have left the way he did. It was just a second of eye contact but for you it felt like eternity as the bittersweet memories flashed before your eyes. They were tainted by the black cloud of reality but for you, they meant everything. Because even if you were a mere lay for him. You liked that bastard. Loved even, if you allowed yourself that pain.

"Luna, I didn't know he'd come. I'm sorry." Alaïa said but you were already too out of your mind to care about her words.

You were drowning. Drowning in pain, in the memories, in the abandonment after swearing to never love, seeing your parents example. Only to open your heart to that asshole and have it smashed into a billion pieces.

Your lungs were bursting and tears were prickling your eyes. You didn't want to cry over that fucker, never, not again. But your breath was already coming out in short puffs and it was getting difficult to remain discreet. You were going to cry, you couldn't help it.

"Harlan, my head is hurting like crazy. I think coming here in this scorching heat caused it. Can we talk at night?" You blurted out as you released a shuddery breath, unshed tears bluring your vision.

Harlan's eyes softened and he gave you a compassionate smile. "Of course, dear. Take care of yourself."

You nodded with a wry smile and turned to leave. Attempting to bypass the large men that had engulfed the entire study.

There was no furniture at the door, no plants but you still gasped as your feet hit something, disbalancing you as you fell. However, before you could fall, a pair of strong arms caught you. You knew who caught you, you knew that scent too well. You looked up to glare at him. He made you fall.

"Woah, babe. I know women fall head over heels for me but I didn't mean it literally." He chuckled and you screwed your eyes shut to stop yourself from slapping the fuck out of him.

"Maybe you are way too sick. Should I escort you to your room?" He said and you snapped your gazes up at him.

You wanted to squirm out of his hold. Maybe stomp on his feet. You wanted to run away but the bruising grip around your waist didn't allow you the courtesy. His signet ring digging into your skin, as if pleading to agree, to hear whatever he wanted to say or do.

"Please." You whispered, you didn't know what you were asking. To tell you the truth and finally give you closure or to not break your heart again.

You squealed as he collected you in his arms. Promptly trapping you.

"Yeah, Bruce just go and drop her. Don't mess around here, okay." Andy said with a sigh.

"Of course, brother. Why would I do that now?" Bruce said with feigned innocence, causing all of his brothers to scoff.

He turned to Alaïa and stared at her expectantly. "Oh, third floor, last room on the left side." She hastily informed.

He nodded with his charming smile and dashed out the door. But you knew he wasn't taking you to your room.

"Bruce put me down." You said with calm firmness. Finally getting a hold of your emotions.

"No." He said with an attitude as he marched up the stairs, the forcing rocking you hard in his arms as you clutched his shoulders.

"Bruce, I said let me go and don't give me that attitude."

No answer.

"BRUCE LET ME DOWN." You were suddenly pushed into a dark corridor. His entire weight pinned you down to keep you from squirming away.

His head whipped to the right side, inky hair cascading over his forehead as your slap echoed in the hollow corridor. He did not move his head, did not bat an eye, hell! He looked like he wasn't even breathing.

You snapped his face to the left as you hit him again and again. You knew it was wrong. You knew he wasn't feeling more than a pat on his cheeks as you were no match for his strength but you still did it. Once, twice, thrice. You did it till tears rolling down your cheeks blurred your vision, till your hands hurt and shook, till they were covered by larger ones.

You wanted to cry on his shoulder, like how you did when you didn't get the expected result but you refrained from it. And leaned against the wall instead.

"Want to hit me again? Go ahead." Bruce whispered, his thumbs soothing your aching palms. There was emotion in his voice now, the care that he lacked before.

"You left," You said through sobs. "You left after we lost our virginity together!"

"I did. But I never wanted to leave you. I had to." He replied, his voice cracking in the end.

"That is not a good fucking excuse, Bruce Wayne." You bit back and tried to wriggle out of his hold but you were further pressed into the fall when he caught onto your escape plan.

"I'm not making any excuses Luna. I had no choice, we had no choice! They were so close to uncovering our identity. We would have been done for."

"Who they? What they? Bruce do you seriously give this explanation to every single woman you fuck and abandon? When you take their virginity or sack a married woman? You are a pathetic excuse of a man, Bruce." You were just his practice. Someone he lost his virginity to, nothing more, nothing less. You were done. You didn't want any closure, any explanation if this was what you were getting. You wanted him out of your sight and life. Even if it meant leaving your best friend's wedding.

"I swear on my dead mother's grave I didn't want to leave, Luna!" Bruce roared and you finally halted, coming down from your hysteria. You looked at him as you both heaved.

He swore on his mother. The mother who he loved dearly. Who was kicked out on the streets with his other four brothers by their father and mistress, throwing them out of the life of luxury to beg on the streets. The one who died in front of him in a car accident when he was just eight.

Bruce told you all this when he was too drunk or too sleepy to care. So you weren't relying on gossip here.

Now you listened to him as he took a deep breath. "Do you think I like it? Moving from one place to another on a day's notice? Working minimum wage jobs even though we were far more capable? Changing identities like clothes? Do you think we liked living in fear? I had a red dot on my forehead, Luna. Heck! Maybe I still do and when I say I didn't have the time to even say goodbye, I mean it. And no, I didn't sleep with married women, didn't take anyone's virginity. All hook ups were consensual and I don't give anyone any excuse or explanation."

"Is this really the truth?" You asked, exhausted and relaxed at the same time.

"It is, Luna. I never wanted to leave you. I-missed you." He whispered and gingerly touched his forehead with yours and when you didn't jerk away, he released a shuddery breath.

"I don't forgive you." You whispered back, touching his stubbled jaw. God, his warmth, he still used that aftershave. It brought back so many memories.

"You don't have to."

"Are you asking for it?"

"Yes."

To your dismay, a hope bloomed in your heart that maybe, you would be able to forgive him with time and rekindle the unsaid. However, you quickly crushed that desire. You were worlds apart now. You were still grinding your ass to study and get a good job while he was one of the richest men in the world. You didn't belong here. He did.

You slid your head from his forehead to his chest as he buried his head into your hair. You let a few more tears fall off your eyes as a pang of headache hit you. It was great while it lasted.

"Bruce-oh! You know her?" A surprised voice startled you as Bruce tensed underneath your hold.

He sucked in a deep breath and whirled around so quickly it gave you whiplash, his tall stature shielding you completely. "And now why would I tell you, shorty? Were you stalking me?" He said with a sardonic smirk as you gaped at him.

This was not the sensible, careful and vulnerable Bruce. This was the rude, condescending and arrogant rich asshole everybody knew him as. Granted he always had a bad temper with an even worse mouth but this was not him. Maybe he changed overtime.

Bucky didn't even bat an eye over his height's judgement and said. "No, I wasn't stalking you. You were taking too long so Steve told me to check if you were behaving. Now who is she?" Bucky's mouth also turned upwards, his almost green eyes twinkling with mischief as his chocolate hair fell over his forehead. Even if Bucky was on the shorter side, it did nothing to deter his beauty.

Your thoughts were interpreted by the loud snort of Bruce. "Come on, Buck. You are becoming such a pet of our Stevie. I don't know what treats he gives you but they sure look worth it. And as for her?" Bruce turned to you, head cocked with a raised eyebrow.

You sidestepped Bruce and came face to face with Bucky. You told him your name. "People call me Luna, I'm his friend from college."

Bucky let out a breathy chuckle. "Honey, he changed colleges like clothes. You'd have to be more specific."

"Very first college, Buck. You know." Bruce said nonchalantly and your head snapped to glare at him. You were half upset when you thought his brothers didn't know about you but as Bucky's flicked over you and your cheeks heated up. You wanted them to forget about you.

You glanced at Bucky with an awkward smile as realisation dawned on him and his mouth curved in a o shape. He stuck out his hand for you with a warm smile. "Don't worry, doll face. Only I and Bruce know about you and his… friendship." You shook it.

"Bruce, I didn't know she was such a beauty. You should have told us. We would have taken her with us." You and Bucky laughed. However, Bruce only narrowed his eyes and his jaw ticked.

"I should escort her to her room." Bucky said.

"But that's my duty."

"No, Harlan wants to discuss AI so he needs you. Plus, I have a message to deliver to, doll face."

Bruce huffed and nodded reluctantly. All three of you went to the stairs before diverging. However, you still felt Bruce's eyes as you glanced over your shoulder and found him looking longingly at you. You gave him a smile before he disappeared down the stairs.

"So what is the message you have to deliver, Mr. Barnes?" You ask in a whisper.

Bucky suddenly hooked his arm in your and pulled you towards him, making your breath hitch at the closeness as his heady scent made you dizzy.

"It's Bucky Alaïa wants you to meet her in the garden at 5. She wants you to meet Ransom." He whispered back in your ear and you gulped as it sounded like a dark lullaby to your brain.

"O-okay." You stammeredq out as your room finally arrived.

"Bye, bye, doll face." Bucky rasped close to your face and you were almost disappointed that you arrived so quickly.

Now that Bucky had left, his words registered in your brain. Why the fuck did Alaïa want you to meet Ransom? Was she planning on making you a mistress? You should really stop reading those reddit stories.

-

You dressed into a black, long dress after taking a nice shower and scrubbing away all the dirt and sweat. After shower feeling was the best feeling.

You gilded down the stairs, stepping into the bustling living room. You promptly avoided all of the people and made a beeline for the door leading to the garden. But you stumbled forward, almost falling to the ground as someone had just stepped on your dress. Perfect!

You turned around and your scathing words died an untimely death on your tongue as your eyes landed on the burly man. A phone pressed between his shoulder and ear as his brows were furrowed in concentration and frustration, his pink lips jutting out as his blonde hair made his blue eyes shine even brighter.

Steve Rogers. Even if he looked a tid bit more approachable than his twin, he still wasn't someone to mess with. And if you cussed at him, well then you could say goodbye to your career.

You sighed and tentatively stepped closer to him. Gingerly, you touched his bicep.

"Hey, stay away from him!" A coarse, deep voice thundered, making you shriek away from Steve as it left you shaking with fear.

This caught Steve's attention as he looked at you and then at his right. "Clark, where are your manners? Yelling at a lady? And for no reason?"

Clark hissed but you weren't able to look at him. "Shit, brother. I wasn't yelling at her. The man behind you, he has a knife."

You furrowed your brows and turned behind to a worker holding a knife with a deer caught in headlights look.

Steve raised an eyebrow at him as he quickly stuttered out. "This is to open a package." And tossed the knife to a nearby worker who disappeared to the storage room.

Steve sighed heavily. "Clark, I can defend myself, you know that right? Why do you overreact so much? And did you not see her?" And pointed at you.

Clark replied after a beat of silence. "I genuinely didn't. I'm sorry…" He started walking towards you but you only recoiled into Steve with each step he took.

You didn't want his apology, at least not right now. You were far too shaken to think coherently.

Steve sighed and coiled an arm around your clinging form and caressed your side. "Clark, not right now. She's far too shaken up to not cry or scream at you. Try again, later."

"But, brother-"

"Leave." He said through gritted teeth.

Clark's footsteps faded away as you involuntarily hid in his chest, his earthy scent grounding you as he shushed you. "Hey, doll. It's okay, it's alright. He won't hurt you, no one would. It was just a misunderstanding, stop shaking babydoll." He cooed.

His soft deep voice relaxed you but as soon as the fear was gone, embarrassment burnt your cheeks as you stepped away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… " You rasped. Did you just rub yourself on The Steve Rogers like a needy kitten?

"Don't say that, doll. My brother caused it so I must fix it."

"Thank you and-" You yelped as you descended down the floor. His foot was still on your dress. Great!

You braced yourself for the impact but bounced in two strong arms as your hands flew to his forearms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was standing on your dress." He said when you snapped your eyes open.

You were swimming in his blue gaze of concern and sincerity. "Yeah, that's what I was trying to say."

"What's your name, doll? Hmmm?" He asked after brought you back to your feet. Your eyes fluttered as his knuckles ran softly over your cheek.

You told him your name.

"Doll is much better, suits you well. Where were you going, anyway?" He quietly asked.

"I-um, I was going to meet Ransom."

"Oh, I was going to meet him as well. Let's go together."

"No, thank you." You politely declined.

"Come with me." He said and dragged you towards the garden.

-

You talked with Ransom till seven, he wasn't at all like the media projected him. Maybe he changed for Alaïa as he was really committed and determined to do things right. They had your blessings to put your feelings into words.

After Steve dragged you to the garden. He was courteous enough to let you talk to your friend and Ransom privately before he joined.

Then you went to finally meet Harlan and had the overdue talk. He wanted to discuss the latest trends in the writing industry and how to incorporate it in his company's branding. So, that it could appeal to younger audience.

It was a long and draining conversation and you deeply sighed, leaning against the wooden door of Harlan's office. You were finally going to the garden, which you wanted to revisit since you stepped foot in it.

"Miss?"

You gasped at the voice and started for the stairs but Clark's body blocked your path, pushing you against the door.

"I didn't want to scare you." He said, genuinely remorseful.

"You are doing that right now." You snapped and he put up his hands in surrender.

"It's not intentional, I swear."

It might not be. The brothers were tall, except Bucky but Clark was a beast. His biceps were larger than your hand and he practically dwarfed you with his sheer shadow. His eyes were also blue but they had a brown sprinkled in them. He had a little beard with a moustache that made him look even more intimidating and sexy. You had never seen a man who looked this sexy in a moustache.

"Well then be more mindful." You bit back.

He nodded and snaked his hand behind him and pulled out a rose. And not just any rose but a black rose. Where he found it you had no idea but it mesmerized you nonetheless. It was something you had only seen on television and seeing it in real life left you agape.

He offered the rose to you. "I'm sorry, princess." He whispered, the nickname heating up your cheeks.

You gingerly took the rose and let a giddy smile tug on your lips. "Okay, I forgive you. Just remember you are way bigger and stronger than most people. Use your strength wisely." He nodded with a bunny smile and you smiled back before heading to the garden.

You loudly and walked into the garden in peace. Walking in the open at night was another level of tranquillity that you didn't get very often, thanks to your dorm in the concrete jungle.

You twirled the rose in your hand, halting at nearby flowers. You bit your lips wanting to pluck some and put them in a vase. Even though they wouldn't last forever, the contrast would still look appealing.

But you didn't have the permission of any of the Drysdale.

"Couldn't sleep?" A dark baritone voice said from behind.

You flinched and turned around to be greeted by Andy Barber, wearing a simple white tee and sweats. A silver chain peeking through the collar as a smirk danced across his bearded cheeks.

"Pleasure meeting you, Mr. Barber."

"The feeling is mutual, miss. How's your headache now?" He raised a brow.

You told him your name and nickname. "And it's much better now, thanks for asking."

"Hmmm, Luna, so fitting for the person and the setting," He erased the distance between you two in two long strides and glanced at you. "I couldn't blame you. The night is beautiful."

"But the garden is even more beautiful." You said as he glanced at you.

"Indeed."

"I don't get to dwell in the greenery much." You resumed your walking.

"How so?" He followed.

"It's just study, sleep and sometimes relax for me."

"What are you studying?"

"Business, last year."

"Internship."

"Freelance." You said with a shake of your head. Andy somehow liked your presence and so did you. He was like the ocean.

"And won't you ask me about my work?" He teased as you were back behind the bushes of colourful roses.

"I know everything about that, Mr. Barber."

"It's Andy, darling," He said and only then did you notice the distance, or lack thereof between you and him. "And so confident about it, darling?"

You swallowed through your smile. "Well, everybody knows about how your work is going. So I'm pretty confident."

He chuckled. "I like it. Tell me more."

You resisted the urge to narrow your eyes as he seemed way too interested in a mere student and you have also grown tired.

"A black rose?" He voiced suddenly, lifting your hand to examine the item.

"Yes, isn't it unique?"

"That it is. Who gave you this?" He demanded softly.

You hesitated before speaking. "Mr. Kent."

"Who?" Andy asked as if you had told him the answer to the Bermuda Triangle mystery.

"Mr. Kent " You squealed as his thumb brushed the underside of your hand.

"Why?"

"Because he accidentally scared me by screaming."

He huffed out a chuckle. "Typical of Clark," He walked closer to you, ceasing the distance between you two completely. You averted your eyes as the tension grew. "It'll look better with some companions."

His hand went above your head and you gasped as he presented you red, yellow, white and light pink roses.

"Andy, you don't have the permission for that." You breathed and shook your head.

"Oh honey, I have all the permission you need." He said and handed you the roses. "Take them, they'll look good together."

You nodded. "Ah, actually I'm feeling sleepy and I'm kinda an insomniac, so it's an opportunity I can't miss. We'll resume our conversation tomorrow." You lied.

He pondered over your words, making you nervous before he smiled and nodded. "Of course, sleep is important. Especially to a beauty like you."

You offered a parting smile and walked away. You hugged yourself as a chill ran down your spine. It was not because of the cold night but the gaze that bore into you and the dark aura that clung to you, you couldn't shake it off even when you tried.

You felt something would change drastically, what and how. You didn't know.

Taglist: @goldenharrysworld , @magnificentsaladllama , @iloveavengers , @charmed-asylum , @moonstruckbirdie

[wolfjackle-creates]

WIP Wednesday

So, here's a short excerpt for WIP Wednesday (963 words)! Thank you for everyone who followed my new writing blog, the response has been so unbelievable.

Trigger Warning: Discussion of parental death

Original Prompt Fill

1st Shared Segment

-----

IKnowYourSecrets: hey

IKnowYourSecrets: I know this isnt something weve done before

IKnowYourSecrets: you said you got a cell for your last bday

IKnowYourSecrets: can I call you?

IKnowYourSecrets: heres my number XXX-XXX-XXXX

-xXPolarisXx-: is everything ok?

-xXPolarisXx-: dont answer that

-xXPolarisXx-: obv not

-xXPolarisXx-: my phones in my room brb

Danny ran up stairs to grab his phone and return to the computer before anyone could close out of his chat. He checked the number and dialed it, closing out of everything and logging out as the call connected.

“Tim?” he asked as soon as the ringing stopped. “What’s happened?”

“Danny? I… this is weird talking like this.” Tim’s voice was rough and Danny couldn’t tell if that was from emotion or just how he normally sounded.

Danny laughed a little. “Yeah. It is. Give me a sec, let me get to my room and I’ll shut the door. Give us some privacy.”

“I… yeah. I might need a few minutes.”

“Are you okay?”

Tim made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob and Danny all but ran up the stairs. “No, not really. Um. My mom’s dead.”

“What?!" What was the appropriate response to something like this? Sometimes he wished he had Jazz's way with words. "What happened?”

“She and dad were in the Caribbean." Tim let out a huff. "I didn’t even know they were in the Caribbean.”

Danny made a noise to indicate he was listening, but waited for Tim to continue.

“There was a local villain named Obeah man. He captured them and held them ransom. Gave them some water to drink at some point, but… it was poisoned. By the time Batman got there, it was too late. Mom died.” Tim gave another half-hysterical laugh. “And my dad is in a coma. He may never wake up.” His voice trailed off.

Danny swallowed. How does anyone respond to news like that? “I’m so sorry, Tim. How are you holding up? What’s going to happen now?”

“The funeral is in two days. Bruce is organizing it. And I’m going to stay with him, I guess. He said he’d be happy to foster me until my dad gets better.”

“Shit, Tim. Text me during the funeral if you need to.”

“I might take you up on that. You won’t mind?”

“Of course not. Every 5 seconds if you need to.”

“Distract me. What’s going on in your life? I don’t want to think about any of this anymore.”

“Oh, uh, all right. Are you sure?”

“Please, Danny.”

“If you change your mind, interrupt me anytime.” Danny chewed his lip. What on earth could he talk about in response to news like that? The test he had in English last week? That sounded so trite. “I did start karate training with…” he trailed off before he could say his mom. “Anyway, it’s going all right. I’ve basically only been taught basic moves. I only get lessons two or three times a month so it’s slow going.”

Tim’s voice was still shaky, but he seemed to latch onto the topic to Danny’s relief. “You really have to give it your all if you want to succeed. Have you learned the basic stances and things?”

“Some, I think.”

“Hold those positions. Stand in your room and just hold them for ten minutes at a time. And practice the same punch over and over. Even if your m—” Tim’s voice caught and he changed course “—instructor can’t make it. Would you be allowed to sign up for classes? Get something more consistent?”

“We don’t have the money.” Danny bit back the embarrassment he felt at admitting that. Tim was rich-rich and never had to worry about things like bills. “Ghost hunting doesn’t really pay. My parents are at least good engineers so they can fix our own appliances and vehicles. Sometimes dad or mom will fix stuff for the neighbors for some extra money.”

Tim hummed in understanding and didn’t push the issue. “How did they even get into ghosts to begin with?”

“If we ever end up in the same place, you are not allowed to ask that directly to my parents. Don’t mention ghosts at all. They won’t stop talking for hours. As for how they got into it… Dad’s always believed in the supernatural. He could’ve just as easily started tracking big foot or the Loch Ness Monster. But he met mom in university and she was stuck on ghosts. Dragged him in, too. And he’s obsessive. Once he decides on something, that’s it.

“They were both studying the supernatural and had to decide what to focus on for their doctoral research. Mom’s hated ghosts since she was a teenager. Apparently she and a friend were dared to go into a haunted house one Halloween. She doesn’t talk about it much, but her friend died that night. She blames the ghosts and has dedicated her life to hunting them ever since.”

Tim clicked his tongue. “Wow. It almost makes sense with that back story.”

Danny snorted. “Ghosts aren’t real. I dunno what killed her friend, but it wasn’t a ghost. Wish they’d decided to hunt Bigfoot instead.”

“Really? Why do you say that?”

Danny looked out his window and stared at the setting sun. “If they were hunting bigfoot, we’d probably go camping more often. And I like camping. You get the best views of the stars that way.”

“What’s your favorite constellation?”

“That’s like asking who my favorite Star Trek character is! There’s too many to choose. But do you know the folk history of Polaris? It’s why I chose my username.” Danny talked to Tim about the stars and space until Alfred called him away for dinner. They made plans to talk online again later.

-----

Next

Now, I have a question for y'all. I was planning on finishing the entire work then publishing on a once a week basis until finished (or twice a week if I had more chapters than I expect). I've got the first chapter mostly done, just need to rewrite one section and change a few lines elsewhere. I also have the next 1.5 chapters mostly done on a first draft. I could start posting now, but I can't guarantee a posting schedule and I'll probably have to take a hiatus or two as I plan to get a new job and move sometime in the next few months.

So my question, do you want me to post now or wait? It'll probably be several months if not a year before I finish depending on how long I take and how many other projects catch my eye.

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In other news, the creator of the original prompt started their own fill, too! If you read mine, I am requiring you to check theirs as well because it is amazing 💕. Tumblr Link and AO3 Link

Tag List

@gremlin-bot, @bonebrokebuddy, @britcision, @lady-time-lord-, @welcometosasakiworld, @akikkobara, @phoenixdemonqueen, @dolfay, @skulld3mort-1fan, @we-ezer, @markus209, @sjrose1216, @onyxlightdragon, @dragonsrequiem, @jesus-camp-the-sequel, @spidey29phangirl, @kyrianclawraith, @evilminji, @introvert-even-on-the-internet, @emergentpanda-blog, @lexdamo, @v-inari, @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit, @longlivethefallen

I removed the names of some people who requested a tag back in November but didn’t interact with the last snippet I shared. Since it’s been so long, I wasn’t sure if you were still interested. I’ll be more than happy to add anyone else, re-add anyone I took off, or take off anyone who doesn’t want future tags! Or start a separate list just for after there’s an AO3 link. Just let me know!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Okay, everyone, let’s talk Taskmaster speculation. I hate how stuff about the lineup for the following season can overshadow a season before it ends, or sometimes, like in this case, before it starts. It was around this time last year that they announced the Taskmaster season 17 studio filming dates, which perfectly coincided with some live gigs John Robins had canceled, so we all took time to get excited about that s17 lineup spoiler before season 16 had ever begun to air. Now, season 18 hasn’t started yet but we’re already talking about 19.

Spoiler alert, obviously, for vague speculation. I have no inside information or anything, so if you click through, you won’t be party to anything that’s meant to be secret. Just guesses based on publicly available information, which I know some people like to avoid, to preserve the surprise.

First of all, I find this Reddit post from a few weeks ago interesting. That obviously can’t be the exact five person lineup. First of all, Scroobius Pip would be a possible NYT candidate, probably not close enough to comedy for the main show. Secondly, obviously, all-white lineup. Thirdly, there’s no overseas person on the list, and we know from Alex’s recent interview that the season will contain that.

So it won’t be all five, but it could be a few of those. Social media evidence has been surprisingly accurate before, I remember in season 12, people accurately predicted 4/5 names before the studio filming started, just based on who’d recently followed Alex and each other. This may of course be wishful thinking on my part, that such vague social media evidence means anything, because that list contains two people who are on the shortlist of my dream contestants. Josie Long and Chris Addison would both be wonderful on there, particularly if they somehow ended up on the same season as each other.

Josie Long really should be there. She was the only women on the original Edinburgh Taskmaster in 2010, where there were a lot of men. Look at all the men in this video:

The non-Josie Long contestants there were: Dan Atkinson, Jarred Christmas, James Dowdeswell, Tim Fitzhigham, Steve Hall, Tim Key, Lloyd Langford, Mark Watson, Henning Wehn, Joe Wilkinson, Mike Wozniak, and Tom Wrigglesworth. Josie Long spent a lot of years being the "only girl in the lineup" for lots of things, between when she started stand-up in 1997 and when they invented other female comedians in 2014 (I apologize to Jo Brand for that joke, who also spent years holding it down for women on panel shows before they let women on panel shows, no women were allowed to do that stuff in the 00s unless they were named Josephine). I think she should be compensated for that in the 2020s by being allowed to appear on pretty much anything she likes.

More significantly, she was also on the second of the Taskmaster live Edinburgh shows, in 2011. See if you can spot the odd one out in the contestants from The Taskmaster 2011: Bruce Dessau, Dan Atkinson, Henning Wehn, Joe Wilkinson, Josie Long, Lloyd Langford, Mark Watson, Steve Hall, Stuart Goldsmith and Tim Key. Yes, you are right, the odd one out is Bruce Dessau, for not being a comedian. Was he ever a comedian? It did not occur to me to wonder that until right now, did most comedy reviewers start out their careers as comedians, the way most sports commentators started out as athletes in that sport? I don't know. It's not important. But if he was ever a comedian, he sure wasn't one anymore by 2011, and it is notable that when recruiting comedians for his comedy show, Alex Horne brought in the same number of reviewers who don't perform comedy, as he did of women who do perform comedy.

Obviously the odd one out in the above list is actually Josie Long, as the only woman again. And I say this one is more significant because she made the finals, where she faced off against Stuart Goldsmith in a battle of who could fit the most grapes in their mouth, administered by 2010 champion Mike Wozniak:

and she won:

Mike Wozniak won the first live Taskmaster event, and he's been on the TV show. Josie Long, by rights as a live Edinburgh Taskmaster champion, should be. In addition to her being, you know, a very talented comedian and generally funny person who would be absolutely excellent on Taskmaster.

She has now done two full shows in the last five years, and is working on a third, about how she's very very busy these days, creating and then raising two children, and has moved to Glasgow so getting down for London-based comedy shows isn't so easy, so it's possible that she's been offered a spot on previous Taskmaster seasons and turned it down, which would be fair enough. But she should definitely qualify for an offer, for a number of reasons, some of which are real (I do sort of genuinely think that winning one of the original live Taskmaster events should earn someone the chance to be part of it when it becomes a lucrative television show, but obviously far more significant is that she's a very talented comedian and generally funny person who would be absolutely excellent on Taskmaster), and some of which are not (I was joking about the reparations for female comedians who were on panel shows before that 2014 rule, mostly, I mean it does feel like they should get something).

A friend of mine noticed that some gigs she did in London, back in June, had an odd hole in them that could be shaped like the filming of Taskmaster house tasks, for someone who lives in Glasgow and, if she had to go down to London to film a TV show, would want to make the most of the trip and plan some stand-up gigs around it. That, combined with the social media evidence presented on Reddit (and the fact that she surely has more right to a spot than anyone else who's not been on it yet), makes me think there's a reasonable chance of her being on season 19. I may be starting to believe this theory a bit too much, I need to pull back on that so I won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen. It's two pieces of evidence, but they're both fairly flimsy and circumstantial.

Chris Addison was also on that list of people who've moved into Alex Horne's social media orbit, and there is, of course, lots of precedent in his Tweets for making his feelings toward that show clear. First, a couple of Tweets that let us know he's not off in Glasgow doing his own thing; if he's not been on Taskmaster it's because he's not been given the offer:

And he's tried various Twitter tactics to get that offer, including showing off his knowledge of the show:

Flattery:

Selling his potential, and reverse psychology, combined into one Tweet:

And just implying that his casting is inevitable, like that'll manifest it into existence:

Chris Addison has been campaigning for ages to get a Taskmaster spot, and I think he'd make great TV if that happened. God, imagine a team with him and Josie Long together. How excellent would that be? Oh, and if he's on season 19, that's 2/3 of The Department covered in two seasons. Only one more member of that radio show they'd still need, if only Taskmaster would suddenly decide they're interested in casting someone who lives overseas, is a big name there, but maybe still has some connection to British comedy...

No, obviously I know the "overseas contestant" to whom Alex recently referred can't be John Oliver. They'll be filming the studio portions of season 19 during the peak of the American election campaign, John Oliver's a bit busy these days to fly to England and count eggs or whatever. If it was going to happen, it would have been last year during the writer's strike, when John had just done the Horne Section TV show and could surely have fit in an NYT filming. I'd love to get my hopes up, but not this time.

I am interested in the speculation about who the American will be, though. Obviously my first thought was of Paul F. Tompkins, as he's done the Taskmaster podcast twice, both times claiming to be a huge fan of the show, and backing up that claim by frequently beating Ed Gamble at knowing Taskmaster history. He said both times that he'd love to be on it, has even though about things like what his costume would be.

He was my first thought, and then I read that he's performing in the UK in September, so that seems like a pretty strong case for him. I thought I read at some point that he was doing the Comedy Bang Bang tour and then some other gigs with a possible Taskmaster-sized hole in between, and if that were true, it would be very clear evidence, either he's doing Taskmaster or he's pranking the public into thinking he is. But upon further research I don't think that's true, he'd doing the podcast tour and that's it. I still think he's a very likely candidate, just not as clear-cut as if he were doing one thing in Britain, and then another thing with a hole in the middle. If anyone else has also read that thing that I think I read somewhere that says he's doing that, and you know what that is, please let me know because I'd like to know if I've missed something and that's true after all.

My guess for the American contestant is still Paul F. Tompkins, and I think he'd be fun. Admittedly I only know him from Bojack Horseman and those two Taskmaster podcast episodes, but I generally assume anyone who was in Bojack Horseman is probably cool (partly because that show was a masterpiece, but it's not like Paul F. Tompkins wrote it, so I think that view mainly comes from a subconscious assumption I have that anyone who's ever met Kristen Schaal has to be all right), and he was very good on those Taskmaster podcast episodes.

Either way, I think this is a good time for me to jump on the Paul F. Tompkins bandwagon. I've had his stand-up on my list of stuff to get to for ages, and I think I'll watch/listen to that stuff now. If he's on Taskmaster, then great, I've jumped on a bandwagon at the right time and I'll go in knowing more about him. If he's not, I think I'll still have a good time with his comedy, as I keep hearing how great it is. There really is a lot I don't know about American comedy.

Besides Tompkins, from the vague evidence I've seen, I think Hank Green is an outside shot at the overseas Taskmaster contestant. I don't know what Dropout is and I hope Taskmaster doesn't force me to find out.

[vipower001]

DC x DP crossover (Victorian gothic styled Danny) pt2: (part 1 https://at.tumblr.com/vipower001/part-1/mn9ekooby0fo )

I just cried for a solid two hours over my math midterm, Not sobbing, oh no, no no no, I was laughing and crying, if I didn't have tears quietly running down my face then you would have thought I just heard the funniest joke...anyway, my mother told me to go study my other class but I think I would actually have a break down if I did so I am instead giving yall the long-awaited and much asked for part two of my victorian styled Danny phantom.

Also, I want this to be clear that yall are freely allowed to "steal" this idea. Want to make a fanfic about this? Go for it. Want to make your own crossover idea with this? Go for it. Want to do ANYTHING with this idea? GO FOR IT!!!! cause this will go absolutely nowhere with me. Just remember to at least tag or mention me/the original post. Thanks, now on to what yall've all been waiting for

______________________________________________________________

Danny has been alive for a while now so he has some money saved up under the guise of it being an inheritance. He also has some money from Vlad that he was given. So what is an immortal 23-year-old to do with all this bank??? Why buy a nice BIG manor of course! So Danny moves into his new home and guess who it neighbors? The Wayne manor.

Bruce hears about a new neighbor and good-old-Brucie Wayne being the good neighbor decides to take his youngest with him to greet this new person (the other bats weren't staying at the manor at that time). So Bruce goes and knocks a the front door expecting a housekeeper or someone who works for this new Neighbor, only for him to be surprised by the unknown meta that saved him in the ally.

He is shocked and all training and discipline are thrown out the window because he can finally get a good look at the meta without the darkness of night and shadows of the ally and, holy fuck, they look so much like his father. Bruce is just standing there with wide eyes and mouth agape for a few minutes until he is shaken out of his shock of seeing a younger version of his father by said impersonator when they cleared their throat to draw his attention.

" Are you ok?" They ask "It looks like you saw a ghost," They say with a chuckle like they just told a joke only they could understand.

Finally out of his shock bruce puts on his Brucie face and while chucking himself, though it is to get rid of the tension, says "I'm sorry, you just look like someone I used to know."

"I must just have that face I suppose. Is there something I could help you with today?" says the stranger

"OH YES, how could I forget our sole purpose of coming here! I'm Bruce Wayne and this is my youngest Damian, we heard that you recently moved in, and since we are neighbors we thought it be polite to say hello."

"That's very kind of you, My name is Danny, Danny Nightengale Fenton it's a pleasure to me the both of you"

'So the mystery meta's name is Danny' thought Bruce 'Now I have a name to search up.'

"Would you like to come inside Big Wayne and Little Wayne?"

Damian scoffs at being called little, turning his nose up to him and leveling Danny with a glare that says it all. Danny just laughs at his expression, filling Damian with more reasons to stab the man. Because, if his father was so startled to see this man then he must be suspect of something, it doesn't help that he fits the description of the meta that saved His father in that ally way the night he came back with a haunted expression.

"Thank you for offering Mr.Fenton but I'm afraid we don't have time today. Mabey we could reschedule for another time, and then you could meet the rest of my children as well if you would like?"

"Danny is fine, it's what everyone calls me, and I would love to meet the rest of your flock Mr. Wayne."

filing the strange use of words away for later Bruce responds, "Please, call me Bruce. Now we must get going, it was lovely meeting you Danny," with a wave.

"Goodbye Bruce...and little Wayne." and with a final smirk shuts the door.

Damian tch's as he turns to walk away, once again displeased with being called little. He is the son of Batman and heir to the title! He was raised as an assassin and could kill before he could walk! He is not little, he is simply lacking in height at the moment but will surely be as tall as his father one day. And so with a final glare at the closed door, he enters the car that he and his father took to visit Danny.

Once they're in the car and driving away from the manor housing their newest neighbor Bruce lets his Brucie persona slip and replaces it is Batman.

Danny is the name of the meta. Danny is strong enough to take down a few terrorists singlehandedly. Danny can seemingly vanish into thin air, Invisibility or teleportation? Danny looks young, possibly early 20's. Danny has enough money to live in a manor. Danny is his new neighbor. Danny looks like Thomas Wayne.

Sighing, Batman ignores the last thing on his mental list for now. It's best to not let himself get distracted by someone who so happens to look like his late father, acts similarly to him, smirks like he used to. He is brought back to the night in the ally after Danny saved him, how Danny made sure he was ok and how he draped his coat over Bruce just...just like his father used to.

Perhaps it is a good idea to look into this unknown meta more, because why did he feel so familiar? why did he feel like his father comforting him after he fell or got lost? why did he feel...like home?

(everyone that asked to be tagged: @adventure-aesthetic @cosmic-monstrosity @markus209 @blacksea21090 if I forgot someone I am sorry...I'm too stressed to fully care right now.)

[benjinoff13]

CATWS through a blackhill lens

part 1: Fury’s “death”

before i get into this is just wanna say that these are just my headcanons, when i have a non canon ship i like to find a way to ship them that allows me to still enjoy the canon story meaning i often find a way around the story that we get, this means that with blackhill i have to find a way around nat and steve, nat and bruce, but most importantly, the undeniable tension between nat and maria in catws, if you don’t like blackhill or disagree with this that’s fine, just don’t read

in my headcanon nat and maria get together during their shield days, maybe even before we first meet nat in iron man 2, i believe they're going strong during avengers and their relationship is tested during catws which i will discuss in these posts

there's a lot happening in catws and blackhill wise i think it's by far the most interesting movie, i'll be discussing several scenes but this post is about fury's "death"

when the scene where fury is in surgery starts we see nat and steve looking into the operating room (i won't be discussing how weird it is that they can do that), steve is already there and nat joins him in the room, on the left we can see maria on the phone

pretty soon maria joins nat and steve, she looks into the operating room for a second, the three of them briefly discuss what happened which leads to my favorite canon blackhill moment, nat guesses the bullets that were used to shoot fury are soviet made and maria confirms this by simply saying "yeah", now this doesn't sound like anything interesting but i recommend ya’ll to rewatch this scene cause the way she says it is just so so soft, with the way she says this one simple word maria is trying to say "i'm here for you, i know this is hard, this isn't your fault, you did everything you could, it's gonna be okay, i love you" because she can't say those actual words, she cant hold nat's hand and hug her an let her fall apart against her, neither of them want that, both because there's other people there and because nat isn't ready to feel her feelings like that just yet, she doesn't want to accept this and she doesn't want to acknowledge her grief, maria knows this

maria also knows better than anyone what fury meant to nat, he was (is) the closest thing nat had to a father and at this point he’s one of the very few people that know about her relationship with maria, maria knows losing fury would mean losing a family member, knowing what it means to nat and also losing someone very important herself we can tell that maria is extremely emotional, i have to say that to me it isn't clear whether maria knows fury's death is fake at this point but considering her reaction i don't think she knows, maria is a good liar but nobody can act that well

after the doctors call time of death steve walks away (it's important to note there are still a few people standing behind maria and nat, at no point are they alone during this scene), we get these two shots of just maria and nat that i am absolutely in love with, the first is of both of them still looking into the o.r. we can tell both of them are absolutely distraught, as i said before fury meant a lot to them both as individuals and to their relationship, nat is absolutely speechless which doesn't happen often and our “hardass hill" has a red nose from stress and crying, if you rewatch the scene you can even see maria’s lip quivering

in the second shot we see maria leaning against the windowsill in front of them, i interpret this is her offering her hand in case nat wants to take it, you can see her left hand is at shoulder width while the right hand reaches towards nat, she would never take nat's hand in front of coworkers without asking and she also wants to give nat space which we will later learn she needs a lot, but she wants to offer that comfort to natasha regardless, maria taps her finger a few times to draw nat’s attention to her hand and to tell her she can hold it if she needs to, after a few second natasha still doens't take maria's hand, it’s too much, too soft, there’s too many people there, she simply can’t

in the next scene we see nat saying goodbye to fury with steve standing in the back, again it start with the two of them and then maria enters the scene, she tells steve that she needs to take fury's body, by saying this she implies she wants steve to tell nat it's time, we don't know if maria and nat talked in between these scenes but i don't think they did, i believe their relationship started to slip after new york and fury's "death" was the final drop, there's so much strain on their relationship and they're both going through so much that at this point they're feeling more distant from each other than they have in years, natasha shuts herself off and puts her walls back up that maria spent years breaking down, they're scared that if they talk about what's going on they'll either break down and lose sight of the mission or lose each other, so they don't talk at all

again we see maria more emotional than we have ever seen or will ever see her, after a few second steve goes to get nat

and then this last shot i'll talk about is also the most heartbreaking to me, i can't imagine how heartwrenching is must be for maria to not be able to comfort nat in this situation and have to see someone else try to do this, deep down she wants to wrap nat in her arms and let both nat and herself break down but neither of them have time for that so instead she watches the love of her life lose one of the most important people to her and be comforted by her new friend that they barely know, first she looks at them, then she simply can't bare it anymore and looks away, she can't look at fury's body, she can't look at natasha's heartbroken expression and she can't look at steve standing in the spot she should be in, so she looks away

finally nat walks away and maria can't resist, she glances towards nat, she has to look at her, one second of eye contact will tell her enough, will nat leave forever or will she come back to her, will she feel her feelings or will she focus too much on the mission and self destruct, will she dissapear or will she break her old pattern, nat doesn't look up, so maria never finds out what she needs to know, and more importantly, she doesn't get to look into nat's eyes which is the only thing that could bring her the slightest bit of comfort and ease

part 2: the bunker scene (coming soon)

part 3: nat and steve (coming soon)

part 4: snippets (coming soon)

[madds-is-ace-trash]

Mother of the storms and her star child Ch. 3

(Part 1) (Part 2) ( Ya here sweet heart) ( Part 4) So um y'all like scare me, I've never had any one eat up what i write so um here's chapter 3.

Summary: Off to the manor we go, the boy gets some medical attention. maybe has panic attack who hurt this boy.

Chapter 3: A manors worth of scars

*knock* *knock *knock*

Dick eyes flicker open, if not for the slight crick in his neck that is the best he's slept in a long time. He goes to sit up a sudden weight shifting on his chest. OH shoot that's right he fell asleep holding that kid last night. What time is it? Should he … put him down? What if it wakes him up?

*knock* *knock* *knock* 

Shoot right, the door, he stands up shifting the kid to lay on his shoulder with little protest. He opens the door a little “ Yes?” he asks softly as not to wake the bundle in his arms.  At the other side he is greeted by… Cass. Hu she almost never came all the way out here.  “ O it's you Cass,” he opens the door and gestures for her to come inside. “ Hey sorry, I just woke up so.” 

OH no i'm so sorry , Cass used sign language most of the time if she could help it.  She wasn't much of a talker but dick never minded it. She hurried inside and then eyed dick up and down. A smile curled across her face. 

“ Don't sweat it I should probably be up anyway, honestly” He glances at the clock, “ O dang it 7:30 already?”  He fumbles into his kitchen to turn on the coffee pot, and looks like was running late today. 

New nephew? Cass giggled looking at the boy still sound asleep in dicks arms. Who would've guessed that the adoptive tendencies were contagious. 

“ Ah yes right Alfred probably sent you? I found him coming home from patrol” Cass eyed her brother, her smile devious. “ O geez Cass don't look at me like that, what was I supposed to do to leave him?”  

“ No of course not,” she says softly like a whisper on the wind. Her eyes are filled with a gentle expression. Perhaps we should get going though Alfred wants to check him out. Just as Cass finished her sentence an alarm began to blare in the room adjacent. The boy in dicks arms squirmed at the sudden noise.  Wrapping his arms around the man's neck pulling himself into the crook of his neck.

“ Shoot looks like I should just call off at work at this point and go with you guys hu? Gordans gonna be pissed.” Dick ran his free hand threw his hair pushing it out of face. Cass just giggled at him and grabbed his mug.

“ You should have taken the day off anyway, yesterday was… a lot,”  she turns on her heels towards the door forcing dick to follow her out the door. His shoes in her hand “ You can put them on in the car.” dang he wasn't getting out of this any time soon. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The car ride was uneventful dick was able to pry the kid off of him and into the car, the boy still groggy gave no protest and allowed himself to be buckled into the seat, before drifting back off. Dick was going to have to get a booster. Is it normal for kids to sleep this much? Well the kid looked tired when he found him. He still hasn't eaten anything, he should try to feed the kid again right? 

As if sensing dicks intunal panic, Cass chuckled, Already a mama bird? Dick couldn't help but chuckle she wasn't wrong, what was it about this kid that made all parental instincts scream. He had only had the boy for less than a day and yet he couldn't help worrying about him. 

Before he knew it he was standing on the manor steps, a groggy boy resting on his hip. He comes to the manner all the time. Why was he so nervous?  What was Bruce going to say, he should have brought the blanket so they could test it. 

“ Um…. where are we.?” The small boy in his arms rubbed his eyes and his slowblinks turned into confusion as he stared at the door in front of them. 

Before he could answer him the door slowly opened, Alfred standing on the other side, “ Master Dick I do believe knocking is customary to announce a arivial.” He raised an eyebrow at the man. Cass giggled behind him.

“Right… sorry,” dick ran his through his hair once more, the boy in his arms pulled his face against his chest hiding from the stranger. “ It's good to see you Al,” he sighed “ This is Danny” he gave them a reassuring rub on his back to try to coach him to look the butler in the face.  The boy didn't budge. Dick began to walk through the manor doors pacing the threshold into a familiar  entry way, a feeling of warmth rused over him. “ Danny? This is my friend Alfred,” he gently prodded, “ can you say hello?” The boy stuck out one his tiny hands and waved to the air, face still buried. “ He’s going to help us get you checked out ok?” 

At the end of that phrase the boy pushed himself away from dick, “ No! No doctors!” the boy said with a panicked expression. For the first time since dick had scoped the boy up from the alley he actively fought against dicks hold. With a surprising amount of strength the panicking child attempted to peel himself from dicks grip. Dick had to lunge forward to avoid dropping the boy onto the tiled floors.  

“Hey hey! Als not a doctor buddy,” shifting to his knees to avoid the boy from crashing down were he to escape. “ No doctors, your safe danny I promise” dick had the kid by his shoulders, danny's eyes were shut tight the kid scrambles his feet skidding against the tile. 

“Promise?”Danny stares at dick with wide worried eyes that make his heat sink. He was breathing fast, panting, shaking under dick grasp. 

Dick stared right back, “ I promise no one here is going to hurt you, not me, not Al, not cass, or any one else here ok?” He pulled the kid into a hug still on his knees even then the kid's head barely made it to his chest. “ The manor is the safest place I know”

“Ok” the kid hiced weakly, once again wrapping his arms around dicks allowing him to scop up the frightend child. 

“Young Danny was it?” Al gently prodded, Cass placing hand against dicks back in worry. The boy gave a small nod,peeking at the butler who threw the side of his eyes. The kid's stomach growled, he popped his head up in embarrassment before curling up once more. “ I guess that answers my question of if you would like something to eat?” The man smiled softly, his eyes filled with a gentleness familiar to all of the wanes.  “ Would you like to come to the dining room?”  Another small nod and off they marched. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cass Scurried to the closet that sat Adjacent to the dining room, reaching in and grabbing a small booster seat from inside. Bruce had always kept a few on hand long before Cassandra even moved into the manor. Another symptom of his chronic adoption problem she supposed. She couldn't help but laugh though her brother standing by the table holding a small child in his arms, If it wasn't for his long hair she would have mistaken him for bruce. 

The look of worry on her brother's face wasn't new to her. Oh, he was the oldest brother after all. The expression wasn't new; it often popped up in his face whenever someone was hurt on patrol, or if he was worried for their safety on a mission or even when he looked at Tim when he's clearly not gotten enough sleep. but this time it was different, almost hopeless and the way he gazed at the small boy in his arms. she couldn't help but feel the same worry:

 The boy had might as well had a panic attack right in the  foyer

What did someone do to him that he was so scared of doctors( it's normal for kids to be spooked but to panic?)

Why didn't he have shoes,

Why he wearing a shirt that was 5 sizes too big 

and lastly why was he so small. The boy was too small for his own good. He can not be older than 4 to 6.  His growth was clearly stunted by Malnutrition.  

She shook her head now was not the time to get wrapped up, she pressed on pulling out and placing the seat on a chair. Giving the kid a soft smile, she then gave the same smile to her brother. 

He set the kid down in the chair, his shoulders barely reaching the table even with the help. It would have to do for now. Her brother is sitting to his right. “ Can I sit next to you?” she asked softly, her voice quite. Danny eyed her up and down, then his face twisted as he thought about his answer. Whatever he had been considering he deemed safe. He gave her a nod and Cass slowly sat herself on the boy's left. 

As soon as she settled into her seat Alfred walked in from the kitchen with a tray in hand, he placed a cup of tea in front of Dick and Cass, a glass of orange juice for Danny, then a plate with eggs, toast and fruit for the three of them. The boy's face lit up, his ice blue eyes, looking at Alfred as if to ask if it was real. The butler shoots him a smile, “ if you find yourself wanting more, all you need is ask.” He returns to the kitchen most likely to not overwhelm the child who looks like a kid on christmas over some eggs. 

“Well go on,” dick said gently handing the boy a fork. Danny immediately starts digging in. They say nothing, Cass meets her brother's eyes, they look so sad. 

Did you see his face? Cass sines

Yhea, his frown grows, Over eggs nonetheless, he looked at Al like he was joking with him.

It's going to be ok, She reaches behind the boy to place a hand on her brother's shoulders, we'll make sure he gets everything he needs from now on, always.  A look of determination crossed her face, her brother matched it. A silent agreement, a silent promise. 

Danny Coughs, Dick's hand rushes to pat his back, “ Hey buddy let's slow down a bit,” her brother coos, “ don't wanna make yourself sick.”

The kids plate was practically empty already, Oh yeah she was keeping that promise. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Alfred warned that Richard was bringing a guest the last thing he expected was a kid. Let alone a black haired, blue eyed, scruffy kid. Dick did always take after Bruce but honestly it was almost comical.  

Tim had wandered down to the kitchen to refill his coffee. He did actually sleep even if it was for a few hours but that didn't mean he wasn't going just going to put off even more work. Tim snuck around the back way not wanting to interrupt the kid while he was eating, ( the kid was wolfing down food like he hadn't eaten in days, to be honest looking at the kid that might have been true.)  When he walked into the kitchen Alfred was already cutting up more fruit and had apparently decided that stars would be the shape of choice. 

“Master Tim, sleep well,” the old man smirked. “ Considering, you took the backway i'm assuming you saw the new guest?” 

“Uhhhh… yeah I did, he looked … busy so,” tim chuckled to himself, “ way for Dick to take after bruce though. He's already roped in Cass to it seems.”

“Yes well, I'd Advise avoiding young danny if possible for the moment,” the butler placed the star shaped fruit on a plate, “ seems to the skittish type best not to overwhelm him.”

“Yeah sure ill stay out of your hair,” guess he was eating in the room, oh well he can just get back to work faster “ O hey Al it looks like the kid could use that booster seat? Do we still have it?” 

“He’s in it Master Tim”

“WHAT!”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken a bit of coaching ( and maybe a bit of bribery with candy) to get the kid to let Alfred look him over. They were sitting in a bathroom, given Danny's freak out over a doctor's visit they figured it was a better bet then the med bay. Danny sat on the counter his legs swinging over the edge. Alfred had already prepped a bath, hoping if all went well he could at least mange to bathe the boy. 

“May I remove your shirt young daniel?'' Alfred moved slowly so as not to scare the boy, the kid was already partially curled in on himself. Alfred did not want to startel the boy by touching him without permission. 

Danny began to look around the room, Dick had followed them in as Danny seemed to be the most comfortable around him so far.  He eyed dick then curled farther in on himself digging his face into his shoulder. 

Alfred picked up on the boy's uneasiness, “ Would you be more comfortable if it was just me and you in the room?” he waited patiently as the boy thought it over and gave a little nod. “Well that's quite alright, Master Dick would you mind stepping out? It seems young Daniel would like some privacy.”

Dick gave the boy a soft smile, if he made it easier for Alfred to do his job he wouldn't fight it. “Yeah of course, i'll stay close by in case you need me. I'm just going to go down the hall and see if maybe Damian has something that'll fit him a little better.” 

“Thank you Master Dick,” Alfred waited for the door to click, he didn't want to rush the poor boy. “ Now that it's just us, can we please remove your shirt?” The kid tugged at the shirt a little but did not go to take it off. “ Would you like help? If you rather do it yourself that's fine as well.” 

“ I can do it,” he said softly. The boy began to slowly raise the shirt over his head, each inch it moved making the man fear they may be more than meets the eye than just a child abandoned in an alley. Scars so , so many scars littered the boy's body, burns and cuts all scattered his upper thighs and torso. The higher he brought the shirt the worse the injuries became. Alfred had not paid much mind to the lines on the boy's right arm when he had arrived at the manner, but now that he saw the whole array.  A Lichtenberg figure starting at the boy's hand, getting deeper in color and how much it was raised the closer it got to his chest. O my the boys chest that was the worst of it, the man had held his expression until he took in the boys chest. A huge Y shaped wound, Stil pink as if freshly closed, stitches, messy and inconstant still present. He could no longer hold the expression of comfort he was trying to, his face dropped filled with worry. When the boy finally got the shirt over his head. That was the face he was met with. 

“I'm sorry..” they boy hiced as if he was about to cry, why was he going to cry. Alfred knew the wound must have hurt but had he strained himself taking his shirt off?

“ Whatever do you have to be sorry for?,”Al recollected himself, this boy needed medical attention but if Alfred ruined this he could throw that out the window. 

“im… im sorry I know” the boy stared at his chest, his eyes glazing over with tears, “I know i'm disgusting.” 

“Now whoever said that?” Al had wanted to wait to tell Bruce, he knew he would find out soon that Dick had taken in a ward but whoever did this to this child was still lose. He wouldn't stand for it, no one would, a child. “We all have scars young danny, they do not make you disgusting.” 

The boy began to hyperventilate, he was overwhelmed. Alfred leaned back a little to give the boy some space. Danny began to cry, his chest heaving pulling at the improper stitching, Al knew it had to hurt. He did the only thing he could, he went to embrace the boy but before he made contact the boy had disappeared? His crying was still audible, he hadn't left the room. “ Danny it's ok, i'm not going to hurt you,” he stepped back standing by the door, “can you come out? I just need to check your wounds ok? I just want to help you.” He had seen scars on all of the bats and birds, it came with the job, but this was different. 

The soft whimpers did not stop, or seem to settle, the kid must be a meta. Tac it on the list of concerning information, the boy being a meta wasn't that big of a deal but mixed with the Y shaped mark on the boys chest. Well lets just say Alfred did not like the implication not one bit. “ no please, stop, no no no” The child echoed softly across the bathroom. That confirmed it, a panic attack.

Alfred opened the door, lisseing to make sure the whimpering didn't move from its spot in the corner. “ Master Dick I am afraid I may require your help in here” Dick immediately made a sprint from where he was standing to the bathroom, slowing a few feet before the door so he didn't scare the kid. Damian looked down the hall in confusion and proceeded to slam his door shut. 

Dick slowly walked in the bathroom, Alfred shutting the door, looking around the bathroom for the kid. His face plastered with confusion, “ Uhh Al where did he go?” 

“ Well I believe he's in that corner,” He gestured to the far corner of the bathroom opposite the tub where he could hear Danny crying.

“Al there's no one there?”

“Yes well I do believe the boy may be a meta, perhaps a familiar face will help him reveal himself. I'm afraid I might have scared him” Al looked at dick and it seemed that the young man caught on.

“Well this isn't good.” Dick said in a huff running his hands threw his hair.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dick knew that look on the old man's face, he hated it. He only made that face when something dire was happening. And considering he had a meta kid with unknown powers and unknown injuries he had an idea why he was making that face.

“Hey little buddy, are you alright?” He sat on his knees looking towards the corner that Danny's crying was coming from. “ I'm sorry we scared you” damn how was he going to calm this kid down he knew nothing about him.

“I do not think you are disgusting young danny, i'm sorry if anything i did made you feel otherwise,” Alfred chimed in. 

“ I don't wanna * hic * no more,” the kid sobbed to himself, “no more please make it stop” they couldn't see it but dick would bet money the kid was banging his hands against his head, as if he could shake his thoughts out.

“ Hey buddy we're not going to hurt you we just want to help,” Dick took a gamble he inched forward, “ Your Uncle Cw left you with me, because he knew you'd be safe here” Dam he hated lying to danny but he had to get the kid to calm down. 

“CW” the kid echoed in recognition , “ safe , mom and dad are gone,” a shaky breath leaves the boy's chest,” Uncle took me away, it's safe, I'm safe.”  The kid repeated the phrase like it was a prayer, each repetition made dicks blood boil but not at Danny, no but whoever had dared to call themselves this boy's parents. Even Al had flinched, that look that Dick hated so much depping on his face. 

As his breathing slowed the boy faded in the visibility and even curled into a ball, Dick saw them, the scars, The Y, the kids ribs his skin pulled tight due to many skipped meals. He didn't think he just scoped the boy up pulling The kid into his chest. He knew he couldn't  but what Dick would give to be able to hug the boy's pain away. “ Shhh, shhh, shhh” dick cooed, rubbing his hand against Danny's back.

Alfred just stood there with a hand on his shoulder, if Danny had a mess with his snot and tears no one  said anything. They let the boy sob his breathing slowing, his body still so cold. Once he had calmed down dick loosened his grip allowing the boy to pull away from his embrace. “ Can we get you patched up now bud?” Dick asked the boy, trying so hard to not stare at the kid's chest.

“We can only go as far as you are comfortable, however I would like to at least disinfect it and apply some numbing cream? Is that alright it must hurt.” Alfred asked gently, giving the boy a warm smile. The boy nodded, and stood but still clinged to dicks arm.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” dick asked the kid was griping him. As If he let go he'd fall into the middle of the sea.  He looked at his feet and nodded. 

No more words were said other than Alfred explaining what he was about to do to danny. He was trying to take care not to spook him and dick had to agree that talking through the process was probably helping. Danny was still clinging to dick but if it was helping he wasn't going to comment on it.

When Al was done he packed up the med kit and reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of candy, Danny's face lit up. It made both the men smile, they take that face over the pained expressions coming from a kid so small any day.

“Well unfortunately I wouldn't recommend a bath,” All finally spoke up, breaking the silence. “ May I still wipe you off? Mabey can try to wash your hair in the sink?”That was right dick had never gotten the clothing from baby bat.

“ Hey danny well Al washes you, I'm going to go get you something to put on ok?” the kid just looked up at him. “ I'll come right back some clean clothes will feel nice”

“Ok” Danny let go of Dick.  Dick looked at the kid kepping a soft smile on his face tell the door was shut and he had stepped away from the door. The minute he felt like he had put an aceppetle distance from the door erything hit dick like a truck. His chest acked, images of Jason flashing threw his mind. The kid just had to look like Jason didn't he. He let out a groan he didn't know he had been holding in.

Making his way to damians room once more, he knew his brother wasn't going to be happy with two visits in a row but honestly after the flurry of emotions he just experienced with Danny he would rather handle the stabbing prone 11-year-old. 

“What now richard” damian hissed his door open just enough for his head to poke threw.

“ I know sorry dami,” he ran his hand across his face. “Do you have any clothes that don't fit you any more you are willing to loan out?”

“You look like you’ve seen death, is there something happening I should be worried about.” His tone was still annoyed, most likely worried he was being cut out of a case. 

“No buddy not yet, just give me smallest clothes you have,” dick stuck his hand out vaguely gestring to where Danny would reach standing next to him. 

“Tt’ Most likely not but I will see,” Damian shut the door on dicks face. When he returned he shoved a pair of gray sweat pants and an old red t-shirt into dicks arms and shut the door. 

Dick made his way back to the bathroom and made sure to knock before he opened the door. He handed the clothes to Danny who happily put them on. They were still about 2 sizes too big but it was better than before, where had Damian even got these? They shurley never fit him the whole time he's lived in the manor. O well not time to dwell on that now. 

“ Do I look ok?” Danny asked, looking at himself in the mirror.

“You look great,” dicks phone pinged. It was a reminder to check out for lunch, dang 12:30 already? Then dick had an idea, “ Hey buddy, Do you like books?”

Danny spun around and his face shone brightly , “Yes!”

“How about we go check out the manor library.” 

OK so i'm doing ma best if you see mistakes tell me, this is turning out to be tons of fun so ill probably keep going. If you miss Gotham this chapter don't worry she's coming back the next one. Next one is titled "Of Stories and Songs" its gonna be fun. Also ao3 scares me ima try to figure it out but ahhhhhhhhh

@fisticuffsatapplebees

@terzatheunderscorerima

@sweet-itachi-lovin

@undead-essence

@blacksea21090

@markus209

@nonbinary-disasterter

@starkcravingmad

@ashxshadow

@aikoiya

[m-o-o-n-s-g-o-o-n-s]

guess what time it is?

chronicle time.

enjoy :)

—

Word Count: 589 words

Warnings: mentions of gore, mentions of medical setting, mentions of murder, killing, etc., mentions of wounds, scars, blood, etc., mentions of death, heavens, dying, etc. (all very detailed), major angst and heartbreak, also if the THOUGHT/SOUND of a heart monitor beeping is triggering or unpleasant for you, PLEASE BE WARNED, as beeping from a heart monitor is alluded to after every paragraph

Genre: Gut-wrenching angst

Notes: This chronicle relates to snippet #8, so if you would like some more context, you can read that snippet first. Not required, but it'll allow for more understanding of what's going on. Also, there are FLASHBACK ELEMENTS implemented into this chronicle, but this chronicle is a continuation of the present, as the FLASHBACK is in PREVIOUS PRESENT MOMENTS.

—

chronicle VI - deathbed

—

She wasn’t who he remembered.

This was someone else.

Someone who let the cold catch up to her.

It was always a step behind.

beep.

The sun had long disappeared, swirling anchor colored clouds dispersing themselves among the heavens. 

It was harrowing.

beep.

It looked as if she was on the steps to the heavens herself.

Lifeless.

Cold limbs.

Empty eyes.

beep. 

He should’ve been faster.

Quicker.

Stronger.

beep.

He was such a fool.

What a fool. 

Fool. Fool. F o ol. F o    o    l-

beep. 

“James? Are you alright?”

beep.

The storm was grasping for anything beyond the windows of the makeshift hospital room. 

Screaming, raging with wind, pelts of water splashing innocence down the drain.

Dr. Banner should’ve been a relief, a comfort in such a dire situation.

beep. 

“She looks like she’s dead.”

Hoarse, frail.

Bucky’s voice didn’t even sound like his own. 

beep. 

“I promise you she is not dead. Her lack of life comes from the traumas her body has been put through. The slow beating of her heart is indicative of life. As she progresses, her health will slowly move into a better direction.” 

beep.

In any other circumstance, Bucky would have listened to the brilliant scientist standing before him. Heeded his words, filed them away in the corners of his mind.

He would have been relieved. 

beep. 

“I wasn’t there quick enough, Bruce.”

beep. 

There was no relief here. 

beep.

“If the mission was delayed any further, I do believe you wouldn’t have been in time. But you were today. And that’s what matters most.”

beep. 

Her hair was mismatched, burned pieces so short they cradled her ears. Others were so long they looked almost entirely out of place.

White streaks were present in the front of the bloody red curls. 

Since when did she have white streaks in the front?

beep. 

Bruises, cuts, marred skin where flesh had been split from bones and memories stolen from her mind. 

She was on her fucking deathbed.

beep. 

And the scars. 

They were littered everywhere. 

Some were fresh, blood still present on the wound. Others were faded, time healing whatever ugly horrors had been committed. 

A fresh one was present on her left eye, swollen, blackened shut. 

Another cut bruising her lips, chapped from screaming. 

beep. 

Bucky had done that to her in the struggle. 

beep. 

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Valoria,” he yelled.

Bucky had severely underestimated her prowess. 

All black, a scarf covering her nose and mouth.

Thigh high boots, dripping in red.

Wild blood curls.

White streaks?

Her eyes deceived her.

“Stop calling me that.”

She was lost. 

Bucky was so familiar with this situation, the nightmare he re-lived each time his god forsaken mind hit the pillow. 

“Remember who you are, Valoria. It’s me, James. Please. Look at me,” Bucky screamed.

It reminded Bucky of being in a crowd, desperately screaming, calling out to anyone who would listen.

No one listened. 

He wasn’t sure what he was begging for anymore.

Perhaps he just wanted his wife life back. 

“You’re an obstacle.”

She had lunged.

He was quick, familiar with the tactic he had been trained in so well.

Kill. Eliminate. Assassinate. Murder.

beep.

The darkness outside grew.

Bruce had disappeared.

beep.

She didn’t even remember her own goddamn name.

beep. 

The light of his life, his world, his everything. 

Lifeless. 

This wasn’t a hospital, this was the morgue. 

He was a fucking visitor.

beep. 

Mourning his life wife.

beep.

The cold was always a step behind. 

beep. 

“Who the hell is Valoria?”

beep.

—

people who i think would like to see this:

@hellothere-generalangsty @eyecandyeoz @monako-jinn-stories @chaoticvampirejedi @emperor-palpaminty

[fancyfade]

Been reading your posts and saw the meme about how other dc characters act when they are around a Batfamily member and they loose all their critical thinking skills

Has that been a problem in comics for decades? I noticed that with Damian in titans stuff…to the point I became annoyed because it just making him a mini Bruce rather then played with the potentially interesting dynamics he could have.

Do Dick and Tim suffer from the mini Bruce approach in their titans stuff a lot too? It gotten to a point in Damian’s stuff for me, that there should be an editorial mandate saying “Just because they are Batman legacy characters, doesn’t mean they are clones of him.”

for Damian, it's been a long time since I read his teen titans stuff (and I didn't read a ton b/c most of it wasn't good), but I do remember that in the intro arc it did feel very Damian centric, and some of it was like.. the other characters powers were too easily cancelled out by some random gadget. like the gun that shot kory when introducing the capturing the team part of the plotline. that was stupid. (and in general, characters powers get randomly cancelled out by a gadget is a common thing in the batfam characters stuff). I can't remember WRT critical thinking, been literal years since I read the comic, but I do narrative focus was disappointing.... even for being a Damian fan while reading it.

for Tim in YJ I guess it felt like he was the leader for no reason, but I can't remember who had the general critical thinking skills or if none of them did. But he also got randomly super tough in one plotline in a way that made me give up on the series for a bit (where he was treated as like. the only person capable of standing up to Harm for some reason which was 9_9). However, in Titans / Young Justice Graduation Day Tim definitely felt like he was the only YJ character who was allowed to be portrayed as "right" (in which "right" obviously means listening to Dick, the paragon of reason) , because everyone else's recklessness had to be exaggerated to explain why the YJ team is so terrible. But god forbid Tim be slandered with the rest of the team 9_9

Dick it definitely holds so true, he was part of the inspiration for me reblogging it :P like the whole "robin is the default leader" thing doesn't start except with Dick, and it wasn't just because Dick was such a logical choice. It was b/c the writers decided to not let anyone else have ideas besides him in the original teen titans series. I've heard it as "everyone had one character trait and his was leader" but like... many characters didn't even have one character trait. Donna's was "girl". like the writing was clearly not balanced or good. and it's sooooo conspicuous because even in NTT, which is generally a pretty good series, the other characters will come across investigations when doing stuff while Dick is absent and be like ":C :C :C oh no dick our critical thinking person is gone whatever shall we do". Like multiple times! and IIRC that happened in the 1966 Teen Titans comics I read too in 1 issue where Dick was off screen. but like "dick is the smartest teen titan" "dick is the best leader" "dick could take out the other titans with planning but just won't b/c he's nice" - any of these situations existing is basically because he's writer's pet a la bruce. inb4 - I'm not saying any instance in which Dick is a good leader shouldn't count. but like. him being the obvious choice over other people is writer's pet-ism and Marv does not give other characters a chance to shine in the role, yet gives Dick plenty of chance to shine. So there is no fair comparison or way to say "he's best".

Anyway, I'll say Dick is by far the one I have noticed it being most true of. If you want to just read Teen Titans comics and have fun he is fr like the Batman of teen titans comics.

[mutable-manifestation]

The Ghost King (of Miscommunication) Ch. 20

Part 1-12,Part 13,Part 14,Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19

Part 20!

Info:

DC timeline is fucked, I’m going with the “Batman know most ids but hasn’t revealed himself yet” and a use of the ol’ canon “Brucie Wayne is That Famous(™)" and known as being a serial adopter.

As for how Deadman knows things: Rama pulled a favor with clockwork to let Deadman mature as a ghost/learn about important zone information & culture before yeeting him back to the living world with no time lost bc balance reasons.

He doesn’t know everything about the zone - he’d be garbage at finding his way around and he doesn’t really know anybody - but he knows customs and he knows about halfas bc all info about the Ghost King was High Priority Know This Or Don’t At Your Own Risk (the risk is that will turn u into a . He basically spent a subjective decade practicing his powers or reading books on ‘how to ghost’ next to Rama. He never has to go back to the realm to ‘recharge’ because Rama just kinda beams him what he needs to keep going.

***

“Well,” Constantine starts as he - ‘Finally,’ Bruce thinks - steps up to the table, evidently finished examining the scene, “I can tell you why we couldn’t find shit wrong in Gotham.”

“Elaborate,” Bru- Batman - he has to be Batman, now, has to be calm and think if he wants to get Jason back - demands.

“Don’t get your cape in a twist, Dadman, I’m getting there.” Constantine rolls his eyes, taking a seat.

“There’s a reason I don’t visit Gotham if I can help it - other than its stellar reputation and your renowned hospitality to outsiders.”

His amused snort very quickly transitions to a grimace.

“Gotham’s got the magical equivalent of background radiation. Real uncomfortable stuff. Feels like walking in the world’s biggest graveyard. And that-” he jabs a thumb over his shoulder “-feels just like it.”

“You’re saying he’s being kept somewhere in Gotham?” Red Robin perks up, voice hopeful and doubtful at once.

“No,” Constantine shoots down. “I’m saying whatever little fairy theory the kid had going was wrong, the fae haven’t lived in hell for centuries now. Even if it were them, pocket dimensions don’t actually work like that.”

“Wherever that portal led to reeks of death-” the Gotham heroes all tense at this, the others shooting them tentative looks of concern as Constantine steamrolls on “-and Gotham is exactly enough of a cesspit to have covered up the stink of it before. If it weren't for him being treated relatively well there, I woulda guessed he’d been dragged to hell. Dunno much about heaven - obviously - but I’ve never heard of them having escapees.”

“Obviously not,” Robin snaps, standing. “Red Hood is not dead, he was just here. We were able to see and interact with him, without any need for your tricks. Now can you tell us what it is, or do you just intend to sit there and list off all of the things that it is not?”

Beside him, a brace of batarangs appears in Black Bat’s hand, fanned out threateningly.

“Black Bat, Robin, that’s enough.” Batman commands, voice leaving no room for argument.

“He didn’t have a pulse.”

All eyes snap to Oracle, whose voice is only barely heard thanks to the silence following Batman’s words.

“That doesn’t mean anything!” Red Robin insists. “Superman and Martian Manhunter don’t always have a detectable pulse! We already know Hood is…different now. But that doesn’t mean he’s dead! Some kind of magic or advanced tech could’ve-”

“You think I don’t know that?” Oracle demands softly. “I don’t want him to be dead either, but lying to ourselves will just make things harder. We need to know the truth if we’re going to get him back, whether we like that truth or not.”

Constantine allows a few seconds of somber silence before opening his mouth to break it, but is cut off by the door slamming open.

“I’m here,” Shazam says, rushing to his seat, “What’s going on?”

“One second,” Constantine interjects, “Deadman is here too. Let me just….”

Deadman pops into visibility over the table.

In lieu of re-explaining, they play back the relevant recordings - Batman had started them the moment he sat down, just in case.

There were only perhaps 15 minutes of relevant video, including the explanation, the re-kidnapping, and what little Constantine had told them - they’d spent much of the time Jason had been present getting details, brainstorming potential counter-strategies, and just generally killing time in the hopes that the clock would run out and everything would be fine.

“And that’s everything we have so far,” Batman says as he pauses the video - no need to replay the argument. “Thoughts?”

“Well, Conny’s right that they ain’t fairies. You’re not gonna like the answer, though.” Deadman starts, ignoring Constantine’s glare.

“If you have answers we want to hear them, whether we like them or not.” Batman insists, trying to reign in the fragile hope trying to bloom in his chest in favor of bracing himself.

“That portal led to the Infinite Realms - more commonly called ‘The Ghost Zone.’ As the name implies, it’s infinite and - whaddaya know - full of the dead.”

“Then Red Hood is…what? In heaven? Limbo?” Batman’s mind races; was it even possible to steal him back? Had they just…been allowed a final goodbye?

“Nah,” Deadman says, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Heaven, Hell, Purgatory - those places might be all Constantine has interacted with, but you gotta remember that I talk to Rama. Avatar of Vishnu? Yeah. The afterlife is a lot more complicated than most people think; fact of the matter is, all the afterlives people have believed in over the ages exist, and they all sit neatly in their own little slices of the Realms.”

Deadman floats to sit cross-legged at the head of the table.

“The only reason portals to hell and other locations in the Realms look different is because the local deity and/or devil makes them so, but much of the Zone is ungoverned by any specific deities or devils, so if you just open a portal to a random location, odds are it’s gonna be the green swirly.”

“So he is dead,” Signal concludes mournfully.

“Not necessarily. Kid said he got pulled through a portal to some kind of medical center, right? And his body was completely normal until one day he woke up looking different. And you lot didn’t find a body anywhere?”

“No,” Batman answered, “All we could find was the residue from the portal.”

“Well, if he’d up and died he shoulda left a body behind; it woulda been dumped back out by now - somewhere obvious, too, ghosts are big on proper burials. So unless someone managed to vaporize him, odds are he’s not fully dead, but he’s definitely at least a little dead.”

Robin scoffs, “‘A little dead.’ Do you hear yourself? Either he is dead or he is alive, there is no in between for that kind of thing.”

Deadman merely snorts.

“Says the liminal.”

Robin frowns.

“Liminal?” Robin, Batman, and Constantine all chorus.

“I thought that was just Gotham being possessive,” Constantine continues with a raised brow, turning an appraising eye on the batfamily.

“No,” Deadman answers, “All of you bats and birds are liminal - some more than others. Just a little changed, just a little touched by death. With any luck, the missing kid’s case is just a bit more severe. But we can talk more about that later. Back to the kid.”

And they will get to it later. Jason is their priority now, but if something is going on with his kids Bruce intends to know about it.

Deadman pauses to take an unneeded breath.

“I’m gonna be real with you - and Batman, don’t freak out - but it sounds to me like he’s been ghost adopted.”

A beat.

“Excuse me?”

Deadman waits for the litany of ‘what the hell’s and ‘ghost adopted???’s and ‘he already has a family!’s to die down.

The non-Gotham members of the League remain quietly confused - hoping this means things can be resolved peacefully while privately wondering if the bats and birds really would turn out to be some kind of self-unaware cryptids.

“Okay. Ghosts form when enough ectoplasm and ectoenergy - which you can think of as basically the carbon and electricity of the Zone, I guess, at least in this context - are present at the death of a being experiencing strong emotions. In the absence of that perfect mixture, a shade - just a soul with no real power - is formed, only able to become a proper ghost and form a core if brought to the Infinite Realms-”

“A core?” Batman asks.

“Ghost brains, basically. Anyway, ghosts can also form if there’s enough ectoplasm and energy in one place, either from the zone itself - known as neverborns - or from strong enough ghosts intentionally forming them - known as naturalborns. Now, ghost families don’t work the same as living families do. Ghost families form from a sort of ‘dibs’ system-”

“Dibs?” comes Flash’s incredulous voice.

“I’m gettin’ there,” Deadman sighed at the second interruption. “As I was sayin’. Regardless’a how, once a core is formed the new ghost is considered a baby ghost. It isn’t really a one-and-done process. Sure, once you’ve got a core you’ve got a ghost now, but not a mature one. Cores have to grow until they reach a stable size and energy level - usually marked by natural power acquisition settling down and ectoplasm fluctuations stabilizing. How long it takes depends on the quality and quantity of ectoplasm and ectoenergy available - the shortest known time was just under 5 years, longest was a few hundred, I think? Average is a decade or two.

This is relevant,” Deadman emphasizes for those who are visibly growing impatient, “For two reasons.”

“Firstly,” he holds up a finger, “The ecto a ghost takes in while maturing has an impact on how it develops, the powers it ends up with naturally. Everything in the zone is made of ectoplasm, and ghosts both take it in and echo out the excess - like plants, kinda. Maybe.

So if a baby ghost is around, say, a fire ghost a lot of the time it’ll probably end up with fire powers of its own. Assuming it was early enough and their core wasn’t already leaning towards ice or something. A stronger ghost parent also means faster growth.

Now, the Infinite Realms are infinite. People can’t always find each other, some people die at different times, some people return to the cycle before their loved ones die, some are neverborns, etc. Most sapient beings want friends and family, it’s just how it goes. So ghosts sometimes just kinda. Dibs each other.

Multiple dibs’ are pretty abnormal; baby ghosts aren’t actual babies in the human sense of the word. They don’t just pick a parent and stay there all the time while they’re waiting to mature. There’s generally that first few week-to-month period where they’ll stay put with whoever dibses them first for safety until the basics settle in, but after that? Ghosts explore, and dibs occur, and lots of newbies end up with something like a dozen parents and however many siblings-in-dibs.

Secondly,” another finger joins the first in a peace sign, “And what I suspect - and hope - is that while souls can fail to form cores and become shades, the opposite is also possible; a living being can become liminal enough to form a core. Making dibsing pretty much inevitable - no decent ghost is going to leave a baby seemingly stranded in the living world to starve into nonexistence. Gotham might have enough polluting the place, but it’s pretty much all rancid so that would’ve made them even more eager to get the kid outta there.”

“So what you’re saying,” Red Robin drawls, “Is that he’s dead-but-not-really and is only missing because a dead-for-sure person took one look at him, went ‘that’s baby,’ and pulled a Bruce Wayne?”

“Pretty much.”

“Even if it wasn’t intended to be malicious it’s still a kidnapping,” Batman says.

“Well, Wulf did offer to let the kid bring guests back with him-”

“What!?” Everyone choruses.

“Yeah, though given the whole fae-kidnapping assumption I think the kid took it as a threat, but he asked the kid how many of you he wanted to bring as guests. He said none, so Wulf said do not pass go, do not collect two-hundred dollars." Deadman said casually, as if that wasn't a heartbreaking bombshell to drop.

"Anyway, point is, if this really is just one big misunderstanding then you can go talk it out. Ghostspeak isn’t really living-friendly and the living language he did know clearly didn’t help. Lucky you, I can translate. And the Realms are a human-safe environment. Well, the air is breathable at least.”

"Human-safe my ass," Constantine spits. "If the demons I deal with dwell in one little slice I don't even wanna think about the kind of nightmares strolling around the rest of the place."

"We're not leaving Red Hood in there."

The Gotham heroes' words leave no room for argument.

They get down to planning.

***

Fun Fact:

Ghosts do change their names because of the whole ‘holds power’ thing - not in a mind control way, but in an emotional way. If someone can dig up how you died they’re probably gonna say something insensitive. Case in point: people on ghost shows being like “hey *ghost name* we heard *insert horrible thing here* happened to you. Is that true?” Rude. You’re a complete stranger.

Anyway here’re the ghost names.

The trio had been dating for over a year when Sam & Tucker died and it was a very stable relationship. They’d been planning out their future together by that point, down to details like where to live so all of their work would overlap, how to manage Danny’s lack of aging (aka moving frequency), etc. When they brought up thinking of ghost names Danny - distracted - immediately just said, “Well you could just go by Phantom now since you will be in another year or two anyway.” He’s incredibly embarrassed when he realizes what he’s just said, but they’re all happy and engaged by the end of the day. (They tease him mercilessly about that being the world's smoothest yet most clueless proposal ever for the next 10 years)

Jazz & Spike Spook were already mentioned in canon with their sense of humor being explained (you’d think the joke would get old after 40 years, it hasn’t. Not when Danny still pouts when he hears Spike’s full name)

Jack was really excited to help fight ghosts as a ghost to protect Danny (he’s really proud of his baby boy growing up and becoming a king via fighting ghosts). He dies before Maddie and calls himself Jack Specter “after the specter deflector, because I be deflecting [your enemies implied here]” (Danny had to go lie down after hearing this sentence [Jazz’s sense of humor came from somewhere and that somewhere is Jack Fenton. Jack Fenton’s knowledge of ‘hip phrases’ comes from Jazz and Jazz’s sense of humor, also known as brother-torture or simply ‘betrayal’ as Danny claims]). Maddie likes that it fits the family name theme and calls back to one of their inventions (& wants to match her husband).

Dani stay a Phantom, ofc, and is formally ghost-adopted by Danny after he tells his parents everything (his parents formally human-adopt her so she has a stable human-world home if she want it, but she calls them Gran and Gramps as a joke that becomes sincere over time)

Wes goes by Wes Wraith because it’s close to wrath and he is fully and consistently angry about fenton=phantom and also a slight edgelord.

Ida Mason is also a ghost. She simply goes by ‘Wilda’ now (pronounced like wild-uh) and looks shockingly like Ember if she was an adult. And her hair wasn’t made of fire. And also went more pink than blue. So barely like Ember at all lol. She died in the middle of trying to finish knitting a scarf and now her obsession is knitting. She knitted a moped. She knitted a house. Home girl knitted herself an entire island and has not stopped.

The Manson parents have a little door-realm connected to their house in the living realm (like Poindexter with the school) and spend their time pretending everything is normal (like how Poindexter was stuck in the bullying loop but just. Reading the same newspaper/remaking the same dress, watching the same shows/etc).

The Foley parents were perhaps the most normal people on the show. 

When Sam and Tucker died, the only ones who knew what happened were them and Danny - even Jazz didn’t get an explanation until she & the Fenton parents followed them into the ghost zone to find out what was going on - so the police were left to draw their own conclusions.

The GIW had already proven themselves to be reprehensible and overly willing to step on anyone who got in their way. The tech the police found was a collab between Dalv Co & the GIW and with Vlad’s disappearance and the GIW’s emotionless denial no one ever gets prosecuted for Sam & Tucker’s deaths (Vlad has a warrant out for him & the Mansons try to drag the GIW to court but it never goes anywhere). 

The Foleys switch job tracks to take down the GIW/the Anti-Ecto Acts/any other asshole ghost hunters they can find. The Fentons are only exempt because they tell them what happened, explain how their stance on ghosts changed when they found out about Danny, and help the Foleys on their journey.

As ghosts Angela is obsessed with Justice & takes the name Justitia and Maurice is obsessed with ethics (bc if the GIW had any they wouldn’t have made weapons like that in the first place. Literal animals had more rights than ghosts at the point despite them being provably sapient) & takes the name Ethos. (They keep Foley as their last names tho). Yes, Danny does royal-decree them into being Walker’s oversight. Pretty much everyone is a fan of that. Except for the observants, who complain about everything but especially about how much Ethos & Justitia argue with them (what is the ‘greater good’ does not often match up with what is right. Especially when their idea of greater good is ‘eliminate problem via murder or core-crushing before it can become one’ instead of literally anything else).

@mayoota-blog1 @kyrianclawraith, @do3y, @someonebored0100 @omegasmileyface

[havendance]

Since I'm not allowing myself to renew my dcu infinite subscription until midterms are done, I'm working my way through some trades I've been meaning to read via the library. So, thoughts on Robin War (read for Duke Thomas reasons):

Initial Impression: Man the new 52 sure is a continuity

I'd read the first 6 issues of We are Robin leading up to this and also the first 6 issues of Robin: Son of Batman but like, Jim Gordon is Batman now? And has an ugly haircut? Look, I was tangentially aware of the Owls going in and even vaguely aware of the bruce wayne amnesia plot that I assume was happening in the background, but like. The new 52 man.

The Robin laws are kind of stupid. Over here like 'no ones allowed to wear red, yellow, and green.' But also they're supposed to be so I'll give it a pass.

Tom King's writing is honestly the highlight of this event

(I see you with that Batman: Year One visual reference in Robin War #1)

All of those repetitive mentions of "I am Robin" both work with the event and are also right up his writing alley

He also wrote a lot of the really fun Duke moments from this event

And just, Robin War #2 draws all of the plot threads together very well. Tom King does a good job of wrapping everything together and up in an engagin way.

That being said, the plot is still kind of stupid.

I simply do not care about the court of owls, but I suppose they are driving the plot here

I do however, enjoy the various sacrifice plays happening at the end as a result of the court of Owls.

The real worst part of this event were the scott lobdell tie ins with Teen Titans and Red Hood/Arsenal

Everything else was fine to mediocre

Duke was fun though :)

Edit: Forgot to mention! The way that Duke just figures out everyone's identities? I guess it makes sense because of the whole 'Dick getting his identity revealed to the world thing' that I'm pretty sure happened in forever evil, but also like, I'm so used to everyone being ultra paranoid about secret identities that it kind of takes me out.

Okay you can figure out Dick Grayson because he's standing in front of you and the aforementioned getting his identity leaked to the world thing

And also you can from there connect him to Bruce Wayne, and Damian to Bruce

But man... Batman as an urban legend... ultimate paranoia... should he be able to do that...? Idk new52 I guess

[benbamboozled]

I think Jason should also adopt kids or atleast be a mentor figure cause what's a better to say "fuck you Bruce" than be a better dad/big brother than Bruce will ever be? Au where Jason becomes incharge of a little league. Au where he was Damien's babysitter except Damien imprinted on him and now follows him everywhere. Au where during his crime boss era he ended up making a safe space for street kids except few of the orphans are trying vigilantism so now he has to corral them away from that cause they keep beating up his henchman and shit he's a dad now :/. Au where he never dies but is kinda getting sick of Bruce's shit and one day he realises that this one kid with camera is like everywhere and oh shit the kid figured out all their identities, well guess that cant be helped huh? Hey kid wanna try being a vigilante, i was planning to start on my own and a sidekick wont hurt. (Jason was initially planning to just keep the kid busy and out of trouble, he was not prepared for the insane human disaester that was Tim Drake). Camp counsellor Jason

Okay first of all 1) I approve of all of these, and 2) Jason DID teach a group of meta kids slash world dominators in an arc of Red Hood: Outlaw! It was when Lex Luthor had a supervillain school for…some reason. (Maybe a law that all bald comic characters need a super-school at least once.)

ANYWAY, it was cute and he was good at it! I can’t really strictly recommend anything Lobdell for many, MANY reasons, but I did enjoy Supervillain-Teacher!Jay!

AND this ask actually sparks on something I was thinking about recently when it comes to the Batfam—it bugs me that they’re not allowed to have kids.

And I don’t even necessarily mean “biological children” (although note Wally and Roy and Donna were “allowed” to be parents—on some level at least), but they’re not allowed to have their own Robins. (Using Robin as a stand-in for “youth partner” because sidekick isn’t reeeally the right term.)

The closest we’ve gotten is 1) Dickbats and Damian, and 2) Barbara and Cass (although Cass was already an adult when she took up Batgirl, but she still was a daughter-figure to Barbara).

I feel like there’s two things going on here.

1) There’s a hesitance to give second-gen capes “sidekicks”/Robins UNLESS they have inherited a first-gen mantle. Dickbats can have a kid-hero buddy because he is BATMAN. Nightwing, otoh, cannot have a kid-hero buddy.

2) Batbooks being what’s keeping the lights on at DC means that they’re very afraid of shaking up the status quo too much. Which means that none of the “main” kids can grow up toooo much. Which means that none of them are “allowed” to be parental or even slightly parental figures.

(Honestly, I consider the kiboshing of a potential Jason/Bao team-up to be a symptom of this. We got a Gotham kid who has beef with the Joker, who kills people, who got into it with Batman about killing people? We have an issue out that shows him meeting up with the other Gotham guy who has beef with the Joker, who kills people who got into it with Batman about killing people?

NOPE WAIT SWERVE let’s stick the first kid with this other guy who just showed up! THAT makes sense!)

(Okay that sounds really salty and honestly I love Khoa, but I just dislike that particular development and ALSO KHOA MADE BAO GET RID OF BAT-BAT, JASON WOULD NEVER.)

ANYWAY, to speak to the heart of this ask, yes, give Jason all the kids, 500 kids, I support the Red Hoods Little League Team and here is their pennant.

[wolverineheight]

batman body piercing au that i wrote with @quanxisgirlfriend in the pub under the cut

Shops

Bruce’s shop

Bruce: the only APP studio in Gotham, goes to the conference every year. Set his shit up with his parents’ money so doesn’t actually need to worry about bringing in profit, apprenticed under Ra’s

Favourite piercing: Antitragus

Dick: Bruce’s first apprentice, left to open his own studiowork in Bludhaven but still guest spots

Favourite piercing: Antinavel

Jason: Has had so many fucking needle sticks that Bruce tried to get him to quit. Ends up setting up his own studio down the road and sets his prices marginally lower to snipe Bruce’s clients

Favourite piercing: Snug, microdermal

Tim: Really good but so annoying. Tells clients about bevel theory as he’s piercing. They do not care

Favourite piercing: Rhino

Damien: Refuses to do any piercing that isn’t artsy fartsy (reasonable), LOVES unique anatomy piercings, terrible bedside manner but really skilled. Bruce can’t put him on reception because he’ll turn people down if he doesn’t like them.

Favourite piercing: Septril

Steph: Fantastic piercer and really picky about clients. Really loves to perform surface piercings. Has a list of people she’s kicked out of the studio for having “bad vibes” (she’s always right about this). Gossips at the desk of the Rogue shop sometimes and loves to visit Babs. Babs’s pincushion when she’s learning.

Favourite piercing: Sternum

Cas: Ear only, does elaborate ear maps that take years to get through, has a very loyal clientele and rarely takes on new clients because she’s so booked out. Anatometal ONLY. Orders in custom jewellery

Favourite piercing: ROOK!!!

Duke: So anxious. Starts off working reception and takes a while to work up not because he’s not skilled but because he constantly second guesses himself

Favourite piercing: Forward helix

Carrie: Is good and wants to hop ship to Ivy’s studio because she’s sick of the men she interacts with daily.

Favourite piercing: Eyebrow or single side lip.

Joker shop

Joker: Does navels standing up. Drops the needle on the ground when he’s done. Saw trap ass sharps bin, only closes it when it’s full to the brim. Externally threaded steel jewellery is all he buys. He charges $50 for a pair of lobes. Doesn’t own an autoclave, thinks alcohol is fine. Tells clients to use undiluted tea tree only. Keeps the same gloves for the entire process.

Favourite piercing: Lobes bc he uses a gun

Harley: did a psychology undergrad but didn’t finish, got with the joker and agreed to apprentice under him instead, he drove her literally insane. She hated it so much she just thought the job would not be for her but then couldn’t go back to college so agreed to work with ivy.

Favourite piercing: Rims because she can get them done in 3 minutes or less.

One hundred million revolving apprentices that end up leaving due to poor work ethic.

Rogue shop

Riddler: Not APP qualified because he sees himself as better than them. Skilled but does NOT take criticism. Tells people riddles to take their minds off the piercings which works weirdly well. Does not do oral piercings bc of saliva. Doesn’t let anyone else near the autoclave.

Favourite piercing: Stacked lobe

Scarecrow: Obsessed with history and relationship with queer culture, likes the fear element (weirdo)

Favourite piercing: Nasallang

Croc: bad at it. Left Joker’s studio and lied on his CV. Floundering constantly but refuses to admit or ask for help.

Favourite piercing: Nose

Penguin: Leaves for a cig break every ten minutes. Not allowed to sterilise jewellery because he’ll smoke while he does.

Favourite piercing: Septum

Ivy’s shop

Ivy: spiritual/cultural piercings, has incense on constantly, does scarification too, studio is too new to be certified but works to APP standard. Thinks Bruce is too up himself and won’t collaborate with him on anything, doesn’t let men pierce in her studio and lets the others pierce male clients.

Favourite piercing: Septum

Harley (post-joker): learns to love the job again due to wlw tendencies and having a safe environment, great with kids and specialises in kids lobes. Gains huge clientele by having sessions where she listens to your issues and pierces you therapeutically.

Favourite piercing: Lobe

Babs: Was offered a place in Bruce’s studio but turned it down to work here. Very skilled, likes to pierce daiths and industrials.

Favourite piercing: Dahlia

Characters

Harvey: health inspector and bad at it. Sometimes very thorough and others lets things slide, somehow always lets things slide for the Joker

Ra’s: taught Bruce but refuses to be APP certified which is their main conflict

Tommy Elliot: works at a beauticians and thinks using guns makes him a piercer. Has filler. Favourite piercing: Rim but he does them with guns

Bane: works at Claires :)

Eddie: Too afraid of rejection for any surface piercings, obsessive about healing, sleeps on his back but wakes up all over the place and stresses about things shifting when he wakes up on his ear, everything in pairs. Piercings: Symmetrical, paired brows, paired nostrils, 6x rims with rings per side, fwd helixes both sides, tragus both sides, flat each side with question mark labs, venom

Jonathan: Weird about it all, experimental. Piercings: Antinavel (doesn’t have the anatomy for traditional), three lobes on one side, tongue, double conch (low and high, both 1.6), single vertical helix that he wears a plain titanium barbell in. all his jewellery is plain titanium, bcrs if rings but he prefers labs or curved bars for everything but his lobes.

Harley: Piercings: angel fangs w/ one black one red ball, tongue that’s wonky because she didn’t have the proper anatomy so it’s angled, smiley, double lobe and paired stacks, can’t heal cartilage for shit but has a conch and 3 rims anyway, isn’t allowed a rook even though she wants one, paired eyebrows with cones, septum (full hinged, maybe with a mandala design). all are titanium with ONLY acrylic balls and cones for the colours :). 18cm stretched lobes w/ either opal tunnels or hangers

Joker: Piercings: fucking snake eyes AND frog eyes. Snakebites with barbells instead of labrets, his teeth are FUCKED. Wonky as fuck navel, hand webs, wrist dermals, pierced his own tongue traditionally initially and didn’t have the anatomy so pierced straight through a vein but refused to take it out or go to hospital so nearly went septic. All slime green glow in the dark acrylic and cheap “bioflex” bars

Ivy: Piercings: none but visible patterned scarification on her arms and back

[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #17

Batman: Gotham Knights #5 Writer: Devin Grayson Pencils: Dale Eaglesham

Young Justice (1998) #21 Writer: Peter David Pencils: Todd Nauck & Sunny Lee

Batgirl #4's cliffhanger stretches on for another post at least because we have a couple guest appearances from July 2000 to look at, in addition to the Azrael issue we looked at previously. Not too much to say about these, but I'm pretty busy this week, so that works out.

.....

First the Gotham Knights issue. The villain is an escape artist with magic powers who for looks more like a barrow wight than a stage magician. I will say his little lockpick talons are kind of cool, though for some reason they're just boring old claws on the cover art? As per last time I don't want to just rehash what happens, you can find the comic online easily enough, and it's an ok read.

The main thing Cass is doing here is that the villain has magically 'unlocked Batman's violent urges' or whatever, so Bruce is on a rampage and Cass and Jean-Paul (nice to have one last story with the two of them as a team) are trying to fight him while simultaneously saving the villain/other random criminals from him. It's an interesting contrast to current events because while Bruce does manage to fight off Cass and Azrael simultaneously, he doesn't just beat them. More that he fights them to a standstill and slips away by first injuring the villain enough to get Azrael to stop fighting to tend to his injuries, at which point he's able create enough distance from Cass to make a break for it, and later he just throws a guy off a roof, forcing Cass to rescue the guy and again giving time for Bruce to slip away.

It is a solid example that even in her earliest prime, Cass's abilities didn't mean she could automatically or easily beat Bruce in a fight - Bruce's size, strength, experience, training, and resourcefulness put them more or less on par, particularly if circumstances are such that Batman has some extra edge - in this case the magical willingness to injure his opponent or random third parties where Cass is still holding back. Cass's special body reading puts her on the level of the best non-powered martial artists in the DC universe, but she doesn't automatically beat any of them, including Bruce.

The marked difference between this and, say, the recent Batman issue where Bruce beats his entire family simultaneously, isn't the outcome where Bruce comes out on top, it's more the process of getting there. That it is a fight, that Bruce just barely gets away, it doesn't feel like bad-god fanboy wankery. But whatever, the big two comic studios have long been asylums run by the inmates, ascended fanboyism often runs wild, you just kind of learn to live with it.

Back to the comic at hand, we've looked at an issue or two where Cass was drawn by Eaglesham before, and he does a pretty good job here as well. Though again he occasionally draws her weirdly muscularized, like here when she's catching some guy Bruce throws off a building:

If I had to complain about anything in terms of Cass's depiction here, though, it's not the art, but rather that she's mostly just a physical presence, when some of the themes of the issue are things that her personal experiences and character motivations should allow her to contribute to more meaningfully. But this is before her new verbal paradigm had worked its way around the studio, so I guess this stands as another example of why that change was overall a positive move, even if I will forever dislike how it was done.

.....

The Young Justice is a fun sorta stand alone bit. Klarion has turned Lobo into a little kid, so a younger looking but just as powerful Lobo is on a rampage fighting Klarion to try to force the Witch Boy to turn him back, which he can't do for multiple reasons that don't really matter. Young Justice tries to break up the fight, leading to a bigger fight which makes a mess in Gotham, which is justification for Cass to show up as a guest star.

I don't have much to say about this one, it's a fun little stand alone story with an amusing enough resolution. Cass does cool ninja stuff, but she's still not talking yet outside of her own book, so again her presence is pretty purely physical. We do get a neat inversion of the common problem of Cass looking too old when drawn by other creative teams because in this style if anything she looks too young.

We do end on this amusing bit of over-protective Bat-dad with his "I don't wan't you playing with those other kids" schtick.

...

So yeah, a couple fun stories. Honestly, going back and looking at every single appearance of Cass has made me realize that she did show up as a guest in other books a fair bit more than I remembered, at least early on. The writers and editors at the time gave her more of a push than I in my faulty memory have given them credit for. At least early on. Though this was before DiDio was in charge.

Next time (?) back to Batgirl proper, where we'll get to meet up with David Cain again, back when he still was David Cain.