#➶ she’s my mom (dinah lance)

[tbcanary]

(GA Vol 7 #2 (2023) & BOP #1 (2023))

he got it from his mama <3

[fashion-runways]

hi!! new pinned post, because the last one had gotten long again-- if you want to read previous posts, here's the first one, here's the second one. the tl;dr from those is that my dad got wrongfully imprisoned abruptly, our place was raided, the cops broke a bunch of shit and took a bunch of our things and still haven't returned them, they left all the broken things for us to spend money in repairing, we had to spend money on a lawyer, trips to visit him, new clothes, medicine and food for him in jail, etc. it was a mess, way more details in both posts. he's back home now, with an ankle monitor because technically his case isn't being investigated yet, they haven't done anything about it at all, the case hasn't moved one ounce lmao it's great, always trust the judicial system and cops!! ugh, anyway!

we found a therapist for my dad who can help her deal with all the stuff he had to deal with while in prison, all the bullying, the depression, the starving, the separation, etc. he needs to get a bunch of other medical appointments, has to get surgery, among other things, but for now things are much better on that front. that being said, he did lose his job and my old redbubble account got suspended without a warning months ago, plus argentina's economy is... really bad right now. food prices rise every day, public transportation prices went up like a 200% in a couple of weeks, salaries are low and stuck there, subsidies are gone, the local peso keeps falling, we have an absolute psychopath as a president who spends more time insulting or threatening anyone who oppose him than caring about people. it's a disaster. for updates on argentina in english, this person on twitter makes very good informative threads if you're interested.

anyway, i used to make around 30/40 dollars a month in redbubble, and that used to help adding up to the donations i got here, and it got suspended, so now i make like 1/2 dollars on teepublic monthly. so... it's a huge loss. there's a lot of things me and my mom are in charge of paying-- groceries, power and water and gas, medicine (she's diabetic, i have some sort of chronic sinusitis), our dog and cat's food and medicines, wifi, phone bills, public transportation, healthcare, my dad's new therapist... so, you know, i really need anything people can donate. even if it's just a single dollar, literally any amount helps. i love fashion so much and i love this blog, i work really hard on it even when my brain says no, and i really appreciate how much you guys love it too. i love seeing people discover new styles, new designers, new things to be inspired by. so, yeah... i'm never going anywhere, but i do need help to basically stay afloat.

as usual, my kofi link is this one: https://ko-fi.com/fashionrunways and my teepublic link is this one: https://www.teepublic.com/user/dinah-lance. thanks for being around and sharing and reblogging my posts, thanks for asking questions about fashion, and of course thanks for helping to the ones who can, and thanks to the ones who can't too, i know how that feels like, don't worry about it. love you 💖

[stephstars08]

History

Titans!Jason Todd x Vigilante!Reader

Warnings: Adult Language, LONG INTRO, Angst, Fluff, Weapons, Injuries, Trauma, Heartbreak, Death Mentioned, Dark Themes Mentioned, Violence, Anxiety, Jealousy, Loneliness, and Possible Grammar Errors. (Sorry If I Forgot Any!)

Summary: Y/N is the daughter of Black Canary and Green Arrow. That’s how her and Jason met. They met through their parents. The two have so much history between them that is full of ups and downs.

Word Count: 2,212

Author’s Note: I’ve basically had this in my drafts unfinished all year till I finally just decided to finish it since the idea isn’t all that bad. If it’s a little confusing I apologize and the intro is basically a summary of how the reader and Jason became so close. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it!

Y/N and Jason share a lot of history with one another. Y/N is the only daughter of Dinah Lance and and Olivier Queen who are Black Canary and Green Arrow. Y/N has the same powers her mother has which is a scream that sounds like a canary crying. However, Y/N’s scream is different. Her’s sounds more like a siren than a canary cry. That’s why when she goes out on patrol she goes by the name Siren.

Y/N is also a good and strong combat fighter. Both of her parents are good fighters but have different fight styles, so Y/N knows how to fight using both of her parents' fighting styles. And of course, she also knows how to use a bow and arrow as well.

Y/N and Jason met when her mom was helping Bruce who is Batman on a case that involved someone her mom had dealt with before and ever since that mission Y/N and Jason have grown a bond and have worked together on multiple occasions.

They joined the Titans together. Jason was excited but Y/N felt the opposite. Y/N felt like she did not fit in with a team even though everyone loved her. Jason and Dick helped her a lot with that feeling and made her feel like she belonged on the team.

Everything was going fine till Dick brought in this girl named Rose who just happened to be the daughter of Slade Wilson who is no other than the deadliest assassin, Deathstroke. When Dick let Rose stay in the tower, she butted heads with everyone especially Y/N. It was mostly because of who her father is. Deathstroke has a long history with Y/N’s parents. She knows all of the horrible things he has done.

It only got worse when Jason didn’t listen to Dick and got captured by Deathstroke. He tormented Jason. When Dick and Kory went to get him back Jason almost fell to his death till someone who looked just like Superman came to the rescue and caught him. When Jason returned to the tower Y/N knew something had changed inside of him. All he did was stay in his room which really concerned her. She would tell everyone that something was wrong, but everyone was dealing with their own shit and seemed not to care. They would just tell her he’s just still recovering from what Deathstroke put him through.

One night Y/N finally decided to take matters into her own hands and go talk to Jason. She felt like she was the only one that gave a fuck about Jason. She went to his room and went to knock on the door, but music was playing pretty loud so she just decided to just walk into the room which she immediately regretted it. She walked in to see Jason and Rose kissing. When Jason noticed her, he immediately broke the kiss. Before anyone could say anything Y/N just walked back out. After that happened Y/N couldn’t help but feel angry. She also felt jealousy boiling inside her too which did scare her. Jason is her friend, and she feels jealous about him kissing another girl. Why was she feeling jealous?

More chaos ensured after Dick confessed that he murdered Deathstroke’s son. The old Titans were the most upset. Everyone left the tower except Dick, Gar, and the guy who saved Jason were the only ones that were left. Y/N left with Donna and Rachel while Jason left with Rose which did hurt Y/N. She felt like he rather be with Rose than with her. Things didn’t end well between Rose and Jason. Turns out she was just using the team because her father wanted her to help him destroy the team. Y/N didn’t hear about the breakup till Rose reunited with the team to take down her father.

Y/N didn’t see Jason till Donna’s funeral. Donna had gotten electrocuted saving Dawn. They just shared a look and that was it. After Donna’s funeral Y/N went on her own.

She went back to Star City and started to fight crime on her own. She didn’t hear from any of the Titans till Jason became Red Hood after coming back from the dead. Dick brought Y/N back to help Jason come back to the good side which worked. After they finished Crane off and sent him back to Archam, Jason confessed his feelings for Y/N which she returned them. When she was out on her own that’s when she realized her feelings for Jason. When Jason was going through all that darkness Y/N was the one that helped him get through it and that’s when he realized he has feelings for her.

They started dating each other but sadly the relationship didn’t last very long.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jason was at the Gotham City Police Department with Barbara in her office. He’s helping Barbara solve a case that needed help from a vigilante more than a detective. There is a villain named Cupid who has showed up in Gotham. She’s been leaving dead men in alleyways. There have already been two victims. One man was found with an arrow through his chest and the other man was found with an arrow going through his head.

Barbara asked Jason if he’s ever dealt with Cupid which he said no. “Okay then I know someone who does know Cupid.” Barbara said which made Jason let out a sigh since he knew who Barbara was talking about. “Y/N.” Jason said putting his hands into the pockets of his zipped-up jacket.

“Yes, can you go to her and ask her for some help defeating Cupid, she’s done it before.” Barbara said to him. “I don’t know about that, Babs.” Jason said with nervousness in his voice. “Jason, I get it. You two had a shitty breakup but we really need her help with this case.” Barbara told him. Jason let out another sigh because he knew Barbara was right. Plus, he would’ve crossed paths with Y/N sometime. “Okay, I’ll go stop by her apartment.” Jason told her and walked out of the office.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jason drove his motorcycle to the apartment building he use to share with Y/N. When he walked inside the building he could feel his heart rate speed up. He felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. He stood in front of the door that read 3C in gold. He took a deep breath to calm his pacing nerves down.

He knocked on the door and waited. A couple minutes passed and there was no answer. Jason knocked on the door again and still no answer. Jason figured Y/N wasn’t home so he turned to walk away but before he could reach the steps the door opened to reveal Y/N. When he looked at her, he saw the broken look she had in her eyes. Those were the same broken eyes he saw the night he walked out on her.

“What the fuck do you want?” Y/N hissed obviously not happy to see him outside her door. “Y/N, I’m not here to fight.” Jason told her in a stern tone. “You have no business being here, so I don’t give a fuck why you are here.” Y/N told him in a snappy tone. She went to close the door, but Jason stopped it from closing with one of his feet.

“Y/N, please. It’s important.” Jason told her. Y/N noticed the serious look in his eyes, so she knew he was telling the truth. “Fine.” Y/N said with a heavy sigh and walked away. Jason walked into the apartment and closed the door. He followed Y/N into the living room. She sat down on the chair while he sat down onto the couch.

“What’s going on?” Y/N asked him. “Barbara sent me here because we are dealing with a girl named Cupid. She’s already left two men dead in alleyways with an arrow in them.” Jason explained to her. “All I’m going to tell you is that she’s a skilled archer just like my dad.” Y/N told him and stood up.

She went to walk into the kitchen, but Jason quickly stood up and grabbed one of her arms. “That’s it?” Jason asked her. “You’re not going to help me take her down.” Jason added which made Y/N let out a heavy sigh. She pulled her arm out of his grip. “No, because that’s not who I am anymore.” Y/N told him which took him by surprise.

“You’re not Siren anymore?” Jason asked with a surprised look on his face. “Why?” He asked her. “Going out there as Siren just reminds me too much of what happened between us.” Y/N told him looking away from his gaze.

“Listen, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Jason told her with sincere in his voice. “If that was fucking true you wouldn’t have said what you said.” Y/N told him in a snappy tone. “I didn’t fucking know saving your boyfriend from a bullet was such a wrong thing. I didn’t know saving your boyfriend would make him lash out at you and just fucking leave you all by yourself!” Y/N told him looking back at him with a glare in her eyes.

Jason heard the pain in her voice. He regrets everything he said to her that night. Everyday he wishes he could go back in time and take back every word he said to her that night.

“I-” Jason started to say but she immediately cut him off. “You need to leave, now.” Y/N told him in a stern tone. Jason knew not to argue with her, so he walked out of the apartment. At least he gave her something.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The past couple of days Jason and Barbara had been tracking Cupid. Tonight was finally the night Jason was going to attack. They thought tonight was the perfect night, but it wasn’t going as Jason planned.

Jason was in his Red Hood gear getting his ass kicked by Cupid. When Y/N said Cupid is a skilled archer she forgot to mention that Cupid was also a skilled martial arts fighter. He got thrown into one of the concrete walls. He was too worn out to get back up.

“Now.” Cupid said as she walked up to him. She had her bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. “It’s time to put you out of your fucking misery.” Cupid said aiming her arrow at Jason’s chest. Before she could shoot the arrow a siren like scream knocked Cupid down making her drop her arrow and bow. When the screaming stopped Jason looked over to see Y/N standing there in her Siren suit.

“Long time no see, Cupid.” Y/N said walking towards her. Y/N picked up Cupid’s bow. “Did you miss me?” Y/N asked with a taunting smirk. Cupid let out a growl as she got back up onto her feet. Before she could charge at Y/N, she used the bow to hit Cupid across the head. Cupid fell down onto the hard ground unconscious. “Crazy bitch.” Y/N hissed throwing the bow down onto the ground.

Y/N walked over to Jason. “Are you okay?” Y/N asked helping him up. “Nothing, but some cuts.” Jason told her.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

After the cops picked Cupid up Y/N took Jason back to her apartment to help address his cuts. She had him sitting on the couch. He had two deep cuts on his shoulder that she had to stitch up. Jason was sitting on the couch with just his pants on while Y/N sat next to him stitching up the cuts. There was a comfortable silence between the two.

“All done.” Y/N said after wrapping up his arm, so the stitches stay safe and in place. “Thanks.” Jason told her. Y/N just gave him a nod as she put all of the supplies back into the first aid kit.

“I thought you weren’t Siren anymore?” Jason asked her. Y/N let out a sigh as she closed the first aid kit that was sitting on the table. “Y/N.” Jason said in a soft voice. “I was scared that you would’ve been Cupid’s next victim.” Y/N told him without looking at him.

Jason took one of her hands into his’s which made her look at him. “Everything I said to you that night wasn’t directed at you, but it was directed at me.” Jason told her. “What?” Y/N asked in a confused tone. “When you took that bullet for me, I thought I was going to lose you.” Jason confessed as his eyes started to fill with tears. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.” Jason cried which made Y/N’s heart ache for him.

“Jason.” Y/N said putting her free hand onto one of his cheeks. She wiped away some of his tears with her thumb. She had tears streaming down her face, too. “Please take me back. I love you so much.” Jason said looking into her eyes. Y/N gave him a nod. “I love you, too.” Y/N told him.

“Want to start over?” Jason asked her. “Yes.” Y/N said with a nod. Jason leaned in and connected his lips with hers. Y/N returned the kiss. It felt so right for them to be back together, again.

[humanoidluv]

dc characters in olympics + the countries they represent but i'm cherry picking because not everyone can be in the olympics

dick grayson : men's gymnastics, any team except the usa, gbr. serbia, kosovo, croatia, albania, macedonia, bosnia team pref because personally i love roma dick grayson who was born somewhere in the balkans and his dad is albanian-american or arbëreshë american, like his dad's mom was arbëreshë (albanian-italian.. essentially.) and his dad's dad was plain ol 'merican

roy harper : men's archery, either usa or belgium's team (i personally love belgium-american roy who was raised on navajo land as the comics say)

talia al ghul : women's fencing, either foil or eepe. team lebanon because i enjoy lebanese talia al ghul and also her in fencing comes from the art i just saw

dinah lance : women's judo, team ukraine. im a sucker for ukrainian dinah and also i think she would do SO WELL in judo?? this one's more of a hear me out but. hear me out okay

ermm... please share ideas u all may have because it's hard to think of characters who would do it (im saying people like clark and diana and arthur wouldn't do a lot of these, like arthur and garth wouldn't be able to do swimming without feeling like they're cheating.) share ideas = theyll be put in my brain

[starwriterulia]

Tomb of the Goshenite Stargazer Dragon - Chapter 6

SUBJECT MATERIAL WARNINGS FOR THIS FANFICTION ARE INCLUDED IN THE MASTERLIST POST OF MY BLOG AND THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THIS FANFICTION.

(Long A/N before cutoff, sorry!)

Bat divider by @violetbudd

Sun and moon divider by @saradika

Scene cut and creator support banner by @cafekitsune

Latest update: August 18, 2024. Added scene cut and "Support your creators by reblogging" banners. Added ⏭️ emoji below end of chapter banner with text explaining its function as a navigational button.

Chapter summary: Jason joins morning training. Wonder Woman, Zatanna and Damian arrive with Batman, who begins to scold the process before the Batkids remind Batman that they're working with a disabled person. The heroines talk with Faith about the asteroid belts that appeared when Faith came to Earth-33 and disappeared when she fixed the loophole she briefly explains, and how it was fixed, referring to Thalassic Space as a toy. Faith begins to age-regress when thinking about how she was unhappy due to her adoptive mom constantly taking away and breaking her favourite toys. Her favourite, a rabbit plush named Mr. Bunny, was the one tht was never taken away, but Faith herself threw him away when she was confirmed to be moving out; it was the toy she couldn't find online, and she shows the two closest pictures to the heroines and Batfamily.

She cries herself better in Batman's arms, then the group go to Faith's Dragon Tomb, inspired by Saarthal, to obtain her other two Relics and magic Astral Jester Costume. Faith successfully gains her full demigoddess powers and is given her items in a satchelbag, but afterwards, when one of the cat anthros guarding the final room exposes Faith's desires, the Batkids rightfully shout at Faith and leave, Batman leaving after speaking his mind in the way that only a father could. Martian Manhunter speaks to Wonder Woman and Zatanna over comms, offering to take Faith, but the heroines reply that they have another idea. Faith has delusions in the darkness left by Batman's cape as Wonder Woman and Zatanna walk Faith outside and through the portal, back to the Belfry, where the Batkids punish Faith on her way out. Batman gives Faith her belongings at the door, saying that he hopes she improves, then Batman slams the door. The heroines ask Faith if she'd like to be taken to a homeless shelter, or if she wants help. Faith, stuttering out of terror, asks for help. They ask Faith if she's OK with talkin to Oliver Queen and Dinah Laurel Lance, and Faith nods, then screams, as it was only 8 AM. They take to the sky for Star City, Washington.

A/N: (The night of writing this chapter:) Holy shit, I actually fucking went there!

(The day after writing this chapter, lightly revised the day after:) Y'all, I put my whole pussy in this chapter. It's got a lot of angst. PLEASE READ THE TAGS AND CONTENT WARNINGS! THIS CHAPTER GETS SUPER FUCKING REAL! 95% of this chapter is unedited, which I think speaks to its quality, and my skill as a writer, sorry to even imply towards having an ego, aaaaaa. But, yeah. I needed to confront myself about this. I've always been trying to just live, move on, and it was working until I started this fic, and I realised why I've been so passionate about it. It was time for me to talk to myself about that memory, and walk away from it, for good, and forever. In other words, I've literally punched my own face asdfsalkfj. What can I say? Things happen when you have too much brain juice at 1:30 AM!

Next chapter, another fandom will be added to the list!

That being said, I really hope this chapter is a good read! I think it's the best one I've written, so far. Thanks for reading, liking, replying and reblogging, everyone!

Also there's a spider in my bedroom, and I'm just like, please stay there, at the corner up the wall between my bed and the window, eat the flies, and don't come over here, otherwise you will die, thank you.

Fandoms: DC Comics, Batfamily, no Batcest, Thalassic Space (OC; takes inspiration The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and other sci-fi, fantasy and horror titles, as well as original concepts, such as the science and lore of the galaxy.)

[In order of appearance] Characters: Faith Lawson (TBA; self-insert), Stephanie Brown (The Spoiler), Jason Todd (Red Hood), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Tim Drake (Red Robin), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Damian Wayne (Robin), Zatanna Zatara, Diana Prince (Wonder Woman), Dohannar Salmpho (OC), Wysherah Sōnā-Salmpho (OC), Ashanti Salmpho (OC).

Word Count: 10, 607 (post-revision; HOLY SHIT, THAT'S REAL? OH MY GOD, I REALLY DID WRITE THIS WITH MY PUSSY, DAMN!)

Content warning: Depressive, age-regression episode in which Faith talks about how her adoptive mother took away her toys, being more specific this time, and describes her favourite toy, Mr. Bunny, while showing similar pictures; fictional religious sermon in which Dohannar gives Faith all of her demigoddess powers; huge rational reaction from the Batkids following Tim's translation of Dohannar's offer; as Wonder Woman and Zatanna bring Faith out of the Dragon Tomb, Faith has a delusional panic attack in the darkness left by Batman's cape; the Batkids bully and mock Faith as she leaves with Wonder Woman and Zatanna.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7

Monday, February 12, 2024. 7:30 AM.

Faith and Stephanie, in daytime clothes, Faith wearing her olive green shirt with leggings, took turns using the toilet, the other brushing her hair or washing her hands and face. They descended, and Faith gasped, smiling, as she saw that Jason was loitering near the computer area, Dick, Barbara and Tim also present. "Oh my God, hi!" Said Faith.

Jason gave a warm smile. "Hi, Faith. Nice to finally meet you."

"Finally had a moment to spare?"

"Yeah. 'Should be fine until the evening. The others have been telling me that training's going well."

"Yeah, I haven't dislocated my knee yet, and I've still been having knee pops, but it's been going good."

"Good. Are you OK with going against me today?"

"I mean, I could try, sure!"

"All right, then."

"You should get some food in your tummy first, hon." Said Barbara. "There's eggs, bacon and toast for both of you, still on the stove and counter."

Stephanie said, "Oh, did Faith not tell y'all that she prefers sausage?"

"Oh, you do? Well, sorry, hon, we'll get some for you, for tomorrow."

"I mean, I'll eat it," Said Faith. "But yeah, that'd be nice, thanks." She and Stephanie filled a plate for themselves and sat at the table, eating quietly.

"'Thought you said she's a chatterbox." Jason said, sweeping his gaze among Dick, Barbara and Tim.

"Oh, she is," Said Tim. "But she can be quiet. It's not always time to ramble." Jason hummed.

Faith said, "Yeah, sometimes I've just got no loud thoughts, which is weird, 'cause there usually is. My brain is usually screaming. I have good mornings and days, sometimes, and sometimes it feels like they're really rare."

Jason hummed again. "Barbara said you take medication."

"Yeah, 75 miligrams of Quetiapine, and 25 miligrams of Quetiapine XR."

"Ah, OK. Do you do anything else to help with your mental health?"

"That isn't a distraction? Yeah, sometimes I make crafts or go outside. But it's winter, so I can't, right now."

"Eh, that's fair."

"Spring never comes fast enough, in Canada."

"Oh, that's right, you're from up north. How are you liking America?"

"Well, I've been to Texas for Easter of 2008 or '9 to see my adoptive dad's family."

"Oh, OK."

"She also hasn't been outside to actually experience America." Dick said, chuckling.

"Right. Well, you'd be screwed if we just let you loose now, even as a civi."

"Yep." Said Faith. She and Stephanie finished eating, then joined the group.

Dick said, "So, you've got the basics of how to prepare your body for combat, and how to react defensively. We're going to practice that today too, but we're thinking of teaching you how to land a proper blow, with accomodations for your little arms and hyptonia until Bruce has your gear ready, if you're willing to be really sore by the end of the day."

"Sure, that sounds good."

Batman entered the Belfry, accompanied by Robin, Wonder Woman and Zatanna. As they approached the Batkids, they watched Faith moving around Jason at a decent pace, who batted away her arms and legs with his own limbs and hit her ribs and appendages from time to time. Batman thought, 'No, no no no.' "Stop." He said.

"What's she doing wrong?" Jason replied.

"She's struggling to keep her eyes open and on her target because she's in pain, so she isn't hitting you as hard as she could be, and she isn't moving around you in an optimal way."

"Bruce, this is only her second day." Said Dick.

"If she keeps this up, it's going to become a habit, and that's not what we should be looking for."

"We're working with her, not against her. She's also not wearing any armour, so of course she's moving slower because of pain. In two days, she's been caught thirty-nine times, and had twenty-four falls from her knees popping. She's used to two pops with a possible fall every week, just from walking around and doing her job."

"Ow!" Faith cried, her right knee rotating and her leg flailing with it, momentum she used to distance herself from Jason, landing on her right leg, making Faith give a stuttered whimper as she held her left arm out and her other in front of her chest. Jason grabbed her left arm and pulled her close, and Faith put weight on her legs to move with Jason and swing behind him. "Ow, ow, ow!"

'She's letting him pull her muscles just to be able to move a little, that's not good. She shouldn't be doing that.'

Faith couldn't pry her arm from Jason's grasp. "Your enemy would have broken your arm by now." Jason said.

"I know! And they wouldn't let go of it, so I have to either not go behind and possibly fruitlessly work the front or sides, or take the beating, and losing is not what I'm trying to do here!"

Batman said, "What are you trying to do?"

"Get him down! 'Cause if he's on the ground, and he's not going to move, then I've won, and I can move on to the next!"

"Yes, but you should be fighting in a way that preserves your body and energy."

Barbara said, "Bruce, we've gone over this with her. We talk about her options while miming for at least fifteen minutes before we actually get moving. The only issue is that she's fragile. If you want to help, then give her something to wear already! We're doing all we can, and so is she!" The others hummed, nodding. Jason let go of Faith's arm.

"Ow." Faith shook out her limb, and massaged her muscles.

"Sorry, Faith."

"You're good, mmph."

"She's not the problem, Bruce. Her disability is." Said Jason.

Bruce quietly sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. I was thinking about her like she's physically able, even though I've known from the beginning that she's not. You've all been doing the right thing." He opened one of his belt pockets, and pulled one end of a tailor's measuring tape with his left hand, the rest of the tape in his other hand. Faith's cheeks rose in a smile. It spread to Batman, a little. "How about we take your measurements now, and then I'll get out of your way?"

"Oh, you're not in the way." Faith said, approaching Bruce. He began to measure her right arm. "I just don't think you've had a kid with a disability like mine, before."

"No, I haven't."

"Hi, by the way, Wonder Woman and Zatanna!"

"Hi, Faith." Said Wonder Woman, she and Zatanna stepping around a little to get into Faith's field of view and Jason retreating to the desk area. "Would you mind chatting with us about Thalassic Space?"

"Sure, what are you wondering about?"

"You're able to make it exist and not-exist based on your faith on it, aren't you? That's how you manifestated your Animus, and why it vanished, right?"

"Yeah. They're my toys, but it's not always appropriate to play with them, so I pretend to be normal, like when I'm at work, and other times I'm too depressed to play with my toys. Did you find out that Urania's Celestial Globe is a Stage Prop when my faith is low?" Faith said. Bruce moved on to measure Faith's shoulders, chest and torso.

"Well, not just that." Said Zatanna. "The obisidian and goshenite asteroid belts appeared when you entered our world, though the ones near our sun had no magic, and they disappeared around five o'clock, last evening."

"Oh, that's because our sun isn't a magic sun."

"Ah."

"And they disappeared when Dick urged me to make a change so Ra's couldn't abuse the loophole."

"You made a loophole?" Zatanna sounded concerned.

"So, because Ra's is a demon, Platonia, the Nero Spirits and the Umbrella Man left him alone. He was allowed to enter Platonia whenever he wanted. And that could have, no, sorry, would have led to him finding out everything about Red Storm Earth and me, and learning about the Invitation of Nerobzal."

"Yes, Urania informed us, after you burned part of the forest behind Wayne Manor." Said Wonder Woman.

"It's awfully grim." Zatanna said to Faith.

Faith sounded defeated. "Sorry, I thought it made sense as a way to tie demons and monsters in to the lore of Thalassic Space."

"Oh, it does. Don't remove it just because you were made aware that you shouldn't let happen here so easily, OK?"

"I just want to be a good writer, is all."

"I didn't mean to say you're bad at writing." Zatanna said. Bruce started to measure Faith's hips, legs and feet, accounting for her deformed right foot.

"She's had a rough life." Said Stephanie. "Writers do this sorta thing all the time."

"That's true. I'm sorry, Faith, I really didn't mean to offend."

Faith sounded a little more confident. "No, you're fine. Ra's can no longer access Thalassic Space or its knowledge. He'll just see me as a girl with dragon powers and etcetera, relating to my Relics and magic Costume. Dick made me aware of the loophole, and now Apopis is blocking Ra's for good. There's no punishment, it's just a ban order."

"Good."

Faith sounded defeated, again, but her voice sounded child-like. "Are you here because you want me to end the story due to something bad happening elsewhere?"

"Oh no, is she about to age-regress?" Stephanie half-whispered to the other Batkids.

"I think so." Said Dick. Barbara nodded, she, Dick and Tim looking at Faith with pity.

"Oh, no. No, sweetheart." Zatanna said, holding Faith's wrists in her hands. "We need your faith! Otherwise, we can't observe the asteroid belts, and you won't be able to help us and the world, or yourself, in the future. We want you to succeed. And I know that your new friends in the Batfamily want you to be happy."

Faith's cheeks rose, but she looked sad. She said, monotonously, "I've never been happy before." Bruce paused, then resumed measuring Faith's left shin.

"Oh, that can't be true."

"All I remember is being alone," Faith began to cry. Zatanna moved her hands up to Faith's biceps. Her voice went full regression to that of a chlid's. "And my mom taking away my toys, like my dress-up lace fan that I was playing with one night that she broke in front of me, my Littlest Pet Shop collection that I apparently grew out of, like my Barbies, and I had Erica, and she's worth five hundred dollars now, and I'm sorry that I drew on her face, and then i had to throw away Mr. Bunny-hee-hee." Faith sobbed and lowered her head. Bruce stood, and put away the tailor's measuring tape.

"But that was because we'd just confirmed I was moving out, but I never got to take care of him, he hadn't been washed in years, and his neck was torn, but he was my favouri-ite, he was my friend and my roleplay buddy through all of the media I ever liked. When I put him in the garbage at the homestead, I," Faith pulled away from Zatanna and began to mime. "I laid down with him on my mattress on the floor in the cold room, 'cause I wasn't supposed to still be living with my parents, but I was so sad and scared of seeing Todd again and starving, and I knew I couldn't work a job because of my disability, wh-which I can, but it's really hard, and I," A pillow came flying from the bedroom upstairs into Faith's arms. "I kissed him and hugged him, I really hugged him." Faith did this to the pillow.

"And then I went out into the main room, I lifted up the lid, and I put him in the garbage. And my dad looked at me, I don't know what kinda, I-I think it was a face of concern, and then I went into my room to my laptop, and he opened the blanket that was the door for the cold room at the time, and he asked, "Are you OK, sweetie?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm OK. It's time." And he quietly told my mom, and she said, "Wow." And other things I didn't hear, but, but I just wi-hi-hi-hish!" Faith cowered to the floor, sitting on her knees. Zatanna and Bruce came down with her. Wonder Woman crouched as well, the next second.

"I wish I was allowed to take care of him! I wish Mom hadn't said that fourteen is too old for Barbie, and I wish she had told me why for all of the shit I did as a kid, 'cause I've always been better with more words, and now I'm just here! I'm here, with no Mr. Bunny, and no Dad, and even Milo is gone, my mom's Chihuahua is gone, and the trailer house we lived at is in shit condition, and I just wanna go home!" Faith wept loudly. Zatanna tsked and hugged Faith. Barbara wiped tears, Dick and Tim pouted and looked at each other, Stephanie sighed, staring at Faith's sad face, and Jason had a sympathetic expression as he looked at Faith.

"I'm sorry." Said Zatanna.

Tim said, "Mr. Bunny is new."

"Yep." Said Dick.

"I found a "Mr. Bunny" in one of the dumpsters outside." Jason said.

"Ew, Jason, no!" Barbara hissed.

Zatanna asked, "What did Mr. Bunny look like, Faith?"

Faith sounded normal. "Well, I tried finding him online, but I couldn't quite. I saved two pictures on my phone that, if put together, would be him, though." Stephanie picked up Faith's phone from the table and brought it over. Zatanna removed her hands from Faith's arms to let Faith unlock the phone, opened the Photos app, and go to Favourites as Batman and Wonder Woman stood behind Zatanna to look. She opened a picture of a blue and white floppy-eared 14" rabbit plush with black bead eyes, a pink nose, the framing of the toy implying a sewn smile, a pink bow with red stripes and a yellow border around its neck, white front paws, a white face and inner ears, and embroidered blue toe beans on its large hind feet.

"This one's got the toe beans Mr. Bunny had, and the inner ears, face, stomach and feet are all white, like his was." Faith swiped right. The next image was a pink and white floppy-eared 14" rabbit plush with the same black eyes, pink nose, white front paws and belly. The sewn smile was visible in this photo. The toy's hind paws were pink, the upper white area gathered into three toes, its inner ears were pink, and it had a pink ribbon bow around its neck. "But this one is the right colour, and has the right bow. But the bow was made of chifon, not silk."

"May we see too, Faith?" Said Barbara. Faith nodded and offered her phone to the air. Barbara came forward and took the phone, and looked at the photos with Dick. "Aw, I bet he was cute!"

"Yeah, cute." Dick said. Barbara gave the phone to Tim for him, Stephanie and Jason to look at.

"Huh, OK." Said Tim.

"Aw, I want a Mr. Bunny, too!" Stephanie said. Faith giggled.

"He looks cosy." Said Jason. Faith nodded, smiling softly. Tim locked Faith's phone and put it back on the table.

Faith looked at Batman , a tear falling from her left eye, and sobbingly said, "I miss him." Batman crouched with Faith, Zatanna and Wonder Woman joining a moment later. "But I can't find him, so I have to try and fill the space. No fictional person, no other toy is Mr. Bunny. He's why I love soft things. He's why I collect plushies. I have other friends, but I don't have him."

Batman hummed. "You had a very special friend."

Faith nodded, a tear falling from her right eye. "I did." Batman sighed and pulled Faith into his chest. Faith wailed. She cried for a whole minute.

'Zatanna? Wonder Woman?' Batman thought, as Faith cried.

'Yes, Batman?' Replied Wonder Woman.

'I think we've all seen, and from her stories gathered that Faith needs to cry badly.'

'Mhm.' Wonder Woman replied, she and Zatanna nodding.

'The two things she wants to cry about are her dad and Mr. Bunny. Because of the lectures she recieved from her adoptive mother, she feels that crying for herself is inappropriate, and considered a pity-party. She's only ever been able to cry alone.'

'Poor girl.' Zatanna thought.

'She likely knows that a therapist would understand and have the right thing to say, know the right actions to suggest. But she's been living this sad life for so long, with her body, that she can't believe in that advice, or begin on that path. That is, when she was alone, and had no friends.'

'Right.' Thought Wonder Woman. 'So, she's on the right track, now that she's got all of us.'

'Yes. We should go through with our plans for you to help her with her mystical arts,' Zatanna and Wonder Woman nodded. 'While my family helps her physical condition improve. We'll all do our part to help her mind and heart heal. Her visit to the group home only did so much. She came home to a family that loved her, yes, but they didn't talk to her, didn't ask questions that needed to be asked years ago, didn't apologise and amend for things that happened years ago.'

'It's time.' Thought Wonder Woman. Zatanna and Batman nodded. Faith sighed, panted twice, and burped.

"Better?" Batman inquired.

Faith nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Stephanie!"

"Yeah?"

"Chalk!"

"Oh, you wanna do that now?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"You want to get your Relics and Costume." Said Zatanna, as Stephanie picked up the box of chalk from the desk and made her way over. "That's a great idea." Faith nodded, standing to recieve the chalk. Batman, Wonder Woman and Zatanna rose to their feet, as well.

"Oh, wait. I'm too short to draw a door. It doesn't have to be fancy, just tall enough for us to walk through."

"May I?" Said Zatanna. Faith nodded, a smile on her cheeks. They went to the wall opposite of the Belfry's entrance, Wonder Woman and Stephanie close behind, Batman a little father but also following, Dick, Barbara and Tim walking over to watch, Damian and Jason staying where they were. Zatanna drew a door on the wall with the chalk. Faith extended her right hand, palm towards the floor, and a drawer of the kitchen rattled. "Wait!" Faith closed her hand. "You'll hurt yourself, and not in the way you mean to!"

"Yeah, that's a good way to stab yourself, or lose your hand, Faith." Said Dick. Barbara and Tim nodded, humming different tones of agreement.

"Here." Batman closed the distance, and pricked Faith's right index finger with a needle.

"Oh, thank you." Faith wrote in the door: Tot thoe Checkpotinat otut'si'de otph thoe Totmab otph thoe Gotsihoenaite Sitafrgafzer Drafgotna, Laittlae Paftho, Thoafla'si'ic Sipafce.

"To the Checkpoint outside of the Tomb of the Goshenite Stargazer Dragon, Little Path, Thalassic Space." Batman read aloud.

"Yep! We're playing Skyrim, baby!" Faith laugh.

"Skyrim, baby!" Stephanie echoed, she, Barbara, Dick, Zatanna and Wonder Woman laughing with Faith. Faith knocked on the wall eight times. The chalk outline became a portal, oulined in white-blue light, to a snowy hill overlooking a hole in which scoffolding led down to a pair of Nordic iron doors.

"Behold! Saarthal, but it's different inside!" Said Faith. "No need to worry about the portal, this area of Little Path is deserted, except for wildlife. The only thing that'll maybe come through are rabbits, foxes and Pixies. This hill has no hostile enemies." Batman heard the doors opening again, and two pairs of footsteps.

"OK." Said Zatanna. "Let's go, then." Faith nodded, and led Zatanna, Stephanie, Wonder Woman, Batman, Dick, Barbara and Tim inside. They walked the scaffolding, and Faith opened the doors. They crossed the first half of the excavation via the remnants of stone bridges of the pillars and the wooden ramps that had been built to access the second chambers with connected passageways.

"Wow, this is literally Saarthal." Said Tim.

"Yes, it's exactly Saarthal, until the last room." Faith said.

"Garf!" "Grr-arf!" Said the four large, amorphous, earthen masses of brown slime shuffling about below.

"What are those?" Asked Jason.

"Slicks. SCP-999, but they eat waste, and they're made from dirt, sand and clay."

"Ha! Nice." Said Tim.

"Depending on what you feed them, they give things back, or make fireworks, gemstones or copper, silver or gold coins, which are called Gore, Grief and Guilt. Left-wing things."

"Right." Said Wonder Woman.

"They're commonly placed in dumpsters and outhouses, and are used by organic-favouring mages and alchemists as vacuum cleaners. Their natural habitats are sewage lines and landfills."

"So you've got both helpful and harmful creatures, OK." Said Zatanna.

"Yeah! Like, there's also Wicks, which are furnace slimes, often used by blacksmiths and also used to keep houses warm." Faith entered the passageways with scattered alchemy ingredients. "Even poor families are allowed one, so no stories of people freezing to death happen unless the Wick has been eaten by a Wyrm, spelled with a y. Wingless dragons with long tails. They're exactly the ones from The Lord of the Rings Online."

"Ah, OK. So you really have put a bunch of things that you liked from other stories into your own. I like that."

Stephanie said, "Yeah, isn't it cool?" Zatanna nodded, humming.

"Aw, thank you. Um, there's also Shifts, which are literally danger brooms." Faith pressed her hand to the wall where the Amulet of Saarthal would have been, a Double Eight in its place. It hummed and shone at her touched, and the way forward opened.

"Danger brooms?" Wonder Woman chuckled.

"Yeah! Imagine a stickman, but covered in sharp bristles. And they shake like nuts, and they pierce through anything weaker than chainmail." Faith said, reaching the lever and opening the gate into a circular room with ten vertical coffins. "Oh, and don't worry about the draugr. They can smell me, so they're assuming you're with me until I call for help." She led the others inside and around the right side of the room. "Shifts are technically insect demons. You know those really spiky caterpillars?"

"Ohhh."

"Yeah, they're inspired by those, weird colours and all." Faith stopped at the door to Saarthal proper. "Uh, and those are like, the basic four monsters of Thalassic Space. Most of the rest are literally or inspired by mythology, or some kind of animal that's been mutated." Wonder Woman hummed. Faith pulled the chains to open the door, and led the group into the antechamber.

They passed the draugr, and Faith crouched and touched the fire rune trap at the first turn, causing it to break with the sound of falling ashes. They walked on to the iron door, strode past the burial niches, and Faith walked the north wall, touching each stone pillar as she went to display Eagle, Snake and Whale. "Tim, do you have the pillars along the south wall?"

"Yep." Tim replied, turning the other three pillars to show Whale, Eagle and Eagle. The group stepped past the puzzle gate and down the stairs into a large room. Faith waved her right hand in front of the cobwebbed doorway, and the webs disappeared. She crouched to deal with a shock rune trap along the way, and another at the entrance to the next room, which had four pillars and a lever in the middle. The heroes noticed three feline people lounging on a dark blue chaise and a matching long sofa in front of a fireplace in the next room.

Faith said as she walked, "Southeast." She touched the pillar. The felines looked at each other, and began to cry.

"Northeast." Tim touched this pillar. The grey tabby feline rose from the chaise, where a calico feline sat. The other, a white feline, was seated on the couch.

"Southwest."

"And northwest. Who wants to pull the lever?"

"May I?" Said Barbara.

"Sure!" Said Faith. Barbara pulled the switch. The gate forward opened. "Woo hoo!"

"Faith?" An alto voiced grey tabby feline gingerly said, approaching the doorway. She was 5'7" tall.

Faith moved her eyes and head from Barbara to the feline, and sounded like she was going to cry. "Wysherah." She whimpered, stimulating her little forearms with excited shakes, and hurried into the arms of the cat as the other felines rose and came over.

Wysherah hugged Faith kindly, purring into the girl's head. "Yes, hello, Starwriter. Welcome back."

"Phafitho." The tenor voiced calico said, his voice distorted by the strain in his throat. He was 6" tall.

"Dohannar." Faith was smoothly released from Wysherah into Dohannar. His hug was firm, and he desperately nuzzled his neck over Faith's head, and his face over hers.

"Mayl thoird qutafrter, mayl siutna."

"What's he saying?" Stephanie quietly asked.

"'My third quarter, my sun.'" Batman translated.

Wysherah said, "I am his first, his faith in Vishnu is his second, she is his third, and our daughter," She looked to the third cat, who was 5'1" tall. "Ashanti, is his fourth. Ashanti would not have been born again after my murder if Faith, as Faina, had not found my kitten as she laid alone, in the Ninth Circle's Perimeter, when Faina was hiding from Nero Dionysus, as he was chased by the Demon Hunters." Dohannar stopped nuzzling all over Faith, and held her as he purred.

"Mothers and children are precious to all worthy gods, and so when I and Ashanti died, we were to be reborn. But because Nerobzal was in Yahweh's mind, we could not reach our bardo, and our karmas were pulled through space. Eighty-three years passed before Dohannar was freed from enslavement to Nero Ba'al Berith by Canon Michael, and then he summmoned Faina, and that led to Ashanti's and my freedom." Wysherah said. Dohannar ended the hug, gently playing with Faith's hair starting from her scalp, Faith giggling.

"But I was scared to be pregnant with Ashanti again, as Kaleido was still active. Dohannar and I gave our memories of Ashanti, when she was in my womb," Dohannar removed his hand from Faith's head, and the two stood and listened to Wysherah. "And her soul to Faina, who I am sure you know is the third incarnation of the O-type star's spirit, and a Soul Fragment of Faith representing autumn, a season of harvest, cool weather, and festivities regarding thanks for Gaia before Old Man Winter comes to cover the cold lands with his white robe. As I was days away from my due date, so was Faina, when Dohannar laid with her using the Cult of Asherah ritual Faina had found in the Deep Sea City of Yotutrnaeyl, one of the secrets Nero Dionysus had been hiding and using to abuse the merfolk of Yotutrnaeyl. Ashanit's birth led to Nerobzal's defeat, and Faina, and through her, Faith, overcame her fear of pregnancy and childbirth. Ashanti, and the idea of her, is a promised child with great love, kindness and courage, born at last with the power of trust, friendship, and the divine grace of Asherah, a life born to remember who Yahweh is supposed to be to men, women and children."

"Wow." Said Barbara.

"Faith wrote that, too?" Said Stephanie.

"Yes." Said Wysherah.

"Damn, that's fire!" Stephanie said. Wysherah chuckled with Barbara, Dick, Tim, Batman, Wonder Woman and Zatanna.

"I think it's easy to surmise that you're named after Asherah and the word 'wish'." Said Wonder Woman.

"Yes, but wish is spelled with a y." Wysherah made eye contact with Faith. "You're here to retrieve your birthrights and recieve the sermon to officiate yourself as Ulia-Ønske, yes?"

"Yes, and return my tooth, as my powers are awake now, so it can be where it belongs until I die again and am reborn or resurrected." Faith summoned the tooth out of the air into her right hand.

"Very good. Let's go together. Guests: when we arrive at the island, please do not pass the golden tiles in front of the double-coffin and altar, unless you want to fight the Dragon Priests." Wysherah walked through the next room, Dohannar and Faith behind her. Ashanti meowed and lunged into a hug, Dohannar holding Faith steady as Faith laughed and hugged Ashanti.

"Hi, baby girl." Said Faith.

"Hi, Mama!" Said Ashanti, a soprano-range teenager. Faith walked with Ashanti attached to her, Dohannar just behind to Faith's right. The heroes noted several chests with treasure, near the door to the puzzle, three dressers and wardrobes and two beds, a queen and a double, to the upper left, the lounge area to the lower left, a table set with four chairs to the upper right, and an empty space with a beautiful purple, blue and magenta carpet to the lower left.

"This is room much bigger and different than the one in-game." Said Tim.

Faith said, "I had to make a little home for my cats, my," She looked at Dohannar, redness in her cheeks. "My wish family." Dohannar smiled softly, and caressed her right cheek with his left paw-hand. As they approached the door, Wysherah pushed it open.

"Holy mega structures. This room is three times as big, as in Skyrim." Said Tim. Before them was a very long arching bridge surrounded by water, and at its end an island of stone with ten standing sarcophagi and an open coffin made for two, and a stone altar. The stone walls were given depth and colour by the gold painted vines, some parts unpainted as moss and mushrooms had grown with the flowers.

"This bridge is 287 paces." Batman thought aloud.

"Wow!"

"Correct." Said Wysherah.

The first thirty paces was built with smooth grey stone that became clay bricks with unique rocks, held together by wet dirt and coloured by yellow sand. Along its railings were many candles, some melted and the wick folded into the wax, others close to nothing and the wick barely alight, more halfway burned and more yet seemingly new and tall. There were flowers, perennials and annuals, and wooden vines painted gold strewn about the stone floor and draped over the railing. Pages with children's drawings of a golden tree read 'At'fman Lawbzal' and sometimes also 'Farewell and warm wishes for the next life of the Last Son of Bartholomew, Argophael, Animus of the Lost Daughter, Ulia-Ønske, Ego of that Animus and First Life of the Great Little Starwriter, who shall both rest here until Ulia-Ønske is reborn by the grace of the pantheons as Faith Lawson', written by older children or adults. Other pages had letters to Argophael and-or Ulia-Ønske, the golden tree drawn somewhere. Gemstones and polished rocks scattered about the pages, sometimes buried in the wax. Dirt, sand, and clay gave natural texture to the bridge from the thirty-first pace until the 287th.

Batman said, "Slicks and Wicks are made from dirt, sand and clay. They made the bridge longer, as the years went on."

Wysherah said, "Yes. They come here to die, sometimes. They live for two years, if they do not return to planet Grace for a week every other month. Grace is where their mother, Darisela, a canine earth elemental, lives. Their father is Decelep, a sea and sky serpent, and the only son of Mother Mermaid, who needs no man to procreate, and who terraformed planet Grace after the O-type star collided with the M- and G-type stars. The magic of the Slicks and Wicks ensures that this bridge, and all of the notes and flowers, do not weather, and allowed the bridge to expand as the pantheons and their children, and their followers, told the story of Argophael and Ulia-Ønske to Thalassic Space. The planet we occupy now, Little Path, is where Father Dragon lives with the Dragon Kin, away from the blades and cruel magic of Kaleido, before Kitsch was corrupteed to be so, and after it was reclaimed as Kirei."

"Italian vampires to Japanese vampires." Said Dick.

"Yes. Little Path and its moon, the Realm of Tree Peoples, were created by Father Dragon. While you now have context about who sculpted Grace, it might interest you to know that Bafsina was molded by the Tree Peoples, who travelled to the planet when they bulit spaceships, twenty-one years after they had spawned from the departed of Earth in the early 1600's. Bafsina is mostly water with islands, Plains and small continents, of course, and because of this is more of a water planet than Grace is, with two large continents and numerous islands and Plains, but not as many as Bafsina hosts."

"Huh." Said Dick. "So who terraformed planet Sia and Judge?"

"May I suggest you reverse the order, when listing them in the future, as sia means six?"

"Oh, yeah sure, sorry."

"It's not a worrysome thing, just a note. Judge was terraformed by the earliest citizens and lucid dreamers who visited the Dream World on Paper. That's why Krampus took hold of it so easily."

"Oh, Krampus did more than slaughter the Snow Elves and Astral Elves?"

"Yes. Judge is the place he occupied, afterwards. And no one was brave and foolish enough to challenge him until Bafsina was united after the Palette Civil War, and now Krampus lives in Platonia with his father, Nerobzal, and so does Bartholomew, who brought evil to both Grace and Yotutrnaeyl, as the transgender pirate captain Arles led the sea efforts to damage the Naglfar enough that the dead spilled into the ocean and were devoured by the corrupted merfolk that the Cloud Casters had lured from the Deep Sea City of Yotutrnaeyl, where Nero Dionysus had used his powers of debauchery to control Canon Poseidon. This feast upon the dead cancelled out the evil that Nero Dionysus had bloomed in the Five Mortal Qualities of the merfolk, who were immediately called to action by the Mermaid Mage Celia Nacre from planet Grace, and together, with the pirate ships and the natural winds, rain and dangerous tides of the squall, the Naglfar sunk into the ocean of Thalassic Space until it reached the space of Thalassic Space, to be there and be impossible to reach or summon ever again."

"Wow. That's really good stuff, Faith."

"Thank you!"

"As for Sia: it's a planet of dark forests, treacherous mountains and ravines, and rivers and lakes of dark magic coloured waters sculpted by the Passerine Sisters, Nero Spirits so powerful that they were declared as demons by Canon Lucifer and the Flytower Gods. Their Bird Personas, seen by the Oracles in dreams, were fated to be the houses of Cedillo Imagination Magic Academy, and the behaviours of each bird inspired the personality and life of each sister and the kind of student that the school phoenix, Illumine, would assign to each house. The Lightless Realm and Lightful Realm are Sia's moons, but are only visible when traversing Platonia."

"How did the room itself expand?" Asked Tim.

"Dohannar and I did the work. The candles melt, as they do naturally, and are replaced if the worshipper who placed it still lives. This bridge was only fifty paces, when Argophael and Ulia-Ønske, died. 687 years have passed, as you for sure know."

"Wow." Said Barbara, breathily. "This is all so much more than you described to us, Faith."

"Well, I was trying to be brief." Faith replied.

"True."

Wysherah said, "Were you told that the waters are from Pierian Spring?"

"Yeah." Said Barbara.

"Did Faith, or perhaps a visiting Urania, mention to anyone that they have healing properties?"

"Yes," Said Wonder Woman. "Frejya and Freyr brought Ønske to the spring, after she was severely wounded by a beast."

"Yes, that's right." Wysherah said. The group eventually came to the island. Everyone but the cats and Faith stopped in front of the golden tiles. Faith paused and glanced left, at the open coffin. It was made of stone, and the left side was lined with blue satin, the other side with white satin.

"What does he look like, Faith?" Stephanie asked. Dohannar and Wysherah proceeded to the altar, Dohannar standing in front and opening the closed tome bound in white and blue dyed leather, and Wysherah standing at the left side of the altar.

"Nero from Devil May Cry." Faith said.

Stephanie failed to not laugh, stifling it in her throat. "Sorry."

"No no, you're fine. Him, but cuter. With my round face, and my nice, round cheeks, and big, round eyes, but with Nero's jawline, white hair and blue eyes."

"Ah."

"I thought that, if I could be a boy, I would want to look like that."

"Aw, that's nice."

"Thank you. Flashing lights and eye-strain warning, by the way." Faith said. She continued, and stopped at the altar, in front of which stood Dohannar, Wysherah to the left. Ashanti broke away from Faith and stood to the right of the altar. Faith knelt in front of Dohannar with both knees, her head bowed and her hands flat on her stomach, left hand over her right.

"If you would all please kneel, on one knee or both, in respect to the pantheons and the O-type star's spirit that is within Faith, and Argophael, who is resting yet shall also contribute to the ritual in that he is her Animus." Said Wysherah. Stephanie, Barbara knelt with both knees, Dick, Tim, Wonder Woman and Zatanna knelt with one knee, all readily. Batman did with one knee, the next second, and several seconds later, so did Jason, also with one knee. "Thank you. Batman, since you seem to understand Neofom, you are welcome to translate Dohannar's sermon, which has Four Declarations." Batman nodded. Wysherah and Ashanti raised their arms to the ceiling and began to chant At'fman Lawbzal repeatedly with two seconds between each repetition.

Dohannar removed the white ebony dagger and scallop seashell necklace from the altar, where there was also a closed tome. As he spoke, he placed the necklace over Faith's head for her to wear, and cut a shallow cross with the dagger on her upper chest, Faith's closed eyes wincing. Dohannar placed the dagger in front of Faith, on the floor. He said, "Utnaresitinag eylesi otph thoe pafnathoeotna, wae cotma'afnad ylotut tot lot'k aft thoisi waotma'na, afnad remaemaber thoaft sihoe wa'si Ulia-Ønske, dafutghoter otph Víðarr afnad Skuld, photsitered byl Frejya afnad Freyr, maenatotred byl Urania afnad Uriel, afnad thoaft sihoe isi thoe otnoe afnad otnalayl vesi'ela afnad ma'naiphesitaftiotna otph thoe Ot-tylpe sitafr'si sipirit, phorever afnad ever, ina eafcho laiphe, ina eacho yleafr, afnad ina eafch gafla'xyl afnad utnaiversie."

As Dohannar spoke, Batman translated. "Unresting eyes of the pantheon, we command you to look at this woman, and remember that she was Ulia-Ønske, daughter of Víðarr and Skuld, fostered by Frejya and Freyr, mentored by Urania and Uriel, and that she is the one and only vessel and manifestation of the O-type star's spirit, forever and ever, in each life, in each year, and in each galaxy and universe."

Dohannar paused after the First Declaration, and Wysherah and Ashanti pumped their arms in the air, saying. "At'fman Lawbzal!" With a little more volume, not quite a shout.

Dohannar said with a kind tone, "Utnaresitinag hoafnads otph thoe pafnatheotna, wae cotma'nad ylotut tot blaesi thoe Phive Maotrtafla Quaflaitiesi otph thoisi waotma'na, afnad waho'la'yl maerge thoema waitho tho'sie otph Ulia-Ønske siot thoaft sihoe ma'y' phulafphila' hoer Rotlae afsi Pla'ywarighot otph thoe Rotnadot Thoeaftre afnad Greaft Laittlae Sitafrwariter, waitho afla' otph hoer Persiotna'si: thoe Gotsihenoite Sitafrgafzer Drafgotna, Skinne, si'red byl Skjør afnad birthoed afnad besitotwaed byl Frodig; Solas thoe Phafiryl Persiotna' afsi besitotwaed byl Duna; Ønske thoe Maerma'id Persiotna' afsi besitotwaed byl Urania; afnad hoer Nerot Persiotna', Odeya." Faith suddenly shone bright white-blue. "Ma'yl thoesie potwaersi prot'ect hoer afnad phrienads photr thoe got'd otph laiphe afnad af'terlaiphe, phorever afnad ever, ina eafcho laiphe, ina eafch yleafr, afnad ina eafch gafla'xy' afnad utnaiversie."

"Unresting hands of the pantheon, we command you to bless the Five Mortal Qualities of this woman, and wholly merge them with those of Ulia-Ønske so that she may fulfill her Role as Playwright of the Rondo Theatre and Great Little Starwriter, with her Personas: the Goshenite Stargazer Dragon, Skinne, sired by Skjør and birthed and bestowed by Frodig; Solas the Fairy Persona as bestowed by Duna; Ønske the Mermaid Persona as bestowed by Urania; and her Nero Persona, Odeya. May these powers protect her and friends for the good of life and afterlife, forever and ever, in each life, in each year, and in each galaxy and universe."

Dohannar paused again, and Wysherah and Ashanti pumped their arms again, saying, "At'fman Lawbzal!" At a controlled shout.

Dohannar raised his voice, but did not shout. "Utnaresitinag voticesi otph thoe pafnathoeotna, wae cotma'nad ylotut tot si'nag," Feminine and masculine voices began to fill the air with beautiful sounds. "Wae cotma'nad ylotut tot siho'ut," Voices joined that shouted with courage and pain. "Wae cotma'nad ylotut tot cryl," Voices sobbed, calling for Ulia, Ønske, Argophael, and others the heroes didn't recognise, but soon realised were the names of loved ones. "Photr thoisi waotma'na hoafsi retutrnaed tot hoer ho'mae afmaotnagsit ylotut, afnad wae cotma'nad ylotut tot laofve hoer totdafyl afsi sihoe wa'si laofved ina thoe pafsit byl ylotut afnad ylotutr peotplae," A truly massive stargazer lily, pink, yellow and white, suddenly bloomed from the center of the ceiling, releasing delicate golden sparkles that showered the cat anthros and people below. Jaws were dropped and smiles were shown by the Batkids, and Wonder Woman and Zatanna smiled and chuckled. The two heroines looked at Batman and saw a little smile on his face as he looked down from the big flower at Faith. "Afnad byl thoe peofplae thoaft thoe Ot-tylpe sitafr birthoed afnad givesi ho'mae, lfighot afnad ma'gic tot, afnad ylotutr bafrdsi afnad Pla'ywarighotsi, ylotutr choiladrena afnad thoeir photla'otwaersi, enatertafinamaenat afnad cotma'utnaityl, lotversi afnad phrienadsi, maeafnainag ina laiphe afnad ina afphterlaiphe."

"Unresting voices of the pantheon, we command you to sing, we command you to shout, we command you to cry, for this woman has returned to her home amongst you, and we command you to love her today as she was loved in the past by you and your people, and by the people that the O-type star birthed and gives home, light and magic to, and your bards and Playwrights, your children and their followers, entertainment and community, lovers and friends, meaning in life and in afterlife."

Dohannar stopped, and Wysherah and Ashanti repeated their motion and shouted louder, "At'fman Lawbzal!"

Dohannar shouted loudly, "Utnaresitinag Phlayltotwaer! Cotmae! Cotmae afnad siee thoisi choilad, cotmae afnad siee thoisi waotma'na!" The ceiling opened up to space as Dohannar called for the Flytower to come and see, and many eyes of different colours and shapes attached to different faces took the place of each star. "Cotmae afnad grafnat hoer afla' thoaft sihoe hoafsi ma'de," Seven magic circles, familiar to Batman and Tim, appeared over seven particular pairs of eyes, identifying each deity. "Afnad afla' thoaft sihoe cafna ma'ke, afnad laet ylotutr pafsitsi afnad phut'utresi ina pafrt be expresi'ed thorotutgho hoer breaftho afnad afrt," Three pieces of construction paper, blue, purple and pink, appeared and flew around Faith. "Thorotutgho hoer botdyl afnad ma'gic," The white-blue shine around Faith merged with her body.

"Unresting Flytower! Come! Come and see this child, come and see this woman! Come and grant her all that she has made, and all that she can make, and let your pasts and futures in part be expressed through her breath and art, through her body and magic,"

"Afnad laet it be reyoticed afnad resipected byl everyl bafrd afnad Pla'ylwarighot,"

"And let it be rejoiced and respected by every bard and Playwright,"

The sky shouted, "HOORAH!"

"Byl afla' choiladrena afnad photla'otwaersi,"

"By all children and followers,"

"HOORAH!"

"Photr enatertafinamaeant afnad cotma'utnaityl,"

"For entertainment and community,"

"HOORAH!"

"Afnad photr laotversi afnad phrienadsi, tot deiscribe maeafnaiang ina laiphe afnad afphterlaiphe!"

"And for lovers and friends, to describe meaning in life and afterlife!"

"HOORAH!"

"AT'FMAN LAWBZAL!" Wysherah and Ashanti screamed, beams of white light bursting from their hands and phasing into space, and collecting every eye, magic circle and voice above until the ceiling had returned, and, with shouts of great endeavour, released all of the light, space, divine eyes, sounds and colours into Faith, who flashed the colours of the magic circles eight times, Batman counted. Faith sighed and opened her eyes, her hot breath white-blue. Dohannar applauded, an proud smile on his feline features, and Faith stood, meeting Dohannar's gaze with love. Wysherah and Ashanti lowered their arms and applauded with adoring smiles too, and Faith looked at them lovingly as well.

"You may applaud too, if you would like." Said Wysherah.

"You may now also stand." Ashanti quickly said.

"Faith has now fully become a demigoddess!"

"Woo hoo!" Said Stephanie and Barbara, immediately clapping along and getting to their feet, as did Tim, Dick, Wonder Woman and Zatanna, Batman standing and clapping a second later, Jason barely a second afterwards. Damian did not applaud, but he did stand.

"Yay!" Said Tim.

"Yay, Faith!" Dick said.

"Congrats." Jason said.

"My eyes hurt, but that was sort of cool." Said Damian.

"Damian." Said Batman.

"Sorry. It was... it was pretty freaking cool." Damian clapped along, Batman noting that it was with normal energy, which made him thankful. "Very fancy. I imagine this entire scene has increased the word count by seventy-five percent."

"Yeah, that's about right!" Said Faith, bending down to pick up the dagger. Dohannar draped leather satchelbag with a white leather sheath over Faith's right shoulder. "Thank you." Faith said, sheathing the dagger.

"Thank you, Damian." Batman said. The applause ended.

"Thanks for even coming through the portal, Damian." Faith said, looking at the boy. "You didn't have to. Thanks to you too, Jason. I know you don't like magic."

"Well, it's not every day you get to see, well, this." Jason said. He pointed at the ceiling. "That," He spung his finger around. "Was really impressive. I really wanna read how you described it."

"Thank you. It is on Tumblr. My account is @starwriterulia. He he."

Stephanie giggled. "Self-shout out!"

"Shameless plug!" Faith and Stephanie laughed. Barbara, Wonder Woman and Zatanna giggled, and Dick and Tim chuckled.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yes, Tim?"

"How big is that flower?" Tim pointed with his left hand.

"8.26 m, or 27 ft 11⁄4 in."

Faith said, "I looked up 'world's biggest dump truck' and was given Belaz 75710. That's it's height."

"Mhm." Batman nodded to confirm.

"Holy Gigas Liliaceae, that's a big flower!" Dick exclaimed. Faith laughed, joined by the other Batkids, Jason nodding and chuckling, Damian rolling his eyes but sort of nodding, Batman nodding with a hum in the cursive way a parent would say, 'Yes, what a distinguished specimen!'. Wonder Woman and Zatanna laughed. too.

"I like Stargazer Lilies!" Faith said, during the laughter.

"Well, you may all now return to, uh Earth Prime, is it?" Wysherah looked at Dohannar, who nodded. "Yes, Earth Prime. You are welcome to visit again using the chalk door portal Faith undoubtedly drew in a trusted location, which, I will clarify, may only be used by people who either Faith trusts, or who any of you trust."

"How do we close it?" Asked Barbara.

"You knock eight times on the portal without your hand passing through. You may simply wash away the chalk door with water. Ah, but to enter this place and not only leave the draugr asleep but to walk with the Great Little Starwriter is a blessing."

"We are blessed to have her in the family." Said Batman. Faith blushed and turned her head down, diagonally, as the other Batkids nodded, humming different tones of agreement.

"Thank you." Faith said, meekly. Then, confidently, "Let's go." The group walked back over the bridge. As the group moved to leave the house chambers, Dohannar gently took hold of Faith's right bicep, and gave a mew. Faith instantly looked Dohannar in the eye. "What is it, my quarter?"

"Si'nace ylotut afre naotwa si'blainagsi afnad dafutghoter tot thoe peotplae ylotut waotutlad hoafve warittena ylotutrsielaph tot hoafve siex waitho," Faith's face became bright red, and she hid her face with her left hand connected to her forehead. Tim's jaw dropped as he looked at Batman, who looked at Faith with his head tilted forward and a burning frown, then Tim stared at Faith. "Except phor thoe ylotutnagesit,"

"Mhm." Faith tone was very embarassed.

"Faith, what the hell?!" Said Tim.

"Waotutlad ylotut laike tot sitafyl thoe naighot afnad ma'ke laotve tot mae?"

"What did he say?" Said Dick, a brief pause between his words. The Batkids had paused in the mouth of the previous area, Batman at the doorway, Wonder Woman and Zatanna to the left of Faith. Wysherah and Ashanti sat down on the couch, Ashanti resting her head on her mother's lap, and they watched.

Tim said, "I've got this one, Dad. He said, um," Tim cleared his throat. "'Since you are now siblings and daughter to the people you would have written yourself to have sex with',"

"OH GOD!" Barbara and Dick exclaimed, and turned to face the floor and the wall, Dick pressing himself to the left wall and Barbara to the other.

"Faith!" Barbara scolded.

"Faith, what the heck?!" Dick commented. Jason had furrowed his brow and bowed his head, making a subtle noise of fury. Damian tried to keep walking. Dick grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Oh. Oh, so Ra's messed with that too, huh?" Said Stephanie. She had not moved, when Tim translated.

"'Except for the youngest'," Tim continued.

Damian said, "Oh, well, thanks for not being a pedophile, but still insinuating that you would participate in incest, or force it upon others."

"It technically wouldn't be, if Ra's hadn't brought her into Bruce's house, and etcetera." Barbara said. Batman hummed, nodding twice.

"Yes," Wonder Woman said. "If he had, say, just brought her home, she could have been intercepted by someone else, such as the League as a whole."

"I'm- still- not go-ing to, by- the way." Faith said, clearly afraid.

"GOOD." Said Dick and Barbara.

"Thanks for adding nothing to your excuse." Said Jason.

"Oh yeah, we get it, Faith, totally." Said Stephanie. "You think you're cool, y-you think you're OK for that."

Tim said, "I hope that half of Tumblr who insta-blocks Batcest blocks you, after you post this." Faith frowned, moving her eyes from Tim to the floor.

Batman sighed, looking from his children to Faith he stood at the doorway, where he had been when Tim started translating. "Is this true? Would, would you have agreed to, or tried to convince all of them but Damian to have sex with you, if things had gone differently?"

"If we got along and there was consent, yes." Faith said. Barbara sighed loudly, into a growl, gripping Dick's right arm and pulling him along and away. Dick gave no resistance. Damian turned and left, fast enough to pass Barbara and Dick. Tim shook his head, and also left.

Jason stared Faith down. She looked scared. He looked pissed, as he should have been. "Get your fucking bag and get out of the Belfry. And then, get out of Gotham. If we see you again, you won't just get an earful, you hear?"

"Ye-s, I h- ear y- ou." Faith stuttered, trying not to be quiet and clearly about to cry, quiet overall out of terror. Jason shook his head and turned, leaving.

Batman stood himself directly in front of Faith. "The rest of what Dohannar asked you, that Tim didn't translate: 'Would you like to stay the night and make love to me?'. Would you have done that?"

"Yes. Because I knew that, as soon as Ra's brought me into your house, I had to control myself. And I was going to. Not just out of circumstance. But because it was right."

"Right for who? Right because of why?"

"Right for everyone. For you and the others, because that's what's morally right and respectful, it's what normal families do. For the Internet, because you know I'm still on Earth-33, and that's why I brought up Tumblr, and etcetera, how Damian reacted. I don't want people to hate me. I want to write stories that people like, not to be a people-pleaser, but to make good stories, and to be a better artist, and know what to-do and not to-do. And for me, so I can be a better person."

"You have a niece, right?"

"You have a niece?" Said Wonder Woman and Zatanna.

"Faith, you have a niece!" Said Wonder Woman. "And is that a younger brother or sister, or an older sibling?"

"Younger brother."

"Oh my God." Wonder Woman turned herself away, pinching her nose with the fingers of her right hand as she held the elbow of that arm with her other hand.

"I only told the story to Stephanie, and Barbara heard 'cause she was outside with dessert, and I assumed she told it to Dick and Tim."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Batman asked. "Were you going to assume the others would share this with Jason, Damian and I, and it would just blow over, and be fine?"

"No, I expected to be confronted about it more than Barbara did."

"What did she tell you?"

"She told me it was in the past, and that my brain remembering it the way it does is my reminder of why it's wrong. And yes, I thought they would have shared the story already, but I would have shared it with you three, too. That's the only story I've been hiding out of shame."

"Did you force your brother to have sex with you?"

"No." Faith said, firmly. "We only took off our clothes. Mom heard us, asked what we were doing, shocked, and I got the most spankings. My nightmares remind me of this. But it's twisted, and I hate that nightmare."

"Your nightmare makes it so that your brother starts it."

Tears began to form in Faith's eyes. "So that he wants it. And he's a teenager instead of ten, and I'm an adult instead of twelve."

"And what is that to your morals? What is that to your desires?"

"It's all wrong, kh," Faith choked on her breath, trying not to cry, but the tears fell anyways. "I'm sorry, it's all wrong, and I wish that I had at least asked my mom about it and she had taken my 3Ds away before I went in his room. I wish I had gotten myself in trouble one minute sooner. It would all be fine. I would have learned without having my subconscious beating my ass because I remember my childhood too much. I'm sorry. I'll leave as you all want because I've betrayed your trust, and I'm genuinely sorry."

Batman was silent for a few seconds. He inhaled and said, "I already made my decision when Dohannar said what he did. Your confession just now has made no difference. But it sure explains why you let Stephanie hit on you, outside of queer reasoning." Faith lowered her eyes.

"Look at me." He said, angrily. Faith lowered her shoulders and looked Batman in the eyes. He noted her trembling lower lip, her firm gaze. "Right now, your body is telling me that you're angry at yourself, and scared of what people think of you. You like attention, we all know that. You tried to get help, but even you know that you have to help yourself, first by admitting your wrong, which, yes, you have done, but second by doing better. But you haven't done that, even when you were offered help in the past, and when you were offered help by the kindest, most forgiving and understanding kids in all of Gotham, and me, Faith."

"You've kicked us all in the shins, 'cause you can't reach our asses, and now you're sitting on the floor because you can't aim worth a damn. You're not a bad person, but you're not a good person, either." Batman turned his head and eyes to Wonder Woman and Zatanna. "Take her wherever, I don't care." He meant that, in the anger of his heart. He looked back at Faith, saw that she had lost all the colour from her face, her lips parted, and she wobbled, leaning forward and to the left. Zatanna and Wonder Woman were frozen, knowing not to attend Faith until Batman was gone.

"Attend to you." Batman mumbled, as he moved his eyes from the heroines to Faith. He raised his voice so that Faith could hear. "You want people to attend to you, like the spoiled little princess you've been since your foster parents first hooked you on sugar and junk food, and didn't give a damn about you afterwards." Faith exhaled, her body leaning forwards more, and her feet stumbled, her legs buckled, her hands found the floor, the end of her right shoulder and the crook of her neck, her head coiled into her body as she vocally trembled and whimpered.

"You can go, you can just go now, yes, please go, please, please go." Faith rapidly sputtered. Batman stepped over her, his cape taking the light of every candle and leaving darkness as he moved through the passageways. "Per- fect." Faith murmured, staring into the black.

Martian Manhunter sighed into Wonder Woman and Zatanna's comms. "Bring her here."

Zatanna hummed, thoughtfully. "I have another idea."

"Me too." Wonder Woman said.

"Very well. I shall trust your judgements. My offer still stands."

"Thank you, J'onn." Wonder Woman said. She put her right arm under Faith's left armpit and lifted her to her feet, straightening Faith's neck so she wouldn't be sore. Zatanna removed Faith's seashell necklace and gave it to Dohannar, who shook his head.

Wysherah said, "Place it in her satchel. Those are her birthrights, regardless of her words and actions. Their effectiveness, however, depends on her faith."

"Thank you." Said Wonder Woman. Dohannar went to sit on the chaise as the women walked Faith through the darkness. She whimpered and panicked as they went, shedding tears.

"Jeff, an', an'... an' Freddy, an'... m-me, Odey-Odeya, aaaa!" She spoke gibberish, escalating into yelps of "No!" and "Aaaa!". Wonder Woman and Zatanna said nothing. They didn't look at Faith. Only forwards.

When they left the Dragon Tomb, the portal was still there. They crossed into the Belfry, and Tim was waiting there. He knocked eight times, and the portal closed. Dick threw a bucket of water on the wall to wash away the chalk. Barbara dumped a different bucket of dirty water onto Faith's head, Zatanna gasping. Faith cringed her face.

"Dishwater. From the pan I cooked that bacon you were so picky about eating. With extra soup, for your disgusting mouth." Barbara hissed. As Faith was walked to the exit, they passed Stephanie, who spat on her face.

'That's not going to be all they're going to do to her, is it?' Zatanna said to Wonder Woman, who shook her head while making eye contact with Zatanna.

Jason handed Faith a horribly damaged 12" white rabbit plush with floppy ears, covered in black chewing tobacco, yellow cat piss stains, and brown shit stains that smelled like dog shit. "Here. Found your Mr. Bunny." He said, using his tone in just the right way that he knew would remind Faith of her mom. And it did, and she didn't let go of the rabbit because of her fear of Jason and her mom.

'Oh, tch, really?' Zatanna thought.

'That affected her, a lot.' Wonder Woman commented.

Dick had come up behind, and he whispered in Faith's right ear, "Oh, and you're blocked from the group chat." Faith curled her bottom lip up and looked at the ceiling, and Dick stopped following, marching back to the computer area, where Barbara, Stephanie, Tim and Jason had quickly gathered.

'Yes, that makes sense.' Wonder Woman thought. She and Zatanna gasped as they stopped in front of Damian.

"Eyes here." Damian said. As Faith looked up from the floor at him, she saw Damian had drawn his sword. She had to tear her eyes away from it to meet his eyes.

"Damian, no." Batman said. "Just use your words."

"Well, I was going to carve a frown on your stupid face. I figured you'd have liked that, psycho. You try to be cool, you try to do something, to be someone, but you're a failure. And that's why you're unhappy, along with all the other trash you've got. I hope your trauma heals as ugly as it has been." Damian sheathed his sword, and stomped towards his siblings as the heroines continued with Faith, eyes on the floor again. Damian jumped into Dick's arms and sat on his lap, panting in anger as he watched Faith with the others near the computer as Dick combed his fingers through Damian's hair untli Damian's breathing slowed.

Batman handed Zatanna Faith's dufflebag as they came to the door. It was already opened. Faith saw Batman's boots and tried to look up, but it hurt. Batman noticed and raised a hand. The heroines stopped.

"I hope you improve, Faith." Batman said. Faith nodded, stiffly. The heroines came outside with Faith. The door slammed shut before Wonder Woman and Zatanna had forced Faith to take her first step after they had already taken theirs. They walked to the sidewalk, and then stopped.

"So." Wonder Woman said, in a mother's voice, keeping Faith afraid, but Faith painfully raising her eyes to look into Wonder Woman's. "Do you want us to leave you at a homeless shelter, or do you want help?"

"H..." Faith was stuck on the sound for three more times. "Help." It was said clear enough, afraid but trying to be light-hearted.

'Bear with me a second, Diana.' Zatanna quickly communicated.

'Of course.'

"From who?" Said Zatanna, in a softer mother's voice, but still in a scolding tone. Faith blinked, moving her eyes away from Zatanna to the street and buildings ahead.

"I... I don't know who would... be willing to take... someone who has always, and keeps betraying people that... she sets out to have the trust of, and... wants to have in her life."

Wonder Woman sighed, Zatanna as well, but quieter. "That's why you're always alone, Faith." Wonder Woman said, Zatanna nodding. Faith nodded too, tiredly. "We know where to take you, if you'll trust us."

Faith lifted her head to look at Wonder Woman and mumbled, "Ow." She smiled, a little, with her cheeks. "I trust you."

"Thank you."

Zatanna asked, "Have you ever been in the air, Faith?"

"Only once. Airplane to Vancouver for a foot specialist, who couldn't do anything."

"Well. Now will be your first with superheroes."

"Are we going across the country?"

"Yes, to Washington."

"Oh, I know who you want me to talk to."

"Are you OK with talking to Ollie and Dinah?"

Faith nodded, then suddenly cried, "Oh Go-hod, it's only 8 A-M!" She whimpered, her whole body shaking. She laughed for a moment, then sobbed, full volume. Zatanna sighed, looking from Faith to Wonder Woman.

"Let's go." Said Wonder Woman. Zatanna nodded. Faith did too, with limited movement. The women lifted themselves with Faith into the air, eastward.

Click emoji to navigate to next chapter. ⏭️

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Oracle of Jersey

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Birds of Prey (Comics)

Summary: Barbara Gordon runs a podcast that results in six teenagers looking over a dead body.

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Barbara Gordon, Dinah Lance, Renee Montoya, Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe, Lori Zechlin, Wendy White, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake, Ted Kord, Jean-Paul Valley, Dick Grayson, Helena Bertinelli, Zinda Blake

Relationship(s): TBA

Additional Tags: Mentor Barbara Gordon, No Powers AU, Podcast AU, Murder Mystery

Episode 1: Female Sleuths & Self-Defense

"Hello, Pythians. It's been a while. Today we'll be discussing some sensitive subject matter. This includes but is not limited to domestic violence, child abuse, grooming, and murder," Barbara's tone allowed a hint of personal sadness. Her voice was subtly disguised with a Mid-Atlantic accent. Her voice was mature and robust, but there was something sweet and feminine about her cadence. The lilt in her voice was unlike her natural speech, but it added to the bit, along with voice-altering software. Oracle was a character, and she had to stay that way. She took a breath to collect herself. "Today, I have a special guest. She is loud and proud... And she is fighting to elevate the voices of domestic violence survivors during Gotham's lockdown. Miss Dinah Lance. Dinah, can you take a moment to tell us about yourself and your organization?" Barbara leaned back away from the mic as she put Dinah on speaker.

"Hi, Oracle. Well, as you said, I'm Dinah Lance. I've been in Gotham most of my life, and this organization is near and dear to my heart. Black Canary is my mother's non-profit organization dedicated to survivors of domestic violence. It goes back to before I was born.

"My mother lived in a community filled with women in violent and unstable relationships. She quickly realized that most of these women didn't have the tools they needed to escape, let alone protect themselves. So, she took it upon herself to secretly offer free self-defense classes in her apartment. My mother knew this wasn't enough, but it was all she could do at the time.

"Fast forward a few years. My mother married my father and got pregnant with me, and she had to take a break from offering classes. To her surprise, her neighbors took over for her. They went on to teach their friends everything they learned. Eventually, this led to a connection with lawyers, doctors, and childcare workers... And from there, my mom founded the Black Canaries.

"I was fortunate to grow up with two loving and supportive parents, and I took it upon myself as soon as I was old enough to continue what my mother started. Since then, we've expanded to all victims of domestic violence. Not just women," Dinah replied. She was obviously passionate about her cause.

Barbara made a soft noise to acknowledge all she'd heard. "I wanted to take this time to tell the listeners your organization now operates online. I left a link in the description... But I also wanted to ask about a specific case that's gained traction in the media. I understand that you've taken a personal interest in the Anna Stanfield case... You've also expressed discomfort with the long-time trend of giving murder cases nicknames," Barbara paused, "After a message from our sponsors, we'll talk about that and how this case is different from anything the Black Canaries have dealt with this far." Barbara played an ad for Ted Kord's tech company.

During that time, Barbara took the opportunity to quietly thank Dinah for the interview. "I appreciate you coming on the show, Dinah. I wanted to ask you personally if you'd like to come back to talk next month for Mother's Day?" Barbara asked.

"I would love to," Dinah replied, "And thank you for allowing me the opportunity to talk about Anna Stanfield."

Barbara smiled to herself. "Of course. It's always a joy to have you on the show," Barbara replied, "We're back on air in five... Four... Three... Two... Welcome back, Pythians. Before the break, I asked Dinah how the Black Canaries have taken an interest in the Anna Stanfield case and her critique of the media buzz surrounding this cruel Gotham slaying."

"Right. For everyone unfamiliar with the case, Anna Stanfield was an eighteen-year-old girl from Gotham. Last month, she got married to a man seven years her senior, and at some point on the first night of her honeymoon, she was brutally beaten and ultimately smothered to death.

"The media's taken this as an opportunity to talk about the lack of knowledge about her past. Instead of putting forth the efforts and energy to spread information about the case, they've focused on dissecting this girl's life to blame her for her murder. Her husband, Eddie Stanfield, is seemingly missing and has been since the discovery of Anna's body. Few efforts are being made to find him despite his history of violence toward women... And instead of being treated like a suspect, they are searching for Eddie Stanfield as a potential victim... Despite all evidence pointing to the contrary.

"What makes this case different from anything the Black Canaries have ever dealt with is the type of case that this is. Black Canaries deals with survivors. This is the first time we've ever dealt with a murder case. We're all working to find Eddie Stanfield and bring him to justice, and there's a lot I can't say legally... But I can say that we've got a few leads we're checking out," Dinah explained.

"I know you said you can't talk about the investigation for legal reasons, so I wanted to hear what you had to say about the nicknaming of the Anna Stanfield case as the Honeymoon Murder," Barbara replied.

Dinah took a breath before speaking. "With all the media buzz for the case, people have forgotten that Anna was a living, breathing person. People view this case as a form of entertainment rather than an actual murder of a real human being.

"The media's done a terrible job of depicting Anna's humanity. They've instead chosen to sensationalize her murder and reduce the brutal slaying of a teenage girl to nothing more than a series of puns and online memes," Dinah answered.

The two went back and forth, discussing the details of the case before their second set of commercials. "When we return from break, I'll introduce you to one of Gotham's best P.I.'s," Barbara announced.

The second set of commercials was three minutes long, allowing the two women to talk. "I hope I'm not talking too much. I don't wanna overwhelm-."

"You're doing fine, Dinah. Actually, I wanted to ask how you were doing? I've been following your work for a while now, and I saw that you've received threats-. Sorry, I sound like I'm still interviewing you. I wanted to know if you were okay," Barbara interrupted.

"It's okay... I've had worse. A few threats aren't going to scare me away from the truth," Dinah replied. Barbara pushed up her glasses and ran a hand through her hair. "Hell, if I wasn't mistaken, I'd think you were worried about me."

"I am," Barbara replied, "You know, Dinah... Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Dinah made a soft noise.

"Keep an eye out for Eddie Stanfield... And boost my tip line," Dinah replied. Barbara could hear the smile in her voice. Barbara bit the cap of her pen before typing the tipline number and adding it to the description for the video. "You know what? I feel like I know you."

Barbara held her breath for a moment. "I make a point to get to know everyone I interview... Even if it's through research," Barbara half-lied. She didn't want Dinah to know they'd met before. Barbara's podcast identity needed to remain secret, not only for the safety of her daughters. The work she did in connection with her podcast was borderline illegal.

"It was so wonderful having you on the show, Dinah. I hope to hear from you in the future... I know you have to go, but I did enjoy speaking to you today," Barbara beamed. She chewed the cap of her pen as she waited to hear Dinah's voice.

"It was nice talking to you, Oracle... I'll keep you updated on the case," Dinah replied before hanging up.

She tossed her head back and ran both hands through her hair before calling another woman. "Hello? May I call you Question?" Barbara asked.

"Only if I can call you Oracle," Question joked. Barbara recognized the voice as ex-police officer Renee Montoya. She didn't see fit to mention it, though. Barbara chuckled.

"Of course, you can. We're about to go on air in a minute or two, and I want to let you know you don't have to answer any question you don't want to," Barbara reassured her.

"Let's get into it," Renee replied enthusiastically.

"Okay. We're back on air in five... Four... Three... Two... One. Welcome back. Before the break, I promised to introduce you to Gotham's finest private investigator, the illustrious and anonymous, Question. Question, would you like to take some time to enlighten the viewers on your connection to the Anna Stanfield case?" Barbara asked.

"Someone hired me to find and notify her family... A friend of Anna Stanfield who wanted to remain anonymous," Renee replied, "The issue is, Anna Stanfield doesn't exist. Or at least she didn't, up until a few months ago... But that made me wonder how Eddie Stanfield came to know her. She's an eighteen-year-old girl with no past, no known family, and no history... Not so much as a report card from her."

"It sounds as if you have some suspicions about the crime. Can you elaborate at this time?" Barbara asked.

"I've found some important information that's led me to a family within the city, but I'm not at liberty to say. The police have been notified. But I can tell you, I have reason to believe Eddie Stanfield is guilty of a series of violent crimes against Anna... And I'm not talking about her murder," Renee replied. Barbara took her pen and jotted down a note.

Silence fell between the two for a moment. "Are you-. Sorry, that's such a shock. I wanted to know if you were working with the Black Canaries or anyone else to get information on this case?" Barbara asked, stumbling over her words out of shock. She didn't think anyone would have any new information like this.

"Yeah, I've talked to Dinah before finding what I found... I told her I'd look into finding Eddie," Renee paused, "And I've gotten a bit of information from her as well."

"Can you tell us if that information led you to your most recent revelation?" Barbara questioned.

"Yes, actually, she did. Dinah personally went and found information of her own that led me directly to a series of truths that led to this mystery family," Renee replied, "We're not sure if they're her family for sure. We only know interesting circumstances surrounding them point to this case."

Barbara typed something on her computer while she listened to Renee speak. Barbara mulled over the details mentioned by both women and wondered if she should delay posting the episode another week. As it came to a close, Barbara pushed up her glasses and started the editing process.

[thebisexualdogdad]

Hello love, can I get stephanie brown x GN! Reader who is Oliver Queens and Dinah Lance's kid.

Thank you!

Stephanie Brown x GN!reader

● you meet Stephanie when your parents send you to Gotham to investigate Bruce Wayne aka Batman's death

● you save the knights from a battle with the talon sending an arrow that explodes and temporarily blinds him, allowing them to escape

● Carrie "where the hell did that come from??"

● Stephanie "I don't know but I don't think we should stick around and find out"

● Harper jumps into the drivers seat of the van and Turner opens the back door where you're just chilling

● "the Gotham Knights I presume? We need to talk"

● you explain who you are and why you're in Gotham as they drive back to the belfry

● and back at the belfry they tell you about the court of owls and how they set them up to take the fall for Bruce's death

● Cullen immediately notices you and Stephanie can't keep your eyes off each other

● Turner offers to let you stay with them at the belfry but you've already got a penthouse you're renting using your father's money, if you're going to be staying in Gotham for a while why not do it in style

● you don't tell them that though, you still don't fully trust some of them, one is the jokers daughter after all

● when you're gone Cullen teases Stephanie about the heart eyes she was giving you

● Cullen "So Y/N… they were cute… and totally into you"

● Stephanie "we are not talking about my love life right now"

● you keep your parents updated on everything you learn while you and the knights try to unravel the secret society ruling Gotham

● Oliver "this court of owls seem dangerous, do you need backup? Connor can be there by morning"

● "how can I learn to be on my own when you're always sending my older brother to play babysitter"

● Dinah "that's not what your father meant, Connor just has a few more years experience on you and could help you and what are they calling themselves? The Gotham knights?"

● "I've got this mom, they certainly aren't the justice league but the knights are smart, especially Stephanie"

● Dinah "Oh? Tell me more about this Stephanie, is she cute?"

● "I'm hanging up now"

● over the next few weeks you and Stephanie get close

● you teach her how to fight

● she's actually pretty good at it, she just needed to take the time to learn the basics

● the first time she wins during a sparring session you end up on your back with her on top of you

● you're just staring at each other breathing heavily

● you think she's about to kiss you when Cullen accidently interrupts

● "who wants pizza- oops sorry, pizza can wait"

● and once again he teases Stephanie for what he saw

● Cullen "you were about to kiss!"

● Turner "who was about to kiss?"

● Cullen "Stephanie and Y/N"

● Stephanie "we were not! We were just sparring!"

● Duela "Oh is that what those grunting noises were? I Thought you two were finally releasing all your pent up sexual frustration"

● Stephanie "I hate all of you"

● she takes you to all her favorite places in Gotham

● from the best restaurants to hidden spots that overlook the entire city

● her parents would be so mad if they found out she was riding around on the back of your motorcycle and that gives her an extra thrill

● eventually she feels comfortable enough with you to open up to you about her moms addiction

● "my uncle Roy struggled with addiction, he's been sober for a few years now but he went though some rough times when I was a kid, he stayed with us when my parents were helping him get clean"

● Stephanie feels like a weight is lifted being able to finally talk about this with someone

● you get hurt during a run in with the court and end up telling the knights about your penthouse because it's closer than the belfry and you need medical attention as soon as possible

● Stephanie is stitching you up while the others are in awe of the luxury home you're staying in

● Duela "are you serious! You've been staying here this entire time and you still made us sleep on wooden benches in that shithole belfry!"

● "well sorry I didn't know if I could trust you guys when we first met"

● Harper yelling from the bathroom "guys! The water pressure in this shower is amazing!"

● meanwhile Cullen is raiding the kitchen for snacks

● everyone finds a place to sleep for the night in the various beds and couches while you and Stephanie go out on the balcony to talk

● "how are you feeling?"

● "all good, it's not the worst injury I've ever endured, you see this scar on my shoulder? My brother once switched out my arrows for boomerang arrows during training, my mom was pissed but my dad found it hilarious"

● "do you miss Star City?"

● "I miss my family but there are certain things here in Gotham that I can't find back home"

● "like what?"

● "like you"

● Stephanie smiles and she kisses you

● Star City already had its fair share of archers, maybe your parents would let you stick around Gotham a little while longer after you were done with your mission

[aboutzatanna]

How old would you say Zatanna is compared to Bruce or some other character? Was there ever any indication if she was older or younger than Bruce? I'm trying to find a bunch of characters ages and I've got Dinah and a couple others.

Originally it was never specified exactly how old she was when her father disappeared. In her introductory story, Zatanna's Search, she mentions that he has been gone for 20 years and a Whos Who mentions that she was a child when he went missing. So my best guesstimate is that by the time she met the League, she was in her mid 20's. The rest of the Leaguer's were in their late 20's and early 30's at the time and were explicitly written as teenagers who haven't even gone to college yet.

In Zatanna/Black Canary: Bloodspell, Zatanna was 4 years younger than Black Canary, which I think fits the era. It's not exactly canon but a lot of it was clearly based off of the Pre COIE (pre 1985) DCU with the only real post COIE reference being one flashback with Black Canary in her Olivia Newton John inspired outfit (a costume considered so horrendous that DC actually published a cover of her burning it) . The Black Canary in the story was felt more like Dinah Drake Lance than Dinah Laurel Lance.

Even before the childhood friendship with Bruce Wayne was introduced, she was slowly aging up, imo. Like in the early issues of NTT, there was a conflict between the NTT and the Justice League and Zee was written as one of the adults with the League. In a Green Arrow issue, Kyle joked that Zatanna was old enough to be his mom and while I don't think their age gap is that huge, I think it does point to her being a more mature woman in general.

[vee-crytraps]

we kind of know what the general public's perception of reader is, but i'm curious, what about the heroes? like, we know she at least knew jon from before, and clark went to her party, but how does she get along with the heroes (the league, young justice, titans or whatever)? is she just batman's normie daughter to them? since in the party she mentioned most people went because of their relationship to her brothers. hope this makes sense lmao love your writing!

Pretty much, yeah! Anyone who knows Bruce's secret identity just thinks about her as Bruce's normie daughter. She's more or less uninteresting to them and Bruce kinda likes to keep it that way. He's been actively discouraging people from interacting with her for years, and since she doesn't have any powers or anything, everyone's fine leaving her alone. I think she's only really talked to the people that the batfam hangs out with off the clock. So the Clark, Conner, and Jon Kent, Diana, Kori, Donna Troy, Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance, Artemis, Roy Harper, and Wally West. Clark, Diana and Oliver think she's a sweet girl, but Diana is made a bit uncomfortable by how sheltered she is. Even she knows it's a sensitive subject for Bruce though, and doesn't see her enough to make her bring it up. Jon obviously has a big ol' crush on her. Like his dad, he's most attracted to people without powers (though he has some other small crushes on other superheroes because he's a teenage boy, but they're fling material). Conner has probably spent a good amount of time teasing Tim about how hot his sister is, though no one is sure if the interest is genuine. Wally probably thinks she's cute, but doesn't talk to her much. He gets the same weird vibes Diana does about her being sheltered, but Dick is pretty sensitive about it. Jason is only just getting to spend time with her, so Roy is only operating off of the whole 'this is my annoying little sister' narrative. Artemis has noticed the same 'weirdly sheltered for a teen girl' thing but their paths don't cross enough for it to bother her. I think maybe there was a time when everyone was more interested in spending time with her, but her mother is a very sensitive subject for Bruce. Clark, Diana and Ollie did know her mom, since she knew about Bruce being Batman from the start.

[kitkatt0430]

5, 10, 26?

5.) Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

So my first thought is no and I think that's how I usually answer this. But it may actually be a bit more complicated in a 'no but yes' sort of way.

So. Oliver/Felicity was not the original plan for the Arrow. Felicity wasn't even supposed to be a main character. She wasn't even supposed to be there beyond that one episode she first showed up in. But the actress made such an impression on the cast, show runners, and the audience that she became more important. And while a lot of people - including myself - assumed she was an original character for the show, it turns out she was supposed to be just another comics cameo shout out to a character not even Green Arrow comics adjacent. Apparently comics Felicity Smoak was Ronnie Raymond's antagonist and step mom.

O_o The more you know, huh?

Anywho, presumably the original plan for the show was Oliver/Laurel endgame. Like in the comics, where Dinah/Oliver - with Laurel being Dinah Laurel Lance, after all - being Oliver's partner both in vigilantism and romance. It... obviously didn't go that way with Laurel being brutally and unnecessarily killed off for shock value in S4. And that may have happened in part because of the popularity of the Olicity ship.

Backtracking a bit here, but Felicity's actress and Oliver's actor had great onscreen chemistry from day one. I can understand why the show runners chose to pivot to this ship, given that chemistry and the sheer popularity of the ship with the fans.

Oliver/Felicity pretty quickly became the most popular ship for the fandom and it still is. Not even Oliver/Barry - the second most tagged ship for the fandom over on Ao3 - has even a quarter of the fics that Olicity has. 12,600+ fics as of this moment and no doubt it'll continue to steadily go up. (for comparison, Olivarry has 1,600+ fics tagged)

Honestly, I shipped Felicity/Oliver pretty quickly while watching S1 too. I liked their dynamic, that she was the sunshine to Oliver's grumpy, she was willing to call him out even when he still scared her, and she - at the time, anyway - was willing to respect that she wasn't entitled to his secrets.

But time marched on. The show began to flanderize the characters to some degree even as they fleshed them out in others. Felicity lost her willingness to respect Oliver's boundaries, Oliver proved incapable of keeping character development from one season to the next... and as Felicity/Oliver moved from interesting chemistry to ship tease to official couple, they began to bring out the worst parts of each other. And my enjoyment that they were finally together soured.

How much of them being the official couple was because of the show runners picking up on the actors chemistry independently of the fans and how much was them seeing how much the fans wanted it so why not... we'll probably never really know for sure. But I suspect that fandom's shipping of the characters in the early days before Oliver/Laurel had a chance to truly be cemented was what both contributed to them being the official couple and thus killing my enjoyment of the ship.

(I suspect that Laurel/Oliver were meant to follow the path that Iris/Barry eventually did. Both Laurel and Iris were dating someone else in S1, a someone else who died in the finale after a reveal that they were related to the main villain in some way. In S2 Iris and Laurel are both learning to move on and find themselves without that relationship. But in S3 of the Flash, Iris and Barry finally hook up, but Laurel begins her vigilante arc in S3 that puts her at odds with Oliver while Felicity gets a love triangle with Oliver and Ray where Ray 'dies' at the end of the season... a little familiar sounding am I right?)

So fandom did not directly ruin the Olicity ship for me, but there is an argument to be made that it did so indirectly. So no... but also yes.

10.) Most disliked arc? Why?

It's so hard to choose because, sadly, there are so many.

It could be Mark Blaine trying to kill Khione to get Frost back, throwing a hissy fit when he's told no, and then creeping on Khione like she's Frost's replacement goldfish.

It could be the promise that S6 would give us an important Iris plot that turned out to being Iris side lined in the mirror world, stuck there while the real plot was going on else where, being forced to watch a duplicate most likely rape her husband, be about to break out of the mirror world herself only to be immediately turned into a damsel for Barry to rescue, and the creepy way she doesn't speak at all between waking up after the 'rescue' and going to kickstart the modified ASF to wake the original Speed Force back up... (Okay, yeah, this is probably arc I hate the most but...)

It could be how we were promised an important plot line for Cisco in S7 before he left the show and got what looked like the show runners forgetting about that until the last minute, giving us what could have been a fun episode if it were not completely ruined by Cisco's massively out of character decision to tell his besties he's leaving for ARGUS at the last minute. After making Cisco the one who stays at STAR Labs in the bad Savitar future and showing again and again how important his friendships are to him... to have him treat his friends like that was kinda shitty, tbh. Hell, most people treat bosses and coworkers they dislike better by giving the optional two weeks notice.

Armageddon. I think I've complained about that enough that my reasons for hating it are well known by now.

26.) Most shippable character?

Oh this is so hard to pick. I'm a multi-shipper so all the characters are imminently shippable to me, whether it's romantic, a QPP, or close friendships.

But if I try to narrow it down, it's either Cisco, Barry, or Hartley. I've written the most for a search on Cisco Ramon/* of my works, but Barry's a close second when I do Barry Allen/* but I think Hartley's got the most crossover ships that I ship regardless of whether I've written for it or not, such as Tommy/Hartley, Rip/Hartley, Ray/Hartley, etc. (Mick started on the Flash but he's primarily a Legends character. Does he count as a crossover ship? Yes but also no. And no but yes.)

Though of the ladies, I think Iris is probably the most shippable to me though Caitlin is a close second despite my arospec headcanons for her. Iris has a lot of chemistry with a lot of characters and while the number of romantic ships I enjoy for Caitlin is narrower, I'm more likely to contemplate different types of ships for her such as QPPs.

[laurelwinchester]

Okay but since you started, to continue ar*row posting into 2024, it was blatantly obvious Quentin resented Laurel for being the one that lived when they all thought Sara died, and people still thought he was a good dad??? The whole Lance family was so fucked up and Laurel deserved a better family

oh yeah 100% both quentin and dinah thought the wrong daughter died on that boat. there is no doubt about it. they resented laurel for being alive instead of sara. they did not hide their favoritism well. with dinah, she was open about it. with quentin, it only came out in waves, usually when he was drunk but even when he was sober it still sometimes seeped out of him in these little hissed remarks.

it's one of the reasons thinking about laurel's childhood fascinates me so much. at a glance, the lance family was a normal middle class family. two beautiful, smart girls, a home, two parents with well respected careers and a loving marriage. a happy family.

but i have to wonder if it was really all that happy for laurel.

i mean. she dated oliver for years. devoted herself to him. adored him. she took him back when he made mistakes, she wanted to move in with him, she wanted to marry him, she loved him with everything the whole way through. and he treated her like trash. he cheated on her over and over and over again with her friends and her sister. he had zero respect for her. he was stupid and he was nasty and he was cruel. and it's not like the island changed him when it came to her. i'm sorry but it didn't. he was an arrow in her lung from the day she met him until the day she died. and she just. accepted that. she accepted that was all she would get and lived with it until the end. that was as far as she got in terms of believing in her own worth.

that kind of chronic, damaging low self esteem doesn't come from nowhere. laurel's canonical desperation and pleading and searching for love was one of her most devastating traits (partly because she was never able to find it) and it's something that can only come from the lack of love. and that shit starts at the top. it starts with mom and dad. they poisoned her. bit by bit until she was dead, gone, and replaced, quite literally, by a doppelganger.

no, i'll never understand why people love "papa lance." he was only a loving father to one daughter. he was an abuser to the other.

that's one of the reasons why one of the recurring characters in my laurel fics is her non canon grandmother. she needs at least one family member to love her completely and unconditionally. lord knows no one else did.

[thewarriorspecial]

Greenhill Chapter 7

*Archive Edition* Previously only linked to AO3, full work now available under the cut.

Read on AO3

Rating: Teen | Guy Gardner/Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Dinah Lance, Oliver Queen, Wally West, Katma Tui

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

A little something special for @hobicat!

The interpersonal drama continues to unfold at the table and Guy gets his spy gear out.

It's here it's finally here!! I deed it!!

Guy watched as Kyle lowered himself into a seat at the table. Kyle fiddled with the silverware roll, opened it. He pulled out the knife first because of course he did. No surprises tonight, Guy thought as he turned on the recorder he had hidden in his sweater vest. He folded his fingers under his chin as he studied Kyle’s movements scrupulously. He’d play back the audio to listen carefully for any other telling inflections in his speech that he might’ve missed as he professionally navigated the sometimes hostile waters of a coworkers’ night out. I’m in my silver fox James Bond era, Guy smiled to himself. 

Kyle fiddled with the butter knife as he thought both of his painting knife at home where he’d be far more comfortable and also of the fact that for many years his mother forbade him using an actual knife at the table after too many dinner theater tragedies. Kyle had learned early in his life that he did not possess the full body dexterity to become an actual fruit ninja and that was not an actual job. Kyle faked a bright smile at his quiet coworkers. What have I gotten myself into, he thought 

“So,” Carol said, finally breaking the silence, “Not a vampire fan, John?”

“Ah, no. Just not my thing. Too much D&D in the past, I guess.” John replied with a shrug.

“Paladin?” Guy asked.

“Always.” John answered.

“Knew it.” Guy said with great conviction, banging his fist on the table. He’d have all his coworkers figured out by the end of the night.

“What exactly is D&D, anyways?” Carol asked.

Hal gently touched the place where his glasses used to rest, and then suavely pushed his bangs out of his face, “Well, it’s a tabletop role-playing game, or TTRPG for short—“

Ah, fuck. Here we go, Guy thought with a fake smile as he started looking around for the waiter.  As his eyes scanned the area, he caught Kyle returning the same already-tired smile. He liked the kid more by the minute. Shame he was a criminal. Which was also, admittedly, kinda hot.

A young girl with multi-colored hair and facial piercings greets their table with exuberant friendliness. She talks extensively with John and Carol. Guy knows her face but can’t think of her name. She was likely an upperclassman, then. The trio nattered on, unpressed for time as Guy’s knuckles whitened on the back of the empty chair next to him. 

Kyle pulled out his phone and started texting someone. Guy could almost read the texts in the mirrored lampshade behind him. He cursed his old crusty eyes and wondered if he could somehow use the selfie stick to get a good look at the screen without being too obvious. He reached into his pocket and slowly, obviously pulled the thing out. As curious eyes fell on him, he pretended to scratch his back with it, “Carry on. Just…itchin’” Guy said with a weak laugh. As the chatter—which is to say info-dump via Hal—carried on, Guy put on a show of seeming to examine the selfie stick with great concern. He held it up in the air, trying to find an angle that would allow him to see what Kyle was typing. 

Unfortunately, the support of the selfie stick was painted a dark color and even less reflective than the lampshade. To Guy’s cloudy eyes, it appeared that the letters WOWanBAB were in the text bar at the top of Kyle’s screen. If the text is mirrored that means it’s upside down! Guy rationalized. As his brain made the Windows fail sound he thought, Mom and Dad?! But aren’t they…? Is it someone else’s Mom and Dad? Is he seeing someone?! Fuck! Not that it mattered because Kyle was a criminal. And this investigation was absolutely about protecting the students. From this dangerous, hot, bad criminal man. 

“Ow! What?!” Guy exclaimed suddenly, again interrupting Hal’s attempt to woo Carol with his knowledge of emotionally mature Dungeon Mastering. 

“Tst!” John made the sharp sound as he kicked Guy’s foot under the able a second time. 

“What?” Guy stage whispered.

You know what. Stop it, said John’s Eyebrow of Paternal Disappointment (emotional damage +5)

“So issat like, your mom, or—“ Guy asked, impatiently waving his hands towards Kyle’s phone, hoping to get the conversation back on track and away from Nerds and Virgins or whatever.

“Oh,” Kyle smiled sadly, “No. No my mother passed away.”

Guy made a noise somewhere between choking on a chicken bone and being hit by a truck. John’s lips pressed together as he tucked his chin to his chest and raised both of his disappointed eyebrows even higher. Now look what you’ve done.

“Ow!” Guy exclaimed as a flank attack struck from Hal’s side of the table. 

“Its okay! Really!” Kyle raised his hands in supplication, “It was a long time ago. I’m fine.”

“Hardly appropriate dinner conversation,” Hal said.

“Ooh, what’s inappropriate?” Their server reappeared, a full tray of their orders perched over her shoulder.

“Well, Guy’s put his foot in his mouth I think,” Carol offered.

“He went and asked about poor Kyle’s dead mother!” Hal was offended.

“It’s okay, really. I brought it up!”

“Yeah he brought it up!”

“Oof,” said their server as she quietly passed out their plates.

“He brought—! Alan. How you been? You got anything you wanna add, here?”

“Not at all,” Alan said, bringing his drink to his lips and taking a long, luxurious sip. “I’m enjoying watching you fine, young people exercise your conflict resolution skills.”

“Guy’s could use a little work,” Hal snipped.

Guy’s ears turned as red as his hair as he folded the selfie stick back to pocket size and returned it to his secret spy pocket. Mission Failed, clearly.

“It’s okay, honest. I don’t get to talk about her much. Most people are too afraid to ask.” Kyle rested his warm hand over Guy’s sweaty knuckles. The Defensive Debuff hit home as Guy began to fully blush and sweat. He whipped his gaze over to John, his rock, who rolled a nat twenty on the second Eyebrow attack. Critical damage. Guy swallowed heavily, mouth dry, speechless. He should’ve never multi-classed into Rogue. “My mom was really cool. I miss her every day,” Kyle continued. He pulled his hand back to brush his hair behind his ear, “I wish you could’ve had the chance to meet her.” Kyle looks down for a moment and something else bumps Guy under the table, but pain-free this time. Kyle’s knee. Kyle’s knee. Kyle’s knee. When Kyle’s big, sad brown eyes find their way back to Guy’s it’s direct Constitution damage. Guy wants to wrap him in a blanket and drive him home. “I was just texting Wally. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“It’s on me, buddy.” Guy stammered. He dearly wished he had his Oakleys to hide behind. “My bad. We still cool?”

“Of course.” Kyle’s smile is bright and devastating. Guy wonders if he’s the kind of monster that sparkles in the sunlight. Maybe it’ll all be okay? Just a little peril?

Everyone resumed eating and Hal resumed telling the Tale of Games Past That No One Asked About. Carol’s smile is thinly polite. Hal barreled on in his futile attempt to make her laugh or maybe even impress her. He switched tracks, insisting on the Much Cooler Time He Was One Of The Knights At The Renaissance Festival. This captured her interest but not for the reason he had hoped. After all these years Hal remained unable to discern actual interest from confused horror.

“Wow,” said Carol, “That’s crazy.”

“So,” Kyle said softly to Alan, “History, right?”

“Unfortunately,” Alan grumbled as he took full advantage of Guy’s stun-lock to continue pilfering fries from his plate. 

“Alan’s been teaching for us since the school opened,” John offered, “Anyone could understand he’s a little tired or bored maybe?”

“I’m just old.”

“Maybe you can find a new way to present the material? Or tread new tracks so to speak? Novelty really keeps kids invested.” Kyle beamed with his idea.

Guy tried not to melt. He loved the kid’s enthusiasm.

“Kyle, it’s History. It’s not new.”

“Maybe you could use a little somethin’ new, pops. Might put some spring in your step,” said Guy.

“It won’t.”

“With respect,” Kyle began carefully, “You can’t possibly know everything there is to know about your subject.”

“I do. I was there. I remember.”

“You’re not…that old?” John wondered.

“The things I remember would curl your back hair, boy.”

Oh no, the warning bells went off in John’s mind, not the Nazis. No one wants to talk about the Nazis over dinner.

“You ever climb a bridge to dismantle a mine under heavy artillery fi—“

“Oh! Look!” Hal suddenly interjected, “They have tapioca pudding here. See?” He shoved the dessert menu in Alan’s direction. 

“Ooh,” Alan cooed, placated for the moment. The only thing he loved more than bitching about Nazis and pontificating about the brutalities of war was tapioca pudding. 

A loud crash near the door grabbed everyone’s attention. 

“Ah, fu—shticks! My bad!” Wally appeared directly in the path of the waitress, sending most of her dessert tray clattering to the ground. Kyle noticed, as Wally caught several of the glasses with incredible speed, he seemed to choose to let a few fall to the ground. It happened so fast. Maybe Wally was just very agile. Maybe he was an athlete as well. “Here, chief,” Wally held his credit card out over the bar, towards Radu, “Just ring it up. I gotta watch where I’m going.”

“Oh Wally!” Radu cried, “No trouble at all for one of my favorite customers!”

“You’re too good to me, man.” Wally said over his shoulder as he approached the table. “Sorry I’m late guys.” He took a chair from another table, behind Hal and Carol, even though there were two empty seats next to Kyle. “‘Scuse me real quick,” he said as he grabbed the back of Hal’s chair and slid him away from Carol, making room for himself.

“Hey!” Hal shouted, the picture of indignant. 

“Did you see Tru Blood last night?” Wally asked, sitting backwards in his chair and fully turning his back to Hal.

Carol lit up, clapping her hands, “Oh I did! It was so good! I loved when—“

“Aren’t you married?” Hal hissed at Wally’s back.

“Ew!” Wally snapped, whipping around suddenly and at an odd angle like an owl. “Don’t interrupt! It’s rude. Anyways.”

Hal harrumphed and sunk down in his chair. 

“So, tapioca is your favorite?” Kyle asked.

“It is. One of my earliest memories.” Alan said, chewing thoughtfully. 

“Oh?” Kyle tried to press for more detail. He let Alan slowly share some of his oldest memories—happy and full of detail of his childhood home.

Guy caught Hal’s gaze and jerked his chin up once, You okay?

The one corner of Hal’s mouth pulled downwards and he shrugged one shoulder, Yeah I guess so.

Guy stabbed his fork into his apparently child’s size portion of fries. He stuffed them into his mouth and nodded sharply, At least the food’s good.

Hal nodded in agreement, taking one of his chicken tenders off of his plate with his hand and breaking it in half. 

They watched as Wally dumped dessert after dessert into his face while Carol gushed about the TV show. Something was off about that guy. He seemed way more nervous than usual and he kept looking at his watch. He stood up suddenly, “Hold that thought,” He said to Carol, almost too fast to understand, “Gotta use the bathroom. Berightback!”

Kyle was still in rapt fascination with Alan’s story. John was concentrating on his Boba hunting experience. Carol chose this moment to use the restroom as well. Hal huffed again. 

Guy looked from Kyle back to Hal, a concerned expression on his face. He raised his eyebrows, tilted his head to the side, pointed one finger from his folded hands at Kyle as he jerked his head in the opposite direction and then made a steeple with his two index fingers. You don’t think she’s still in the house?

Hals lips flattened in a grimace. His eyebrows furrowed and he nodded his head towards Guy. He unfolded his hands, flattening his palms in parallel like he was showing a measurement. His eyes widened to accentuate the size. He then curved his fingers and touched the tips together. You're being a huge asshole.

Alan smiled as he watched the silent conversation unfold. He was the only other person at the table who was also versed in bitches’ cant. He also noticed that Wallace hadn’t gone to the restroom at all. He had vanished out of the skate park door. And at an incredible speed. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one with interesting powers. Something was indeed afoot at Radu’s Cafe. 

[pluckyredhead]

Salty Comics Ask Game #2, 3, 7, 26 Dinah Lance, 28

2. What character death for the sake of drama was the worst?

Already answered!

3. Who is your most hated comics writer?

I'm going to have to say Tom King. There are a number of writers I loathe and others that I'm just tired of, but King has the unique combination of "the most wretched takes imaginable on my most beloved characters" and "has learned just enough comics theory to make his work look Important and Deep so that the industry will keep celebrating his self-indulgent nihilism." Dear comics critics: just because it's in a nine panel grid doesn't make it smart.

7. What “throwaway” character could they have done more with?

Already answered but if we need another one, you know I want Koryak back.

26. What’s the worst costume design for [x]?

Honestly, I hate this one:

See, there was a 2015 Black Canary series where Dinah was in a band, and Annie Wu gave her a succession of awesome clubwear outfits, none of which was meant to be her single solitary superhero costume. And then a handful of straight male artists picked up one of the later outfits in that series, decided it was her costume, altered it badly, and the poor woman's been stuck in it for seven years. What is going on with those straps? Stop it!

28. What’s a popular fandom take you disagree with about [x]?

I don't know if this is also supposed to be about Dinah, but I will answer for her anyway with a) she is not Roy's mom, their relationship is much more complex than that and not easy to categorize, and b) I hate the fandom trope that she's the superhero therapist, which I think comes from YJTV? I will back button out of a story where she is providing therapy to Jason for no reason.

[ketchup-monthly]

🎶 and ✅️ for the fanfic ask meme? :)

hehehe! into the fray i go again! thank you!!

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

-i dont necessarily listen to music when i write, like maybe i'll have some music going in the background because i need at least a low level of noise at all times or i'll go insane, but i know rn i'm listening to jazz radio on pandora because my brother put it on like 7 hours ago and its still going. i'm a huge fan of the classical composer Holst and his suite The Planets, and i'll listen to that when im writing or need to focus on whatever it is that i'm doing (Jupiter was my school song in high school and is actually one of my favorite classical songs because it's very lovely)(link here bc i have to share it)(this is a link to a playlist of the rest of the suite)

-i mostly just have the tv on if im writing at home, and then i'll usually put something like s1 of Lois and Clark, Green Lantern: the Animated Series, Tanked, some random cooking show, or Mysteries at the Museum. or whatever my youtube recommends. depends on how im feeling each day and how much i'll need to actually focus on my fic.

-i do listen to music when im driving for work, and currently im working my way through The Crane Wives and The Orion Experience's albums (i already finished Waterparks)

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

-Hal and Barry's cat, Goose. she's an orange kitten and Wally is allergic to her.

-kissies. lots of halbarry kissies

-guy gardner is really good with kids and also he has a dog named shark who is a retired k9 unit. also he watches soap operas and romance movies even tho hes totally aroace

-idk if its something that people even notice in my halbarry fics, but hal is jewish. tbh i think i mean to include it more but totally forget

-kryptonians are fucked up. so are speedsters. so are lanterns.

-hal is old-man core. he just is. its amazing and i love him. he also has a bad leg and has to use a cane sometimes bc he got an injury that healed very wrong when he was a young lantern

-also wally and kyle are basically always like...9 and 7 respectively in my fics about the halbarry family because idk. fun ages. theyre still little but they can talk and think. idk when they'll get older

-this is more in my aus that i haven't written but hopefully will eventually, but giving bruce's kids to literally anyone else. i have an au where the only kids bruce keeps are dick and damian and maybe duke. i have another where duke is trained/fostered by alan scott and his husband, and another where duke is trained/fostered by midnighter and eventually apollo. the au where the only kids bruce gets are dick and dami and duke is the same one where all the other batkids are taken in by various gotham rogues. i have aus where tim is trained/taken in by dinah lance and her mom dinah drake, kon is adopted by alan scott, roy is adopted by dinah and his her sidekick instead of olivers, billy is adopted by lex luthor, kon stays with lex luthor and is raised by him along with lexs daughter who is kons half twin, billy is adopted by clark and hal and sorta guy and the rest of the red lanterns that i like, clark is found by the gls when hes a baby and is raised by kilowog, etc etc etc. bestie i have so many aus and i could talk about them for ages (edit: i also have one where jason is adopted by john constantine and etrigan the demon without jason bloods knowledge)

-sorry most of those were about halbarry and their family lol. im writing a lot of that this year

thanks for the ask!!! <3

[edgessunflower]

My Young Justice DR PT 1

Name: Melanie Xavier

Face claim: Natalie Portman

Aliases:

The Hope

Mel

Iris (Middle Name)

And Lanie

Hero theme song

Fall in the light By Graeme Revell and Lori Carson

Regular theme song

Good Enough by Lifehouse

Mentors:

Black Canary/Dinah Lance

Dr Fate/Giovanni Zatara

Powers:

Mediumship:Able to hear,see,and talk to spirits of the dead causing eyes to roll back and speaking as the person being channeled.

Attached to the spiritual entity of a dead 22 year old named Luke who is assigned as a guardian for her by the souls of her grandparents.

Telepathy:having and showing the ability to read the thoughts of another person and communicate mentally without any worldly or physical signals.

Precognition/Recognition:Experiencing visions of the past/future.

Psychometry:the ability to discover facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects connected to them.

Empath:A person with the paranormal ability to apprehend the mental/emotional state of another human being.

Soul dualism/Multiple Souls:A Human being having two or multiple souls,one associated with body functions (Body soul) and the other that can leave the body (Free soul/Wandering soul).

Telekinesis:The ability to move objects at a distance by mental power or other nonphysical means instead of physical.

Clairvoyance-The ability to observe the world through luke's eyes to obtain visual information about an object by touching it presenting itself as if it was vibrating.

Omnipresence-If she enters the world inbetween/beyond she becomes an incorporeal presence with the ability to be everywhere and nowhere.

Season 1 events:

Comes from a family full of powers and started showing her powers at 5 years old

Her mom has been a longtime friend of Dinah Lance/Black Canary and learns about the young justice team

Gets recruited and introduced to the team at 11 mainly staying at mount justice to train going on 1-2 missions

Becomes the team's younger sibling and having real friends for the first time in her life

Gets injured by a malevolent entity on a mission and gets more watched over by everyone after recovery

Saved Superboy from getting killed by an unknown enemy having Luke push him away

Finding out Luke was killed by a spiritual entity that traps the souls of other spirits

Having a near death experience to save everyone by falling down a building getting struck by a balcony and debris almost losing her tie to Luke

Having bad anxiety and being traumatized after the failsafe group exercise where mel watches the whole team get killed and then being killed by entities from beyond

Hearing stories about her powers first showing when she was younger not remembering at all

Starts experiencing visions as Luke before he died

Becomes the only one that is always around Connor being called his shadow and the boss girl because she keep him calm

Being the first true and real friend to and for M'gann after she joins the team

Having to fight both her mentors after a mole who was identified to be a clone of Roy Harper infiltrated the justice league and infected them all with Starro Biotech under the control of Vandal Savage

Scars/injuries/bruises:

Getting cut on neck by entity while saving superboy from being severely Injured on mission

Getting hit and scraped after falling from building after luke pushes away the group to save them from the joker

Aesthetic:

[tzigone]

Dinah headcanon reboot

In my headcanon reboot, Superman is the first superhero.

Dinah is Dinah Drake Lance. She was born in 1968 (I didn't want to be working in "the future" but had some of the younger generation worked up to adulthood). She never lived in Gotham. Owned a flower shop, became a superhero, met and married Larry, was widowed, joined the JL then started dating Ollie later.

Her father was a PBX installer (union job), and her mom was a secretary. Mom quit work when Dinah was born, but went back to work when Dinah's little brother started school. She really did not like being a stay at home mom, though she loves her kids dearly.

Dinah's parents have no idea she is a superhero. She didn't live in the same city as they did as an adult (her brother does - he has two boys, by the way). They liked Larry, and I'm trying to work out exactly what she tells them about his death. They are concerned about her after he dies, of course. It was rough on her.

They like Ollie, too. And they are really curious about some things, but don't pry, because she's an adult and she'll tell them what she wants them to know. And they do talk about some things - Roy's addiction, Connor's surprise existence, etc. But they are really confused how the two are living together and yet both acquired additional offspring (Mia and Sin) independently, rather than together. And exactly what Dinah was doing in Asia when she met Sin is also something they don't know. I think she might have to open up at that point - what do you think?

Dinah moves to Star City just over a year after Larry dies. Ollie proposes, but Dinah feels it's too soon. Later, they move in together around the time Roy gains custody of Lian. While she and Ollie do work together a lot, they also work separately, and both are members of the JL. She starts traveling more when she starts working with Barbara in the Birds of Prey. Once she adopts Sin, that dies down a lot, because she needs to be home to parent Sin (and kinda Mia, too). Later Ollie and Dinah marry.