#no kid deserves to be traumatize

[hellishgayliath]

It is a shame children such as yourselves had to endure such hardships

You all did not deserve to have the weight of the world fall on your shoulders

[chopper-witch]

Truly love that they kept Cameron Crovetti’s (Ryan’s) voice cracks. Makes it so clear he is really just a pre-teen going through puberty whose life is being toyed with. Like I just want to hold him and tell him it will be okay. I promise Ryan. It will be okay! I’ll fist fight everyone to protect him I don’t care.

[phantom-0-writer]

second chances don’t come for free

cw/tw: child death and child abuse and related traumas

7652 words (!?) ao3

Everyone in the family had secrets, and everyone knew that everyone in the family had secrets. It was a promise that came with the crest they all wore on their chest. Some were more open than others, like the way that Richard always avoided tight ropes despite his impeccable balance, and how Father never enters the 4th room on the west wing of the 3rd floor.

Damian had secrets too. 

After a relatively calm night by Gotham’s standards they returned to a briefing for their next big mission. Damian was one of the last to return, busy settling a mugging attempt on his return. 

“Good, looks like everyone’s here.” Father announced, gathering the attention of the rest of the occupants of the room. 

“Looks like a full house.” Richard commented lightly looking around as everyone gathered around the computer. Todd leaned casually on the railway to the changing room away from the crowd but close enough to be included, Drake was clicking away at the keyboard as usual. Brown and Cain stuffing in their last cookie before butting the container away. Thomas stood idly by waiting for Father to explain what their next operation was. Barabra likely was listening from a separate location as usual. 

“We’ve received a tip from a trusted source that the League is up to suspicious activity.” Father began, as Drake pulled up a few schematics on the screen. 

“When are they not?” Brown scoffed, lightly jabbing Richard in the arm. He chuckled lightly. 

“Naturally,” Father continued, “It would be irresponsible for us to all go and leave Gotham unprotected so Spoiler, Orphan, and Signal will stay to cover the city while the rest of us are gone. I’ve informed Batwoman as well, and she’s available to assist you if the situation demands.” Father paused to give the rest an opening to speak, when no one did so, he continued. “We’ve discovered that they’ve found a rare washup of some form of solidified Lazarus Waters. We don’t have much information on the substance itself apart from what's essentially speculation. Regardless if the League found a way to solidify the Waters, there is no telling what they would find themselves in possession of, weapons, tech, humans at a level we’ve never seen.” Damian knew all too well what the League was capable of. After all, he had been the League. Father continued explaining the details of the plan and the positions each of them were meant to play. 

It would be the first time Damian returned to a League of Assassins base since he had first left them 7 years ago and he had met his Father at his own doorstep for the very first time at the age of 10. It had only been the lifetime's worth of rigorous training that kept Damian from curling into his gut at the sight of those eyes. 

The eyes that haunted Damian the last days he had stayed in the league when Mother had ordered him to pack anything he wished to take with him. The look of terror in the eyes that look just like the one that calls him Champ while he ruffles his hair and tells him to go sleep early since it was a school night. 

Damian found himself freshly showered and comfortably under his duvet, then a moment later he was pulling them off to go through the motions of his day. Next thing Damian knew he was in his Robin uniform in a jet that would be taking him to the sight of his biggest mistake. 

The League had always kept a close record of Damian’s activities since he had been taken out of his test tube. Every daily schedule, no matter how mundane, every mission report, no matter how simple, was expertly stored in the League’s database. 

That was with the exception of the final test. The League had taken extensive measures to scrub away any traces of the final test before Damian had gone to live with Father. 

When Father and Drake had meticulously gone through every file about Damian on his arrival to the manor, Damian was told his first kill had been at the age of 4, a politician in his house in the capital city not far from the League’s Nanda Parbat base. 

Though Damian had only understood what it meant to kill - to watch death - only 3 days before he had met his father. 

“Damian.” Richard called, Damian hadn’t noticed that he had been approached, “Are you sure you're clear for this mission.” He sounded concerned. 

“Yes.” Damian responded with a frown. He had his own mission, he could not afford to be benched. 

“You seem kind of out of it. I know you don’t have the best memories with the League and none of us are going to force you to go if you're not ready,” Richard was trying to seem approachable and understanding, and perhaps Damian should be more reciprocative of his efforts. But he ‘knew’? What exactly did Richard Grayson ‘know’ about the League? About what happened to Damian in the League? 

Damian bit his tongue, there was no point in lashing out before a mission only for it to impede needlessly on their cohesiveness “Would you prefer for me to bounce off the walls in excitement?” Damian allowed the snark to roll off his tongue, and raised a brow at the older boy. 

Grayson let himself laugh at that, “No, I suppose not.” And with that Damian was alone again. 

When Damian was 3, Mother had taken him to watch the older kids train. Damian had noticed someone else there, another boy around his age. They looked similar even, but not identical. Damian remembered the jealousy he felt when he started noticing the similarities the boy shared with Mother’s features, the audacity that he looked more like Damian’s mother than Damian himself. When he told Mother, she had found it humorous and praised Damian for looking more like his father insead.

While Damian sat on the bench with mother, their escorts behind them, the boy sat alone at a bench further away. “Damian, do you know who that boy is?” Mother had leaned in to ask him.

“No, Mother.” He answered honestly.

“That is Danyal al-Ghul, your twin brother by 76 seconds.”

“What is a brother, Mother?”

“Your opponent in all that you do, Damian, he is your enemy. You must always remember that.” Damian made his best efforts to remember that, because of course Mother was always right.

Damian and Danyal had been assigned rooms across the hall from each other but they never met outside of coincidental encounters. And whenever they had, someone had always been there to remind Damian that Danyal was not to be trusted, that he would get under Damian’s skin, find ways to exploit Damian, a cheat and a smear on the al-Ghul bloodline. One of his teachers at the time had told him Mother would’ve done well to leave that one in the tube he was born from. The people of the League would not dare lie to an heir of the Demon’s Head, so Damian believed them.

 One night, after a particularly tiring day of training, Damian found he couldn’t sleep and decided to sneak out onto the roof. Damian had not been expecting anyone to be there but he was surprised to see the boy there. He considered his options, assessing his opponent like he had been taught to do. The enemy, Danyal, seemed to act purposefully unaware of Damian’s presence there. There were no weapons stored on him, and his posture was incredibly lax and he simply stared at the stars in the night sky. 

With a sigh, Damian sat silently at his side of the building, and looked into the far expenses of the League's base and the mountains that surrounded it. Though Damian had intended to be alone, he found an unfamiliar sense of comfort from the un-accosting presence of the other, unlike the others of the League who always seemed to need to say something to him. But Damian knew, regardless, the boy was not to be trusted. 

The next night Damain found himself climbing out of his window again, and found Danyal already there. For the next three months, every night Damian would sneak out of his window onto the rooftop and find Danyal already there, and the both of them would sit there in a comfortable silence, back turned to the other. 

One day Damian had been sent out for a mission, nothing he wasn’t used to. Except the location was quite far so he had to leave early in the morning and would be returning much later in the day. He had managed to complete his mission much earlier than anticipated, and so with this newly earned time, Damian snuck off to explore instead of heading straight to the rendezvous point. Easily pickpocketing a handful of cash unnoticed from a preoccupied group of wealthy looking men, Damian pursued the options. 

Perhaps he could buy a toy, a train set the other kids were ogling at. Except that would be much too difficult to hide, and needless to say Mother would not approve of such distractions. Damian overheard some others talking about the deliciousness of the sweets in one store, and he made up his mind. He bought 4 different types, not sure which would be the best, handing over his money to the clerk and heading out of the store. 

Damian found himself anticipating the rooftop of his room, and wondering how Danyal would react to Damian’s new found treasure. Slipping the chocolates out of their hiding spot, Damian snuck all 4 bars onto his usual spot on the roof. Letting the wrapper crinkle loudly as he purposely fiddled with it unnecessarily, Damian successfully earned a curious glance from his roofmate. Damian took the first bite of the bar labeled ‘Dark Chocolate’ and let himself enjoy the bitter sweetness of it, as Danyal looked at the candy bars spread haphazardly across the rooftop. 

Not liking that he was beginning to lose Danyal’s attention, and not receiving the eager response he was expecting, Damian found himself sticking a piece of chocolate towards the other boy, offering it to him. Danyal hesitantly took it, eyed it cautiously. Some of the chocolate had already melted on Damian’s fingers. “What is this?” Danyal asked him. 

“It’s chocolate.” Damian explained to the other six-year old, not that he had really known what chocolate was either. 

“Chocolate.” Danyal repeated, before carefully nibbling on the side of it. His eyes went wide in surprise at the sweetness, and he looked up at Damian in disbelief. “Woah.” He breathed, taking a much bigger bite. 

Damian, having been the one to discover this, smiled pridefully at the other boy, “There's different ones too.” He proclaimed. 

“Really?” Danyal asked wide-eyed crawling closer to Damian who turned around to face him. 

At the end of that night, they were short 4 candy bars as they tried to keep their whispers hushed and the melted chocolate on their fingers left stains on the floor of the roof. Damian wondered how Danyal was supposed to be the villainous enemy everyone told him he was, but Damian was not so easy to trust, after all he was an assassin of the League, the heir to the Demon’s Head. 

Every night they would meet on the rooftops, exchanging souvenirs, sharing snacks, telling each other stories of the stars and mountain demons. After a while Damian had forgotten what he had been warned of for his whole life, and would look forward to meeting with Danyal every night. Maybe Danyal wasn’t his brother, like Mother had said. 

Perhaps Mother was mistaken.  

One night, Danyal didn’t show. Damian waited for him for an hour, but the other’s side of the roof remained unattended. Finally, having had enough, Damian skillfully snuck over to the other side of the roof and peeked through his neighbor’s window to see if he had fallen asleep, but there was no sign of Danyal in his room, either.

Feelings Damian didn’t understand swirled in his gut, the ones he got when the mission unexpectedly goes off script, or the sharp end of a weapon comes closer than he would’ve liked. Hurriedly, he slipped down, letting himself stay hidden in the shadows, as he searched for the boy that wasn’t his brother. The kitchen, the hall, the training room, the weapons room, the barracks, the field, the river in the back, Danyal was nowhere. 

Tired, and out of breath, Damian tried to formulate a plan. Where could Danyal have gone?

“Young Master Damian.” At the voice Damian instinctively reached for his sword only to find it not there. Had he forgotten to bring it with him? Damian assessed who had caught him, and easily recognized by the uniform that it was one of the servants. 

“What are you doing here?” Damian demanded, frustration at his futile efforts at finding his… -at finding Danyal.  

“I am cleaning the walkways, as we are to do every 10 days, Young Master. It is more convenient to do it at night, since there are less people around.” The servant explained, bowing his head. They seemed scared of what Damian may do to them. But when Damian did not respond, the servant hesitated before speaking again, “If I may ask, Young Master, what are you doing here at this late hour?” 

Damian turned to the servant again, if they had been out cleaning as they said for the previous hours past curfew then perhaps they had seen or heard where Danyal had gone. “Do you know of Danyal al-Ghul?” Damian made sure his tone was void of emotions, it would not do either of them well for it to spread that Damian had found himself fond of Danyal. 

The servant’s face paled slightly at the name, there was a small stutter before they finally spoke, “Young Master Danyal should be in his room at this hour.” The servant began fiddling, with the handle of the broomstick.

Why was he lying? “Where is he?” Damian kept his voice even, demanding respect. 

“I- I do not know where the Young Master is.” The servant pleaded, but Damian didn’t believe him. 

Anger growing at the situation, “Tell me.” He demanded. 

“The Demon’s Head, and The Lady Talia were to speak with him.” The servant spluttered out, caving under the pressure. 

Why would Mother and Grandfather seek out Danyal at this hour of the night? The feeling from before only strengthened as Damian rushed to find him.

“Damian.” Mother asked surprised, catching him easily at the door, “What are you doing here?” Damain tried to get a look inside the room, but Mother had positioned her body to block his view. 

“Mother, shouldn’t you be asleep by now.” Damian asked, trying to find the casualness in his voice despite feeling like every vein in his body was being controlled to squeeze his chest. 

Mother looked down at him in amusement, “I should say that to you.” Damian tried to force his way through the door, but he was no match for Mother, “Why are you here Damian?” She repeated. 

“I would like to speak with Grandfather.” He tried, lies slipping easily out of his mouth. 

“I’m sure it can wait till the morning, your Grandfather is tired from a hard day's work.” When Mother pushed her hair behind her shoulder, Damian wondered why there were splotches of fresh blood on her hand. 

Damian stood there in defiance, and Mother seemed to consider him for a while. “Perhaps since you're merely a child you wouldn’t understand.” Mother thought aloud. 

“I am seven, Mother, nearly eight. I am hardly a child, and have far surpassed the many of the teachers you’ve assigned me. I can understand.” Damian demanded. He needed to find Danyal. 

Mother straightened, and with a nod, moved from the entrance allowing Damian to enter. There on the floor was a trail of blood, that led to one of the darker corners of the room, and Damian couldn’t tell what the heap on the floor was. 

“Damian, you should be in your room.” Grandfather chided, sitting in his chair by the fireplace. The darkness of the room finally became accustomed to Damian, as he began making out the details of the room. Grandfather didn’t have his cane, instead it was left closer to the heap in the corner. The heap had its hair cut messily just like Danyal’s always was, and its hands were smaller than an adults, as it tried to bundle itself together. The heap moved slightly, it’s head turning to look at Damian. Damian drew in his breath, at the sight of Danyal’s fluttering consciousness on the floor. 

Mother was right, Damian didn’t understand. 

Grandfather followed his gaze, and nodded understandingly, placing a lit pipe between his lips. “Danyal is simply being punished.” Grandfather explained. Damian couldn't find the word to ask what for, but Grandfather explained anyway. “He seems to think he is your equal, in the way he speaks and acts. As if he is one of the respectable heirs of the Demon’s Head.” Damian didn’t understand what that meant either. If Danyal was meant to be his brother, would he not have equal claim as heir as Damian did. 

“He is my equal. Mother said so herself.” Damian stated, not sure the source of his deep rage at his Grandfather and Mother at that moment. 

Grandfather turned a questioning look at Mother. Mother turned to Damian. “What are you talking about, my son?” 

“You said that Danyal was my brother.” Damian said, it was true that Mother had said this, regardless of whether Danyal should be considered Damian’s brother, “A brother is an opponent, someone waiting to strike me down at any moment. My enemy in all that I do.” Damian recited Mother’s own words, though he could not put his faith in them. Danyal had always listened to Damian, understood Damian, laughed at his jokes and added with his own, always the first one to comfort Damain. They weren’t brothers. “If he is to be my enemy, should he not be on the same grounds as I, as a true equal in skill?” 

Grandfather considered what he said, and shared another look with Mother. “I suppose I see the reason in your words.” Grandfather turned to him again, “Why have you come Damian?” 

“I simply was taking a late night walk since I couldn’t sleep, and I thought I would perhaps feel better if I came to visit you. I did not expect to see Mother here.” Damian was surprised how easily it was to lie to the only people he had trusted for the previous year of his life.

Grandfather let his hand rest on Damian’s shoulder “Take him back and dress his wounds.” He ordered Damian, “And do not trust his words, he simply wishes to get under your skin. Manipulate you.” The doors to the room shut behind them as Damian carried the body of his battered enemy back to his room, and patched up his wounds. 

Danyal was sitting on Damian’s bed, fluttering on the line of consciousness. “What you said before,” his voice was barely above a whisper and he spoke slowly as his words meshed together. Damian listened raptly, “to Grandfather, do you-” Danyal seemed to be having a hard time forming the question, but Damian understood. 

“It was the truth.” Damain said easily, Danyal's face fell at the admission, but Damian was quick to explain, “It was true that Mother told me what ‘brother’ meant, and that was the true meaning of brother. But I do not think of you as my brother.” Danyal examined him for a moment, trying to determine if he was being honest. 

“I trust you.” Danyal said with more conviction than Damian thought he could possess in that moment. He trusted Damian’s words and actions when not even Mother or Grandfather did. 

Finishing with the last bandaid, Damian looked at Danyal. “I trust you, too.” Trust seemed to light a word for Danyal, but Damian was not sure what word he should have used instead. 

That was because Damian did not know what love was, and because Damian al-Ghul loved his brother.

“Mother you called for me?” Damian sat in the chair opposite of Mother’s study. 

“Damain, you’re here.” She greeted, not looking up from her screens. Damain waited for her to finish what she was working on, arms crossed impatiently. “You do remember who your father is?” Mother started, turning the screen with two of Father’s well-known persona on display. One of billionaire Bruce Wayne greeting guests at a function, and the other of the Batman perched near the head of a gargoyle. 

“Of course, I remember, Mother.” Damian sighed in resignation. “Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman.” He recited. 

“Good. You are a decade old now, and there is not much the League has left to teach you. So, in one week's time you will be going to stay with your Father.” Mother said bluntly. 

Damian’s brows creased together, “For how long?” 

Mother looked at him with authority as the next in line for the Demon’s Head, “For the foreseeable future.” 

“What!” Damian stood in indignation, “Mother that's unreasonable, how could you make me-” 

“It is an order Damain.” Mother said with finality. 

Damian frowned, “And what of Danyal then? He is Father’s child as well, I doubt he would sit by knowing he has another child here.”

“An intelligent conclusion.” Mother praised, “That is why you and Danyal will have a final test, the victor will be the one who is sent to your Father.” Damian’s eyes lit up at the concept, Danyal never talked about how he trained or what skills he best utilized, other than once slipping that he prefers to use katanas too, Damian did not know much of Danyal skills. This was finally Damian’s chance to see how capable of a fighter Danyal is. Despite whoever won, Damian was sure, even without knowing his father yet, that he would come back to retrieve the other.

“When will the spar be a mother?” Damian asked. 

“In 4 days, you will be expected in the main courtyard by noon.” Mother said dismissively. 

The day came both faster and slower than Damian would’ve liked. Wearing his usual gear, and his swords by his side he headed towards the field mother had instructed him to be at. Damian had waited in anticipation for this day, making sure all his swords were properly cleaned and sharpened. Of course they always were, but he had taken extra care that they would be in their best condition. His attire had been carefully selected by himself, a measure he usually wouldn’t take. 

Danyal and Damian stood facing each other, waiting for the signal to begin. Mother and Grandfather watched them closely from their spots in the audience, as the two exchanged blows, swords slidinging across each other, dodges and blocks, evasive flips, feint attacks, Danyal punched him in the gut once when Damian hadn’t been prepared. Damian let the battle engulf his senses, body moving in flow with his weapon, switching seamlessly between offense and defense until Damian found the perfect opening for an attack and he took it, knowing he would be named victorious. 

Damian’s katana sunk into Danyal’s chest, a gasp of pain escaping the other boy, as he looked down at the point of impact. Confusion filtered across his face for only a moment, and before Damian could question it, Danyal’s expression slowly morphed into fear as Mother and Grandfather approached them. 

“Damian, congratulations are in order.” His Mother praised him, stepping in between him and Danyal. “I knew from the beginning you would come out victorious.” 

“Thank you, Mother.” Damian tried to look at Danyal. “What now?” 

“We will be taking your brother to the Lazarus Pits, and let Fate decree any value to his life.” Mother explained, turning to Danyal and pulling Damian’s sword out of his chest, Danyal yelped in pain. 

Damian wondered if Danyal had been hurt during their fight. 

Damian bent down to load Danyal onto his back and carry him to the mystic waters and let him heal so he could join him at Father’s later. Perhaps Father would not be as keen as Mother on fostering their brotherhood, and they could train and fight together like they always talked about. 

“Damian.” Danyal croaked out lowly, if his face wasn’t already positioned near Damian’s ear he likely wouldn’t have heard. 

“Shh.” Damian chided, “Mother will notice.” 

“Damian.” Danyal called again, “Promise, you won’t forget about me.” 

Checking to see that Mother was still occupied in a conversation with one of the servants, “Don’t worry, I'm going to take you with me. Or I’ll come back to get you.” 

 “Promise.” Danyal asked again. 

Damian sighed, Danyal could be so stubborn sometimes, even with strange requests “Fine, I promise.” he rolled his eyes. Danyal didn’t say anything after that, instead resting his head on Damian’s shoulder. 

“Place him in the waters, Damian.” Mother instructed. 

Danyal’s body floated in the waters lifelessly for a bit, and Damian wondered why nothing was happening. And then suddenly, as if it were the mouth of some vicious beast, a gaping vortex circled around Danyal swallowing his body whole. Just as suddenly as it had erupted, the vortex disappeared and the waters returned to a deathly still seconds later. Everyone surrounding the waters watched in anticipation, but when nothing happened and enough time had passed, everyone headed back to their tasks. 

Mother stayed for a moment longer, “It seems even Fate, too, was eager to be rid of you.” she muttered, before heading off. 

Damian was the only one left there, waiting for Danyal to walk out and tease Damian for getting worried that it was taking so long. But the sun was beginning to set, and the waters had not moved at all, and there was no sign of Danyal. 

“Young Master, Lady Talia says that you should return to your chambers.” A servant stood by the gates holding a plate of food for him. Or was it for Danyal? There was only one serving.  

Damian turned to the servant, and he asked in a voice shakier than he had been expecting of himself, “Why hasn’t Danyal come out yet?” 

The servant seemed taken aback by the question, before their face morphed into something sadder that Damian didn’t understand. “Young Master Danyal will not be returning to us.” They explained softly. 

“Why not?” Damian demanded, confused and angry. His eyes were beginning to burn. 

The servant hesitated before answering him, “Because Young Master Danyal is dead.” 

“What difference should that make, people die all the time?” 

“It is as easy for the dead to return as your grandfather may make it seem, Young Master.” The servant spoke again, their voice gentle and tone careful. “Usually when people die they are gone for good, and they don’t get to come back. Not even with the Lazarus Waters. Second chances do not come for free, after all.” 

Damian let the words sink in. Danyal- Danyal wasn’t coming back? 

It was dark out now, almost the time the two of them usually met on the rooftop. Danyal would be waiting for him there, like he was every night. 

“You're lying.” He accused the servant, as he ran to his room, food left forgotten as Damian quickly made his way onto the familiar rooftops. 

Damian waited there, the servant’s words echoing in his ears at every second Danyal didn’t show up. An hour passed, and then two. And Damian considered for the first time that the servant had been telling him the truth. 

For the first time since he made his first visit to the roof of his room, Damian al-Ghul sat unaccompanied. 

After six years of carrying out various missions as an assassin, Damian al-Ghul cried when he learned what death meant. 

For the first time in his life, Damian al-Ghul cried when he realized he was alone.  

“We’re here.” Red Robin announced, as the plane landed silently about 15 miles away from base like they had planned the night before. 

“Oracle, testing comms and visuals,” Nightwing spoke into his earpiece. 

“All good on my end.” Her voice echoed in all of their ears. 

“Okay, just like we discussed, Robin and Red Hood will head to the surveillance room and get a location for where the experimentation is taking place. Nightwing and I will be on standby until the information is provided, Red Robin collects samples and information in the time that we have.” Father went over the plan again. 

Robin stealthy led the two of them through the LoA’s familiar layout, and the mission went smoothly. Within the next two hours they had the location of the experimentation site. It was on base, but a further location, so Nightwing and Batman headed there, ready to collect whatever information they could. Downloading the files for the surveillance and sending the access over to Oracle, their job should be done, and they were set to wait at the rendezvous point until further orders, or back up was requested. 

“Where are you going, Brat? We’re supposed to head that way.” Red Hood chastised as Damian took them off course. 

“Then go that way, if you wanna be such a goody-goody.” Damian shot back easily. Knowing the route to his destination easily. Damian kept to the least used route. 

“What’s with you, today? Pissy about not getting to see your Mommy?” Red Hood snarked, still following behind him. 

Damian wasn’t going to justify that with a response. The green of the Lazarus Waters came into view. A shiver went up his spine but he ignored it.

“Robin. What the hell are we doing here?” Red Hood demanded, eyeing the familiar green with contempt. Damian bent down to pick a handful of stay dandelions from the corner of the unused ally, and easily jumped over the gates surrounding the water. “Damian.” Jason hissed, “What are you doing?” 

“Relax.” Damian sighed, bending down near the waters, “I just came to give my greetings to… someone.” To his brother. Danyal was is his brother. Despite the mask hiding his face, Damian could see Jason’s posture soften. 

“Make it quick.” Jason huffed, letting Damian have some pseudo-privacy by turning his back to him. Damian set the flowers he had picked near the edge of the water, only noticing that the temperature had dropped when the wind blew a slight chill at the exposed skin of his face. It wasn’t temperatures Damian couldn’t handle, Gotham was often dreary and chilly even in her summers. But they weren’t in Gotham. They were in the Middle East, where they would consider themselves unlucky when the winters got this cold. 

“Hood, do you-” Damian was cut off by the loud acidic bubbling of the previously calm green waters. 

“What the-” Red Hood balked, turning around alarmed. 

Damian backed away in alarm, the edge of the waters expanding to swallowing the flowers he had laid down. The two brothers could do nothing but watch in suspense as the waters started swirling into a vortex garnering attention they had been trying to avoid. Just as suddenly as it had started the waters returned to their previously calm state, only for the surface to be broken by what looked like a young child, trying desperately to keep himself afloat and get to land. 

Damian and Red Hood were too busy holding off the assault from the small force the assassins had managed to form together to help the child. The second either of them turned their back to the assaulters, the assassins would take the opening to finish them. By the time they had dealt with their attackers the boy had already brought himself to shore, hacking up water. 

Familiar choppy black hair, and blue eyes Damian could never forget. “Danyal.” Damian found himself gasping, body frozen not from the cold. 

“Don’t mean to ruin your meet cute, but look like they brought their friends.” Red Hood warned as more assassins surrounded them. 

“We need to leave. Now.” Damian told him decisively. 

“Wow I never would’ve guessed.” Red Hood snarked back. 

“Call for an extraction.” Damian huffed annoyed, blocking an attack from the left. There weren’t many well trained members currently aware of them, but they knew better than to wait for backup to show up. 

“Red Robin, what’s your eta to the jet? Team 1 needs an emergency extraction.” Oracle spoke through the main line of comms. 

“I can be there in 10 minutes.” Red Robin responded easily, “What’s the situation?”

“We’ve been made.” Red Hood reported back disarming his attacker and knocking them out. 

“Will likely need medical attention.” Damian added, looking back at Danyal, who only now seemed to be registering his surroundings. 

“What happened?” Nightwing asked, concerned at Damian’s statement. 

“Not for us, for our new little stowaway.” Red Hood explained finishing off the last of the assassin, before turning around to face Danyal.

“Explain.” Batman demanded

“Perhaps now is not the best time or place for that, Father.” Damian snapped back. 

Danyal stood scarily still from the bay of the Lazarus Waters, wet and dripping, and despite the chilly temperature and his wet clothes he didn’t seem cold. If Jason had not tried to approach Danyal as well, Damian would’ve thought he was simply a figment of his imagination. 

“Hey, kid.” Red Hood put his arms out to show he meant no threat. “Do you know how you got here?” He tried to make his voice soft and approachable but the voice modulator of his helmet was not doing him any favors.  

Danyal didn’t respond, eyeing the both of them carefully. They let him, not making any movements that may scare him. The world seems to go still around Damian. Go colder. 

“I’m in the jet, heading your way.” Red Robin reported over the comms.

“We’re coming to find you too.” Nightwing added, Father presumably with him. 

Neither Jason or Damian made any moves. 

“Team 1, do you copy?” Oracle asked when neither of them sent a signal for receiving the message. 

Damian wondered what he should do? How was he supposed to approach Danyal, and begin to explain what was happening? Damian wasn’t even sure what was happening. 

“Team 1?” Father repeated. 

Do something, Damian.

“Copy.” Red Hood clicked into the comms and everything rushed into motion. 

At Red Hood’s response and the rapid movements of the wind at the approaching jet approaching overhead, Danyal dashed away alarmed. 

“Wait-” Damian called, running after him. But Danyal only seemed more distressed at being chased. He ran through small crevices Damian was too large to fit through, trying to deter him. But Damian followed regardless. Finally catching up to him where he knew that alleyway to come to an end, Damian caught sight of him, reaching out to grab his arm. Only for it to fall through as if nothing was there. 

As if Danyal wasn’t really there. 

After the failed attempt at contact from Damian, Danyal was only able to get so far before he seemed to trip, his foot catching on something that Damian couldn’t see. 

Why had Damian’s hand just gone through him like that?

Damian began to question whether Danyal truly was in front of him or if it was just some sort of illusion. Damian was quickly reassured of the validity of his vision when a sharp rock Danyal launched let blood drip on his skin. The hiss of pain was real. And so was Danyal.

Damian didn’t stop his domino from falling off his face, from the rock’s impact. Danyal stared at him. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me?” Damian tried to laugh, but it sounded pathetic. 

Danyal analyzed Damian’s features, confusion washing over him. It made sense, the Damian Danyal had known was a 10 years old assassin, not a 17 year old Robin. Danyal was smart, smarter than Damian had been. Damian waited for him to figure it out.

But the world did not wait. Red Hood, Nightwing, and Batman dropped in from various rooftops, as the jet hovered loudly above them. Spooked by the sudden appearances, Danyal quickly started backing away. 

“Excretion ready. Preparing Medbay.” Red Robin reported. 

“I was wondering when the news would reach you, Beloved.” Another familiar voice grabbed their attention. Damian looked to the sound to see Mother with at least 10 of her personal guards staring them down. Although Damian couldn’t see the others, he knew they had been surrounded. 

“Talia.” Father hissed, a cold anger in his voice. 

Damian's eyes shot back to Danyal who looked like he was trying to find a way to make an escape, exhaustion seeping through him. Deciding to take his chance, Damian approached him while Mother was occupied with Father. 

“Who are you?” Danyal asked him, hesitantly, trying to keep the distance between him and Damian. 

“I promised I would come back for you, didn’t I?” Damian said in lieu of an answer.

Danyal’s eyes widened in recognition but before he had the chance to respond, an arrow was launched landing between them. Looking at the source, it was Mother. At the signal attack, all the other guards swarmed in from their positions and started attacking. Damian, blocking a sword, aimed to slash his side, before another sword came for his shoulder. 

Occupied with his two attackers, Damian didn’t notice Danyal trying to escape by climbing the side of the brick building. Fortunately, Mother still hadn’t noticed him yet thanks to their surroundings, and Danyal’s insistence to stay in the shadows. Danyal’s progression was decelerating, the weight of his still wet clothes and exhaustion slowing him down. 

Damian tried to keep an eye on him so he could follow after, once he dealt with his attackers. Disarming both of them and knocking them unconscious, Damian was able to turn around just in time to notice Danyal on the brink of unconsciousness, and losing his grip on the stones he was using to climb. Damian moved quickly, just in time to catch Danyal as he fell and his eyes rolled back. With Danyal in his arms, Damian only registered the on coming projectile without enough time to dodge or block. Damian braced himself for the hit, using his body to shield Danyal as much as he could. 

Only for a familiar black cape to flutter in front of him, blocking the attack before it hit either of them. “Go,” Father ordered, tipping his head towards the jet, “We’ll follow.” 

-

“So basically, correct me if I’m wrong,” Steph started incredulously, “Damian had a twin brother that died, they dunked him in the pit waters but then he didn’t come back. So, they were like ‘welp, lets tell no one about this, ever’. Except the water ends up literally throwing him out when Damian goes back and does this huge water show grand entrance thing. And now we have another 10 year old Wayne child.” Steph summarized arms moving wildly. If there wasn’t a kid that looked a lot like Damian lying unconscious in the bed two feet away from her, and the body cam footage from both Damian and Jason, Steph would’ve thought they were pranking her. Though, she hadn’t entrily ruled that out yet either. 

Tim nodded in conformation, leaning back causally on his chair.

“You were gone for 36 hours.” Cass added exasperatedly. 

Damian still hadn’t said anything other than explain who exactly Danyal was. They were twins, apparently, and they had been forced into a battle to the death a few days before Damian had been brought to the manor. He hadn’t told them why, but Steph suspected it was for some stupid successor business. Some of the other’s had tried to get more information out of Damian, demanding answers for why he never said anything before, never told any of them, why there weren’t any files of Danyal in the League’s databases. But Damian hadn’t answered any of them, so they had been forced to give it a rest- for now. Looking back, Steph could see the signs that Damian was dealing with grief when he had first come to the manor, but no one had been looking for that, and it had gotten swept under ‘weird assassin cult child’ behavior. 

It had been about an hour and a half since the jet had landed in the cave, and Steph, as a certified medical practitioner, had been called in for an emergency. She had thought it was strange that Oracle hadn’t specified who, and now Steph understood why. 

Danyal didn’t seem injured, other than a lower than average body temperature and a slightly slower heart rate, which was likely due to the body temperature, he seemed in relatively normal health. That was if he hadn’t been a 10 year old who had been marinating in Lazarus Water for seven years. Most of the bats had experience with Lazarus Water, and it had never been pleasant. But they hadn’t been in the prime years of their physical and mental development, and at most had been in the pits for an hour. 

Steph, Cass, Tim and Damian were in the medical room with Danyal. Jason had gone to his apartment, and said he would be back later, and to let him know if anything happened. Bruce had changed and gone straight up stairs, not taking the news of having a second kid who Talia had hidden from him and a second kid who had died very well. Dick had stayed for a while but he had an emergency work call and had to leave. Duke was still patrolling, since it was earlier in the day, but was being kept up to date on all news thanks to Oracle.  

Danyal was due to wake up any moment, and none of them knew how to feel about it. Not liking the morbid atmosphere of the whole manor, Steph decided to change topics. “Did Cassie tell you about what Conner and Bart did last week?”

Tim turned to face her happy for the distraction, Cass humored her with an intrigued look. “What?”

“Okay so basically- it was so cringe-” Steph let herself laugh “They were at the mall right. The one near Mount Justice, y’know-”

“-yeah it’s the same one they go to all the time.” Tim interjected, rolling his eyes. 

“Right, so-” The door opened, as Alfred walked in, cutting off her story but not unwelcome. 

“You’ve all been in here for quite some time, so I brought you some snacks. Sandwiches, fresh cookies, and water, juice and milk to drink. All your favorites, do indulge.” The old butler explained, rolling the cart through the door. 

“Thanks, Alfie.” Tim went to grab a glass of water, and a sandwich. 

“And anything for our newest addition?” Alfred questioned. 

“He’s not awake yet.” Damian said quietly, sipping at a glass of warm milk. Like a weirdo. 

“Is that so?” Alfred said with a thoughtful drawl to his voice, as he walked closer to the kid. “Hm…” He stroked his chin animatedly, slowly bringing himself closer to examine the boy’s face, but still keeping a comfortable distance. Steph was about to question what he was doing, only to see the boy’s eyes shoot open, and stare back at Alfred like a deer caught in headlights. Alfred straightened, as Danyal seemed to realize that he had been discovered. 

“What? How long was he faking being asleep?” Tim asked, baffled. 

“56 minutes.” Cass answered, easily. 

“Wait- you knew this whole time?” Steph asked betrayed, only for Cass to smile back cheekily. 

Damian didn’t say anything as Danyal sat up in his bed slowly, examining every one in the room. Steph tried to make herself seem non threatening but stayed ready in case the kid lashed out, not knowing how he would react. If it was anything like how Damian had been during his early days, it would pay to be ready. 

After a long moment of no one saying anything, Tim decided to prompt, “So, how’re you feeling, kid?” 

Danyal didn’t respond right away, instead watching Tim, Steph and Cass from his spot on the bed. Steph was beginning to wonder if this was another case, like Cass, where the kid had never been taught how to speak. Danyal opened his mouth hesitantly, looking over at Steph hesitantly, then Damian before answering. 

“Cringe.” There was a flat blunt honestness to his tone that added to the sudden comedy of the situation. Damian choked on his milk, and the room burst into laughter at the unexpected response. Danyal looked a little embarrassed at the reaction, but there was still a small smile on his face. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad afterall. 

“Do you want some?” Damian asked, breaking a cookie in half and offering Danyal a piece. 

The younger boy took it, curiously, “What is it?” 

Damian took a bite, chewing it before responding, “A cookie.”

“Cookie.” Danyal repeated thoughtfully, before taking a little nibble of it. His eyes widened at the taste, “Woah.” 

“There’s plenty more of those, Young Master Danyal, I’m glad to see you enjoy them.” Alfred smiled happily at the reaction. 

“Really?” He asked hopefully. Steph tried to remember if Damian had been this cute when he had first come to the Manor. “Who are you?” Danyal asked again after a moment. 

“I’m Alfred Pennyworth, you can call me Alfred. I'm the butler at Wayne Manor, your father’s home where we currently are.” Alfred took a pause before speaking again, “Now, I hope you all will excuse me as I go fetch Master Bruce, he’s been quite excited to meet you, Young Master Danyal.”

-------

guys this was just suppose to be an itty bitty little thing. WHY DID IT TAKE ME 3 WHOLE DAYS??? im sensing a pattern and i'm not liking it.

I was suppose to be studying for physics :/

[uchiha-gaeshi]

Konoha is ruining my favourite ships

Like the village is such a huge cockblocker. All my OTPs, it doesn't matter if it's HashiMada or HashiMito or MinaKushi or SasuNaru, (honourable mention to brotp KakaObi), are all being HELD BACK because at least one of the mfs in the ship is a bootlicker

[atopvisenyashill]

notes on the abandoned child

catelyn vi, a clash of kings / gravel to tempo, hayley kiyoko / the heirs of the dragon, house of the dragon / the winter of artifice, anaïs nin / and now his watch has ended, game of thrones / the body electric, hurray for riff raff / what is dead may never die, game of thrones / a better sondaughter, rilo kiley / script for the black queen / you win or you die, game of thrones / tyrion vi, a storm of swords / alayne ii, a feast for crows / the rogue prince, house of the dragon / driftmark, house of the dragon / under my skin, jukebox the ghost / jaime i, a feast for crows / terminallytwee / the princess and the queen, house of the dragon / the heirs of the dragon, fire and blood / scribblymouse / king jaehaerys with alicent hightower, doug wheatley / catelyn x, a game of thrones / cersei vi, a feast for crows / the wolf and the lion, game of thrones / claws part ii, typhoon / the green council, house of the dragon

[saetoru]

genuinely asking but why do you think riko’s death messed them up so bad? they only knew her for about 3 days but it was depicted like they knew her their entire lives. my reasoning is bc she was a kid who got murdered to be a vessel, which i understand 100%, but it still gets me scratching my head when everybody including gege makes it this huge thing in their history that literally turned geto evil. just wondering your thoughts.

it’s a lot more complex than just riko dying. it’s the trauma of watching her die when he’d just promised he’d ensure her future bc he and satoru are the strongest, and find out his best friend is “dead” and almost die himself and realize he’s not part of the strongest like he thought he was, that he can’t even ensure one kids future. and then he goes off to find a group of non sorcerers clap and celebrate over said kids death. so then ofc he starts to wonder why he risks his life, and swallows and exorcises curses, and watches the people he cares for (like haibara) die as they protect people like that. and the conversation with yuki didn’t help bc it pushed him to decide that killing non sorcerers would get rid of cursed energy that creates curses in the first place. then he watches the twins, two little kids, get abused by non sorcerers when all they were trying to do was save their town. so yeah in the end he didn’t understand the purpose of protecting the weak when they could be so ugly—and that doesn’t justify the extremes he took, ofc, but the reason he turned out the way he did was a snowball of multiple things, not just riko dying—that was more the catalyst

[skeleton-mischief]

Nightmare Sans

Oh sinful child, wash off your bones but never forget that blood is thicker than water. Nightmare, was it all really worth it?

Headcanons below. Warning though, I changed some stuff up for the og story to fit how I like it teehee

- Official height changes, but he can be from 5'7 to 6'6(Jesus 💀)

- He/They

- Nihilist, he despises Fate and the Creators

- The embodiment and King of Negativity/A God if you will

- His castle was created when he was corrupted, and later on decided to make it himself

- Naturally cold to the touch, he's not easily affected by temperature

- Has synesthesia, he can see and smell others emotions/aura

- He likes sea animals, they're odd and yet so pretty and mysterious

- Has khopesh blades for weapons because they're twin blades

- He dreams of other versions of him, but he can never find them and often he is haunted by them

- An angry crier, hyperventilates and gets frustrated. Tries to be quiet, but sometimes ends up being loud anyways

- Pessimistic, cynical, observant, responsible, sarcastic, serious, assertive, untrusting, cunning, ruthless, manipulative, reserved, blunt, bitter, intelligent, patient, authoritative, cocky, and stubborn

- He is outright nasty to others, the type to jab at others when possible

- He grows more exhausted overtime once his resentment and bitter anger starts to fade over time

- he is more emotionally driven when his brother is involved in fights that he gets involved in, while more logical otherwise since Dream is the only one to get him like that

- He knows he's fucked up and deep down wants to repent for the wrongs that he has done towards the multiverse. And yet, he has his duties to fulfill

- He fears being vulnerable and doesn't get close to others as a result

- He makes deals and can "play" with his victims when he chooses to. Alliances are all well and good as well, but he is only loyal for as long as the contracts are fulfilled and as long as the other is loyal

- Time thaws his heart, in truth he can feel just as much as a child as Dream at times

- They have a giant library that they read

- Has wonderful manners and speaks very formally. Due to their origins, they also happen to have an accent of some sorts

- His goo tends to always return to him so one ability of his is flicking goo before it can harden and sharpen like spikes at a location

- He can be hit with anything and not get affected unless it's a weapon from his brother

- Strong positivity makes him nauseous, lightheaded, and weak

- Can sense other people's emotions but has the most influence on negativity

- Can analyze others extremely well, reading their body language and analyzing their words

- Hobbies of theirs include reading and writing, or even playing piano since he has a fondness for it

- His magic smells of something akin to earthy scents and moisture, like oak with wet dirt that carries a faint sweetness of decay. His magic tastes something akin to apple

- He's intolerant to children being injured, bullied, or abused. It reminds him of his childhood and thus he is protective of them

- Despite scaring most children, he refuses to harm them and is quite patient and kind to them

- He misses his brother, he does. He tells Dream things he doesn't mean in moments of anger or to get at him, but he doesn't mean pretty much most of it. He doesn't actually blame Dream, at least since he's matured over time

- He never got closure when Dream turned to stone, so those wounds opened up easily when he found out that he was alive. He tried to bury his past but his brother, whose bone is of a porcelain memory to his origins, haunt him

- He can't stand the color yellow, it reminds him of Dream. But, he has secret items that are of a yellow color

- He is fond of flower language and his favorite flower is the purple hyacinth. Fun fact: hyacinth blossoms under full sunlight, and they have wonderful symbolism. Dahlias, orchids, and hydrangea are those he is fond of as well

- He treasures the few things he's gifted, but rarely does he receive anything

- He gets slightly uncomfortable around stone, even if he knows that no one is inside. It just makes him secretly nervous

- Loves animals, but he won't touch them due to his goop and negativity

- His teeth can form into sharp fangs and he has clawed hands, his bone sharpened over time

- He avoids water because if he's fully submerged you can see the inner body that negativity possesses. Aka his original one

- He usually is covered in goop but rarely does it remove around him as a sort of venom situation. In fact, the two are separate entities in some ways, working as one

- Funnily enough he's a perfectionist who likes his things organized, especially when it comes to plans

- Does not use or understand slang

- He is a wonderful strategist, he even plays chess and can use the pieces as a visual understanding of it

- Hates sleep and avoids it until it's impossible to do so

- Can go into other people's dreams and cause intense nightmares, but he cannot do the same for his own and he is forgotten the moment the individual awakes

- He actually cares deeply for a lot of things, but he refuses to acknowledge this under most circumstances. If he vocalizes it, he threatens others to not do anything towards it

- He doesn't hate Error or even Ink, but he finds both to be a pain in the ass. Ink is one of the few he can't wrap his head around and he is one of the few who suspects Ink, especially because his emotions and aura seem....odd

- A more quiet and reserved being, he doesn't talk much unless he has to address someone or when he chooses to respond

- He's hard to read due to his air of apathy, he has learned how to avoid others detecting how he feels

- Even after eons, he won't let anyone else harm Dream

- The stronger the negativity, the larger he grows

- His original name is Night, him and Nightmare are separate but very much intertwined

- His original job was to protect those from negativity and also balance emotions in hard times to guide others, allowing sadness to occur

- Used to Call Dream Sunny as his nickname, and he refuses to let anyone call him Nighty since only Dream called him that

- People like to think of Night being manipulated by negativity but also it's important to note that what if that negative entity actually did feel that pain Nighty went through and was a source of comfort for him when Mother Tree wasn't? Yes, it eventually hurt him by convincing him to eat the apples to be corrupt, but if it's a parasite in my interpretation? I'd want to be maybe like- a situation where the corruption was also genuinely caring of Nighty while simultaneously being the reason Nighty indulged in his anger and hurt

- Multilingual, he knows every language fluently

- He had time to learn how to read and write, he forgot that Dream didn't the first time he saw a tree inside an AU carved by Dream with horrible writing underneath. That realization sort of made his "soul" crumble at the thought

- He has severe thanantophobia, he actually is deeply afraid of dying despite his circumstances. It's something he stresses out about and when Dream became more dangerous, he grew more nervous

- He's actually insecure about his aura at times, especially near those he doesn't wish to harm. He worries if they don't want to be around him because of it, which just worsens his aura

- He thought Dream died long ago, as he was disoriented and was too busy grieving. He didn't actually want Dream to die, and I actually hc that he threw the cloak over Dream to protect him as an apple happened to fall underneath with Dream. He was ashamed when Dream saw him again, and saw who he became. Still, he didn't want to change his ways because of the resentment he still held at the time

- He used to visit Dream and would cry next to his statue before he went off to feed off negative timelines. Even then, he would visit on their birthday

- He destroys mirrors and refuses to look at himself. He doesn't want to remember what he used to look like or who he's now become

- He has a secret painting that he was able to create deep inside his castle, one of Dream. He has destroyed previous ones due to finding them imperfect, a disgusting reminder, etc. this one though, this one he keeps

- His favorite fruit is pomegranate, he can perfectly deseed it and it's his favorite snack other than apple pie

- He used to be great with animals, barely do any of them approach him however

- He likes forests, the scent and even the sensation. He just wishes that he could feel Mother Tree again

- He enjoys herbal tea, actually much more than coffee and his favorite is lavender tea

- He avoids anything related to apples or fire, it reminds him of his past and in fact he grows nervous about it

- Doesn't realize that his tentacles react to his emotions, going so far as to flick with irritation at times

- His tentacles often just appear at will or with extreme emotion, but when they do appear to be actually quite painful since they tore through his back bones. Nowadays, he's numb to it and the bones have attempted to grow back due to magic healing he's attempted to find

- His tentacles actually can act like tree branches or at least resemble them. Firm, shaped similar, etc

- Genderless but prefers masc pronouns

- He actually never lies, but twisting the truth so hard involves enough intellect and leaves him to be a dangerous figure

- on the aroace spectrum

- Gets really goopy when sleeping, to the point he looks boneless

- Out of respect and guilt after coming back to his senses after the incident, he used parts of Mother Tree as custom furniture inside his castle so that she doesn't go to waste at all.

- He actually could hear her screaming when he was corrupted, and that sound haunts him

- He forgot what a hug feels like, the only time he was ever hugged in his life was with Dream. Time caused him to forget

- I feel that his form, present, isn't his true form but he keeps it up because it not only was the turning point in his life, but what protected him. It's why I think it works as something else when it detached itself. The goop at this point is a different part of who he is, and only when he is alone does it detach to speak

- Even if he causes nightmares and enters inside other monsters minds, he actually just has dreams. He dreams of what would've happened if they were happy, being raised by the mother tree, if he and his brother grew up without being guardians. It haunts him, makes him question if he was actually just justified in what he did. Was his actions worth it?

- He hates losing control of situations, absolutely throws a fit

- Struggles getting drunk, so he only drinks wine and magical drinks. Smoking doesn't please him, goop covers it anyways

- He doesn't discriminate, fools. Useless hatred feeds him, sure, but that doesn't mean he agrees and even will react violently towards blatant hate crimes

Closing Notes: no one talk to me, no one look at me. I don't exist, these two are the reasons I need therapy

[funtimespringscare101]

Hey @thefoolishone666! So I found this video of Mollie's voice lines in Indigo Park:

And I was thinking about the lines that suggest that the mascots had abusive staff and everything, and it made it think up a little headcanon for the Mascot Saviour AU:

When Ellie/The protagonist first saves her, I would imagine Mollie seeing Ellie extend a hand towards her as she checks on her and Mollie would start flinching and start to panic (understandable, as the poor bbg deserved better). Ellie would have been the first person to show care for her in the long ass time since the park's closure.

The same would go for Salem here, with her being absolutely shaking when Ellie and Mollie find her in her lair/bunker.

Man, Ellie is really gonna be the Emotional Support child...

[redysetdare]

Hugs are not always positive. Cuddling is not always positive. kissing is not always positive. gentleness is not always positive.

Context surrounding actions matters. it's what gives them a positive or negative connotation otherwise they are neutral actions. Someone hugging you is not always a positive thing; i was often forced into hugs against my will by my family - hugs are incredibly uncomfortable for me. A lot of forms of touch and intimacy do not bring me the same comfort it does to others.

I wish people would stop viewing certain actions as inherently good or positive when it's the context surrounding those actions that brings them meaning.

for some of us touch is terrible even if it's the "Positive gentle" kind of touch. And that isn't something that needs to be fixed - it's something that needs to be understood and respected. Don't ask for an exception. don't take it personally. don't make it about you and your feelings. Listen, understand, respect. it's not that hard.

[punkeropercyjackson]

People be out there not getting along with their siblings and having friends that call them stupid and annoying and act like it's a flex lmao

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

Kenji’s been through so much- ever since the start of the hunting dogs arc he’s transitioned into a punching bag! He keeps getting stabbed and sliced in half and thrown out of moving vehicles- SAVE MY BOOOOOOOOY

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

thinking about superheroes unfortunately

[silverameco]

Merry Christmas everyone, i'm so glad Regulus Black gets to spend it with his brother Sirius Black and his boyfriend James Potter and his chosen family Effie and Monty Potter because he escaped his abusive family and never died in a cave <3

[lucy-moderatz]

The perpetrators of the mob violence have retreated into their own business. To my knowledge, Odo has received no apologies.

[supermarine-silvally]

Ace and Yara if they had kids? 🧸

alsdkasdlakjsd Portada-as-parents my beloveddddd (this got so long I had to put it below a cut lmao)

OC x canon ask game

🧸 Would they want to have kids together? If so what are their kid(s) like? How are they as parents?

Firstly, I should acknowledge just how OP any potential Portada offspring would be-- like, they’d have hella strong genes, especially considering who their grandfathers are lmao the World Government and the Marines would be shitting themselves just thinking about it.

Anyways, Ace and Yara would absolutely want to have kids, but there are certainly some hesitations around the matter. Ace loves the idea of having children with Yara, but it also scares the hell outta him. Does he want to condemn them to sharing his bloodline? What if they hate him as much as he hates his own father? What if something happens to Yara, and he loses her in childbirth the way he lost his own mother? What if the World Government comes after his family? He knows they’d never know a moment’s peace, especially after his secret is unveiled to the world at Marineford. But Yara assures him that she knows the risks, and that he won’t be an awful father, and that nothing will happen to her in the process. She’s actually the one who’s initially more on board with the idea of having kids. She loves Ace, and she also loves the idea of pissing off the World Government by continuing [redacted]’s bloodline. Marineford was a powerful motivator for her in that regard. 

Overall, they’d have about 2-5, I’m still undecided (Yara only really wanted one, but Ace is insatiable when it comes to his gorgeous wife lol I’m just not sure where the point is when she puts her foot down and says ‘that’s it, no more kids’). Their first one wasn’t planned, but wasn’t exactly unplanned, either. It just sort of… happened while in the process of negotiating whether kids would be a good idea for them. Ace is the most stressed about it, waiting on Yara hand and foot while she’s pregnant. He’s a constant mixture of excited and terrified, but the further along she gets, the more he falls in love with the idea of having a family, and Yara constantly assures him he’ll be an amazing father. During the pregnancy, he’s glued to Yara’s side and won’t let her lift a finger (much to her annoyance sometimes). He talks to the baby constantly, telling them stories about his childhood on Mt. Corvo with Luffy and Sabo, his adventures as the short-lived Captain of the Spade Pirates, and how he met and fell in love with Yara, as well as humming sea shanties occasionally, too. He gets super excited every time he feels the baby kick (and definitely cried a bit the first time he felt it and it really hit him that wow, he’s gonna be a dad). 

Once their first baby (their eldest son, Shiro, named after Whitebeard) is born, Ace takes to fatherhood immediately. He’s so good with literally everything, from feeding to diaper changing to rocking the baby to sleep. Yara, on the other hand… actually struggles with being a mother at first. She hates the constant crying and not getting enough sleep and finds herself getting really frustrated that it’s not coming to her very easily. She wonders if her own father felt like this-- it gets bad enough that she actually starts to sympathize with Mihawk lol. Ace reminds her that he’s good at it because he has a lot more experience with kids than she does-- he practically helped raise Luffy, after all. He reassures her that she’s doing a great job and that it’s okay to not get it all immediately. But Yara doesn’t start to feel like she’s suited to being a mother until Shiro gets sick for the first time, and she throws all her effort into nursing him back to health, realizing that the fact that she’s so worried about him must mean that despite her earlier reservations, she actually does have a strong bond with her baby. And when he calls her “Mama” for the first time, she cries. 

We all know Ace is the fun parent, but weirdly enough, he’s also the stricter one, too, just because his parenting style is way more hands-on than Yara’s so he’s more likely to be the one to tell the kids ‘no’ when they want to do something they shouldn’t. Yara is more inclined to let her kids learn by experience. That’s how she was raised, and she turned out just fine (according to her). She’s very much the ‘I don’t want to deal with this right now, go ask your father’ style parent.

Ace loves playing with his kids-- in a way, he’s making up for the early childhood he never really had. Any little accomplishment of theirs, no matter how small, he treats like it’s the best thing ever. They drew him a picture? He’s running around the ship showing absolutely everyone he can find, beaming with pride the whole time. Ace as a big brother was already a lot, but Ace as a dad? He’s committed to it 10000%. Being a father gives Ace a whole new reason to want to live. When he was younger, he never could have imagined he’d have a family someday, and he wants his kids to never ever feel like they didn’t deserve to be born.

Yara might not be as outwardly expressive of her love as Ace is, but she very much loves and is proud of her kids in her own way. She might not react too strongly when her kid hands her a drawing they did other than a ‘oh, you drew this? This looks nice’, but within the day, the drawing will be neatly framed up on the wall. Yara does a lot of the behind-the-scenes parenting, preparing snacks and making sure they have clean clothes that fit and stitching up their favourite stuffed animals. Ace and Yara are a great parental team, playing to their strengths and making sure that between them, all the bases are covered for their kids to have as best a childhood as they can offer. 

The kids all take the Portgas name-- and the D, of course, too, since they end up inheriting the Will of D. I only have set ideas for the first two, but I might come up with more at some point later. As mentioned above, their firstborn is Portgas D. Shiro. He looks quite a bit like Ace when he was younger, with wavy black hair and freckled cheeks, but he’s got the Dracule hawk eyes. Personality-wise, he’s quite a bit like Ace, too-- cheerful, stubborn, headstrong, and has a bad habit of never retreating from a fight, but he inherited his mother (and grandfather)’s prowess with a blade, becoming a swordsman. Yara tries training him when he gets a bit older, but they end up butting heads so often that she ends up giving him to Zoro as a student, hoping he might actually listen to someone who’s not his mother. Shiro’s goal is to surpass Zoro as the World’s Greatest Swordsman one day, and ends up inheriting his grandfather’s blade Yoru. 

Their secondborn is Portgas D. Relie, their (potentially eldest) daughter. I named her after her step-grandmother in my crossover with Evie (@auxiliarydetective)’s OC, La Donna Dracule Aurelia, since Aurelia is a really important person in Yara’s life and she gave her daughter the name to honour her (but everyone calls the younger Aurelia “Relie”). She has violet hair like her mother, though it’s a bit more wavy, and soft brown eyes (the same colour as Yara’s right eye). She also got Ace’s freckles-- some even say that her face is the spitting image of her grandmother, Portgas D. Rouge. She definitely has more of the Dracule personality, quiet and reserved. At some point, she gets her hands on a Logia fruit (my idea was for it to be volcano-related somehow, perhaps volcanic ash, but I’m too lazy to check if that Devil Fruit concept already exists in canon lol). Also, she notably inherits Ace’s narcolepsy. 

Mihawk, as the only living grandparent, is surprisingly involved with his grandkids’ lives. As the now-retired former World’s Greatest Swordsman, he spends his time chilling on some secluded island where he can peacefully farm for the rest of his days. He babysits the kids fairly regularly when their parents are off having adventures that are too dangerous to have children around for (or when Ace and Yara just need some Alone Time), and they have a great time with their Grandpa Mihawk. Plus, Mihawk’s involvement makes the Marines hesitant to try any funny business, sort of like how Whitebeard protected Ace. 

These kids have SO MANY aunts and uncles between Ace’s brothers and their crewmates/associates in the Straw Hats and the Revolutionary Army, the other WBP division commanders, and former Spade Pirates-- not to mention Zoro and Perona as well. Luffy and Sabo spoil them rotten whenever they come visit, and retired Marine Hero Great-Grandpa Garp has been known to visit every now and again. (Garp has no idea how he got roped into caring for his old rival’s descendants, but the kids like him and he even tolerates the great-grandpa label, even though it makes him feel reeeeally old lmao). If Whitebeard is still alive at that point, he’s the best grandpa ever. It’s a huge, chaotic extended family, but Ace and Yara are extremely grateful for all the support-- it really does take a village (or a few pirate crews), after all.

also tagging @daughter-of-melpomene @oneirataxia-girl @box-of-bats in case you want some Portada-being-parents headcanons since I haven't really touched on this much heheh

[peachymaryobrien]

It's so touching to see Kipps change despite everything he's been through.

He is an example of how shine, pride, and "greatness" of Fittis is projected at young people, making them feel like being at this fancy agency is the main anchor in their life, a ground for self-worth. How selfish and cruel it is to make kids more scared of simply growing up and losing their talent than die supposedly with "Honor" and get some crap of a picture on the wall. Fear of being irrelevent, useless. The pain of changing. And honestly, can you blame Kipps, who just wanted to be seen and feel like he's worth it?

He lost his team, lost agents, and in the end, realized it actually meant nothing to Fittis when it was everything to him.

Another broken soul, another victim of The Problem and another castle, crumbled by it. He never wanted you to hate him.