#not mentioned yet but

[seldomscilence16]

Voltron in "The Little Mermaid" part one!

Hello all! A little late but heres a short part of a short piece For Julance and Lances Birthday (cause I take forever to do anything and it wasnt ready in May :/). I really loved the Live action, by far the best out of them all, so heavy inspiration pulled from that one- as well as some spoilers with song references and scenes ect so warned- but I also pulled from the cartoon and musical a bit and just mashed a lot of randomness together!

Now I'd like to thank @paracosm299 for reading this and helping out in the brainstorming process! They were a huge help, and as always a humungus support! Love you!

I'd also like to thank @autisticlancemcclain @awhoreintheory and @mothmanavenue ! The first two for answering my asks and moth for beautiful art making me fall in love with a ship used in this fic. And for just being overall amazing, keeping my love for Voltron alive and giving so many people reasons to smile!

Anyway, enjoy part one of this little fic! I will try to get the other parts out soon (im planning for 3 to give me easy goals 🤞).

~~~

The ocean was abuzz with commotion and far too many visitors, all oozing with the need to please the Emperor. Lance had far better things to be doing, though his father would attest, and he found himself swimming farther and farther from the noise. Which wasnt odd of course, Lance could be found on the outskirts of Alteaica more often than not.

"I could've sworn it was around here somewhere..." Coran, an older creature and Lances Best friend, indulged Lances curiosity the most.

He didnt know much of the man, despite how often his rambles and odds and ends left Lances head spinning, but the mystery of him intrigued the merman. He was a bit of an outcast, kept out of the public eye as much as possible like he knew something Lance didnt. And he did, know a lot that is, places and history and things from a time before Lance came to be and further. Allura chided Coran for being a bad influence, but her heart never seemed in it, Lance had seen her far off stare as she listened to a ramble far too much to believe she didnt too know more than she said.

"Oh!" They pass farther than typically allowed, and Lance sees the reason why.

Below lays a wrecked ship, one Lance has yet to explore.

"Come on Coran!"

"You know this reminds me of..."

Lance listens idly to Corans tale, scanning the area carefully as they decend to where the boat rests on the sea floor. He thinks of the storm that would have caused this, thinks of the lives of the humans on board, wonders how many of them made it home. The Emperor would scoff at him, berate him for sharing a caring thought towards the very beings were endanger their waters. But as they drift into the wreck, and his eyes catch on every little detail, he cant help but think they are so much more.

"...And then Alfor sneezes and the whole colony popped, completely vanished, I still wonder what happened to those little quiznakers, they stole my snacks..." For an Octopus, Lance can help but think his face shows perfect contempt for whatever those creatures were.

Its not the first time Coran has spoken of this Alfor, nor of creatures Lance has never heard of, using words he long since has grown accustomed to figure out with the context given. He hears every story, and watches the expressions his friends take, and hurts to know that they too hold pain in their hearts, for something Lance is not allowed to grasp for whatever reason. So instead he distracts, with human curiousities and questions and weaved tales of his own. Coran loves his inquisitive nature, Romelle finds humor where she can and has something that shines in her eyes when he puts something together- he'd put anything together, fix anything, if only to see them all happy- and Allura acts aloof at times, but she loves learning and new things and arguing with Romelle until they both laugh so hard it hurts.

So even for a moment, these human things, bring them together. Things that may or may not be true, that raise so many questions that he hopes and prays to one day find the answers to. He'll collect it all, in the hopes of a future where he can be free to do something with the whirlpool of thoughts inside him. To go, to learn, to enjoy, to explore, to know.

He sticks another object in his bag, Coran dangling from it with one arm as most of the others search the floor,

"I do wonder why the sharks like these ships, never had a clear conversation with one you see, even the evolved ones, their heads seem to be in the foam sometimes, never know what theyre thinking." Coran picks up a piece of ship, examines it, then throws it already looking for something new, his query seemingly random but somehow something Lance too wondered about.

"Well, if I was like my father, I'd say they're trying to figure out how these ships work so they can better take them down." Lance rolls his eyes at this, fingers skimming over a depiction of a human. "But maybe they just like how it looks, its pretty interesting after all."

Lance had met a couple sharks in his day, he found them pretty interesting actually, but he understood how hard it was for them to find food now-a-days. And when youre always moving, they must be starving, so he respected them, gave them a good distance.

Much like with his interest in humans, Lance understood that he couldnt interact with them. For all Sendaks hate, Lance was not stupid enough to believe that he wouldnt be attacked if he did something wrong. With sharks, you could find a few that didnt want to kill you. Humans too, Lance was almost positive there had to be some that wouldn't find him a monster... there had to be.

He startles when he catches movement out of his peripheral, turning to find a large mirror. His expression is tight, and he's quick to smooth it out, he needed to be more careful with what he let his face show.

"Oh, and whats that?" He follows Corans gaze to see, what looked to Lance, a mini trident.

He uses a delicate hand to pick up the object, inspecting it with wide eyes,

"I dont know, but its wonderful. I bet Romelle has an idea." Lance smiles at Coran, glancing around once more for a last sweep, when the mirror catches his attention once again.

This time however, it is not his own reflection he sees.

Rows of teeth, pale skin, and small but focused eyes. The shark is through the side of the boat before Lance can get out any sound of warning. Hes pulling Coran out of the way, the shark dead set on them, destroying the things in its way to try and keep up.

Lance should have knows this wreck would be called for. Should have searched better, before entering what could be- and obviously was- the territory of a predator.

Every turn they take, every time Lance is sure they've lost him, sharp teeth and splintered ship come from behind or the side or in front and they have to make another hard turn, and he trying to hold on to his bag- where Coran has secured himself tightly so as not to effect Lances mobility- but as they finally exit the interior of the wreck, the shark is bursting out behind them and Lance swears he has a grip but then its gone.

He swims backwards, eyes frantically scanning to locate the Octopus, but the Shark has found him first, heading towards the sea floor. Hes comoflauged against the bag, but a trail of blood follows it, giving away his position.

"Coran!" A quick decision, a half formed plan, has him shoving a container of some sort, watching it hit the Shark who thankfully turns his attention to the larger prey. Lance darts into the ship once more, watching the shark come for him, jaw opened wide, closer..

Closer...

Closer!

The mirror shatters, and the shark becomes stuck in the outer frame.

Heart in his throat from where hes pressed against the inner walls across from said mirror, Lance waits only a moment to ensure hes stuck before darting towards the sea floor. The trail of blood has dispersed- and gods Lance hoped it wasnt serious- but his bag has an extra divet in the sand beside it.

"Coran! Are you alright?"

The orange and blues of his friend slowly return, one arm crossed over his body below his eyes as usual, and his seven others still intact. A small scratch on his head has already stopped bleeding, and Lance breathes a sigh of relief, quickly scooping up his friend, absently grabbing his bag, and swimming away from the wreck. It'd be best to be gone before the Shark made his way free.

...

Sendak casts a steady look around the crowded room, today's meeting was an important one, gathering the leaders of the seven seas to discuss important matters once a year. That brat should be here, this was one of their most important times, he should be drifting about the room like a ditz and gathering info for him. One job and the useless boy couldnt even do that. He taps his trident once and waits, eye never stopping its steady search.

"You summoned, your Majesty?" Her voice comes from above, the ghost crab gliding down to land on the rock of his throne.

"Where," he pauses to level her with the full strength of his glare, "is the boy?"

To her credit, she appears unfazed by his glare,

"I reminded him of the meeting this morning-"

"I did not ask of this morning." Sendak cuts in, voice low as he once again eyes the room, "find him."

Shes quiet for a moment, "yes, your majesty."

It wasnt hard to find Lance really, Allura practically had a sixth sense for it. Though all she really had to do was go where you werent supposed to, and you'd happen upon the boy. So of course she finds him talking with Romelle, past the territories border, and far closer to the surface than allowed. Still, with Coran's many tentacles latched around Lances arm and Romelle chattering away about whatever it is shes holding, Alluras heart swells with a fondness she cant- or rather doesnt want to- fight.

"Lonce!" She makes her way up to the rock Romelle stands on, eying the human curiousities for only a moment- things change up there so quickly- before leveling the three with a look. "Do you recall what day it is? That thing I told you this morning?"

The way Lances eyes widen- with fear, so much, too much- has her heart hurting.

"The night of the coral moon! Oh gods! Im late! Sorry Romelle! I gotta go!"

Coran has Lances bag and a grip on the rock in the next moment, just in time to brace for Lance's departure. The three watch him go, faces as glum as their animal selfs can accomplish.

"Hows the plan coming?" Allura asks after the (waves by his departure currents what are they called?) calm.

"They are simply waiting for the right moment, and for Haggar to make her move." Coran responds, one of his many arms laying across his face so another can stroke it awkwardly.

"Lets hope we dont have to wait long." Alluras tone is grave, eyes trained on the trail of a young merman, who has no idea what path was laid before him.

...

Lance was screwed this time for sure.

The Coral Moon gathering was one of the most important tasks Lance had. With so many mers in one place, it was his job to gather any and every bit of information he could, anything that may get his father ahead. It had been the only thing talked about over the past few movements, and the main reason Lance had decided to take a break this morning before the big event... until he lost track of time.

He had succesfully snuck into his room to drape himself in fancy shiny- unnecassary and gaudy, not even tasteful- decorations and such. Anything to make him look like a dumb accessory to the Emporer and be underestimated- though Lance was underestimated even by the man who knew he was more than decor. Sneaking into the event would be a problem though, Lance figured it'd be better to simply act as if he arrived late on purpose, to swim in like a ditz and lazily make his way about the room- anything to delay addressing his Father- and hopefully hear something worth while along the way.

Though worthwhile was relative, and Lance was less of a snitch than his Father trained him to be, but also very good at pretending to be one. The Emperor claimed to see through Lance, and for some things he could- though Lance thinks he simply assumes and who is he to deny the accusations really? But for things like this, Lance had been told by a few that he was an excellent story weaver, and really, thats all gossip was anyway. So long as it pleased Sendak- father, Emperor- it didn't matter.

So long as he could save the lives of a few at the expense of his own safety, it was worth it.

His entrance is met with varying emotions.

By those who follow the Emperor and hang on to his every word, he is greeted with sneers at best, and lascivious leers at worst.

By those who fear him or are simply biding their time, looks of pity or spite. Lance expertly appears non-chalant, like his head is in the sand rather than processing everything fast enough to make his head ache. Most of it was minor gossip, a few idle threats, comments on the food, current events and the likes, but Lance could make that all work.

As he glides closer to the end of the gathering space, he feels a hard stare that he had to stop himself from tensing at. He cant help but drift slower, to delay the inevitable, but he can only stall for so long. He bows to his father and takes his place beside him, swallowing thickly he waits with baited breath.

"Why are you late." The question is barely that, with how much force he puts into the quiet utterance.

"I-"

"Shipwrecks are off limits for a reason."

Lance doesnt know HOW he knows, if it was a guess or if he had more spies than Lance originally thought. For all Lance knew, the shark from this morning could have been in on it. Given, then he'd also know about Coran, and since he never mentions the man, Lance figures its probably a guess. According to Allura, hes pretty predictable like that.

"I was just scouting it out, trying to learn something." Half truths.

"On the most important day of the year, you decide to indulge your human obsession? Are you trying to make me angry?" Lance could tell the crowded room wouldnt keep his father from yelling if they kept this up.

"No Father, I was only-"

"We will talk about this later."

Lance is dismissed as quick as he was addressed to begin with, and the minute the Emperors back is turned to meet with the 'generals' of the other seas, Lance is swimming for his grotto as quick as his tail will take him. If hes in for a punishment anyway, he may as well enjoy his freedom for even a moment.

next>>

[tadfools]

You guys are commenting on the fics you read right? You’re at least leaving kudos on the Astarion smut and the pairs that have less than 20 fics for them too? You’re bookmarking stories you really like that are still being updated and ones that haven’t been touched in over a year right?

You know that even the smallest interactions are like cocaine to fic writers right? You understand how important a string of emoji hearts left behind on chapter at three am is right?? Right????

You’re treating AO3 like a community and not a content factory….right?

[beldaroot]

there has been more moments than i can count in the past seven months where i felt destroyed by all the death and carnage i've seen due to the colonialism and imperialism of the world. but there was something in particular about hind's death that made me think the world would stop turning bc how could anything continue given how gruesome and inhumane her death was? and yet, the world did not stop. and i thought we were once again left to remember her story only in our minds as she became another number, as her murderers went on killing unpunished, and as her mother grieved with rage when all she wanted was to keep her daughter warm and as safe as she could manage in this man-made hell on earth.

however, hind, a girl who only got to experience her kindergarten graduation, is now being immortalized in universities across the nation. her story did resonate to the masses and we will not let her be forgotten nor forgive those complicit in her death. real justice would be having hind alive, but these students are showing that they will stop the world and burn the status quo it upholds to the ground if it means her people can truly be liberated.

[dimensionzero]

so do we think gayatri took some inspiration for her style or did pavitr actually pull a motherfucking model

[picturejasper20]

I think something worth of pointing out about Danny is how often he uses the words ¨I don't want to fight you¨ or ¨I don't want to hurt you¨ to some of his enemies, specially to Valerie Gray.

Danny usually fights his enemies but if he sees that the situation can be solved without resorting to violence, such as being a misunderstanding or his enemies being manipulated, he would chose to see if he can talk them down. This is because Danny is a very empathetic person and is able to understand when someone isn't evil or they don't have bad intentions. He has gained more than one ally this way, like Wolf and Dani.

To be honest, i'm not sure if Danny even enjoys fighting. It feels like it is something he does to defend his town and family or friends more than anything else.

[radiance1]

Danny has been reincarnated.

Which was an odd thing to realize, it wasn't even a slow one he just... snapped into it one day. One moment he was staring at a wall out of boredom the next, well, he was staring for an entirely different reason.

It was a task for his now young -he thinks around three years old?- mind to work its way through the memories, but it wasn't like he had much else to do honestly. So, what does he know?

His name is Danny, like, his actual name and not just a moniker. He was once a halfa and he already knows he's going to be missing invisibility and intangibility. He, well, died. For like, a second time which actually makes sense because reincarnation-

Anyways.

He was a clone of two people from this thing called the Justice League which, weird name but probably some government or activist group. Wonder Woman and Superman. Which were pretty weird names to name your kids but eh.

He doesn't really remember much besides that from this life, or the one from before but he's an adult! He'll figure things out once he gets out of this containment tube thing.

Did he mention he was in a test tube? He's a tube baby now. He thinks? Or maybe it's more like he's being contained.

Whatever.

So he breaks out. Thank you apparent superstrength that he has no idea why he has but he's not going to complain! He then wandered around all of the other test tubes, able to remember just enough of English to see that yea, they're dead.

He probably was too, before he had memories zapped into him. Or a vegetable.

He then finds this really big container, checks it out, then opens it because the clone inside isn't dead!

'Project Match' it said. He'll just call him Match.

Was he thanked for helping him? Nope. You would think that he would be thanked or at least somewhat respected for saving this guy but nope!

He was, quite literally, held up by his leg and dangled in the air. Who dangles a three-year-old?! Well, he was technically and adult but still! The next few things were a blur but after pulling off the old Fenton charm he found him and Match outside as he tried to stop him from attacking random people.

Luckily the charms and privilege of the youngest (he's assuming he's the youngest, because he's physically three) was more than enough to get through to him. Sure, the guy couldn't form words, really aggressive for literally no reason, really weird but also absolutely cool looking eyes. But he worked around the first issue by developing their own personal language from like grunts and stuff, the second he once again used his youngest privilege to boss him around and the third a pair of sunglasses easily fixed.

He just had to steer Match clear of those random S crest mark thingies. Which was a weird thing to hate but hey, he's not there to judge.

[writeouswriter]

Broke: Acknowledging that a character who is an objectively terrible person is also a complex and intentionally well thought out individual with different levels of nuance you can empathize with in some ways while not in others is immediately “woobifying” or “poor little meow meowifying” them.

Woke: “This character is a bad person” and “this character is still a person” are two statements that can, should and do coexist and admitting that they exhibit nuance and depth and are more than just their bad actions doesn’t immediately excuse or condone their bad actions or mean that you’re ignoring or trying to soften the canonical version of the character.

Bespoke: That’s the whole point, that’s always been the point, to be made to empathize with horrible people so you can understand that they can be anyone, that bad people can be likeable, can be interesting, can be human, are human, and it’s scary to think about all the ways they’re just like you and all the ways they’re just like everything you hate, forcing the use of critical skills in media analysis, forcing a confrontation of the duality of man.

Whatever Level is Above Bespoke: But sometimes, yeah, sure, maybe they are a poor little meow meow, what are you gonna do, get a lawyer

[aeviann]

Tranquil prints

[rainbowd00dles]

my final designs for both Jeremy and Jean!

(still not finished reading, i'm about 65% through!)

[lilianade-comics]

snippets of post AGIT Cheese Melt because, well, I'm predictable. Also featuring post AGIT Dan because I love him~

[emry-stars-art]

Bringing back my love for aftg tv/actor au

Taken from this post (again) (there’s another one here too btw) by @thespineoftherighteous 😌💕 I love it so much lol

I need to do the "are you flexing your abs rn" one too *sighs* one day

[clouvu]

Mother and Father 🫶

[vynnyal]

So let me get this straight:

Hollow knight is about the journey of a small creature possessing the corpse of a god's discarded child, and the character arc that unfolds as they realize they're more than the path they were set to take, eventually defeating the corruption instead of merely postponing inevitable destruction.

Rain world is about the journeys and experiences of many small creatures sent by a bunch of gossiping computers, and the efforts to help stop the destruction caused by a corrupted god that unfolds over hundreds of years, all to postpone his inevitable death.

Man, video games are fun!

[whomst-the-hell]

“Tammy Thompson,” says Robin, voice choked.

“But Tammy Thompson is a girl?” says Steve, feeling the full effect of Russian drugs and not seeing what Tammy Thompson has to do with him being rejected right now.

“Steve.”

“Oh.”

So maybe he does see what Tammy Thompson has to do with him getting rejected right now.

Ok.

“Did you OD over there?” fear is audible in Robin’s voice.

He steels himself.

“You know… I was never looking back. At Tammy, I mean.”

“That doesn’t really- Thanks, I guess,” Robin sighs.

“No, I- hm. I wasn’t looking at Tammy because… because Eddie Munson sat in front of me in Ms Click’s class.“

“Steve?” Robin looks confused, but there is a hesitant kind of hope blooming on her face.

“And he always wore those rings, you know? And they’d, like, shine in the light. And he had all those fucking chains so even when he managed to shut the fuck up, he was never quiet and- and- fuck. “

“Steve.” Robin’s eyes are wide, understanding dawning on her face.

They sit, facing one another across a bathroom stall, smelling of blood, sweat and vomit. They aren’t alone anymore.

They never will be again.

[rubydubydoo122]

I’m just gonna say this, the main reason people don’t like Damian Wayne as a character is the same reason people didn’t like Jason Todd back in the 80s

People don’t like either of them because their favorite Robin (Tim Drake and Dick Grayson) got replaced by them.

Damian and Jason are both really interesting and complex character, objectively more complex than both Tim and Dick, but some people (cough, obnoxious Tim fans, cough, and Dick fans who over sexualize him, cough) don’t see that and just want their little blorbos to never grow into their own character apart from Batman.

[starry-bi-sky]

(Part of this post with older brother danyal al ghul)

...Okay, look. Sam knows she's staring. She knows very well that she is staring. And that if she doesn't stop staring it's gonna draw her unwanted attention, and that will only have to make her explain why she's staring. Which she doesn't want to do.

She's trying not to stare, which she thinks she should get brownie points for. She tries to look away, to find a spot on the wall to stare lifelessly at, maybe she can burn holes into some of these annoying socialites' heads. But eventually her eyes drift, and suddenly she's back to staring again.

Can you blame her though? Damian Wayne looks like a very close mini-me of her fucking best friend. Seriously, it's like looking into a mirror to the past. If that mirror to the past had green eyes rather than blue and a distinctive lack of a facial scar.

The first time she sees him when her parents drag her over to Bruce Wayne to butter up to him she has to do a doubletake. Then a triple take. Then a quadruple take, just for good measure that she was seeing what she was actually seeing. She was sure she looked like one of those stress toys that when squeezed had their eyes pop out comically like a Saturday morning cartoon, that's what she certainly felt like anyways.

Look, Danny's come a decent way from being that scowl-y, jerkish little ten year old she first met when he arrived like the wind to Amity Park five years ago (even if he was still occasionally scowl-y and jerkish), but one thing that's stayed the same is how reserved he is about his home life prior to being taken in by the Fentons.

He doesn't talk about it much, and Sam's come to know that he's very good at changing the subject when it gets brought up. Even after being friends for nearly four years, the only thing she and Tuck know for certain is that he has a little brother that he refers to as 'starlight', whom he cares a lot about but left on really bad terms with. And that he's never met his father, but wants to and knows who he is.

He's never told her or Tucker who he was though, and glancing at Bruce Wayne, Sam is realizing why. She can begrudgingly acknowledge all the good he's done for Gotham, but... well, if Danny told her that Bruce Wayne was his dad, she wouldn't have believed him at all.

But she's starting to see the resemblance, as subtle as it is.

And she sees the resemblance to Damian Wayne, her eyes dropping back down to him as he wears a very Danny-like scowl on his face, arms crossed behind his back as his eyes swept around the ballroom. He was five years younger than Danny, and god it was so, so weird.

His eyes turned on to her, and they locked gazes for a moment.

Involuntarily, Sam makes a startled noise and looks away. Fingers tap against her purse, black and purple and unfortunately a clutch that only held her phone and her wallet in it. She would have kept a knife on her, but her parents put their foot down and there was a security detail at the door. Only in Gotham.

Silently, she was hoping that the little Danny-me didn't say anything. Or at least, he hadn't noticed her staring. Which was a tall order if she ever heard one -- and unfortunately, her silent prayers went unanswered as her mother's eyes dropped down onto her.

"Did you say something, Samantha?" She asks in a sickeningly sweet voice, a sound that makes Sam's skin crawl. Her dad and Bruce Wayne's attention also turns onto her, and she glowers at her mom from the corner of her eye.

"I didn't say anything." Sam says, barely keeping her tone polite as she turned her head away. Her mother clucks her tongue, disapproving, but from her peripherals doesn't pester her more

Bruce Wayne, the bastard, takes that time to turn to Sam and grace her with his dime-a-dozen billboard smiles. "I've been talking with your parents this whole time, Miss Manson, you must be terribly bored. How is your schooling going?"

Sam eyes him up and down. On one hand, she immediately wants to be snarky. It's none of his business what her school life is like, she doesn't care for his fucking small talk.

On the other hand, this was Danny's whole father. Someone who she knows that Danny has wanted to meet for, what she's assuming, his whole life. He's never brought it up much, but she remembers that very quiet, solemn conversation she and Tucker had with him where he admits to having never met his dad. But god does he want to.

And... wait. Sam's eyes narrow, and she meets Bruce Wayne's eyes. Does this man even know Danny exists? She drops her gaze down to Damian, who was staring at her suspiciously, and then back up to Bruce, and she alternates between them.

Why was Damian living with Bruce, but not Danny? Why hasn't Bruce done anything to reach out to him - what was going on with Danny's biological family that Danny had to be separated from them, but not Damian? Danny's always been kinda mysterious, but now things weren't adding up.

Was Danny given up? Does Bruce just not want Danny, but wanted Damian? Why the fuck does Bruce Wayne know about Damian but not her best friend -- or does he know and just not care? He's fought for custody for his adoptive kids before, does he just not want to fight for his other biological son? Does he think Danny's not worth it?

She's never cared much about the Wayne family before, other than to hear about the advancements on WE's eco-friendly tech, but Sam thinks she's gonna have to look into why Damian Wayne was living with the Waynes.

Slowly, with a protective anger beginning to burn in her gut and crawl up her throat, a scowl slowly curls at the corner of her lip as she redirects her glare from her mother onto Bruce. "It's going fine," She says curtly, jutting her chin out defiantly. "Me and my friend Danny started a petition to fix the leaky faucets in the girls and boys' bathrooms in order to conserve more water for the rest of the city."

She eyes his face, waiting to see if anything like recognition flashes through it. And- and nothing. Sam breathes in slowly through her nose, trying to quell the red that's blurring the edge of her vision -- does he just, not know where Danny is?

Her parents however, make vaguely displeased expressions. "Our Samantha is... quite passionate about her pet projects." Her dad says, laughing low and nervously, "she's very vocal about silly things like that."

"Her friend Daniel is perhaps even worse than she is sometimes." Her mother adds on, fanning her face with her perfectly manicured hands with a sigh. "I swear, he's the one that keeps dragging her into these things."

Sam's anger turns on its head, and she whirls on her heel like a fire-breathing dragon. "It's Danyal." It rolls out like instinct. Danny's told them both that he hates the Americanized pronunciation of his name, but in a rare moment of restraint, puts up with it for reasons unknown to her. "And Danny doesn't make me do anything, it was my idea."

The name, Danyal, seems to ring some kind of bell in Brucie Wayne's head, because she sees him and Damian quietly perk up like two cats pricking up their ears. Her eyes flick onto him immediately, something dangerous rearing its head. So Bruce Wayne knows about Danny. And he's not reaching out to him. Is he? She's not sure.

She does know that she's gonna rip his throat out if she finds out that he's known about Danny this entire time and has been ignoring him while favoring his little brother. She'll hunt down Aragon herself and steal his dragon-shifting amulet and wreck house on Bruce Wayne if that's the case. Batman and his league of vigilantes be damned. Her parents don't notice her slowly turning head towards Bruce.

But Bruce does, and she makes direct eye contact with him. His smile doesn't falter, he just tilts his head like a curious puppy and looks at Sam's parents. She hopes Bruce can read minds, she hopes he can hear her threatening him.

"Danyal?" He asks, and Sam doesn't know if she hates the fact that he said it correctly or not. She just continues burning holes into him and hoping he might spontaneously combust.

Her mother waves her hand dismissively, tilting her nose up poshly into the air. "Our dear Samantha's little... foster friend from school," she says, not even bothering to hide her disdain, "a creepy little boy with the most garish scar on his face. He's a rude little thing, not good for polite company."

Scratch that, Sam mentally alternates between ripping into her parents and Bruce. She whirls on them. "Do not talk about Danny that way." She all but snarls, and they all but ignore her.

(She's tearing up the upholstery when she gets home. She's going to paint over the fine china. She's going to do something to make them pay for this.)

"Oh yes, he was taken in by that freaky Fenton family a few years ago." Her dad continues in lieu of her mom, and they both shake their heads disapprovingly. "It's just what our city needs, another menace."

"Danny is not a menace." Sam continues, raising her voice while her hands shake with rage. Her parents finally look at her, but she can already tell that they're going to scold her for raising her voice. She bulldozes over them and jabs her black-painted finger at them. "He's got a bigger heart than the both of you combined."

"Samantha, please." her mom says, exasperated. They both give her disapproving looks, Sam thinks about grabbing champagne off the tray of a nearby waiter and throwing it in their faces. "You defend that boy far too much. What do you actually know about him and his family?"

Sam sets her jaw, puffing herself up like a dragon protecting its hoard. She steps into her mom's space. "I know that he loves the stars; you can ask him anything about astronomy and he could give you an entire lecture on the formation, class types, and various gasses that stars are made up of. He can tell you how the Earth was formed, he can tell you about the visible light spectrum and about light curves, and a whole ton of other stuff that I don't really understand. But Danny loves talking about it."

Her face twists and scowls, "I know he cares a ton about the environment and about fixing light pollution, and preserving the forests and natural habitats of animals." She nearly jabs her finger into her mom's chest, "I know he loves dogs, and that there's one he feeds every day on the way to school that he calls Cujo, its a St. Bernard puppy and Danny carries him around whenever he sees him after school, and is in the middle of training him."

It's not a total lie, but it's not the whole truth either. Cujo doesn't need food, but Danny gives him it anyways. "I know he likes spicy food and loves movies but specifically only sci-fi and horror, and he hates most martial arts movies. His favorite superhero is the Martian Manhunter, but Batman comes in at a close second." For reasons to her that were pretty unknown, but it didn't matter.

"I know he loves wordplay and making puns, which I would have never expected from him when we first met, but it's so unbelievably Danny-like that I can't imagine him not making puns." And she smiles a little to herself, she remembers the first time Danny intentionally made a pun once and it got startled laughs out of both her and Tucker.

Her smile suddenly falters, and she swallows. Her lips purse up, wobbling, and she very quickly glances over to Damian Wayne, of whom is watching her with a vaguely bewildered expression alongside Bruce.

She turns her eyes back onto her parents. "And I know that he worries a lot, even if he has a shit way of showing it. I know he had a little brother that he hasn't seen since he was adopted by the Fentons, and he doesn't talk about him often but when he does he he calls him 'starlight'." From the corner of her eye, she sees Damian jerk.

"So- so, so what if he's not 'good for polite company'." Sam's voice, embarrassingly, cracks down the middle. But she's so angry over Danny's behalf that she doesn't really care. "Or that he can be mean, and critical, and stubborn. He's learning, and he's becoming kinder by the day. That's more than I can say about you."

(She remembers when Danny finally admitted to her and Tucker being his 'closest friends'. It was sometime before the portal incident, and it felt like a milestone because beforehand he only really referred to them as his companions or allies.)

(At the time, he'd looked unsure of himself. Skittish like a stray in the back of an alleyway, almost shy in his own way. It had come out stilted, slow, like an infant taking its first steps, and it would have been endearing if it hadn't been heartbreaking.)

Her parents rear back like she'd struck them, and her mother holds a hand against her chest in aghast. Sam doesn't care, she blinks the sting out of her eyes. "Samantha." Her mother starts.

Sam cuts her off, "I don't care what you have to say, you-- you pricks." she snaps, around her, there are gasps. Belatedly, she realizes she's grown an audience, but again she doesn't care. "Danny might be an asshole, but he cares. And I'd rather be around someone whose mean but cares, than someone whose nice but doesn't."

With that, she whirls on her foot and turns on Bruce Wayne, who has been silent the entire time with a surprised expression on his face. He starts to shake out of it when Sam turns to him, but she doesn't give him the chance to speak. "Enjoy your party." She snarls, and then stalks away.