#dc put me in charge

[atlantic-riona]

the problem with dc and jason is that they let me get a glimpse of him in the flashpoint timeline as a catholic priest. since then my life has never known peace

[aingeal98]

Having Bruce and Cass and the Robins thoughts and they're a bit messy and jumbled so bear with me.

Idk how to explain why the Bruce and Cass messed up but loving dynamic is so much more appealing to me than his toxic relationship with his other kids but I guess it's because the entirety of Batgirl 2000 understands that Bruce is not a perfect parent. His flaws and virtues are both deliberately and carefully written and his relationship with Cass is so layered and it makes it so that I can both laugh and cringe, appreciate the sweet moments and rage at some of his more shitty moves. It's not perfect but overall the writing is just GOOD, and there's enough material to form a solid core of understanding even when their dynamic grows past Cass's solo run. This is Cass and Bruce and this is how they tick and no writer has been able to thoroughly screw that up no matter how hard some of them were pushed to by editorial.

Compare that to how he's written with his other kids, where every writer has their own version and some have him be a perfect dad and others have him be shitty and frame it as "He's got this darkness in him" while another group of writers have him absolutely brutalise his kids or neglect them or gaslight them for angst all while knowing the kids will never receive any sort of narrative justice for this because he's Batman and he's the big flagship hero. There is no single run you can point to and say yes this here showcases the heart of the dynamic between him and Tim or him and Damian, no single run so good that all other comics about their dynamic use it as their basis for this bond between father and child. There is no consistency and no communication or understanding between writers or even an attempt to pick up what the other puts down. Batman comics will have him be a good parent or a bad parent but either way it will be all about Him. Batfamily comics tend to have him just be absolutely awful and then a few months later they have to pretend it never happened because the main bat books want to make him a good parent again.

It's all shock value that rarely lasts past the arc and writer. When Tom Taylor has Dick hug Bruce and call him dad I'm remembering that time Bruce beat him into a bloody pulp or backhanded him across the face and Dick never got to call him out on it. But we're not meant to be thinking about that in Taylor's run because this is a Good Dad Bruce comic. Taylor's Bruce and Dick dynamic is completely different to the New 52 dynamic the same way that dynamic is different to Wolfman's which is different to the original Batman and Robin. And that variety can be a great thing when it comes to comics but the downside here is that you can pick Bruce's "good dad" comics or you can pick his abusive asshole comics but you cannot find the middle ground that Batgirl 2000 hit because (controversial opinion I guess) it doesn't exist for the batboys and no writer has successfully managed to pull all the different comics together and create one.

Fans have tried. Fans have pieced together a decent narrative from the mess of inconsistencies, taking the moments of almost cartoonish abuse and the moments where Bruce is shown to care, and forming the image of a complicated and nuanced abusive parent from it all. But the great thing about Batgirl 2000 is you don't have to do all that effort of trying to make the happy fluffy hero batman and the edgy punches his sons Batman fit into one character. The writing does it and does it in a more realistic fashion too, which is saying something considering the big Bruce and Cass emotional fight is solved by Bruce letting them both get drugged and fight bloodlusted. I do think there are moments when it hypes Bruce's bad parenting up a tiny bit but compared to the absolute mess that is the writing of say, Bruce and Jason? It's just so much easier to actually engage with. Being on the same page as a narrative instead of chafing against it is just a much better way for me to read comics.

That's not to say there isn't any kind of narrative and canon dynamic for Bruce and the Robins. Tim's Robin run, Dick's various runs, UTRH, Batman and Robin etc. Just that for me none of them hit that balance Cass and Bruce's dynamic succeeded in hitting during Batgirl 2000. And to be fair it's harder to hit that balance when you're working with characters who have been through the hands of so many different authors before landing on your doorstop. UTRH probably comes closest but unfortunately everything that came after that did manage to shake the emotional foundation utrh set up to the point you can look back on it and wonder if Bruce cared about Jason much at all, despite the writer clearly not wanting it to be seen that way.

Not sure how much sense this makes but to me it's the difference between a bad parent Bruce I am actually interested in engaging with and a bad parent Bruce where I just want the kids to team up and knock his teeth out.

[jesncin]

I remember a while back, there was a post going around that was along the lines of “if you could choose one tumblr user to put in charge of DC editorial/continuity/whatever, who would it be?” I’d pick you, ngl.

BLERGH THANK YOU that's so kind!! 😭😭 gonna just cherish this compliment and put it in my pocket for safe keeping.

[figofswords]

my batman fixation is interesting bc i swing wildly between total obsession and not wanting to look at ANYTHING batman. however my love and adoration for cassandra cain is a constant

[roobylavender]

one thought before i disappear again but i really fail to understand damian fans' logic or interaction with canon on any level like your entire engagement with him as a character relies on a bastardization of every person around him. i don't see what worth there is in comparing how dick and bruce are comparatively written as parental figures in damian's life when your primary basis for analysis is canon from a writer who believes (1) dick shouldn't be in a relationship with kory bc he's happy-go-lucky and hates drama; and (2) bruce's life as a hero naturally culminates in fascism. neither of these are good faith takes on the characters involved so how can you place any value in how either of them are portrayed to interact with damian by way of that. and obv this doesn't even get into the plethora of talia issues which i have essayed about to the point of exhaustion. like idk i get that i can't make people hate a character obv lol and for many damian fans that attachment is there bc they read about him when they were young but i still don't really understand what there is about damian to be invested in once you're an adult who realizes he is holistically built on character assassination and racist stereotypes that he is inseparable from. like you can't really analyze his interactions with anyone without the context for those interactions being shoddy writing of someone else and i know that can happen in comics a lot but it happening in isolation is different from it forming the entire basis for a character

[exploding-goobery]

Justice League Action had amazing character designs and I love them.

To be fair, Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle is one of the best character designs DC's ever done, it looks good in every artstyle and medium: it's insane. But, the relative size of his head-to-eyes and getting rid of the mouth adds a lot of unique expression to it!

Nothing too fancy, but Booster's small legs and how his body stretches out as you go up it makes me laugh: Of COURSE he'd skip leg day, and good on them for making a point of it!

Stargirl just has a strong profile, and I think it best displays the more upbeat personality Johns gave her, plus the super-long hair is such a neat touch! I dunno, this show was what got me into the character and she's just the best.

I love the simplicity of the Flash design: taking away most of the textural elements and letting the colours pop really keep things from being too complicated, and is just a general breath of fresh air for Flash designs. Plus, I LOVE how friendly the eyes on this version are.*

The parted hair shows her pragmatic nature, whilst also giving the tiara a nice bonus use as a hairband, which is a neat reinterpretation. I dunno, it strikes a fun balance between superheroic and warrior-esque that reflects well on Diana's charactertisation!

Obligatory gorillas doing things gorillas wouldn't normally do. - It's a DC staple, though it isn't really a character-design thing. *I am not an artist, I could not tell you why, but he's my friend so shut it.

[chaoticgremlinbrainspace]

heg these are mostly food based musings based around Dick Grayson and with some bonus throwing adhd at Dick Grayson because hes funky

I am hungry as fuck and im thinking about Dick Grayson so (projects onto him so hard) I feel like being a vigilante/hero guy takes a lot of time and energy, right? and everything ever takes time and energy so sometimes I think dick would straight up just not get the opportunity to eat, and the length of time he goes with out being able to stop and eat depends on what's happening. I mean that or he has snack stashes around the city lol, which I mean would still mean there would be times hes going hungry. that and hes a workaholic, so he might be able to eat and work especially of the thing allows for that, however hes probably gonna be too absorbed/focused on the task that eating would just not happen anyway. Especially if he has to prepare it. and like idk what his day job is/if he has one but he probably at least gets something for lunch more consistently(food being served there, restaurants in the area, vending machine), because im not sure he would have energy/time for breakfast everyday, he might be able to grab a snack or something, he might not. dinner he might also be able to do somewhat, depends on if he eats before or after patrols, hell even how late/early he eats dinner too. I feel like his chances of actually eating dinner increase the earlier he does it, but not too early because thats just lunch twice. and the later he eats the more its just a really early breakfast. and eating before patrol could throw him off his game(stomach hits suck) and after would heavily depend on patrol not exploding him energy level wise, and if he isn't like heavily wounded. plus they would probably be light anyway due to being later anyway. or he just doesn't eat dinner. he might just subsist solely on snacking through out the day when he can. or grazing, eating a little bit here and there. head canon stuff now this is the main projection part and less “being a vigilante is hard bc how the fuck does anyone have time or energy to be a somewhat functioning  person” stuff, tho its still there lol: of course I'm also a big fan of adhd haver Dick Grayson so *tosses that into the mix* he can just straight up forget to eat for a while, and realize hours later he feels like shit because he hasn't eaten anything all day. he buys food, just puts in the fridge but sometimes it gets shoved to the back or put into a drawer and then its forgotten until its gone bad. or he just cant get himself to actually start making food. hes hungry he wants food he just cant get up and start. and then he spends 3 hours either fucking around/doing work stuff. or the vice versa where he gets bored so he snacks on things and ends up eating too much. maybe he starts making himself food, but ends up getting distracted and never finishes, and then when he remembers hes lost all his momentum. so he just doesn't eat. maybe he can’t only eat certain foods because of texture issues, and its the only thing available, maybe he suddenly finds his favorite food unappetizing, maybe he becomes fixated on a food and eats almost only that thing, maybe it changes, maybe it stays consistent. maybe he impulsively buys a bunch of snack food, maybe he forgets to go to the store, maybe he has to go back out late at night to restock his groceries Because hes hungry but has no food. maybe he buys takeout a lot, maybe its the same thing every time, maybe he gets sick of it but hes tired, sore, and hungry. maybe the hungry feeling goes away, and he gets surprised when his body starts reacting negatively to running on fumes for hours, maybe he hyperfixates on something and doesn't eat for hours, and doesn't realize until he gets up and is immediately hit by every status effect ever. maybe he has a few meals he can just make really quick, maybe he has frozen foods that are infinitely easier to make but he forgets.

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Always room for seconds (dp x dc)

"There they go again," says Aunt Alicia as she looks at the hazmat-clad backs of her sister and her husband jumping into their mish-mash-of-a-van. "And on Thanksgiving too," she finishes to herself as she turns toward her niece and nephew. Neither of them look surprised, though Jazz is clearly more affected if the tick in her jaw is any indication.

"They promised," she practically spits but Danny just sighs and puts a hand on her shoulder. It seems to draw the fight out of Jazz a bit and she sags onto herself.

Alicia loves her sister but she can be so irresponsible sometimes.

"Come on kids, let's go back inside. It's about time to put the turk-" she stops short, then groans. Maddie had insisted on bringing the turkey on account of not wanting Alicia to go to all the trouble, and Alicia had agreed on the condition that her sister wouldn't try to make it. "...And the turkey is still in the van isn't it?"

Danny makes a face. "It's probably for the best. I'm pretty sure I saw it move on the way here."

Alicia doesn't let her head fall into her hands, but only just. Instead, she takes a deep breath to calm herself down to rally her thoughts. "Alright. It'll be too late by the time we drive to town and buy a new raw one, so we can just get some already made from the store. That good for you guys?"

Jazz and Danny make sounds of assent before all three of them pile up in the car. Town isn't too far away, and the trip is mostly silent. Alicia is hesitating over what to say to cheer up her niece and nephew. In the end, they pull up to the grocery store before she manages to come up with anything.

"Dad was also supposed to bring desert," Jazz mentions as she grabs a caddie and wheels it back to them.

"I made apple pie just in case," Alicia answers. Despite her dislike for him, she can admit that Jack Fenton is a generous man. However, as she has learned over the years, that generosity doesn't extend to fudge. Which is why she's got her famous apple pie ready to pop into the oven.

Danny nods relieved, as he files in behind his sister. The three of them are rolling past the frozen section when a familiar voice cuts through the store music.

"Alicia?"

At that, Alicia looks up to see the face of one and only Martha Kent. Her lips stretch into a smile unconsciously at the sight.

"Martha, hi," she answers as the other woman starts walking closer. "How are you?"

"I'm good," the other woman says as she stops in front of them. "Just doing some last-minute shopping." Then Martha looks to Danny and Jazz and gives them a smile. "And who might these two be?"

"This is Jazz and Danny," Alicia introduces them, "my niece and nephew. They're spending Thanksgiving up at the cabin with me."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Martha says sincerely. "You left your sister and her husband in charge of the turkey, then?" She winks.

Alicia winces. "Ah, not exactly."

"They had a work emergency," Jazz says, unhappy.

Martha lets out a sympathetic oh.

"That's why we're here," Alicia explains. "They left with the turkey without realizing, so we'll have to settle for store-bought this year."

Martha makes a noise of sympathy before her face shifts into something more pensive. "You know," she starts. "I've got a big turkey at home and there's only going to be my son and me to eat it. If you guys would like, we'd love to have you over to help us with it."

"Oh we couldn't possibly-" Alicia starts to protest but Martha takes a step forward and takes her hands.

"You'd be doing us a favour," Martha says, her hands still into Alicia's as she looks up earnestly at the redhead. And damn it all because Alicia can feel a blush spreading on her cheeks at that.

"Alright," Alicia says, too flustered to argue.

Martha squeezes her hands once before letting go and Alicia can't help but miss the warmth of them. "Then it's settled."

"Alright," repeats Alicia. "We'll have to swing back home, though. I made pie."

"That's wonderful!" Martha's smile is radiant and it makes something in Alicia's chest warm.

She disguises it with a cough before speaking up. "Is six thirty too early for you?"

"It's perfect. We'll be waiting for you then," Martha says. "And for your sister and her husband too, if they manage to tear themselves away from work."

"That's not likely," mumbles Danny under his breath. Uncharacteristically, Jazz doesn't say anything about her brother's manners, only putting her own hand on his shoulder. Martha catches Alicia's eye and they exchange a look.

"Well, we'll be glad to have you three, anywho," Martha states firmly which gets her a hesitant smile from Jazz.

Alicia clears her throat. "We'd better get going if we want to be ready in time."

"Oh yes," Martha agrees. "I have to make sure the turkey's not burning." Then she winks, and for some reason, Alicia can feel that pesky blush coming back. It's made worse by the shrewd look Jazz gives her.

"See you soon!" says Martha as she leaves.

"Bye," Alicia answers back a little weakly. Then she looks down to the ground and sighs. When she straightens her head, she's immediately on guard as she catches her niece's smug look.

"What?" Alicia asks warily.

"Is Martha single?" Jazz asks, with a butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth face.

"Yeah," the older redhead answers slowly. "Why?"

"Just wanted to know," Jazz says innocently. And even Danny is looking at his sister suspiciously now. "since you've got a crush on her and all."

"I do no-I don't know what you're talking about!" Alicia protests though she feels her cheeks warming for the third time today.

And now Danny is starting to smirk too as he exchanges a look with his sister. "Oh," he starts as he looks towards Martha's disappearing figure. "This is going to be fun."

[spacedace]

I know it was a prompt and u said you werent gonna do anything with it (and you so should) but i love ur two posts on the Queen of Clones Elle/Amnesiac Champion Kon AU (especially Kon's knight design (like ghost tattoos?!?!? so so cool) and Elle's relationship with him). Got anymore headcanons about this au? Who are the other clones you envisioned playing the background characters? Do Kon and Tim actually cuddle in the Only One Bed scenario? Does Elle get a cool princess/queen design(s) since Kon gets a knight one? Does Tim walk into Kon's knight practice and have a "oh no he's hot" moment? Just afagshjdksll this au is so cool please tell me all about it

The thing is, whenever I say "I'm going to put X idea here for someone else to grab since I'm never going to do anything with it" I'm lying. I'm a liar. It's still lives in my brain and is taking over all rational thought. I have at least 85% of a story written in my head when I say that, I just know that I'm never going to sit down and actually write it down lol

I have SO MANY thoughts about this AU, you have no idea what you've done asking me about it haha

(and seriously if anything at all in my ramblings here is of interest to anyone have at it, everything I post should always be considered free game to use as a writing prompt haha)

Like, between Elle getting snatched by the GIW & Kon ending up in custody with the Justice League for a bit, a lot of the clones that weren't involved in the rescue(s) who are out in the wider multiverse come pouring in to check on them and there's this huge impromptu "Congrats on Escaping a Government Agency" party for the two of them.

There are so many clones just everywhere, Tim is overwhelmed by them all (and hasn't actually realized that the whole deal of the place is that everyone there is a clone yet). But he's dealing. He's sticking close to Kon (because he's never letting Kon leave his sight again, especially since he's half convinced that Elle kidnapped & brainwashed Kon into being her loyal servant for evil purposes) and getting introduced to the most diverse group of entities he's ever seen before (humans aren't the only ones who get into cloning).

And then there's an excited whoop as some kid comes flying out of a portal and launches himself at Kon, talking a thousand miles a second, just so happy Kon is back and okay and the boy is so chipper and happy and sweet that it takes Tim a second to realize holy shit is that Damian????

The kid is the Heretic, aged down and growing up again with a fresh slate after getting sent to Elle's Haunt post however he disappeared/died in DC canon (I'm a bit fuzzy on those details). Of course that information takes a bit for Tim to figure out, becuase the kid has no memories at all of being the Heretic or of Damian or Talia or Bruce or fighting his way out of a whale fully grown. As far as he's concerned he's Antonio, Paulina Sanchez' adopted son, and like sure he's somebody's clone but that really doesn't matter to him, he only comes to Elle's haunt to hang out and tag along behind Kon because he thinks Kon is the coolest. (Kon is explaining this to Tim as a bright, cheerful, normal kid version of Damian is sitting on his shoulders. Tim is losing his god damn mind).

And the Only One Bed Thing!! Okay, so like, Kon is Elle's Champion and basically her unofficial Heir. When Elle isn't around he's in charge of her Haunt and looking after all the other clones. And even when she is there he just goes full Big Brother mode on everyone. It doesn't matter if the clones that end up in the Haunt are actually older than him, he's their big brother now.

To that end, clones end up coming to Kon all the time in the middle of the night, unable to sleep because of nightmares and stuff. And Kon is the cuddliest motherfucker. He's all about platonic cuddles to help people sleep. Just about every clone that's ever spent any time at Elle's haunt has ended up curled up in a blanket fort in Kon's room getting cuddled into feeling safe and cared for.

So for Kon? Only One Bed is no issue at all.

Oh all the clones coming over for the party has taken up all the rooms and Elle is "too weak from recovering" for her Haunt to make more? Of course Red Robin can stay in his room! His bed is so comfy and there's more than enough room for both of them (and like, sure, he's kinda panicking a little because he's never cuddled with anyone he's sorta had a tiny bit of a crush on, but he cab be cool! Besides, its hard to fully commit to the crush one Red Robin when Mystery Boy is out there somewhere, oh maybe he can ask Red Robin about him! He seems to know so much about Kon he'll know who Kon is in love with back in his old life!)

Tim, on the other hand, is just fully:

Over the prospect of having to keep his shit together while sleeping in the same bed as Kon (who sleeps without a shirt, jesus fucking christ, Kon has tattoos now since when did that happen??? why is he somehow more attractive than when he disappeared??? oh god Tim is going to have a fucking heart attack) especially after Kon drops the bomb that the only thing he can remember from before is some guy that Kon was apparently totally in love with??? Like Tim is being thrown wildly between being a Bi Disaster to being totally devistated and back again.

He mostly manages to keep himself together, at least until it's actually time for bed and it turns out that Kon is a cuddler when he sleeps (Kon did warn him! "just shove me off if I end up trying to use you as a pillow it won't wake me up" he said, and Tim thought "well it can't be that bad" he was so fucking wrong) and Tim ends up wrapped up in a cocoon of muscled and tattooed Kryptonian arms with his face smushed into Kon's chest and Kon nuzzling into Tim's hair in his sleep and it's the most comfortable Tim's ever been in his life and Kon purrs in his sleep like how is that even fair??? (I love the Kyrptonian's purr headcanon so much it has to be in here lol)

By the end of the first week Tim's has slept more and better than he has in years. He's genuinely forgotten what it's like to have a normal sleep schedule. Even with all his panicking, Kon sleepily curling up around him and hugging him like a teddy bear just knocks him out. It's insane.

And Elle! I have so many thoughts about Elle in this AU!

I mentioned it in one of my other posts on this AU that Elle gives off Vibes based off her various Epitaphs that she's gained, and I think that she'd kinda push that to the max when it came to Tim for awhile when Kon first shows up with him.

Like, she takes one look at Tim and is like "ah, this is Mystery Boy my amnesiac bestie has been on about forever" while also realizing that Kon has no idea that he's just panic-kidnapped the one person he sorta remembers from his old life. Which is the oppurtunity of so much fun matchmaking chaos. And she loves Kon, she's planning on officially making him her Heir so that he becomes Prince of Clones as well as her Champion, she wants him to be happy.

But also she's protective over him, more even than a lot of the other clones that end up in her Haunt. Kon doesn't remember his old life and he was so badly injured when he ended up in Elle's haunt that Frostbite hadn't been sure he would survive. Add in the fact that Red Robin was clearly with the people that had captured Kon while he and the other clones were getting her out of the GIW facility (and that the Justice League is sort of a government agency in it's own right) and Elle isn't totally sold on Tim.

She goes out of her way to give off extra creepy vibes while around him. Making sure he understands that she's more than strong enough to destroy him if he even thinks about hurting Kon. At least in the early days of Tim being in her haunt. She does, eventually, lighten up - especially when Kon gives her the big eyes and asks her to trust him, that he knows that Red Robin is someone he believes is good and that won't ever hurt him. She's still keeps a close eye on Tim, but does chill out a little after that.

And she does have a Queen Form (and a princess form when she's doing her Crown Princess of the Infinite Realms thing). She has a couple different forms/designs depending on which Epitaph she's invoking (and of course a fun vaguely eldritch shadow form that scares the shit out of Tim haha).

Her Clone Queen design is BIG, not quite massive Eldritch Ghost King Danny big, but definitely big. Like 20-30 feet tall big, so she can pick up and carry/hold all her clone children like little babies (if any clones are from a race/species that's bigger than that her size adjusts so she's always big enough to carry them).

She has a crown made out of mirror shards that float around and move so that it's always changing shape (I've been feeling clones being called "Mirrorborn" in the Infinite Realms since there's kind of a naming convention already with "unborn" and clones could be seen as kind of like reflections in a way. Elle's official title is actually "Queen of the Mirrorborn" though sometimes is called "Mother of Mirrors" that's why Kon's sheild reflects things, since Elle made it for him out of a piece of her crown while naming him her Champion) and wears a dress that also looks like it's covered in mirrors. It's actually very soft and comfortable and it's super common for clones to climb around or curl up in her skirts and sleep in there.

Her dress does turn into armor though if she needs to fight. And while in Clone Queen mode it's actually super easy for her to duplicate herself a bunch of times.

Knight Training!

Once Elle chills out on Tim a little and is fully onboard the matchmaking train with the rest of the clones (all while absolutely none of them tell Kon that Red Robin is obviously his Mystery Boy) she has Fright Knight show up more often to train Kon specifically for the purpose of Tim walking in on shirtless Tim expertly going through sword forms and sparring with various other clones. And of course Tim and Kon have to have a sparring scene, where Tim is so distracted by Kon being so fucking attractive he ends up pinned against a wall with the flat of a sword under his chin and Kon giving him a cheeky wink and then it's on and there's a whole dramatic flirty fight scene as they make their way through half of Elle's Haunt while sword fighting.

Also! Since Elle's entire court is actually there for once, a bunch of different monarchs around the Infinite Realms decide to host a tournament, so Kon gets to do official knight stuff in his best armor. And Tim gets place of honor right next to Elle during all the jousting and fighting stuff so he gets the best view of Kon kicking ass.

Tim (still wearing his mask because even if he's pretty sure that no one here is evil or would use his secret identity against him - or even care that he has one) has been all dressed up in some gorgeous clothes fit for his status as "Companion" to a Queen's Champion/future Heir. Just something absolutely insanely georgous in the colors of his Red Robin suit, with a dramatic but entirely functionless cape and Kon's crest (not Elle's but Kon's) embroidered on it and it's Kon's turn to blue screen at seeing Tim for the first time all dressed up.

And Tim is maybe finally putting together from talking with Kon that he might be Mystery Boy that Kon remembers from before and that Kon is in love with. So just before Kon is going out to joust, Tim - taking Elle's advice that he should give Kon a favor before the tournament for good luck - and wanting it to be more meaningful than just a handkerchief or something, takes his mask of and gives it to Kon as his favor.

And Kon just loses his god damn mind because Mystery Boy and Red Robin are the same person and all he wants to do is kiss Tim stupid but Fright Knight Master of Chivalry is like "nope you gotta win this tournament and bring honor to your beloved and do this whole ridiculous song and dance about it, no kissing, get out there and smash some heads together - and keep your helmet on this time!" and just yeets a disgruntled Kon out into the field before he can do anything.

And of course with all this extra incentive - Fright is serious about that whole "prove your love through combat" thing he's not going to be allowed to even kiss Tim's hand unless he wins and is perfectly chivalous while doing it - Kon wins the Tournament and is given the flower crown he's supposed to give to the most beautiful of all the observers and of course he gives it to Tim and he doesn't care if there's a forty step courting process he's supposed to follow Fright, he's fucking kissing Tim and there's nothing you can do about it!

Literally seconds away from them finally kissing is when the Justice League kick down the door to get Tim back.

The ghosts aren't even the ones that wrecks the Justice League's shit for interuppting, it's just Tim screaming at them about being cock blocks for forty minutes while Kon screams into the void in the background.

(Kon does get his memories back eventually, and he and Tim do finally get that kiss and start dating. But at that point Kon has been named Elle's heir so Fright Knight is even more rediculous about Correct Courting Steps than before because Kon is a Prince now. Elle is just relieved that it turns out that the Justice League nuked the GIW while they were looking for Tim, because they were not okay with them or the Anti-Ecto Laws. Kon is mortified at having what is effectively his adoptive mother constantly popping in to dote on him while in the middle of fights, Elle is having a great time.)

[faeriekit]

The Firstborn Son

dp x dc | Batman 👻 tw for: dead body, brief reference to human trafficking

(Part II available now!)

****

Once upon a time, there is a boy who dies forever...mostly.

****

Once upon a time, there is a man who wants to live forever.

He does.

****

Once upon a time, there is a daughter born to an immortal man.

"I need an heir," her father commands.

She gives him one.

****

Once upon a time, there is a King.

(He is a dead boy.)

(Most do not know that.)

"My heir, for a hundred years of your power," the immortal offers; the King accepts.

****

Once upon a time, there was a family of acrobats.

There isn't, not anymore, but the son still loves his mother and father, and gravity cannot steal his wings forever.

He sleeps restlessly, and rarely in his own bed. The allure of flying is too much to resist. At night, when the world is quiet, the acrobat joins the black darkness of an endless sky, and claims it as his own.

His guardian is one with the night.

The petit Robin is bright light and spectacle, no matter how well he hides his colors. He is spotted first.

****

Dick didn't really remember waking up from his nap. Alfred had put him down for a cold; his head hurt, and he was sleepy all the time, so B was out without him and Dick was stuck in a too-big bed in a giant, dark mansion, all alone.

Except. At some point, Dick must have gotten out of bed. Because now he's in the chandelier.

Dick doesn't remember jumping to the chandelier. And jumping to the chandelier is hard work; it's not something he could have done in his sleep. It requires weight, heft; the shirking of gravity. The night is dark around him; there are no street lights outside of their windows to light up the hallway. The darkness makes the grand persian carpet so much farther away than it is in the daytime-- entirely, unfathomably far below him. Pale moonlight flickers across cut shards of crystal. It's Dick's own little bird's nest.

Dick and the chandelier gently sway. He doesn't notice the-- the ghost, the illusion-- for a whole minute. It just looks like moonlight, until it doesn't.

It's a body. A boy's body-- not much older than Dick. Suspended, midair.

His heart drops. But Dick doesn't scream.

For a second, there are two boys midair, silent and still in the morning moonlight.

The body raises its head. Hello, Richard.

Dick doesn't move.

I have a question for you. The body blinks sightless eyes. Does your guardian treat you well?

Dick...doesn't know what that means. He rolls his weight forward, careful, so careful not to tip himself over the edge and send him plummeting.

"...Why are you asking?"

I need something looked after, the body says. Its limbs sway in wind that isn't here. It is very precious to me.

"Oh." Well, B is Batman, sometimes. And when he's not Batman, he's Bruce Wayne, and he is in charge of a lot of people. "Yeah, he's respons- reponsbile- he does a good job. Can I see it?" Dick's interest is piqued.

The body stills. And then-- like a zombie clawing its way out of its grave, it reaches through the rotting skin of its own stomach and removes. Something.

It's a baby.

Dick leans so far forward that he almost does go toppling but he's gripping the silver of the chandelier so that he doesn't, and, look! It's a baby! It's so small and tiny and it's still purple!

"He's so new!" Dick gasps, and releases one arm from its death grip to make a grabby hand. The body only floats close enough that Dick can pet the baby's cheek with a careful finger, can feel the softness of the baby's hair.

He is my charge, the body explains. As such, he is precious to me.

The baby is so small. Dick wants to bounce him, like he's seen mamas and papas do with their little ones. "Can I hold him?"

The baby disappears back into the body. It looks like a maggot burrowing back into the corpse it's eating, and Dick is heartbroken and sick about it. No. Not until I know it's safe.

Dick pouts. Also, he needs to know how to get the baby away from the...body. Babies need a lot of light and warmth. A dead body monster can't give him that.

Your guardian played his part in making the little heir, the body says. This baby was given to me by his grandfather. His mother passed him onto her own father, and her father sold him to me.

"Oh no!" Dick gasps. That is one of the things B has had to explain to Dick, one of hundreds of terrible things that happens to people in Gotham. And it happened to B's baby?

Yes. The body floats sightlessly, thin skin sliding over too-pale eyes. I must know if he is safe before I leave the baby in his care. Will you help me?

Dick...doesn't know what that means. He bites down on the soft presence of his lip. (He tastes blood.) "How?"

The body and the baby inside it are still. Quiet. Dick is two stories off the ground, midair, and any wrong motion could be his-- his-- Dick can't even see the ground. It would hurt so much. He's so high up from the distant hardwood floor and with only ghosts to keep him company.

...It would be very scary.

Dick swallows.

Do you trust that he would come get you, if you were in danger?

Dick knows so. He nods.

Do you trust he would be smart enough to find you? Mean enough to defend you? Care enough to comfort you? the body asks.

Dick nods.

The body floats closer. Closer. Until they are almost touching-- limp limbs entangling on the crystalline arms of the chandelier. It would be very scary, if you said yes, the body admits, as heavily weighted as any corpse that cannot help you hold it. But you would be in no danger. Should your guardian succeed, I will entrust him with this precious thing.

One circus boy's fears for the safety of B's baby. It's an easy choice. Dick is Robin. He is always going to pick helping people over maybe getting hurt.

His pinky touches the cold, dead flesh of the body's.

And then Dick wakes up sweating and heaving in bed.

[bess3714]

If I were in charge of DC here's what I would do to the Batfam comics in no particular order:

Batman and Robin:

I would send Bruce and Damian on a sabbatical/road trip across America. They of course keep running into crimes wherever they go and solve them, leading a couple of FBI agents to start investigating them for committing the crimes. One FBI agent will remind people of a chihuahua, and the other of a St. Bernard. Also Damian has his permit so he can drive, and since Bruce currently doesn't have a hand in comics I'd add in a plotline where they help an alien who grows back his hand as a reward but he does it wrong and now Bruce has an extra finger.

Batman:

With Bruce and Damian gone, I'd make Tim Batman and Stephanie Robin. They fight crime and bicker like old ex's, leading to some interesting rumors about Batman. I'd make a directive that Tim isn't allowed to be drawn as a twink anymore, but has to be drawn with the rippling muscles he had in the 90's and 00's. Stephanie also gets rippling muscles. Part of the b plot for a while is Stephanie's rivalry with her next-door-neighbor who turns out to be a drug lord, but the drugs he sells are like, insulin and ADHD meds that he and his gang steals because he's a doctor who lost his job for reporting some ethics concerns and now he's mad about the medical system. Stephanie gets mad because in hindsight all the clues were there that he was literally in a gang, and she didn't notice because she thought he was just an asshole. Also they definitely make out at one point.

Detective Comics:

I love what Ram V is doing right now but I think when he's done I'd put Duke Thomas in the main story investigating systemic corruption in Gotham, shining a light (because he's the Signal) on the worst parts of the government. At some point he's accused of murder and the police are all trying to arrest him so he blows up some cop cars and Batman calls to yell at him but he hangs up on Batman. Montoya has a dartboard in her office with a picture of his face on it.

I'd add in an ongoing run of a comic that resembles the original batman comics in style and content. Then I'd have a a bunch of stories with some lesser-known characters, like the Psyba-Rats. I'd really use Tec as a playground to experiment with unusual team-ups, fresh stories, and inventive artstyles.

Birds of Prey:

I like the current lineup but there needs to be 30% more queerbaiting between Barbara and Dinah. There's an issue where Barbara and Dinah pretend to be lesbians to get this himbo to leave Dinah alone because she's trying to let him down easy because he's so damn nice she doesn't want to hurt him. (Has anyone watched Rizzoli and Isles, coincidentally?) I'd also add Helena Bertinelli to the team but she has an eyepatch for inexplicable reasons (the reason is it looks cool). The eyepatch will be dropped without any recognition a few issues later. Barbara drops both Batgirl and Oracle and gets a new identity as the Cloud. Only the Birds of Prey know it's her; everyone else thinks the Cloud may or may not be an evil AI working for Lex Luthor.

Outsiders:

I'm not reading Outsiders so I can't really comment on what I'd do for that one, but if you guys have any ideas let me know and I'll do the opposite, inciting fan fury and starting a Twitter war.

Nightwing:

I would send Dick to live in New York and also I would make him broke and homeless. I thought about making him lose his memory too, but that's already been done so instead I'd give him violent visions of murder and assault so he thinks he's losing his mind but then it turns out to be a secret policy from the new mayor of New York City to quietly round up all the homeless people by releasing gas into the streets at night to knock them out, but Dick has had too much exposure to drugs and poisons for it to work right on him, so instead he gets hallucinations!

Batgirl:

That's right, you'd get a Batgirl ongoing from me! Cassandra Cain would be the main character, and in the first arc I'd have her join a dating app, but then every date she goes on turns out to be with a criminal who she then sends to jail, and just when she's about to give up on dating, on the very last date she goes on the guy tries to force a charter pilot to help him escape by plane but Cass takes him down and the pilot is like "so that was cool. Can I get your number?" and they start dating. After that Cass accidentally joins a gang but she keeps getting gang members sent to jail and no one suspects it's her, only at some point she actually becomes the gang leader. There's then a crossover with Batman where her gang beefs with Stephanie's next-door-neighbor's gang and Cass ends up giving her gang to him peacefully.

Batwoman:

While I'm at it, I'd launch a Batwoman comic. I'd get Chuck Dixon to write it and it would be both wildly homophobic and also the gayest thing you'd ever seen, but eventually ol' Chuck and I would have some creative differences and he would depart, and instead we would have a rotating cast of guest authors. I don't really know much about Batwoman but luckily knowing about a character in order to write them isn't a requirement at DC. I think we need some ghosts so there would be an arc about Batwoman getting haunted by a bunch of angry, vengeful spirits who she thinks are trying to kill her but who are actually trying to lead to their killer. One of the ghosts is a really hot woman and they share a passionate kiss before the ghost girl disappears after Kate gets them justice. The arc would be lauded in some articles as a 'major reversal of the bury your gays trope' because at one point Kate has to dig up their bodies to look for clues, while in other news outlets it would be decried as a 'vile depiction of the desecration of queer final resting places.'

Red Hood and the Outlaws:

Jason starts a club/gym for a group of teenagers where he teaches them cool stuff like 'how to throw a punch' but also 'how to buy and cook groceries'. The gym is threatened by various forces like gangs, developers, the city government, plus the kids all have personal problems they have to deal with, like mental and physical disabilities, generational trauma, homelessness, and poverty. The teenagers call the gym "The Saloon" and themselves "The Outlaws" because Jason always has a TV playing reruns of old western shows. There's a running joke where various people think Jason looks like a dead relative.

Poison Ivy:

I'm a few issues behind but this one I would leave alone. I don't think I could improve on it. Unless I made Janet from HR and Croc an item. That could be fun.

Harley Quinn:

Another one I'm not reading so I don't know what's going on there but it could be fun to have a crossover storyline with Poison Ivy where they grow and sell shrooms to rich college students and then influence them to do stupid stuff and get them arrested. You know, fun date night activities!

Conclusion:

My time in charge of Batman comics would be one of mass outrage and general fervor. My directives would be so unpopular amongst fans that petitions would be started to have me removed and violent death threats towards me would be de rigueur online. I would depart after a few short months and my replacement would almost immediately retcon all my creative decisions away into a dark universe that would then be blown up by Lex Luthor. Ten years later, a dedicated fanbase for the comics produced under me would emerge, and they would be so loud and annoying and insistent that fans would then clamor to get me back in charge of DC once again, but unfortunately by then I will have retired to start drama on Twitter and write a memoir after a failed attempt at starting my own comics company called Big M Comics and getting sued by McDonald's

[fantastic-nonsense]

Hi! I've never done this before but I'm new to comics (started with WFA and Zatanna and the Ripper) and I've basically got most of my information from posts on tumblr and r/hobbydrama (including yours.) I think I have a general idea of what Jason Todd is like, but I believe a lot of people are unhappy with his new characterisation.

So, if you were the one in charge, how would you write him? Would you write him with a team or as a solo character? Would you have him use the All-Blades or a crowbar or his guns? Would you have him properly rejoin the batfam or not?

Thanks!

Hi! Welcome to the fandom! I hope you're enjoying your time here.

In general, I think DC (and the fandom) has spent too much time milking Jason's death for trauma porn. They have refused to allow him to find closure, move past that, and exist beyond his daddy issues drama with Bruce. When DC has allowed him to have stories outside of that, they were often written with little consideration for what should be done with Jason beyond making him "badass."

None of this has been conducive to creating any kind of satisfying and coherent narrative or character arc for Jason, especially when both writers and editorial seem more obsessed with stealing traits, relationships, and stories from other people to give to him (most prominently Dick, Selina, and Helena). My hottake is that DC should move beyond "Red Hood" as an identity for Jason entirely, because it drags his character down and keeps him inherently tied to the same problems that have kept his character stagnant for years.

However! I don't think he's unsalvagable. I simply think DC needs to put a decent writer on him and commit to a character direction for more than 2 years at a time. I'm unsure of what Shawn Martinbrough is currently doing with Jason in his The Hill arc, as I'm not reading it, but I've heard that there might be some forward momentum finally happening there?

Anyway, my personal conception of Jason's future (as lovingly brainstormed by me and my friends in our comics discord server) is effectively this: he becomes a street-level paranormal detective who solves cold murder cases by talking with the victims' ghosts and providing closure to restless spirits. Think Lockwood and Co. meets Pushing Daisies with a superhero twist; basically, a supernatural detective noir book.

There's a lot of concepts and lore drops tied into this idea, but basically it was born out of a discussion where I was talking about Jason's many connections with the supernatural and occult across all continuities and how it's kind of a mystery why DC hasn't just formally connected him to the mystical side of the DCU. So I was like "they should just reveal that Superboy-Prime’s reality punch resurrection left him LITERALLY undead, make the event where he finds this out also spark his ability to see and communicate with ghosts, and make him an occult detective. Let him close cold case murder files and put those spectres to rest."

Which is also a great premise for a Bat book and a great unfilled niche for a Batfamily member. Kate's supernatural stories are much more high concept and connected to her family drama. Damian's supernatural/occult connections are traditionally very heavily tied to his family history and the Lazarus Pits. Dick's semi-regular magic encounters are usually stuff he deals with alongside his teammates in the course of working with the Titans. None of the other Bats have enough regular encounters with the supernatural and magic side of the DCU for it to encroach on their shtick, and a Gotham-based supernatural book is well within DC's ability to publish and market given books like Gotham by Midnight.

In terms of how that direction affects all the other questions you asked...I think Jason's relationship with the rest of the Batfam should be complicated. I personally don't think "good/bad relationship with the Batfam" is a particularly useful way to look at it because I think there are people he should never see eye to eye with, people he realistically shouldn't and doesn't have a problem with, and people he should get along with just fine. I don't think everyone needs to or should be friends or enemies with him, but his morals and past actions will (and should!) complicate those relationships in interesting ways.

And re: what weapons I'd like to see him use...using the All-Blades would certainly factor into my proposed narrative direction, as that would lean into the supernatural connections, but I generally prefer the concept of Jason using knives as his preferred weapon over guns/a crowbar/etc. That way he can still be a marksman without using guns, and I think that fits more with his character trajectory as someone attempting to be less lethal but also has no problem roughing people up when he thinks they need to be.

[nonotnolan]

The Great Gym Shift

Day 15 of life after the body swapping incident that affected downtown Washington DC, and life was still weird as shit.  Some people were calling it the Great Shift-- a government cover-up for a science experiment gone wrong.  I don’t think a two mile radius really deserves a “Great” moniker but I had to admit it was catchy.  Others were calling it a terrorist bioweapon meant to cause havoc across the nation’s government.  That did seem possible, but the terrorists had terrible aim if that was the case.

A few people even said it was a plan to put key politicians into younger, healthier bodies, but... I know for a fact that one isn’t true.  I was there at ground zero when the swap occurred, working as a personal trainer at the gym.  All those desirable bodies, mine included, went to some of the most pathetic white collar workers you could imagine.  Whatever happened, it was definitely an accident.

It’s been a month, and I still haven’t gotten used to my reflection.  I hope I never do, to be honest.  The government is working on getting this whole mess resolved, and I can only hope it will be sooner rather than later.  I’ve never had hair this long, and I am in desperate need a of a haircut.  Since it’s not my body, I’d have to fill out a requisition form, and I keep hoping it won’t come to that.  

One of the first things the Government did was send in the National Guard to put everyone affected into a quarantined hotel area, and then they started drowning us in regulations and paperwork.  I’m still working as a personal trainer... only now most of my clients are lazy office drones.  Those desirable bodies I mentioned?  I’m in charge of making sure their new owners keep them in shape.  I’m slowly losing my sanity.

“Mitch!  What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” I said, walking out into our shared kitchen.  Uncle Sam was putting us up in some very nice accommodations, I had to admit, but my clients-turned-roommates left a lot to be desired.

“C’mon Grady, it’s Saturday,” he said, as if that was supposed to be an answer.  I kept starting at him until he continued.  “Saturday is my self-care day, and today that means Netflix and cookies.  I don’t see what the big deal is...”

“Absolutely not,” I said, holding out my hand.  “Give me those, that is way too many calories for one serving.  We’re sharing those with the whole floor.”  He rolled his eyes and sighed at me, but at least he obeyed me.  I can’t help but feel self-conscious bossing all of these men around, especially when they’re large enough to beat me to a pulp if they knew how to leverage their strength.  The real Mitch was a lanky college intern who had no idea how to build or maintain muscle mass.  Russ would’ve had a heart attack if he was here to see even half the things Mitch wanted to do in that body.

As I walked the plate of cookies out to the common area, I couldn’t help but notice that Larry was still sitting at his room’s computer desk, shirtless and surrounded by a few wadded tissues.  Gross, but... I’ve seen Larry’s old body.  I can’t entirely blame the old pervert.  “Please tell me you didn’t stay up all night watching porn again.”

He just smiled at me, his bloodshot eyes telling me everything that I needed to know.  “So what if I did, Grady, it’s Saturday.  The fitness schedule you made for me says I don’t have to work out today, and a sleep schedule isn’t a part of the body cohabitation contract we all signed.  As long as I still eat three healthy meals today, you can’t make me do anything.  So how about giving me some privacy?”  He was right, of course.  Larry was one of my most frustrating clients, because he knew exactly how to do the bare minimum and nothing more.  Tana was one of the gym’s biggest over-achievers, so seeing his body do a complete 180 had been quite the adjustment.

I knew better than to engage with him right now-- better to save my strength for fights that I would be able to win.  I set the cookies down in our shared kitchen, waved at a few of the other guys, and retreated back to the bedroom I shared with one other man.

Simon smiled at me, and I could feel my frustrations starting to lift away.  “Good morning, Grady.  Rough start?” he asked, looking up from his book.  Simon was a licensed psychologist who happened to be at a nearby Industry Convention when the Great Shift happened, and I was so glad to have his assistance dealing with all of the heated emotions that boiled over during the aftermath.  Furthermore, Simon had ended up in my body.  It was a relief to know that my body was being controlled by someone responsible, even if seeing myself each day came with its own set of weird situations.

"You have no idea,” I said, shaking my head.  “Or rather, you have an exact idea, because you’ve also had to deal with those guys.  I don’t suppose you would be up for some... stress release?” I asked, peeling off my tank top and tossing it onto the floor.

He laughed, quickly setting aside his book and his glasses.  “In this body?  Always!”  Was it weird that I was having sex with my own body?  Maybe, but honestly, our daily hookups felt like one of the least weird things about this whole mess.  I always knew I was an attractive man, and I’ve always been attracted to anyone who keeps themselves healthy, regardless of gender.  Presumably that’s how Simon now felt-- I know that ever since I’ve been in this new Twink body, I have only felt attraction for hairy men.  Sexual attraction seemed to follow the body, not the inhabitant.

“Do you ever worry that we’re complicating things?” Simon asked.  “For whenever the government is able to switch everyone back into the right bodies, I mean.  They’ve told our loved ones that we’re in quarantine, but... how can we go back to normal life when this is all over?”  I understood where he was coming from-- his real body was at least twenty years older, and while he didn’t like sharing too much about his life, I’d gotten the impression he had a wife and maybe a few grandkids waiting for him back home.

Simon clearly had a tendency to overthink everything, and I was now used to offering friendly advice while his warm load was still inside of me.  “Honestly, I think we’re dealing with a stressful situation, and we’re all just coping however we can.  There’s nothing wrong with two consenting adults having sex.  And I don’t know about you, but... if I didn’t try to get a wide range of experiences inside of this temporary body, I think I’d regret the missed opportunity forever.”

He smiled at me.  “I suppose you’re right,” he said, as he sipped on cheap hotel coffee.  “’In sickness or in health’ wasn’t really meant to cover something so impossible.  And I’d rather seek forgiveness than forever ponder what might have been.”

“Glad to hear it,” I said, smiling back at him.  I think we both knew it was a bit selfish, but how else could we be expected to process these strange new desires?  Yeah, I guess I felt a bit guilty having sex with someone other than my girlfriend back home, but... when else would I ever get an opportunity to have sex with myself?  I don’t think there is a person alive who could blame me.

[wordslostforever]

Couples Therapy | Ch. 3

Ch. 3 "I’m trying, but it’s not enough"

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff/fem!reader

Summary: When your marriage with Wanda starts to fall apart, you both decide to have a last chance by going to a professional, for your son's sake, and your own.

Warnings: 16+! Established relationship, Angst, Cheating, cheating thoughts, Vision, fights, cursing, break up, kissing.

Italian for flashbacks

Ch. 2 "Reminiscent of our days"

Word count: 5.4k

The rest of the week passed, and you decided to take your therapist's recommendation. It was a simple task, so simple that it became complicated. 

Don't run. 

Your back hurt, today and the day before, every day when you got up from the couch, cold and sore. That was the task, to stay in the house even after the fights, even when the anger was uncontrollable. You did, you stayed, but you didn't know if that was best for you or Wanda, not when you both ended up tangled in the sheets of your bed, your bodies touching with nothing but tension and anger coated in passion.

Even if you and Wanda ended up in bed, at the end of it all, your stubbornness wouldn't let you stay next to her, too angry at you for falling for her touches again. 

It was killing you, slowly it was, and you didn't want to admit it. You didn't want to admit how toxic your love had become, you didn't want to admit that loving Wanda made you hurt, so hurt that your heart was squeezing in your chest, not with love, but pain.

You didn't feel good, with that constant feeling of distrust and love mixed with anger. You were tired, and at this point, you didn't know how much more you could stand it, watching your love turn into something unknown that took away all feelings of happiness.

This week of therapy had been much more charged than you thought, the tension in the car when you were left alone after dropping your children off with Pietro and Monica felt suffocating. Your hands were sweating and your shoulders ached with the tension in them, you could also see Wanda's knuckles on the steering wheel white. She sighed every now and then, shifting in the seat uncomfortably. 

You weren't feeling well, least of all when you sat on the couch in the office, your therapist frowning when she noticed the awkward silence between you.

"So, this week we are going to go over the root of the problem," Your therapist explained softly, jotting down a couple of things in her notebook. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Wanda nod, relaxing on the couch, unlike you, who tensed up even more. "Usually when people come to see me, they either want out and don't know how to tell their partner or are desperately trying to save their relationship."

You gave Wanda a look, and she looked back at you, it seemed like you were both trying to come to the same consensus, but something in her look made you feel lost.

"We want to work, right?" Wanda said, and the therapist looked at you, there were a couple of seconds your head hesitated, it was only a second, but you knew Wanda had noticed.

"Yes, we do." You said nodding, and you could feel Wanda’s intense gaze fix on you.

"Okay, so," The therapist took both of your attention again, putting her pencil and notebook aside. "When did the fights start?"

"When my fellowship started." You said first, cutting Wanda off before she could talk. "You see, uhm, I work at a sub-company of Stark industries, and a few months ago I got a promotion and I was offered to work with my friend Tony on a prototype in DC. It was a one in a million kind of opportunity, and I took it."

"Of course you took it," Wanda mumbled the words, but you heard them turning your attention to her with a frown. She arranged herself in her seat, rolling her eyes in irritation. "You love Tony Stark."

"No, I love my work," You retorted, your jaw tensing. "It was a lot of money, and it was for a year only."

"Oh, sure, you love your work so much that you choose it over your own family." Wanda tilted her head at you, her eyes piercing yours angrily, and your face fell at her insinuation. "You wanted to leave your kids for a year because of a stupid project."

"Don't you dare even for a second to insinuate that I prefer my job over my kids," Your words were so sharp and clear that Wanda's breath caught with guilt. "I can't believe you would say that, to imply that, when you were the one who told me to go."

Your hands clenched your cell phone as you made your way to the kitchen, Wanda was stirring the pan on the stove. She looked up at you, throwing you a warm smile, which the moment you didn't return and she noticed your blank stare, it disappeared, her hands dropping the spoon and lowering the fire. You watched her make her way to you, a worried expression on her features.

"What's wrong?" Wanda asked you, her hands going to your arms, gently stroking them up and down, giving you a little courage.

"I got the promotion." You replied, and Wanda furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before smiling at you.

"That's great, honey." She said, but your look was still lost, complicated, and she decided to stroke your cheek with her hand. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"They offered me a fellowship to work on a project with Tony." You replied softly watching Wanda raise her eyebrows in surprise, her hand falling from your cheek to your neck, her eyes encouraging you to continue. "It's for a year... in DC." You saw Wanda's features falter for a moment, and shook your head. "I'm not taking it."

"You should, uhm," Wanda denied as well, clearing her throat and letting go of your neck, taking a step back. You saw her gaze change, her smile seemed to tell you something else, but you couldn't decipher exactly what she meant. "You should take it."

"But, the kids-"

"The kids are with me, we'll be fine." Wanda cut you off by turning to the stove and turning it back on. "Just ask the kids what they think and make a decision from there." Wanda didn't look at you after that, focusing on the soup. You sighed walking out of the kitchen a few minutes later.

You remembered the conversation with your sons perfectly, Billy and Tommy had agreed with you, not upset with the idea of you working away. Billy had made you promise to bring him a couple of new outfits for his plays and Tommy had asked you for a couple of action figures in return. Your kids were fine with the idea, and you had also taken the liberty of thinking about calling them every day and taking a couple of days a month to visit them.

"I just assumed you would choose to stay with them over a fellowship and I was wrong." Wanda explained and you snorted, you could hear your heart pulse in your ears at the anger. "I never implied that you loved your work over our sons. That'd be ridiculous."

"I talked to them," You replied, relaxing in your seat and taking a seat again. Wanda looked at you and you looked at her too. "You are mad because they didn't tell me to stay."

"You didn't ask me, but it doesn't matter, you should have known that I wanted you to stay." Wanda told you with disappointment and you raised your eyebrows in indignation. "You are supposed to know."

"No, I don't." You replied, shaking your head at the ridiculousness of the situation. "I'm not a mind reader, I can't just know what you're thinking."

"You usually did."

Wanda was tired, you could tell by the way she collapsed on your couch with a sigh. Your hands went straight to her waist, pulling her to you confidently, making her half smile as you left a kiss on her forehead. 

"Bad day?" you asked, and Wanda nodded snuggling into you. Your hands went to the TV remote, automatically putting on one of her favorite sitcom episodes. "You want ice cream? I bought the one you like."

You were about to move, but Wanda's hand stopped you in place, her eyes meeting yours. It was a second you stopped to read her gaze, you noticed how they spoke to you without a single word and you knew how she felt.

"Come here, baby." Your words were soft, you knew how those bad days for Wanda were, the uncontrollable sadness she felt. You held her gently, feeling her sobs crash painfully against your chest. "It's okay, I've got you, let it go. I'm here, love, I'm not going anywhere, shh, I love you so much."

Wanda shook her head, memories flashed through her head squeezing her heart. You had been such a pillar in her life, helping her with her insecurity issues, her fear of abandonment, the horrible days she had when everything seemed to fall apart around her. She needed you.

"I did when we were young, when it was fun to play around and be cryptic, and mysterious, challenge each other to figure out what we were thinking." You explained, your words squeezing Wanda's heart even tighter. "But we changed, we are old, and you are my wife. I assumed that I shouldn't have to do that anymore."

"You assumed wrong then."

"Really, Wanda? Why do you have to be so stubborn? Why can't you admit you weren't honest with me and that you fucked up?" You saw Wanda shook her head, her gaze avoiding yours and looking at her rings as her fingers played with them. She was nervous, but you knew why, why maybe everything had gone to shit. "We grew out this stupid crap long ago. This stupid fights because we decided not to be honest with each other about what we really felt." You said, relaxing in place, your eyes still on Wanda, and you decided to get her attention and grab her hand. "I came back for you, I dropped the project and I'm here."

The first three months in DC went great. You were happy to be able to get your dream job, you really were, and your kids seemed happy. Sometimes you could tell they missed you, but you always came home each month and they seemed fine. They were fine.

But Wanda wasn't. Every time you came home, Wanda seemed determined to fight with you, whether it was over the stupidest things. The daily calls with her, had become once a week or once every how often. You were worried about losing her, about ruining the perfect marriage you had, so you decided that going back was the right thing to do. You had made a reputation, worked with one of the most famous engineers and made money that could help your children in the future. You felt complete.

When you arrived home in the evening, you knocked softly on the door, expecting to meet your children, but Wanda opened it, giving you a short glance and turning on her heel. You walked in with your suitcase, setting it by the door and closing the door carefully. You knew Wanda was angry after the call the day before where you had called her selfish. She stood away from you with a frown, watching as you pull out your jacket.

"I guess you did decide to show up and drop everything for me," Wanda said with a brute tone, the words coming angrily from her lips. "My apologies if you missed something important, I wouldn't want you to think that I'm also a bitch besides the egotistical part."

"I'm sorry," You apologized, a grimace passed over your features. Wanda was still staring at you with her arms crossed. "I shouldn't have called you that, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Wanda nodded, her posture relaxing. "I wasn't just thinking about me only, Y/n, Billy has a play next week and Tommy's tournament is in two days. I want you there."

"I know, and again, I'm sorry." You said, Wanda took a deep breath as you approached her. "I just don't want you to get mad at me for not being here when I'm working there. And I also don't want you to tell me you're fine when you are not fine with me being gone."

"I am fine."

"No, you aren't, stop saying things you don't mean." 

"Are you calling me a liar?" Wanda jumped defensively and you denied, trying to relax her by putting your hand on her arm.

"No, I want you to tell me what you really feel, not what I want to hear. We are together in this, okay?"

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like we are." 

"And I'm sorry for that." You said, trying to eat the urge to tell her that she had told you to go, but you didn't want to fight with her anymore. "I dropped the fellowship."

"You did?"

"Yes, I still need to go back to finish some paperwork, but I'll be back for good this time."

"Okay." Wanda nodded, and you moved your hand to her cheek.

"Okay," You repeated with a smile, Wanda smiled back before moving closer and meeting her lips with yours. When you pulled away, your forehead rested with hers. "We good now?"

"Yes, we are."

"Good."

"I missed you,"

"I missed you too."

"You are here, but you're also not," Wanda said, letting go of your hand and sighing. "You hate me because I made you give up the only thing you had ever wanted. You are here, but you hate to be."

"No, I don't hate you, and I also don't hate to be here." You said, shaking your head, part of you breaking at the thought of the fear Wanda must have felt when you left. You knew she had that fear of losing you, of being alone. "Being with you is what I want, not the stupid job or Tony. You. I want you."

"Even after what I did?" Wanda's words clashed with your ears, your heart squeezing and your muscles contracting, your body tensed and at that you saw Wanda's defeated look release yours.

Wanda knew what she was doing was stupid, she even had the notion that it would hurt you, but something deep inside her forced her to ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

She forgot you, for a second inside that conversation she was having with Vision, she forgot what her life was about, too consumed in the pain you had caused her by leaving, too focused on the despair that losing you and being alone caused her. She knew she had never told you, or even admitted it out loud to herself, but the fear of losing you consumed her all the time, the fear of thinking you would fall in love with someone because she wasn't enough, or just the thought of having to go through everything completely alone. It was irrational, but Wanda didn't know how to stop, even when you hadn't given her any reason to think about it.

Maybe it was because you had been married for eleven years, the fear that the love you had for her would fade over time.

"Are you okay with doing this project with me?" Vision spoke to her, his hand firmly grabbing a glass of whiskey. He looked at her sitting next to him at the bar, which he had invited her to, and Wanda nodded, her hand clutching her glass of juice. She wasn't planning on getting drunk. "I could ask to be changed, I wouldn't want to cause any problems to you." 

"That's not necessary," Wanda smiled encouragingly at the man, biting her lip softly thinking of you. She told you about Jarvis, and you knew him only by his nickname, but Wanda knew that, even if you didn't show it, you were cautious when it came to him. "I don't see why working with you would be a problem."

"Because of your wife, Y/n," Vision explained, bringing the glass to his lips afterwards, and Wanda shook her head, it was just work, nothing more. It wouldn't bother you to think about the extra hours she spent with her co-worker. "She may get the wrong impression, after all, this project is basic, and you don't need a skilled programmer to do it."

"But I wanted you," Wanda said, her tone having gone up an octave, using the typical tone she used to flirt with someone. Her hand gently patted Jarvis's arm and she smiled sideways. "Maybe it's not necessary, but I asked for you because you're the best." Wanda knew what she was doing, that innocent flirting she had almost forgotten about from her days in college, the same flirting she had used on you. She told herself it was just a joke, that it wouldn't go any further than that, and you were far away, you weren't there. "I heard you graduated from Princenton, right?"

"Yeah, I did indeed," Vision smirked proudly. "I graduated with..."

 That was a week after you left, and it went on for most of your stay in DC. The after-work outings to the bar, hours and hours of off-topic chatter in the office, the intense, short glances as they both worked on the project, that air of tension surrounding them. It never went beyond that, and Wanda never planned for it to be anything more. It was just a game. Innocent flirting.

You knew about the project, and Wanda had told you that it was Vision she was working with. You hadn't given it any thought, and that bothered Wanda, to think that you didn’t care about her in the slightest, but you did because you trusted her, you did with your life. 

Wanda knew that the innocent flirting couldn’t reach you, you could never know that part of her was trying to conquer someone who was not you. But she knew that anyone who plays with fire, gets burned eventually, and she did.

"Vision?" Wanda put on her jacket, fixing her hair carefully, giving the man a look as she put her things away on the office desk. She needed to end that stupid game with the man, more so now that you had told her you were coming back to stay. 

"Yes?" Vision stood up from his desk with his suitcase, taking a couple of steps to the woman. Wanda sighed looking at him, played with the ring on her index finger and Vision noticed, nodding. "I heard she is coming back."

"Yes, she is," Wanda nodded, he took a step towards her, getting close enough to make her raise her gaze a little more. "We can't keep doing this."

"Doing what, Wanda?" Vision asked, tilting his head in confusion and then nodding. "Working on the project together or that we started to like each other?"

"I didn't..." Wanda shook her head, she didn't like Vision, she liked you. 

"You started what we have now, you can't deny there's something here." The man touched Wanda's shoulder gently, and she didn't move. "I like you, Wanda, and you can't tell me you don't like me too when you enjoy this as much as I do."

"I'm married."

"It didn't seem to be a problem when we flirted."

"I love her, Vision." Wanda shook her head, the adrenaline she felt kept her from moving. She hadn't realized how close Vision was now, how his hand had already gently grasped her cheek, and how he was moving closer to her, but she didn't move, even as her head screamed so loudly on your behalf.

And it happened, she burned herself so deep that she didn't know what possessed her to close her eyes and bring her lips together with the man feeling the different texture of his lips and the different movement he had to pull her closer to him. When she opened her eyes, the world stopped for a second, her heart stopping abruptly in her chest, her stomach clenching in guilt. Panic settled in her viscera, those eyes looking at her were so unfamiliar that they made her feel completely lost. 

Wanda took a couple steps back, turning away from Vision with her hand over her mouth, shaking her head. She didn't say a word before she left the office, almost running to her car. She tried to compose herself as she drove home, tears forming in her eyes along with that ball in her throat, but she swallowed it down. 

She knew you were home when she walked down the porch, the living room lights on. She slowly walked in, pulling out her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack, before you lifted your head from the TV to her with a smile from the couch.

"Hello, my love," You got up from it, walking softly towards your wife with a half smile, but stopped when you saw her expression tilting your head worriedly. "The kids are in their rooms sleeping. Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I-" Wanda spoke, but her voice came out in a whisper, your hands grabbed hers, and you felt how shaky Wanda was.

"Hey, it's okay," You said, releasing one of her hands and bringing it to her cheek. The touch made Wanda clench her jaw. "I've got you, it's okay."

"I kissed Jarvis." Wanda said and your hand released her cheek almost instantly, your brow furrowing as you took a step back. The lack of contact caused Wanda to press her lips together.

"You kissed who?" You asked confused, you didn't know anyone named Jarvis. 

"Vision." 

"Oh, wow," You let out an offended laugh, your heart squeezing with pain and anger. You shook your head, clenching your fists watching Wanda approach you, but you held up your hand to stop her. You had never cared enough about Vision to care what his real name was, instead of the ridiculous nickname he had. "I leave for what, three months and you are already screwing someone else? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking." Wanda said, her lip quivering, but you didn't let it bother you, the feeling of betrayal was too much to make you want to hug her. "I slipped, I didn't mean for it to happen." 

"How many times?"

"It only happened once." Wanda said, running her trembling hands through her hair, looking at the distance between you with a pained expression. "Nothing else happened." 

"Like that could make me feel any better." You blurted out wryly, shaking your head. Wanda took a step towards you and you crossed your arms in front of your chest, your angry look making the woman sigh. "Did nothing else happen because I came back or because you felt too guilty?"

"Nothing happened because I love you." 

"So, were you thinking about how much you loved me while you were kissing him?" You asked and Wanda gave you a hurt look. "I can't believe how selfish you are. You wanted me here, but you were also cheating on me with your co-worker at the same time?”

"Selfish?" Wanda blurted out offended, guilt sinking in with anger. "I wasn't the one who left."

"Oh, I'm so sorry that I went to work instead of looking for someone else to fuck." Your words came sarcastically out of your mouth and Wanda widened her eyes in surprise at your words, her expression changing. "Maybe I should have since you were doing the exact same thing behind my back."

"You would have cheated on me?" Wanda asked, her voice rising in indignation and you held back the words of denial, you were blinded by anger. "And then you have the nerve to say anything to me about it."

"Of course I do, it wasn't me who did it."

"Saying you would cheat on me is just as bad." 

"No, it isn't! You're incredibly manipulative," you said, shaking your head and Wanda raised her eyebrows at your words. "I'm not going to let you make me feel guilty for your mistakes."

"Manipulative? What? Are you listening to yourself?" Wanda let out a short laugh of indignation, and you clenched your fists, taking a breath of air. "You're so damn stupid to think I am anything but manipulative."

"Of course I am." You said, shaking your head, and walking past her, picking up your shoes and putting them on. Wanda looked at you, the words she said came in time with her brain. "I'm so damn stupid that you can cheat on me so easily."

"I never thought..." Wanda stopped when she saw you put your jacket on. "Where are you going?"

"To Nat's house." You said standing up straight and straightening your clothes. You saw Wanda look at you scared, and you clicked your tongue, irritated at how her look made you feel, you hated to see her scared. "I'll be back tomorrow morning, and we'll talk about what we're going to do."

"Stay."

"After everything you've said, I'd better not. You don't want to either, because right now, it's really hard for me to think about staying with you in the same bed." You let go, opening the door, and with one last look at the redhead, you blurted out the words you had been holding on the tip of your tongue. "I really don't want to break up with you out of anger."

You remember that day clearly, the memories of Wanda's defeated features and eyes full of fear. It broke your heart to see her that way. But you also remembered crying like never before in your life, Natasha holding you gently as your sobs split every part of your being until you collapsed into bed, barely having the strength to get up. The next morning you had talked to Wanda, and after deciding for the sake of your children, you had decided to try to forgive her, and you did, but nothing was the same.

That was one of the reasons why you were both right now in front of a stranger, talking about your problems as if it was the only solution.

Wanda looked at you expectantly, trying to search your gaze for the forgiveness she needed to make you two work, but you couldn't do it. You sighed, watching the eyes of the love of your life fill with tears, and put your hand on her cheek. 

"I love you," Your words broke her, you knew it as she moved closer to you clutching you in her arms in desperation. Wanda hid her head in your neck, sobs escaping her lips, and your eyes burned, tears accompanying the pain in your chest. You knew this was the end for the two of you. "I love you so much, but I can't do this, I can't keep pretending I'm fine when being with you hurts too much."

Wanda shook her head separating from you, her forehead meeting yours, her hands gently squeezing your neck.

"Please," You felt her tears meet yours on your lips, that many times you had felt after the countless fights ending in sour words and tears of pain. Wanda kissed you and you kissed her back. "We can still work."

"We tried to fix this many times, my love, we can't keep hurting each other. I can't let the love I have for you become this, I can't let our love die like this." Wanda's breath collided with your lips and your tears spilled even more knowing it would be the last time. "I forgive you, I forgive you for everything, and now it's time you forgive yourself too."

"I ruined us, didn't I?"

"No, honey, no." You shook your head, an encouraging smile on your lips, as you awkwardly tried to wipe away your wife's tears. 

****

"Sometimes things just don't work, that doesn't mean it's my fault or your mom's, we just don't work anymore as a couple." You explained in front of your children, sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room. Wanda was next to you, Tommy looked at both of you confused, but you knew Billy had understood what you had told them. "I still love your mom, and I care about her so much, but we aren't going to be together anymore."

"I still don't get it." Tommy said, tilting his head to one side and with his hand pointed at Wanda and you. "Does it mean that you aren't going to be our mom anymore?"

You sighed and looked at Wanda for a second, she was about to speak, but Billy spoke instead. You were surprised to see him so calm, but you knew that behind his look there was a hint of sadness.

"It means that they are going to break up, like Cindy and Tommy." He said explaining to his brother, and you smiled, watching as Tommy nodded, looking at you curiously. 

"They don't speak anymore. Are you and mom going to stop too?"

"No, darling, your mom and I won't stop talking," Wanda said, and you nodded. "It just means that your mom will be living somewhere else, and that she won't be around the house all the time."

"Exactly, but I'm not going to stop visiting you or coming here anytime you want me to." You said, and they both nodded. "You'll come see me at my house and stay with me if you want to, and we'll go out time to time to watch a movie or whatever you want to do. It'll be different, and it may be hard at the start, but just know that I will always be here for you, okay? I'm not leaving you, I'm just moving out of the house."

You saw Billy get up from the floor, followed by Tommy, and then you felt him hug you. You thought Tommy had gone for Wanda as usual, but you felt him hug you too. You tried to close your eyes, holding back the tears that threatened to escape your eyes. 

It was a short hug before they both nodded and went off to do their things. You laughed softly and beside you, Wanda did too, both of you thought it would be harder and with more tears shed, but it seemed they had grasped the concept faster than you thought. 

"Kids, uh?" You said, giving a look to Wanda, who had gotten up from the floor already. And she smiled at you rolling her eyes, offering her hand. 

"You love them." 

"I do," You grabbed her, pulling yourself up with her help, and stood in front of her, looking at her admiringly. You would be lying if you said you no longer loved her. "We did a good job, didn't we?"

"Yes, we did." Wanda smiled, biting the inside of her cheek, the silence between you felt lighter, comfortable. "Where are you staying?"

"With Nat. She'll help me search for an apartment to rent this week." 

"She is going to be so annoyed with you." 

"She already is." Wanda let out a giggle at your comment and followed you as you started walking toward the door. "If it wasn't because Maria is there, she'd probably have thrown me out of the window by now."

"Maybe you should behave." Wanda retorted, and you smiled sideways, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"You know I don't like to." You said making Wanda roll her eyes, and before opening the front door, you turned to her, stopping her in her place. "I'll miss you."

"I already do."

"You think maybe we should..." You asked unsurely, looking shortly at Wanda's lips. That was enough for her to nod and move closer, grabbing your chin and guiding your lips to hers. It was a soft, slow kiss, a kiss goodbye after all those years that belonged to you alone. You didn't want to be the first to stop, nor Wanda, you both didn't want to, but the air ran out and the warm feeling of her lips on yours disappeared. "I love you, Wanda."

"I love you too, Y/n."

With that you walked out of the house, the door closing behind you. Reality hit you like a bucket of cold water, and you sighed walking to the new car you had bought. As you climbed in, the reflection of Wanda's car flashed in the rearview mirror, slowly getting smaller until you stopped seeing it.

Sometimes love isn’t enough to fix everything.

[rwby-encrusted-blog]

Saw your post about jaunes extended family. Now I think we need to see _NPR's family

_NPR Extended Family

Please bear in mind that That was only a small part of Jaune's very, VERY big family tree

~Nora~

Neptune: God I hate the ocean.

Sun: Calm down, It's not like there's anything nearby that'll eat you.

Nora: Zippy! C'mon boy! I got your Favorite! Electric Eel!

Zippy (Depth): *Breaches, Snatches Eel, Dives back in the Water*

Neptune: ...

Sun: ... Let's- Let's head back to ... anywhere but the coast.

Neptune: Good- Good plan, Good plan!

~~~~~

Nora: *Trying to lift a Semi Truck* HHRRRG!

Denki (MHA/BNHA): You got this Nora! C'mon! Here- Let me help!

Denki: CHARGE OF 7000 VOLTS!

*CRACK*

Nora: RRAGGH! *Throws Semi into Orbit*

Denki: ... Uuuhhh ...

Nora: Well ... We moved the Truck?

~~~~~

Nora: Auntie! I found a Man!

Urbosa (LOZ: BOTW): Really? Might he be nearby?

Nora: *Lifting Ren above her head*

DA DA DA DAAAA~

You got a Boyfriend!

Try not to break before the second kid ...

Ren: Uhm. Hello ma'am.

Urbosa: Hah! You and the Princess have such similar tastes, Nora.

Ren: ... I'll take that as a compliment.

Urbosa: *smirking* Good. It was intended to be one.

~Pyrrha~

Pyrrha: Aunty? Are you Here?

???: In the Greenhouse, Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: *walking into the greenhouse* Hello Aunt Ivy! Where's Auntie Harley?

Poison Ivy (DC comics): *Tending to Plants*She's out walking Bruce. What do you need?

Pyrrha: Oh, I just wanted Advice on getting a Boy's attention.

Poison Ivy: Pyrrha, Dear, You are one of the strongest fighters of your generation, and you have the power of magnestism. Anyone who doesn't respect you should fear you, and those that do neither shouldn't be able to mistreat you. You could likely ask this boy to walk off a cliff and he'd do it.

Poison Ivy: You could run this world Dear, and few could stand in your way.

Pyrrha: I- I- I think I should ask my sister- Thank you for the Confidence boost though?

Poison Ivy: You're a poor liar when it comes to yourself. Chin up dear, your Tiara's falling.

~~~~~

Monika (DDLC): Ehehehe~ boys? Pyrrha, you're far and above any Boys! You're strong enough to take on the world!

Monika: Besides, any boy that captures your heart needs to meet Me so I can make sure He's up to my twin's standards~

Pyrrha: I- I know he will-

Monika: Then bring him here, and have him prove it! We wouldn't want some little heartbreaker now would we?

Pyrrha: o-okay Mony. I'm going to tell Makima about it!

Monika: Oooooh ... Okay Then.

~~~~~

Makima (CSM): He sounds Cute. Almost like a dog.

Pyrrha: He does have a certain puppy-doggishness to him, yes, but he's very smart!

Makima: If he was smart, then he would've jumped at the chance to be with you by now

Pyrrha: Well what if he's just scared - he knows how I feel about how the public treats me, so he's also ... Yeah. Yeah! I'm gonna confess to him!

Makima: I don't know-

Pyrrha: No! I'm going to tell him how I feel! Thanks Makima! *Pyrrha leaves*

Makima: ... Shit.

Monika: Nice going. Now we have to compete with her too.

Makima: ... It's easy to beat an opponent who doesn't realize they're playing a game, Little Sister.

Monika: I'd usually suggest removing the player but Pyrrha is ... Different.

Makima: Yes, She is. We'll need to be coercive about this.

Monika: When am I not?

Makima: ... Get out of my room.

~Ren~

Ren: Good morning 'Uncle'

Iroh (ALTA): pah! There's no need for the emphasis. I'd love to be your Uncle, but if you don't feel like you're my nephew, then Don't bother Lying. What's wrong?

Ren: Nothing. Is it too much to want to come see my mentor?

Iroh: No, but I can tell there is still a storm in your heart.

Ren: ... I would not like to talk about it right now.

Iroh: Alright then. I could put tea on. Whatever you'd like.

Ren: Nightshade, if it isn't too much trouble.

Iroh: Daring today, aren't we? Very well then!

~~~~~

Ren: Alex! It's good to see you again! You look ... Happy.

Alex Chen (LiS: True Colors): *Gives Ren a hug* I am. I've- I found someone. It's been wonderful - Her names Steph! You look good too- I can tell you're in a better spot than you were when we were kids.

Ren: Me and Nora have a big Family now- teammates and friends. It's nice.

Alex: All it takes is a little growing up, huh?

Ren: A little growing up, a lot of support- But you knew that didn't you?

Alex: Well, you always did have sharp eyes.

Ren: ... Thanks. That means a lot. Should we get something to eat, or do you want to walk for a bit?

Alex: I'm down for whatever.

~~~~~

Ren:*Cuddling Pikachu*

Red (PKMN): ...

Ren: *Patting Charizard's head*

Red: ...

Ren: *Hugging Venusaur around it's neck*

Red: ...

Ren: *Letting Blastoise chew on his sleeve*

Red: ...

Ren: *Laying on Snorlax's belly*

Red: ...

Ren: *Scritching Lapras*

Red: *Raises Fist*

Ren: *Fist Bump*

~~~~~

If anyone has continuations, feel free to add them!

[the-sprog]

Bare w me because I'm a newbie DC fan

But

What if Danny's connection to the JL was Flash? Iirc Bart is a forensic scientist. So...

Danny being the victim of a homicide and taking too long to regenerate because he's too far from Amity and the portal's constant stream of ecto. So Bart gets put in charge of figuring out who he is and what happened to him. and he realizes "oh fuck the kids a meta" because... Danny's blood.

And then Danny wakes up, freaks out because he's never woken up in a morgue before and runs before the police notices and contacts the GIW

Now Bart has a meta runaway victim of homicide in Central city and he has to decide whether contacting the JL Dark is worth it.