#anyway dc if you’re listening you should put us in charge of Jason don’t just revive a kid if you’re gonna do this with him he could have

[zibah-ho]

Jason for character bingo?

We have a winner folks

Hilarious to me that Jason almost always gets bingo with me simply bc I both love and hate him am I overexposed to this character? yes Do I not see enough of them? also yes do I love them? yes do I hate them? yes

[ms-starflower]

Young Survivors — Maribat

It’s almost four am here, I just finished writing this and am just tired enough to actually go through and post it. And this title is the only thing my tired brain could come up with. Anyway. I haven't posted something I wrote in years, but all the Maribat I’ve read recently made me want to write something for it.

I don’t know if I’m ever going to write a 2 part, but if I do it’s definitely going to be Timari and contain a couple of typical Maribat tropes. And a pinch of salt.

Also, disclaimer: I haven't watched Miraculous in years and most of my DC knowlege come from fanfic or tumblr so... sorry not sorry.

Now with a part 2!

Next >

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mei Leyton’s oldest memories were of her mother, dolled up in pretty dresses and elegant makeup. In her daughter‘s eyes, Margaret Leyton was the most beautiful woman on earth.

For as long as she could remember, Mei would sit on the bed and watch as her mom would get ready to head to work. She had always loved those moments with her mom.

(How do I look, my little flower,” she said, twirling around Mei with a grin, making her laugh. It was Margaret’s favorite dress, a vintage halter blue dress with white accents and a white bow around the waist.

“Like a princess, mommy! The prettiest princess ever!”

“Oh no, no no no. You are the prettiest princess ever, my little flower.”)

She was four when her mother let her help for the first time, letting her pass along brushes and products. It’s then that she understood what were the purple marks on her mother that she covered with her makeup.

(“Life is not fair to us, my little flower,” she had said when Mei asked about it for the first time. “Being an orphan and pretty little girl in Gotham isn’t safe, and it doesn’t give much choice when it comes to survival.”

Mei didn’t understand then, but it didn’t matter anyway, life would make her understand soon enough.)

When Mei was seven, the GCPD found her mother’s body.

When she didn’t see her that morning, Mei hadn’t been worried; it wasn’t the first time. Mom would be home by noon, she always was. Until that day.

(The investigation wouldn’t get very far, it was just another prostitute of Camellia street, nobody cared about them. They were just there until they weren’t anymore.

Another girl would take her place in a couple of days. It was how those kinds of things worked in Gotham.)

That day was kind of blurry in her memory. She remembers being pulled out of class in the morning, and that the cop that told her about her mother’s death was very rude.

(“Your mom is dead, kid. A lad found her body in a dumpster this morning,” the guy had said as soon as she had sat down in the headmistress’ office. “Do you know who she worked for? Or on what side of the Camellia she stayed?” He had asked, halfheartedly.

Mei had shaken her head, even though she did; you don’t talk to cops in Gotham, mom always says said that it was the easiest way to get yourself killed, for people like them.

“Alright,” he had said, not surprised. “A social worker is going to pick you up in a bit to take you to your new home, kid.”

With that he had walked out of the office, not looking back. As if where she would end up was going to be home.)

She remembers that the social worker from CPS was a brunette with tan skin, and looked really overworked, but had a kind smile.

By the end of the day, she was taken to Elliot's Hall for Children, an overcrowded, understaffed orphanage with more kids than they could realistically care for.

(They don’t care for the children, they just put them there for a while and act as they do. Most children leave after a couple of days, and if they don’t, they get taken anyway.

Some come back with a police escort, some manage to survive in the streets, and nobody talks about the ones that are never seen again.

You don’t work there because you love children, and if you do, you don’t last for very long.)

Mei wasn’t stupid, her mother told her stories about those kinds of places. She came from those kinds of places, and Mei saw how the man in charge here had looked at her when the social worker dropped her off.

She wasn’t going to just stand here and wait for him to sell her back in Camellia street. Or worse, to the Candy Dealers.

Taking with her what she absolutely couldn’t leave behind, Mei made a choice her mother hadn’t been able to and took her chance with the streets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mei was a Camellia kid and, as such, took to the streets easier than most newcomers. She had picked up a few tricks from her aunties and her mom, and it helped her to survive out here.

The only (glaring) differences were the absence of her mother, the lack of a permanent roof above her head, and the fact that she had to provide food and money herself now.

(One of her favorite places to pick up wallets was Gotham Academy, where Gotham’s rich send their children. The kids always had money on them, and it’s not like they would miss it.

Though she couldn’t go too many times in a row, not without risking being spotted and remembered.)

She had been on the streets for two months when she met Jason Todd; the boy who would become her family.

She heard him before she saw him, to be honest. It was an awful crashing noise coming from around the corner, and it made her look.

He was running like the devil was after him, and judging by how the cops running behind him were clutching their batons, she wasn’t that far from the truth.

The noises were because of a couple of trash cans the boy had spilled in their way to slow them down.

And he was coming her way.

Against her better judgment, she grabbed his arm when he passed in front of her, and pulled him behind her into her hideout. Quickly getting the plank of wood back in place, she put her hand on his mouth before he could say anything. With the dumpster in the alley, the entry was almost invisible from outside.

They stayed there as they heard the men pass in front of their hiding place, listening as they argued about where the boy could have disappeared before their voices faded completely.

They waited another couple of minutes before he removed the hand she still had on his mouth and crawled out of there.

“Thanks,” he muttered with a scowl. “I woulda’ve been just fine without help but… yeah, anyway.” Then he had started to walk in the direction he came from.

“Hey! Wait!” She said before she could think about it. “Are ya just gonna, like, go? Just like that?”

“Huh, yeah? What do ya want me to do?” He asked, looking back at her from above his shoulder without stopping his walk. “Stay to drink a cup of tea and talk about the weather?”

“Well.. no. But I just… I just wanna talk a bit, ya know?” She couldn’t really explain why she didn’t want him to leave yet, it’s not like he was the first street kid she had helped out. He just felt different, and somehow she knew he could become important to her.

“Yeah, right,” he scoffed before turning his head back to look forward. “The streets are not some daycare for princesses who want to make friends, kid.”

“Kid— hey, dumbass, you’re, like, ten years old! You’re a kid too! And I’m not a princess, I can survive alone just fine!” Before she knew it, she was walking behind him, the weird feeling forgotten for the offence his comment created. He looked back at her with a frown, before choosing to ignore her. Not letting that deter her, she rambled at him about all the ways why she wasn’t a kid any more than him.

“I thought you could survive alone?” He said, talking over her, when he realized that she wasn’t going to let him be.

“I can.”

“So why are ya following me? Tryin’ to drive me crazy?”

“Well, no. It’s just... that I can do it doesn't mean I want to.”

“Look, kid,” he said, ignoring her protest and talking over her, again. “You should just go back to whatever orphanage you came from, there is probably some nice little family who's gonna pick you up. Then you could make all the friends you want.”

“Like people actually adopt kids in this city. This is Gotham, you dummy, not ‘Annie’. Some rich white guy isn’t going to come and pick up children from the streets to make them live the Grand life.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever,” he growled out without pausing in his steps. “Still, you’re pretty enough, I’m sure some nice people would adopt you in a second if you let them.”

“Yeah, sure. Mom thought the same when she was a kid, and guess what? She started working on Camellia street when she was fourteen, but nobody asked her if she wanted to. Because she was pretty enough,” the little seven years old spat with venom, her eyes narrowed. The boy stopped walking, turning toward her with eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights. “Her best friend wasn’t, but mom said that she had the prettiest green eyes ever. When they found her body, she didn’t have eyes anymore, because some rich person paid to have pretty green eyes.”

“I— I didn’t—” he stuttered, eyes wide. With his scowl gone he looked so much younger, and Mei’s anger subdued. He wasn’t that much older than her, just a couple of years, maybe three or four, after all.

“It’s… okay, I guess. It’s Gotham. I just thought we both would have more chances to survive if we helped each other out. And, ya know, the company wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled, but when they resumed walking he slowed down enough to let her walk beside him without almost-running.

“Great! So, Annie, where are we going now?” She said with a beaming smile, bursting into laughter at his indignation and protest against the nickname.

(“Can’t you stop calling me Annie already?! I told you my name’s Jason!”

“Nope, Annie.”

“Well, then, that makes you Sandy, doesn't it? Ya do follow me around like a stray puppy.”

“I’m not a dog— wait, hold on a minute! I knew you saw the movie! You liar!”)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was ten when her life was put upside down once again, in the worst of ways.

It took practically no time before Jason “Annie” Todd became her brother in all but blood, it took longer for Jason to admit it, and they spend almost three years surviving together, barring the occasional trip back to the Children's Houses.

Though, they always found each other a couple of days after they escaped from those places.

Sometimes, Jason would plan something that he needed to do alone. Because of course, he did.

(“It’s the best job, my plan is perfect. Don’t worry, it’s gonna be great Sandy!”

“Yeah, and why can’t I come?”

“It’s too dangerous! Plus, you need to stay here and keep our things safe!”

“Yeah, if you say so, Annie.”)

That day was one of those days.

He was gone for less than an hour when they found her.

The Candy Dealers.

Mei paled when she saw them, wearing their nice suits and overly sweet smile. They told her they were social workers, specializing in homeless children, and offered her a lollipop. Social workers in Gotham don’t give candy to the kids, even the nice ones, and she knew from her time in Camellia street that the lollipop was drugged.

(“Never, ever, take candy from a Candy Dealer, Mei. Do you understand me? Never,” her mother told her gravely. “They put bad stuff in them, and if you put it in your mouth, they will take you away from me. I couldn’t live without you in my life, my little flower.”)

She tried to run, even before the first one got his hand totally outstretched toward her. But her panic made her stumble, and she was no match for them.

She tried to kick, and scream, and bite, but soon she felt a pinch in her neck, and everything was black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next period of her life was one she tried very hard to forget. For months she was moved, her and dozens of other people, from containers to containers, warehouse to warehouse. Twice they were put in a boat, the containers staying closed for so long, the next time she saw the moonlight, it burned her eyes.

She quickly learned that it was pointless to try to escape (and that Jason wouldn’t come and save her).

Then, one night, the place they were at was illuminated with blue and red lights and the police sirens were so loud, they drowned everything else.

She didn’t let herself hope, though. (She did, she hoped so hard her chest hurt.)

They (probably) weren’t in Gotham anymore, but her childhood didn’t instill her much trust in the police.

They did get them out. And she learned that they were in Paris now. In France. (That was a long way from Gotham.)

There were twenty-seven other people with her in the container. Four of which were kids, and only one other was also an orphan. They weren’t placed together, though. Because the kid had family back where he came from. Unlike her. (She had Jason. He was her family, but they didn’t listen.)

The French social workers took a while to know what to do with her exactly, but they didn’t want to send her back to Gotham (why not? She wanted to go back and find Jason!). So, in the meantime, they placed her in a foster family—one without any other kid, as per her therapist's advice. (The therapist didn’t know anything. She said Gotham wasn’t good for her, but Jason was in Gotham.)

Funnily enough, it ended up being a more permanent solution than previously considered, because the foster parents, Tom and Sabine, quickly fell in love with the little girl.

Not before long, Mei Leyton became Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (They changed her name to give her a ‘new beginning’ because her therapist thought it would be good for her. She didn’t want to have a ‘new beginning', she wanted to go back, to find Jason, to be the Sandy to his Annie. She was Mei, the Camellia’s kid, Sandy, the street’s kid and it was enough for her. She didn’t want to be Marinette, the bakers’ kid.)

So, when Mei was first put into the care of the Dupain-Cheng household, she regularly tried to run away. It was unsurprisingly harder than in Gotham, though. Tom and Sabine were way more attentive than Elliot Hall’s staff ever was, and more than a third of her tentatives were folded even before she was past the front door.

It took her three months (and forty-three unsuccessful tentatives) before she finally accepted that there would be no way for her to go back to Gotham. (Not that she had known how she would manage to do that before, her plan never got that far.) It took another six months before Tom and Sabine trusted her enough to let her wander the neighborhood alone.

The first thing she did the day her ‘new parents’ let her go to the library alone was to get to a public computer, and look Jason up. She didn’t really think she would find anything when she typed Jason Todd and Gotham in Google that day (maybe an obituary). She definitely didn't think she would find her best friend (brother) on the covers of so many tabloids declaring that he was Bruce Wayne’s ward.

She didn’t know how she should feel about the fact that he proved her wrong and became some real-life Annie. She wanted to feel angry, or hurt. Even more so when she realised that Wayne adopted him not even a full week after her (kidnapping) departure from Gotham, but…

But seeing Jason in the pictures… He looked so angry. Angrier than she ever saw him. And hurt. There was hurt hidden in his expression. It was well hidden but she could see it. (She did that, she was the one that hurted him. He probably thought she left him. That she wasn’t any better than his deadbeat of a father and abandoned him. What if he hates her now, because she was gone for so long?)

She needed to go back to Gotham, find him, and explain everything. She needed to tell him she didn’t want to leave him behind, that he was her family, and that it would never change. But Tom and Sabine didn’t want to take her back there, not before she was older, because she wasn’t ready yet, they said.

She didn’t care, though. No matter how long it would take her, she was going to go back. So, she slowly started to act like the perfect little girl. She didn’t really change, she just stopped bringing up Gotham so much, started to help more often in the house and at the bakery, and started to call Tom and Sabine Papa and Maman. (It wasn’t real, at first. But then, they just crawled into her heart against her will and became family. They didn’t replace her Mom or Jason, though. Nobody ever will.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She started to heal. Slowly, without even realising. She opened up to a couple of children at her school, made friends with Nino, and sort of Frenemies (more enemy than friend, though) with Chloé Bourgeois. She picked up hobbies like sewing and designing, baking with Tom, or learning various martial arts with Sabine.

But she didn’t forget, going back to Gotham was still her ultimate goal. Until the news reached her, when she was twelve.

Jason Todd was dead.

Her best friend, her brother in everything but blood, her Annie. Dead. Jason was dead.

She felt like a part of her died with him, reading the words but not really processing. She let herself drown in her grief, closing up to everyone around her. Surprisingly, Chloé was the one that made her react. Literally slapping her to make her come back from the dead. (Not entirely, though. Mei, the Gothamite part of her, stayed dead with Jason. Only Marinette, the nice little parisian, came back.)

“I don’t really know what’s up with you, Dupain-Cheng,” she had said while Marinette cradled her sore cheek, her faux-contempt badly hiding her worry. “But you need to put yourself together. Tormenting you is no fun if you don’t react to it, and people are too worried for you to be afraid of me. Don’t make me call daddy on you.”

“I…” She had started, only to stop herself. She had looked back at Nino and Kim, both of whom were looking at her with poorly concealed worry. “Yeah, sorry Chloé.”

She pulled herself out of the worst of it after that, at the obvious relief of the people around her. None of which even knew why she was in this state. She still cried herself to sleep most nights, and sometimes felt like someone gouged out her heart with their bare hands, but she also started to let herself think of the good times. Started to let herself feel the good things happening around her, in the present.

Then, she saved the life of an old man, found magic earrings and a bug-mouse-kwami in her room that told her that she needed to become a hero and save Paris.

She thought of her big brother, of how he would always protect her when someone tried to rob them. Hide her, before even thinking of himself, when the cops would chase them down, trying to bring them back to Elliot's Hall. Give her all the food when they couldn’t get enough for the both of them. How he was a hero. Her Hero. And, really, there was only one thing she could say to that.

“Tikki, spots on!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So. That's it. That was fun. I'm going to sleep now, goodnight.

Btw, Jason's super plan that day was totaly to steal the Batmobile's tires.

[sassyshoulderangel319]

Fictober18 Day 18 “You should have seen it.”

Fandom/Character(s): DC Comics, BatFam - Jason Todd/Robin/Red Hood & Dick Grayson/Nightwing

“You should have seen it!” Jason exclaimed, doing a front flip onto the beanbag. “Scarecrow’s thugs were all, boo-boo-buh-boom!” He mimed gunshots with his hands, beaming. “And Batman was all, ‘Grrr!’ and Scarecrow was like, ‘AAAH! Don’t hurt me!’ And I was all, ‘Goin’ somewhere, doc?’ And Scarecrow was like, ‘Oh sh---’”

“Jason?” Dick asked, poking his head into the library. “Bruce is looking for you.”

“Be right down,” Jason said. Dick left. Jason looked back at me. “I’ll tell the rest of the story later, okay?”

I chuckled. “Okay.”

“Ah it was awesome. You’re gonna love it!” he said as he jogged over to the door and slid out.

I smiled and flopped onto the other beanbag. “He’s so cute,” I muttered.

I didn’t have to wait long for him to come back. Maybe ten minutes. During which time I just sat and read my book.

Jason came hurtling back into the library like an overexcited missile. He dramatically belly-flopped onto the beanbag he’d been on before. “Okay, so, anyway. It was so cool! Like, I’ve been doing patrols for nearly a year now and this was by far the most successful it’s ever been and it was, like, the most awesome night!”

He kept going, giving me a play-by-play of patrol with no inhibitions. He knew I knew everything about the double life just about everyone in this family led, so he didn’t need to hold back.

I listened and nodded and laughed in all the right places, which seemed to encourage him to just keep going. Which he did. He was so small and excited and I really couldn’t help but find it adorable. Between Bruce’s three current adopted children---me, Dick, and Jason---I was fairly certain Jason was the smartest. Dick and I were by no means idiots, but Jason, for being fourteen, already had a better vocabulary than either of us and definitely read more fancy, classic literature than we did. Dick didn’t read for recreation much and I was on a more strict, “Written after 1980″ policy.

He was the best little brother.

^^^^^

“Nuh-uh! When Bruce and Alfred are away, I’m in charge!” I snapped at Dick. “And we are not having cereal for dinner! I already made---”

“Since when are you in charge?” he demanded.

“Since I’m the oldest!”

“By two weeks!”

“Two-and-a-half. And still. The oldest.”

“I was adopted first!”

“And I’m still older than you!”

“Two weeks is negligible in the grand scheme of a human lifetime.”

“Maybe. But I’m also way more mature than you. And I already made dinner. So shut up and eat,” I ordered, shoving his stir fry at him. “It’s healthy and it’ll keep you energized for patrol tonight.”

“Guys can’t we... just all get along?” Jason asked quietly.

“I’m fine with that,” I said, passing him a plate of stir fry. “There you go, kiddo. It’ll keep your strength up for patrol.” I gave Dick a pointed look. “And since I’m not part of B’s crusade at the moment, you are in charge of that. I’ll run comms and ops from the bat-computer but you have to keep an eye on Jason, okay?”

“Aw Tally,” Jason complained. “I’m old enough to handle myself!”

I bounced my eyebrows at him, unconvinced.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Dick said. “But I will punt him back to the Batcave if he gets in my way. He’s not as experienced.”

I grunted. “Watch him grow up to be better than both you and Bruce,” I said with a snort.

“As if,” Dick muttered

I shrugged. “Well, you never know.”

I made sure my younger brothers ate their stir fry before getting ready for patrol. It was good to allow at least an hour for digestion before strenuous physical activity (but as long as possible was preferred) so I was lucky that it took them two hours to get ready. Some of that was because of the bickering. Much as Jason tried to get along with the family, sometimes he was too bull-headed from his time on the streets.

“Okay. Watch out for each other. No unnecessary risks. Keep your comms on. Call me if you need help,” I instructed. “And be careful. I don’t want to explain shattered collarbones to Bruce or Alfred. Especially Alfred.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever, Tally,” Dick muttered as he climbed on his motorcycle.

Jason gave me a hug. “We’ll be okay! Promise.”

“Good. Be sure to tell me your stories when you get home.” I ruffled his hair.

“G’aw!” he complained, swatting at my hand. “I will if you stooop!”

I laughed. “Okay. Go out there and save the city, boys.”

Jason beamed. “Okay!”

^^^^^

Six Years Later...

^^^^^

I stared out over the city from the rooftop of some high-rise. It could have been Wayne Tower and I’d have no idea.

I heard a quiet whoosh! and the thud! of a landing.

“Remember how hard you cried when Jason died?” Dick asked. I turned and glanced at him. He approached the edge of the high-rise and sat next to me. “And how hard you cried when he came back?”

I smirked. “Jealous?” I joked.

“Nah. Jason told me how hard you cried at my funeral when I faked my death.”

“Yeah that sucked. You guys really need to stop that.”

Dick snickered under his breath. “No promises, Tal.”

I rolled my eyes. “Is there any reason you’re bringing up such painful memories?”

He shrugged. “I was just wondering if that’s what fueled you to finally join the Bat’s crusade,” he said.

I pursed my lips in thought. “That... and a lot of other things. Our family grew fast and someone had to make sure no one else was going to die by being reckless or irresponsible. And...” I sighed. “I know family isn’t supposed to have favorites but you and Jay are mine. And you’ve spent so many years being there, emotionally, for our siblings that I realized I really sucked at being there for you when I was younger. I was trying so hard to take care of you and Jay physically whenever I was left in charge that I really failed at the emotional part. I know me being part of the crusade doesn’t really change that, but I hoped being out here would give me more time with you and Jay and Tim and Damian and Cass and Duke and... I just want to be a better older sister.”

“Tal, you were exactly what we needed, Jay and I, when we were younger. Firm but kind and trying your best. You shouldn’t have had to be responsible for us. That was a big responsibility to put on your shoulders whenever Bruce was out of town on business. Remember that time he had a League mission that lasted two weeks and you and I were about a month shy of eighteen? You kept Jason and I from dying for that long and we never gave you the credit you deserved.”

“That’s because Alfred was home,” I pointed out.

“Yeah but you watched two idiot teenage boys as well as you possibly could. And you did a great job. You’re still doing a great job.”

I wrapped my arms around Dick’s shoulders, careful to avoid his escrima sticks. He’d been taller than me since we were twelve. “Thanks,” I said. “But I’m still trying to be there for you. To be a better big sister for you.”

He chuckled and hugged me back. “That’s sweet of you,” he said. “So. What are you doing sitting up here anyway?”

“Waiting for Jason,” I said.

“What for?”

Whoosh! Thud!

Dick and I turned to see Jason straightening up from his landing. He jogged over and plopped down onto my other side, yanking his helmet off to reveal the streak of white in his hair from his resurrection and the red domino mask over his eyes. There was a beaming grin on his face. “Oh my word,” he said, landing a heavy hand on my knee. “You should have seen this, Batgirl!”

I laughed and Dick chuckled. “Tell me everything, Hood,” I said with a bright smile.