#a world where cass never went evil

[fleshwizard]

Dragons & Folklore de France

Translation below

The Tarasque dwells in the waters of the Rhone river near the town of Tarascon, where it devours travelers and destroys dikes and dams to flood the Camargue. Saint Martha chained it, and the people of Tarascon killed it.

The ruins of the amphitheaters of Metz were infested by hundreds of snakes. The largest of them, the Graoully, had a venomous breath, a mouth bigger than its body and devoured men. Saint Clement chased it away into the Seille River.

King of serpents, the Basilisk takes many forms throughout history and appears in many tales. One of them takes place at the Gate of Saint-Eloi in Bordeaux, known today for its Big Bell, where a well was occupied by a Basilisk. It petrified with its gaze anyone who went there to fetch water. It was defeated by a man returning from the Egyptian crusade, who petrified the beast with its own gaze using a mirail (mirror).

The Cocatrix is born from a rooster's egg incubated by a toad. The egg has magical properties but must not be broken. People who cross its gaze die immediatly.

Made of wicker and covered in flowers, the Grand Bailla wanders the streets of Reims three days a year and feeds on gold and sweets. It was banished by Archbishop Charles Maurice le Tellier.

The Grand'Goule haunts the marshes of Poitou, the waters of the Clain and the flooded cellars of the abbey of Sainte Croix. It feeds on nuns and casse-museaux (snout-breakers, cakes). Saint Radegonde chased it away with holy water.

In the rivers of the Jura and the Alps there is a group of diverse dragons, the Vouivres. They are generally flying serpents covered in fire and guardians of treasures. Many have for a single eye a gigantic carbuncle with extraordinary powers, desired by those in search of wealth and power.

Hidden in the caves and cliffs of la Pointe du Roux near La Rochelle, the Rô Beast traps and devours travelers in the coastal marshes. It was impaled by seven heroic pagans from the seas.

Mythical dragon of the Basque Country, Herensuge gave birth to the Sun and the Moon, swallowed all of Creation in ten days then regurgitated it in flames. Now asleep in the mountains, it sucks up flocks and shepherds in his sleep. When it wakes up, it will destroy the world in flames and blood. (illustration)

Durandal is the mythical sword that Charlemagne gave to the knight Roland. Some claim that it was inherited from Hector, the warrior of the Trojan War. At war with the Saracens in the Pyrenées, Roland wanted to break the sword so that it would not fall into the hands of the enemy but Durandal split the mountain. So he threw the sword, which went to stick miles away, in the rock of the town of Rocamadour.

The belief in the Tooth Fairy is widespread in several countries in Europe, and is sometimes amalgamated with La Petite Souris (little mouse). It exchanges baby teeth for money. No one knows what it does with all these teeth.

The Camecruse is a bogeyman that haunts the moors and marshes of Gascony. It is agile, can jump and hide in the night to better devour lost children. No one knows exactly how it feeds.

The caves under the hill of the town of Hastingues are home to Lou Carcolh, a monstrous snail, long, slimy and hairy. Its shell is as big as a house. With the help of its tentacles, it grips people to devour them.

The Questing Beast is hunted by kings and heroes in Arthurian legends. It symbolizes evil, incest, violence and chaos, and takes it name from the loud noises that come out of its stomach, similar to the barking of dozens of dogs.

The fairy Mélusine, cursed princess of Albania, was condemned to change into a snake below the waist every Saturday. She married Raymondin de Lusignan with whom they had 10 prodigious children. But Raymondin broke his promise never to see Mélusine on Saturday : he surprised her in her monstrous form, and she left her family forever.

[aingeal98]

I think there's a misconception among some fans who mostly get their characterisation from ao3, that the reason Cass and Jason wouldn't get along is that Jason kills people and Cass hates murderers. And like. You're 50% right but the key context being ignored is that Cass would literally fight to defend the right of a serial killer to live and change like she believes desperately in second chances no matter how far gone the killer is. She'll knock a man out and break his hand so that he can never shoot and kill someone again but if she sees someone feel bad about their kill or even like. Hesitate to hurt a child. She is all over that like she will fight the world just to save this one kind of shitty assassin and give them a second chance at life where they can do better.

Whereas Jason believes that sometimes there are bad people that are simply too far gone, too much of a force of evil hurting and draining actual innocents. And the best way to deal with scumbags like that is a bullet. He feels that some people don't deserve to live, and he's comfortable ending their lives. Judge, jury and executioner. Because no one else is going to kill these people and they deserve to die so that they can never hurt any victims again.

Of course all of this is kind of irrelevant in current canon since dc basically skipped over the reconciliation and development and went yeah Jason is a batfam member and he doesn't kill anymore. So currently in canon none of this conflict of ideals is likely to be addressed. But a lot of people are interested in writing fics that actually detail the steps of reconciliation which is great and I love those fics. I've just also noticed a trend of fumbling a little when it comes to Cass.

Because the root cause as to why they wouldn't get along is not just because Jason kills people. If Jason was a random crime lord Cass would probably try to help him get free of Gotham and start over somewhere else. Killing people and having conflicting emotions about it is the easiest way to get Cass willing to be your number one sponsor at murderer rehabilitation anonymous. It's Jason being someone personal to the family, and someone who believes that some deaths need to happen, as long as the person is sufficiently repulsive enough to Jason. Or even just as a means to an end to prove a larger point, if they're pathetic and evil enough. That's what would make Cass see red, because she projects herself on every single killer and Jason dismissing the possibility of redemption for them, writing them off as deserving of death, clashes fundamentally with not just everything Cass believes in, but also her whole sense of self. Of course it's not that deep for Jason like he's not going to believe Cass should die because she killed someone as a child. But for Cass is simply IS that deep and you throw in the fact that they're both Bruce's kids and yeah. They can maybe be civil in a room together with the family right up until one of them actually talks. Because like 99% of what they could say is guaranteed to touch a nerve for the other.

It's like: Damian says something hilarious and rude towards Jason and Jason jokes about that time he shot him and Cass immediately connects that with him not feeling bad about shooting Damian and starts grilling him as to why. Because Damian's Bruce's son? Or because he's a killer? Or just to get to the rest of the family? And Dick, Duke and Tim are so tired like Alfred cooked a nice meal can we all just eat pie for one night without having to listen to you two go at it.

Tim: I've literally shot you before do you think maybe we can cool it on fighting about Jason's personal ethics tonight. Because generally that ends with me in pain even if I do nothing but sit here.

Cass: You shot me with consent. Different.

Jason: How are you even more obnoxious than Bruce? Do you ever get tired of being so exhausting to be around with your bullshit righteousness?

Cass: If you're tired I can knock you out. Nice nap for you and fun for me.

Dick: And that's ten minutes in a room together before any threats of physical harm start flying around! Great job you two, a new personal record.

[brucewaynehater101]

Fake Uncle is brilliant! Love it!

Bruce: so the uncle was real?

Tim: yup

Bruce: but he's an evil uncle???

Tim: yup

Bruce: why did you never tell me??

Tim *blinks: it never came up. Duh.

Well, for the Drakes. I was thinking they'd be aliens as well. But even within their culture they were aloof. Like maybe as strategists but not someone with a family circle. They had no clue what to do with a child. But, their king handed them a baby with his final breath. Earth looked safe, so that's where they went.

I'm sure they were baffled by earth human customs. I imagine raising children is different on earth. They were, however, good at negotiations, so they worked their way up the social ladder, hoping to give Tim a better life (not quite princely, but close).

I really like the idea about them searching for artifacts to teach Tim about their home!!! Good idea!! I'll have to use that!

The Drakes tried, but I think they mostly threw money at Tim. New bike? Sure. Want to learn Mandarin? Why not? Want a new nanny cause the last one was rude? Of course, your highness! Immediately!

New nannies happened all the time because timbo was a brat and fired them for petty stuff as a little kid.

Kori would be a fun add-on! Maybe she offers Tim slightly wrong advice culturally.

K: -and do this! It's very important!

T: does it.

Staff: Noooooo! This is WRONG!

T and K: confused.

Tim was trained that he was a prince, but he also was taught that it was very, very unlikely that he would take the throne. (The Drakes died later)

EXACTLY! That's along the lines I was thinking, but I'm not super great at making up funny traditions yet. Lol.

You are CORRECT about Tim "not being able to change rules" and "unstable position". It makes sense for the AU.

Ridiculous subjects are in the plan!

Subject: I have brought you this gift Your Highness. *bows with jar of slime.

Tim*is concerned: it's moving?!

Subject *shocked: Of course, Highness! I would only bring you alive Grummk!

Tim: .....ok....thank you?

Damian would be fascinated and JEALOUS me thinks.

I am so vibing with the Drakes trying their best and being so clueless as well. I'd love to see a scene or two of Janet and Jack just arguing with each other as toddler Tim causes chaos in the background.

Janet: "Is he climbing the tree in the backyard?"

Jack: "Yeah. I saw an article about human kids and trees or something."

Janet: "Is he climbing the tree that the gardener sectioned off for safety?"

Jack: "Yes?"

Janet: ".... I'm sure it'll be fine."

Tim ended up with a broken arm.

I liked the court scene you had! Stuff like that would be hilarious to read ^^

Are there any differences between Tim/the Drakes and humans? It would be funny if it's something small, especially that all humans have (like the ability to taste cinnamon or something). Just traits that Tim is able to get away with by leaning into his "I was neglected by my 'parents' and thus have no clue how to do normal human things like the human I totally am." Any physical traits (like a blue birthmark) could be cool as well.

Tim, if you wanted, could also bond with Kara and Clark about being an alien raised on Earth.

I think Damian could become an advisor for Tim. That would be kind of cute to see. They could also bond about being heirs of empires that they thought they would never actually inherit.

Dick could charm/be a court performer if he wanted to do that. Alfred would definitely get his hands on the kitchen staff to ensure Tim is properly being fed. Barbara would beef up Tim's security.

Cass would probably play pranks on Tim's "army" while Steph gathered blackmail on the planet's high society (and pull pranks on the ones that pissed her off).

I don't know enough about Helena Bertinelli, but maybe she would treat it as a fun vacation to intimidate rich people?

Duke might be interested in learning more about Tim's home world and what it's like to space travel. He would also be the one to accidentally set half the castle on fire.

I don't know if you'd like your AU to have all the Bats, but there's some stuff they could do.

[zombielesbean]

Long post incoming! Since my minecraft creative world has been getting a lot of attention lately, I thought I'd do a post about the history of it!

previously I had thought it started in 2018, but looking into it it turns out I started it in 2017, which is the first year I played minecraft before that point, my sibling was really into it, but I'd never really been into it that much. the switch came out in 2017 and we got one pretty close to launch, and, not long after that, minecraft released for the system, and we got it so my sibling could finally play, and I gave it a try myself, too

I ended up getting very into it, my first base was this big building built into the side of a mountain :) after that, I got very into the building aspect of minecraft, much more than I liked survival, so I ended up trying out building in creative mode, and built this big house

it had a pool in the basement and lots of simulated furniture like a sink and refrigerator in the kitchen hehe

after this experience, I realized that building in minecraft creative mode is essentially having an infinite supply of legos, and I'd been really into videos about people's giant lego cities or terrain builds or big model train dioramas, and I realized this was the perfect way for me to get to build my own landscapes and such

and so, I generated a flat world

in minecraft for nintendo switch, you could generate a flat world with structures, plus some trees and water features, so that's what this was

the first thing I did was just, plant a huge forest, with little terraforming, and then I built a giant castle

and then I built a mountain

and then I started building an ocean

and here's just some other things I built around that time:

after that, I didn't play for awhile, until 2018, when they ported bedrock to the switch, and I picked up the game again because the performance improvements were really good, and also, it just spurred me on to play again in general ehe

here's a look at basically the entire world at that point:

not terribly long after that I met @da-mous and we started playing minecraft together and building stuff in this world together :)

After that there was another pretty long hiatus, I didn't really work on it more until 2020

before that it'd basically just been me and my sibling working on the world together, me doing all the terrain and that kind of stuff, and they were adding lil buildings to the village, but after meeting cass I started playing with more friends, such as @bisthefairy, who added trains to the world :)

at this point my plan was to build a big cliffside around the entire area and make it into a big valley, and then build more stuff (like an "evil" village and castle to oppose the "good" one I'd already built), and I'd started work on the cliff on the side of the world where I wanted that castle to be

but shortly after that, the first real breakthrough occurred: cass gave me new tools, using command blocks

she gave me tools that could do things like build a massive pillar of dirt below me every tick down to the world limit, build a massive square sheet of dirt below me, fill in a space with water, or paint blocks in front of me into whatever type of block I wanted

this absolutely changed everything, and the cliff project and the ocean project turned from things that would have taken me weeks or even months to complete working by hand, down to only days

and, my landscape structures no longer had to be simply hollow facades, but they were now solid all the way through and I could more easily make things like caves, too!

things started going so fast after that point, the entirety of the world I had built went from this area:

...to this (above pictured area is circled, and not everything pictured here was already built back then)

everything I had done in the last three years was suddenly dwarfed in only a few months

I finished the cliffs, I finished the ocean, I built a custom desert (based on the high desert in Oregon), I built volcanoes, I built mountain ranges, I built the evil castle, I built villages across the ocean, I built huge sloping plains, I built a huge underground cavern with a fairy village in it and fake stars on the ceiling... my projects had gotten so much bigger and more numerous

some time after this, I had to move to the PC version finally, because of an incident involving 14,000 end crystals being spawned into the world, which ruined my save file by creating an inescapable black hole of frame rate loss, and we needed to fix that lol

but anyway, that opened up a lot to me, I had much greater performance and draw distance, and I could play with using structure blocks to steal things from normally generated minecraft worlds, like buildings and just pieces of already generated landscapes, and the plop them into the world and then smoothly integrate them into my already built world, which was really fun

structures can only be of a certain size at a time too, so I had entire notebook pages dedicated to mapping out the pieces I was taking so I could copy paste them all back together seamlessly, ehe

also now that I was on PC, I started dabbling a little bit in external tools, mostly so that I could change the biomes; as a flat world, the entire world was the plains biome, and that really bugged me

I found one that was, honestly, pretty clunky, but did what I wanted with biomes, and that was pretty cool! there weren't a lot of tools for bedrock back in those days, so I did what I could haha

but, now my desert was actually a desert! it would actually snow on top of my mountains! huzzah! and I also took the opportunity to just copy paste ocean all around my world, so that it would become a continent surrounded by water, and I built a jungle island far away

after that, I played a little bit here and there, but wasn't really focused on it too much, I didn't really play at all in 2022 or 2023, I was just doing gamedev nonstop pretty much all year last year

that is, until Grey Area finally released, and @chemkitt had showed me a really cool mod for java edition called 'axiom' that's made specifically for terrain building, like a supercharged version of cass's command block tools, and the fire to work on my minecraft world was lit anew

it was just like the renaissance that occurred when cassie made those tools, suddenly things that had previously taken weeks now took mere days, I was able to completely finish the continent and surrounding lands in mere hours, built a giant archipelago in only a day, and could now change biomes and copy paste millions of blocks in an instant

finally satisfied with the size of the world, I also figured out how to go into the files and complete another long held dream I'd had for the world, to change it back to a normal minecraft world, and let the outer edges generate like normal, essentially kind of sealing in my world, and making it so that the outer edges are no longer endless nothing, which I felt was kind of creepy ehehe

and that's where we are today! my little flat world has grown so much :) my current project is building a new entire (even bigger!) giant continent to the east of the original, and another, smaller, southern continent as well!

and most recently, I've been building a big flower garden type of place full of lots of trees and foliage over on the original continent :)

it's been so so nice seeing so many people enjoy the work I've done here! I'm hoping to do a whole video tour of the place sometime soon, there's so much more to see and talk about than I even did here, ehe!

and there's lots and lots of space to decorate and build things and plant forests and all that, so I hope to invite more people over to add to it in the near future, too!

thanks for reading :3

[flashfuture]

I think it's really interesting the perception that after Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dick and Bruce just hated each other the whole time and were in a non stop fight and could never get along again.

And while it is true the 1986 Crisis was used to make Dick Grayson's parting from Robin a more brutal severing of a relationship and less willing passing on of the mantle as he grows up. This fight did not last forever. Jason was dead by 1988. And when Dick went to confront Bruce about this they had a massive blowout again. But by late 1989-1990 Tim Drake had come in to try and get Nightwing to work with Batman. Which is where Nightwing gives us pretty much his pre crisis reasoning for leaving which is he's just too old to be Robin but Tim on the other hand... And so Tim was used as a way to bridge the gap between Bruce and Dick.

The prodigal arc in the mid 90s was a brand new fight where Dick was annoyed he wasn't asked to be Batman for Bruce and Bruce thought he couldn't ask it of Dick. And it was a really defining moment for them as grown ups working together. They were close again after this.

In the beginning of the 2000s with say Bruce Wayne Murderer? arc Dick was near zealous in how he defended Bruce from the accusation like almost went insane about it.

Then was some tension over cop Dick + wariness over Cass. And then Dick left for a bit after War Games and Steph's "death" in 2004. But by Infinite Crisis + Under the Red Hood in 2005, Dick and Bruce were already working together again. And after that had next to no arguments.

And in the New 52 world the largest crazy ass fight they had which was ooc as fuck was after Forever Evil to force the weird spy arc. But nothing in New 52 was in character anyways.

[garthofshayeris]

What’s your opinion on Garth possibly being Orms son?

I think it’d be interesting if Garth’s mom had an affair with Orm and they had a doomed love story where it could never work out. And it could make for interesting drama where Orm isn’t sure if he wants to drop the bomb on Garth or if he’s sure he’s really his.

There could also be an instance of Orm trying to get Garth to leave aquaman and join him.

Like...in the current comics? You mean Greg of Atlantis™? I think that guy is just some dude who got a scholarship from the king...

Obviously, it wouldn't work with preboot canon, considering Orm is either half- or fully-human depending on that continuity. And Garth being the son of Thar, a sorcerer and brother of Slizzath, is kinda his whole thing. Garth's magic is passed on from his father's side (not that magic can ONLY be from a father, but in the case of Garth that just is his canon) I don't think inserting Orm into the storyline of Garth that I like would do anything for the story tbh. I really love Garth's backstory involving Slizzath and Thar, I think it's very meaningful and complete.

THAT SAID I feel like you mean, if DC re-wrote everything, would I like a brand new version of Garth who is related to Orm. I guess my answer is...not really? We already have Jackson as the son of Manta (something that I feel is underwhelming, it's a cool concept that they never really do anything interesting with it) and it would be weird if that happened twice, you know? Since Garth would not have been raised by Orm and Orm in the current comics is arguably not really that evil, it wouldn't have the same punch as preboot "your dad was murdered by his people because he want homicidal and crazy"/"your dad's brother went homicidal and crazy and he died protecting the world from him". If this is about how animated DC stuff gives Orm purple eyes for some reason, I think that might just be something they do to make me angry, specifically /j

All that to say, I don't think it would add anything very meaningful to the current story dynamics. Saying Greg is related to Orm has the exact same punch as when they say every 5 years that Garth was totally raised by Arthur it just never came up and we never see it happen and he's never invited to any family events.

HOWEVER, the New 52 could have actually VERY easily made Garth Orm's son when they fucking BROUGHT HIM UP EARLY ON AND THEN DIDN'T FOLLOW THAT FUCKING STORY THREAD THROUGH I HATE YOU DC COMICS I HATE YOU I HATE YOU. They could have had Orm defending Garth from people who want to kill him, knowing DAMN WELL he fucked Berra and that kid might be his. Then after Orm is sent to Land Jail they could have killed off Berra and saddled Arthur with a young child that Orm was for some reason really defensive of but nobody knew why. And then they do the Atlanna story, blah blah blah... anyway fuck you dc comics

I actually think I posted about this years ago, but what they SHOULD have done with the Throne of Atlantis storyline is have Orm escape and return to Atlantis and start a group of outcast/terrorists that included (child) Garth and returned years later with a very powerful "child solider" because THAT would actually be a fun callback to Garth's preboot vibe but ALSO do what they try to do with Jackson. They're always like "omg is Jackson like his father, the evil Black Manta?!" but like.......Jackson was not raised by Manta, and being evil is not genetically passed down so it's lacking a little punch...anyway, this would be more like Damian, Cass, etc where there is an element of unlearning behaviors. Arthur would have to be like, this is a child and children are not evil, my brother is not evil, we need to help them.

I'm not saying it couldn't work, but I do think it would work better in a complete overhaul of the entire franchise. And I already posted my ideal overhaul of the entire franchise (dc pls hire me)

anyway it's a shame Garth hasn't been seen in DC comics since his death in Blackest Night (2009).

[roseworth]

What are your biggest hopes and fears for the new cass series (besides rose appearance)?

honestly i dont have a ton of predictions/hopes and im just so happy that she has a book that i will basically accept anything. but some of my hopes (in no particular order):

duke appearance <3 i need them to hang out again. i need to see them be buddies. please i am begging

any reference to the part of batgirl 2000 where shiva kills cass/cass kills shiva. i think (i hope) this one is very likely given that spirit world had a ref to cass's death and some other book recently (i cant remember which one) referenced shiva's death in bg00 so 🤞 we stay strong

brenda appearance ? please? this one is very unlikely since shes dead. but also this takes place in this all-in universe (or absolute universe? or whatever its called idc) so maybe brenda is alive and well in that universe

i am hoping and praying that this book has a good understanding of cass. this should be a given but i have no faith in any dc writers. but also the way brombal talked about cass gives me hope (he said something about "martial arts ass-kicking the way only cass can do" so HOPEFULLY that means she has all her fighting abilities from bg00)

rose appearance :) i know you said besides rose appearance but i want one so bad. i have waited so long and cassrose nation is hungry for crumbs. i will literally do anything. i need rose to be in this book

this is a longshot but i hope bruce does not show up in this book. if this is going to be an exploration of shiva & cass's relationship it should not have much to do with bruce outside of "cass wants to be like him instead of being like cain or shiva". but this is absolutely not going to come true bc theres no way bruce isnt popping up

on that same note, ORACLE BABS PLEASE PELASE PALSE PLEASE PELASE PASLESE PELASES PLEASE in terms of cass there is so much more to compare shiva & babs as mother figures in her life and i neeeeeed babs being cass's mother-sister-mentor again

as for fears, my only fear right now is how shiva is going to be written and how the relationship between shiva and cass will be... pretty much none of cass's trauma actually comes from her mother so they have a very complicated relationship since cass doesnt exactly see her as a mother since shiva never raised her or treated her like a daughter or anything like that, but she still cares about her like she is her mother in a way? and i feel like a lot of books water down that relationship by making it a lot simpler than it is and just saying that shiva is cass's mom and calling it a day. but cass didnt even know that shiva was her mother until she was like 19. they dont have a straightforward relationship as mother and daughter. and i think cass considers shiva partially responsible for what cain did to her since shiva knew exactly what cain's plan was and she went along with it/left cass with him. but other than that cass doesnt have a lot of trauma specifically FROM shiva. even when shiva killed her it was basically like a hard reset for her and i dont think cass would really even consider it that traumatic. basically im just worried that the usual misunderstandings of cass & shiva will be here because "evil assassin mom" is very common in dc stories, but thats not really a good way to describe who shiva is for cass :(

[dailycass-cain]

I have time, at last, to talk about Spirit World #1! So what did I think about the issue and all the Cass within it?

I do like that this series is two-fold where you have both plots where Xanthe/John Constantine are trying to figure out a way into Spirit World and you have Cass venturing into the world itself.

Spirit World itself is a fascinating place because you can have all sorts of wonky mystical creatures inhabit it or have it as another plane of the afterlife. It just works perfectly.  Like these two sisters who pester Cass early on in the issue. The sequence reminded me of a mixture of "The Bride with White Hair" and the "Evil Dead" movies. I almost was expecting a viewpoint from the sister who was pursuing Cass's pov as the latter is dodging her.  Given how she's crackling on how she'll devour her even to the bones.

What fascinates me is how the spirits can tell of her moral qualities and well how it makes her a greater meal. Which writer Alyssa Wong leans heavier when Cass is saved by folks who know of Xanthe and Cass tells them how she got here. It's a little moment but artist Haining captures how slaying the creature still weighs HEAVY on Cass.

It's something overlooked (aka JL Elite), or not shown as much (DCeased: Dead Planet hinted at it but never fully went there).  

Even a mythical creature so many years old and evil, and it still destroys Cass inside that she had killed it.

Once again, Wong just GETS the character of Cass.  In ways that make me squee. Like, part of me hopes we get SOMETHING of Cass's past rearing their head in the Spirit World in good or bad.

I know my friends discussed a theory that the mysterious "Mr. Hong" who shows up might be someone whose a voice Cass recognizes be this bastard.

Honestly? I'd be down with that as it would separate David Cain from the mercs that seems like a ocean of them at this point.

However, my own theory, if someone is gonna show up from Cass's past, would be:

I mean that would be chilling to have a soul you murdered showing up as a spiritual lord in Spirit World.

The action has even consequences for after death they became nastier and more powerful.

The other possibility is well...

I know it's highly not gonna happen. But I just feel like Cass meeting Carolyn would be neat.  You could have the Wu-San sisters being forces both in the Earthly and Spiritual worlds.

I think the reason why I want a Carolyn showing is more due to well Rebirth's lost plot of her being a self-help guru and even in death Carolyn is mending fences.

Anyway, another element I do love is Wong weaving TWO of Cass's other identities.  Both one with a sly mention of Orphan and the other basically being a better Black Bat design.

Then again, I feel this new outfit is a clear homage to fan art attempts of another costume for Cass. But hey it keeps something flowing around her belt area. Even if it isn't a scarf. 😝

As for Po Po and Bowen interest me as both characters remind me of Studio Ghibli characters. I think for Bowen it's the mark across his chest we see.

It highly reminds me of the demonic mark Ashitaka had in Princess Mononoke.  Is it a sign of he was feasted by Spirit World creatures before Po Po saved him?

Po Po is another character that fascinates me as well as she (and Bowen) are connections to Xanthe's past. I like how it's all connected and the way Wong spins the stories as we learn one aspect of the new character's past and we get another with a cliffhanger.

Not only that but teases of just when Xanthe became nonbinary as her mother deadnames them by issue's end.

Like, I'm glad Wong is showing the origin of Xanthe in full both in glimpses on the Cass side, while also in their attempt to save her.

This was a REALLY good first issue that continues introducing a really intriguing new character to the DC mystical mythos (with their own area to play with) that intertwines with Cassandra Cain and something that the character just well barely has ever dealt with: mystic hijinks.

Like we sort of did (in the tail end of her ongoing) aka one of the worst stories involving the character. So I'm glad Wong is taking something that was once a negative for Cass writers and finally going back to the well with a better story.

The fact that so many fans are talking about it. Shows just how much Wong has got us, and they've barely even brushed the surface of Spirit World and even gone into full details with Xanthe.

The only negative, I could even think is the most minor of nit-picks. In that, I hope Bowen doesn't become another male love interest for Cass. He does look a little smitten of her with what she's done. Buuuuut...

Given the little glances we have of him, I don't think Wong will do that, unlike other writers in the past. I think that's why many are thinking that angle. I think Wong is going for subversion here.

Regardless, I highly enjoyed this series and if you're looking for a new angle of DC mystic this really was something! BUY THIS BOOK AND SPIRIT WORLD #2 NEXT MONTH!

[ultraglittercat]

Drabble 145

Caroling (AU)

“Oh, I'm so glad we're all going to be doing this together, as a group.” Rapunzel grinned as she buttoned her coat.

“I don't see why we can't just sing at home where the heater is.” Eugene pouted.

“But caroling is a tradition!” Rapunzel argued.

“2 years ago you didn't even know what a tradition was!” Eugene shot back. Seeing Rapunzel's saddened face, he instantly regretted it. Rapunzel had been kidnapped as a baby and spent 18 years in isolation before the cops had been tipped off to her location. As Eugene was the one to call in the tip, he knew very well just how dreary and devoid of joy Rapunzel's childhood had been. “...Look Sunshine, I'm sorry. I know you had a bad experience, and you're just trying to create new, positive memories. I shouldn't have belittled you like that.” Eugene apologized.

Rapunzel nodded and smiled, though it looked a little forced. Eugene had known her long enough to know that a true smile stretched practically from ear-to-ear on her face.

“So uh, why did you pick caroling?” Eugene asked, opening up the car door for her to get in.

“It's very Christmas-y and we're all good singers- except Quirin but we don't tell him that- so I thought it would be good for us.” she explained.

“Good point.” Eugene acknowledged. He hadn't had the best childhood either, but he and Lance had been very active in elementary and high school theater. Eugene had even played the lead role of 'Flynn Rider' in a musical about the charming thief. Some people still called him Flynn, years after he'd quit playing the role.

Eugene was still a big fan of the Flynn Rider book series, but had (reluctantly) accepted that Flynn was meant for a younger audience. One of the things he'd bonded with Varian about had been the teen's love for the Flynn Rider books. He and Lance had tried, with limited success, to get Lance's daughters interested in the series too.

Eugene drove, turning up the radio so Rapunzel could get her voice ready for caroling. It was playing Santa Baby when he reached Lance's house and honked the horn. Lance and the girls came running out. He noticed Catalina wearing Christmas tree earrings. She was a bit more feminine than Kiera, but both girls had a rough-and-tumble side and had to be watched carefully. Eugene saw Kiera bend down as she walked. “If you throw than snowball, you're not getting in my van.” Eugene said sternly.

“Spoilsport.” she pouted and let the powdery snowball roll harmlessly off of her gloves.

“C'mon, Eugene. Remember all the snowball fights we got into as kids?” Lance wheedled.

“I remember running away while you cruelly attacked me!” Eugene recalled. “Who hits people when their backs are turned?”

“Someone who wants to win.” Kiera piped up.

“That's my girl.” Lance said fondly, either not noticing or ignoring Eugene's scowl.

“Hi, Miss Rapunzel. I got new earrings. Wanna see?” Catalina turned her head to the side so Rapunzel could see better.

“Very pretty.” Rapunzel told her.

“Everyone in and buckled up?” Eugene asked.

“Yes!” the group replied, and he pulled out of the driveway.

The ride to Quirin and Varian's home took awhile, so Rapunzel and the girls amused themselves by looking for out of town license plates. Lance had brought some fruitcake with him, that was supposed to be their treat for after caroling, but he was already discreetly nibbling at the corners of it. When they got there, Lance wiped crumbs from his face, as Eugene honked again.

Quirin and Varian walked out, along with Varian's parole officer Cassandra. She didn't look happy, but Eugene supposed that was normal for her. Varian was stomping in the snow, a scowl on his face too.

“Something wrong?” Eugene asked.

“They released grades before winter break.” Quirin answered.

“How am I not the best in class? I come up with the best thesis, do the most research, demonstrate the greatest applicability and I... I get a C- for presentation? Prof. St. Croix says I'm 'not theatrical enough'. Can you believe it?” Varian spun around, and stomped again.

“No, not really.” Eugene admitted.

“And so what if I'm 'not theatrical'? What does that have to do with chemistry?” Varian continued, clearly still wound up. “Meanwhile Fernanda barely does anything, and gets top marks!”

“I know you're upset, kid. But sneaking in and smashing her lab station isn't a good solution. I had to make a lot of phone calls, apologizing on your behalf. It doesn't look good on your record, and stunts like this make me feel like a glorified babysitter. I'm not gonna keep cleaning up your messes.” Cassandra threatened.

“I didn't ask you to.” Varian muttered.

“Varian, please behave. I enrolled you in those classes because I thought you were mature enough to handle it. Don't make me regret placing my trust in you.” Quirin scolded and Varian looked truly ashamed.

“Hey now. That's in the past. I'm sure Goggles is sorry and he won't do it again.” Eugene intervened. Varian nodded, desperate to make amends.

Quirin sighed. “It's just... I thought you already learned this lesson, Varian.” he said.

“I'm sorry, Dad.” Varian whispered.

“...Anyway, we're all here now so why don't we get out of this car and start walking around Old Corona, singing our songs?” Rapunzel suggested.

“Yeah!” cheered Kiera and Catalina.

“What song are we singing first, Raps?” Cassandra asked, genuinely interested. It didn't match her tough demeanor, but Cassandra had a beautiful singing voice and she wasn't shy about showing it off when the situation called for it.

“'Away In A Manger.'” Rapunzel replied. It had been one of the first songs she'd learned, and it was about the Nativity which made it nice and spiritual.

“Good choice.” Cassandra approved.

They knocked on the door of one of Varian's neighbors and a nice couple appeared. “Look Adam! Varian and his friends are caroling!” the woman exclaimed with delight.

“H-hi Katie.” Varian smiled.

“Hello! I'm Rapunzel and I'm here with Varian to sing for you!” Rapunzel added happily. Adam and Katie waited expectantly.

“...Don't just stand there, count us in!” Cassandra hissed at Eugene.

“Ok. 1, and 2, and 3.” Eugene counted and then they all began singing.

“Away in a manger/ no crib for his bed/ the little lord Jesus/ lay down his sweet head...” sang the group. “The stars in the sky/ look down where He lay/ the little lord Jesus/ asleep on the hay...”

Katie and Adam clapped as the group finished. “Wow, most of them are really good.” Adam observed. “Thank you for singing for us. We're truly grateful.”

“Grateful enough to give us some food?” Lance hoped. Eugene gave him an angry look.

“What happened to that fruitcake you had?” Eugene hissed.

“It really wasn't enough for everybody.” Lance insisted.

Katie laughed. “I do have some gingerbread I baked earlier. Let me get you some.” she offered.

“See? The problem took care of itself.” Lance said smugly. Eugene shrugged. He really couldn't stay mad at his friend. They were all together, eating cookies and sharing in the Christmas spirit. Eugene couldn't ask for a nicer holiday (but he might wish for a warmer one! Brrr!)

The End

I can see why these modern AUs are fun! It's kind of interesting to write a version of Cassandra where there is no Zhan Tiri or Moonstone to tempt her into becoming a villain. She still keeps her snark towards Eugene, though!

[the-promise-has-been-made]

okay, okay, here it is! None of this is coherent this is just me screaming in my brain.

The 'Darling take off the mask' scene though. I didn't make a post then, but when the Anders confrontation happened and the scene did NOT happen then, I never once believed they had cut it out completely. Mostly because Laura and Taliesin know EXACTLY what they did to us with that scene, like, that was the scene that set an entire ship afloat. No way in hell were they gonna cut that out entirely. So I figured 'oh, they're not doing it here so they'll put it somewhere more meaningful!' and BOY HOWDY AM I HAPPY WITH HOW IT TURNED OUT.

Killing Anders and pulling Percy back from that was MEANT for Cass. Her voice being what pulled him back then was very very important and meaningful and while it worked in the campaign to have it be Vex simply because she was a PC and Cass was an NPC - and a good DM doesn't steal the show when his players are having A MOMENT - narratively it works much nicer with having Cass be the one here. Because this is an animated show and there are no 'NPCs' they are all imprtant characters.

Then I thought okay okay where are they gonna put it instead? My first thought was 'Ripley?!' because as a writer who lives for the DRAMA - how poetically ironic would it have been if Vex had kept him from killing Ripley, had made him spare her, only for her to turn around a few months down the line KILLING HIM?? How much of a gut punch would that have been huh? Ultimately though I am happy that wasn't how it turned out (though I do think it was Vex who stopped him from shooting Ripley at the zigurrat but because of the noise and the stealth soooo...).[EDIT: Nope, it was Kiki and their friendship is a whole other chapter Ilove!]

But the decision to give it the moment when he is about to kill Delilah?! GALAXY. BRAIN. MOVE. Like, I always considered the Briarwoods narrative foils to Percy and Vex. The lengths to which they would each go to save the other: Delilah famously 'broke the world' for love. She rather made a deal with an evil entity than live n a world without Sylas. Percy was about to inflict unimaginable horrors on Delilah in the name of vengeance (and because, ya know, demon). He would have destroyed his own soul for this revenge. And Vex stepped between that. She put herself between what was arguably a terifying monster and Delilah, and tried to guide him back, knowing very well he could kill her right there. And Orthax WOULD HAVE killed her but Percy fought him tooth and nail. He was ready to shoot himself before ever hurting Vex, had Orthax not interfered and taken full control to keep him from suicide. The FACE Percy made when the mask came off. The PAIN and fear and desperation of his very valid grief over his family and also the monster clawing away at his soul, and it all came to a breaking point because Vex was standing directly in his line of fire.

And then they went and made hers the first voice that managed to get through to him in Orthax hallucination. And they made her and Cass support him after he had shot his hand and dropped the list. Just... ugh it was so much better this way. Like, in a campaign it would not have played out like this because no matter how great the DM, NPCs will (and must) always take a backseat to the players, so the scene happened when it happened in campaign. But with a scripted show, you can choose the PERFECT narrative moment for a scene like that to hammer home exactly how IMPORTANT Vex is beconing to him, and they DID!

I have a lot of feelings about this okay?!! Also about Kiki protecting Vex, and the twins fighting and Vex making her peace with having to kill her own brother. Okay I have FEELINGS! I think most of them are about Vex. I love her, okay?!! But these are all separate posts alltogether, this one is about Vex and Percy!

[yellowocaballero]

does cass in reverserobins!AU ever learn cantonese? she's so associated with hong kong for me, i think she'd enjoy hong kong cinema, from the slapstick action comedies (all the stunts and fights!) to the artistry of the new wave (i think cass would love wong kar-wai so much) i feel like she'd have so much fun trying dim sum, with the waiters lifting up every lid to reveal the dish in a cloud of steam like presenting a gift. the bustling markets and stalls where she can people watch too

(whew took half a sec to get back to this)

And :O!!!! It's so cool to have an American superhero associated with Hong Kong. They could definitely use a hero like Cass. I think she'd be in foodie heaven - Cass loves new experiences and exciting her five senses, so she'd go crazy over the huge new variety of food. Poor woman grew up on Denny's, I think.

I think she'd also find being in new cultures super exciting, but a bit scary. She reads body language, and people in other countries have different body language! She'd be learning the Cantonese Of Body Language for sure hahaha. But I think she'd be fascinated by the diversity and would love discovering how different people in different countries express themselves. As I said, she loves new experiences - I can see her really loving to travel!

TBH English was difficult enough already for her, and I don't think she liked learning it, so I think she doesn't learn any languages other than ASL and English. I see her learning the minimum of language so she can express herself comfortably and stopping there lol. I'd say she's bad with languages, but she has to be pretty impressive to learn English at such an old age anyway!

And I always kind of HC'd that Cass actually doesn't like movies with live action humans! I can only imagine that she's watching a tearful dramatic scene in a movie, but she can read the micro-movements in the actor's bodies and all she sees is the actor saying 'I'm bored!'. Action movies might also have that dissonance - the choreography can be awesome, but would she see a fight, or would she just see a half-active copy? I think it would depend on the quality of the actor and the film - I think the bad films would be boring, but the great ones would be so exciting. I can see her going either way on enjoying those Hong Kong action films - but I also really love them so I'm biased to say she does haha (if you have any recs I'd love them :o)

I think it would be awesome for reverserobins!Cass to do this, so I'll say she does. After she and Steph graduate college, they go on a big round-the-world adventure trip and visit a ton of different places, and they spend a week in Hong Kong because Cass HAS to eat as much dim sum as physically possible. She'd love it!

This is a tangent, but to be honest the comic treatment of Cass in the '10s was really, really racist. They didn't know what to do with her anyway, so they gave her a magic spell that made her learn English perfectly and then brainwashed her to be this evil Dragon Lady who barely had anything to do with anything. And this was about after they exploited and tortured Steph to death for Man Pain because the comics have never known what to do with either of them. And during Batman Inc they shipped her off to Hong Kong, and it felt again like they just really didn't know what to do with her and went 'Hey, she's Chinese, put her in China'. It was frustrating to read as a Cass fan. But the nice thing about that is that people who are not boring and who really love Cass could explore all the stuff I just mentioned and make a cool story out of it! Nobody did tho -.-

[purpleshaded15]

C1 The world has been so hard on Percy...

Looking back into C1, I can’t help but notice how hard the whole campaign has literally been for Percy. 

Tragic Past & Traumatic backstory is a given.

But the world itself has been hard on him. Like it’s always out to try and hurt him so much more than he already was.

The Legend of Vox Machina itself has the entire Briarwood Arc traumatize Percy over and over again. It’s almost half the season, 5/12 episodes, where he froze in PTSD. (Ep 3 Blue screen, Ep 5 Sun Tree, Ep 7 Cass, Ep 9 Archie, Ep 10 Cass.)

Campaign spoilers: 

Ripley made sure to distribute guns so he will lifelong suffer the guilt of what he unleashed into the world. 

His demon wants to eat him. Still out there.

His villains kept coming back even to C3. 

2 Gods he tried to put his faith in, (1 he asked for guidance/help in a moment of desperation, 1 he shared a vision/value of knowledge) has rejected him in favor of others. One called him broken, one called him mad. Well, at least he can say he tried.... (Also, can they really be Gods if all they saw in him was a broken madman? Not a man who’s clearly trying his best to become someone else than that...?)

---- rant on------ I’ve got pent up thoughts & emotions from before so I’ll just put it here...

1 RQ - telling a man who already thinks he’s broken beyond repair but still trying (at least the reason he sought her was to get guidance or answer on how) to fix it and this Goddess just reaffirms that he indeed is broken and there’s just no fixin it?! F#(k Off! 

2 - Ioun - Here’s a nerdy ass tinkerer who put so much value on knowledge and history that his INT is maxed at 20 (w/out magical things to boost it) purely because he’s a science guy. He knows the importance of knowledge. He tried to keep the spread of dangerous knowledge (guns) just like Ioun kept dangerous knowledge too. Then you brush him off because of his “secret” at the time (which eventually came out) while choosing a person who has been SO MUCH MORE SECRETIVE. Lying. Manipulating. Rolling so high in deception that no one could find out the truth. He never even confided in his supposed “bestfriend” his menial problem. (Compared to Percy’s problem/s, Scanlan’s is absolutely menial. Heck, it’s real world family problem that even I went through that shit and my case is actually worse than this bard’s family issues. Scanlan’s ARC is the best? Where his problem is about establishing connection w/ his daughter? Tell that to Percy who will never establish much more & deeper connection w/ his parents...)

And when others were insight checking him (Scanlan), he rolls for persuasion/deception instead of opening up! Then he guilt-trips them with it, saying VM don’t know anything about him, that they don’t care. The manipulation... before and after !!!

He does tell stories in song, but he doesn’t write them. He doesn’t sing the praises of knowledge. He doesn’t even understand nor appreciate the gravity of what was given to him... And more over, he twists the story & memories even of his friends. I will never be able to accept that choice!!! ----- rant over-----

Percy’s already been so hard on himself. Why must the world be so hard on him too?! 

The only thing in the world that wanted him was the darkness & evil. LOL 

If it weren’t for Vox Machina (& Vex especially), he might’ve literally become the devil. 

Oh, yeah, the contract is still out there too... XD

[stressedoutcanary]

Family Matters - Batfamily x Reader

Summary: A surprise birthday party and Batfamily being chaotic.

“That's it Dick just a little to the right...No the other right...No! Not there you goofus! Just...Just get down from the chandelier before it comes crashing down on the rest of us and For God's Sake let Duke handle the ribbons before you somehow strangle yourself with them”

Warnings ⚠️: Fluff, lots of it, angst because I can’t help myself, Reader has got some parental issues. Hurt/Comfort.

Word count: 2.4k

A/N: I wanted some good dad Bruce content so I did it myself. Also I might have been influenced by a post I made a while back about Bruce and his children. I haven't used reader's pronouns anywhere so it's kinda gender neutral.

I don’t know where I was going with this, my imagines are often like a train derailed from its track but I think it’s fine. So Enjoy ;)  

•°•°•°•°

"Focus (Y/S/N), don't jump in in blind, assessing what action your opponent is about to undertake and countering it out before they can complete that action, this is the key lesson for you today", Batman's commanding voice echoed in the enclosed area of the batcave as he observed you attempting to roundhouse kick the boy in front of you. It was rather rashly executed with the hope of knocking him down which, for obvious reasons, only ended up with your leg connecting with nothing but thin air.

'Damn he is fast when he actually tries.'

"Easy for you to say Old Man! You aren't the one dancing with Mister Duckboy, the teen wonder over here!", you exclaimed, panting as your chest heaved from the exertion.

"Duckboy?!", Tim looked near scandalized as you grinned in return, stealing a glance towards the giggling crowd gathered near the stairs.

Everyone was already in the cave, it was a rare occurrence, it happened only when the issues of upmost importance were being discussed. Today was one of those days; The planning of Alfred Pennyworth's surprise birthday party.

However things usually went a lot less violent, this day every year. The sparring session this year was the result of you messing up, real bad while on patrol last night and since you were around the same age as Tim, he was found to be the most appropriate partner for it. The only drawback was that he had a staff in his hands while your weapons were confiscated, because in Bruce's words 'you rely on them too much'. You were already tired and Tim had a huge advantage over you, if you wanted to win this match you had to be quick and efficient at the same time.

Distracting Tim by your comment allowed you to have an opening, gathering all your strength you went in for a forward strike. Unfortunately he was more than ready to take you on, he crouched down, narrowly missing your punch then proceeded to swipe your legs off of the ground with his bo staff making you fall butt first on the floor.

"Congratulations you've managed to hurt both my ass and my ego, Timbers", You said laying back on the ground, hands and legs spread out and instead of helping you up, Tim joined you on the floor sitting next to you. You gave him a look that was equivalent to 'next time I get the chance, I am going to push you off a roof'.

"Your skills need improvement", Bruce said in his monotonous tone as you grunted knowing that a full ass lecture was gonna follow, but before he could get another word out, Jason chimed in with a statement no one ever expected to hear from him,"You know (Y/N), he's not wrong in fact I think the old man's actually got a point."

Jaws dropped to floor, Tim looked like he just saw a ghost, Dick who was standing near Barbara pinched himself to see whether he was dreaming or not, Damian snapped his neck up from where he was sharpening his katana, even Titus and Ace perked their heads up at the sudden silence that settled over the place. Barbara, Cass, Duke and Steph looked equally shocked.

"Before you all get any ideas, what I'm trying to say is you better pay attention because B over here won't be able to save your ass, 'cause if you slack off the next thing you know you would be in a warehouse with a maniac, getting blown to bits", Jason looked at Bruce with accusing eyes.

'And here I thought he was finally going to say something sensible', you thought to yourself as he continued,

"Take it from someone who has had that experience, you guys remember right? The fact that I--"

"Died, we know!!", everyone groaned at the same time and Bruce looked like he had to physically restrain himself from faceplaming.

"Okay! Guys how about we go ahead and do the thing we all actually came here to do instead of... whatever this conversation was", you suggested, getting up and patting the dust off your clothes.

"Well then someone has got to ask the important question here", Barbara looked around as she worded her sentence,"who is going to be the one to keep Alfred busy while we get everything ready?"

Once again the cave went silent. For a whole bunch of detectives, you all were very, very scared of Alfred, including Bruce even though he will never admit it, lying to The old-butler-cum-grandpa and making random excuses for the whole 3 hours was a thought dreadful enough to make all of you exchange petrified glances at each other hoping someone would step forward to do the job.

"I'll do it", dick raised his hand.

"NO!", everyone snapped and Dick's head tilted with a pout.

"You are good at doing a lot of stuff boy wonder, hiding things from Alfred isn't one of them", Barbara comforted Dick as Damian stepped up next.

"*tt* Since none of you imbeciles have the courage or the ability to do it. I shall be the one to handle Pennyworth. Gordon, Cain and Titus, I will require your assistance", Damian spoke or rather commanded as he went up the stairs, followed by the group he chose.

"Don't mess this up for us, you gremlin!"

"Tim!", you lightly jabbed him in the side with your elbow.

"Ow! What?"

"Be nice", you narrowed your eyes and he understood you were being serious.

"Fine I'll try, but don't blame me if he starts something", Tim shrugged carelessly. You shook your head and let out an audible sigh as you followed everyone else up towards the manor.

•°•°

"That's it Dick just a little to the right...No the other right...No! Not there you goofus! Just...Just get down from the chandelier before it comes crashing down on the rest of us and For God's Sake let Duke handle the ribbons before you somehow strangle yourself with them", you eyed him worriedly.

"Oh come (Y/N) it'll be fine!", the cheerfulness in his voice made you cock an eyebrow at him from below. Duke slid in beside you.

"10 bucks says he will somehow fall within the next hour"

"Oh Duke you should know better, 20 says he'll fall within 30 minutes", you turned towards him with an evil smile.

"What are you both talking about down there?"

"NOTHING!", you both said in unison on which Dick gave you a confused look.

"Oh Hey look Steph needs my help with the cake so, see ya!", you quickly moved to the other side of the room checking in with Stephanie and Tim. She gave you a thumbs up to signal that everything was going according to plan and the place was almost ready. Everyone was laughing, bickering, having fun, it was all very rare and seeing it, a warm feeling spread throughout you.

You smiled to yourself for a moment but it faltered and a frown pulled up at your lips, a sorrowful thought crossed your mind, something you always kept buried deep down. Looking around and seeing as nobody needed your help at the moment you decided to slip out of the chaos, taking slow steps towards the patio to clear your head.

•°•°

Leaning against the railing you thought back to how you left your house this morning telling your mother that you are going to stay at your friend's place for a while and how she just waved her hand at that, not even questioning you anymore. Your mind was completely elsewhere, despite the awe-inspiring dense forest right in front of you, your eyes were lost in space.

You registered, a bit too late, the presence of someone standing beside you.

"It is a nice view, but something tells me that's not what brought to out here, away from everyone else"

"Careful there Brucie or people might think that you are actually capable of some emotions which happen include caring for people", you retorted back at him. It was always a sort of defense mechanism for you, whenever you felt exposed you countered it with snarky remark.

You closed your eyes hoping that Bruce would just walk away. But he didn't. He stayed there.

Bruce leaned on the railing beside you and waited. You took a deep breath, contemplating you next move carefully.

"...Look It's really silly so can we drop it?", you whispered wondering why in the world would Bruce of all people, care about your feelings.

"Talk to me (Y/N). I can tell when something is bothering you, I may not be your father, but you are my family.", unlike usual, his voice was gentle and genuine when he spoke to you.

"I am really not a fan of surprise birthdays", you stated, starting off vaguely.

"And why is that?"

"Because I...It's silly but this one time I spent a whole week working on a birthday gift for my mom, it was like a craft pop up box which had multiple photos of us together, I made that from scratch! everything in it I made that, I worked hard for it, I did it out of love but when I gave her that surprise gift you know what she said Bruce! She said that I wasted my time that she would've been much happier if I had focused on my studies, she never even once said that she liked it and I--", you looked at him with tears brimming in your eyes, threatening to spill.

"I don't know Bruce, it-it just makes me feel sad you know? every little thing reminds me that my mother doesn’t seem to love me anymore. There is this constant thought in my mind that no one cares about me, about what I do for them and I don’t know what to do with a thought like that."

"That's not true, look around you kiddo, you are surrounded by people who would do anything for you, who love you from the bottom of their hearts", Bruce finally looked at you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"That's the thing! I am not an orphan!", you blurted out and Bruce looked more confused than ever.

"I'm aware"

"No! No you are not. I am not one of those kids you picked up from somewhere, I don't live here, Like I am sure you people aren't even sane, hell! you all make up the most dysfunctional family I have ever seen! I don’t belong here, you people have no reason to care about", Bruce gave you a sideways look, slightly chuckling at your sudden description of the people in the manor.

"But I still love everyone, my mom, you, every dumbass inside the manor right now, no matter much pain they cause me and I don't get why", this time when he looked at you, you didn't look like the vigilante who sucker punched The Riddler in the face last night, you looked like a scared little kid who is lost.

Bruce stood up straight and wrapped you in a hug. Something you never expected to happen in a million years. The shocked settled in after a bit and you wrapped your hands around him, burying your face in his chest.

"The people we love are still people at the end of the day. They act out, and sometimes they let us down, hurt us even, but that doesn't mean we stop loving them. For every bad memory, there will always be a good one that will get you through it. I promise you that (Y/N)", Bruce pulled away and gave you a warm smile. You couldn't help but smile back, your face matching his.

"Okay who are you and what have you done with Bruce Wayne? because I don't recognize this man who is full of emotions and on top of that, is giving free hugs right now", you broke into a grin, making Bruce's face go back to the stoic version.

"If you tell anyone, I will deny it"

"Sure you will"

Suddenly a clattering sound came from the hall, alerting you both. This, however, was followed by a 'I'm okay!' By the one Dick Grayson, which in turn was followed by Duke's 'Oh no!'

"Any idea what that was about?", Bruce inquired raising an eyebrow as you burst out laughing.

"That, you big softie, was the sound of me getting my 20 dollars, now let's get back before they destroy everything."

•°•°

You and Bruce entered back into the hall, everyone was gathered around waiting for Damian and his group to signal the beloved butler's arrival. You stood next to Tim as Jason moved towards the switches to turn off the lights.

"Okay I'll bite why are you covered in frosting before the party even started?"

"Steph", Tim replied, too tired to elaborate, leaving you giggling.

Barbara, Cass and Damian rushed through the door, looking close to terrified, with Titus tagging along.

"He is here, HIDE!", Damian said quickly closing the doors.

After a few moments, the door creaked open and Alfred's voice came through, "Master Damian, you and I will have words for what you did to-- Oh my", he was stuck to his position at the door, too shocked to say anything more after looking at the decorations and bunch gathered around an enormous cake.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALFRED!!", you all exclaimed with extreme excitement.

As the party went on you noticed that there was, in fact, a broken chandelier broomed to the side, later on there were a few not-at-all-safe stunts performed by the boys, some really bad puns made by Dick, all sorts of shenanigans by the others and cake, lots of cake. You looked around, everyone was busy doing something but now you knew Bruce was right:

You have one hell of a family, original, found or otherwise. And you love them all no matter what.

°•°•°•°•

Tags: @thesesickfics-justmakemesick

[crossedtheline]

Character Inspiration

Since Jinx is an original character, I’d like to talk a bit about how I went about creating him and my interpretation of Cassandra from Tangled The Series. 

From the wikipedia;

“Cassandra is a major character in the Tangled franchise. She is the deuteragonist of the Disney Channel film, Tangled: Before Ever After, and the tritagonist of its follow-up series. She is the biological daughter of Mother Gothel who was abandoned as a child when Gothel kidnapped Princess Rapunzel and hid away from the world.”

As she wasn’t a villain for the whole series, pre-NRU I wanted Jinx to already go on an arc that would put him in the same headspace while he was actually at school. By season 3, Cassandra’s major motivation for turning to the darkside was (besides manipulation from the series main antagonist) her relationship to Rapunzel and how she was underestimated and overlooked by so many others in the main cast. From her perspective, she spent a very long time watching Rapunzel get rewarded for the very fact of her existence, while she fought for every scrap of respect and power. When she found out her mother was Gothel and she abandoned her to be with Rapunzel, she reached her breaking point. She was neglected by her birth mother, abandoned, raised to be a servant for the royal family, and when she tried to pursue her happiness, she was repeatedly held back by the same princess she was a servant of and who had “stolen” her mother. So naturally, she chose to lash out. 

Her story is so deeply intertwined with Rapunzel’s that I decided to give Jinx someone to compete with, his twin brother. They also embody the duality that Cass and Rapunzel represent, the moonstone and the sundrop, destruction and creation. If they were to be raised as brothers, however, there had to be a reason Jinx was treated as less than. 

The Curse

This event is derived directly from Cassandra’s feelings of being denied some great destiny and eventually coming to seize power for herself. From S3E1 “Rapunzel’s Return” Song: Crossing the Line:

“And that line between the beggars and the choosers Is a line you've never let me quite ignore How I've tried to jump that great divide But I've never got the chances you were given

You don't know how much I've been denied Well, I'm not being patient anymore”

From a young age he was denied something so fundamental for his ability to live and thrive in the world, and is probably one of the first divisions placed between him and his brother. The talented one and the cursed one. 

His lack of magic becomes a driving reason for him to take his leave later and contact the elder witch of the wood (based on Zhan Tiri in my head) to break his curse. Over years of being overlooked, insulted, manipulated, he becomes pressured to find a solution rather than stay trapped. So like Cassandra, he chooses the villain’s path (attending Night Raven) to try and change his circumstances. He desperately wanted to become more powerful because for far too long he wasn’t given his due. 

An Orphan

Both Cassandra and Rapunzel’s stories hinge on the absence of parents and them being raised by other people. However, I don’t really enjoy stories where the evil guardian is totally unrelated to the children*. It is rarer, in my experience, to see stories where the biological family is bad, so I killed off the parents and sent them to live with their grandmother.

*This is also a set-up in the Tangled movie that plays into antisemitic tropes. Whether intentional or not, Mother Gothel has some features people have identified as Jewish (dark curly hair, dark eyes, hooked nose, etc.) in direct contrast to a blonde haired, green eyed protagonist. Her stealing a baby for her own selfish gain seems like an interpretation of the blood libel stereotype. I seek to amend this in my lore by making them blood related, not portraying their grandmother’s appearance as a caricature, and giving Jinx and Lucian some of the same features. 

Part 2 coming soon

[ur-favorite-queer-queen]

Protect

For Maribat March day 18 theme protect 

Master List 

“DEAREST BIG BROTHER! I’M HOME!” A female shout came from the foyer of the manor. 

Dick, Jason, Tim, Babs, Steph, and Cass were hanging out in one of the many rooms the manor held. Alfred had just walked in with a tray of drinks but froze at the sound of the voice.

“THE HECK!” Was shouted by the same voice followed by Damian’s voice shouting, 

“WHO ARE YOU!?!?! HOW DID YOU GET IN!?!?!” 

Alfred was out of the room in an instant. He was not sprinting but he might as well be with how fast he was walking. The batkids immediately followed after him. 

They walked in on a sight none of them will ever forget. Literally, Jason had taken a picture. A strange woman who looked like a female, miniature version of Bruce had Damian’s precious katana and seemed to be taunting him with it. 

“Miss Marinette!” Alfred called and got both the woman’s and Damian’s attention. 

“Alfred!” The woman replied, running over and giving him a hug, katana still in her hand. 

“Wait, Aunt Nettie?” Dick spoke up, walking over to the pair. 

“Little Wing! Wow, you got so much bigger since the last time I saw you.” She responded, giving him a hug. 

“Wait, wait, your Aunt Nettie?” Jason asked, crossing his arms. 

“Aww, Little Blue Jay, you don’t remember me?” She shot back, crossing her arms as well. 

“Blue Jay, why is that familiar?” Jason muttered to himself, not quietly enough since everyone heard him. 

“Aunt Nettie, you only visited once when he was here.” Dick reminded her. 

“Oh, well that will explain that. Also how many more kids did Bruce adopt? I thought it was only the 2 of you, the Drake kid, and his bio kid.” She questioned, motioning to each child she remembered. 

“The only other kid he adopted is Cass, Steph and Babs are family friends.” Dick clarified. 

“Babs, the first Batgirl correct?” She asked, turning to the girl in question. Everyone froze at that, this girl who was apparently Bruce’s sister knew who they were.

“It’s fine guys, she’s known since the beginning of his time as Batman.” Dick assured. 

“Yep, speaking of my big brother, where is he?” 

“Master Bruce is currently at a WE meeting, but he will be back in time for dinner.” Alfred answered for her. 

“How come father never told us about you?” Damian voiced, glaring at her and looking like he wanted to attack her again. Probably because she still had his katana. 

“I rarely visit nowadays and he’s probably still upset after last time.” Marinette smirked, like she had won some sort of battle. Noticing she still had his katana, she handed the blade back to Damian. 

“Last time?” Tim hesitantly echoed. 

“How about Miss Marinette shares the story in the living room? I can bring snacks.” Alfred offered, Marinette looked like she was about to say something but Alfred beat her to it, “You bond with your nieces and nephews, I will be fine.” 

“Come on Marinette! You can tell them about how you helped train Bruce! Oh did you bring any kwamis with you?” Dick rambled, pulling Marinette with him into the room they were hanging out in before her appearance. 

Once they were all seated Tim started the conversation, “So I’m not hallucinating, you are actually Bruce’s sister.” 

“Yes, Bruce is 3 years older than me. I know that he is Batman and you guys are the bats and the birds.” She calmly responded. 

“What did Dick mean by you helped train Bruce? And what is a Kwami?” Babs continued. 

“Kwami are basically magical beings, kinda like gods, that are bound to jewels called miraculous. Since I’m the guardian I protect these jewels. I trained Bruce by helping my old mentor from Tibet train him.” Marinette explained. 

“What happened last time? And why don’t you visit often?” Damian asked, carefully hidden curiosity in his eyes. 

“Back in my first year of highschool, Bruce was very protective of me. Like very protective. No boy he didn’t approve of, which meant I could never talk to a single boy, could get within 10 feet of me without him present. Asking me out, out of the question. Pretty sure this one guy, Adam, wanted to ask me out but Bruce interrupted before he could. I never talked to him again after that. I got pretty tired of it so I signed up for the foreign exchange program and went to school in Paris.” 

“Wait,” Steph interrupted, “Bruce was an overprotective brother?” 

“One of the worst kinds. I’m sure if our parents were still alive he might’ve been worse than my dad.”

“What importance does this have to the questions?” Damian sneered, annoyed that he wasn’t getting any answers. 

“Hold on I’m getting there. So anyways it was in my sophomore year of highschool at Paris that a supervillain attacked. He called himself Hawkmoth, he used the butterfly miraculous to transform people into his puppets by using their emotions against them. I didn’t think much of it since it didn’t concern me, my host family agreed thinking it wouldn’t last long. But when I got to my room there was a little box sitting on my desk and that’s where I found the ladybug miraculous. The most powerful miraculous besides the cat miraculous. I told Bruce, he wasn’t too happy about it, but there wasn’t much he could do. So much happened in that amount of time that I don’t think I could summarize it all before Bruce gets back but just know that in that span of time I met the current guardian. Hawkmoth gained an ally who used the peacock miraculous, Mayura. Also a miraculous that could manipulate emotions. 

After I and my partner had defeated Hawkmoth and Mayura, sometime during my senior year, we revealed our identities, dated for a few months before I ended things. Then I went back home and Bruce was getting ready to go on his soul-searching journey to be trained by masters or whatever and I suggested he be trained by my mentor who was in Tibet. I went with him, we trained for a couple of months before he left. I decided to stay in Tibet to train to become the next guardian. Eventually my mentor died and gave me guardianship. 

Then I returned to Gotham and Bruce had adopted Little Wing over there. So I stayed here for a while before I decided to go around the world doing guardian things. Bruce didn’t like the idea but there wasn’t much he could do. I ended up catching up with an old friend of mine on one of my travels and we started dating before I came back here. That’s when I met Little Blue Jay for the first and last time.

Before you guys had gone on patrol I tried to ask Bruce to give my boyfriend a chance but he didn’t agree. I’ve always been his little sister in his eyes, I think he couldn’t handle the fact I had grown up. Nasty words were exchanged between us and I haven’t returned since. In the end me and him didn’t work out but I couldn’t bring myself to return, until now at least.” 

“Why now?” Damian immediately pressed once she finished her explanation. 

“Dusuu was missing Alfred. It has been like a decade or something.” She remarked, pulling out a peacock shaped brooch. 

“Didn’t you say that the peacock miraculous was evil?” Cass signed, raising an eyebrow at the brooch. 

“No, I said it was used for evil. The miraculous are technically neutral, can be used for good or evil. Depends on who is wielding them.” Marinette bit back, as a flash of light emitted from the brooch. Suddenly a small floating peacock creature stood in front of Marinette. 

“Is that a kwami?” Steph asked. 

“Yes, this is Dusuu, the peacock kwami of emotions.”

“Hello! It’s so nice to meet you!” Dusuu chirped, “Where’s Alfred?” 

“I am right here Dusuu. It is lovely to see you again.” Alfred spoke from the doorway, holding a tray of snacks and drinks. 

“Alfred!” Dusuu cheered before flying over and hugging the older man. 

“In all honesty Bruce doesn’t sound like the best brother.” Jason pointed out. 

“I know it may seem like he’s a shitty brother, and at the time I totally thought he was and still is, but I know where he’s coming from. Bruce was always the more reserved and protective out of the 2 of us even before what happened to our parents. I think our parents' death solidified his need to protect me from anything and anyone. And we all know how horrible Bruce is at showing his emotions so I know his heart was in the right place. Plus, we’ve had years to cool off, I’m sure we can have a mature conversation now.” Marinette explained, a fond smile gracing her lips. 

Faintly in the distance they heard Alfred say, “Welcome home, Master Bruce.” 

“That’s my cue!” Marinette said before bolting off in the direction of the foyer. 

“Alfred something’s off, what are you not telling me?” The second those words left his mouth a weight connected with his back, arms wrapped around his neck and a familiar, 

“HEY BIG BRO!” Was registered by his ears. 

The weight slipped off his back and as he turned around he was met with the familiar sight of his little sister. “Marinette.” 

“Bruce.”

“You’re here.” 

“I am.” 

“I thought-”

“That I was mad at you.”

“You didn’t visit for 10 years.” 

“Life got busy.” 

They stood in silence for a minute. 

“I missed you.” Marinette whispered, so much different from the girl that was telling them a brief summary of her life. She seemed so much more vulnerable uttering those words than when she had revealed why she hadn’t come back in the first place. 

Turns out that was the straw that broke the camel’s back as Bruce wrapped Marinette in a hug as tears slipped from his eyes. They could hear him whispering over and over again, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did all those years ago.” 

It was weird for them all to see, including Dick who knew how much Marinette meant to Bruce. Bruce kept his emotions so closed up, master of the stoic face, but here he was breaking down in front of the all. Here he was crying and apologizing. 

“I believe we should leave them alone for now.” Alfred spoke up heading for the dining room. They followed. Later Bruce and Marinette would join them, a little red-eyed with their cheeks tear-stained, but small smiles on their faces. 

It was then that all the batkids knew that they would be seeing this ‘Aunt Nettie’ much more often. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Look at that, I’m super late again! Nothing new, I think day 14 was a one time thing unfortunately. 

I’ve seen a ton of fics where Marinette was Bruce’s older sister but what about where she’s his younger sister? Bruce would so be an overprotective older brother. 

I hoped you enjoyed this! I’m planning on making a part 2 of this for ‘contest’. So stay tuned!

@maribatmarch-2k21 

[catxsnow]

BARING THE BURDEN

Summary: Bruce’s death meant someone had to take the mantle of Batman.

Warning: Angst

A/N: Lmfao I wrote this a long ass time ago and it was straight up meant to be the fic Please and I still don’t know how it took such a turn and I ended up with this. 

Word Count: 3k

Bruce had a lot of sides.

He had the publicity CEO of Wayne Enterprises. A billionaire, ex-playboy who spent his days working to make this city better and his nights with his wife. His picture was plastered in the news and he was constantly getting recognition for everything he did. He was a hero to Gotham.

Then there was the Dark Knight. Keeping this city safe and instilling fear into his foes. He was dangerous, deadly if he ever choose to be. Batman was the farthest thing from a team player and yet he formed many. He was the reason that the world had been saved time and time again. He was Gotham's hero.

Bruce was a parent, though no kid was his own besides Damian. He was a family man, who loved his partner and kids even though he didn't always show it. He cared for everyone so deeply that he knew he would give his life to save theirs. This side was your favourite side, he was a hero to you and your kids.

Everything that Bruce did, one thing remained constant: he was the hero the world needed.

So, when the day came that he no longer protected the city, no longer protected you, it broke everyone. The city raged with crime. Bruce was no longer there to keep everyone safe. He had done exactly what he intended to do the day he married you: he died to keep you safe.

Bruce had known you far before he joined the Justice League. Just like the great Batman, you wanted nothing more than to keep the world safe. You wanted to be a hero - and after years of agony, you had done just that. Bruce knew the second that he saw you take down Scarecrow - on your own with fear toxin running though you - he needed you.

You were partners, equals on the streets. It didn't take long for him to seduce you to his bed, and shortly after that - put a ring on your finger. You were everything he needed - why waste time? Being with Bruce was a different experience every day, but you wouldn't trade it for the world.

Losing him broke you. Of course it did. For years it seemed that he was invincible, no matter what side he showed. Even if he was just human, it always appeared that he was couldn't die. Bruce was a stubborn man, death never seemed to be in his cards. Until it was.

Bruce death destroyed any ounce of hope you had left. No matter how dark your life with Bruce was, there was always a shimmer of hope that you two would get to step away from this life. Now, you would never get that with him. You would never get your happy ending.

It seemed the city knew about Bruce's death before most of his kids. Jason was off around the world, taking down criminals in a way that you and Bruce never approved of. Dick was leading the Titans, Damian now part of the team. Tim, Steph, Cass, even Duke,  they all seemed to have dropped off the radar a long time ago.

No matter how much they loved you, being back home wasn't always the easiest. It wasn't easy telling them that the man that raised them half their lives was dead, never to come back. In fact, it was so hard that you hadn't. Alfred remained silent about the truth, upholding Bruce's position at Wayne Enterprises for as long as he could.

Gotham, however, suffered without the Bat. Criminals were going wild in the streets, the biggest of the bad's seemingly putting all their plans into action. The city needed Batman, they needed him far more than you ever had. Bruce never wanted you to take that title as sole protector of the city. He had told you time and time again to get out of this life if he was to die.

You couldn't.

How could you when the people that killed him were still out there. Instead of giving up being a hero, finding your white picket fence life that Bruce so desperately wanted you to have, you did the exact thing that he would have never wanted you to do.

You became the Bat.

The suit was adjusted to your size, and even though you knew you couldn't pull off being the great Batman like any of your adopted sons could, this was your burden to carry, not theirs. Losing Bruce was on you, it hadn't been their faults. You couldn't bare the thought of having to get one of them to uphold this mantle.

It had to be you, it always had been. The first time that you put it on, it had brought you to tears. Tears of missing Bruce, of doing the one thing he never wanted of you. Tears of wondering what Dick and all the others were going to think of you in this suit. Tears of having to bare a burden you never would have wished for anyone.

"How's it look?" Alfred handed over a a handkerchief. You wiped away your tear stained face, petrified of what it was going to be like when you finally put the cowl on as well.

"Fits like a glove," Alfred answered. The suit looked like you were meant for it. Being the bat was life you were destined for, even if you knew every single person would know that you were far from the original. You would never be Bruce, Alfred knew that. You weren't Batman, you weren't Batwoman. You didn't know who you were anymore.

"What was I thinking, Alfred?" You asked, turning to face him. The Batmobile glared at you, along with every other item in that cave that belonged to Bruce. "I'm not Bruce, I'm not meant to do this. It should be Dick, Tim, Damian even. I look like a fraud. No one is going to believe this."

"You were meant for this," Alfred assured. You knew he was lying. Alfred knew more than anyone that Bruce didn't want you to take this title. He had told Alfred more than once never to let you step foot back in that cave if he was to perish. Alfred had gone against his dying wish - but it was going to be his if he went against you.

"I haven't even told the kids," your voice cracked. It had been just over three weeks since Bruce's death and you hadn't even gotten the guts to tell them their father died. How were you supposed to face the city if you couldn't face the family you loved? "I'm too weak."

"You were married to Master Bruce for a decade, I wouldn't call that weak in the slightest," Alfred tried to joke. If you could put up with his crazy life, you were anything but weak. "I've known you for a great deal of time, (Y/N), if there's one person that is strong enough to do this, it's you."

Your chin trembled for a moment. You couldn't keep these tears up, Alfred was right, you were strong enough to do this and you needed to prove it. Your fists clenched at your side and you clenched your jaw. It was time. The cowl was pulled up over your head, the final seal to your fate.

><

You were right. Not a single person believed that you were the great Batman. Even low-life criminal scum took you as a joke. They knew that you weren't him, they teased you enough that you had broken far greater than the bat ever would. After all your years as a vigilante, wearing that suit seemed to bring out a dark side you didn't know you had.

It was easier to understand now what Bruce's mentality was while wearing it. No matter the person under the cowl, it brought an evil out that was hard to push down. It was so easy to take down worthless criminals, they didn't know who was under the suit. No repercussions, no doubts.

You could understand why Jason did what he did. Wearing this suit, it brought out a lot of things that you didn't realize were hidden away. Night after night you would come home with blood soaking through the dark material. It was enough that it made Alfred concerned, even the city concerned.

Batman disappears for a few weeks and a successor comes back even more deadly than the last? GCPD wasn't going to allow it, and neither were the citizens. Even if they didn't agree with your suddenly violent methods, the city was getting safer and no one was dead. That didn't make Alfred any less worried.

Missing Bruce had fueled that aggression. You missed him so much that each time you put on his cowl, you were blinded by the anger of those who killed him. Bruce would have never wanted this of you, but you couldn't stop it. Not until every damn person in that city knew that you were going to stop them the second they thought about committing a crime.

"You've been all over the news, Bruce," Dick's voiced echoed through the cave. The cape that covered your shoulders hid your smaller frame, the cowl hiding your hair. He was standing far enough away that he couldn't tell the difference between you and your dead husband.

Your breath caught in your throat. Dick, the others, they still didn't know. You had been so caught up in keeping the Batman mantle alive that you hadn't thought once again about telling them. Now, you couldn't hide it anymore. You couldn't hide that Bruce was dead and that it was you under the mask.

Reluctantly, you pulled the cowl down as you turned to face Dick. Tears stung your eyes and poured down as you met Dick's. The utter shock that he had from you being in the suit had caused him to step back. He was prepared to lecture Bruce, not see that it was you.

"(Y/N)," Dick whispered. You avoided his gaze, petrified as to what he was going to think of you now. The whole reason he was there was to get Batman on the right path, now he was going to get a completely different story. He rushed down the steps of the cave, meeting you where you stood.

Your body shook with sobs, knees buckling from under you. If it wasn't for Dick's hold on you, you would have been flat on the ground. You didn't need to say anything, to explain what you were doing. The second that he saw you in Bruce's modified suit, he had figured it out.

Bruce Wayne was dead, and so was every other side of him.

Silent tears slipped down Dick's cheeks. He and Bruce might not have always gotten along, but he was still the man that raised him for over a decade. His grip on you tightened, just as you had thought, Bruce always seemed invincible. Dick never thought he'd see the day that Bruce was dead in the field.

"What happened?" Dick finally managed to speak. His voice cracked and he feverishly dried his wet cheeks, followed by yours.

"I should have been there," was all you could say. You were supposed to be with him that night, you should have been with him. You could have saved him, or died right along with him. Either options seemed to be easier than the pain that you had to endure without him. "I wasn't there to save him."

"The others?" Dick asked. He didn't know how long Bruce had been gone, or how long you had been hiding this from him. He wanted to be mad, to yell at you that he should have known sooner. He couldn't, not after seeing how torn up you were about this. You missed him far more than anyone.

You shook your head, voice catching in your throat. You didn't want to be the one to tell Damian that his father was dead, and you weren't there to stop it. It was you that sent him to the Titans, claiming that you and Bruce could handle the city on your own for a while. You were wrong, so desperately wrong.

Damian would never forgive you for this.

Dick turned away from you. His hand slid down his face, trying to decipher all the emotions running through him. Everyone needed to know, they deserved the truth. He was mad at you too, you could see it in the way he held himself up. You didn’t need a lecture that night, you needed to get on the streets and keep it safe.

You let out a shaky breath. The cowl no longer hung from your neck put was placed back on your head. Dick needed this time to himself, to accept that Bruce was gone. You needed to save the city. Besides, he didn't want to be anywhere near you, not right now. You could see it in him - mad at you for keeping it from him, from everyone, mad at you for taking such harsh measures and tarnishing Bruce’s name. 

"Where are you going?" Dick asked as you stalked over to the Batmobile. You certainly didn't pass up as Bruce, not even close. Between your smaller frame and completely different voice, you were nothing like him. Even your fighting styles differed. If anyone was going to pull it off, it had to be Dick.

You didn't say anything as you hopped into the car. The track spun you around and the lights shined the path ahead. Dick stood in front of you, blocking your chance of leaving. He had never seen you run from your problems like this, you were always the level headed one between you and Bruce.

Losing him changed you, a lot. Dick had been with you for less than an hour and you seemed like a completely different person. He felt like the parent right now, never did he feel like that with you.

"Get out of the car, (Y/N)," Dick urged. His gold chain shined in the bright light. It had been a long time since you had seen him in just his civvies. For a second, you swore he looked like the little boy that you had first accepted into your home, not this full fledged adult. You squeezed your eyes shut, accepting that he was right and you needed to face this.

The lights flicked off and Dick now stood at your car door. You stood at his side once more, head tilted in shame. Dick pulled the cowl off your head, the warm eyes of his adoptive mother were cold. He saw no love within them, no hope for the future.

"You don't belong in that suit," he shook his head. Dick knew that you bared the suit so no one else had to. He knew you were taking this bullet so that you didn't have to see your kids suffer in it. He could see that wearing it was killing you from the inside out. Being that Bat was something that you weren't meant to endure.

"Neither do you," You voice trembled. Being alone these past few weeks, it made it easy to block out your feelings of grief. Now, with Dick being back everything you had bottled up was spilling out like a river.

"Bruce wanted me to take it, never you," Dick argued. He never wanted to be Batman, he wanted to be his own person. Deep down, he knew that this day would come, that he would have to take up the mantle he so desperately tried to run from. "Bruce might not have been the most loving person, but he always wanted what was best for you."

"I need to do this, Dick," you continued. The last thing you wanted to see was Dick to be dragged down by the weight of the cape. He had something good going for him, and coming back to his old home would ruin that. You gestured around to the cave, “this is where I'm meant to be, even if Bruce never wanted it."

"Bruce wanted you to be happy. Wearing that suit is draining you, you can't keep this up," Dick denied. Seeing you like this hurt just as much as pain of Bruce being dead. Growing up, you were always there for him, always the one to help him back up. It seemed you had an endless ray of hope in you. That hope was gone and diminished to nothing. "You have to tell everyone, Damian... He needs to know."

"How am I supposed to look him in the eye and tell him his father is dead?" You pleaded. Dick sighed, this was going to be the hardest conversation you would ever have. It needed to be done, everyone needed to know. The world needed to know, Bruce Wayne was a public figure, they couldn't hide this forever.

Dick never answered you. He didn't know how to answer you. You pushed past him, peeling off the suit as you headed towards the computers. Dick wasn't going to let you go out that night, not in that suit. You'd be surprised if he let you go out at all again.

The screen lit up and for the first time since Bruce's death, you hovered over the emergency contacts. Everyone needed to know, The Justice League, the family, you needed to be the one to tell them. Your heart clenched as you sent the message to your family saying to come home, immediately.

Dick placed his hand on your shoulder. He was going to be the one to help you through telling everyone. You were making the right choice, this secret couldn't go on for any longer. When everyone knew, then they would decide who would take the suit, who would become Batman again.

You hoped that it would be you.