#and now they're together in this moment where... technically they kind of won the fight

[coffeebanana]

having thoughts about the marinette and nathalie hug because like.

my god.

marinette's just had her world turned inside out

she's just a kid and how's she supposed to carry all this alone and what is she supposed to do and what does she tell adrien?

and then, suddenly, there's someone there to share the burden. an adult. someone who has a reputation for getting things done

so maybe, just this once, everything doesn't have to balance on marinette's shoulders alone

but it's nathalie--who, sure, adrien obviously cares about. but not someone marinette's at all close to. certainly not someone she probably thinks of as warm or parental or even very trustworthy. maybe marinette's even started to put the pieces together--if gabriel was monarch, then mayura must have been...??

those doubts seem insignificant when she actually sees nathalie

the last time marinette saw her, she was dying. and now marinette knows what gabriel wished for--at least some of it. she knows he did one good thing in the end. that he finally, to some degree, put adrien first

then another horrible truth dawns on marinette: nathalie doesn't know--of course she was aware gabriel was dying, but she still doesn't know he's dead

marinette's probably already thought up a hundred different ways she might break the news to adrien--even if she discarded them all just as quickly. she hasn't thought at all about breaking the news to nathalie

what's she supposed to say? however complicated things were in the end, gabriel was obviously someone nathalie cared about

marinette struggles to find the words, but nathalie just knows. she already suspected, because how would she be here if gabriel was as well? and now the truth's written all over marinette's face

it's not just marinette who needs that hug--though nathalie would probably never admit it, which is why it's marinette who's running to her

how many weeks has adrien been gushing to nathalie about marinette? about how she's so creative and strong and compassionate and full of love

and in that moment, nathalie understands

[silverwhittlingknife]

Op, your post about food is a delight? Can you please share more? As someone who suffers from an ed, I found that refreshing and kinda comforting. Thank you!!

5 More Moments with Dick, Tim, and Food (plus bonus panels with Dick and Tim eating with friends!)

Thank you, kind person, this ask was a great excuse to go looking for EVEN MORE panels with food!! I find them comforting too. Lots of love to you and I hope you enjoy these panels as much as I do!! ❤

Please enjoy the continuing adventures of Dick and Tim bonding over food, i.e. Dick finding food for Tim.

1. Dick keeps his fridge stocked for Tim in Secret Origins 80-Page Giant

Back when Dick and Tim were Batman and Robin, and Dick was living alone in the Manor, Dick started keeping the fridge stocked for Tim. Here, it looks like Dick might have food and drinks for Tim in his fridge in Blüdhaven, too.

I'm not sure what Tim's reaching for but there's a good chance it's Zesti Cola, a soft drink that both Dick and Tim like.

(Also, check out the probable birthday cake! Dick's currently kinda dating Bridget Clancy, so most likely it's from her or for her. On the other hand, in this comic Dick says Tim's "almost fifteen"...)

2. Popcorn in Secret Origins 80-Page Giant

Later in the same comic, they're going to watch some trashy TV together, so naturally, that means it's time for popcorn!

3. Pizza in Birds of Prey 19

Okay, this may actually be my favorite. It's shortly after the end of No Man's Land, and everyone in Gotham is rebuilding. Babs is rewiring her whole computer system to make it more powerful, so Tim has come over to help out. Then Dick shows up at the front door...

Babs: "It's Dick! Ahhh.... and he brought flowers." Tim: "And pizza! You knew I was here, Dick?" Dick: "Alfred said you were over here helping Babs."

Okay, so what is AWESOME about this is that a) Tim understands immediately that the pizza is for him, and b) he is right!

In other news, Dick and Clancy have recently broken up, and Dick and Babs aren't technically dating yet, though you'd be forgiven for assuming they are. They're certainly getting very close.

Meanwhile, Alfred is at Brentwood, Tim's strict all-boys' boarding school (Alfred had a fight with Bruce and decamped for a while), but - awkward! - Babs still doesn't know Tim's secret identity, which is why Dick and Tim can't tell her where Alfred is.

4. Pizza in Gotham Knights 33

Years ago, Bane broke Bruce's back, but now he's reemerged and Bruce is determined to rehabilitate him - though Dick and Tim are skeptical. When Bruce insists on leaving with Bane on a mission to destroy a Lazarus Pit in Nicosia, Dick and Tim camp out in the Cave fretting about his safety...until Tim falls asleep.

As you can see, they've gotten pizza again.

(The "troubles with Luthor and Cain" is a recent plotline: President Luthor hired David Cain to kill Bruce's girlfriend Vesper Fairchild, framing him for murder. Tim thinks Bruce's guilt over Vesper's death is making him reckless.)

5. Dick brings donuts to the Cave in Gotham Knights 46

While Tim and Cass are looking at old photos of the Spook, Dick shows up with donuts! Tim is ecstatic.

(That's right - Cass is here now! Technically, she's been around for a while - Bruce met Cass during No Man’s Land, and ever since, he and Babs have been training the new Batgirl. But Cass still doesn't know Dick and Tim that well, so this is a rare cute moment with the three of them.)

This issue as a whole has some nice Dick and Tim moments, like when they spend thirty-three hours on stake-out and make a bet about what will happen. They're watching the Spook, who's recently out on parole: Tim thinks the Spook's reformation might be genuine, while Dick's sure it's a fake-out.

(This isn't the first bet Dick and Tim have made! Back in Prodigal, Tim bet that Azrael was genuinely reformed, and Dick bet that he wasn't. Tim won that bet, but this time, Dick wins - though the Spook has given up violent crime, he's still stealing money.)

Bonus: Dick eating with friends (and sorta girlfriend) in Titans Secret Files 2!

A bit after the end of No Man's Land, the Titans come to Blüdhaven for the first time, and they surprise Dick by bringing pizza to his apartment!

...Though maybe they should've called first. XD

Chronologically, this comic comes out a few months after #3, but since Dick seems to still be kinda dating Bridget Clancy here, logically it must take place shortly before that.

(Dick breaks up with Clancy in Nightwing 43, the issue right before the "flowers-and-pizza" Birds of Prey comic.)

Though things are a little awkward as everybody gets to know each other, they quickly all have fun hanging out - though Dick does get annoyed with Roy, who makes a point of telling his sorta girlfriend all kinds of embarrassing stories!

Friends: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Bonus: Tim eating with friends in Young Justice 7!

Check it out: it's another pizza party!

This storyline happens even earlier, during No Man's Land (between #2 and Titans Secret Files 2). The newly-formed Young Justice team hangs out, plays truth-or-dare, and talks about why they became vigilantes.

(Meanwhile, the Young Justice parent-teacher conference is held, with Wonder Girl and Arrowette's mothers, Superboy and Impulse's guardians, and -- Robin's big brother. Tim's dad doesn't know he's Robin, and Bruce is AWOL in No Man's Land, so Dick shows up for him instead. <3)

Rambling analysis...

This is kind of a side-note, but something I really like about these panels is the subtle way that the "family" Dick + Tim panels often feel different from the "friendship" panels.

Just like with real brothers who live fairly close to each other, Dick and Tim's bonding-over-food scenes tend to be pretty casual - hanging out is a regular thing, not a big-deal Event. Finding food for his visiting little brother is something that Dick does so routinely that he's already got stuff in his fridge!

Whereas when Dick and Tim are getting together with their close friends who live pretty far away, it's more of a celebratory special occasion. That's not always true - they both go through periods when they spend more time with friends than with family - but it's definitely true in the time these panels are from, when Dick and Tim are both struggling to decide how much they want to open up to their teammates.

Luckily for them, those teammates are happy to ply them with pizza until they figure it out.

[ghostedgrim]

I stare, with a deadpan expression, at the warlord almost dumbfounded at how stubborn they are.

"Why should I listen to someone such as yourself," They croaked.

"Dunno," I snapped back, "maybe because I was born and raised in this realm, studied phycology, and am just that fucking observant!" Now I was serious, even if I was a god myself I'd still be hesitant when messing with humans.

"Fine," they snapped, "tell me, small one, why should I be so worried that your little realm could destroy my empire." They must really think that calling names and emphasizing empire would scare me away. In a matter of factly tone I began my story.

"Humans themselves, or really just their body and brain, are entirely focused on keeping them alive, one of the mechanisms it uses is adrenaline, this adrenaline activates fight or flight in which, to put it simple, they will become inhumanly strong, fast, both mentally and physically, and become almost im-."

"WHY, should I-,"

"I am not yet finished," I took a quick breath and resumed, "that's just the brain on it's own, on Earth we are separated by countries all of which where forged by war, as far as history goes humans have always been violent, because of this each country has it's own military, each trained differently, many countries have formed alliances and many have agreed on rules of combat that if you break, all hell breaks lose. Yes humans are okay with war until till you break a rule, we are toddlers in adult bodies. They'll start using unforeseeable violence cause they're petty and vengeful, there are also many abandoned bombs meaning you could just take a stroll and suddenly you're in one-hundred places at once." I took a break to let my rambling settle in before I continued. "Now I shall get into the citizens themselves, to summarize in some countries some to even all citizens can carry firearms and know how to use them, children up to adults can join classes that teach varying forms of self-defense with and without weapons, almost all have cars that can be used as travel and, of course, Death machines on wheels. No place has the same weather and/or climate, hell in Australia everything at least tries to kill you, and there all defended by police forces armed to the teeth. If a human can't run, they fight, they can't fight they run till they reach a human that'll protect them, and most terrifying is that some will be horny for y'all." I shove my hands, well technically hand because my right one left for milk before I was born, and let out a sigh to indicate that I was done, so far.

The Emperor sat still for a moment piecing together what I'd said. They then stared at me expectantly, "is that all," they questioned.

I let out a short laugh "hardly," I deadpanned.

"Then summarize it," they snapped clearly having grown bored.

"Welp," I said popping the p, "Humans are armed to the teeth, they can't fight they run till they can or can be helped, they're petty, vengeful, stubborn and terrifyingly possessive, some humans are extremely good at manipulating, they're smart whilst also being so dumb that it helps them, after losing they still find ways to get what they want, not to mention Earth is filled with all kinds of horrifying creatures that we've managed to keep as pets or friends, put it simple. DO. NOT. FUCK. WITH. US."

The Emperor gave a thoughtful look acting as if they listened to a single word I said. "I'm touched, really," they said sarcasm dripping off their tounge, "but my attack must continue." They begin to speak again, probably to give some order but was quickly interrupted by a hoarse cackle coming from the small human.

"Ah" I caught my breath still giggling here and there, "your grave then, darlin, but don't say I didn't warn ya." I wiped a few tears from my eyes, clicked a few buttons on my gauntlet and left for Earth to inform my superiors of the upcoming invasion.

___________

It's been a rough couple of years, but just as I warned, humanity won.

Apologies for my terrible writing

You must convince the evil warlord not to open a portal to your world. Not because their army might conquer it, but because the army back home might conquer this realm.