#// these questions and more

[pcr-alice]

DPxDC - Morning Tea

also on AO3

Cass didn’t like this room.

It was cramped and full, thick with the woolen scent of Bruce’s suits and tuxedos and overcoats, the remnants of dry cleaning and the plastic bags it was returned in, leather shoes and belts and their oil and polish mixed with the harsh bite of disinfectant spray. Lit by a single bulb, warm in color, lacking in brightness, barely illuminating the shelves, not even attempting to attack to darkness around their feet and under the hanging clothes.

But she was wrapped around Steph’s arm to ground herself.

Danny walked straight to a jewelry box with the confidence of someone who knew what they were doing. For anyone other than Cass, it would have been convincing. He was sure of what he was doing, yes. Unsure of being here and actually doing it. She could see the dart of his eyes in the unknown space and the apprehension when he opened the box lid.

It released a surge of noise from the dozen or so watches inside, all ticking at their own cadence, some three, five, eight times a second, none of them synced, muffled by the stifling fabric packed between the shelves, saturating the hazy space.

But whatever Danny was doing was confusing enough to distract her.

He eased into the rhythm of his task, removing the watches one-by-one and examining them briefly, turning them over and lifting them to his ear to listen to. Some went directly back into the box. Others he set out on the shelf they had cleared off for him. Having picked out a selection he seemed pleased with, he began rearranging them into an order she didn’t understand. It was slow going. He would compare two at a time, one in each hand, raising them to his face for a closer look or closing his eyes to focus on the sound.

“Can’t you go any faster?” Steph hissed.

Danny flinched microscopically out of reflex, but relaxed almost as quickly and turned to face them, clearly comforted by their presence.

“Would you like to do it instead?” He sassed back.

Steph groaned. Danny met Cass’s gaze.

“You good?”

Cass nodded and squeezed Steph’s arm tighter. Danny was always good at checking on her when she needed it, and Steph knew how to lead her away from (or out of) overwhelming situations. He smiled in response and turned back to his work.

“How come you’re only nice to her?”

“I’m favorite.”

Steph pouted dramatically.

“Damn Cass, going for the throat.”

She laughed noiselessly and leaned into Steph harder, knocking her out of her pout and into a snort.

“Ahem.”

Steph shrieked at the sound of a throat clearing behind them and whipped around to the doorway. Or tried to. Cass still held her arm tightly, so she ended up half-twisting her lower body and raising her free hand in a pathetic excuse of a guard as she looked up to see Alfred staring down at her with a single raised eyebrow.

“Good Morning, Miss Stephanie. I must admit, this is not what I expected to find when I heard you two whispering in a back room with our guest.”

“Morning, Alfred!” Danny greeted over his shoulder.

“Good morning to you as well, young Master Danny. Might I ask what brought about your sudden interest in Master Bruce’s collection of timepieces?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m fixing this for Steph.”

Steph shrieked again as Danny turned to face them, holding a single watch in his hand, revealing a white porcelain teacup with elaborate painted flowers and gold trim around the lip and handle sitting in the middle of a partial circle of watches. Perfectly split in two.

“Traitor! You said you’d help!”

“I said I’d help fix the cup. You’re on your own.”

“He’s right,” Cass insisted.

Steph sighed heavily and leaned her head on Cass’s.

“You’ve gotta teach me how to be the favorite.”

“I was wondering where I misplaced my morning tea,” Alfred mused.

“Hey Alfred, what’s the time on your pocket watch?”

He carefully pulled the chain from his pocket and clicked the cover open.

“Ten thirty-four.”

“Give me a mark when that crosses to ten thirty-five, please.”

“I hope these two won’t make a habit – mark – of involving you in their mischief.”

“It’s only fair,” he turned to face them, having placed the final watch down on the shelf, “they get caught up in plenty of mine, too.”

“That’s not exactly reassuring, Master Danny,” Alfred closed his pocket watch with a click and slid it back into his pocket.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t broken anything in the manor yet. That’s just Steph.”

“Ugh, why do I even talk to you?” Steph muttered with an exaggerated eye roll.

“We’re favorite.” Cass answered cheerfully.

There was a tick from behind Danny and Cass’s shoulders relaxed. It took her a second to realize that all the watches were now perfectly in sync. She tilted her head in confusion, and Danny clocked her movement.

“Oh!” Danny exclaimed.

He stepped to the side to reveal the shelf behind him. On top of it was a perfectly repaired teacup.

“What.” Steph blurted.

“Good as new!” Danny gestured with his best jazz hands, “Er, as two hours ago at least.”

They were all silent for an elongated second before Steph gathered herself.

“See, nothing happened! We’ll be home for dinner!”

She grabbed Danny’s arm and yanked him out of the room, dragging him as she ran down the hall.

“Wait, I didn’t clean up! Sorry, Alfred!” Danny called back.

Alfred waited until the noise of their footsteps disappeared behind a slammed door. He sighed fondly and stepped toward the shelf. The watches were laid out in a circle except for the very bottom, where there was a small spot of something red. Alfred scrunched his eyebrows. Blood? He picked up the teacup to look closer, but when he moved his arm away to set the teacup down somewhere else, the mark was gone. He stared at the spotless shelf for a few seconds before making a mental note and moving on.

He picked up the watches one-by-one and meticulously wiped them off with a small cloth before placing them back in the jewelry box, reminiscing as he went. This was the first one Thomas had bought for himself, that one was the one Martha had bought for him, that was the one that Bruce… Hm. Did Danny realize these were laid out in the order they were bought? Alfred made another mental note.

He closed the jewelry box lid and went to pick up the teacup, only to find it full of tea. He glanced behind him to find a still empty closet. When he looked back to the teacup, he noticed it was sitting on a small green piece of paper. He lifted the teacup by its handle and picked up the paper with his other hand.

Your morning blend was delicious. Enjoy one of my favorites. CW

Alfred stared at the note for a few seconds, finally noticing the wonderful scent that had permeated the air. He took a small sip.

“I see why it’s one of your favorites,” Alfred lifted the cup in a polite toast.

He slipped the note in his pocked and flicked the lights off as he walked away.

[angelofdumpsterfires]

how i feel about all the changes in s3

[notrobinsomethingworse]

Dick: Happy Birthday Tim.

Tim: Yeah. Thanks.

Dick: How’s finally getting out of those teen years?

Damian: Don’t be absurd Grayson. Timothy is turning 17.

Dick: What? No he’s 20.

Tim: Aw first name?

Damian: It is my only gift to you.

Tim: Thanks Dames.

Dick: We are not changing the subject.

Jason: I dunno what to tell you dickbird. Baby birds turning the big one seven.

Dick: Jason you tired to kill him three years ago…

Jason, shrugs.

Steph: I mean he’s always been the little one. Even for me.

Dick: Steph he was the same age as you when you were dating…

Steph, shrugs: Can we have cake?

Tim: Hey! I haven’t blown the candles yet!

Dick, struggling: Cass… please.

Cass, ruffling Tim’s hair: little brother.

Tim: Aww thanks Cass.

Dick: Bruce come on. You gotta believe me.

Bruce: Hm

Tim: You did gaslight me for my 16th birthday. That was before Jason came.

Bruce, thoughtfully: Hm.

Dick: WHAT- No. I’m talking to both of you about that later. Tim is 20. It’s physically impossible for him to have been 17 FOR THREE YEARS.

[Varying degrees of staring]

Tim, whispering: Dick? Yeah kinda pointless doing this. I’ve tried before, they all just shrug it off.

Dick: What? So how old are you?

Tim: Probably 17? I’m starting to think I’m cursed or something honestly. I’m not too worried about it unless Damian starts becoming my older brother or something strange.

Dick: What.

Tim, nodding: Pretty sure I accidentally made a deal with the devil or something. Not quite sure. My memories a bit fuzzy on that year.

Dick: WHAT.

[chloesimaginationthings]

Can you imagine if the Aftons were in FNAF into the pit

[technically-human]

You've got so much to learn

[ciderjacks]

dwarven brew

+

[akanemnon]

THAT'S A LOTTA DAMAGE (emotional damage that is)

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[cozylittleartblog]

Columbo and the Knight (1984)

put me in the universe where Columbo ran through the 1980s and had a crossover episode with Knight Rider. I think they deserved it, and I am not just saying that because they're my two favorite Old Shows. @telebeast wrote a little fanfic blurb about it and I HAD to visualize it into a comic (which is also the longest comic I have finished thus far at five pages...), so writing credit goes to them.

Autism W!

[trickstersaint]

i want to introduce you all to a project that is very close to my heart... or lack of one. anyway. for anyone who has ever wanted to play a poem. i'd like you to meet aromanticism

(link opens itch.io - she'll run on html in your browser! please be nice to her!)

[deadwooddross]

There were some hear me out/smash or pass polls going around that simply didn't have enough sloughing skin in them for my tastes, so I made one of my own for funsies Come, spin the wheel,

[cordspaghetti]

got thinking about gerard way tour outfit predictions that never came 2 be… bloody wedding dress…

[future-crab]

What if you were Pluto’s most devout nun and you found out the only two people you’ve ever had romantic feelings for were God’s dead girlfriend and God’s dead daughter. Like what are you even supposed to do with that information.

[dailyheavymedic]

day 65

a small look into BLU's dynamic, they both suck a bit in their role as mercenaries, but in different ways

+ more info/drawings I shared about them on twt:

[msmimundo]

Something I imagine the revival might reference

Ok now with the hundreds of bonus/alternatives I made lol Bonus 1:

Bonus 2:

Bonus 3:

[conclaveyaoi]

imagine being married to someone who is fully convinced you're going to hell "because" of past mistakes you made when in your younger years – mistakes he smirks at during dinner with a stranger btw – and so he pretty much convinces you to undergo severance simply because he believes innies have souls and this way he can have a part of you making him company in heaven? divorce is not enough, a marvelous love affair with a handsome italian-american man who wants to see you again is required