#Damian's menagerie of pets

[lacrimosathedark]

Finally making myself catch up on WFA and

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT!!!!!

I love Kon and Cass being friends so much and it's never talked about I'm genuinely so happy I could cry

THEY'RE SO CUTE! LOOK AT MY FAVES BEING BUDDIES!!!!

Of course the Prettiest Boy being carried by his friends

And now there's a whole Joker kidnaps Duke plot and it's handled Marvelously.

Bruce's reaction was fucking beautifully handled.

Perfect. The panic, the forced calm, the quiet internalized rage that promises violence and retribution. THIS is my Bat-Dad. The one who loves so fervently he loses his tightly wound control, while control is his biggest stabilizer. Who, when triggered, becomes protective rather than pragmatic and distances those he loves in hopes of protecting them. The father who failed his son and couldn't bear to fail so badly again. YES.

Obviously he tells his kids to stay back and they passively tell him to fuck off lol

But Dami trying to bring his pets to Tim's apartment just XD

GOLIATH LOOKS SO BABY I CAN'T

Fucking OUCH? Are you trying to kill me?!

And then ripping my fucking heart out

And then of course the fucker dips out on his own to hunt down the fucking Joker himself because duh. But also how did a room full of detectives not notice him walking out??? We see it in the art (I caught that the first read through, I appreciate that little bit of silent storytelling)

Also love that they are, even passively, including Batwing and Azrael. They're so rare and it's nice to see them appreciated.

And now I'm as caught up as I can be without signing up for shit.

To close off

Obligatory "I love Jason Todd" moment. Chibi Hood is so cute. He's such a little shit and I love him.

[poke-me-with-a-stick]

Mmm..... might do something with this later...

Dp x DC prompt,

Alfred the cat, Titus, and Batcow manage to sneak off the grounds somehow, much to Damian's panic, and are missing for several days.

Only to come back with a glowing green dog, and a meta catboy that switches from black hair to white sometimes.

The dog gets found first, phasing through anything and everything, and refusing to be caught for a vet appointment. But he never leaves the barn, so it's all good for now. But he's super protective of one side of the loft.

When Damian finally gets to investigate that oart of the loft, he finds an injured catboy holed up in a pile of hay, his wounds covered by soaked bandages. When he tries to move the teen, he meets resistance from all of his animal companions. So he leaves the catboy where he is and instead brings medical supplies and food out to the barn.

That's all I've got for now, but I will come back to this.

[sitepathos]

From Gold to Mold

Chapter 10: The Meeting

As the Megamycete watches as you stomp around your room and vent your frustrations about the last few days, it begins to wonder how the Bats came to remember their little black sheep and why they are so insistent you return to Gotham.

It searches through your memories and experiences all the sadness, fear, anger, hatred, and loneliness you experienced for years, all those emotions still so potent even after your departure from the manor four years ago, having been dredged up by their unwelcome visits. It was clear that, besides the butler, none of them considered you a part of their merry band of misfits, not even bothering to spare you a passing glance.

The exception to this is the youngest one, Damian, who constantly went out of his way to make your life harder by mocking you, hurting you, and releasing his menagerie of pets on you, forcing you to run through the endless halls of the mansion barricade yourself in the closest room you could find.

Now, after four years after your escape and maintaining little contact with the family butler, they show up on your door, one after the other, trying to force you to leave your perfect life for one that brought you nothing but pain and misery.

Why?

Why do they want you so much?

Why do they insist on you returning to a place you clearly hate?

Why do they now wish to give you the love they denied you for so long?

Why—

Wait, they are meeting in their little cave, gathering around the massive computer in the center of the massive cavern.

Its roots have long since surrounded the cave and it is still connected to the main colony back in Gotham, but when it took you as its host, it has had no need to tap into its roots to see the world above when it can see the world through your eyes and experience it through your senses.

Using its roots to see the outside world no longer has the same appeal when your senses are far more vibrant and provide far more detail.

When it proposed you become its host, it must admit, it never thought it would be so mutually beneficial. Of course, it would be able to leave the cavern and finally experience a world firsthand that had been forever just out of reach for over four-hundred years, but you would recover from your injuries and be akin to a god among men with your newfound abilities. You were the one who had more to gain from your joining, but it was willing to trade one prison for another if it meant finally seeing the world above and having someone to talk to.

But you proved it wrong.

When it became a part of you, you treated it like a person, not a thing. You value its input and alter your plans if it desires to see or experience something. You frequently talk to it, telling it things that you haven’t told anyone else and speaking to it like it was a lifelong friend.

It has no further use for that toxic city and its citizens when it has the warm haven of Goodsprings and you to keep it company.

It has come to admire you, even going as far as to see you as a friend and confidant, and wants nothing but the best for you as you so rightfully deserve and to see you suffer teaches it a new definition of rage.

“Running blood tests,” your failure of a father says as he types on the keyboard, causing a machine next to the massive device to make noises.

“If Master Y/N does test positive for the Meta Gene, what do you intend to do, Master Bruce,” the butler, the only one in this crowd it respects, asks.

“If Y/N is a meta, I’ll have to find out what his powers are and how to counter it.”

So that’s what this meeting is about, they managed to put the pieces together that you are no mere human. But how did they manage to get a sample of your blood? Since your joining, you have had no need for doctors as its influence makes you immune against common illnesses and diseases.

“Getting his blood was a simple task,” Damian taunts. “Honestly, this would have been solved already if you sent me, Father.”

Of course. It should have known the little menace gave up too easily.

While you hate Bruce Wayne in every sense of the word, Damian Wayne is right behind him. From the moment you met him, he went up of his way to make your life a living nightmare and was allowed to get away with impunity due to obvious favoritism from Dick Grayson.

The memory of Dick defending Damian after he gave you a scar made the Megamycete furious. No matter his upbringing, he had no right to harm you, and yet, he was allowed to draw his sword on you. It was only pure luck that you managed to move to avoid being critically wounded, only resulting in a scar.

The Megamycete has seen your many fantasies of hurting Damian and making him feel inferior and wants to help you make them a reality.

“Results are in,” Bruce announces, making them all crowd around the computer.

“No Meta Gene,” Tim remarks, staring at the monitor with alarming intensity.

“Yeah, but look,” Jason exclaims, pointing at one of the results. “He’s got something in him that doesn’t belong.”

“For once, Todd is right. The tests show foreign substances in his blood.”

“Wait,” Tim mutters as he leans over and begins typing on the computer, bringing up an extensive menu and going through various files. “That looks so familiar.” An image is pulled up on the monitor. “Here it is! The stuff in his blood matches the stuff found in what remained of Joker.”

Well, this is rather unfortunate. It had hoped that there would be very little of the clown left to examine after his execution by your hand, but as usual, these people cannot resist poking into areas they do not belong.

“If this is substance is in Master Y/N’s blood, does that mean he is responsible for Joker’s death?”

“Bruce, you can’t lock up Y/N after bringing him home,” Dick whines. “You have to admit, your thing with Joker was only going to end one way!”

“We don’t even know if Y/N killed Joker,” Tim interjects. “It’s possible this strain of mold was in both of them and Joker’s was somehow activated, killing him.”

“That’s not exactly comforting, Drake,” Damian responds, glaring at Tim. “That means that Y/N could be in danger. If I had my pick, I would he be responsible for Joker’s death. Knowing he can take down as formidable as the Joker is proof he is a Wayne and my brother.”

If it had eyes, the Megamycete would roll them. This insecure little terror spent years making it clear he saw you as an interloper into his “perfect world” and not as a brother and that you are a disgrace to the Wayne bloodline (although that bloodline was tainted far before you came to be). He has some nerve to call you his brother now.

It still made it angry that he had the nerve to critique your mother (your memories of her painted the woman as a saint) when his mother, the daughter of a millennium-old maniac with delusions of grandeur (yes, you are very aware of his familiar secrets) who drugged Bruce in order to bring him into the world.

“We need to bring him back here, Bruce,” Dick says, defusing a fight between the two. “If he’s in danger, he needs to be back home.”

“I agree,” Bruce responds. “Cass, you and I will go. I’ll distract him and while he’s busy yelling at me, you’ll sneak up behind him and inject him with a tranquilizer.”

The mute nods and the Megamycete wishes it has a mouth so it can scream. Not only is it offensive that they believe you are stupid enough to fall for such an obvious trick, but that they believe they have the right to decide something like this on your behalf.

If they have failed to realize that you want nothing to do with them after you have yelled it at them, perhaps they will understand if it tells so itself.

And it knows the perfect form to take.

He stands up from the chair and makes his way to the armory where they keep the tranquilizers meant for the larger criminals, like Bane and Killer Croc.

He hates the thought of using such methods against you, but you’ve made it clear you aren’t going to come back to Gotham willingly and the discovery of this mysterious mold inside you has forced their hand.

Nevertheless, improvisation is one of their many skills, a requirement in their line of work. Once they have you back home, they’ll be able to conduct more in-depth tests and be able to find out what’s wrong with you and go from there.

As much as he hates the idea of you possibly being in pain and may even be in danger, he can’t deny there’s a small inside him that’s glad this has happened. This discovery accelerates their plans and will have you brought home far sooner.

And, there’s the chance that this mold may explain most of your hatred towards them. Sure, he knows you have every right to despise them, but when he saw the look in your eye when you pushed him down that night of the award ceremony. He could tell you enjoyed inflicting pain on him.

This stuff in you must’ve made your temper more volatile and made you lash out at them.

It’s the only explanation.

“Excuse us,” a familiar voice calls throughout the cave, stoping his dead in his tracks.

That voice… No, it can’t be. There’s no way…

He turns around to see you, standing in the cave, all of them looking right at you. The small smile on your face making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“We believe there are some things we should talk about,” you say as you walk closer to them, making his children back up with each step you take.

“No fucking way,” Jason remarks, his eyes wide as saucers.

“Wait,” Tim says as he rushes over to the computer and rapidly types on the keyboard. “You can’t be Y/N. His phone says he’s still in Goodsprings and we’ve been monitoring his GPS signal, so there’s no way you could’ve come all the way to Gotham from Nevada without us knowing!”

That’s right, they’ve been monitoring your phone ever since Alfred helped them remember you, tracking you every move and committing your searches, social media usage, and all your texts and phone calls. They would’ve done the same to your computers that are linked to your phone, but your cybersecurity is tougher than they anticipated (clearly custom) and they haven’t been able to crack the encryption.

He knew you were skilled at making videos games, but he didn’t know your skills with technology expanded into cybersecurity. Ever since they made that discovery, Tim’s spent nearly all day trying to pierce your firewalls, but hasn’t made any progress. He’s also made it clear he wants to have lengthy conversations on computers and programming with you once you’re back home.

So, you’re still in Goodsprings, so who the hell is this, why the hell would they take your form, and how the hell did they get into the Cave without setting off any of the dozens of alarms or sensors?

“Who are you” Damian hisses, taking a defensive posture. “And what gives you the right to assume the form of my brother?”

“You have some nerve calling him your brother,” the Not-You hisses back, the smile morphing into an all-too familiar snarl. “He is too good for you, for any of you.”

Even though he knows this isn’t you, hearing those words in your voice still hurts him.

“Do you know Master Y/N,” Alfred interjects, trying to bring tensions down, most likely so he can learn more from this person.

“Yes, we do,” Not-You responds, looking at the butler, the snarl morphing into a look of… admiration? “And we know you, Alfred Pennyworth. We know of you and how you helped him during his stay in this wretched mansion. You have our gratitude.”

“Look, whoever you are, stop taking Y/N’s form,” Steph exclaims. “You’re obviously a shapeshifter, so turn back to normal! Or the very least, take a different form!”

“Oh, do you all wish for us to take another form,” the Not-You asks, a ghost of a smirk gracing “your” face.

“Yes,” Bruce says without hesitation.

It’s bad enough to see you look at them with such hatred, he won’t tolerate some imposter doing the same thing.

“Very well.”

Before them all, the Not-You turns into a shifting mass of some type of black organic mass before taking on a humanoid shape once again and Bruce’s heart stops when he takes in the new form.

“Hello, Bruce,” the shapeshifter says in a voice he hasn’t heard in years.

Not since that fateful night in Crime Alley.

“Good God,” Alfred says, his eyes wide and his jaw practically on the floor.

In front of them is his mother, every detail exactly how she was that night, still adorned in her favorite pearl necklace and wearing her green dress.

As he stares at her looking at him with those eyes that use to look at him with nothing less than unconditional love, he feels his breathing start to become erratic and eyes begin to mist up.

“What’s wrong, Bruce,” the shapeshifter says in her voice (god, even her voice was exactly how he remembered) as they begin to walk towards him, making him step back. “I thought you would be happy to see me. It has been so long since I was killed.”

“No,” he says, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “You’re not her. You can’t be.”

“But I am. Do you not see? I know everything you have done.” His mother’s face then morphs into a disgusted snarl, making him sick to his stomach. “And I am absolutely disgusted in you! Why did we have to die that night? Why not the disgrace we once called our son!”

He knows this isn’t his mother and she never would’ve called him a disgrace, but hearing those words in a voice he’s longed to hear for so long makes him want to cry.

He’s had dreams of seeing his mother’s in the flesh again and now he has to endure this berating? Is he truly that horrible of a man to deserve this?

“Stop it, you bitch,” Jason exclaims as he steps between Bruce and the shapeshifter. “Take another form or get the fuck outta here!”

“Oh, you want us to another form?” His… the shapeshifter shifts once again and in his mother’s place is…

“Hiya, Dead Hood,” Joker exclaims before exclaiming in that all-too familiar cackle and waving around a crow bar in his hand. “Did you miss me?”

It doesn’t take a detective to notice Jason tense up and his breathing stop; Joker left a mark on Jason that unfortunately will never be erased (another shortcoming that eats away at Bruce everyday) and whenever news of Joker escaping Arkham would bring up all the anger, fear, and sadness that was planted in Jason that night he died.

After Joker was killed, he noticed a weight seemed to be lifted off of Jason’s shoulders. Sure, he made jokes about the clown burning in hell, but Bruce could see he was genuinely happy and was ready to move on form that horrible chapter in his life.

And now, all that trauma is about to be dug back up after four years.

“You have five fucking seconds to take another form before I beat the shit outta you,” Jason says in a tone that says he means business, his eyes flickering into that shade of Lazarus green.

“How about this form,” the shapeshifter says in Joker’s voice before changing into John Grayson, making Dick tense up. “Or this form?” John Grayson then shifts into Janet Drake, making Tim tense up.

“Alright, you made your point,” Barbara shouts. “Just turn back into Y/N.”

And with that, the shapeshifter takes your form again.

“Who are you,” Bruce growls, pissed that his sons have had their trauma jabbed at. “We know you’re not Y/N, but you know him and us.”

You may call us the Megamycete.”

“Megamycete,” Tim asks. “So, you’re not human?”

“No, we are a super colony of mold given sentience via a Lazarus Pit.”

“Of course a fucking pit’s involved,” Jason mutters.

“What’s your tie to Y/N,” Dick interjects.

“Y/N is our host. Before, we were confined to a cavern beneath this city, but when we joined with him, we were freed from our prison.”

“So, you’re using him.”

The Megamycete glares at Bruce for his accusation.

“No, he and us operate on mutual trust and respect. Y/N is a respectable young man.” A smirk appears on “your” face. “A trait he clearly did not inherent from you.”

The words hit him like a punch to the gut. Even though this thing is probably the reason why you feel so much hate towards them, it still pains him to know this is his reality.

“Were you responsible for the Joker’s death,” Steph chimes in. “We found weird strains of mold in his remains and you’re a walking, talking pile of mold.”

“While we are not directly responsible for the Joker’s death, we do not deny we were involved. That night, Y/N took us out to Amusement Mile to celebrate when we learned the Joker was sighted in an arcade. Upon seeing the many deaths left in his wake, our host took matters into his own hands and eliminated the biggest threat this city had ever seen.” It gives Bruce a wide smirk. “In a single night, our host did more to help Gotham than you and your brood have done in years.”

Knowing you were responsible for killing Joker didn’t sit well with him. Sure, he’d accepted that Joker’s games were only going to end with one or both of them being dead a long time ago, but knowing that you, his son, had killed him…

“What about Harley,” Dick asks, breaking Bruce out of his thoughts. “He killed her too?”

“She forced his hand. He had no choice.”

“What do you mean he had no choice,” Dick shouts. “Did you force him?”

“Do not be stupid,” it says, glaring at his first son. “Our host was in complete control of his actions that night. We no more control his actions than you. The woman was a lost cause, without Joker to keep her in line, she would have punished all of Gotham as retribution for the loss of her love. Also, she would have informed you of him, causing you to devote all your resources to finding him. In order to both save Gotham from her wrath and himself from your scrutiny, Harley had to die.”

No, this thing has to be lying. There’s no way you, one of his sons, could ever rationalize killing someone. It had to have forced you to kill them. It had to…

“How did you even find Y/N,” Damian interjects.

Upon being asked that question, it smiles. And not a normal smile, but a smile that says it knows something they don’t know and something tells Bruce he’s not going to like it.

“He was thrown into our cavern after being left for dead.”

Bruce hears the words, but they just don’t process.

You were… left for dead? When? How?

“It was four years ago, while the butler was on his vacation. That day, his boss was forced to retire due to Gotham’s high crime, so he was forced to find another bus stop within Crime Alley as he had no other way of returning here, where he was unfortunately captured by three thugs and takes to a cabin in the nearby forest. They intended to ransome him off for a high price due to his school uniform.”

You were held hostage? Why didn’t you call for them? For him?

He knows you have no reason to think he’d help you with homework, but surely you’d call him if you were ever—

Just then, memories from that time frame kick in.

Random…

Phone call…

Oh… Oh no…

“Since the butler was out of the country, he actually reached out and gave the thugs the phone number for this manor.”

He so desperately wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

“You said all your children were with you and you all laughed and mocked the leader of the thugs.”

He sees all his children tense up at the realization and Alfred looks at him to see if it was true. Based on the butler’s look of shock and disbelief, he knows it’s the truth.

“The one time he reaches out to you for help, you laugh and mock. He needed you and you failed him in the worst way possible.”

He remembers that night. He thought it was so stupid that someone would think he wouldn’t know when one of his kids were missing. He said all his children were with him and meant it.

God, he really is the worst, isn’t he?

“After that phone call, the leader took all his frustrations out on our host, beating him until he could cry out for mercy no longer before shooting him in the head.”

He wants to cry when the image of you being beat up enters his head, and based on the way he flinches, so does Jason, who looks like he wants to cry.

Alfred looks like he’s ready to go nuclear and Bruce doesn’t blame him. Hearing all this years later and he had no idea what happened just proves he was never worthy of being your father.

“He was on the brink of death and had he not accepted our offer to become our host, he would be dead and the world would have been deprived of a brilliant mind.”

The thought of you dying brings a brunch of thoughts to the surface.

How long would it had taken him to notice you were missing?

How would he reacted upon learning you were dead?

Chances are your body would’ve never been found and all there would be to remember you by would be a tombstone with your name in the Wayne Cemetery. Hell, you’ve made it clear you want nothing to do with the Wayne name, so you probably would’ve never agreed to be buried with the rest of the Waynes.

“Our joining restored him to full health and gave him access to many powers, including our records.”

“Records,” Tim asks, clearly interested in this.

“We have existed for four-hundred years, our roots expanding towards every corner of this city. As our roots touched those buried beneath the ground, not only have we watched the goings-on of Gotham, but we absorbed the memories, knowledge, and structure of the deceased. As horrible as the city is, it has attracted many brilliant minds, like artists, scientists, engineers, and many more. He has access to the knowledge of these people, making him one of the smartest humans alive.” It chuckles. “In fact, many of your employees are in our records and he used this knowledge to get revenge on you, selling the secrets of your company to Lex Luthor for a tidy sum.”

You were the one who did that? He’s been racking his brain and reviewing network logs to find any sort of security breach and it was you using the remains of his dead employees.

“Alright, so that solves a lot of mysteries,” Dick interjects. “But that still leaves one: why are you here?”

“We have been by our host’s since that fateful night, peering through his memories and seeing the world through his eyes. Ever since he was forced to move to Gotham, none of you ever made him feel welcome here. For years, he wanted nothing more than to return to his rightful home, where he knew nothing but love. Now, after four years since his departure from this wretched manor, you appear, one after another, trying to bring him back to a place he despises more than anywhere else. We wish to know why.”

“He’s my son,” Bruce answers, not liking what this thing has to say.

“He’s family,” Dick adds. “Of course we’d want him back.”

“But none of you have ever made him feel that way. And if you are honest with yourselves, you never saw him as one of your own. You only want him because you feel guilty about how you treated him, and that guilt is making you believe you are owed a second chance. And you seek to obtain that second chance, no matter how much harm it does to him.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re taking about,” Jason exclaims, clearly getting more and more pissed. “Yeah, we fucked up! But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a part of this fucked up family!”

“He was never a part of this family. We know for a fact that he wishes he could take out the Wayne DNA and return it.”

“That’s because you’re manipulating him,” Damian interjects. “Nothing will change the fact that he’s my blood brother.”

“It is funny you say that when the last interaction you had with him was a fight.” It lifts hits arm and manifests a gold pen in its hand. “Do you remember this? This is the pen you tried to steal from him and then threw out into the rain when he gave you a much deserved slap upside your head. Do you know the significance of this item to our host?”

Bruce gets the feeling that he’s not going to like why that pen is so important to you and based off Alfred’s expression, that feeling gets even worse.

“This pen once belonged to his mother, made by her father when she set out to become an author. When she was taken from him, this pen was the only thing he had to remember her by. And you, the arrogant beast that you are, felt you had the right to take this, his most treasured possession, from him.” It turns its gaze from Damian to the rest of them. “And the rest of you supported this irreverent mongrel and condemned our host without listening to him before passing judgment.”

It seems like a day can’t go by that Bruce feels like the scum of the earth; ever since he learned of how he neglected you for years and forgot you even existed, his sense of worth has taken hit after hit. He was thinking about that argument you had with Damian and how furious he was when you refused to obey him not too long ago, thinking how stupid it was for you to cause so much trouble over a simple pen. Now to find out that “simple pen” was the only thing you had to remember your mother by…

It just never ends, does it?

He could spend the rest of his life atoning for everything he’s ever done to you, spend his last dollar to make your wildest dreams come true and he’d never come close to earning your forgiveness.

He knows he’s not the best father for his children, but he was never worthy of being your father and he’s certainly not that now.

“Y/N,” he whispers, knowing this isn’t you, but it has your face, your vice, and your memories, so it’s the next best thing. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He knows tears are falling from his eyes, surprising both Alfred and his children. He doesn’t want them to see him like this, but he can’t help it; the last few days have been one emotional turmoil after another and he’s reached his limits.

He failed his baby in every way possible.

“Now you understand,” it responds as it walks closer to him. “You fulfilled your purpose, Mr. Wayne. You brought Y/N into this world and had him brought to Gotham, where he was delivered into our custody. Now please, do not worry for him, we assure you we will provide him with true happiness. Go on, all you have to do is stay in Gotham and out of our host’s business.”

“Father,” Damian exclaims. “You can’t possibly be considering this!”

“Bruce,” Dick adds. “You aren’t going to actually do it, right?”

“Don’t fuck this up, Bruce,” Jason adds.

“We can’t just give up on him,” Tim adds.

“Yeah, he’s your son,” Barbara adds.

“He’s our brother,” Steph adds.

‘Family doesn’t give up on one another,’ Cass signs.

“Master Bruce,” Alfred warns, clearly not pleased at the thought of giving up on you.

He should, though. He knows that he’ll never be worthy of calling himself your father and you’ve made it clear you hate him and your siblings in every sense of the word. You wanted to go back to your childhood home in Goodsprings, a place that made you feel loved, something his home never made you feel. And the last four years were good to you based off your appearance and success. Plus, you had the Megamycete, that apparently has been more of a family to you than them.

If he was a good person, he’d put your needs and wants ahead of yours and agree to leave you alone and tell his children to do the same. Repeatedly harassing you would only make you hate them more and widen the gap between you and them. You don’t need them and clearly learned how to live without them. Over the past few days, he’s gathered every piece of information about you he can find and from what he sees, you love it in Goodsprings and fully intend on living in the house you and your mother lived.

But he’s not a good person, not by a long shot.

The night his parents were gunned down like animals in that disgusting alley, his sadness had turned into a bright inferno of rage; he wanted to inflict on every criminal that he met every ounce of his never ending vengeance and make them so afraid of him that they refuse to step outside whatever hole they call home, so that no one ever has to lose a child, a parent, a friend, or a loved one to some scumbag with a gun. That was his reason for donning the cowl.

After his parents were taken from him, he made it his mission to never lose anything of his ever again and two things that he holds dear more than anything in this world are Gotham and his family. And as long as he’s breathing, he’ll hold onto those two things until the bitter end.

Is it possible that in his mission to protect his city from Arkham’s inmates have made him forget the little details? Of course, Gotham needs Bruce Wayne as much as it needs Batman.

Is it possible that his need to hold onto his children with an iron grip has made him lose them on multiple occasions? Absolutely, he’s constantly remembering that his children are their own people and that even though they may leave him, they’ll always come home.

And that’s what his situation is with you. He knows he fucked up with you and he can never undo the damage he’s done to you, it doesn’t change the fact that you are his blood, his son, his firstborn.

You belonged to him the moment you were born and there’s nothing that can change that. He wishes he could go back in time and accept the gift of your affection that his past self spurred, but he can’t (his time as a Justice League member has taught him that going back in time is more trouble than it’s worth) and his only option is to move forward and make you see that the only place in this world for you is with him and your siblings here in Gotham, a city that has and always will belong to the Waynes.

And right now, this Megamycete is an obstacle standing in his way of completing his family. And if there’s one thing Bruce is very good at over the years, it’s overcoming obstacles.

“No.”

“Pardon,” it says, confusion etched onto its face.

“No,” he says loudly, making it clear he has no intention on letting you go. “Y/N is my son and their brother. He belongs here, with me and his family, not in some backwater town with some sentient mushroom. We’ll find a way to bring him back here and separate the two of you. And when we do, he’ll have all the time in the world to realize this is where he needs to be. Once he realizes that, all of Gotham will celebrate his return.”

He looks around and sees not only does his family seem happy with that statement, but they think the same as him.

The Megamycete looks at him, silent, seemingly shocked at his statement.

Then, it begins to laugh. First, just soft chuckles, then a laugh so loud, it echoes off the walls of the cave.

“Our host was right, you have clearly lost what sanity you had left. You reject him for years and now that you realize your folly, you seek to make amends? Please, spare us your delusions. This has nothing to do with our host and everything to do with your guilt. The moment you feel absolved, you will return to the status quo and forget he exists.” It motions to his children. “You have plenty of children here to drown in your need for forgiveness, surely you can make do with one of them.”

Then, it leans closer towards him, a smug look adorning its face.

“Also, Y/N belongs to us. He has the moment he fell into our cavern and will continue to until the end of time. Attempt to take him from us and you will suffer the same fate as those three thugs who left him for dead.”

It’s then another mystery gets solved: the slaughter at My Alibi. The three men in the back of the dining room who looked like they had gone through a meat grinder. That was your doing and they had been the ones to kidnap you and leave you for dead.

While he never advocates for killing people, he’s more than happy to make an exception for them. If they tried to kill you, they deserved to be slaughtered.

He only wishes they were still alive so he could pay them a visit before being turned over to Red Hood.

“We’ve fought plenty of Metas in the past. Do you really think you’ll be any different?”

“We have the knowledge and wisdom of countless people over the course of four-hundred years, all of them at the disposal of our host. You still think of him as that timid little thing from all those years ago, but he has become so much more since our joining. You believe yourselves superior than the rest of the general population, but you will find our host far surpasses you in every respect. He also possesses one thing your past adversaries never will.”

“And what’s that?”

“Unbridled hatred towards you.”

He wants to laugh at that. This thing must not have watched too carefully if it thinks people like Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, and so many in Arkham don’t hate his guts. He’s spent years being cursed at by all of Gotham’s rogues and beating all of the Riddler’s countless murder attempts to know Batman is at the top of many people’s Most Hated lists.

“If you don’t think half of Arkham doesn’t have dart boards with our pictures on them, you’re not as smart as you think you are,” Steph mocks.

“We do not doubt the genuine animosity the inmates hold towards you, but they are too far gone to imagine a life without any of you; you have foiled many of their crimes so many times, it has become one of the few constants in their lives. Every time they are put back in Arkham, they devote their time to coming up with their next attempt to best you until it is the only thing they care about. If any one of them were to ever defeat you, they would eventually realize how empty their lives are without you and their victory would soon sour.

“Joker would be a perfect example of this as he was as obsessed with you as you were of him.”

As much as he hates to admit it, the talking pile of mold is right. The clown made it clear that as much as he hated Batman, he was just as obsessed with him, going as far as to go after any criminal that took up too much of his time, Harley included in that.

And Bruce was just as obsessed with Joker, coming up with countless contingencies to counter any plot his sick and twisted mind could come up with, as well as devising security protocols and measures for Arkham to keep him contained and treatment plans to find a way possible bring his sanity back (assuming he had any to begin with).

“But our host is not like them. He has longed for a life free of you lot and now that he has that, he has no intention of surrendering it. Attempt to force him to return to this wretched manor and he will be more than happy to bring his fantasies of killing you a reality.”

He knows you hate them, but hearing that you hate them enough to fantasize about killing them cuts him deep.

“Please, I tried to kill Tim and Bruce back when I returned to Gotham,” Jason mocks, but Bruce can see Jason’s obviously concerned about hearing you thinking about killing them. “And Damian took a few tries at Tim. Everyone in this fucked up family’s got anger issues, it’s nothing weird.”

“You are kidding yourself if you believe you and that monster can a hold a candle to his fury. Your so-called anger is nothing more than a candle compared to the inferno that is his rage. You will feel the full might of his righteous fury, which will swallow you whole and leave nothing behind. And when you all are dead, you will be denied entry into our records.”

“So you don’t plan to absorb us,” Dick asks.

“Our host is the one who made that decision. To be added to our records is to be a part of us, and to be a part of us is to be a part of our host. He refuses to have you in his life in any way.” A small smile etches across its face. “We agree with his way of thinking. When you are gone, there will be nothing left and the world will forget any of you ever existed. And that is when our host’s revenge will finally be complete.”

It takes everything Bruce has to not flinch.

With this… thing inside you, what are you capable of? Would you really attack them with intent to kill? Would you really murder your own family?

“Make all the threats you want, creature,” Damian boldly states. “Nothing will stop us from bringing Y/N home.”

“Then this concludes our meeting, we suppose. We had hoped that we could convince you the best thing for you and our host would be to leave him alone and let the past rest, but we see now you all are too deep into your delusions to see reason. We look forward to seeing our host tear you apart, bit by bit.”

In the blink of an eye, the Megamycete turns bone white and crumbles like chalk, scattering all over the floor, leaving them all to stare at the remains in silence.

“So,” Alfred says, breaking the silence. “Was anyone ever going to tell me about a call regarding a random?”

The tension becomes so think, Bruce thinks he’ll start to choke on it. He racks his brain to come up with any answer, but doesn’t find any. At lease not one that won’t make Alfred pissed.

Clearly his children came to the same conclusion, because they remained silent as well, looking away or at the floor when he met their gaze.

“I have to say out of all the disgraceful things all of you have done throughout the years, this definitely takes the cake. I know Master Y/N wasn’t a priority for any of you, but I never would’ve dreamed you would allow him to be put in danger like being held hostage by common thugs.” Every word he says is dripping in venom. “I am absolutely disgusted with all of you.”

The words cut him deep and he deserves it. It was thanks to his incompetence that led to you being kidnapped, beaten to a pulp, shot in the head, and tossed into a cavern like trash and left for dead in a place no one would ever find you.

There’s nothing he can do that will ever make up for all that he’s done to you. He can apologize until he loses his voice permanently, spend all his money to buy you apology gifts, and subject himself to whipping by your hand until he’s lost every bit of his skin and he’d never scratch the surface of everything he’s done to you.

You came to him, a scared little child who just lost his mother and was forced to move to a massive city to live with a man he’s never met and all you wanted was for him to tell you that he loved you and that everything was going to be alright, but no, he was too caught up in his work as Batman instead of finding a healthy way of dealing with losing Jason.

But that’s not all he did, was it?

As much as he wants to, he can’t deny that he replaced you with Tim after the boy lost his parents. He suffered the same loss as you, but he gave Tim the help he needed while denying it to you. But that’s his fault, not Tim’s. His inadequacies are his alone to deal with, not any of his children’s (a lesson he keeps forgetting).

And he did the same thing several more times, bringing in more children and giving them all the love and affection you were denied as a child. He can’t help but wonder what went through your mind as you saw him spending time with them, both in groups and individually. And when you watched them hanging out in the dining room when they came home from patrol, enjoying themselves and each other while you were left alone in some room barely the size of a closet.

God, how many times did you wonder when you’d be asked to join before giving up?

When exactly did you give up on them?

And of course, he can’t forget about how he handled you and Damian meeting, another sign he was never fit to be a father. He knew Damian’s LoA upbringing left him unable to interact with others the proper way, but he still allowed him to see you (because he never considered your safety a priority) and allowed the boy to draw a sword on you, give you a scar on your face, and make several threats on you and insult your mother.

And what did he do after that?

Did he do the responsible thing by taking away the sword, scold the boy for his unacceptable behavior, and make it clear you were his brother and that he’s not allowed to hurt you?

No, of course not.

He did nothing but carry Damian off while allowing him to shout even more threats and insults, thinking nothing about the harm you just experienced and thinking Damian would just outgrow of his behavior on his own.

If he had to guess, it was probably that day you realized you didn’t matter to him and that Damian was the only one he considered a biological son.

Y/N, his baby boy.

He’s so sorry.

“This doesn’t change anything,” Bruce finally says, making his family turn their eyes to him. “We still need to bring Y/N home. Meeting this Megamycete just makes it more important we get him back to the manor.”

“And if Master Y/N fights you? Based off what you were able to gather from both crime scenes, this Megamycete appears to make him a formidable opponent.”

“We can find a way to neutralize it,” Tim chimes in, motioning to the crumbled remains. “I’ll analyze the remains to find a weakness.”

“And if that’s not enough, it said it has roots all over Gotham,” Barbara adds. “I can use the Clocktower to locate the closest sample.”

“Say you manage to subdue Master Y/N and rid him of the Megamycete. What then?”

“Then we make it clear he’s a part of our family now. And we’ll keep telling him that until he believes it. And when he does, we’ll give him the love we should have given him.”

Alfred looks at him before glancing at his children, all of them nodding in agreement.

“I shall hold all of you to that promise. We have a second chance to right our wrongs. I highly doubt we’ll be given another. But don’t think for a second this conversation is over.”

And with that, the butler turns on his heel and promptly makes his way out of the cave, clearly still furious at them.

“Alright, everyone,” he says, getting their attention. “We have work to do. Barbara, get to the Clocktower and start searching for the Megamycete’s roots. Tim, start analyzing the remains and see what you can find. And be ready to receive new samples. The rest of you, be ready to go out and retrieve the roots.”

They nod and set out to work, leaving him with his thoughts.

Fuck, after hearing all that, his mother probably sees him as a failure now. He had so many opportunities to make this right, but he being the complete and total fuck up that he is, missed them, leaving you all alone to fall into the hands of low-life thugs and a sentient mushroom.

He balls his fists so tight so tight he draws blood, but not caring at the pain or the drops of crimson falling onto the cave floor.

All he had to do was be there for you, love you, tell you he’d always be there for you, but he couldn’t do that. When he first learned of you, he was shocked to hear that he had actually been stupid enough to not take precautions to prevent getting a woman pregnant and actually thought you were an inconvenience, blaming you for something that wasn’t your fault. You hadn’t asked to be born, you didn’t ask to lose your mother in such a tragic way, and you sure as hell didn’t ask to be given to a man who had no right to be called a father.

He—

No, this line of thinking isn’t doing him any favors.

He takes a deep breath and releases it, throwing all his thoughts and emotions into a dark corner of his mind and locking them behind a massive door (like he always does instead of dealing with them in a healthy way). He’s done the same thing to so many other thoughts and feelings, what’s the harm in doing it now?

What he needs to do now is find a way to deal with a Megamycete and figuring out a method of getting close to you to administer it so they can bring you back home. While that’s already an uphill battle, the true war will be convincing you that they’ve changed and that you need to come back to the manor and live with them.

You’re his son and the brother to his children. And as much as you want to deny it, you have Wayne blood coursing through your veins, tying you to him and Gotham. You belong here, by his side.

And when this is over, he’ll throw the largest gala Gotham’s ever seen to show his love for you.

He’ll do whatever it takes if it means having you back home so h and your siblings can bathe you in their love and affection.

Even if it means taking away your powers and dragging you back here.

Like he said, he’s not a good person.

Tag List: @space1crow @lunaluz432 @type-ink @bat1212 @eyeless-kun @deathbynarcisstick @minkyungseokie @orbitingtraveler @1s3v3n1 @nosyrobin @roseytheteacup @bunbunboysworld @kitty-from-daaaa-voidddd @feral-childs-word @phoenixgurl030 @soriansick @hellcatsworld @bellethesleepypotato @prettyboys247 @marsmabe @exactlynumberonekryptonite @paolexsstuff @fantasyhopperhea @c0l1fl0r @ellaprime7 @starryperson @kore-of-the-underworld @kiarst @vanessa-boo @moxiemy @ratchetprime211 @greatwhisperspaper @tatsuri-zomushiki @bunbunbread @starsdotalk @luna57765 @solelifauna @jsprien213 @diejager @lizz-lrm @v0idl1nq @chericia

[aealzx]

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Update Post

Prologue | AO3

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“So…Let me just summarize to make sure I understand,” Jazz requested, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the new information Bruce, Barry, and Leslie had explained to her, but at least not so overwhelmed to the point of breaking down anymore. She’d just never heard of something like hemoperfusion before, so it had been a lot to take in. “Danny has blood blossom toxin throughout his blood stream, and since blood blossoms don’t exist here there’s no antitoxin to inject him with. And since developing one would take too long and be too risky, you want to try hemoperfusion. Which is like hemodialysis, except it removes toxins instead of fluids. And since hemoperfusion is known to cause a mild decrease in various common blood components, you want to have a blood donation from Danielle to offset that. Because she’s the only one here who also has ectoplasm in her blood, and you don’t want to dilute that in Danny since he’s already low…Did I get all of that?”

“Yes,” Bruce answered simply, giving a small nod. He was ready to go over anything they needed to again, a tablet in his hand ready to be used to open any of the files he’d already shown Jazz a second time. She had reacted to the information about Danny’s condition with anxious fear, but overall she was managing to remain significantly calmer than earlier that day.

Jazz was silent as she ran through everything she could remember just one more time, as well as trying to think of anything that they may have missed. Either because it was an oversight, or they simply just didn’t know. But she couldn’t see any risks other than the ones they had already told her they were aware of. She honestly wasn’t sure she would have caught the risk of diluting the ectoplasm in Danny’s blood herself. Amity always had an abundance of ectoplasm leaking everywhere, so even when Danny has spent a lot he’d always been able to recover some from the ambient. It, and the way they had addressed this situation, was enough for her to finally look to Bruce and nod. “Okay. Go ahead.”

Bruce was admittedly pleasantly surprised at the response, but kept his response in check other than a content smile. Barry’s shoulders sagged with his sigh of relief, and he barely waited for Bruce to give him a nod before he dashed from the room in a blink.

“Barry and Wally will take care of getting the supplies. We’ll test the types of resin with the blood samples we already have to make sure we use the correct one. But it shouldn’t take too long. Is it alright if we inform the rest of your family of what’s going on?” Bruce requested, not wanting Sam, Tucker and Danielle to be left out just because his own children were doing a good job keeping them occupied. Barbara had come over to meet them already, and she and Tim were indulging Tucker’s questions as well as getting some of their own answers. Then Stephanie and Cass had spent some time letting Danielle pick out some different clothes before they had joined Wally in the gym. Danielle had been ecstatic to find out about Wally’s abilities, and all four of them were having fun showing off and messing around together. Which left Sam talking with Duke, Damian, and Alfred about some of Duke’s adventures, Damian’s menagerie of pets, and Alfred’s recipes and food sources. The news would be an interruption to their fun, but Bruce had confidence that his team could help them stay occupied and taken care of instead of relying only on Jazz.

“...Sure,” Jazz agreed once more, giving another nod. They had already told her that they would have Danielle stop by the room to draw her blood, so having the three of them back in the room for a bit wasn’t a bad idea.

It didn’t take long at all for Barry and Wally to return with the equipment, getting it set up in record speed next to the bed before Barry joined Bruce back in the lab to test the different resins. They were simple tests that could all be done at the same time, so they were back upstairs soon after Leslie had finished drawing Danielle’s blood.

“Here’s the lucky winner,” Barry chimed, holding a second canister of the resin that they had found cleared the blood blossom toxin from Danny’s blood while having minimal effect on the important parts that needed to stay.

“Woah… I was expecting something bigger,” Sam admitted, watching Barry from where she was hovering near Danielle.

Barry just chuckled as he headed to the machine and popped the canister in. “It doesn’t need to be that big. We’re only pulling a tiny amount of toxin from him and putting the rest back after all.”

“Fair enough,” Sam accepted, attention shifting slightly as Danielle flexed her arm and moved around to make sure she wasn’t dizzy or anything.

“And you’re sure it’s going to work?” Tucker asked, his nervous nature prompting him to reach for reassurance despite the procedure not being used on him.

“It’s not as common as dialysis, but it’s still something that’s been used thousands of times on thousands of different people. I’m sure it’ll get most, if not all of the toxin,” Barry assured, stepping out of the way so Leslie could proceed to get Danny connected to the device. Unfortunately the IV needle that had been used was too small, so Leslie couldn’t use it for one of the tubes, even if it had been in the right place. So it was simply pinched closed, and disconnected to use again later while the other two tubes were inserted.

The others continued to chatter lightly, but Jazz was more focused on what Leslie was doing. How she was prepping Danny’s arm, where she put the tubes, trying to guess what she was looking for. She didn’t think this would be the last time Danny, or Danielle got poisoned, so she felt she should learn as much as she could while she could. It also helped her feel like she was being useful. Adding to her skillset to maybe use later instead of just sitting and being worried. It certainly helped even though once Leslie finally started the machine nothing seemed to be happening. It was a good thing though. No immediate adverse reactions, no sudden drop in vitals. Nothing but the quiet hum of the machine added to the soft beeps of the heart monitor and puffs from the oxygen tank.

Within an hour the others had gotten bored enough to easily be lured away by the rest of Bruce’s family once again.

Thirty minutes after and Jazz was the only one left, having moved to sit on the floor at the side of the bed. She wanted to be close to Danny, but she felt in the way if she sat on the bed. There were too many tubes now. Before he could have been mistaken for just sleeping. But now he really was looking like a coma patient. It made it hard to watch him, even though she refused to leave.

A short time later Jason was knocking on the doorframe to announce his presence, causing Jazz to look up.

“...Hey,” she greeted, a little confused.

“Hey,” Jason returned, “Just checking in. You need anything?” A half lie. He’d actually volunteered to hang out for a while to make sure the hemoperfusion process was going well. Luckily it looked like Danny’s vitals hadn’t changed much from two hours ago.

Jazz blinked in mild surprise at the offer, but even after thinking for a moment she couldn’t come up with anything. Part of her knew there were probably a multitude of things that she should be at least curious about, but mostly she just felt tired. The near quiet of the room while she knew everyone was okay and having fun was nice. She was content to just relax as well as she could for now. “No, I’m good,” she responded.

Jason didn’t quite believe her, his brow raising. “Says the girl sitting on the floor wearing random spare clothes borrowed from someone else, and doing nothing but stare at the other side of the room,” he commented dryly with a half smirk, stepping into the room and taking a seat on the floor near Jazz.

The comment caught Jazz off guard, but she could only give a small giggle. She probably did look at least a little unwell huh. “...I guess I just haven’t fully realized I’m safe yet,” she admitted. “It’s hard to think about anything.”

“Fair enough,” Jason accepted, being able to understand the feeling. “...Do you mind if I ask you something then?”

Another mild surprise, but Jazz just nodded after a moment. “Sure.”

“You mentioned before…” Jason started, thinking back to something Jazz had said before lunch, “that your parents tried to hurt Danny before they knew….” The reminder was potentially a very unhappy topic, but it was prodding he felt was necessary. Were they safe at home? Were they runaways? Were their parents involved with the ones that had hurt Danny recently? They needed to know if it was a good idea to try and get these kids back to their family or not. And if he was going to keep Jazz company and monitor the hemoperfusion process he didn’t feel like spending the time in silence.

“....Yeah… Our parents used to be ghost hunters,” Jazz admitted, a sorrowful smile as she stared at her hands. It seemed she was in the mood to talk, for she continued unprompted. “We grew up with their crazy antics. Making machines that could track down and destroy ghosts. Always talking about dissecting them, or using them as a power source. They had so many studies supporting the idea that ghosts were just residual emotions from people, given human form, but not actually human. So many things that convinced others that ghosts weren’t people anymore.”

“And yet… all it took was them finding out that Danny was half ghost, half dead, and it made them rethink everything they had developed. He was fourteen when… And I didn’t find out until a few months later. I didn’t even tell him I knew, because I knew if I did he would get scared. Why wouldn’t he, after all? With the idea that his mom and dad might cut into him just to satiate their curiosity looming over his head. It was an accident that they found out, and I was so scared he was going to run away. But mom just tried her best to treat him like Danny, and nothing else. Dropped her gun and told us we should go home and get a snack, because we were probably hungry. It…. it was enough to keep him home, but it wasn’t enough for everything to be okay. It was like everyone was trying to pretend everything was normal, but we all knew it wasn’t. They stopped doing their experiments. Started pretending they were oblivious to anything related to ghosts. It was awful. I felt so… so useless.”

“It was months of this stupid, awkward fake normal family facade before it finally broke. Danny accidentally got burned when mom was cooking, and she had a breakdown. We found out that our dad was okay with everything, but mom was having a hard time because she couldn’t believe that she had hurt Danny before. Even if she didn’t know it was him. But, after she had a really long talk with my brother, things started to look more normal again. Only this time, instead of being ghost hunters my parents dove headfirst into trying to figure out how to help ghosts. We realized we couldn’t take Danny to the doctors anymore, so my parents and I tried to make sure we could fill in that role. Mom would try all sorts of new, ectoplasm rich meals for him, making sure they tasted good to him. She started making smoothies for him every morning once she found ones he liked. On top of helping him study for school every day when there weren’t other ghosts causing trouble. There’s so many nights I found them asleep together on the couch. Danny was always mom’s favorite, and I think dad got jealous about how close they got. Until Danielle came back from her world exploration adventures and Danny convinced her to officially meet my parents. Then Dad and Danielle latched onto each other so quickly, and became inseparable.”

The retelling had seemed a little painful at first, but it was easy to see that Jazz was at least content with the way her family life was now. It wasn’t perfect, but then again families never were. Jason couldn’t help notice the tone of voice she took when talking about her parents favoring her siblings. She didn’t seem too upset, but there definitely wasn’t complete indifference to the facts. “...Does it make you upset? Having your siblings be your parents’ favorites?” he couldn’t help asking.

Jazz could only snicker at the question, falling quiet for a beat before answering. “Sometimes,” she admitted, then looked over with a mildly mischievous grin that made Jason semi think of Danielle. “But then I remember I’m Danny’s favorite, and I’m usually okay.”

The proud declaration made Jason snicker, glad to hear she had at least one thing keeping her from devolving into jealousy. She didn’t seem to want to talk much more though, and Jason wanted to leave the conversation on a happier note and therefore didn’t ask about the ‘Guys in White’ Danielle had mentioned before. So instead, after another stretch of quiet, he just chose to reassure her. “... He’ll be okay.”

Jazz didn’t answer immediately, drawing in a sigh and letting it go. She seemed to be doing much better as the day had stretched on, handling the news that Danny had poison throughout his bloodstream much better than the suggestion of drawing his blood. And being reassured that he would be okay, she gained a smile. “... He better be,” she commented, gaining a glint in her eye that Jason had seen in others he knew. “Otherwise the government back home will have to deal with a new super villain family.”

The comment only caught Jason slightly off guard, eyes widening just for a moment as he looked at Jazz before bursting into a hearty laugh. “Fair enough,” he agreed. The son of a family getting killed by the government was a legit enough back story for super villains in his opinion.

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lil bit of home situation dump and hopefully the last bit of the part that was giving me trouble. Nice to get to draw Jason without the suit XD though I almost forgot to draw the bandage on his fingers.

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Tag list: @galaxy-sharks-and-bottled-ships, @starscreamlover, @nerdynonnativenarnian, @dragongoblet, @megacharizardx99

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[incorrectbatfam]

Who would be the batfam's platonic soulmates? Wrong answers

Dick: Jason

Jason: Dick

Tim: Konbartcassie

Damian: his pets

Duke: his ultra-rare Beyblade

Cullen: his student discounts

Stephanie: the waitress that calls her "sugar"

Cassandra: herself

Barbara: NordVPN

Harper: the drumstick she caught at a concert

Carrie: Build-A-Bear

Kate: flannel

Alfred: his own cookies

Selina: the access codes to the British Museum

Bruce: his orphan menagerie

[zahri-melitor]

The thing that actually most frustrates me about Damian's pets is not only that it's turned into a gratuitous menagerie that only show up en masse because it's now turned into 'Damian likes animals, give him another pet' without considering how many he already has, but that the basis of a good story already existed before we ended up where we are today.

The problem is that we wouldn't be in the situation we are today with them if not for Grant Morrison.

Because look, if you read Batman and Robin 2011 on its own, Tomasi and Gleason do a solid job of using Titus as a route to demonstrate Damian's growing responsibility and ability to show affection and connect with Bruce. Titus is explicitly framed as a responsibility, as 'a boy and his dog', and one dog around the Wayne household is pretty common (usually an Ace). It's the opening steps to more story about Damian trusting others.

If Damian loved animals and stopped to play with kittens in alleys and just had Titus at home, we wouldn't be in this situation.

Bat-Cow, and honestly Alfred the Cat, are what caused the problem.

Bat-Cow as a concept is inherent Silver Age ridiculousness (what a surprise from Morrison), but also Damian saving a milking cow who is being sent to an abattoir is far more of a demonstration of what we end up getting, which is what looks like a possessive level of hoarding. Damian not only saves the cow, but wants it installed in the Cave, even though that is a terrible environment to keep a cow in, and there's very little point in having a cow living on the Wayne property. And what annoys me more is that nobody will let the cow just quietly disappear off panel never to reappear again (she's at least now been on a 'farm' since Joker War and Bruce losing Wayne Manor).

Alfred the Cat irritates me in that he's just a duplicate story to Titus, only done with less effort and entirely because Grant Morrison never reads anyone else's work AND Morrison wanted to give Damian a pet to humanise him right before killing him off. Alfred is a narrative device and annoys me because a good editor would have had Morrison just use Titus instead, who could have hit very similar beats, rather than Damian acquiring three separate pets in just over a year of comics, right before dying (and as far as Morrison was concerned, dying permanently). A pet is for life, not just a reward because you're getting killed.

And from there on, it's just turned into 'oh Damian likes animals!' so we get Goliath and Jerry the Turkey (who I believe recently emigrated to main canon in the last few years rather than being in Lil Gotham). And the story doesn't know what to do with so many animals, so they disappear entirely aside from occasional art cameos, Super-Pets stories, and about one story beat ever 3-5 years. He's endlessly going through the story of 'why' he acquired a pet to humanise him, rather than being humanised by playing with a long term pet.

There's also a narrative problem where we never actually ever see Damian caring for his animals (outside of Titus and occasionally Alfred the Cat), but what scenes we do get of people looking after the animals are all scenes of Alfred and Bruce checking in on them because Damian's not available. So while the dialogue in those scenes tends to be 'oh Damian would normally be doing this but'... we don't see Damian doing it. We only see Alfred and Bruce doing it. Or Maya, who's looking after Goliath. And given how often Damian runs off to find himself on an island, a lot of that pet care over the years has been from Alfred and Bruce, because he's not been living at home.

And yes, there's also the issue that Damian And His Pets is rather similar to the self-centred position Damian has on his various clones. He considers his clones his brothers; but the narrative is frequently setting that up in a manner that suggests this is grace that Damian especially extends to them because they are his clones. It's not really grappling with the concepts of extending that care and humanism to people or animals that are not 'his'.

It's just endlessly frustrating to me, because if Damian just had Titus, I think both Titus would appear on panel more often (and thus have more narrative use), and there would be the potential to build further plots out from Titus, if writers wanted to explore the themes around what pet ownership can demonstrate.

[alneedssleep]

Pets I want added to Damian Wayne's menagerie

A snake

A gecko (can be a bunch of the the Itty-bitty ones or one big one idc)

Button quail (because I have them and they are fucking adorable)

A spider

A mini sheep

A goat

A crow or raven

A savannah cat (serval/house cat hybrid)

(These are all pets I want but can't have? I have no idea what your talking about?)

[fleetsparrow]

Jason: So, this is my family.

Jason: There's Dick, he's perfect.

Dick: *hanging upside-down from something that shouldn't hold him, angrily arguing with someone on the phone*

Jason: There's Damian, he's my murder pal.

Damian: *casually and calmly petting his ever-growing menagerie, ignoring his siblings*

Jason: That's Tim. He's a gremlin.

Tim: *literally asleep standing up, eyes open*

Jason: And this is Bruce, my dad.

Bruce: *barely restraining himself from hugging Jason because he called him "dad"*

X: I thought you had a sister?

Jason: That would be Cass.

X: Where's she?

Jason: Behind you.

Cass: *tiniest voice* boo

X: *jumps 3 feet in the air*

Jason & Cass: *fist-bump*

[glorified-red]

Waking up to 10 thousand alerts on my phone for tumblr from you being asked medieval would you rather questions with Tim and Damian is probably the most hilarious thing ever and has sent my mind spiraling. So, I have decided to throw my lil top hat in the ring. 🌝

Would you rather be a pampered Queen with King! Tim but have to deal with several political struggles and wars as others try to intrude on the land.

Or would you rather be a regular civilian with a Damian who has decided to give up being an heir to the throne; you aren’t super wealthy but you two own a menagerie of exotic pets and creatures (but since you are in the same kingdom of Tim’s it is at risk of being pillaged due to the political mess going on).

Saku!! My love!!

No literally, I woke up this morning and on top of my phone blowing up over the SuperBat post (1500 notes?? wow??) I saw 12 asks after spending the previous night JUST cleaning out my inbox, I think I stared at my phone in awe for ten minutes.

I love getting to interact with you guys so much, I literally started a writing blog dreaming of the day I'd get random thoughts in my inbox to just talk to you guys so I am in heaven right now.

Also?? you have my notifs on??? 🥺 you are a strong soldier if you get a notification everytime i go on a reblog spree, good luck bestie.

Onto the WYR:

This is such a tough choice becaue they both suck 💀

On one hand, as royalty, youd live a pampered life but man the weight and pressure of the crown would make you wish you didn't. Tim is a very politically savvy King and I stand by that, if anyone can get the kingdrom through a potential war, itll be him. He is the definition of a negotiator and then a calculated menace if that doesnt work.

He'd get to the source and talk his way through it and if that didn't change the tide, he'd personally lead a legion to tear it down. Your job at this time is to be his voice of reason, to let him know all the sides of the stories. But more importantly, he needs breaks, he needs the weight of the crown to lesson and that's when you'll step in.

Whereas with Damian, when he gives up the life of royalty you two create a wonderful home for just the two of you and its beautiful. Problem is, politics suck and at any moment your home could be destroyed. Damian is prepared for the worst the second he catches wind of whats going on.

He's more than ready to pick up his life once again and move some place else, so long as he has you, he'll be happy. So if things really turn sideways, you will just get another chance to make a home even more beautiful than before.

But the pets >< I dont wanna think about Damian having to sell them, my heart will literally break.

And for that, Imma go with Tim because I can cuddle him and be rationale and thats easier to me than having to watch Damian sell his pets.

[l0uk45]

Green Lantern: Wait, why doesn't Batman ever put in a vacation slot for Gotham?

Superman: Wait, you WANT to go to Gotham?!

GL: I mean, he went to Atlantis for God's sake, and didn't even ask for a swap in Gotham! I mean, I would never think Batsy Works-Alone McGee would willingly leave his city without defenses.

Wonder Woman: You think Batman's the only vigilante of Gotham City?

GL: Yeah? Why, is there someone else in Gotham?

Wonder Woman, has met all the Robins, Batwoman, Batwing, both Batgirls, Alfred and all of Damian's menagerie of pets: Well...

Superman, has met and interviewed all the teams the Robins started and lead: About that...

GL: How many?

WW: I mean, there's also like half his rogue's gallery, didn't you run into Harley cosplaying as Batman that one time?

SM: And Mister Freeze, yeah, you'd be surprised by how many good people Gotham turned into bad guys.

Zatanna: It's the ten curses on that city. I still have no idea why anyone even settled there...

GL: I'm sorry, did you say CURSES?!

Quick headcanon that at some point, the Justice League makes a time-off calendar for every time a leaguer is busy and needs someone to keep their city safe while they’re gone. Maybe they have a work trip or a family thing or even some vacation they planned.

All a hero has to do is request time off, and another member will sub in while they’re gone. The only problem is that it creates a pattern. It would be suspicious if Green Arrow is only replaced when Oliver Queen is on a business trip, right? So to keep the public on their toes, JL members are encouraged to take a random day off each month or so and switch out with no rhyme or reason. Just any random day, any random hour.

The outcome is complete chaos.

Clark Kent has the pleasure of interviewing Wonder Woman at the scene of a car chase she just stopped in Metropolis.

Some muggers in Star City are scooped up into a giant glowing cage while Green Lantern riddles off bird puns to an exasperated Black Canary.

A team of robbers hit a bank in Central City but get roasted by Plastic Man for their poor their safe-cracking skills as they’re taken into custody.

Black Manta uses his high tech weaponry to wreak havoc in the Atlantic only to be hit with a torpedo as the Bat-Sub dives towards him at full speed.

Cyborg is lecturing a group of teen vandals in Fawcett City when Captain Marvel just waltzes up, says, “I’m tapping back in,” and continues the lecture where he left off.

Complete. And. Utter. Chaos. No one knows who will show up at the scene now, not even the cops, but criminals are scared shitless.

The JL decides to keep the calendar. If only for entertainment.

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

at this point with the amount of animals damian has he could get a mini-mansion and get rooms for them all there

Damian’s presentation on the subject did not yield the expected (by him) results

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Con Man's Daughter (4)

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3) (Here) (Part 5)

-------

While 8-eight-year old Marinette waited at her father’s house for their weekly lessons, John was running a little late because somebody got into trouble with the supernatural and he was cleaning it up as fast as he could. The life of a warlock.

John thought he managed to trap the spirit/ ancient thing but underestimated how powerful it was. It was lying in wait to get revenge on John.

John comes home, dragging a heavy chest which had the trapped thing inside it.

“Sweetheart, I am home.”

“Dad! What took you so long?”

“Sorry, sweetheart. This bloo- er I mean this entity was just difficult to catch. This chest now contains a powerful and ancient demon which should never be released so you can’t open it.”

“Like Pandora’s box.”

“Exactly”

Turns out that ‘demon’ was the infamous Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, the Great Sage who was equal to Heaven, blah blah blah... who managed to break the chest open at that moment from the inside, was pretty pissed at being locked into a chest. A very extravagant one but nonetheless, he hated being trapped. (I just want to say for the record that I had binged the Overly Sarcastic Production of Journey to the West and I want everyone to know about it.)

He grabbed Marinette and took her with him.

John is left behind, cursing and blaming himself for being a terrible father and letting a demon, contained or not near his daughter. He began tracking spells to find out where the monkey king had taken her. He didn’t look forward to telling Sabine about this. When he got his hands on that demon, he was going to rip it into bloody shreds before sending it to hell.

They ended up in one of Sun’s old haunts, a clearing filled with fruit trees, left untouched for years by magical means.

Marinette asked who he was and was definitely excited to find out that he was the Sun Wukong. She heard stories of him from her mother’s relatives, her great uncle had told stories about him to entertain the kids during the annual family reunions.

She babbled on and on about Sun's amazing feats and asked if he actually did it.

Sun was happy to have a little fan and it was doing nice things to his ego.He gave her details that were not known by anyone. Internally he was like ‘I have this girl for over a day and if anything happens to her, I would kill everyone and then myself.’

She later asked if the dragons still existed and Sun took her to a river where one of the not man-eating dragons lived.

Too bad that he was gone for over a few decades and he didn’t get the memo that the river was now occupied by a very vicious dragon who loves human meat very much.

Seeing the little girl at the river, it didn’t hesitate to kidnap Marinette, ignoring who she was with.

Wukong was angry that someone was kidnapped under his nose again and a quick flashback to his journey to the West days. A few moments later, the dragon was killed.

They later found out that the dragon had an egg. Which Sun gladly let Marinette keep. Giving a few tips on taking care of a dragon when it hatches.

Soon, Marinette wanted to go home to which he surprisingly took her back, unable to deny her puppy eyes.

John came home from another wild goose chase to find Marinette to see her asleep on his couch, hugging an egg.

That’s how John had a red dragon the size of a raccoon in addition to a hellhound in his house. It doesn’t help that Sun Wukong would come around from time to time and steal Marinette away for an ‘adventure’

Although she does come back unscathed everytime to his immense relief and to his annoyance, with a new animal in tow from time to time. His house was going to be a bloody zoo at this rate. Sun gets a kick out of seeing the blond man’s eye twitch every time Marinette happily brings home a new ‘pet’. That’s what you get for trapping the 'Great Sage equal to Heaven' in a box.

At least John doesn’t have a hard time tracking down rare creatures for potion ingredients like a phoenix feather, unicorn horn powder or Nemean Lion fur which sheds all over the place and he has to clean up once a week..

------

Marinette would usually show off a new non-magical trick she learned from the internet or Aunty Z during lunch to her friends. Max would often try to figure out how she did certain tricks.

It was a game between them. Max would be given a week to figure out how she pulled it off. He would tell her his theories on how she did it and if he got it right, she would bring Max’s favourite snacks from the bakery to school the next day. If he still couldn’t figure it out, he would do her homework for the day and the trick would forever remain a secret.

There was this one time where Kim of all people, figured out how she did it, to the shock of everyone and Marinette brought in Kim’s favourite cookies the next day.

It turned into a thing where everyone in the class (and a few from other classes) would try to figure it out and when they couldn’t, they would pool money to buy the winner’s favourite treat for everyone (or a roll of fabric in Marinette’s case.)

Chloe tries to hide that she is interested in how the tricks are done and pass off her theories to Sabrina.

When Alya and Adrien joined, Alya would at first push hard to make Marinette crack and tell her. Later she joined the others in solving it with conspiracy boards when all her attempts failed.

Adrien would get a few right, due to his homeschooled days when he was obsessed with magic tricks and watched every video on how it was done. (He also wanted to have something to talk about with his cousin when his aunt visits.) He also doesn’t know how much things actually cost and always ends up covering the entire thing for everyone.

------

Marinette and Alix were best friends a few years before Alya ever came into the picture. And Alix is the only one who knows about Marinette doing actual magic and not the illusions and sleight of hand kind.

It started with Alix mentioning how her brother thinks the new relic in the museum is supposedly haunted because he saw a ghost near it and there being a supposed curse attached to it.

Marinette being a rebellious and reckless teenager, wanting to put her skills to the test and proving to her father that she can do it after John told her that no, she wasn’t allowed to go with him and get rid of a spirit.

She got Alix to let her in after visiting hours were over.

They snuck to where the exhibit was displayed.

Marinette recognised what the relic is from a book once she saw it and knew what she had to do.

She tried to make Alix leave and the shorter girl was insistent on not leaving her alone.

Before they knew it, the ghostly figure appeared and they were sprawled on the floor outside the room where the relic was after being thrown out. The ghostly figure looked like a soldier of an ancient civilization (Aztec, Han Dynasty, Indian, Egyptian, Babylonian, take your pick I was too lazy to do research for it) and was standing beside the relic as a guard. Their weapon on standby.

Alix groaned, “I will never hear the end of it from Jalil about this.”

Marinette started to run towards the warrior, reciting a spell.

Unfortunately it backfired and sent Marinette into the air again.

Alix basically demands Marinette to explain and Marinette gives her the rundown about ghosts and demons being actually real and that she learned about it from her biological father who is an expert on these kinds of stuff.

It took a long time (An hour and a half at most) but in the end, the ghost warrior was gone after Alix’s quick thinking about the history of the place where the relic came from and serving as the distraction while Marinette summoned the spirit of the monarch who originally ordered the warrior to guard the relic to dismiss him from his duty which it worked.

Alix promised to keep what she now knew as a secret.

A week later, Alix told everyone at lunch about a new exhibition that supposedly brings bad luck to those who come in contact with it and was brought into the museum this morning. She later invited Marinette over to check it out.

-----

It changed into a regular meet-up where they looked through newspapers and internet forums for supernatural sightings in Paris and checked it out during the weekends.

Sometimes, they get into life-threatening situations but they manage to get out of it each time with a few scrapes and bruises which they pass off as injuries from skating and parkour.

------

John found out that his daughter was in the ‘family business’ when he unexpectedly showed up in Paris after a portal mishap. (Roughly a year or two before Hawkmoth)

He went to the Dupain-Cheng bakery for a visit and Sabine told him that Marinette was out with a friend.

He went out to a nearby convenience store (what is the Walmart or Tesco equivalent over there?) and bought some silk-cut cigarettes.

John was in front of the store, trying to make his lighter light up and the next thing he knew, an earthquake happened. But it was no ordinary earthquake. This particular one was caused by the roar of a Minotaur. An angry one.

A shopping cart pulled by a unicorn whizzed down the street, occupied by three girls. The pink-haired girl was waving a club and yelling insults. The one, with black hair with purple streaks, looked terrified, hanging on for dear life but seemed to be having fun. A very familiar face was in the front holding the reins of the cart.

Marinette and John made a brief eye contact before the shopping cart continued on its way and around a corner.

The Minotaur chased after the cart.

“Bloody Hell.” John muttered as he put away his unlit cigarette to chase after his wayward daughter.

“Merde!" Marinette cursed along with a few others that she heard her mother say as she realized that her father was in Paris and just saw her getting into magical shenanigans. Which he explicitly told her not to do.

She was totally grounded.

Usually she would postpone these adventures out with Alix when her father was in the country. She was careful to not let anything about it slip. (Bribing demons with cookies for their silence worked, who knew. Plus she didn’t even have to sell her soul.)

To start from the beginning of how they got here, Juleka wanted to explore the catacombs and Alix and Marinette had tagged along because they had recently found some news about people disappearing in them and didn’t want their friend to disappear too.

After they accidentally stumbled into the lair of one famous Greek mythological beast, Alix made it angrier by grabbing its club and hitting it on the head so they could make their escape.

It chased them to the surface. Marinette got rid of all the illusions of being a normal girl (not that there were much to begin with) in front of Juleka and summoned her pet unicorn while Alix commandeered a shopping cart left outside a store to use as a chariot. (The unicorn name is Mocha due to the shade of its coat being the same colour as the Mocha macarons that her parents make. Its horn was a rose gold colour.)

John managed to track down the girls and the creature to a skate park.

Alix was now riding the unicorn and using a metal pipe as a jousting stick against the Minotaur who now had his club back.

Juleka was on the sideline, standing on the overturned shopping cart with a guitar, adjusting the strings and ignoring what was happening in front of her. (It’s Luka's. Anarka didn’t even blink an eye at the shopping cart pulled by a horse that dropped her daughter off who grabbed the guitar and shouted at her that she will be back for dinner before jumping back into it.)

His daughter, the reason he might die of a heart attack in his thirties, was yelling nonsensical phrases in what sounds like Spanish as she waved around a bright red coat around like a bull-fighter and nimbly dodged the Minotaur when he charged at her.

“I am ready.” Juleka shouted.

On her signal, Marinette threw her coat towards the charging Minotaur with a spell which made the coat wrap itself around the Minotaur like a red straightjacket.

As the creature struggled against its new bonds, Juleka strummed a lullaby on her guitar but the lyrics however were to Jagged Stone’s newest single, Labyrinth which was oddly fitting.

The creature soon became sleepy and slowly stopped struggling before it fell asleep.

Marinette whispered a spell to the Minotaur which made its eyes glow from under its eyelids and then waved her hand, her coat returned to her. She opened a portal on the ground beside the Minotaur which showed a stack of hay in some dark underground place on the other side. John guessed it was the Minotaur’s lair.

The three of them pushed the Minotaur to no avail until Mocha the unicorn and John helped them.

Despite being shoved and falling from five feet, the creature didn’t stir, not even when Alix dropped its club on it. A very exhausted Marinette closed the portal and used the other two as support to remain standing. Not really wanting to face her dad on top of everything.

“Hi. Dad, how are you doing? I didn’t know that you were in Paris.” She faced him with an innocent smile on her face.

“I had some magic mishap and ended up here. I decided to visit my darling daughter while I was in the neighbourhood. And can you just imagine how I felt when I found her doing the one thing I told her not to?”

“There was more than one thing you told me not to do. But that’s not what you want me to say, is it?” Marinette avoided looking at her dad who gave her the look, “Umm...do not make deals with demons?”

“Yes, that is true. But your sass is not appreciated, young lady. I have told you to not involve yourself with magic. As for the demons, Gowther had a few choice words regarding you.”

“You know!?”

“Of course, I do. I visited him a while back and he told me all about his very brief visit to earth. As your parent, I have to say….. I am very proud of you, Marinette.”

“I know that the holy water thing was a bit far but… wait what?”

“I am proud of you, kid.”

“Hold up. You are not mad or disappointed? Is this some reverse psychology thing?” Marinette said, internally panicking.

“Nope.” John grinned “That’s your mother’s job. And you know that she’s not going to like this. My job is to clean up messes and protect you as much as I can. By the way, tricking a demon to drink holy water instead of alcohol was brilliant. I couldn’t have done it better myself.”

“How about me doing magic?”

“I am a little mad about that. But you were never going to listen to me about that anyways. At least you are not robbing a bank using your powers.”

“About that...Alix and I broke into the bank last month.”

“You what?”

“We had to get a magic coin for that annoying leprechaun.”

“Oh. I need to know more later but let me rephrase. As long as you are using it for the right reasons, helping people and not turning into a power-hungry sociopath, I am fine with it. But I want you to call me when you can’t handle it. I don’t want you to needlessly sacrifice yourself and overwork yourself like you just did.”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“Alright then, try standing on your own without your friends holding you up. Come on. Prove it.”

“...”

------

Juleka only sometimes tags along on the other two girls’ adventures, staying behind more often despite the numerous invitations and is usually the one to find new cases for them to check out.

Marinette would leave texts of where she is going and call her father when demons are involved or when she is overwhelmed like she promised. (Alix is the one to make the calls often because Marinette is stubborn at times.)

Sabine is well aware of what Marinette gets up to with Alix during their ‘sleepovers’. John told her after the Minotaur.

Marinette was grounded for a while but was allowed to continue her shenanigans afterwards with Alix on the condition that it doesn’t affect her grades because they all knew that Marinette was still going to do it anyways. (John muttered under his breath that at least she’s still in school.)

-----

(Part 5)

Taglist: @vixen-uchiha, @laurcad123, @pale-lady-dreamer, @frieddonutsweets, @demonicbusiness

[preterit-peril]

As American Thanksgiving approaches Damian would like to remind everyone that any attempt to eat his pets will result in severe bodily harm

[blade-liger-4ever]

If Dick has a dog, and Damian has an entire menagerie, then I propose Jason should get a pet as well.

Preferably a big meat eater.

I never realized how much I needed this episode

[dramatic-squirrel]

Daminette December Day 22- Flatter

@maribat-calendar-events

In the front of the class, Ms. Bustier lectured about the literary merit of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, not that Marinette paid much attention to her. Instead her focus was on her desk mate, she peaked another glance at Damian. There was something off about him today, well… that was usually something off about him. Only Chloe and Felix rivaled Damian’s awful personality most days, but somehow he seemed… quieter than usual. Although that still wasn’t quite right. It was difficult to put it into words, just that Marinette knew something was off with Damian.

Thirty minutes in, she couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe she was just curious but I bet every other miraculous holder would call her a nosy meddler. Tapping his shoulder with her pencil, she got his attention and wrote out a question on a blank page of her notebook.

Are you ok? He glanced at the words then ignored her, returning his focus on Ms. Bustier and that’s when Marinette knew something was wrong. Normally he would have mocked her concern as superficially and insincere.

Solving this problem would be difficult though. Her normal process of helping people involved talking about their problems and helping to find solutions. Damian didn’t even tell people his name until three days after he joined the class and even then he only relented because he was annoyed at being called “USA” by Kim and everyone that followed suit. 

The idea of a pun or joke crossed her mind, although she wasn’t sure Damian would appreciate humor. Besides, that was more of Chat Noir’s specialty than hers. Thinking hard, a memory came across her mind. Of the last time her parents found her freaking out in her room about being Ladybug, not that they knew that, and the perfect words came to mind.

I know you won’t tell me what’s going on, and you probably think I’m being nosy here, but I felt that I should remind you that out of everybody in this classroom, and everybody I’ve personally met, you're stronger than all of them. Physically and mentally. I’m sure you’ll get over whatever it is that’s bugging you. The words sounded cliched to Marinette, but she was a designer not a poet. For good measure, she drew a cartoon of a cat in the corner of the note, then tapped Damian on the shoulder again. 

This time when he looked over and read the note, the tiniest smile appeared. That was already a big enough shock to Marinette’s system, she wasn’t aware that Damian could smile at all, but what happened next almost made her fall out of her chair. Damian picked up his pencil and drew next to her cat a menagerie of animals. She wasn’t sure what she wrote that made him so happy, but she was glad to see him feeling better.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nothing had been going well since coming to Paris. He couldn’t bring his pets, he had to go back to high school again, and he didn’t even need to be here since the Parisian superheroes already got rid of the smuggling ring based in the city. Today was worse than usual, since he received a call from his father informing him that he couldn’t leave until he finished out the semester in Paris. His father’s reasoning was that Damian could use more time around regular kids and less time being a vigilante.

It stung a little that his father still believed him to be volatile and in need of changing. Personally, Damian didn’t see why he needed to conform to those standards, he just wished that his father thought the same. 

As he brooded over these recent events, a tap on his shoulder caught his attention. Turning he saw his desk mate Marinette Dupain-Cheng, then she started writing in her notebook and turned it to him to look at. All it said was a simple Are you ok? Which he chose to ignore. He didn’t see how his state of being mattered to her, or rather, he knew why it mattered, he just didn’t want to entertain her obsession with making everything better.

Five minutes later, he was tapped on the shoulder again, and this time he saw a paragraph already written out in the notebook. I know you won’t tell me what’s going on, and you probably think I’m being nosy here, but I felt that I should remind you that out of everybody in this classroom, and everybody I’ve personally met, you're stronger than all of them. Physically and mentally. I’m sure you’ll get over whatever it is that’s bugging you. It was cheesy, but the sentiment and the little cat that reminded him of Alfred lifted his mood a bit. 

If he was honest with himself, he missed Alfred, Batcow, Titus, Goliath, even Jerry. So before he even knew it, he began drawing the rest of them next to the cat that Marinette had made. He also had to admit that maybe it wouldn’t be such an awful thing to spend some time in Paris afterall. At the very least, he might be able to join the Parisian superheroes on patrol, without his father’s knowledge of course. He glanced at Marinette who had a self-satisfied look upon her face. His peers in Paris were certainly better than those he had in Gotham, with the exception of Jon of course.

[damiraezine]

Hey there, sailors! The Ordinary Worlds DamiRae 2022 Zine is coming along wonderfully, and this year the creator community has decided that all proceeds from are to be donated to Humane Society International. Check them out here!

For full transparency, here's their rating on Charity Navigator.

For fun, feel free to comment or reblog calling out your favorite pet in Damian Wayne's menagerie!