#and when it comes to gos drake needs to learn to put his pride on the shelf

[giddlygoat]

drake forgets that LP has the capacity to intimidate and so does he

[onyxsboxes]

After a bit of delay, here are the songs titles from the LCAPT Clegan playlist

1. Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters 2. Clearest Blue by CHVRCHES 3. I'm Not In Love by 10cc 4. Death and All His Friends by Coldplay 5. Til Kingdom Come by Coldplay 6. The Queen Of All Everything by Ott 7. Love song from a dog by Shovels & Rope ft. gregory alan isakov 8. If we were vampires by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 9. Passenger seat by Death Cab for Cutie

10. In our bedroom after the war by Stars 11. Early mornin’ rain by Peter, Paul and Mary 12. I was made for loving you by Yungblud cover 13. Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens 14. Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens 15. Lover, You Should've Come Over by Jeff Buckley 16. The Roads by Jonah Kagen 17. Next to You by John Vincent III 18. Seen My Man (Wisconsin Demo) by Trixie Mattel 19. Beneath Oak Trees by Dylan Gossett

20. Heaven is a Bedroom by TV Girl 21. Wicked Games by The Weeknd 22. Itchy Teeth by Marika Hackman 23. Breakup by Ashton Irwin 24. Work Song by Hozier 25. I’m Low on Gas and you Need a Jacket by Pierce The Veil 26. Betting On Us by Myles Smith 27. I'm the Sinner by Jared Benjamin 28. Running to You by Jamie Drake & Jamie Jackson 29. Look After You by Aron Wright

30. Smokestacks by Layla 31. Run To You by CJ Starnes 32. Gale song by The Lumineers 33. White Ferrari by Frank Ocean 34. Can You Hear the Rain Love by Richard Hawley 35. Say Yes To Heaven by Lana Del Rey 36. Talk Show Host by Radiohead 37. Untold by RY X 38. Lovers Rock by TV Girl 39. Waiting Room by Phoebe Bridgers

40. I Will by The Beatles 41. Glimpse of Us by Joji 42. Somethin' Stupid by Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra 43. When the party is over by Billie Eilish 44. I love you by Billie Eilish 45. Blue jeans by Lana Del Rey 46. The secret marriage by Sting 47. Wicked game by Ursine Vulpine 48. Love Me Like You Used To by Lord Huron 49. Need you Now by Lady A

50. Strange Birds by Birdy 51. Old Money by Lana Del Rey 52. The Night We Met by Lord Huron 53. Piano Man by Billy Joel 54. Alley Rose by Conan Fray 55. Good Luck, babe by Chappel Roan 56. Be Nice To Me by The Front Bottoms 57. Saturn by Sleeping At Last 58. So Long, London by Taylor Swift 59. From Eden by Hozier

60. I Should Live in Salt by The National 61. Demons by The National 62. Graceless by The National 63. Your Mind Is Not Your Friend by The National, Phoebe Bridgers 64. Don’t Swallow the Cap by The National 65. Dreaming by The National 66. This Isn’t Helping by The National, Phoebe Bridgers 67. Issues by Julia Michaels 68. Gorecki by Lamb 69. Ends Of The Earth by Lord Huron

70. Dark Red by Steve Lacy 71. Fireproof by Coleman Hell 72. Heavydirtysoul by Twenty One Pilots 73. All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar 74. I Found by Amber Run 75. Beautiful by Josh Zandman 76. Budapest by George Ezra 77. Be Together by Major Lazer 78. On The Nature Of Daylight by Max Richter 79. Guiding Light by Mumford & Sons

80. My Blood by Twenty One Pilots 81. My Madonna by Dexter Freebish 82. Chemicals Between Us by Bush 83. Protect Me From What I Want by Placebo 84. I Feel Loved by Depeche Mode 85. Gimme Some Lovin’ by The Spencer Davis Group 86. Little Light Of Love by Eric Serra 87. Fire and Flood by Vance Joy 88. Pride (In The Name Of Love) by Clivillés & Cole 89. Holdin’ Out by The Lumineers

90. If I Go, I’m Goin by Gregory Alan Isakov 91. Letting The Cables Sleep by Bush 92. This Feeling by Chainsmokers 93. Me And You by Barry Louis Polisar 94. Silver sable by Cigarettes after sex 95. How I Learned to Love the Bomb by Glass Animals 96. Hellofazoo by Until the Ribbon Breaks 97. Mr. Forgettable by David Kushner 98. John My Beloved by Sufjan Stevens 99. Alan by Perfume genius

100. One line by PJ harvey 101. Putting The Dog To Sleep by the antlers 102. In My Arms by Alex g 103. Certainty by Big thief 104. Angel In The Snow by Elliott smith 105. Nothing Matters by The Last Dinner Party 106. The Loneliest by Måneskin 107. Till forever falls apart by Ashe, Finneas 108. Whish that you were here by Florence + The Machine 109. I Forget Where We Were by Ben Howard

110. Bite by Troye Sivan 111. Lowlife by Poppy 112. Real Love Song by Nothing But Thieves 113. Like You Do by Joji 114. Be My baby by The Ronettes 115. Burn by Tom Walker 116. Lucky by Bif Naked 117. Fair by The Amazing Devil 118. Bitch by Meredith Brooks 119. I wish you were a girl by 12 RODS

120. All i think about now by Pixies 121. I know by Fiona Apple 122. Sweet tooth by Cavetown 123. Flawless by The Neighborhood 124. Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley 125. Simply the best by Billianne 126. I remember everything by Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves 127. Coal by Dylan Gossett 128. i am not who i was by Chance Peña 129. I Bet On Losing Dogs by Mitski

130. Two slow dancers by Mitski 131. Lucky to get him by Aly and AJ 132. Crack baby by Mitski 133. I don't smoke by Mitski 134. Smoke gets in your eyes by Helen Forest 135. Love by Daughter 136. Can’t Help Falling in Love - DARK by Tommee Profitt, brooke 137. Chills - Dark Version by Mickey Valen, Joey Myron 137,5. Skyline by Sibewest 138. Beautiful Crime by Tamer 139. Act natural by Margaret Glaspy

140. Betray my heart by D'Angelo 141. I will be your friend by Sade 142. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli 143. I Didn’t Know by Sofia Carson 144. You by A Great Big World 145. This Woman’s Work by Kate Bush 146. Can't you see - acoustic by Matthew and the Atlas 147. Cowboy by Jack Van Cleaf 148. Feels like Home by Caamp 149. Carry You Home by Alex Warren

150. Belong Together by Mark Ambor 151. The First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes 152. Kaleidoscope by A Great Big World 153. Monsters of the North by The National Parks 154. The great war by Taylor Swift 155. Free by Florence + The Machine 156. I know the end by Phoebe Bridgers 157. Another Man’s Jeans by Ashe 158. I’ve Told You Now by Sam Smith 159. Love Me by Elvis Presley

160. Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue) by Hozier 161. Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish 162. Take me home, country roads by John Denver 163. Army Dreamers by Kate Bush 164. I'm No Angel by Dido 165. We’ll Meet Again by Johnny Cash 166. Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other by Orville Peck 167. If We Were Vampires by Noah Kahan, Wesley Schultz 168. You Belong To Me by Jo Stafford 169. Goodnight Irene by Frank Sinatra

170. All I Want by Kodaline 171. Me and my Husband by Mitski 172. The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is out to get us by Sufjan Stevens 173. As the World cave in by Sarah Cothran 174. Dead of Night by Orville Peck 175. invisible string by Taylor Swift 176. The Ghost of You by My chemical Romance 177. We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn 178. Love in the Time Of Socialism by Yellow house 179. Northern Downpour by Panic! At The Disco

180. Better in the Morning by Birdtalker 181. doomsday by Lizzy McAlpine 182. Guilty by Al Bowlly 183. Heat Lightning by Mitski 184. everything i wanted by Billie Eilish 185. Blood Moon by Josiah and the Bonnevilles 186. Night Terror by Laura Marling 187. Vengeance Is Sleeping by Neko Case 188. Finally Stop Dreaming by Dylan Gossett 189. The Yawning Grave by Lord Huron

190. Learning To Fly by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 191. Hounds of Love by The Futureheads 192. Now I'm in it by HAIM 193. Stand Back by Stevie Nicks 194. Moonlight of Your Room by Joe Pug 195. Blue by Mai Yamane 196. Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn 197. Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers 198. Summer Of '69 by Bryan Adams 199. Fix you by Coldplay

200. Sun Bleached Flies by Ethel Cain 201. I walk the Line by Halsey 202. The Greatest by Billie Eilish 203. I'll be seeing you by Billie Holiday 204. We will not be Lovers by The Waterboys 205. Triptych by Samia 206. In a Jar by Dinosaur Jr. 207. Dionne by The Japanese House, Justin Vernon 208. Nothing Like by Mannequin pussy 209. True Love Waits by Radiohead

210. Weird Fish/Arpeggi by Radiohead 211. I’m a Fool to Want You by Billie Holiday 212. A Life of Arctic Sounds by Modest Mouse 213. Soldier Boy by The Shirelles 214. Casual by Chappel Roan 215. Ruined by Adrianne Lenker 216. Without You by Tobias Jesso Jr. 217. That's Where I Am by Maggie Rogers 218. Die Young by Sylvab Esso 219. Violet hill by Coldplay

220. You made me love you by Patsy Cline 221. Smoke gets in your eyes by Eartha Kitt 222. Piece of my heart by Erma Franklin 223. Love and anger by Kate Bush 224. Guilty by Johnny Desmond 225. I Can’t Begin to Tell You by Bing Crosby 226. People Will Say We’re in Love by Frank Sinatra 227. You’ll Never Know by Dick Haymes 228. You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To by Dinah Shore 229. Speeding Cars by Walking On Cars

230. Girl Crush by Harry Style 231. Fine Line by Harry Style 232. Bittersuite by Billie Eilish 233. Et même après je t'aimerai by Hoshi 234. Tourner dans le vide by Indila 235. What was I made For? by Billie Eilish 236. Maybe by James Arthur 237. Happy Together by Gerard Way, Ray Toro 238. Dandelions by Ruth B. 239. When the Darkness Comes by Shelby Merry

240. Silver tongues by Louis Tomlinson 241. Telepathic by Starset 242. Always by Isak Danielson 243. Like real people Do by Hozier 244. Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls 245. Can you hold me by NF, Britt Nicole 246. Moondust by Jaymes Young 247. Maps - triple j Like A version by Camp Cope 248. We made it by Louis Tomlinson 249. Adore you by Harry Style

250. Love song by Lana Del Rey 251. Satellite by Harry Style 252. Late night Talking by Harry Style 253. Home by Edith Whiskers 254. Guilty as Sin? by Taylor Swift 255. The Light by CHPTRS 256. Started With You by CHPTRS 257. City Lights (Symphonic Version) by HAEVN 258. This Is Why I Need You by Jesse Ruben 259. Never Stop (Wedding Version) by Safetysuit

260. Sacrifice by Elton John 261. Who we are by Hozier 262. Politik by Coldplay 263. All I need by Radiohead 264. Can't pretend by Tom Odell 265. Would Anyone Care by Citizen Soldier 266. Hold My Hand by Lady Gaga 267. Warriors by Willyecho 268. Brother by Kodaline 269. Protector by City wolf

270. Texas reznikoff by Mitski 271. Pin by Grimes 272. I'm your man by Mitski 273. Haunting by Halsey 274. Twin flame by Weyes blood 275. Why Can’t The Dark Leave Me Alone? by Toni Fisher 276. No Other Love by Jo Stafford 277. Your Best American Girl by Mitski 278. Careless Whispers by George Michael 279. Sailor Song by Gigi Perez

280. Sidelines by Phoebe Bridges 281. not a lot, just forever by Adrianne Lenker 282. forwards beckon rebound by Adrianne Lenker 283. Norman fucking Rockwell by Lana Del Rey 284. Long Long Time by Linda Ronstadt 285. Break by alex_g_offline 286. Some Velvet morning by Nancy Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood 287. Overtime by Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Kacey Musgraves 288. The John Wayne by Little Green Cars 289. Pale blue Eyes by The Velvet Underground

290. You'll Never Know (78rpm version) by Frank Sinatra, Bobby Tucker Singers 291. Come on Mess me up by Cub sport 292. While I can by Keaton henson 293. Flying :)) by Tom Odell 294. Cornflower blue by Flower Face 295. Remember by Seinabo Sey, Jacob Banks 296. Once more to see you by Mitski 297. Back to the old house by The Smiths 298. Symphonia IX by Current Joys 299. So real by Jeff Buckley

300. Half return by Adrianne Lenker 301. Fade into you by Mazzy Star 302. All We Ever Do is Talk by Del Water Gap 303. Dirty Little Secret by Artemas 304. Too Sweet by Hozier 305. Anyways I Love You by Wild Rivers 306. like you’re god by Mehro 307. Size too small by Sufjan Stevens 308. Cheers Darlin' by Damien Rice 309. Lotus Flower by Radiohead

310. Twilight Time by The Platters 311. Because of You by Tony Bennett 312. if i needed someone by The Beatles 313. Standing next to You by Jungkook 314. Falling away with You by Muse 315. Exist for Love by AURORA 316. Sata vuotto by BEHM 317. Blood Sport by Sleep Token 318. Oblivion by SYML 319. Timezone by Måneskin

320. Own my mind by Måneskin 321. Pushing Up Daisies (Love Alive) by Brothers Osborne 322. Unbroken by Tim McGraw 323. I Was Born To Love You by Queen 324. You’re My Best Friend by Queen 325. Think I’m In Love With You by Chris Stapleton, Dua Lipa 326. Something To Talk About by Bonnie Raitt 327. Parachute by Chris Stapleton 328. Love The Lonely Out Of You by Brothers Osborne 329. Here Tonight (The Acoustic Sessions) by Brett Young, Charles Kelley

330. Stay A Little Longer by Brothers Osborne 331. The End by Halsey 332. Birds of a feather by Billie Eilish 333. Found Heaven by Conan Gray 334. Down bad by Taylor Swift 335. I do by Renee Rapp 336. The good I'll do by Zach Bryan 337. Half Light by BANNERS 338. Resistance by Muse 339. Far from home (the raven) by Sam Tinnesz

340. Francis forever by Mitski 341. I love you by RIOPY 342. This must be the place (naive melody) 2005 by Talking Heads 343. Maps by Yeah yeah yeahs 344. Cinnamon Girl by Lana del rey 345. I'm on Fire by Bruce Springsteen 346. Fire on Fire by Sam Smith 347. I'm Making Believe by The Inkspots and Ella Fitzgerald 348. Watch Over You by Alter Bridge 349. Summer song by Remy bond

350. Off to the races by Lana Del Rey 351. Almost (sweet music) by Hozier 352. giveuwhatuwant by The Driver Era 352,5. Birds of a feather by Billie Eilish 353. Big Mike’s by Dijon 354. Simulation Swarm by Big Thief 355. I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys 356. Little Bit More by Mk.gee 357. Be Well by Ama Lou

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

A Sister's Love

Pairing: Platonic Damian Wayne x Al Ghul!Reader

Warnings: Injuries and blood. Drugging, Trafficking and sexual assult but these are not the main themes.

Word Count: 4.9K

Summary: You realize you have a lot to learn about yourself outside of your little brother, Damian's, shadow.

A/N: Was originally gonna make this a Dick Grayson x Reader but realized it would be weird cuz of mixed families and stuff. And I don't wanna be pushing the boundaries of incest.

Growing up in the League of Assassins meant a lot of things for you. It meant that you were raised to be powerful and commanding. It meant you knew how to kill a man in 47 different ways and counting. It meant that you were raised to rightfully think that you were the best.

Although for every good thing there was always cons. Your schedule was rigid and your peers were unfeeling. Your mother most of all, but that didn't stop you from trying to win her affection. It was the reason why when your little brother was born you felt threatened.

That was until you met little Damian. Your mother had handed him to you with a smile of pride that she never showed you and you hated him. But then you saw his precious little face, a nose tinier than a button and adorable lips that were curled into a pout. He was so beautiful.

Since then, you put any differences you might have had with your mother behind you. According to Ra’s it would have been a mistake to show Damian such tenderness, to teach him about loyalty to your heart, instead of without it.

But Talia couldn't ignore the tug she felt in her heart seeing you and Damian together. You still worked hard, harder than she had ever seen before, now determined not to show that you were weak and have them take your brother from you. Damian followed your example, training to her approval, however taxing it was for him.

And more importantly, Damian loved you. You were the first woman he had ever loved and he was smart enough to know that would never be a mistake. You were his shelter in a storm, his fire in the cold. You were the best sibling that anyone could ever even dream of.

But then you had to part. At age 10, Damian went to live with his father, Bruce Wayne. You had never met the man when he was with your mother and you assumed you wouldn't need to, he wasn't your father.

Both you and Damian didn't want to leave each other. You'd miss your little brother and you'd miss the feeling in your chest whenever you'd look at him. Damian would miss home; he would miss your presence and he would miss the familiarity. But he couldn't stay.

That's something you learnt at the League. Damian couldn't stay, with you. He was meant for bigger things than you.

Another thing you learnt was that you didn't have to stay either. You wanted to see the world, see what everything else had in store for you. And your mother, bless her, gave you her blessing.

Of all the things the league taught you, there were things they missed out on. And a part of you was thankful for that. Because you enjoyed the feeling of wide-eyed wonderment when you stepped into a train station for the first time ever.

You had never tasted a chocolate muffin before, you realized as you stuffed your face at a local bakery. Coffee and chocolate muffins went well together. You liked sweet things better than spicy things, you noted when you didn't enjoy the tteokbokki you bought at a Korean food stall.

People were kind, not foolish. They smiled at you when you came in and genuinely asked you where you were headed. Like the woman you met on the tram who was heading to Washington DC. Even through the short ride, the two of you had bonded and she had left you with her phone number and a promise that if you were ever in DC, you would ring her up. Diana was trusting, too trusting. You could have assumed it was because she was stupid, but you wanted to believe it was because she was smarter than even you.

Some people were kind like her but of course, some were impolite and pig-headed. You of course didn't waste any time putting them in their place. Maybe that was why you shouldn't have any faith in humanity.

But isn't humanity just the thing you should be putting faith in?

It was fun at first, discovering new things, seeing how people really lived outside of books and things taught to you back at the League. You knew everything, you weren't naive enough to be oblivious but reading about something was miles apart from actually experiencing it.

After a while however, you got lonely, it was a huge world with people constantly moving and you've come to realize that unless you're with somebody, you can't really move from your place. Instead, you'd be stuck watching all of them. So, you sought after your brother.

It was easy enough to track Bruce Wayne, he lived in a house large enough to be seen from outer space. Getting to Gotham took longer than you expected. Time passed so easily when you didn't have a purpose but now that you had somewhere you needed to be, the train couldn't go any slower.

Gotham City was less gloomy than people made it out to be. The sun was shining and the city was bustling. In some ways, it seemed a little homey. Maybe that was because you didn't have to worry about someone hurting you. If anything, they should pray that they don't choose you as their next victim.

Of course, you could've gone to Wayne Manor and introduced yourself civilly but you wanted to see Damian more than anything and didn't want to delay it any longer. And more than that, you wanted to see Damian is his cute little school uniform.

That's what led you to wait outside of the well-reputed Gotham University, waiting patiently for the bell to ring and students to file out of it. You already knew that they wouldn't come out singing like in the movies but a very small fraction of you still hoped.

Your heartrate increased with every passing minute, excited to meet your brother after nearly a year of being apart. Eventually, the bell did ring and students began trickling out of the doors, looking like bumble bees, excitedly zipping around and talking to their friends.

'Would this have been my life if I was never born in the League?' You wondered, looking at a girl who was animatedly chatting with her friend, arms interlocked as they moved towards the parking lot where their parents were waiting.

When you finally saw Damian, you suddenly felt out of place. Like an outsider watching someone else's brother when you saw his eyes lock onto someone in the commons. Even though you weren't on the school campus, you could still recognize who it was.

Richard Grayson, oldest son of Bruce Wayne, waiting to pick up your little brother on a motor cycle.

And for the first time in your life, you experienced insecurity, watching them greet each other like brothers. The feeling was sour and you wondered if it was a mistake coming here, thinking that you still had a place here.

It was true, people didn't move from their place unless they had someone to go with. You hadn't felt fulfilled like that since your brother stopped being at your side. He was everything you knew. It was just your mistake for thinking that in the year apart your brother wouldn't have found anyone either.

***

"Drake, pull up the security cameras from today at my school parking lot." Damian ordered, stepping into the Batcave.

"No 'Hello', no 'How you doing?', it's always 'Tim, do this' 'Drake, do that'," Tim commented sarcastically but still pulled up whatever he needed, "And then as soon as I give you what I want, you're going to forget me again. And not even visit the kids."

Dick spared him a laugh at his dramatic scene, ruffling his hair as greeting and then turned his attention to the screen. The footage was played at double the speed until Damian's eyes locked onto just what he wanted to find.

It was just for a second, when Dick's motorcycle had zoomed past but that was all he needed. Damian had seen your face and it wasn't any mistake, he'd know you even if he was blind. Even though he was so sure it had been you, he still couldn't hide the way his body froze, eyes wide when he saw your face.

It was the same face he'd see every night before he went to bed and the very first person he wanted to see every time he woke up. Your image was what came into his mind when he thought of being nurtured, when he thought of being safe.

There was a time when he was younger, too young, there was a thunder storm. He doesn't remember much from the night, just hiding his face against your chest and you wrapping a blanket around him. His mother trained him even harder the next day, until he almost dropped but he'd never forget curling up to your warmth. Not even now, when he knew that thunder storms were the least of his fears.

It was as simple as that. With his father and brothers, he didn't have to worry about looking weak, he didn't think of love as a weakness, rather he considered it as the fuel behind strength. Yes, his father taught him well. And now he would show you just how much he's grown. So, you can be proud of him.

"We need to find her."

"Why? Who is she?"

"My sister."

***

Of all the things you wanted to experience, visiting a bar was one of them. Was the air really enough to intoxicate you? Were you really going to lose all sense when you stepped into it? Would be able to drink your troubles away?

You were sorely disappointed. The alcohol didn't taste good, it burned when you swallowed it and made your tongue feel fuzzy. The music was so loud that your brain began throbbing against your skull to the beat of the song.

Men were picking fights and women were having fun but even then, you couldn't find it in yourself to get up and actually have fun. I mean, how were you supposed to? How was cosying up against a drunk man supposed to make you feel better? How was getting lost in throngs of sweaty people who didn't know what personal space was meant to improve your mood?

If anything, it just reminded you of just how pathetic your life was.

You were realizing you had no purpose. Damian was all you had known for years now, knowing only to protect him with your life and love him with your heart. Who were you without him? What did you like? What made you happy outside from your duty at the league?

A man knocking into you brought you out of your thoughts, which had been happening all night. Except this man stopped in front of you and gave you a smile that turned your stomach upside down.

"Sorry about that pretty lady, let me buy you a drink to make up for it." He spoke with a voice that was trying to be smooth but instead sounded like metal scraping over each other.

"No, thank you." You said sharply, not yet done with your Manhattan anyway. You were barely enjoying your time here as it was and you were sure another drink wouldn't change your mind.

"Not a fan?"

You shook your head at him, choosing to humour the man.

"Then let me buy you another one, if you don't like it then you have nothing to lose."

You pretended to giggle at him and he swelled with pride. Did he think he was winning?

"One Boulevardier." He told the bartender who nodded and began preparing the drink. Until it was ready, you indulged the man in front of you who reeked of cigarettes and alcohol.

He placed the drink in front of you and if you hadn't known that it would burn going down and turn you into a shell of yourself, you might have been curious to what it tasted like.

"You see that dude over there?" He nodded to a man standing in the other corner of the bar and you turned to look at him. Another man, covered in tattoos who didn't look any different than the one standing behind you.

"He's my pal, owns the bar. Ask him and he'll hook you up with free drinks tonight. For a price, of course."

You turned back around to face the man and out of the corner of your eye saw something dissolve into your drink. It was only for a second but you saw the last remaining grains turn invisible and you definitely noticed the way the once steady drink was now swirling into a vortex in the middle.

"Drink up, princess."

You smirked. Tonight, might be fun after all.

***

This was boring.

You had been pretending to be unconscious for about 40 minutes while these men drove you to some undisclosed location. Their conversations were unbelievably dry and it's not like you had anyone else to talk to. Everyone else who might have been even mildly interesting were knocked unconscious.

Eventually they pulled up to some sort of holding facility and if your assumptions were correct then this would be a midpoint before they sold all the girls here to some sort of pimp.

Once they lugged you off the truck and threw you into a room with so many other people, you could hear their breathing did you open your eyes. It seemed like this was some sort of abandoned butcher or meat factory, judging by the ominous hooks hanging above your head and the metal walls. The door had been bolted shut, the only way to look through it was a small glass window.

Only after you finished taking in your surroundings did you even look at the other women who had been trapped in the room along with you. Your stomach turned.

There were so many unsuspecting faces who looked like they didn't sign up for this. Half of them looked under the influence of something, sweating profusely even in their sleep, faces scrunched up in pain. The other looked like they were forcibly taken, bruises covering their skin, hair and clothes in disarray and more than half of them had either a black eye or a swollen lip.

Maybe it was their fault for not being trained, that's what someone at the league would've said. But isn't it their captors’ fault for misusing their training, their strength, for something as vile as this?

You decided to wait, you couldn't assume that this small group of girls was the only one in the confines of the building. How many more were here?

You weren't feeling overwhelmed, not at all, not with the weapons that were littering you. A kunai hidden is either of your boots, throwing stars in your pockets hidden underneath your vest and a war fan in your pocket. You could handle these clowns without even looking up.

But it wasn't your life you were concerned about. It was the lives of these underaged, vulnerable girls who had fallen prey to these monsters.

While you were waiting a couple of the girls started to wake up. Some were still heavily drugged, still groggy when their eyes fluttered open and unable to focus onto anything. Others shot up straight as an arrow and began crying, screaming, begging for them to let them out.

They were ignored, by both their captors and you. Why try and reassure then when you weren't sure what was going to happen. More importantly, why throw off the monsters lurking outside the door that there was one woman who hadn't been phased.

Instead, you just stared blankly, trying to get comfortable and hear anything through the walls. Eventually, you heard the sound of footsteps coming towards the room. You covered the lower half of your face with a scarf, making sure that anyone who left here alive today, wouldn't be able to remember your face. Whether it be as a saviour or their punisher.

The girls whimpered and curled into one another, crying quietly and you felt sympathy. There was no way they'd be able to move forward from this without having fear stab at their heart with every step they took. You could only hope they had something in their life that would make them feel safe.

For tonight, you'd be that for them.

A few men opened the door with a cruel smile, stepping inside for a second before bolting it shut. They flaunted guns and other weapons to the girls, finding pleasure where there should be compassion and worry. You were disgusted watching their smirks twist maniacally when the girls cried harder seeing them brandish their weapons.

One of the men stepped forward and grabbed the girl closest to him who begged and cried to spare her. His disgusting hand might as well be made of acid because you almost felt the sick burn when it snaked between her legs and copped a feel while she sobbed and screamed, trying to fight him off.

You grabbed one of your weapons and returned their sick grins with one of your own.

It was going to be hard to cop a feel when he can't feel anything.

You were going to break each and every bone in his hand to ensure that.

***

"Can I borrow your phone please?" You asked the bloody and broken man by your feet. He glared at you and spat blood on your boots, unable to do anything else. You sighed and faked a pout.

"Is it here?" You wondered, holding the dirtied boot over his ribs and his eyes widened, catching drift of what you were about to do. You rammed your foot into his broken ribs, courtesy of yourself, and he screamed bloody murder. Music to your ears.

"Apparently not. Want me to check your pants?" You asked, raising a brow and he frantically shook his head, using whatever strength left to pull out his phone from his pocket and you smiled, thanking him quietly.

"Now, let's hope that one blow is enough to put you out of my misery." You sang, punching him right in the face and he passed out. Lightweight.

You took a look around the place, seeing bodies littered over the place like confetti. Blood was scattered on the ground and you're sure if people looked hard enough, they'd find someone's teeth. You on the other hand looked fine.

You sat on the floor, crossing your legs comfortably, tired after the fight and dialled a number onto the phone.

"Hello, police?"

"Yes, how can we help you?"

"Well, there's a sex trafficking scam going on at my location. Quite shoddy but they have a number of women trapped here and it would be nice if you could send backup to have them escorted home safely."

"A sex trafficking scam?"

"Well, it could be just a regular trafficking scam but I'm not too sure."

"All right, I'll have someone check it out."

"Good, and I realize you might get a lot of calls like this but please don't talk to me like I'm an idiot. Tell your people to send a couple of ambulances as well, you'll need them."

"Of course."

You could only hope the person on the other end of the line would eat their words when it was on the front of the newspaper. For now, your work was done.

In the meantime, how were you going to get anywhere from here? Where even were you? Was there anyone even conscious here who could give you directions? Or would you have to call the police again to find out where to go?

Not that you'd wait long enough for them actually arrive here. You'd return to the bar way before that for another drink. Maybe now you'd actually be able to enjoy one.

Just as you were about to leave, you heard a creak coming from the other end of the warehouse. It echoed through the halls and you leapt to your feet, soundless moving to hide in the shadows and pulling out a kunai.

The footsteps that followed it were light and airy, barely even touching the ground. They were trained, whoever they were. You kept your ears open in order to hear something.

"Whoever was here was trained." You heard someone comment.

"Are you really that stupid, Nightwing? It's obvious that my sister was the one who took out this ring and reported it." Came the snappy reply back and your breath caught in your chest. Make no mistake, that was your brother's voice.

"We must find her."

He was actually looking for you? He knows you're here? You're not entirely surprised, you haven't exactly been careful or stealthy when it came to concealing your face around Gotham. A mistake on your part but you couldn't have been more relieved.

You still remained quiet, not wanting to disturb the flow, not wanting to interrupt. You had the mind of a soldier but when there was no one to follow you seemed more like a sheep. It made you feel slight shame, that you were unable to stick up for yourself despite being so many things.

Maybe, the league wasn't the best thing for you.

Immediately you scraped the thought from your mind, berating yourself for even thinking that. The league had given you everything, everything you were today was because of them. You were strong and calculating, the leagues proud soldier.

You were proud of your roots, thankful that you grew up to be the person you were. They had given you everything, and your brother was just one of the gifts that you had been blessed with in your life.

"Damian." You spoke softly, stepping out of the shadows. His head snapped towards you, eyes widening when he took in your form. It really was you. His sister.

Damian wasted no time in bounding towards you and you knelt down to meet his eye level, catching him with open arms. A part of your heart sang when you realized he was still small enough to fit in your arms. He still held you close. He still loved you.

"I've missed you, Ya Amar." You spoke softly, cradling his head that was buried in the junction of your neck.

"I as well, Okhti."

***

Damian was ecstatic that you were in Gotham. Of course, it didn't look like it to anyone but everyone who knew him well could tell that he was happy that his sister was home with him. He didn't wait for even two seconds when you got to the Batcave (much to Bruce's surprise) to show you all his pets.

The next few days would be considered the best of his life.

Damian wanted to be as close to you as possible, sitting near you during meals, training with you, talking with you, even going as far to sneak into your temporary bedroom at night for cuddles. He certainly got more comfortable showing affection since the last time you were around.

He showed you his hobbies like painting and sketching and you were impressed. He had the skills to be doing something like this? Damian had picked up many new talents and many new stories since you last saw him and he was eager to share them all with you.

The next few days would be considered the worst of your life.

You had found Damian now, so why didn't you still feel fulfilled? Why did you feel like something was missing? Like this wasn't meant for you? Why weren't you satisfied?

Why did you feel envious that Damian got to experience so many things? Why did you feel resentment against him when you realized you never got the same things he has?

Your life felt like it amounted to nothing.

You loved your brother but so far you had just been living for him. And now that you realized there were parts of the world that you wanted to see. There were thoughts in your mind that were of your own and desires that you didn't have to explain to anyone. As long as it made sense to yourself.

And you realize one thing with an aching heart.

You couldn't stay here in Gotham.

"Does Damian know?" Bruce asked you one day when you had asked him a favour. Bruce so far had been a little cold and unfeeling ever since you had met him in the Batcave uninvited. His feelings towards you got more negative when you gave an offhanded comment about how you thought he was taller. But he was the only one you could ask for a favour. He was the father to your beloved brother and you could only hope he would offer you the same consideration.

You had asked him for a flight to Washington, to see if Diana really meant what she said. To take a leap of faith for the first time in your life.

You shook your head no, "Not yet. I'm hoping he will take the news well. It's not like I'm leaving forever. I just—I need to—" You trailed off, unable to find the right words.

Bruce nodded, "I understand. Just tell him before you go. I don't think I've ever seen him this happy before."

"It makes me feel worse." You admitted, feeling a little guilty. How could you not feel happy at your brother’s happiness?

"You need some time to figure out that your world is yours. No one else should determine how you feel about yourself."

"You are very wise," You said softly, "Thank you."

***

"I love you dearly, Damian." You tried to coerce him from his room where he had locked himself in only 5 minutes ago. No doubt he was sulking since he found out that you would be leaving for DC in two days’ time.

"If you did, you wouldn't be leaving!" His voice was muffled, as if his face was buried in his pillow or even Titus. You had been trying to coax him into open the door for 20 minutes now and had multiple offers from Grayson, which you turned down.

"Oh, for the love of—Damian Wayne, you open this door right now!" It was silent for a moment before you heard the lock click open and took that as the indication from him to step into his room.

It was large and from the moment you stepped in, it was easy to tell the space was his. There were swords mounted on the wall, paintings on the wall adjacent to it. His desk was tidy and in the corner of his room, there were multiple easels and sketch pads.

Damian was sulking on his bed and you sighed, feeling guilty. You sat beside him and ran your fingers through his hair. Even though he was upset with you, he still sank into your touch, feeling comforted by mere contact.

"It's not forever, Damian. Wherever I'm going, I'm going to come back. I just need some time to myself." You tried to explain.

"But why!"

"The league taught me well, Damian. But it taught me to live like a soldier, but not as a person. There are so many things that I don't know about myself. What do I like? What do I want to do with my life? And I need to figure it out for myself."

"Why can't you do that here?"

You gave him a pained look and realization dawned on him, "Because of me."

"Damian, in the time we spent apart you learnt so many things about yourself. That you like animals, that you like art. There are so many blanks in my life and I need the distance to figure it out. I need to understand myself." You explained wistfully.

It was true, there were so many blanks in your life. You didn't even know what food you liked better, what hobbies you enjoyed. You wanted to experience new things, without the influence of Damian, without relying on him. And more importantly, you were scared you would put Damian above yourself time and time again.

It was all you knew. Damian was worth more than your life, worth more than your heart. But if that was true, you wanted to know at least what your heart was worth to you. If you didn't hold any value to yourself, it would be foolish to think you would to anyone else.

You needed the distance. You needed something new. You wanted to dive into uncharted waters and figure out the magic for yourself, without anyone to help you.

"It's not forever," You reminded gently, "I'm going to come back, I can promise you that."

Damian began leaning until his head was settled in your lap and you chuckled, gently scratching his scalp and he nestled into your belly. Hard to believe this was the same boy who left only a year ago. You wondered if you would change as much as he did or if you were stuck in your ways now.

"Okay," He said, voice muffled and you smiled, "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thank you for your blessing, Ya Amar. It means the world to me. I love you; you know that."

"I do." He said, now wrapping his arms around your waist, "I love you too."

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

DC Taglist:

@emmacata

@p--e--a--c--h--e--s

@sometimeseverythingsucks

@sokkas-honour

@unstable1902

@lostgirlheart

@missdisapear

@tadpole-san

[noyaism]

Own It

Pairing: SunaxFem!Reader

Word Count: 3.9k

Warnings: car sex, drug usage (weed), degrading, orgasm denial, creampie, choking, spit play, sir!suna, power dynamics, spanking, praising, and a touch of size kink (lmk if i missed any warnings!)

Song Inspo: Own It - Drake

Ever since your first year of high school, the very first day when you met Suna Rintarou for the first time, you found yourself hopelessly crushing. You couldn't tell if it was his stoic look, the vibe he gave off, the intelligence under it all, but whatever it may have been, Suna peaked your interest in every way possible. This caused you to almost instantly befriend him. He was a bit of a tough nut to crack at the beginning of your friendship, but he eventually let you in and let you get close, and as that happened your feelings for him only grew stronger. 

And now here you were, in your first year of college. The feelings you had for him were the same as they had been for years now, not diminished in the slightest. Your friendship with him had become so important to you, though. He was a vital part in your life, and you had to learn to cope with the fact that telling him how you truly felt might ruin the way things were. That was a possibility you couldn't even begin to fathom, and so even though it almost killed you to do, you tried your best to keep those feelings at bay.

Even with your barred feelings, you still did everything with Suna, trying your best never to make your true feelings known. One thing the two of you had recently got into, after a party you were invited to and forcibly made him accompany you to, was smoking. You knew people who did it in high school, but it was never really your scene. You knew Suna had done it a couple times before going to the party, but that night he finally convinced you to try it, and ever since then you two smoked together almost on the daily.

It was a night as normal as any other one. Suna had texted you, asking if you wanted to go smoke. That question was a no brainer, as it always was, and he picked you up fairly soon after. You drove to your usual spot, the picnic area of a park that wasn't too far away from campus. It was usually emptied out by eleven, a couple stragglers stargazing was the most you ever saw. Tonight was about the norm, Suna’s car being the only one in the parking lot, you two the only ones around.

“Let me try rolling it.” You offered as Suna pulled a rolling tray out of the glove compartment, and the weed out of his jacket pocket. 

“You sucked last time you tried to roll. Sure you're ready to try again?” You stuck your tongue out at Suna, shaking your head lightly at the dig.

“I’ll never get better if I don't practice. Hand it over.” It was a fair enough assertion, thus Suna handed you the rolling tray, with both the bag of bud, a grinder and a pack of wraps on it. Admittedly, you weren't the best at rolling. Someone else had always done it for you, either that or you were smoking off carts, so it was never a skill you had really developed. It wasn't until recently that you had started to roll yourself, and it was definitely a bit harder than it looked. 

“Now see, this one is much better.” You said as you dried the blunt off, running a lighter over it to seal it all up. Suna chuckled lightly, nodding his head as he admired your work.

“Yeah, it looks pretty good, I gotta hand it to you.” You let out a satisfied chuckle and got into the back of the car, settling comfortably in the backseat and patting the space next to you.

“Cmon, I can and will smoke this thing alone if you don't get back here.” You jokingly threatened. Suna nodded, quickly grabbing his phone and putting some music on shuffle before joining you in the back. 

A white cloud of smoke filled the car, hazing your sight just enough for Suna, who sat beside you, to be just a bit more blurry than he should be. As he took the last couple hits the blunt had left he cracked the window open a bit, discarding it onto the cement below and rolling the window back up so too much of the smoke didn’t escape. You laid your head on his shoulder, breathing in the familiar smell of cannabis and letting your breathing level out as the high started to set into your body. As per usual, the weed mellowed you out, allowing you to just relax with him. The silence from the lack of conversation was easily filled by the music that played from the speakers, F**k the World by Brent Faiyaz reverberating through the vehicle. Suna hummed lightly along to the song, and you shut your eyes and simply listened to him. 

It was times like this that you wished you had the guts to tell Suna how you felt about him, but once again you thought it best not to. Maybe it was how stoic he was; even though you were definitely the closest person in the world to him, and you probably understood his emotions the best, there was still no way for you to read if these feelings were at all reciprocated. It was the same things you found so attractive about him that also terrified you to open up. You didn’t want to read into the way he treated you, as you thought that was only setting yourself up to be disappointed, and so you simply wallowed in the feeling of a love so painfully unrequited that you were addicted to how bad it felt. 

“Are you okay, y/n?” He asked, noticing your expression was a bit off, which you hadn’t previously noticed. You nodded your head quickly, picking it up off his shoulder and looking over towards him.

“Yeah, yeah I’m chill. Mind kinda started to wander, is all.”

“Off to where?” 

“It’s nothing.” You quickly objected, shaking your head a bit frantically.

“It’s obviously something, just tell me.” You sighed lightly, knowing very well Suna wasn’t going to drop the topic until he knew what was bothering you. He cared way too much about how you felt to just let something like that go. You knew you had to just swallow your pride and tell him, but you couldn’t get the words out. The pure thought of saying you liked him made your throat feel like it was closing up. So, logically, there was only one way for you to get your point across.

Thus, you kissed him.

It wasn’t a long kiss, frankly because your cheeks got so hot you thought your head might just explode, but it was enough for Suna to understand what exactly it was you were trying to say. As you pulled away the gravity of what it was you actually did hit you, and you hid your face in your hands, shaking your head a bit.

“I’m so sorry, Suna. I didn’t mean to...well I did, but I just don’t want the fact that I like you to make things different between us.” Before he responded Suna took hold of your chin between his fingers, pulling your face up and out of hiding so you were now looking directly at him. 

“You’re an idiot. A pretty one, but an idiot nonetheless.”

Before you could ask what he meant his lips were on yours once again, but this kiss felt so much different than the first one. This one had passion behind it, passion that you didn’t know Suna even had for you. Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in closer so you could kiss him deeper. He pulled you onto his lap, hands firmly gripping your ass. 

As the music changed you began to move your hips to the rhythm, I Don’t Think You’re Ready by Tank bumping through the speakers. It was a pretty fitting song for the current situation, as you were simultaneously so ready for what might happen with Suna, and yet you hadn't a single clue if you were ready to take it all. 

Your hands snaked up into his hair, tugging softly on the brown strands as the kiss began to get even more heated. It didn't help that it was already pretty hot in the car, but this offered you the perfect opportunity to not only undress yourself, but Suna as well. You pulled your shirt up and off of you, letting it fall to the floor without much regard for where it was going. His jacket and shirt joined the growing pile, and in an instant your lips were reconnected. Kissing him was addicting, even better than what you had imagined it might've been like. 

You whined a bit as he pulled away, a pout coming over your lips.

“I’m guessing by that look you're okay with going further with this.” You nodded your head, leaning forward and kissing him softly.

“I’m all yours, Suna.”

“That's what I like to hear.”

Now that he had permission to continue, Suna was more than ready to get into it. Just as much as you fantasized what it would be like to be intimate with him, he thought the very same about you, and wanted to make some of his fantasies a reality. He reached behind you and swiftly unclasped your bra, lips latching onto your nipple as you discarded it. He rolled the opposite bud between his fingers, and your hips continued to grind into his. He kissed all over the skin of your breasts, a sweet gesture in comparison to his next moves. 

With one fluid motion your back was now clad to the backseat, and Suna hovered above you. The silver chain he wore around his neck dangled down into your face, enhancing the pure sight of him. Not even Michaelangelo himself could’ve carved a face and physique as near perfection as Suna’s, and the fact only your eyes got to feast upon the sight made it all the more attractive. He pulled your leggings off of you, your panties going with them. The feeling of being so bare in front of him was an interesting one. You would’ve expected that you were going to be more shy, more nervous about it, but it felt so right that you couldn’t have possibly felt that way. Suna bit his bottom lip as he looked down on you, admiring the sight of your nude body in front of him for what would be the first of many times.

“You’re fucking gorgeous, you know that?” He questioned before going down on you. While he wasn’t the biggest fan of his car, insisting it was a soccer mom car with way too much space than he would ever need, it seemed that the space was finally going to actually come in handy. You quite comfortably were laid out while he still had plenty of space to be between your legs. He placed soft, slow kisses on your inner thigh, each kiss heightening your need for him. By how wet you were it was obvious you were ready for him, and he wasted no time giving you what you wanted.

His lips latched onto your clit, sucking softly before he began licking long stripes between your folds. Chills ran down your spine, and moans started to slip from your mouth aimlessly. Suna’s tongue flicked over your clit, making you feel pleasure previously unbeknownst to you. Sure, guys had given you head before, and sure, it felt okay, but nobody had ever come close to being this good. It felt absolutely unreal, and the extent of your pleasure was potent in the way you said his name. Over and over again; Suna, Suna, Suna. Like a prayer desperate to be heard. And he loved hearing it, too. It was all he needed to know how good he was making you feel.

Your hips bucked toward his mouth as you began to chase your orgasm, the heat pooling in your core becoming hotter and hotter. You needed to cum and you needed it bad, and you needed him to give it to you. Suna slipped a finger into you, the second coming in quick succession. His mouth parted with you and his thumb began circling your most sensitive bud, so he could come up and loom over you.

“Feels good, doesn't it?” He asked, with a shit-eating grin on his face. He couldn't shake just how pretty he thought you looked like this, all desperate for him to please you. You nodded your head frantically, looking up at him with pure lust in your eyes.

“Ple-please make me cum, Suna.” You begged, much to his liking. He leaned down and kissed you gently, that same grin on his face as he pulled away. 

“Of course, baby. I’ll make you cum,” He prefaced before quickly removing his fingers from you, leaving you empty and with a ruined orgasm. You whined in frustration, confused as to why this was his course of action.

“But you’re gonna cum on my cock. Got it?” You nodded your head as Suna moved to take off his pants, finally letting his hardened erection spring free. You weren't sure what you had expected him to be packing, but the mere girth of him surpassed whatever you would've thought you were getting from him.

“Yes, sir.” You replied, causing Suna to chuckle lightly. He guided the tip of his member between your folds, lubing up with all the wetness that was already present. It was such a sight for him, one he had been wanting to entreat upon for a long, long time now. 

“That’s my good girl.” He praised before slowly starting to push into you. He took his time, not wanting to hurt you, but he had to admit the way you were clenching around him already was enough to drive him mad. He bottomed out soon enough, and you took him to the hilt. It felt so unbelievably good, and you gave him the okay to start moving. Suna kept his hands on your hips, keeping you steady as he began thrusting. Your eyes rolled back and your back arched, your body overwhelmed with pleasure. 

Your brain was kind of scrambled, hazy from how sensitive you were due to your previously denied orgasm, in conjunction with the high you were still on, but you could make out the song that had started to play. Own It by Drake, again, a pretty fitting song for the moment.

You’re still the one that I adore, ain’t much out there to have feelings for…

Both you and Suna had your passions, the things and people you cared about, but those lists were incredibly limited. There just wasn’t a lot that truly excited you. However, there had always been something that made you gravitate towards each other, something that made you need to be around each other, that caused you to be instrumental in each other's lives. Even if you wouldn't outwardly admit it, you adored each other.

Next time we fuck, I don’t wanna fuck, I wanna make love… 

But this time, you two were simply fucking. There was nothing more to it. It was raunchy, it was dirty, and little did you know, the fun was only just beginning for the both of you.

Suna kept his thrusts a bit on the slower side, much more concerned with how deep he was hitting than how fast he was going. It drove you absolutely wild, feeling every inch of him each time he moved. It was almost too much for you, your walls tightening around him more and more with even the slightest of moves he made.

“God damn, this slutty little cunt just can’t get enough of me, huh?” These words caught you completely off guard, you just wouldn’t expect Suna to say something so utterly vulgar, but admittedly, it turned you on way more than it probably should’ve. You shook your head lightly, looking him in the eyes, your gaze spilling over with desperation.

“N-need more.” You begged, much to Suna’s satisfaction. He smirked down at you, letting his right hand snake up your body and wrap around your throat while the left kept you firmly in place, with the entirety of his cock filling you up. 

“Cmon baby, you got better manners than that, don't you?” His tone was so divinely condescending, not really asking if you knew better, but insinuating you needed to. You were in no position to be anything but obedient, nor did your intentions differ. You wanted everything he had and were willing to do whatever it took to get it.

“Please, sir. I need more, I need it so bad.” You repeated, sounding even more desperate than you did before. By the look in his eyes you knew this was enough for Suna, who slowly pulled out of you. 

“Open your mouth.” He instructed, to which you immediately obeyed. He spat into your mouth, which you more than willingly accepted, a small smirk curling the corner of your lips as you swallowed. You were letting Suna know that he was in charge, and that you were there for him to use, his toy. He easily got the message, letting out a chuckle as he released his grip on your throat.

“Nasty little bitch.” 

Suna quickly turned you over onto your stomach, your face now pushed against the cold leather of the seats. His re-entry was quick, a soft squelch being heard as your walls greedily pulled his length right back in, giving you that oh-so euphoric feeling of being full once again. You moaned out loudly, a small yelp following at the unexpected spank he rained down on your ass. It was the first of many, while Suna simply enjoyed how you squirmed on him with each hit. 

After a fairly decent amount of spanking, enough to leave a deliciously painful sting on your skin, he started to fuck into you again. Suna’s slow strokes certainly weren't gentle, each seeming to hit deeper than the last, but this quickened pace turned that feeling up to a ten. Your mouth hung open as you took it all, moans and whines spilling out carelessly. Suna kept one hand firmly pressed onto the window for leverage, the other gripped hard on your waist, certainly enough to leave a light bruise. The sound of skin slapping with each of his thrusts rang through your head, and his grunts added atop that easily drowned out whatever music was playing. You much preferred this song, anyway.

“C’mere, ride me like the good little slut you are.” You didn't need to be told twice, as Suna pulled out and sat himself down you got yourself up and straddled him. You lined his tip up with your entrance, not lowering down onto him just yet, egging him on just to see how he would react. Fitting to what you expected, he grabbed onto your hips and forced you down, a surprised moan coming from you as your head fell onto his shoulder. 

“No no no, you don't get to tease me, whore. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it?” You nodded your head, letting out a small ‘yes sir’ in reply, too breathless to speak above a whisper. Suna’s hands gripped onto your ass as you started to ride him, bouncing on his length, circling your hips a bit every time you came down. 

Holding your orgasm back for this long was way more taxing than you would've thought it would be, your legs were shaking and your walls spasmed sporadically, desperate to finally get some relief. A pit of heat once again started to billow in your core, and you prayed you would finally get to cum.

“S-sir please, I need to cum...fuck, please let me cum.” The utter anguish in your voice did so much for Suna, knowing how much control he had over you and your pleasure turned him on more than anything else. He owned you, and he owned your orgasm, and you were both well aware of it. He was incredibly close himself, evident by how he started to pound up into you, matching the pace you had set. 

“Cum for me.” 

And you did. Almost instantly your high washed over you. You let out a moan that bordered on a scream as your juices spilled all over Suna’s dick. The spasms of your walls around his length made Suna cum as well, depositing a load out into you. For a while you two were fairly quiet, both catching your breath from what was undoubtedly the best orgasm either of you had had up until that point. 

You slowly got up and off of him, soreness almost immediately setting in now that you were empty. Suna ran a hand through his hair, fixing it up a bit before looking over at you. He motioned to his cock, a bit of a smirk still present on his lips. 

“Clean up your mess, baby.” You nodded at your instructions before leaning down, taking Suna’s length into your mouth. You licked up every last drop of both you and him, leaving nothing to waste. Once finished you popped your head up, wiping the corner of your mouth. Suna pulled you up and kissed you, placing a peck on your forehead as he pulled away. 

“So, you like me too?” You asked with a small smile. The answer to the question was more than blatantly obvious, but you still wanted to actually hear him say it.

“Of course I do, y/n. Everyone seemed to know but you, anyway.”

“And who is ‘everyone’, exactly?”

“Kita, Aran, the twins, you name it. Atsumu still won’t stop teasing me about not asking you out. Texts me every single day asking if we’re together yet.” 

With that in mind you picked up the shirt Suna had taken off, pulling it over your head before reaching up into the front cupholders to get your phone. He redressed himself fairly quickly, leaving a bit of his jacket unzipped at the top. You unlocked the device and started a Facetime with Atsumu, drumming your fingers on your thigh as you waited for an answer, making sure only you were in the frame.

“Hey! What’s up y/n, long time no see.” Atsumu greeted, giving you a smile and a wave. He was sat on his couch, a plate of sushi and a can of beer visible on the table where he had set his phone up.

“Yeah, it’s been a while. I was just calling to tell you he finally did it.” Atsumu looked at you a bit confused at first, but as you moved to get Suna in the frame as well it immediately clicked.

“Holy shit, thank god. I was getting tired of waiting, I was going to do it for him soon.” You let out a small chuckle, happy to see Atsumu was as bright as ever in his humor.

“Wait, hold on. Are you wearing his shirt? Did you guys fu-” Before he could finish the question Suna ended the call, shaking his head lightly.

“Yeah, I’m never gonna hear the end of that one.”

[robinofgothamcity]

♡ starting prompt: “the guy who wins your heart will be so lucky.” 

♡ pairing: Tim Drake (Red Robin) & fem reader

♡ lyric inspiration: “I will take your pain and put it on my heart. I won’t hesitate, just tell me where to start.” / not checked for grammar or spelling mistakes. 

“she’s drunk, isn’t she?” Barbara asked, looking at you empathetically, “again?” Dick replied, shaking his head. you were in the corner of the living room, wine bottle in your hand, and singing to whatever was playing, “she caught her ex cheating on her...again,” Barbara explained.

Dick sighed, seeing the clear pain on your face. you were dancing and singing with a smile plastered on your face but the pain you were trying to hide was still evident in your eyes. this had been the third time someone you were dating had done something to make you break up with them and everyone was being honest, they were ready to find your ex and tell them a thing or two. 

“that’s really upsetting,” Dick mentioned, “she really liked him too. wherever she’s finding these guys to date, she needs to stop, and realize that the one she should be dating is in front of her eyes.”

the two of them looked to Tim, who was off in his was off in his own space, doing work for the Bat. Barbara gave him a hearty laugh, “yeah right!” she exclaimed, “the day Tim tells her how he feels is the day Damian thanks one of us for saving him.” Dick looked at her before hesitantly agreeing. 

you walked towards the two, a drunk smile on your face. Dick grabbed the unopened wine bottle and hid it behind his back, “where’s the red wine I had here?” you asked, a pout on your face. Barbara gave Dick a quick look, “you finished it, sweetheart,” she informed, “the last bottle you bought is on the floor by the couch.” 

you growled, giving a stink face, “this sucks. I’m still not drunk and still have thoughts of that IDIOT in my head...I need to find more alcohol,” you said with sudden determination, “do you think your dad has any?” you asked rhetorically. 

Dick and Barbara went wide eyed as they saw you speeding towards the stairs, “TIM GRAB HER!” Dick screamed. Tim whipped his head up, seeing as you nearly out of the batcave and scrambled to get you. 

you were on the second step when he grabbed you by the waist and hurled you into his arms, “come on ( your name ), you don’t need to be drinking anymore,” he whispered in your ear. you gave your best friend a sad pout, “please?” you you asked with your lip sticking out. Tim shook his head no as you sighed in defeat. 

“it’s like everyone can see they’re in love except for them!” Barbara exclaimed, running her hands through her hair, “when they’re not doing hero work, they collectively share one brain cell,” Damian replied as he and the Kent kid walked into the lair. 

your smile widened, seeing your favorite sidekick walk in, “DAMIAN!” you yelled, running to him with wide arms. he immediately ran away from you but with the speed of your legs, you managed to catch him easily enough, “what is wrong with her?” he yelled, trying to pry himself away from you. 

Tim, Dick, Barbara, and Jon laughed as you continued to hug him while he struggled to get away, “Damian, you know you love it!” you said happily. he gave his brother a look for help, “what is wrong with her!” he yelled again, finally escaping his arms. 

the three adults looked at each other as Tim spoke up, “she’s going through a rough time right now,” was all he managed to say as Damian scoffed, “what? did she go through another break up or something?” he said, not realizing your sudden change of expression. 

you looked at the wall emotionless. Tim and Dick gave their brother a death stare as Jon walked up to you and wrapped his arm around you, “hey, it’s okay! there’s other people out there!” he tried to comfort you. 

hearing Jon’s words, you felt tears brimming your eyes as you gave the Kent a tight hug, “really?” you slurred. Jon gave Tim a desperate look as he grabbed you and pulled your arm around him, “lets get you to bed? even though it’s noon?” he laughed, pulling you and himself to his bedroom. 

“I swear that idiot is never going to confess his feelings for her, is he?” Damian asked his older brother as he agreed. 

+

a few days had passed since you had gotten drunk at the Wayne manor. you were still a bit upset at the break up but more than anything, you were sad about not having anyone to come home and talk to after your work shifts. 

you had never gotten far enough in a relationship where you had to admit what you did on the side but you would still come home beat from your ‘day’ job. you had been living alone the minute you turned eighteen as your parents refused to accept what you did with your free time. 

being a superhero and helping out Batman when you had the chance was something you prided yourself on but your parents found it a waste of time as you had dropped going to college to help the bat out. you didn’t have any special powers, much like the rest of the Wayne family but your skills on the field made up for it regardless. 

you saw your beeper going off indicating that either Dick or Bruce himself wanted to speak to you. you picked it up, showing that you were available to speak when the small screen showed up. 

“afternoon ( your name ), you available to patrol tonight?” Dick asked, showing you the schedule for this weeks patrol. you looked it over, realizing you were able to pick up a few rounds, “yeah, I can do tonight, Wednesday, and Friday night!” you replied. 

Dick smiled, “great to hear that! you’ll be doing rounds with Tim and Garfield,” he informed you. you nodded excitedly, “how you holding up?” he asked, trying to hint at your situation, “fine, I think? still stings but trying to get myself out there again,” you muttered, releasing a heavy sigh, 

he remained silent for a bit but decided to bite back on his words, “ah, I’m sure you’ll find someone who’s worth your time soon enough. we’re here if you need anyone to talk to!” Dick said before departing and ending the call. 

you slumped yourself on the couch and tried to get your mind off your ex boyfriend. this had been your third try at a relationship and every single time, every single one of them had done something to ruin it. the first one had completely ghosted you. the second one had broken up with you after he finally got laid, and the your last relationship ended because he had cheated on you. 

you had mentioned the start of your relationships to the Wayne’s so they knew where you would run off to when you weren’t busy with work or hero work. despite keeping your relationship on the down low, each of them always crawled up to your door, apologizing profusely for what they did and you were able to tell that one of them were the reasons why. 

the crying session you would usually have after a break up had yet to happen but you knew that it was bound to happen eventually. the crying after the break up always felt like the biggest wave of relief and you knew that was the last thing you had to cross off your list before fully moving on. 

you ended up taking a nap on the couch, not realizing you were about to be to patrol as you bolted out of the blanket and ran to put on your uniform. the uniform was a bit tight on your body so it felt like it took your forty years to slip on but soon enough, you made your way to your starting destination. 

Tim was already on the top of the roof, leaning against his bo-staff as you hurled onto the roof. you gave him a smile, standing next to him, “how are you feeling?” he asked, as the two of you sat on the ledge of the building. 

you shrugged, knowing if you spoke, you would end up crying, “fine,” you replied, trying not to speak any farther. Tim could see the hurt in your eyes and remained silent the rest of the time. 

it was almost the end of the patrolling session when you had caught a stupid thug trying to steal the purse off of a man. you immediately swooped down from the building, standing behind the thug and kicking him from behind the leg as Tim escorted the man to his car. 

you stared at the thug with disgust, “you should really learn your lesson to not be stealing from others,” you spat, kicking him in the rib cage again. Tim watched as he saw your eyes light up with pure rage, “maybe the next time you decide to be this much of a low life, you’ll end up in grave,” you continued. 

you had blown a couple of punches to the thug as he was starting to cough up blood. Tim immediately ran to you and held you up as the man scrambled up and tried to run away as fast as possible. “calm down!” Tim yelled, holding you against his chest and restricting your arms. 

the tears had finally came down your face as sobs racked your body as you moved yourself to cry into Tim’s chest. the lucky part in all of that was that you were in a darkened alley so no one was able to tell who was being a hysterical drama queen. 

“it’s okay, you’re okay,” Tim soothed, rubbing your back softly. you hid your face against his chest, “why is it always me?” you screamed, “I’m a great person and have done nothing to deserve what I’ve gotten!” you managed to say, 

Tim nodded understandingly. 

“I know,” he replied, “but the guy who wins your heart will be so lucky,” he whispered. you looked up to him with teary eyes, “really?” you asked. Tim nodded, “I know it. the next person who ends up with you will be the one. I promise you,” he stated.

you stared at him, confused, “how do you know?” Tim sighed, knowing he might as well rip off his confession like a band-aid, “because I was hoping I could be the next person to take you out on a date,” he finally confessed.

the air was deadly silent as you fixed your eyes on his face. you tried to respond but no words were falling from your lips. Tim felt his heart fall into his stomach as he realized he might’ve ruined your entire friendship with him with his stupid little confession. 

“Tim...Tim, look at me.” you grabbed his chin and made him stare at you, “Tim, do you like me?” you asked, trying to read his expression. 

Tim nodded as you smiled at his sudden flustered look, “listen, I don’t know how to feel about this but I know there’s something there for you. how about in a few weeks, the two of us can go out on a date to a museum or something?” you grabbed his hand softly. 

the two of you looked at each other as Tim wiped the stray tears off your face and nodded, “of course. name a time and day and I’ll be there!” he said. before you respond, you heard both of your beepers going off indicating that your patrol time was over. 

“I’ll definitely let you know.” 

that was all you managed to say before grabbing your grappling hook and swinging away into the night, leaving a shy and flustered Tim in the alleyway. 

[watch-talk-fixate]

The Humility of Family and Being a Hero: A Darkwing Duck and Drake Mallard Analysis.

Special thanks to @stoopakoopa @mighty-ant @drakepad because they inspired me.

Ducktales 2017. A show that a lot of people saw a simple cash grab and the exploitation of nostalgia of 80s and 90s kids alike. But it was a true surprise. A show of adventure and family and exploring yourself in the family name. This show brought so many characters from the golden age of Disney Channel called “The Disney Afternoon Era” with faces from shows like: Gizmoduck, Talespin, Goof Troop and Darkwing Duck. 

The whole concept of Darkwing Duck is quite silly really. A parody of Batman, superhero tropes and even James Bond but with a duck in the suburbs of the fictional city of Saint Canard living with his boyfriend sidekick Launchpad and his adopted daughter Gosalyn. As someone who watched the show in reruns back in the day and recently rewatched it on Disney Plus, I didn’t think I would have appreciated this show as much as I thought I would. Dry and witty humor that caught me off guard and it truly doesn’t seem as dated as other shows from those times. 

But I’m here to talk about Drake Mallard and what it means to be a superhero and a parent. 

(For the sake of the analysis, I will be referring to Drake Mallard from the Ducktales 2017 reboot as “Drake Mallard!17” and the Drake Mallard from the OG Darkwing Duck show as “Drake Mallard!91”.)

Ducktales 2017 for a long time was alluring to bringing Darkwing Duck into the universe of the show. Many fans didn't know how this was possible until a certain episode that was the rise of another superhero and Darkwing Duck’s long time rival: Gizmoduck (now voiced by the guy who wrote a Broadway musical that won many awards-- Bring It On the Musical. I’m kidding. Lin Manuel Miranda). In the episode ‘The BUDDY System’ we are shown what looks like a fight scene between Darkwing Duck and his villains, MegaVolt and QuackerJack. But then it’s abruptly cut when it’s revealed to be a video. An episode. Launchpad explains to Dewey (the blue duck nephew of Donald Duck) that Darkwing Duck is his favorite TV show’ meaning that Darkwing Duck is a TV show in the Ducktales 2017 universe. A show inside a show. 

Weird, right? 

But what does this have to do with being a superhero and a parent and how family humbles you? Well, in the OG Darkwing Duck show the character of Drake Mallard is shown to be a late-20s to early-40s nobody in his two-parter episode debut-- “Darkly Dawns the Duck”-- who spends his days locked inside an abandoned bridge tower and out fighting small-time crime at night as a purple masked weirdo. And I say this in the kindest way ever but Drake Mallard!91 is an asshole. It’s later revealed in the show that he wanted to be a superhero not because he wanted to protect the people in his city -- that is a parody of Batman’s Gotham -- but because he wanted the praise and attention of being a hero. He’s a hero for a selfish reason. 

But how is it possible to have an asshole for a main character that lasted 91 episodes? Drake Mallard!91 has a child. It isn’t his biological daughter really but she is his daughter. In his two-parter episode his first real ‘save’ is the granddaughter of a scientist that was murdered by the mafia and now they are after the granddaughter because she has the code for a machine that they are going to use to rob banks and release mayhem across the world. Darkwing Duck!91 goes to save her and they start to have a bond that makes my daddy issues burst into tears. 

Hiding her in his secret hide-out, she isn’t comfortable and Gosalyn needs to sleep so as a way to calm her down he sings her dead grandfather’s lullaby to her. I won’t reveal the rest of the episode or the “plot twist”(?) because I think it’s a cute episode. But here we see that Drake Mallard!91 does have the ability to care about others that isn’t himself or his reputation. 

At the end of the episode, he goes out of his way to adopt Gosalyn and officially makes her his daughter. Throughout the series, you see that Drake Mallard!91 bonds with Gosalyn. Taking her to school, talking to her about emotional things, and doing everything in his power to protect her from the harm that comes with him being a superhero. But in one of my favorite episodes “Toys R Czar”, Drake Mallard!91 has come to the conclusion that he can’t both be a hero and great parent after one of Gosalyn’s teachers points out that she has been causing a lot of issues at school. He blames himself for not being a good parent, reading parenting books and following them to the letter. Cleaning, baking cookies and even being the director for a play where he made Gosalyn the star. 

He gives up being Darkwing Duck. He gives up the one thing that he worked so hard and was so proud of. Drake Mallard!91 put his ego aside to be a good parent and was ready to throw away his cape and pick up an actual job to raise Gosalyn. He did the toughest thing about being a hero, a figure of salvation: having a family. 

I think that the reason that I enjoyed the OG Darkwing Duck a lot despite me being a bitch to the pain character’s ego and pride was that yes, he would probably be a terrible parent but he has Gosalyn and Launchpad to guide him. He has them to ground him and not let his ego overrun him into believing he’s such a big-shot hero because he stops supervillains with only a gas gun, smoke bombs and a purple mask. His family makes him human-- despite him being a duck. 

Now moving onto Ducktales 2017. In the episode ‘The BUDDY System’ when Launchpad is telling Dewey about Darkwing Duck being his favorite TV show and growing up on it he mentions an actor’s name: Jim Starling. 

Jim Starling plays Darkwing Duck. Remember that. 

(Fun Fact: the actor who voices the OG Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard!91 does the voice of Jim Starling.) 

In my favorite and comfort episode “The Duck Knight Rises” we are shown that Jim Starling has suffered the same fate of Bo Jack Horseman: a washed out actor from the 80s/90s that is living on the steam of his former success. Jim is no longer as popular as he was back in the day, making money off of signing autographs and openings of less-than-desirable stores. It isn’t until Dewey mentions the fact that there is a Darkwing Duck Movie ready to release that we see Jim Starling happy and ready to jump back into the role. 

The Role of a Hero. 

We discover that Scrooge McDuck is the one producing the movie and after watching the trailer both Launchpad and Jim Starling agree that this isn’t faithful to the character. Yet Jim doesn’t really care, he wants to be back into the light and have the attention and adoration of an actor. Of being a hero. How very of Drake Mallard!91 of him. 

The director of the Duck Knight Rises movie tells Jim that he isn’t playing Darkwing Duck. A younger actor is. Outraged, he attacks the actor and is kicked out alongside Launchpad. Jim Starling believes that he is owed this role. That this role only belongs to him and no one else in the world. Roping Launchpad into his plan, here we see that Jim Starling never truly let go of his past when he slips on his old Darkwing Duck costume to play hero again. 

It is Launchpad that begins to question him when Jim starts to ramble about revenge, Launchpad still looking at his old idol with nostalgia tinted glasses and goes along with the plan. 

Here is where the analysis begins to pick up again. When LP sneaks into the actor’s trailer and immediately panics, locking himself, the Actor comes to his rescue. After some light fighting we see that the Actor is a big fan of the Darkwing Duck; possibly bigger than LP himself. LP does have a connection with the show but it seems that he Actor here takes it up more personally. That his whole ideologies and all of his morals came from a silly little show from his childhood and is the reason he is the way he is today. This whole movie is his big shot and a dream come true. 

Immediately after this, we see Jim Starling running around and knocking people out. Actually hurting people just to get back into the role he’s clinging on to. Paralleling the Actor’s acceptance of the role and Jim ready to draw blood because he can’t let go. 

Finally, we see the Actor and Jim Starling have a “sane” interaction. That it’s a huge honor to be here with him, says the Actor. That he wants to play the role of Darkwing Duck with Jim’s blessing. That they can do this together. 

But Jim wants this for his own. All for himself. 

After knocking the Actor out, we see a glimpse of how gone he is. How attention thirsty he is and that he will literally stop at nothing to get back on screen. 

The whole climatic fight of the episode is the Actor putting on his new Darkwing Duck costume and heading off face first into danger to save people as Jim Starling just snaps. The new confronts the old. With the trademark, goofy Darkwing Duck openings of I am the terror that flaps in the night but more modern. 

As they fight, it’s LP that finally gets to Jim with him telling him how much Darkwing Duck means to him and what it means to be a hero like him. As a power beam prop is ready to fall on top of LP, Jim does what a hero is supposed to do. Sacrifice. By pushing his biggest fan out of the way, he completes the role he has been yearning to play. 

They don’t find the body. (Yes this is a kids show). But here is where we learn that the Actor’s name is Drake Mallard. 

Drake Mallard!17. 

Launchpad is the one that convinces Drake Mallard!17 to be the true Darkwing Duck. For Jim. 

Jim Starling is what the OG Darkwing Duck was. Egotistical, wanting fame and attention, having all of the qualities that would make anyone doubt that he is truly a hero. The thing is that if Jim Starling only played Darkwing Duck, not Drake Mallard (because in this universe he is a real person), then it means that he didn’t have a Launchpad or a Gosalyn to ground him. Jim Starlings is what happens when a hero is isolated and is only a hero and not a person. 

Drake Mallard!17 is a person who becomes a hero while Jim Starling is an actor who pretended to be a hero. Jim was stuck in his own vanity, not having anyone truly reminding him that he isn't’ the roles he plays; that he isn’t Darkwing Duck. 

Drake Mallard is Darkwing Duck.

[sweet-sammy-kisses]

Monsters of Past

2

For my @badthingshappenbingo​ prompt take me instead.  Fandom: Batman Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, and OC Rating: M Warnings: Past rape/non-con, rape/non-con elements, Tim Drake has bad parents (they are the worst) Lots of protective Jason, Cass and Dick Summary: "That is what I was trying to protect you from Damian." Tim's voice was hollow. "You talk about your birthright as Bruce's blood son, that you want everything you deem yours handed to you on a silver platter without knowing that there is a price you are going to pay. Do you know how many there are who would love to have the Crown Prince of Gotham's blood son in their power? Forced to do whatever they want to seal the deal? They are the monster waiting in the shadows knowing their money and power will protect them. I was trying to protect you, Damian.

"To protect Damian Tim gives himself to a monster of his past. Word Count: 2,901 You can also read it on AO3

"Enough is enough. Today is the day that I take my birthright back from Drake." Damian had waited long enough for his father to dismiss the unwanted one, he had already been removed as Robin as one of them now it was time to remove him from his position as CEO - it was his birthright and that Drake was still in his place filled Damian with rage - and once and for all show Drake he wasn't wanted nor needed and it was time for him to move on, far away from them.

Damian had overheard a conversation between Drake and Tam before Drake discovered and destroyed the bugs Damian had planted in the CEO's office the last time he had been there reminding Drake that he was nothing but a temporary replacement until father took back what was his or passed it onto him as it is his birthright.

Tam had brought up the owner of a company that they needed to work with but the CEO was holding out until Tim agreed to a private meeting with him.

"We can't keep putting this meeting off. The board members are beginning to ask questions as to why you don't want to meet with Aiden Tyler."

"I know. His company is doing some good but Aiden Tyler is an ass."

"Tim!"

"I'm sorry but I have dealt with that man in the past and he is a real scumbag and if we didn't need his product I would tell him to go to hell. Call and see if you can make an appointment with him sometime next week."

Damian knew that was his chance to prove he was worthy to take over now, despite his age.

+******+

Aiden Tyler quickly agreed to meet with Damian and the youngest Wayne couldn't help but preen with pride.

"That will show Drake." He will secure the deal and prove once again how worthless Drake is then maybe they could finally be rid of him.

Dressed in his finest of suits Damian arrived at the five-star restaurant where he walked in and owned the place like the Prince he is. "I am meeting Aiden Tyler, take me to him." He demanded.

The host quickly did as ordered and Damian couldn't help but smirk the man knew not to mess with a Wayne.

Led to a booth in the back a handsome man with deep brown hair with streaks of silver the man was fit for nearing his fifties. Dark eyes met his and Damian refused to shiver as they roamed over him with something in them that made him uncomfortable.

"Mr. Tyler, I am Damian Wayne, I am thankful that you could work me into your schedule." Damian greeted him.

Aiden's lips curled up into a smile, "Please call me Aiden and when it comes to Wayne Enterprise I am always willing to make room. I'm sure that we can work out a partnership that is agreeable to both parties."

There was something about the way the man spoke that reminded Damian of a predator stalking its prey. 'Well, Mister Tyler you will learn that Damian Wayne-Al Ghul is no one's prey.' "I hope that as well."

"Well isn't this nice but if you want to do business with Wayne Enterprise you need to talk to me."

"What are you doing here Drake?" Damian hissed out, he couldn't believe that Drake had the nerve to show up here and ruin his chance to prove to his father he was ready.

Thankful for all the train Bruce had given them Tim was able to hide his feelings behind a cool mask as he was forced to face someone he hoped he would never see again unless it was behind jail bars. "I am doing my job, Damian. Now, why don't you run along and leave this to the grown-ups." Tim ordered not suggested.

Damian bristled much like Alfred the cat and he looked ready to spew his usual vile insults towards Tim but right now he didn't care, he needed Damian far away and somewhere safe.

"If you leave now I will not inform Bruce of you trying to endanger Wayne Enterprise's." Tim held up a hand as Damian went to speak, "As you would know because of your age any agreement you reached with Mister Tyler would not be binding. So in order for this partnership to be legal, it is me that must make the deals. Now head home Damian." Tim ordered.

A low growl escaped Damian he hated to admit that Drake had a point, after all, he was not of age to make any partnership legal which is why he had planned on creating the agreement than bringing his father in to show him he was capable. Now he couldn't for that surely end with his father agreeing with Drake. "This is far from over," Damian warned before storming out.

"Such a shame, I was looking forward to seeing what young Mister Wayne had to offer me." Aiden's voice was like nails on a chalk board and all Tim wanted to do was run far away but it was too late for if he did nothing the man would go after Damian again.

'You can do this Tim. You have faced the likes of the Joker and Ra. You can face him.' Tim repeated to himself as he forced the smile back on his face, "I'm sorry but you will have to settle with me."

Aiden's smile turned wicked, "We both know that I won't be settling for you, Tim. Come sit, let us catch up before we get down to business."

Having little choice Tim slipped into the booth.

Tim could feel the vile beginning to build up in the back of his throat as Aiden's hand slid up his thigh. He did his best not to shudder as unwanted memories flooded his mind.

Moving closer Aiden removed any space between the two of them, "I still hope that you cry as pretty as you use to do." Aiden whispered in Tim's ear. "I am going to have so much fun breaking you all over again. It was so sweet of you to offer to take your little brother's place."

Tim wondered if it was wrong that he wished for an Arkham outbreak at that very moment. "As long as you leave Damian alone you can have me instead."

"Agreed." Never had such a word sent pure terror flowing through Tim's body.

+******+

"Father! I demand that you talk to Drake!" Damian growled as he slammed the door to the manor open.

Bruce could feel a headache building, he wished that his two youngest sons could get along. "What now?"

"I had a meeting with Aiden Tyler, one that Drake has been putting off for a month, since he wasn't in a hurry to seal the deal I took it onto myself to see it through."

Cass appeared out of nowhere, her expression hard, "Did you leave Tim with him?" She shocked everyone with her growl.

Damian blinked at Cassandra, taken back by the rage burning in her eyes. "Yes."

Horror filled Cass' eyes before she was moving. Bouncing to his feet Dick followed after his sister, "Cass, what is going on?"

"Tyler hurt little brother in past and is hurting him now." Was all that Cass offered before she was gone, leaving their very confused family behind.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound too good, someone gets Babs on the line and have her find out everything she can about this Aiden Tyler," Jason suggested. Something was bugging him, he had heard that name before and the fact that it made him want to reach for his guns wasn't a good sign.

Worry shone in Dick's blue eyes, "Do you think Timmy might be in danger?" His and Tim's relationship hadn't been the same since he didn't believe Tim that Bruce was alive and caused him to lose his standing in the hero community, he kept meaning to fix it but he kept pushing it off and now his baby brother might be in trouble and he might turn away his offer of comfort.

"I do," Jason growled out.

+******+

At Alfred's suggestion, they had moved down to the cave to do a background check on Aiden Tyler and discovering that Tyler Holdings had a history of deals with Jack and Janet Drake made Jason even more on edge.

He stepped over the edge when Cass returned a protective and murderous aura pouring off of her and a long line of hickies on Tim's neck arrived. Cass was curled around Tim, looking like a mama bear ready to take down anyone who proved a threat to her cub, her sharp glare had everyone on edge.  

A gasp of horror escaped Dick, "Timmy."

Jason knew what those marks meant, he had worn his own when he was living on the streets.

Bruce looked like he was going to be sick, his parents and then Alfred had shielded him from the lengths some would go to get more money.

Though Damian had been raised as an Al Ghul his mother had made sure he would never have to lower himself to serve others so he had no clue as to what powder keg he was about to set off. "What is the meaning of this Drake? You were supposed to be sealing a deal not lowering yourself to be a common whore." Damian snarled at Tim.

"Damian! Enough!"

Shock filled Damian's face as he found himself taking a step back at the anger in Dick's voice, his Batman had never spoken to him like that and he didn't know why Richard chose know to speak up. "Why are you defending him now Richard? I am only speaking the truth as I have before, Drake has proven himself to be nothing but a whore unfit to wear the Wayne name."

"I'm only the whore to spare you from becoming one." Tim's voice was soft but it echoed through the cave.

Damian could only blink at Drake before scoffing at him, "I would never lower myself as something so disgraceful. You make no sense."

The fire burned in Tim's dull eyes, "There was a reason that I kept putting off meeting with Tyler. I was waiting until I was sure that Bruce, Dick or Jason could be there with me. The bastard wouldn't try anything with one of them there. He just likes them young and pretty."

"What are you saying, Timmy?" Dick didn't know if he wanted to know the answer.

"You think that this is the first time that I had to give myself over for a business deal?" The laugh that escaped Tim was bitter. "I have been doing this for years. I was a prize that my parents dangled before anyone they could. Now that I am CEO of Wayne Enterprise I am an even bigger prize."

Jason's eyes were glowing green as he realized what his baby bird was saying.

Dick looked like he was going to murder someone.

Bruce looked horrified.

And Damian... Damian looked baffled.

"That is what I was trying to protect you from Damian." Tim's voice was hollow. "You talk about your birthright as Bruce's blood son, that you want everything you deem yours handed to you on a silver platter without knowing that there is a price you are going to pay. Do you know how many there are who would love to have the Crown Prince of Gotham's blood son in their power? Forced to do whatever they want to seal the deal? They are the monster waiting in the shadows knowing their money and power will protect them. I was trying to protect you, Damian."

To no one's surprise, Jason took a protective stance in front of Tim, there were few things he hated more than child rapist, the main one being the Joker, and to hear that his little brother had been forced to entertain monsters like that had him tasting the pit in the back of his mouth and he wanted nothing more than to hunt all those bastards down but that would come later right now all that matters is Tim. "Cass, take Tim upstairs and call those friends of his. He needs to be with people who will love and support him."

It was telling how awful that Tim was feeling as he didn't put up any protest as he allowed Cass to lead him out of the cave, he stopped only once to look at Damian, "You might not believe this but I do love you Damian and there was no way that I was going to let my little brother be forced to do something like that, not if I could protect him in ways that no one protected me."

Bruce collapsed into the chair as he buried his face in his hands. Dick would have offered him comfort but his legs gave out beneath him.

A dangerous growl escaped Jason as he flew a fist at the punching bag, he didn't care what Bruce said tonight he was going hunting.

"I didn't know." A shaken Damian whispered, he thought that Drake hated him just like he hates him but to know what Drake protected him from made his world spin. His mother had drilled into him that Timothy Drake was his enemy and the only way to take his place in his father's family was to get rid of him. "This makes no sense. Why would Drake do that for me?"

"Because you are his little brother and he was trying to keep you safe," Dick answered him with a sad smile on his face. Tim had protected Damian but they failed in keeping him safe. "There has to be a way to fix this." Dick just didn't know how to start.

A strong hand landed on his shoulder lifting his head Dick found himself staring into Bruce's grim face, "We messed up B."

"I know." Bruce felt guilt building up in him, he is Tim's father it is his duty to keep him safe. "All we can do is be there for him. Jason is right though Tim needs his friends here. We need to show him that we love him and are here for him."

No one noticed when Jason slipped away from them he had a monster to hunt.

+*****+

Kitchen

Jason stalked towards the door with purpose in his step.

"Master Jason."

Halting in mid-step Jason clenched his fists at his sides, "I cherish you Alfred but not even you can stop me from doing this." Jason warned.

"I don't intend to Master Jason," That had Jason whirling around to look at Alfred, the man looked calm but Jason could see the storm brewing in his eyes, "I would just like to inform you that Aiden Tyler will be attending a party tonight and from his habits, he will not arrive at home until around 2 am, which at such time the Sirens have promised to keep the rest of the Bats busy," Alfred informed Jason. No one hurt one of his grandchildren.

A wicked grin appeared on Jason's face, "This is why you are the best Alfred."

"Indeed. Now I need to prepare snacks for Master Tim's guests. Do be sure to return tonight and I shall have your favourite cookies waiting for you." Alfred gave Jason a soft smile.

"You rule Alfred." Jason would come back for Alfred and look after Tim.

+*****+

With Tim curled up in a puppy pile with Bart, Connor, Cassie and Cass watching Star Wars. The Sirens leading Batman, Nightwing and Robin on a chase throughout Gotham the Red Hood was free to deal with business.

Aiden was riding a high he had sealed a deal with Wayne Enterprise that was sure to make him an even wealthier man and his favourite toy returned to him. Nothing could bring him down.

That was until he felt the cold metal of the barrel of the gun pressed against his forehead. A red helmet followed and Aiden felt a sense of fear.

The Red Hood was in his home.

"Whoever sent you I am sure that I can pay you double what they offered you."

"I am a Crime Lord I don't need your money and no one sent me. See I have issues with people like you who target children and think because you have the money and power that you are above the law. But you aren't above me. I am here to ensure that no other child is gifted to you."

Aiden had been so focused on the gun at his head he never noticed the second one aimed at his groin until it was too late.

Beneath his helmet, Jason grinned as Aiden screamed in pain on the floor, blood pooling around him.

+*****+

"Is he dealt with?" Dick asked.

Jason grinned at his older brother, "He will never hurt baby bird again."

While Dick wished he had been the one to deal with that bastard he needed to keep Bruce busy, still that didn't mean he wouldn't ruin him in other ways. Someone had sent Clark a copy of everything Babs had dug up on Aiden. He would see that monster ruined, without money and his power stripped from him, until he was as helpless as he made Tim feel.

[ramblingguy54]

Escape From The Impossibin!: An Exercise Of Trust & Hope.

So, I was predicting for this episode to have Della & Louie bonding time together, which there were cool moments with them to be sure. However, what I really liked about today’s story was how it focused on the aftermath of FOWL’s reveal to still be very much alive to Scrooge’s horror and Beakly’s greatly underlying concern. A couple of days ago before Impossibin premiered today, I chatted with some others on Discord about what this episode’s story would explore for its overall message, which the more I thought about, the more I leaned on the idea it would be centered around the notion of trust. Let’s Get Dangerous had a consistent theme of deceitful liars being revealed who weren’t whom they appeared to be, as seen with Taurus Bulba vs Drake Mallard & Bradford’s true nature being known to Scrooge at that hour special’s ending. 

Escape From The Impossibin is all about confronting the growing tension that’s become a threat to a content family lineage of adventurers, who now have to defend everything they stand for in their legacy, once again. That’s something I’ve always appreciated about DuckTales is even when it doesn’t entirely match my predictions, it finds other new ways to surprise me for what it can do. Della & Louie didn’t necessarily get the bonding time I had hoped for, which did admittedly disappoint me, but they did a serve a purpose in their own right that I’ll get to later. Anyways, the spotlight is on the older mentor figures, Scrooge McDuck and Bentina Beakly, who are all too familiar in dealing with FOWL’s antagonism before in Season 1′s episode, The Confidential Case Files Of Agent 22, that especially applies to Beakly’s past in fighting them as an agent of SHUSH for very much longer compared to Scrooge. With how much is at stake you’d very much expect there to be old feelings being drudged up, regarding Scrooge’s trust and respect for Bradford, as well as Beakly’s strict over protective nature with Webby to keep her safe from losing that optimism that makes her stand out as a beacon of hope to inspire others, which they do. FOWL isn’t like Magica or Lunaris who want to make themselves known flat out to the world with their egos. They’re very cunning and cold blooded with going about executing their plans for control of the Earth. Particularly, Bradford is the serious threat most of all because he’s the brains of this outfit giving precision in each order to those under his command. Combine Bradford’s knowledge with the muscle of Steelbeak, Rockerduck’s underhanded scheming, Gandra Dee’s scientific intellect, Black Heron’s lust for more power, and Phantom Blot’s ability to absorb all kinds of magic that gives the McDucks’ a severe scenario they’ve never faced. FOWL is the right combination to put an end to Scrooge’s adventuring because Bradford has kept a close eye on him for so many years. Bradford has seen plenty of Scrooge at his total best and worst most of all. He’s studied upon every detail of Scrooge’s life, for who knows how many years, and is finally putting all of it to use against him, where we get to see the extent of just how well Bradford can read every one of his moves. Lunaris’ intellect was simply a figurative puddle compared to what Bradford managed to accomplish with his high IQ.

The scary thing is Scrooge knows this reality himself, too. 

That’s one of my favorite elements of Impossibin’s purpose. We get to see Scrooge seriously doubt his abilities. In episodes, like The Most Dangerous Game Night and The 87 Cents Solution, Scrooge has always prided himself in being a very sharp individual who could see every angle and any detail that others couldn’t. Bradford, on the other hand, rivals Scrooge’s thinking that puts an eerie perspective on things for the old man. Scrooge always thought to be one step ahead of the game, but then realizes that someone who’s been by his side for so very long played him like a fiddle all those years. Who’s to say Scrooge isn’t probably thinking back on stuff such as Bradford shutting down his rescue operation for Della, controlling his money usage, letting Louie hang around Bradford in The Richest Duck In The World, finalizing Gyro’s inventions, etc? Scrooge realizes he’s had a dangerous character around the family manor all those years, which makes him doubt his ability to trust himself in protecting everything that he holds importantly in life. Scrooge isn’t just thinking he’s been fooled, he’s doubting every aspect of what made him competent to begin with. Doesn’t help among this moment of self reflection Bradford is there to further rub in that harsh reality of how much he knows about Scrooge.

This moment gave me chills because it completely put a spin upon the story’s concept. I figured that FOWL would hack Scrooge’s security system, with help from Gandra Dee’s abilities, and I’m glad it went this route, since it shows how dangerous things are this time. They’re not even safe within the confines of their own manor anymore, considering Bradford knows every nook and cranny of it. Scrooge thought only he knew the security system’s password, given its based on the amount of all money in his money bin, but Bradford covered that crucial detail, too. Bradford isn’t leaving any loose ends toward Scrooge in how he’ll go about using any little thing against him for future reference. That’s what makes the stakes higher here than compared to Lunaris’ invasion. This is a much more personal story between a clash of ideals with Adventuring vs Control. Lunaris lacked that emotional connection here Bradford is making Scrooge have to face that adds another layer of tension to this situation. Bradford wants Scrooge to know, “I have control over you. There is nothing you know that I’ve already figured out about yourself.”, and going about hacking the robotic version of himself is the best way to send home that message to him. It can also be interpreted as symbolism for Scrooge fighting his own insecurities when Bradford takes control of the robot to start attacking.

I need you, the two most cunning individuals I know, to spot any weaknesses.

Now, Della & Louie did serve a big purpose, despite the Plot A point focusing greatly on Scrooge’s existential dilemma, for they were there to remind Scrooge of just how much of an impact his life style has had on them. Della & Louie’s teamwork together throughout the episode is a perfect way to give Scrooge a reality check reminder for how skilled they are as adventurous fighters against unknown dangers. After all, Scrooge passed on his skills to Della, who’d later pass down her intellectual skills to him, too. Again, tying into the whole theme of legacy and what not about how much family can bring out the best in each other. If it wasn’t for what Scrooge had taught them, then he wouldn’t have been saved by Louie’s defining act of being a badass, by willingly diving into the pile of money, which got hit by a gravity changing rosa rune from the robot and ended up crushing it. I wanted to see more mature Louie, so him lifting Scrooge up about how much pride he has in the family lineage was a great nod to it. That in turn, allowed Scrooge to remember why he and their family are strong together. You know, after recent events that have happened in my life, seeing legacy be explored in DuckTales Season 3 means a lot to me now more than ever.

As for Beakly’s B Plot, in terms of how it ties into a neat bow with Scrooge’s story, shows how intense she’s getting at the notion of eventually facing FOWL again. Honestly, I’m not surprised if she’s getting flashbacks of whatever painful or traumatic events happened to her in those Agent 22 days. I mean, for God’s sake, she tells Webby to straight up incapacitate Huey, who was already so scared. Something Webby refuses to agree with as the best course of training methods to better prepare against the greater threat. Beakly’s characterization has always fascinated me with how well she guards her vulnerability, kind of like Goldie in a way, but the difference here is outta great concern for others rather than herself. My mind can’t stop thinking about this scene, as there could most likely be underlying context for why Beakly is getting so worked up over this training. It seems Beakly is carrying a tremendous weight on her shoulders, probably some heavy angst, that it looks like she wants to say, but can’t because of bigger story reasons we’ll find out later in Season 3′s final batch of episodes. Special mention to Donald Duck putting his foot down on Beakly’s very intense training session. Donald knows the trials and errors of what it means to be a parent. He was once very overly protective of Huey, Dewey, and Louie, but learned to let them experience the world for what it is and not hold them back, so I liked how it ties into Beakly’s dilemma of trying to protect Webby from FOWL’s heartless nature.

Beakly’s plot may have not gotten much focus, but it did a very good job setting up more angst to come between her and Webby’s relationship. Things are gonna get very complicated between them when more things come to light. I’m keeping an eye on Huey’s line specifically. When he said, “The one thing we know for sure is that we trust each other, right?”, Beakly did want to bring herself to apologize of course, but I also think she was close to wanting to confess something else to Webby, too. I’m expecting this moment to be called back to when stuff hits the fan with Beakly’s past and whatever Webby’s origins are.

Escape From the Impossibin may have unsettling stuff lurking around the corner with how FOWL managed to distract them with the security system, so they could steal away every missing mystery the family has found so far, but there’s a glimmer of light in all of that darkness. A light that is a reminder of what makes the McDuck family an unstoppable force of trust, hope, and most importantly love. Frank said that things were gonna start going into overdrive with FOWL’s battle against McDuck and he wasn’t kidding around. I’m so overjoyed were getting more episodes in November after this episode finished because that would’ve been a painful wait. Season 3 is gonna start giving things it built up a big pay off and I’m totally here for that!

[alj4890]

Delicate

(Ethan Ramsey x Olivia Nevarkis) (Olivia Nevarkis x Drake Walker) in a Choices The Royal Romance/Open Heart Crackship Series

A/N It's Thanksgiving and Drake just happens to be in America. Seems perfect to drop in and see Olivia. Let's just say that it doesn't go at all like he hoped.

@jooous​ ​ @krsnlove​ @nomadics-stuff​   @twinkleallnight​ @motorcitymademadame​

Masterlist

Part 4

Olivia's Apartment, Boston...

"I suppose you have a very good reason for calling me this early." Olivia mumbled.

Ethan's chuckle brought a sleepy smile to her lips.

"How would you like to spend Thanksgiving at my place?"

"You'll be working." She reminded him.

"True." She could hear him shuffling papers around. "But we could have a late dinner. I'll also be off Friday and Saturday."

She rolled over in bed while keeping him waiting for an answer. "I might like that."

"Might?"

"Well, you didn't tell me who was cooking?"

"I see." Ethan readjusted his phone. "Would it entice you more to know I'm willing to do the cooking."

"I think it would." She laughed at his groan. "When should I come over?"

"Tonight." He replied. "That way you will already be there Thanksgiving morning."

"Then I better finish sleeping."

"You're right." His voice deepened. "I intend to keep you up late."

"Can't wait." She said softly.

She ended the call and rolled over with a deep sigh. She couldn't remember a time in her life that was anything like this. Her happiness was so new.

So unexpected.

Everything was moving perfectly. Her research hospital was being constructed. She had already hired a number of physicians that held credentials that would make any medical college weep over. And personally speaking, her love life wasn't too shabby.

No, it's perfect.

Ethan pursued her. He never stopped trying to impress her. Just like now with wanting her to be with him for his holiday. He made plans with her in mind, plans to learn all he could about her while sharing pieces of himself in the process.

Olivia knew she had dropped every barrier she had kept up to protect herself. Perhaps the only reason it didn't bother her was because, he too had left himself vulnerable before her.

For the first time, she could fully understand why her friends had done so in their own lives. It was a heady feeling, this power over someone. Knowing you could either make them happy or send them into the depths of sadness was both thrilling and a bit terrifying.

Olivia had given him that power over herself.

She justified her willingness by the type of man Ethan was. He was loyal to a fault. He was intelligent. Dedicated to whatever was important in his life. He never held back on what he was passionate about.

She shared so many of those qualities and understood the driving force behind them.

Perhaps that was why he didn't mind leaving himself open to her.

Perhaps, Ethan was truly the only man for her.

Do I love him? She wondered. Being so unfamiliar with the emotion, she thought of how much she wanted to be with him. The still unexpected joy she felt from his calls and seeing him. The longing for him when they were apart. She had even caught herself grinning like she had seen her friends do whenever they were daydreaming about their love.

Even if it was love, could she admit it? And if she did admit it and he admitted it too...what happens next?

She rolled onto her stomach and buried her face into her pillow. She detested unanswered questions and hated herself for even thinking of them.

Determined to push them to the back of her mind, she closed her eyes and dreamed of Ethan.

*****************

Outside Nadia Park's Apartment, New York City...

"You sure you're okay driving by yourself?" Maxwell asked. "You know my pilot will take you wherever you want."

Drake finished placing his luggage in the back of the Jeep Grand Cherokee he had rented. "I would rather drive." He shut the back. "Thanks though."

"It's a long way to Texas." Maxwell reminded him. "You sure you'll make it in time?"

"Mom plans on us celebrating this weekend instead of tomorrow." Drake explained. "Savannah and Bertrand can't get there until Friday. Something about Bartie's preschool pageant thing."

Maxwell hit his head with the palm of his hand. "I forgot all about his performance! He had wanted me to see his dance moves."

"Don't worry. Savannah is filming every bit of it."

Maxwell eyed him when he seemed to hesitant to leave.

"You," Drake cleared his throat, "You think I should stop by and check on Liv? On the way down there?"

"You could." Maxwell replied. "Have you talked to her since we were last here?"

Drake shook his head. "I'm not really a phone guy."

Maxwell slowly nodded. "True." He tried to think of a legitimate reason for Drake to see her to help his pride. "I took some photos the other day of the research hospital's construction progress for my next book. You could show them to Olivia."

Drake perked up as Maxwell scrolled through his images on his phone, picking the best to send to him.

"She'll love seeing that." Maxwell added.

"Yeah, she will." Drake muttered. He rubbed the back if his neck. "Listen, thanks for uh, for helping me with this. And for not making me talk about it all the time."

Maxwell briefly grinned and slapped a hand on Drake's shoulder. "That's what friends are for."

"I know." Drake nodded. "See you Tuesday."

"Have a safe trip." Maxwell waved in goodbye.

He stood out there until the jeep disappeared around the corner.

"Good luck, Drake." He mumbled.

***************

Olivia's Apartment, Boston...

"Should I cook something?" Olivia frowned at her nearly bare cabinets while talking on the phone. "What do people usually eat for this holiday?"

"I might not be the person to ask this to." Amanda responded. "Thomas usually doesn't want the typical Thanksgiving fare."

"I would call Riley but Hana told me Liam was surprising her with a trip back to the island this weekend." Olivia muttered.

"A second honeymoon so soon?" Amanda laughed. "I think we might be hearing news of a new heir to the throne this holiday season."

A soft smile formed on Olivia's lips at the thought. "I didn't think of that."

"As for if you should cook something, you can never go wrong with a dessert." Amanda added. "Something you could enjoy together."

Olivia turned around in alarm when she heard a knock at her door.

"Amanda, you are still in California, aren't you?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because only you and Ethan come to my apartment." Slipping a dagger into the sleeve of her sweater, she ended the call and cautiously opened her door.

Drake's hand was halfway up to knock once more.

The two simply stared in surprise at one another.

Olivia's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

She relaxed her grip on the dagger.

"I, uh..." He glanced about. "I was driving to my mom's and thought I would stop along the way and um..." He dug into his pocket and handed his phone over. "Show you the progress on the hospital."

Her suspicious expression smoothed out into one of excited interest as she began to scroll through the images. Stepping back, she silently motioned him to come in with the blade of her dagger.

A relieved smirk formed on his lips as he followed her inside.

"These look incredible." She sat down while admiring photographs of labs and operating rooms. "Ethan and Naveen will be so pleased."

Drake sat down across from her. "Have you finished finding the right doctors for it?"

"For the most part." She replied. "Naveen suggested we hold off on some until we see what is needed most, specialist wise."

"Ah." Drake tapped his fingers against his leg while trying to think of something else to talk about.

"So..." He muttered.

Olivia quirked an eyebrow at him.

"How are...how are things?"

"Things?" She repeated.

"Yeah, how er," he wondered why he was so nervous, "how are they?"

"Fine." She eyed him curiously. "How are things with you?"

"Good." He cleared his throat. "I mean, good that things are fine."

"So things aren't good for you?"

"Yes. I mean, no." He grit his teeth. "Things are great for me."

"I see." Olivia handed his phone back to him. "Well, thanks for stopping by and showing me these. You should probably get back on the road. I assume it is a long way from here to wherever your family is."

"Texas." He reminded her. "You went there for Savannah's wedding."

She narrowed her eyes again. "I've been there one time. Don't expect me to remember every farm I have seen."

Drake felt his own temper spike. "It’s a ranch."

She flicked her fingers dismissively. "Whatever. Shouldn't you go to Texas before Thanksgiving is over?"

"I don't have to be there until this weekend." He explained. "What are you doing for this American holiday?"

"I'll be spending it with Ethan."

His smirk slowly disappeared. "I see. And are you and the good doctor having a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings?"

Her eyes were now mere slits. "I believe so. He's cooking for me."

"He would." Drake muttered. "Are you showing that you too can be a little sunshine filled homemaker?"

"A sunshine filled..." She trailed off, refusing to allow him to ruin this for her. She had never had a man invite her to spend the holidays together. "Actually," her smile held a touch of evil, "I was just about to leave to get the ingredients I need to do so."

"You are?" He snorted. "I've never known you to cook."

"You never knew me outside of the bedroom." She snapped. "I can do many things, Walker."

His jaw dropped for a moment over her bluntness. "Like what?"

"None of your business." She got to her feet. "It was great seeing you. Let's not hurry to do so again."

Drake stood up. "I'll drive you to the store."

"That isn't necessary."

"I see what is going on. You're scared of my driving."

"Please. I'm not scared of anything you do."

"Then you'll let me to drive you to the store." Drake replied.

"Fine." She put her coat on and grabbed her purse. "Anything to get you to hurry on your way."

"But I'm not in a hurry." He needled.

"Nobody cares!" She griped.

"You must," he snickered, "you've brought up my travel plans more than I have."

She jerked the passenger side door open and slid in. “I forgot how annoying you are."

"I forgot how easy it is to irritate you." He countered.

She folded her arms and motioned with her chin for him to get going.

A proud smile flirted across his lips as he followed her directions.

*****************

"So...what is the duchess making?" Drake pushed a grocery cart through a crowded store.

"Dessert." She ground out.

"What kind? Pie? Cake?" He scanned the aisles for the baking one. "Some kind of health thing since it's for good old Ramsey?"

"I don't know!" She snapped. "I've been trying to decide but some idiot keeps talking!'

"Funny, I didn't know Maxwell was here too." Drake made a show of looking around.

Olivia briefly closed her eyes before exploring recipes for a dessert Ethan might enjoy.

"Pumpkin pie."

"What?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Pumpkin pie is what you should make." He shrugged. "It is the traditional Thanksgiving dessert."

"I don't like pumpkin." Olivia bit out.

"Since when?"

"Since forever."

He narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know that."

"Why would you?" She griped. "It wasn't like we ever ate a meal together."

His frown firmed. "Does Ramsey know you hate pumpkin?"

"Yes." Her chin lifted proudly. "He makes a point of never ordering me pumpkin spiced anything."

"He knows one thing about you." Drake grumbled.

She shot him a murderous glare before gathering items to make an apple pie.

"Feeling homesick?" Drake asked.

"No." She searched for cinnamon. "Why?"

"Did you forget your country is obsessed with a certain fruit?"

She rolled her eyes.

"When's the last time you baked a pie?" He followed her down the aisle. "Was it for the Apple Queen trials?"

Her shoulders stiffened. "I've baked since then."

"Really?" Drake's eyes settled on her profile when she paused to examine different flours.

She cut her eyes to him. "You really think I'm like all the other nobles don't you?"

"Good Lord, no." He chuckled. "No one at court acts like you."

A reluctant smile appeared on her face. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should." He grinned at her. "That's one of the things I like most about you. You were never one of them."

She shrugged while setting a bag of sugar in the basket. "I never saw a reason to act like them."

"It's a shame more aren't like you."

"Ha." She rolled her eyes. "If they were, you would not only be miserable but probably suffering from multiple stab wounds."

"I'm serious." Drake took the bag of flour from her.

Their fingers grazed one another's.

He felt a jolt of disappointment that she was not affected by their touch.

"Most of them could learn a lot from you." His lips firmed into a half smile. "That's one of the reasons I wish you would hurry up and come back home."

Olivia's eyebrow lifted. "You have other reasons for wanting me back in Cordonia?"

"I do."

"And they are?"

"A grocery store aisle isn't really the place to discuss them."

Her eyes narrowed in concern "Is it security?" She lowered her voice and checked to make certain no one was really paying attention to them. "Is someone after Liam and Riley again?"

"No, I didn't mean--" he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Liv, I meant that I miss you."

She snorted on a surprised laugh. "You? You miss me?" She walked off toward the produce section, still shaking her head. "That's hilarious."

He gripped the grocery cart as he followed after her. "Yeah, who would've thought it possible?"

She began to pick through the apples. "Not me or anyone we know."

"Maxwell knows."

She stilled.

"What?"

"Maxwell knows or knew about us. He figured it out whenever he noticed us sneak out." He muttered.

Angry spots of color appeared on Olivia's cheeks. "And you went ahead and told him he was right in his suspicion?"

"I didn't have to." He snapped. "He knew by how I acted after you left."

"How you acted?" She glared at him. "Are you that hard up to find someone to meet your needs?"

"Stop talking about it like that!" He exclaimed. "It wasn't just--"

"Yes, it was exactly that!" The apple in her hand began to drip juice from how hard she was squeezing it. "That was all you wanted. It was all I wanted in the beginning!" Her eyes held his. "We got together because we couldn't be with the ones we thought we were in love with."

Drake staggered back. "That's not--I never--"

"Oh please." She tossed the apple back with the others. "I saw it throughout the entire engagement tour. You wanted Riley just like I wanted Liam to choose me."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't use you to--"

"You did." Olivia's tone eased into a more matter of fact level. "And I allowed it because I was doing the same with you." Her eyes narrowed to mere slits. "Drake, we started our thing the night of their wedding reception! You can't tell me you came to my room for me." She turned back to the apples. "You came for yourself."

"I--" his head dropped back in frustration. "Fine. But it didn't stay that way." He stepped up beside. "I started coming for you."

She ignored him.

"Was it Liam the whole time?"

Her head jerked up. "Would I have stood there like a simpleton asking if what we had was going to turn into something if I still had feelings for Liam?"

"No." He slipped his hands in his coat pockets.

She finished picking apples and pushed the cart toward the checkout.

Without a word he followed her.

*****************

The silence between them was deafening. Drake had never experienced a more uncomfortable car ride before. Every few seconds he would cut his eyes to Olivia, only to be more perplexed by how relaxed and content she appeared.

Her head was bent as she answered a text from Amanda wondering who had been at her door and then she saw one from Ethan.

Her lips curved as she read how much he was looking forward to the next few days with her.

"Liv?"

"Hmm?"

"Why didn't you--"

"You drove past my apartment building."

He cursed and made a quick right to circle back around.

"Why didn't you--"

"Just stop here." She ordered. "I can go in this side entrance."

"Let me find a place to park."

"There's no need." She reached behind her for the bags of groceries. "I can easily carry these."

"Yeah, but I wanted to--"

"You should really get going." She lifted her eyes to the gray clouded afternoon sky. "You're losing daylight."

"Damn it Olivia!" He snapped, hitting the steering wheel. "Why won't you let me talk about it?!"

"Because there is nothing more to say!" She yelled at him. "Why do you keep harping on it?! We had sex. Yes, it was enjoyable but I now need more." Her chest rose with her frustrated breaths. "And I have found someone who gives me what I need."

"You really think this Ramsey is what you need?" He taunted. "One day you'll leave here and he will see the real you in Cordonia. This Boston bubble you're living under is going to pop. What will he do when he sees you as a duchess, mingling amongst the court?"

Drake wanted to hurt her since she didn't seem to care that she had and continually did hurt him.

"You think he'll adore you then? Just wait until he hears all the tales of your years of temper tantrums and cruelty."

All the color drained from Olivia's face.

The stark pain reflected in her eyes made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world.

"Liv, I didn't mean--"

She scrambled out of his car, slamming the door behind her.

He watched her until she disappeared into her building.

Drake dropped his head on the steering wheel.

He wasn't sure how his plan on reminding her the good between them had instead showed him as the worst possible ex she had ever had.

[itzagothamcitysiren]

Welcome to the Family

Happy Mother’s day to all the mothers and motherly figures out there! This story is kind of inspired by my relationship with my older sister, who was honestly more of a mother to me than our actual mom. She’s awesome and I wish I could see her today but quarantine sucks lol. 

Also, too me Logan Lerman is Tim. He’s just so awkward and cute and nerdy, and I think he’d be a great Tim. 

Mother’s Day pt.1           

 “What the hell are you doing, Drake?” Damian’s snippy voice cut through the empty living room like a knife.

           The once comfortably silent room, now held an awkward and thick tension as Tim Drake popped his head up from his work, annoyed at being interrupted.  He looked back down at the paper and other supplies cluttered around the coffee table for a moment, not even embarrassed at being caught. It was a normal thing that he started doing shortly after moving into Wayne Manor all those years ago; Damian was still the one who was the odd one out.

           “Making Mother’s Day cards; what else does it look like?” Tim rolled his eyes, motioning his hand with a slight wave to the finished card at the edge of the table. That one was meant for his mother, he made sure to finish it first, wanting to drop it off at the post office tomorrow after school so it’d get to her in time.

           “Tt.” Damian shook his head, crossing his arms against his chest. He took a seat at the other end of the couch to look over the older boy’s work.

           Damian Wayne wasn’t the type for such sentiment. He scoffed at the idea of Mother’s Day. Could you just imagine him, an al Ghul, giving his mother a card? Though, he didn’t put it past someone as pathetic as Drake to be one to celebrate the commercial holiday. Even Grayson and his father celebrated, and their mothers were dead. They’d both journey to the cemetery and placed roses on their mother’s grave. But that made much more sense to Damian, than making a card, they were paying their respects, while Drake was just giving his mother a worthless piece of paper.

           “A simple piece of paper will really satisfy your mother? Tt.” Damian leaned back into the couch, arms still crossed but now lifting his leg to rest on his other thigh.

           “Yes. It. Will.” Tim gritted, not in the mood for Damian’s taunting and insults; he was actually in a genially good mood for once.

            He moved to open his mouth again, clenching the marker in his hand tightly; who did this kid think he was? He was glad the kid was over his phase of trying to actively kill him but he still found pleasure in making Tim’s life miserable. He tried closing his mouth, not wanting to get into it again but the third Robin still felt the need to defend himself against the spoiled blood son. He pushed the disappointed look Bruce would surely show him away after the old man would end of having to break up another fight between the two boys.

           “I’m not just giving her card; I’m also sending her a gift card to her favorite restaurant and another one for a trip to this day spa. It makes her happy and since I’m not around I want to make sure she knows I miss her. You know like normal mother and son stuff, not that you would know anything about that.”  

           Tim cursed to himself as soon as the bitter and smug words left his mouth. Shit.  He went too far; the dead silence that followed told him that much. He didn’t dare look up to see Damian’s face. He could practically feel the scowl, the deadly glare, beaming into the side of his head; it was like he was being blasted by Superman’s laser beams. Maybe that was being a little dramatic but Tim knew he shouldn’t have said that. He was better than stooping that low and saying something that brash. Even with the pair being fair from close, barely even being on speaking terms, Tim still knew how sensitive Damian was about his relationship with Talia.

           He was half expecting to feel a punch come down from him, or a shove, anything that would physically harm him in response but much to Tim’s surprise he was just met with Damian’s signature sound, ‘Tt’, and then him shifting in his place. Tim scratched the back of his neck, unsure why Damian reacted so calmly, not that his body and pride weren’t complaining. He mentally shrugged and went back to making his second card.

           The younger boy watched as Tim got back to work. He wanted to lash out at Drake’s dig at him and his mother’s relationship but Damian didn’t want to give Drake the satisfaction of knowing that he was insulted. He thought back to his father’s speech after their last fight about how they both needed to learn how to be the bigger person. Damian rolled his eyes at the memory and instead quirked an eyebrow up as he watched Tim begin to get back into making what appeared to be a second Mother’s Day card.

           “Correct me if I’m wrong but last time I checked you only had one mother, Drake.” Damian said, nodding towards the second card.

           “You would be correct.” Tim nodded, not looking up this time as he spoke. He reached for the blue Sharpie instead, filling in the bubble letters he wrote with it.

           “Then why are you making another card? Did you realize how stupid that other one is and are starting over?” Damian pressed, leaning back once again to get comfortable.

           Tim huffed, already over this conversation. It was times like this that he wished Dick and Halley still lived at home. Damian would be Dick’s shadow if he was here and not bugging him like this. With Halley, she’d swoop in the moment she felt a fight forming and would’ve gotten the demon spawn to shut up by now. But now that they were the only two left living at home Damian was all Tim’s problem. Maybe it was time to go back to the Titans?

           “No, my mother’s card is done. This is for someone else.” Tim said, using his minimum art skills to draw a decent flower next to the y in Day. He huffed again when Damian responded immediately asking who specifically it was for. Tim let the marker drop from his grasp, losing his nerve. Rubbing his head, he pushed the hair fallen in front of his face out of his face, letting out a deep breath. Why did he care what he was doing? Damian has shown more interest in his current activity than he’s shown in anything in Tim’s life since they met.  “It’s for Halley.”

           “Tt.” Damian rolled his eyes, smirking. “Halley isn’t your mother, Drake.”

           “No, but since I’ve moved here, she’s always been there when I need her and she’s done so much for me so this is my way of thanking her and showing that I love her.” Tim let himself get cocky again, snipping right back at Damian. He put emphasis in his speech, knowing that not only was it true but it would rub Damian the wrong way. “I do this for her every year and every year she gets all mushy and loves it.”

           Damian narrowed his eyes at the older boy. Was Drake questioning his relationship with his older sister? They may only be half siblings but that was more blood than she shared with anyone in the bat family. When the pair first found out they shared the same mother, Damian had been less then enthused about no longer being an only child and furious at his mother for failing to mention her having a child with Deathstroke. Halley had been just as shocked and angry, but at her father for never telling her. She wasn’t surprised but still angry. Though unlike him, she quickly rushed to try and get closer to the boy. Even though Damian wanted no part of it, Damian was clearly her favorite brother; right?

           Drake said this was a yearly thing but why has he never noticed before? He did know that they would occasionally spend what they grossly called Mandatory Sibling Bonding Day together, where’d they’d go out just the two of them, much to the annoyance of Damian. He didn’t understand why she wasted her time with Drake; what could they possible do for fun together? Granted, she did do the same with Grayson whenever they were around at the same time. The pair of them also being close, Grayson having been the one to help get her out of her old life with her father, Slade Wilson.

           Damian thought about how his sister had a close personal relationships with all the Robin’s and Batgirl’s, even the failure that Damian deemed as Stephanie Brown; Halley was close to them all, all but him. Though that wasn’t completely true, they did have somewhat of a bond. They both had what she phased as shitty-ass parents, her father being Deathstroke himself while his was the Dark Knight, and they shared the same mother, Talia al Ghul. They’d never known about the other until Damian was brought to live with his father by their mother and Halley had long been taken in by Dick and Bruce.

           He still remembered their first meeting, they hadn’t yet known about sharing the same mother but yet she was still eager to accept him. He of course didn’t share her gusto, especially after Slade revealed that Talia was her mother after he attacked the League of Assassin’s and killed his grandfather. Damian wasn’t keen on having an actual sibling, especially one with the blood of Deathstroke. But they also shared the same al Ghul blood and was quite the efficient fighter. But they were both incredibly set in their ways and persistent, as she was dead set on getting the younger boy to open up while he was dead set to prove that he was the most worthy al Ghul.

           It infuriated him enough that she said she didn’t care about being an al Ghul, having  no memories of being with the League of Assassin’s, as Slade and Talia agreed that she would go off to live with her father for her training. Damian said she was unworthy of the blood they shared and she didn’t deserve it. Though even now, he wouldn’t admit it but sometimes he swore he could still feel the pain from the beating she gave him when he tried to kill her in her sleep his first few months staying in the manor whenever he looked her way.

           That was something he admired about his sister, again not like he would ever admit it, but her persistence was something he looked up to and even came to appreciate. Even after trying to kill her, being cruel, and treating her like how she treats Drake, at first even worse, she never gave up on him; a feat that no one else could say they’ve come close too; perhaps Grayson, but there were times where even the star-child of Bruce Wayne’s collection of wayward children would walk away from Damian’s outbursts because he simply had enough of the all give an no take. But not Halley; she’d stay every single time and with that she’d even give him a smile at the end of it.

           She understood what it was like. Being raised by Slade Wilson was basically the same as being raised by Ra’s al Ghul. They never had a conversation about it, Damian always calling her a fool, she didn’t know what his childhood was like and then brushing her off. But who was Damian kidding? She made her first kill by age eight, so did Damian. She had expectations placed on her that no child should’ve been held up to, as did Damian. They shared bruises, scars and nightmares.

           Grayson had tried with him, after his father failed but Halley was the one who truly helped him adjust to this new life he found himself in without even knowing it. What Grayson and his father didn’t understand was that you just couldn’t stop being who you were raised to be in a second, it took time, and Halley had been through the same transition. Granted she was looking to escape the life she had with her father whereas Damian was forced to be with his by his mother, but there were just some habits that where hard to break.

           “You good there?” Drake’s voice cut Damian out of his thought process.

           Damian snapped out of it, narrowing his eyes down at the card, noting Tim had stopped working on it and was looking at Damian as if he was a frozen computer screen. Scoffing, standing up to his feet, he uncrossed his arms, pointing a finger at the card for his sister. Trying to hid the fact that Drake caught him in such a deep thought, he cleared his throat before sneering,  

           “Her favorite color is purple, not red.”

           Tim watched, mouth left agape as Damian made his way out of the room without another word. He took another look down at the card and grunted, reaching for a new piece of paper, getting ready to start all over again. What a kid, he thought as he got back to work.

[poepoe-thebunny]

Damien The Littlest Brother

Or: Stuff Damian does with his siblings.

Dick

Dick in some ways was another form of idolization for Damian. Damian was so very young when they first met, younger still when Ra's and the league sunk their teeth into his heart and tried their best to tear it to shreds. Dick's role, part sibling part guardian, was the first major form of stability Damian had. Little Damian had been born with the mythos of The Bat hanging overhead, and the hope of measuring up to first his grandfather's and then his father's standards had nearly broken him.

Like a lot of children Damian didn't necessarily understand or appreciate what Dick was trying to do for him until he was older. But just like other children Damian clung to the emotional support and care Dick gave him, the care he had so often been deprived of.

Damian wasn't necessarily there for the events that shaped Dick and the rest of their family, but he is growing up in the aftereffects of it. Dick chose to give Damian the love he deserved, Dick chose not to punish a child for the situation he was born into. But Dick isn't perfect. He loses his temper, he gets frustrated, he gets things wrong, he makes mistakes, he bleeds. Dick, at least initially, was real and human in a way Bruce wasn't to a little boy who already had his future decided for him.

While he may not admit it, Damian looks up to Dick because in a lot of ways Dick is a better person than most. Dick is a good man, a better man than Bruce in some ways. He shows Damian what a hero actually is, and that the concept of being a hero isn't tied to the suit. Dick shows Damian that he can and is a good person, that he can make those decisions for himself and that his own emotional needs are not anything to be ashamed of. Damian is a boy first, not a weapon.

So Damian leans into his affection. There are shared naps after patrol, and days out getting ice cream or going to the zoo. Damian wakes a tired Dick up with a pillow to the face, and pillow fights and laughter ensues. Dick comes along to the school showcases, where an embarrassed Damian has pictures and paintings of their family up for all to see. He never once mocks Damian's desires, instead listening with seriousness to every moment of Damian's vulnerability.

That's what sticks with Damian the most. That Dick wholeheartedly believes Damian is a good person, that Damian can be good and kind and soft. He sees Damian fumble with his cool demeanor, growing shy and embarrassed when chatting with students his own age. Damian knows the names of most of his classmates, takes down random details that shouldn't be important to a stranger "We're NOT friends Grayson," but Damian talks to the youngest students about animals, and how to properly hold puppies. Damian has lists of underfunded animal shelters and regularly sends them to Bruce and Tim when preparations for the Wayne Foundation charity events come up. Damian knows most of the officers in Bludhaven since he occasionally stops by with something for Dick, a late lunch or hot drink or Dick's spare clothes in case he needs out of his police uniform. After many coos, head pats and cheek pinches, Damian is occasionally "babysat" by some of them while Dick is out on patrol of the police variety. He does not realize how much he has charmed Dick's co-workers, talking about his pets or his brothers.

Dick is the kind of hero, the kind of person, Damian was told wasn't real. That heroes were childish nonsense, that mercy and love were weak. The concept that someone could love him, that he was deserving of love instead of being forced to earn it, was foreign. But Dick Grayson was all of that. So Damian puts up less and less of a fight over the silly pictures they take together. Dick buys books about animals, and Damian grudgingly wears the cute stupid animal ear headbands Dick buys him. While part of Damian knows he won't be, the part that viciously beats "heroes" and "love" and "ice cream" back with a vengeance, another part of Damian, a very small fragile part, thinks that maybe if he grew up becoming like Dick Grayson the Person (TM) it wouldn't be so bad. "Awww thanks Dami!"

Jason:

Next to Tim, the Cain Instincts are strongest with Jason. Jason is constantly ruffling his hair, calling him names, and sitting on him. Jason does not give a single iota of a damn for any sort of authority except Alfred. Jason is not afraid of Damian.

So when Damian latches onto Jason's neck ready to strangle him, he laughs like it's the best thing he's ever seen, and a wrestling match ensues. They bond over it, over the goading and the competition.

They bond over books too, over stories and musicals and words Damian shouldn't care about but he does. Damian says he's too old for fairy tales even though he never had them to begin with, never had stories told when tucked into bed unless it was for a harsh life lesson. And yet Damian will find books as gifts for Jason, and Jason will read them aloud after Damian annoys him by pressing his feet into Jason's side. He swears up and down that the exaggerated voices and accented narration from Jason are done purely to annoy him. Damian constantly interrupts him, always asking questions and Jason tells him to shut up and be patient, "learn to listen demon brat."

They watch Disney and Ghibli, Laika and Illumination, and after a very enlightening conversation with one Tim Drake, Jason introduces Damian to theater. From Antigone to Romeo and Juliet, from West Side Story to Hadestown to Heathers the Musical. Bruce has walked in on them recreating various iconic sword fights too many times to count, quoting lines while dressed in blanket robes and crowns made of craft feathers and stick on jewels. Alfred thorough enjoys their riveting performances.

Like a lion teaching his cubs through play, Jason teaches him that he's never too mature for anything and screw anyone else who doesn't like it. Jason teaches him fun in a way Damian never allowed himself to have before, to look past his mission, and do things for enjoyment. He teaches Damian defiance and rebellion, two very important things for him to learn even if it's only interrupting rude rich people and disagreeing with his father over whether he needs to attend another gala.

Damian and Jason have a strange relationship, and initially aren't quite sure how to act around one another. Such large parts of their identity and experiences were formed by an indirect overlapping influence. Jason's death and the effect it had on the family and how they treat Damian, Jason's time with the league and the lazarus pit. But at the same time they understand each other in a way some of their other siblings don't. The strength and struggle in establishing their independence and identity means that their grudging respect turns into fondness with time.

Tim:

It appears that Cain Instincts don't particularly care if one is related or not, given the sheer amount of times Tim and Damian are at each other's throats initially. But with time they settle and grow more comfortable with each other, the words turn from anger to a grumbly sort of discontent, like irritated puppy's more than anything.

They bond over pride. They bond over failure. The two aren't that different really. They've seen each other at their worst. Missions with too many close calls, where the knife wounds cut too close and the bullets bit to deep, when the snap of Gotham's jaw came to close to closing over them and the only thing saving Gotham's Rogues from the collective wrath of two angry Robin's was the weight of their family's morals.

They had to learn to trust each other. But they do.

The insults are more to fill the silence, partially affection and partially with the need to annoy. They watch reruns of Star Trek and play Legend of Zelda in pajama pants (Tim) and hoody's (Damian), half draped over each other with his feet in Tim's lap. When Damian couldn't find one to his satisfaction, he gifted Tim a new skateboard with his own hand drawn and painted design. He sends a video to the family group chat of him laughing when Tim faceplants.

They are the DEFINITION of annoying to each other. Damian chucks clothes at Tim to make him shower, they get into slap fights over breakfast, they sneer at each other's drinks. "With all the coffee it's no wonder you don't grow Drake," While handing a sick Tim herbal tea for his throat.

It's an underlying trust that rarely needs to be affirmed. But when it does Damian won't hesitate to let his opinion be known. Whether it be high school bullies mocking his gangly brother, reporters trying to pit the "blood son" against the "Boy CEO", or shady members of the Gotham elite with too much interest in his family and his company, Damian's blunt attitude comes back with a vengeance. There will be no Wayne Charm, no shop talk, no backhanded compliments, when Damian Wayne gets between them and his brother. It's "I trust my brother," and "No business with the likes of you," or even "When I said you two weren't on the same level, I meant that you were the incompetent one."

Tim always tries to scold him, tells him he shouldn't be petty, I can protect myself demon, but he smiles while he says it.

Stephanie

She teases him mercilessly, will smile sweetly while "blackmailing" him and challenges him to do things he has never done before. Damian won't admit he enjoys any of it even upon threat of death. She's loud, annoying, and demanding and unapologetically so and Damian is convinced she was dropped on her head as a child. Stephanie is his sister and he loves her as a younger brother would, hurling insults at each other while fighting over french fries drinking smoothies in some fast food restaurant at 2 in the afternoon on a day out.

What strikes him about Stephanie is that she demands respect because she knows on a fundamental level that she deserves it, that all of her hard work was her own and she knew she could do it even when everyone else thought she didn't belong. As he grows Damian comes not only to admire her, but finds this a very important lesson to learn for himself.

Stephanie pushes him, she encourages him even if it's hidden under mutually shared insults. On days where she "babysits him" (she does not, Damian tells himself he doesn't need a babysitter he doesn't) she's perfectly happy to work on their motorcycles together, or have random picnics in the park with bags of fast food, or challenge him to rounds of ping pong. They learn eventually that they make a very good team together. Either destroying Tim and Jason in video games, the occasional local ping pong or DDR tournament when visiting Gotham U, or spur of the moment plans in a night time fight. Stephanie is crazy enough to believe it will work, and Damian is crazy enough to believe Stephanie will follow.

Stephanie understands what it feels like to constantly have to justify yourself, to be told you can't measure up and that you're place isn't here, even though you know it is. To have the weight of your family's decisions hanging overhead for the judgment of others.

So they learn to love each other through healthy competition and teasing remarks. Stephanie shoos him off to "talk to kids your own age, don't be so serious!". It's normal, in some ways the closest to normal Damian has had in a long time. And though they won't say it out loud, it's nice to know someone else agrees that they are entitled to these moments of happiness, these moments they were stripped of and denied for so long. They believe in each other and their right to happiness. Damian will never doubt Stephanie's strength, as spoiler or Batgirl or robin or Stephanie, and in return she will never doubt him or his place in their family.

...

Even if that means trying to escape when she wants to play dress up. "I am not your doll Brown," "Fine fine, whatever you say short stack."

Cass:

The moments between Damian and Cass are silent, but if you believe nothing is said then you are entirely wrong. They speak to each other quite often even if they don't use words.

He watches her dance, and thinks she is so strong. Damian swears she could have been a princess in another life, if life had not sunk its fangs in and poisoned her with pain instead. Just as he would have been a prince. While he initially tried to hide it, Cass always knew he was there. Damian watches her. Damian hears her words, her joy and her tears, and puts it down on to charcoal and paper. I hear you, and he shows them to her, how her form litters his pages as she pats his head. There is, Damian thinks, a poetic irony in seeing something so dangerous create something so beautiful. She is art and deserves to be heard, and Damian is grateful that she hears him too. He lets her look at pages of charcoal and ink, at canvases of paint full of everything Damian can't put into words quite yet, and finds understanding.

But while he is a Wayne, he was an Al Ghul at one point and his mother gave him the training every prince should have, skills beyond his sword. So one day, as she stretches, he brings in a case and sets it down with a clunk. He tunes the strings and plays Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor, as she watches him with eyes that understand far too much, eyes that say I know, I hear you baby brother. Damian almost wishes she didn't, partially due to the struggle of his own pride, but also because no one should ever have to understand that kind of pain.

Moments with Cass are quiet, but they are never silent. Cass teaches him understanding, helps teach him empathy. And while Damian knows he can never dance the way she can, he can play and sketch and paint and between them their secrets can no longer be secrets. Cass doesn't teach him how to feel ,no, he's always been too good at that. Instead she teaches him ways to coax them out when the words won't come, to look around him with the wonder he wasn't allowed to have before, to let him be defined by a different set of skills that shows he can create something beautiful too.

Duke:

Damien thinks Duke is "cool", like the kind of cool you see in movies and TV shows, the average teenage boys in jeans and sneakers who fight for the underdog and stand up to bullies in a 3-on-1 fight even if they know they won't win. There is a conviction in Duke that rivals Damian's own, and Damian can't help but admire someone willing to strike out on their own and do something when they felt others were failing.

Duke is "Chill" as Jason likes to say, he's low pressure and not pushy in a way that Damian appreciates. He's calm, not in the stoic way of some of the others, but in a way that doesn't put Damian out of his comfort zone with expectations.

Time spent with Duke often consists of puzzles and card games, or movies. Duke is very good at using Damian's own pride against him to "trick" him into playing, but together they do everything from DnD to Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters. It's relaxing.

Duke tells him about school and if Damian is having trouble with the more normal things of being a tween, like worrying whether other kids like him, or wearing something embarrasing, Duke brings him out of his own head. Duke plays along with his competitive nature, challenging him to races the few times they patrol together. He finds Damian outside drawing, and teaches him soccer. Other times they sit there together, Duke writing whatever comes to mind while Damian sketches. Damian gifts Duke a detailed portrait of himself; standing in the center of the crowded streets, body spliced into neat clockwork-style segments with patches of his Signal uniform, the red jacket from his time in the "We R Robin" crew, his sports uniforms, and casual clothing, the bright light of his powers bursting from within in a halo under the Gotham smog. He is Gotham's daylight protector, unique and gifted, and Damian respects that.

It's not easy, Damian is still young and cocky, still isn't very good at saying what he feels. But Duke sees right through his attempts to play it off, and it's always met with head pats and a "Whatever you say lil' D." Damian won't say it out loud but he thinks that the sheer conviction Duke has for doing what's right bleeds into every aspect of him, and that maybe with time it will do the same for himself. Damian admires his strength of will and determination, and the work Duke is willing to put in to get what he wants.

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 19

While the Nation Mourns

SUMMARY: Hana is reunited with Riley, and Liam must attend a funeral

Word Count: ~4.4k 

Warnings: mention of character death, mention of depression

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here

Tags:  @captain-kingliamsqueen @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @shanzay44 @cordonianroyalty @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @cinnamonspongecake @queenjilian @kuladekiwi @twinkle-320 @iaminlovewithtrr @charlotteg234 @amandablink @texaskitten30 @tinkie1973 @louiseingram1208 @queencatherynerhys @pens-girl-87 @missevabean @ladyangel70 @sanchita012 @cordonianprincess @liamandneca @cordonia-gothqueen

I’m sorry, the tags are being weird and I don’t know if they’re working or not... but I hope I got everyone down! If I missed someone, or anyone wants to be added/removed, let me know <3

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

- Hana - 

For a very long time, Hana felt that her existence was a very irritable thing for both herself and those around her. 

The love that she attempted to give to the ones around her was unrequited. No matter how much time she tried to spend around her husband — in a desperate attempt for him to redevelop affections for her — the more it seemed as if he wanted to be rid of her.

Even though he sent her many gifts whenever he would go abroad, the dresses, shoes, jewelry, and designer outfits didn’t matter to her. She did not have, nor want the materialistic quality that everyone suspected of a lonely housewife — no, she wanted to devle herself into meaningful connections with people she cared for. Her heart was always empty and alone because there was no one around her who loved her. 

During her time in Lythikos after the tea ceremony, Olivia was kinder to Hana than she was during her first Social Season, and it was a breath of fresh air to be reminded that she was not just a burden; once again Hana felt like someone whose company was valued. 

She remembered the feeling from her friendship with Lady Kiara and Lady Penelope. And from her relationship with Lady Riley. 

Those friendships had all dissolved, and Hana was left with the fact that life was a dreadful and lonely place and she needed to find a way out. 

Ever since her parents had forced her to marry Neville, joy had become a hot commodity in Hana’s life. 

For five long, vile years, during which Hana and Neville were told that her estradiol levels would make it difficult for her to conceive, and Neville beginning to slowly ignore her — she lived life believing that she was one of those people who had done nothing to deserve happiness. 

Though now, as the Beaumont estate came into view, the excitement was almost overwhelming. After all this time, she would see Riley again. 

A servant opened the door, and a few moments later, Hana and Olivia were greeted by Lord Maxwell, Duchess Savannah, Drake, Duke Bertrand, and King Liam. Hana had to stop herself from embracing each of them. 

After quick introductions, Bertrand urged Hana and Olivia to the dining room, where everyone had just finished dinner. Plates were set for them, and they were left alone to eat. 

Hana heard music coming from the direction of the ballroom while she pushed her food around her plate, and she noticed Olivia occasionally looking up and glancing towards the door. 

Before Hana’s wedding to Neville, she had learned more about Olivia’s affections for Liam, and she knew how Olivia never acted on them. Hana notices a look of longing and despair flash behind the Duchess’ eyes when she looked up from her meal.

When Hana had forced herself to clear everything from her plate, she announced to her companion that she was going to go to the ballroom to see what everyone was doing. Hana notices a look of hopelessness flash on the Duchess’ face, but instead of stating that she would come with, Olivia tells her that she will retire for the night. 

The sound of classical music gets louder as Hana approaches the ballroom. She comes through the doorway to see two short figures dancing; they were moving too quickly for Hana to see their faces. On the tables closest to the dance floor are Liam and Drake sitting near one another, Bartie on a table by himself, and Maxwell whispering something to a dark-haired woman, who giggled at every word. 

Hana looks back at the two dancers, who she notices are doing the Cordonian Waltz. They continue to turn and spin quickly, and Hana still can’t see who they are. But when they finish their dance and turn to the small audience, Hana notices the shape of their faces, their foreheads, their smiles, the way their eyes crinkle, and the silky dark hair — all engraved deep into her memory. Riley’s children, she realizes. 

“Hello,” Hana announces herself to the room in a soft voice. Thankfully they hear her over the music, and Liam stands.

“Forgive me, Countess.” Liam motions towards the little ones. “I wasn’t able to introduce you to the children before. They’ve been learning traditional dances throughout the day.” The children slowly walk towards Liam. “Gabriel, Eleanor, do you know who this is?”

“Of course!” Gabriel says, the sound of his smile behind every word. He bows respectfully. “It’s very nice to meet you, Countess Hana of Comery Isle.” 

“Nice to meet you!” Eleanor greets. 

“A pleasure to meet you both as well!” Hana takes a quick moment to regard the children; there was no doubt Gabriel was Liam’s son, for the politeness and the warm welcome came naturally to the boy, which was something that Hana did not expect from such a small child. Eleanor was every bit playful like her mother. 

Hana glances at Liam, she’s stunned at the adoration and pride on his face.

“Did... you have a nice trip?” Gabriel asks, tentatively. “I heard it was a long ride.”

“My trip was very pleasant, thank you,” Hana responds. The large smiles on their faces were contagious, but both of the children’s expressions melt into respectful concern, and Hana thinks it’s adorable. 

“Are you tired?” Eleanor asks. “You can go to sleep if you want!” 

Liam and Hana laugh at the girl’s suggestion. Before any of them can speak, Maxwell calls to the children: “Baby blossoms, come look at this!” 

Gabriel and Eleanor each take a step in Maxwell’s direction, but turn back and give Hana one final nod. She laughs at what she expects is newly-learned etiquette, and turns back to Liam. 

“Where is Riley?” Hana asks, eager to get to the point of why she came to Ramsford in the first place. 

Liam nods towards the ballroom doors. “She has a room in the east wing. A doctor came to check in on her a while ago, and now she is resting.” Noticing Hana’s face fall, Liam continues, “Hopefully you will be able to speak to her in the morning.” 

“Do you think there is a chance that she will remember me?” Hana wonders. I do not wish to be no one to her.

Liam’s breath hitches, “Hana... forgive me, we forgot to tell you. Riley got her memory back.” 

Her hand flies to her mouth, and her whole body shakes. “What?” Do I still occupy a place her in heart, just as she does in mine?

“I meant to tell Duchess Olivia when I called her, but my mind was occupied.” 

“I understand. At least Riley’s memory is one less thing for us to worry about.” Hana turns to look at Liam, whose brows are furrowed. “Have you been able to speak to her?” 

Liam slowly shakes his head. “No, not really. I found her in tears last night. Along with her memories of us, she also remembered her husband’s death. I did not wish to stress her further by putting more on her plate.” 

After carefully thinking about what she was going to say, Hana speaks up again. “Have you heard what happened to the Queen Mother?” 

Liam’s expression doesn’t change, and Hana suspects that he did not hear her. 

Finally he speaks up. “Yes, they called me when they were bringing her to the hospital. They did not know she was already dead.” 

“And what about the stolen art? And the missing pieces from her collection?” 

“An investigation is ongoing. I’ve also increased security at the palace. I refuse to cancel or delay the Social Season due to Regina’s death. She was no one of consequence to me, and her decisions have ultimately done no good for Cordonia. A week given to mourn her should be enough, and it will not interrupt the festivities.” 

Hana almost flinches at the cruel words, but understands where Liam is speaking from. After hearing about what Regina did to Riley, Hana began putting the blame of her terrible life on Regina, too. If Riley hadn’t left, there was no doubt in her heart that all of their lives would have been better. 

“Will you and your husband be joining us this year?” Liam asks her. The edge of his mouth twitches. He knows that I won’t avoid it now that Riley is back.

“Yes, though the Earl will be arriving a little late,” she tells him. 

He nods, and then looks away from Hana and towards the children. The adoration that she noticed before is back. 

“The funeral for the Queen Mother is tomorrow,” Liam says suddenly. Hana notices his face fall, and wonders why. 

“That quick?” 

“I was the one who requested it to be done as soon as possible.” After a pause, his voice is rough when he says, “The faster we are rid of her, the better.” 

Hana glances between Gabriel and Liam. “Will the boy be going with you to the funeral?” 

“I wish to bring him with, and I am sure that Cordonians expect him to make a public appearance soon, but I do not think that it would be appropriate.”

“Then you will leave them here?” 

“Yes... but I do not wish to.”  

After a pause, she says, “I can help the children in their lessons tomorrow morning.” 

“Thank you, Countess, but...” He trails off, and Hana wonders what he is thinking about. “Perhaps I will bring them with, but that does not mean they have to attend the funeral service.” There’s a mischievous grin on Liam’s face, and Hana laughs to herself. Liam trying to spend time with Riley’s children was heartwarming.  

Hana finally announces that she will retire, and everyone bids her a “Good Night.” 

While a servant leads her up to her room, Hana has to force herself to follow and not run off to try and find Riley’s room. 

When she changes and gets into bed, she has to calm the excitement in her heart. She would speak to Riley again soon. The morning was not too far away.

...

As her eyes flutter open, Hana is proud that she was able to wake up on her own. When she turns around and sees that it’s half past nine, she shoots up out of bed, ashamed. 

They all must have eaten breakfast already. Now they will be burdened with my tardiness and my nonexistent appetite.

She rushes to put on her clothes, forcing herself through the processes of washing her face, brushing her teeth, and combing her hair. Taking a glance in the mirror, she notices that she looks worn out. Her shoulders slump. Hana thinks to herself that she must try harder to better her appearance, but her heart begins to scream, What if Riley is at the breakfast table? Don’t take so long!

She averts her eyes from the mirror and rushes out of the room. Looking at the familiar decor, she realized that she was also in the east wing. 

Hana turns her head, trying to find an open door, or at least a servant that could guide her to where Riley was.

And then, when she turns her head to quickly glance into a room, thinking that it was empty, Hana stops suddenly. There’s a figure in the room, and it’s painfully familiar. 

The moment was surreal. Hana turned to look at Riley, whose face has gone pink and chin has wrinkled. Neither of them move a muscle, and Hana is almost afraid to approach her. My eyes must be tricking me. Perhaps I’m still tired.

But Riley takes in a shaky breath, her whole body quivering. “Hana?” she says, her voice breaking. 

And then when Hana picks up her feet and runs towards Riley, she doesn’t even realize how much effort the action took her. 

Riley’s arms are around her neck, and Hana squeezes her waist. They tuck their heads into each other’s necks, grabbing at each other’s shoulders as if to make sure that the moment was truly real. 

Neither of them move. It wasn’t that they couldn’t — they just didn’t want to. Hana realizes that this is perhaps the longest embrace she has ever had, and she tightens her arms around Riley. 

“Ow,” Riley whispers, and Hana jumps out of their embrace.

“Sorry!” She looks Riley up and down. Riley was standing balanced on one foot, for the other foot had a cast on it. “Here, sit down.” Hana helps Riley hop to the side of the bed, their hands intertwined. 

When both of them take a seat, their hands are still locked together. 

“Hana, I’m the one who’s supposed to be sorry.” 

Hana shakes her head quickly. “Please, don’t feel the need to apologize on my account.” 

“But Hana—” Riley’s words cut out as she begins crying. Tears fall down Hana’s eyes, too. 

“Riley, I was the one who refused to show up to the U.N. party that night. I left you alone, I should have—”

“Hana. All you did was take some time for yourself, which was what you needed. I’m the one who made a stupid decision and left for ten years.”

“You left because that was what you thought was best for your son. That was the best thing for you to do, we were the ones who should have tried harder to find you—”

“I was the one who shouldn’t have hid myself like that. I made a stupid mistake, and instead of trying to come back and fix it, I let it turn into an even bigger mess. And I’ve ruined so many lives in the process.” 

“No, you haven’t,” Hana claims.

“But I have. Look at Liam. Honestly I can’t understand why he never got married to another woman, why he didn’t just forget about me, and why he isn’t angry at me?” 

“Isn’t that a good thing? That he’s not angry?” 

Riley bites her lower lip, deep in thought. “I think if he was angry then it would be easier. We can’t even talk to each other now. Neither of us know how to start the conversation. He asked me if I would have dinner with him tonight, and for some reason I’m so nervous about it.” 

“Well... is there something specific that you want to tell him? Above anything else?” 

“Honestly, the first thing was going to be that Gabriel was his son. Now that that’s out of the way... I don’t know. And, yeah I’m a little upset that he’s pushing the kids into the spotlight... but now I understand it. I just hope they don’t get overwhelmed. And if they do, it’ll all be my fault.” 

“Riley, stop that.” Hana puts her hand on Riley’s shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself for everything that happened.”

“But I’m the one who set these terrible events in motion.” 

“Those actions weren’t permanent. And look at you know.” She gestures at the room around them. “You’re back in Cordonia, and hopefully everything will go back to normal soon.” 

Riley forces out a laugh and smiles. “As normal as we can make it. There are two new people in the group, and things are so weird between me and Liam... but enough about my problems.” Riley shifts herself so that she’s fulling facing Hana. “Tell me about how you’ve been holding up!”

Hana’s face falls, and she barely manages a smile before saying, “I married Neville.”

Riley’s jaw flies open. “No!” she exclaims. “You told your father you weren’t interested in him!” 

“And then when he and my mother discussed it, they told me that didn’t matter.” 

“So they forced you?!” Riley screams. 

Hana swallows a lump in her throat. She can’t bring herself to speak, but she manages a nod. 

“You... you can’t get out of it or anything?” 

Hana shakes her head, and after stopping a few tears from escaping, manages, “No. Not without reason.” 

“Being a pompous self-centered prick is reason enough. No one should have to deal with someone like that.” Suddenly, Riley’s eyes go wide. “Oh, my God. He isn’t here with you, right?” 

“No,” Hana tells her. “He will join for the Social Season, but a few days late.”

“Good!” Riley states, a large smile plastered over her face. “He’ll be here soon enough, and when he arrives, we’ll find our reason.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Hana gives a wide grin. “Alright.” 

“Well, well, well,” someone says from the doorway. They turn to see Duchess Olivia. “Finally Hana’s come to her senses. You should have tried to leave that man years ago.” 

“Olivia!” Riley cries. She stands and tries to hop over to Olivia, but Olivia rushes over to help Riley balance herself. Riley wraps Olivia in a hug, and she slowly returns it. When they part, Hana is shocked to see a smile on her face. 

“Yes, yes, it’s nice to see you, too, welcome back.” She steps back and looks both Riley and Hana up and down. Finally she turns back to Riley and says, “Your children.” 

“What about them?” 

“How much self defense do they know?” 

“I’ve taught Ella how to use pepper spray,” Riley answers. 

“And the boy?” Olivia continues to ask. 

Riley shrugs. “He plays soccer. He can give a mean kick to the shins.” 

Olivia massages the bridge of her nose. “So no real self defense training?” 

Riley shakes her head. “No.” 

“If you don’t mind, I will guide them through the basics later today.”

“Sure. But make sure they don’t play around with sharp objects. They can be little devils some times.” 

Olivia turns to leave, but continues, “Oh, please, they’re not babies.” 

“What does that mean?” Hana asks, concerned.

“I’ll give them slightly blunted knives.”

Before anyone can say anything else, Olivia is already around the corner and out of sight.

“How blunted is ‘slightly blunted’ on Olivia’s scale?” Riley asks.

“We can ask her about it later, and perhaps replace them with wooden knives.” Hana turns to Riley and asks, “Have you had breakfast yet?” 

“No, I’ve been eating a bit late these last two days.” 

“I’ll call the servant staff to bring something up to us!” Hana suggests.

Riley gives a little a laugh. “Bring us a feast worthy of returned ladies of the court!”

- Gabriel - 

Cordonia’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be. True, I haven’t seen much of it yet, so I really wasn’t in a position to judge, but at least I could say that the landscape was really pretty.

I was in a really long limo with Liam and Eleanor. He told us that he had to go to the capital for an event today, and wanted us to come with. Mom allowed it, so some time after breakfast a large limo with flags on the back bumper rolled into the front of the building. 

Apparently some servants brought Liam some clothes he could wear, and when he changed into them, he looked serious, even though there was still that welcoming smile on his face. His suit had lots of medals with symbols that I had never seen before. Ella and I put on some formal clothing that Grandma had packed for us.

The seats inside of the car were in a “U” shape, so Liam sits in the back of the car, while I sit on the seats to his left, and Ella sits in front of me. 

He told us that the drive was a little long, so we spent the first half hour looking out the window at the scenery, which looked like it came right out of a painting. 

“Have you two taken a road trip before?” Liam asks us. 

“When we went to Disneyland in Florida we did,” Eleanor answers. 

“Did you have fun?”

“Yup!” she replies. “We played games!” 

“Which games? We can play them now if you wish.”

“Okay!” Ella exclaims. “Let’s do I Spy. I spy with my little eye something black!”

“Ella, the entire inside of the car is black,” I remind her.

“No!” she whines, pointing at the door handle. “That’s gray! Anyway, Gabe gets a point! Your turn!”

I look around the inside of the car, trying to find a unique color that Ella wouldn’t be able to guess easily. “I spy something yellow,” I say.

“The sun!” she guesses.

“No.”

“My dress?” 

“Nope.” 

She takes a moment to look around wildly before going, “Liam’s hair!”

“Wrong,” I say. Liam starts to laugh, and I join in.

“Liam, do you see anything yellow?” Ella asks him. 

He joins her in looking around the inside of the limo, but doesn’t say anything.

“We give up!” Ella declares. 

I point to Ella’s shoes, and when she realizes how simple the game actually was, we all begin to laugh. 

For the next few hours, we quickly pass by small and quaint towns. Liam tries to entertain us by explaining the traditions of those regions.

Eventually, we near a large crowd of people, and they wave at the car as we pass by.

“Both of you stay here. I’ll be back momentarily.” Someone opens the door for Liam, and he shuffles out. 

We watch him join the crowd of people, and I recognize some of them. 

“Is that... Duke Landon?” I wonder aloud. 

Ella comes next to me to look out my window. “And that’s... Duchess... the Duchess of Portavira!” she cries. 

“Uh huh.” I turn to her. “And what’s her name?” 

“Em... Emily?” she hesitates. 

“Close. Duchess Emmeline.”

“Agh,” Ella exclaims, sitting back down. After a few moments, she cries, “Snacks!” 

I turn around to look at her and find that she’s found small packages near the front of the car, behind the wall that separates us from the driver. 

“Are you sure you don’t have to pay for those?” I ask her. 

She stands up straight, putting a pack of trail mix back where she found it from. Reaching into her pocket, she tells me, “I have three dollars.” 

I walk towards her to inspect the money. “Those are American dollars. You can’t use that here.”

“Why not?” 

“Because they use different money in Europe. Where did you get the three dollars from anyway?”

“I always keep three dollars with me.” 

I pause to stare down at her. “Why?”

“Because.” She reaches back into the pile of snacks. “Sometimes I get hungry, and Daddy told me that if I want snacks, I have to have money.” Ella looks closely at what she picked up. “Apple slices with caramel dip?” she whispers. 

“I think you should ask Liam before you take anything. This is his car.”

She puts everything back into the pile and we both take a seat. When we look out of the window again, we see that Liam is talking to the crowd, and some people have started crying. He stands next to a large painting of an old woman. 

“Who’s that?” Ella asks.

“I don’t know...” I tell her. “Maybe Liam will tell us when he comes back.” 

Ella turns to look at me, then stares at my face for a few moments. “Are you going to keep calling him Liam?” she questions. 

I shrug and answer, “I guess so. What else should I call him? His proper title is ‘Your Majesty,’ since he’s the King.” 

“I still don’t believe that.” 

I roll my eyes at her. “Then why were they cheering when the car came by?”

She shrugs and turns away. “Maybe they wanted to make him feel good about himself. But, shouldn’t you call him ‘dad’?”

“Why would I do that?” 

“...Because he’s your dad. Mama said you should start, so you have to.”

I slump back into my seat. “But I don’t really want to. I’ve called him ‘Liam’ so for so long, and I’ve called Dad ‘dad’ for so long, and it’s going to be weird to change it.” I look up at my sister. “Are you going to start calling him ‘Dad’?”

“He’s not my dad.”

“It’s not like you have anyone else to call ‘dad’.” I start coughing, and she stares at me before turning away.

After thinking for a while, she answers, “True. What do you think about ‘Mister Dad-Man’?”

“I hate it.” 

“‘Mister Gabe’s Father’?” 

“I hate that more.” 

She squints her eyes at me in anger. “You’re not helping me.” 

“Oh. Was I supposed to?” 

She crosses her arms and moves back towards the front of the car. Grabbing a bag of trail mix, she throws it at me.

“No!” I scream. “That is not—” I dodge away from another thing she throws “—that is not the proper behavior of a young lady!” Since she keeps throwing things at me, I scream, “LIAM’S GONNA BE MAD AT YOU. Oh, look, there he is!”

“Where?” She runs to the window near me, and we both notice Liam being led back to the car by some guards. Lots of people with cameras follow behind them.

We rush to put all the snacks back into the little box. We’re both near the front of the car when Liam takes a seat. He looks so serious that he could be a completely different person. I smile at him, and when he catches my eye, smiles back. “I apologize for taking so long. What are you both doing?” 

“We were hungry,” Ella tells him. 

“Would you like to get something to eat before we return?” he asks us.

Ella and I look at each other, beaming. “Yes, please!” we say in union. 

“Wonderful.” The car starts to move, so we take a seat. “What would you like to get?” 

“Donuts!” Ella cries. 

I wanted real food, but wasn’t going to complain about donuts. 

Once we come near the store, Ella tells Liam she wants to go inside and get the donuts herself. Liam says that he’ll go with her, but Bastien opens the door and says that might not be a good idea. Liam hands Ella some money, then watches her through the window of the car. 

Bastien carries the box of donuts and follows Ella towards the car. Once she’s seated, Liam takes the box. 

For the rest of the ride, we eat our donuts while Liam tells us funny stories from his trips to different countries. We spent the time by laughing, and we don’t even realize it when the driver opens the door to tell us we’ve arrived to Ramsford.

[last-on-your-lips]

Perception (pt. 2)

Its not that it’s hard for a mage to use destructive magic, really. Focus hard enough on anything and it’s liable to break apart when you command the very fabric every element is built on. Magic in our world is that intrinsic, so potent and present that technology all but has to be built around it with cooperation between Mages, Drakes and Alchemists alike.

Talin fancied herself as a healer, and I knew that even when I asked what I did of her. Mum’s not much for breaking things at all. Repairing shattered ceramics is one of her hobbies, actually. She’s very sentimental like that, and I could see her have to set her jaw when she turned her eyes on the ramshackle town we’d been a part of as long as I could remember. This was the place I had learned to talk, these were the homes of our people. It didn’t matter that they were small and easy to rebuild, or that few who lived there owned more than they could have carried out. Mum had spent most of my life half-employed as the doctor to the Draughters of Infirili, and she was sentimental.

When she began her cast I had the privilege of my new sight to tell me that she glowed like the bloody sun from the crown of her head down to the center of her chest, coalescing the energy of her sentimental grief and her disgust with the necessity of the action into a softly spoken evocation. The tips of two of her fingers touched her lips as she spoke, the power she called focusing to a point of light visible to the lame and frail as well at the end of her claws. Mum was never one to waste time with her spells, so it was a simple gesture of extending her arm and opening her hand that flung that spell to the town from where she stood. I knew to brace for the heat that would come. Our frail passengers didn’t.

One moment a prick of light flew loose of the ship, no larger than a shooting star against the night. There was a brief silence as the energy bolted deep into the hard trod ground beneath the huts and shacks, and next there was a vicious rumble from the ground before heat billowed out ahead of a voracious flame. The structures weren’t all that hard to destroy, of course, but the shockwave was enough to flatten the marsh grass and hide the hoofprints and footprints all the way to the tree line. It also sent a flush of heat and force to flutter the battalion standards, and I could see the march come to a halt at the impact. Mum radiated with her fury below, her eyes narrow and focused behind us on the forces we were avoiding as I tilted to cut into the trees, following the scent of the other evacuated draughted and the drakes leading them.

I was surprised at how well the ship balanced as I had to switch to climbing through the forest, usually only needing me to mind it with one massive forepaw or by the tip of a wing as I transferred between trees. I’d have to ask Kyn if it was designed for that when I put it back down… which seemed like it might come sooner than I had anticipated. I would have to adjust to covering  distances so confidently with my new mass and form, I was used to the forest feeling impossible to travel in the night as a human. I contemplated how I had moved so many miles on little rest and less food as I half slithered down the trunk of the tree Talin and I had established our home in the base of, the natural place for me to return to as it was the only relatively secure part of the forest with enough space to accommodate for the very suddenly displaced crowd of exiles.

The moment the hull touched the clearing I had painstakingly maintained by spear and effort, there was a calamity of questions tumbling over each other out of the mouths of  sore footed mothers, sobered fathers, and collected tradesfolk that had understandable frustrations about abandoning the small shops they’d managed to accumulate. Natural and reasonable fury and confusion, if louder than I liked as Kyn was unthreading the line from my chest and Mum was unboarding the folk we’d carried out and shepherding them into the husk of the great trunk. I caught complaints about potential livestock losses and upset over losing the small place we’d had for longer than any other Draught community were known to have maintained a place. My body language was blank, and my gaze studied and counted the faces of the children first, then their mothers, then their fathers. Then I sought out the tradesfolk, counting to ensure the strongest of them were among the bodies escaped from the town. After my assessment I made a low bellied rumbling noise, and the calamitous fury turned to hesitant silence.

Kyn spoke before I could, as close as the town had to a leader. “We all knew this was coming, get hold of yourselves! I dunnae what ye thought Talin meant when she told ye that her child was a dragon, or why ye ignored her if ye were going to shout about it now.”

There was a rustle of discomfort through the crowd of displaced friends, eyes averting and pouts settling onto faces as they were chided for their vocal frustrations about the disruption to their night and life. Many arms crossed and chins pointed up in familiar guard and defiance as Kyn stood on the rail of his ship between them and me to speak his piece.

“Ye can all like it or nae, but this is what ye were told when ye moved in. Ye should be grateful we got out ‘fore some folk that didn’ much mind us surviving cleared us out to piss Faern here off.” The words were certainly not as delicate as I would have said myself, but the life that many of my friends had lived had been rougher than Talin had given me. And Kyn certainly wasn’t wrong that I would’ve been less composed to see them dead. “We’re here for a day or two. Get some sleep, we work tomorrow. Got horses to catch in the morning an’ shoes to put together before we get us moving on.”

At his dismissal many eyes had gone from fury to steel, acceptance that this was indeed the lot they’d chosen when they came to Infirili. I admit some guilt lingered in the back of my mind, knowing I was the cause of displacement and loss. Although mostly I was relieved that the worst case scenario hadn’t been what I had found when I arrived. While the crowd distributed into the clearing with less heated grouching, Talin came back out to us looking much calmer than she had going inside. She was concerningly loaded down with maps and her bestiaries, however, and I recognized her planning face. Perhaps when I was younger I should have paid more attention to her and Kyn when they had their late night plotting sessions drawing on maps and conspiring about exactly what local wild animals could be caught, bribed and purposed for companionship and protection to humans.

I counted myself rather lucky that it was then Kyn’s lover looked over, the scathing squint of her slit blue eyes enough to send a chill down his spine and put a pause in Talin’s step as she had to glance over her shoulder to find the source of the prick against the back of her neck.

Asyla was a massive woman, someone who had kept me in check during some of the more physical outbursts of my gangly teenage years. She was a draught drinker from the westernmost continent, Ophelim. Her draught, you ask? Well she was given Serpent’s Draught. And with it she was adorned with a venemous bite, speed unlike anything that belonged in the bulk of someone as direct in their intentions as she was, and eyes not unlike a pit viper. The pretty pattern of pale silver, off white and almost black scales that decorated her back and her forearms in intricate diamonds was something she liked to display with pride by way of sweeping open backed dresses, although I was a bit stunned to see her skirt knotted over her hip to show the muscular length of her legs was similarly patterned along the outside of her thighs and down shins and calves where her drake hide shorts didn’t cover.

This stunning example of woman was also making a direct path through the disgruntled population of her lover’s town with a look on her face I could only describe as terrifyingly focused. On me. Mum and Kyn put themselves in her way with a cacophony of placations and pleas, begging the walking tank to wait a moment and think before she started in on me. Naturally they were shrugged off as Asyla stalked around The Hull and made herself a wide stance in front of my lowered head.

“’Appy blas’ed bir’day to you, innit?” Her voice it’s usual broken hiss past the disfigured fork of her tongue, not quite managing to form all the complicated ‘T’ or ‘H’ sounds in common.

“Another year. Not another disappointment.” My growl answered as I dropped my weight down, curling up with my wings and tail in tight. “Feels different.”

“Sure should.” A nod of agreement as her hands rested on her hips and she appraised the sheer scale of the difference between what she knew and what I’d changed into. Kyn and Mum seemed baffled that I wasn’t being yelled at. “Wha’ now?”

“Make sure the family is safe first.”

“Alrea’y done. Wha’ now for you Faern?” Asyla always did have a directness no one else showed toward me.

“Finish what they started. Try not to get turned into a Draught while I do it.” My ambition wasn’t going to be a secret, I wanted to see if I could accomplish it in Hocrayle. A camaraderie between Drakes and humans  anything like the cooperation happening on the other continents.

“’Ey’re real busy bein’ ‘Uman ‘ere.” Her opinions therein laid out in so few words, although I could tell that she didn’t particularly doubt my determination and abilites. “Figh’in’ isn’ goin to be much like wha’ we’ve done before. Ere’s like to be whole armies.”

“Not trying to do it looking like this, auntie. I want to try and learn from Kyn, take the wings back off and look more personable on the way.” I could feel how naive she thought I was when her arms crossed and her head tilted into her scowl.

“Wha’s the plan, kid.” Demanded more than asked. Rude of her really since the only plan I had come up with was find all my parent’s contacts and figure out exactly what it was they’d been doing before they decided to start an entire war. About that… I realized under my aunt’s discerning stare I had no rightful idea where to begin looking for those contacts. Or how to approach them. Or what to expect if I did find them. All I knew was that Talin wasn’t the only Dragon Draughter that Urthylo and Rhaekson had some kind of contact with before I was born, and I had the newly learned ability to spot draugthed by the way they looked different from other humans. Until Asyla questioned me that felt like a lot to work with.

“Find the Draught Dragons that Urthylo and Rhaekson were conspiring with and figure out what they were doing to help relations between Drakes, nations and humans?” My voice managed to be an infuriatingly uncertain whine.

“Big questions.” Kyn cut in there, his voice heavier than usual, and his pale golden gaze more direct when he pointed it at Asyla. I was surprised to see that she backed off. “We can get those answered. What ye going to do with ye answers?”

“Unite Hocrayle the way drake and dragons are united on the other continents.” This was stated with a confidence all three of my more practiced adults shot down by the angle of their quirked brows. Having said it out loud I also understood how unlikely it seemed that a single influence might achieve that between six unfriendly nations and an extensive wilderness untouched by common humans. The other continents operated as massive and united nations, sharing the same laws and general systems of function across their whole land mass rather than disrupting into countries. This was made possible by their kinship with their local drakes and the cooperation of the Dragons that were incorporated into the bodies of their governments and nobility. Dragons and Drakes were a part of other societies because they maintained station among those societies. Talin had been purposeful in teaching me about how those politics worked, and informing me on how dragons were regarded across different parts of the world.

Hocrayle did not value dragons as part of their government, because Dragons had been tyrants to the humans until they suddenly vanished from the population entirely centuries before my occurrence. In four hundred years many common men and nobles alike had lived and died, and so the six nations had specialized in their ideals and budded into independent philosophies and borders. Into conflict and animosity, and into an age of Alchemy rampantly afflicting people by the hundreds with experimental Draughts.

Asyla was an example of more lawfully applied Alchemy, in Ophelim they only adorned the few and mighty with Draughts. And of those draughts there were only three, The Lion, The Wolf, and The Serpent. Noble beasts that augmented loyal and noble people, and a Draughted from her continent was to be expected as educated, disciplined and in control of their beast. It seemed to me that was likely how the elixirs had been meant to work when they were designed, a kind of initiation and accomplishment to allow humans to gain a deeper understanding of the the rest of their world. Asyla, direct as she ever was, embodied the patience and the gravitas of any viper I’d ever met at least. She also showed that it was possible for a Draughted human to be reasonable, educated, resourceful and respected. Things that were uncommon to see in the nations of Hocrayle.

“Well. Ye want to learn to change the wings back off first, yeah?” Kyn broke my spiraling depth of thought, bringing my eyes to himself and inspiring an earnest bob of my head. “We’ll get that done for ye, and talk more on changing the world when ye aren’t a great lizard.”

Talin sat by Asyla and watched the lesson on transformation as the earliest hours of the day’s turn made little more noise than the uncomfortably light snoring of her friends camping haphazardly around her home. She’d prepared for this over the years. There had been blankets waiting, and food for the little ones. Even a handful of cots she’d built to see the aging folk and lame limbed of the exile town into. Faern had kept their ‘lawn’ clear with enough room for every hardened body now laying on it to doze. She’d expected all of this, really. Yet while she watched Faern struggle to wiggle all the scales off themselves (this being a slow process that Kyn seemed utterly fascinated with and ill equipped to help) she wondered if she could ever have been prepared enough for their future.

Their friends were right, the young dragon was naïve in their ambitions. Not necessarily wrong in wanting to understand what each of their ill-fated parents had been trying to accomplish, and not even wrong to want to see some kind of friendship between humans and drakes on their natural born home. Even without being wrong, they were estimating themselves against nations of humans who only knew of Dragons as legends of practical enslavement. Given how Hocrayle worked without the dragons… She couldn’t honestly come up with a good argument to bringing them back, or turning her well meaning child loose into a world that considered them as an ingredient first and a person sixth.

“Try that water gathering spell I taught you.” Suggested as she watched the scales that had just been shed reform from the low rolling fog under their belly for the ninth time. The fog was thinning from all the water that Faern hadn’t realized they were drawing in yet.

Kyn didn’t like what happened when that suggestion was made, the pale white streak of magic travelling along the dragon’s spine as they gathered up the energy and focused it toward their horns. Talin realized belatedly that she probably should have let anyone in town know that their favorite harmless dragon knew fundamental direct magic, and had mastered the manipulation of most of the natural elements at a frankly alarming scale. That could be handled later though. She focused intently to watch how the spell began to unweave the massive body that Faern had grown into, the water from the creek they’d absorbed on the mountain top gathering as tail, scale, claw and wing withered and swirled into the mass. A few focused moments and the slender frame of her child with eyes closed was levitating fully nude at the height their horns had been, the odd glow of pure magic making them painful to look at.

She appreciated the style of the next spell that they chose, watching the gathered element surround Faern anew and change it’s density and structure until it made a decent impression of their usual hunting garb. This was something a mage couldn’t have done in a thousand years of study, and only a mad alchemist would try with nothing but their own focus to depend on. Talin had taught it to Faern anyway, after decades of obsessive research into the old Tyrant Dragons. The old dragons had been able to transform at will from their royal robes, and after painstaking research she had found no remnants or records of seamstresses or looms or fabrics that made it possible for them. It had actually been one of Faern’s own theories that the tyrants kept their element under an elaborate glamour in order to ease transitions. And immediately after they sealed this spectacular spell as proof they opened their eyes and dropped down to glare at Kyn where he was fastening his britches back on.

“Explain the Indemnic boat, Kyn. That kind of technology is rare here, and insanely expensive to build–” The tangent was cut short, to Talin’s amusement, when Kyn squared his palm across the full plane of Faern’s face. She had to respect that Faern tried to start an interrogation with an exhausted Draghted.

“Ye can bother me for it in the morning. Ye need to eat and ye need to sleep. We got much to do, and people to feed and move.” She couldn’t argue with his logic, although Talin certainly felt like her child was asking important questions of him. When they looked to her she gave a gesture toward the branches above where the Drakes they’d met the day before were anxiously perched.

“If you want to stay up, go settle them down. Kyn’s right that we should rest while we can. We don’t know how long that fire will burn and we don’t know if they had their own magicians in that battalion.” Talin endured the seething squint of her child’s eyes, and heard their frustrated grunt before they pulled back from Kyn and stalked over to the tree. They chose to leave by climbing up the bark with a refreshing new lack of restraint.

“I’m not explaining it to ye either, Tal.” Kyn’s first words when the rustling leaves over their heads began to settle down and indicate the drakes had been led away.

“Don’t want you to. You’re Indemnic yourself, known for a long time my friend. You need to get the engine right for tomorrow, we don’t know if Faern will carry the raft as far as it needs to go.” Talin appraised Kyn and how he reacted, almost laughing when he seemed surprised she would’ve recognized his towering frame, mahogany skin, and distinct accent as foreign to the short, narrow and pale national residents of Hocrayle.

“Kyn, your surname is Arseilles.” Asyla helpfully contributed from where she remained on a mossy cushion beside Talin. As his mate and an Opheli Serpent it wasn’t surprising she’d bait him. “Anyone with a Mage’s educa’ion would know you’re from Indemnis by lookin’ of you. Jus’ fix the ferry for the folk who aren’ tryin’ to save the world.”

“I’ll fix the boat in the morning. Tired from all that morphin’ I did for no reason.” Gruff and with a pointed look to Talin. “My hands’re too shaken to do the work without a rest. Could’ve had them try the spell first, Mage.”

“Could’ve told Faern you weren’t from Hocrayle when they were younger too.” Talin gave a nonchalant shrug and adjusted her shirt at the shoulders, her focus pointedly directed to her friend. “And you probably should have. Because Sire Itun is the drake that Faern’s gone off to chat with.”

“Itun is alive? Wait. Itun was– Shit!” The panic mounted utterly late into her friend, although she managed not to laugh at how he began to scan the branches above them searching for the now distant drakes.

“I suppose we’re all in for a long sit ‘n speak in the mornin’.” Asyla’s input as she rocked to her feet and offered a hand to help Talin up. “Explanations are wanted for, and ‘ey said who should say them.”

“Let’s all hope it goes better in the morning, shall we?” The Dragon Mage’s word on the matter as she saw herself into her house, leaving the lovers to do as they liked on the ferry for the few hours they’d have before the sun, and the Dragon themself, returned.

[audubonbaybridge]

Rest your head, little girl blue

Author: @shesasurvivor (aka @audubonbaybridge)

Rating: General

Summary: Drake just wants to keep Gosalyn safe. Maybe asking her to be his crimefighting partner wasn't the best way to do that. But someone has to be there for the kid. Especially today. Set post-Let's Get Dangerous.

A/N: How exciting was Let's Get Dangerous? I'm so happy that Gosalyn has finally arrived in the DT17 universe. Her relationship with Darkwing is everything, and I couldn't help wanting to flesh them out a litle more in this version of their lives. Consider this a little warmup for getting a grasp on their new characterizations.

Read on AO3

"Okay, Gosalyn- "

"Uh-uh. Quiverwing."

"Oh! Alright. Remember, Quiverwing, you want to give your enemies a sense of surprise. You want to ease through the night, sneaking up on them."

"Why wait?" The redhead duckling jumped from the perch where she and Darkwing Duck hid in wait for their nightly nemesis, St. Canard's current number one villain, Dr. Slug.

"Gosalyn!! Uh, I mean, Quiverwing!" Darkwing Duck yelped in a mixture of terror and surprise as he watched his protege leap haphazardly from the shadows and directly into the path of danger. Seeing no other choice, he jumped after her, hurrying to catch up.

"He's right around the corner, according to W.A.N.D.A.! If we hurry, we can corner him and pin him to the ground in no time!" Quiverwing Quack called behind her to Darkwing Duck as she raced along the dark, empty city streets.

"No, Gosalyn, we need to have a plan! Ahh!" Darkwing fell to his face as he tripped over a curb. His screech finally brought Gosalyn to a halt.

Turning around to the scene of Darkwing Duck splayed out across the cement, she couldn't help rolling her eyes, even if a small smile threatened to lift the corners of her beak. "Are you okay?" she asked, circling back to where he lay.

"Never better," he muttered. With a deep breath, he pushed himself up with his arms, then brushed off his costume. "But we really should be more careful. Dr. Slug is St. Canard's number one villain. He could have anything planned for us."

"But how am I going to learn how to be a superhero if I'm always playing it safe?" Gosalyn shot back. "Come on, you said you wanted me to be your crimefighting partner, remember?"

"Well, yeah... " Darkwing had brought that up. He couldn't deny Gosalyn was smart and challenging, and she was actually good in a fight. But that hadn't been the reason he had asked her to be his partner. Not the real reason, anyway.

"Then teach me!" Before he had a chance to argue, she turned on her feet and began running back in the direction of the bank Dr. Slug was supposed to be in.

"No! Gosalyn, it's not safe!"

This had the desired effect. Or so Darkwing thought, at least. Gosalyn slid to a stop, then whirled around to face him. "Safe?" she asked. "Was it safe when you jumped off a scaffold to save me?"

"Well- "

"Or when you rode your motorcycle off the wires on the Audubon Bay Bridge?"

"Well, that's just how you exit Darkwing Tower."

Gosalyn rolled her eyes and crossed her eyes. "And I guess it was safe when you marched alone to face Taura Bulba and the Fearsome Four without anyone there to help you. That seemed really safe."

"Hey, young lady!" He was mad now. He had gone into that building alone for a reason. And it was the same reason he didn't want her rushing headfirst into a dangerous trap set by a supervillain now. "That's going too far!"

For a brief second, Gosalyn drew back, quiet. Then anger flooded her eyes. "Young lady? Don't call me that! You're not my father!"

Now it was his turn to draw back in surprise. "Maybe not," he said slowly. "But I'm looking out for you anyway. Someone has to."

"I thought I told you, I don't need anyone to look out for me!" Gosalyn crossed her arms and glared at him.

This was true, and Darkwing remembered the words well. He also remembered thinking how much he disagreed with her assessment. How, no matter how much she might insist she was fine on her own, she clearly needed someone to be there for her. To help her and look out for her. And whether Drake wanted to admit it himself, he could barely stop himself from being the one to do it.

"Fine," Darkwing crossed his own arms. "But you can't help me with Dr. Slug. You'll just have to watch me this time."

"What?!" Gosalyn's beak dropped open in shocked outrage. "You can't stop me!"

"I can take away quack-fu lessons for a week if you don't stay out of this fight."

Her brow furrowed, angry, but at a loss for words. She was at an impasse, and she knew it. Gosalyn lived for their daily quack fu lessons. Truth be told, Drake hated to take them away from her himself. They gave her a focus and discipline she sorely needed and craved. She had thrived under his tutelage, and he couldn't help watching her progress with pride. But he would take them away if it meant keeping her safe now.

When it became clear to Gosalyn that he would not relent on this, she stomped past him with her hands rolled into fists, grumbling something about how ridiculous he was as she headed back to the Ratcatcher.

The journey back to Darkwing Tower was silent. Gosalyn would not look at him, instead opting to stare off into the side with a stony expression on her face, arms still crossed. She wouldn't be over missing out on tonight's fight for a while. Darkwing couldn't help the numerous glances at her as he drove. Couldn't help wondering if he had made the right call or if he should have given in and let her fight. Would it have been better for her to let her have her way and addressed the issue later? No, he was convinced that making her sit this one out was the right choice. It was the only way to make sure she understood the consequences.

Back in the tower, she quickly climbed out of the sidecar, tossing her helmet aside carelessly, not even bothering to look where it fell. Drake wordlessly picked it up, watching as she sulked up the ladder to the window overlooking Audubon Bay. Her favorite place to go when she was upset.

Placing the helmet back in the sidecar, he took a deep breath and decided to follow her. He found her curled up on the window ledge as she stared out at the city. If Launchpad were here, he would join her. It had worked before, hadn't it? Drake padded over and settled down next to her, letting his legs dangle over the side.

Gosalyn didn't even acknowledge his presence. She just stared out into space.

Drake sat in silence for a long time, trying to think about how to approach her. It was difficult sometimes, trying to find the right words to say to her. Yet he understood her. In a lot of ways, she reminded him of himself. Maybe that was what made it so difficult. He wanted to do right by her. Until they found her grandfather, he was the only guardian she had. And despite her protestations that she could take care of himself, he knew she needed someone to care for her.

This time, though, Gosalyn solved the problem for him.

"Why did you even take me in as your crimefighting partner," she asked, putting extra emphasis on the last few words, "if you didn't have any intention of actually letting me fight?"

Drake opened his bill to answer, then shut it again, still not sure how to respond. Was it this hard for everyone raising a preteen? He caught himself--raising? They had both agreed that this wasn't what that was. Gosalyn had made it clear she had her own family she wanted to get back to. And Darkwing Duck worked best as a solo act.

Except when he didn't.

"I do want you to fight," he said. "I just want you to be smart about doing it. You can't just go rushing into every situation without a plan. Remember how things went with Taurus Bulba?"

He was greeted with stony silence. Of course, she remembered.

"Look," he said, "I just want you to stay safe- "

"You treat me like some kind of baby! I'm not a baby!" She turned and glared at him, her green eyes reflecting anger, but also a flicker of something else. Doubt.

"I know you're not! But, well- " Drake stuttered, looking for the right way to explain it. What it was he wanted for her. Drake wanted her to tone her inherent strength, to keep her spirit alive, and learn how to utilize it in her favor. He just wanted the best for her. The best in the whole world. But he also knew, if he were honest, that maybe she was right. He just didn't want her to get hurt.

"Of course, you're not a baby!" He told her. "But is it so wrong that I don't want anything to happen to you? You're still just a kid, Gosalyn! A resourceful one, sure, but I still have to protect you!"

There it was: the tip of the iceberg of what was really going on inside Drake. That maybe asking her to stick around wasn't so much about giving her a place to stay and something to do while they searched for a way to bring back her grandfather, but because he couldn't stand the thought of letting her be alone in this world. That he really did want to keep her safe.

He expected her usual acerbic insistence that she didn't need anyone to protect her, but he was surprised to be met by silence. His expression softened. "Hey... you okay?"

Gosalyn glanced at him, then sighed as she looked back out over the bay. "I know you were just trying to protect me," she said.

Drake quirked an eyebrow. This wasn't going as he expected. "You do?"

Gosalyn didn't answer his question. A faraway look was in her eyes like her mind wasn't in the present. And it didn't take much for Drake to tell that something was bothering her.

"Hey, earth to Gosalyn," he said, waving a hand in front of her face to bring her back and maybe even make her laugh. No response. He studied her for half a minute before placing a hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly at the feeling and looked over at him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Drake asked her gently, giving her a small, encouraging smile.

He could see by the look on her face that she didn't want to tell him. But then she surprised him by doing so anyway. "It's just... it was one year ago that my grandfather disappeared."

Drake's heart fell for her. No wonder she had been acting out earlier, trying to run headfirst into danger. He'd been reading books on children with trauma, and he knew acting out was a sign that something was bothering her.

"I'm sorry," he told her quietly. It was all he had; all he could even offer her. He knew nothing he could say could take away the pain she must be feeling at the memories, at the knowledge that it had been a whole year since she had last seen her family. All he could offer was silence and to keep her company while she dealt with the pain. So he sat with her and looked out across the moonlit bay.

Eventually, soft sniffles arose from beside him, and he realized she was crying. Gosalyn hardly ever cried; she was continually trying to prove she was too tough to do anything like that. But every so often, the tears came, like on the night she had done the brave, selfless thing and destroyed the Ramrod. It had broken his heart for her then, just as it was now.

Just as he had that night, instinct took over his reactions, and he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Immediately she leaned in, burying her face in his shirt as the soft tears gave in to louder sobs. He pulled her into his lap, where she curled into a ball as he held her while she cried until she had fallen asleep in his arms. Then, carefully, so not to wake her, he carried her to her bed, removing her shoes and tucking her in as he hummed the lullaby she occasionally hummed herself. Maybe there were words, but she hadn't yet taught him them. Perhaps someday, she would.

Gosalyn rolled over on her side in her sleep, her fist grasping on the edge of the pillow. She was sweeter than she wanted anyone to know, but she was starting to let her guard down and let Drake see it more and more. She needed a protector, whether she wanted to admit it or not. And if he could help it, he would always be near to chase away fear.

He patted her softly and whispered, "Goodnight, Gosalyn."

[sinagrace]

Iceman’s been back on my mind lately. It started with the internet rumor that Shia Labeouf was being considered to play the role of Bobby Drake in a Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the X-Men. My DMs and @Mentions on social media were a mixture of intense reaction and then asking my take on who would make a great Bobby Drake (for the record: in my head I always saw him as a younger Antoni Porowski with a theater background, ‘cuz playing the funny guy with a vulnerable streak requires serious acting shops). My mind went back to the time of BC, when I was doing a lot of touring, and answering this very question because of my work on the Iceman book at Marvel. One thing led to another, and I decided to take a trip further down memory lane to look at my favorite volume of the series: Amazing Friends. Now, I know I’ve spent equal amounts of time publicly stating what a gift working on Iceman was, while also calling out the challenges that came with the experience, but the third volume really was a pure blessing. I was able to take every valuable lesson I learned as a writer, and apply it to telling a story that would be interesting to one person: Me. I’ve been a lifelong X-Men fan, I live and breathe comics, so my own expectations for a return to the series seemed like the only ones to really worry about meeting/ surpassing. The first two volumes had been so bogged down by rotating editors, complex continuity, company-wide events, multiple artists… The third volume was my chance to focus on what an Iceman series was outside of so much context. All that mattered was challenging myself to do an X-Men story that focused on the aspects of the franchise I felt were valuable and relevant, meaning: excuses to have Emma Frost be an asshole and finding an opportunity to make fun of Kitty Pryde’s haircut. Before moving on from Marvel, Axel Alonso made time to call me for a pep talk about the series. I wanted to get the series extended, and he wanted to help me succeed with the ten issues he could commit to. First, he offered an eleventh issue to give me more time on the stands. He took a look at everything I had planned, and basically told me to restructure with an eye for ramping up the pace. My writing background comes from prose and essays/ think pieces… both of which are methodical and provide some allowance from the reader to really take your time and set up the world before diving into the meat. That’s not the case with comics. You gotta work fast. Especially in today’s market, there is less and less room for a retailer to say, “give it two volumes, because shit starts really coming together by the third trade.” That was literally my speech for hooking people on such iconic series as Invincible, Fables, and Strangers in Paradise. Nowadays, every single issue is not a brick to be laid down as foundation so much as a bullet in your gun. Conflicting imagery, but that’s the point. Axel told me to think about the Big Moments in my life and sort out how to inject the mutant metaphor into it and make the most compelling comic book story I could. This was epic advice that I took with me into the new arc, but I struggled a bit with what could be bigger than the “coming out” storyline in volume one. Love was off the table because I wanted to keep Bobby single and ready to mingle. Death was off the table too, because my editor felt like we’d done enough with Bobby’s parents in the first two volumes. Upon looking at my own life, and considering the stuff me and my friends were dealing with, I landed on something a bit more reflective than LIFE or DEATH. I wanted to focus on that moment when a gay guy looks outside of himself and realizes the folks around him may not have it so easy. After everything we’ve been dealing with this summer, Iceman’s “big issue” of the arc feels oddly prescient. Bobby Drake had to reconcile his accidental complicit role in keeping the Morlocks down, and he has to investigate new approaches to being a better ally to those who don’t want to or can’t live under the protection of the X-Men. I used the Morlocks to allegorically speak to the issues that the trans/ NB community face today. Considering that trans folks are facing higher rates of homelessness and murder than other members of the LGBTQIA+ community, all I needed to do was find a perfect villain to treat the Morlocks as “lesser-than.” Cue Mister Sinister, who I wrote as particularly Darwinist with a major flair for interactive theater. While Amazing Friends definitely is the most fun I’ve had working on the book, it was also full of the heaviest shit I’ve written about. I’m so grateful that my editor let me use Emma Frost for a story about the trauma of gay conversion therapy with her brother Christian, but I’m still annoyed he wouldn’t let me put her in a sickening Givenchy outfit for her reveal. Similarly, creating the Madin character required that I chat with several mental healthcare professionals and members of the NB community to respectfully portray them as a resilient and fleshed out hero. I included personal lessons that I learned from years of the therapy (the sandcastle / sea image, a Jay Edidin fave moment). My editor and I weren’t always aligned, but we definitely were on each other’s side. He understood what I was trying to do and asked questions when something flew over his head, and he even had the good instincts to stop me from going too heavy handed with the ending. My original idea for the arc’s finale was to have Bobby become permanently scarred in his fight with Sinister, where he’d have a cool ice gash running across his face or something, a la Squall from Final Fantasy 8. The goal was to show Iceman stripping himself of his ability to pass as non-mutant to save the Morlocks, but the Mutant Pride fight scene being a stand-in for the Stonewall Riots kind of already made enough of a statement. Plus, no one in editorial wanted to deal with remembering to track his scar in other books. At first I tried to balk at his point of view, but when I looked over my original notes for the series, the point was to focus on optimism and hope. Giving Bobby a permanent scar and emphasizing the notion of sacrifice was too bleak a message for a series wherein the hero carbo-loads hoagies while riding an ice scooter and mutant drag queens emcee local festivals. Of course, the crowning achievement of the series… my mutant drag queen :) I’ve witnessed a lot when it comes to the world of pop culture and myth-making, and I 100% believe that you can’t plan the success of something. I’ve seen bands forced into breaking up because labels spend six figures failing at making listeners connect with an album. I witnessed firsthand how The Walking Dead was built from relatively humble beginnings as a buzzy cable drama into a literal international phenomenon over the course of its first three seasons. Everyone hopes for the best, but you never know how something will land with audiences. When the Shade character took off, I was truly astounded. Things I posted on Instagram while half-asleep became official quotes on major news sites. Queens and cosplayers were interpreting her like Margot Robbie had unveiled a new Harley Quinn lewk. The impact was so legit and immediate that we had to jump in and give Shade a proper Marvel hero alias, to truly welcome her into the X-Men canon. Hence the name change to Darkveil. (Funny story: I tried to fight hard for Madame X as an alias, but CB didn’t want another Agent X / “X-Name” character. Three months later, Madonna announced the Madame X album. Phew!) There was a time where I felt uncertain that the folks in charge at Marvel would bring Darkveil into any stories outside of the ones I wrote. My understanding was that Hickman was like the Cylons and had A Plan-- one that didn’t include her character. I made peace with my contribution to the Marvel Universe being contained, but then someone on social media pointed out that Darkveil showed up in an issue of Marvel Voices. After breaking down and reading Hickman’s House of X, I saw that his Plan was one of endless possibilities, and that he was moving EVERY character into new and dynamic places. I have hope now that he sees the possibilities with Darkveil, and takes advantage of her and all of her many body pouches. Amazing Friends really is my favorite thing I’ve done for the Big Two. I made a lifelong friend out of artist Nate Stockman (DC, please hire us for a Plasticman book), and I got to run a victory lap with the most encouraging and supportive readers out there. It was worth every dreadful conversation, every shitty thing a person said to me online, and all of the fun nonsense that goes into being creative for a living. Being stuck at home in quarantine has given me a lot of time to reflect on the gift that my career to date has been, and I feel so grateful to be where I am today. Other people may groan when they have to talk about something they’ve moved on from, but not me. I made people happier, I got to work with my favorite characters at Marvel, and and I'll say it again: it’s a frickin’ gift to make people move from your work. So, I will engage every tweet or message asking me my thoughts about who should play Bobby Drake in the Marvel Cinematic Universe… I’ll just never have a good answer.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Thinking thoughts and wanted to know your opinion law went from this seemingly laid back almost easy going personality to this brooding serious man during the time skip do you think he’ll slowly ease back into his old personality once this emperor stuff is taken care of and do you think his crew miss his laid back ways?

Ooh, hello Anon!  This is an interesting question for sure, but honestly?  I don’t think Law’s personality really changed.  What changed is his situation (and two years of additional experience).

Aaaaand my explanation/character study got super long so it’s under a cut.  Oops.  Vague warning for Wano spoilers at some point (I give an actual warning when I get there but a few other things may have slipped in earlier so watch out if you’re anime-only, I guess?)

Okay, so: Sabaody.  Laid back, taunting so-and-so noted by Kid of all people to have zero manners and perfectly happy to poke fun at Drake (note: Drake is also former North Blue, we know their backstories intersected - although whether they know that is another matter entirely, although I headcanon that Drake knows and Law doesn’t but that’s a whole other thing, just like I headcanon that Drake, Penguin and Shachi totally knew each other as teenagers.  I mean, neighbouring islands?  Pirates?  Don’t try and tell me the Barrel Pirates never visited Swallow Island when it was literally right there, and what little we know of pre-Hearts Penguin and Shachi they would totally have been in the pirate kid’s face, but I’m getting off-track).

Law spends a lot of time in Sabaody watching.  When we first see him, he’s watching Killer and Urouge duke it out, and doesn’t do anything to influence what’s going on until Drake arrives (again: Drake, North Blue, a Known Quantity.  Killer?  South Blue.  Urouge?  Sky Islands.  Unknown Quantities, and possibly the first time he’s seen either of them in person).  Then we see him in the Auction House, and we all know he wasn’t there to make a purchase.  One of Oda’s brilliant tie-backs - the Auction House is one of Joker’s things.  Joker is Doffy.  Law is tracking Doffy.  It’s not rocket science that he’s there to get more info.

Then the Strawhats happen.  Law sits there amid all that carnage, seeing the entire crew reunite in the middle of the Biggest Thing Ever To Happen on Sabaody (I mean… punch a tenryubito, nice one Luffy).  Doesn’t join in, doesn’t try to leave.  Sits and watches.  His interaction with Luffy is more info-gathering: this guy just punched a tenryubito and now the Marines are here.  What next?

I love the Three Captains Beatdown.  (I am delighted we finally have the Part 2).  Luffy and Kid are being Luffy and Kid.  They’re crazy, they’re strong, they’re not backing down.  Law has his pride.  He’s the ‘weakest’ of the three (by which I mean he has the lowest bounty and in pirate-speak that means weaker) and both Kid and Luffy are completely not his type of pirate (again, revisited in current manga events and thank you, Oda).  If he doesn’t act then, he’ll lose a whole load of respect, and also put his crew in danger because, you know, the admiral is coming and Shachi already admitted Rayleigh’s haki nearly took him out.  So we have three of Law’s big traits coming out in Sabaody (imo): Protectiveness of his crew, Scheming, and being an Intentional Pain in the Ass (with a subsection of Pride but all pirates have that one so I’m not gonna focus on that too much).

As for Marineford, that’s really a case of sticking his tongue out at the World Government, let’s be honest (plus the whole Will of D schtick we still don’t know the full depth of).  What better way of saying ‘screw you’ to the WG than saving someone who just broke out of Impel Down and has made themselves out to be a royal nuisance but hey it’s okay because he’s dea- dammit Trafalgar came in and now he’s not dead?  Also really got his name on their radar for Shichibukai fun later. 

All three of these traits still show themselves post-timeskip, but up until Zou/Wano there is one big factor that’s changed.

Law is alone.

He’s sent his crew off somewhere safe (there is no other reason for ditching most of his fighting power all the way to Zou other than to just keep Doflamingo’s strings away), his scheming is reaching its peak, and then the Straw Hats come in and make a mess of everything.

I don’t know about you, but I’d be much more serious when I’m alone in a keystone of my greatest enemy’s lair with my nakama too far away to help, and then the Strawhats crash the party.

He’s met them once before, presumably also read about them in the News Coo, so he knows they do unpredictable things at the worst times.  He also knows they’re strong, so Scheming Law comes in again, allies with them to both try and stop them from messing everything up, and also get some additional firepower in to replace his crew’s strength (or at least a bit of it - considering the Strawhats are half the size of the Hearts and if anyone tries to tell me Law, Bepo and Jean Bart are the only powerhouses in that crew I will fight, how much exactly it compares is a grey area).

Too bad Luffy is, well, Luffy, and it doesn’t quiiite pan out the way Law planned (but he’s learning!  Latest chapter is gold).  But again, Punk Hazard: we see Pain in the Ass Law (vs Smoker), Scheming Law (basically main Law right now), and Protective Law (Heart Pirates hidden away safe).

And this continues into Dressrosa, with of course the addition of Tragic Backstory (it’s One Piece, he was going to have one.  Even if Law’s ends up particularly nasty).  Law is facing his greatest enemy, the one he swore to defeat after thirteen years, and then he gets outsmarted.  So we have out of his depth, defeated Law - although he’s still being a Smartass to Doffy because he can.  Again, I think being tense, snappy and generally not a happy guy is pretty fair in that situation.  Luffy simultaneously makes things better and worse - Law has to rely on him to get him out of there, and we know Law’s not one for trusting easily (Jean Bart’s recruitment is an interesting case and I wonder if he was planning on keeping him straight away or if it was another FU to the tenryubito plus ‘hey, fighting power’ moment but then Jean Bart was actually loyal and also a goof).  But Luffy does it, they win, hooray.

But now?  Now we have Law alone with the Straw Hats forming a Grand Fleet and he’s really back-footed here in terms of power balance.  It is Not Smart to rib the pirates who a) outnumber you like hell and you have no hope of backup anywhere and b) are the ones that are going to get you back to your own crew.  This isn’t like Sabaody, where there’s Luffy and Kid and he needs to prove himself to them as well as keep his crew safe.  His crew are safe (he thinks… we’ll get to that in a minute), Luffy’s seen him at his absolute worst in the last 13 years, and all his scheming for the last 13 years has reached a conclusion.

He’s lost, he’s tired, and really he just wants to go home to his nakama now.  Can you blame him?

Then, we get Zou.

Zou is fun.  Zou is really, really fun.  We get the reunion!  Which we see literally 1% of and I’m mad because that would have been so good to see.  Bepo literally jumps on him and he lets him.  I bet the rest of the crew did, too.  We see Law with his crew of idiots and he loves them and there’s so much scope in there for Law finally being able to relax for the first time since Time Skip.  And the Hearts get on well with the Straw Hats.  We see Penguin and Usopp dancing together later on, we see Law teasing his crew (not introducing them?  Their reaction to that is the sort of thing we would see other pirate captains punish for mutiny but he just shrugs it off.  He knew they’d react like that).

But there are two big elephants in the room here (unintentional pun whoops).  Number one: Sanji’s disappearance and his ally’s reaction to that.  We see that covered pretty well in canon, Law realising that his ally is about to have two yonkou after his head at the same time and the problem that poses for him, Law getting dragged into a new alliance with the Minks and Samurai (Law being a total goof about Raizo but Keeping Up Appearances because Strawhats).  Law presumably making the executive decision that breaking his alliance now would be a bad idea (Kaido is still annoyed with him, the Minks adore the Strawhats, Luffy is a clingy rubbery bastard that won’t let him go anyway), and once more we have a back-footed Law.

The second elephant is fun for me.  It’s never fully stated in canon, but.  Jack attacked the Minks.  The Heart Pirates were living with the Minks.  The Heart Pirates fought with the Minks (we saw that).  Bepo was treated by Nami (we also saw that).  The Heart Pirates got caught up in that whole mess.  At the minimum, the whole crew got poisoned alongside the Minks.  I reckon some of them were probably tortured, too.  Law came home to his crew expecting them to have been safe and they weren’t.  And now he’s asking them to go straight to the lair of the crew that did that to them.  That’s not going to settle particularly well with him, either.

We don’t see the journey to Wano (disclaimer: I haven’t seen anything past WCI in the anime so I have no clue what fillers may have been added), but there’s still four Strawhats and the samurai on board, so even back in his own ship Law can’t fully relax, but I bet he’s still like Zou-Law.  A little peeved, trying to work out how the hell he’s going to deal with Kaido with or without Luffy and the half of the Strawhats that have gone on a suicide mission, but genuinely happy to see his crew again.

Then he manages to kick all the intruders once they arrive at Wano, and the first we see of him, he’s chilling out.  Watching.  He even has his crew on info-gathering/watching (we see Penguin, Shachi and Bepo but I bet they’re all doing it).  Hello, Sabaody!Law!  Chilled, keeping an eye on things, scheming (just no-one to irritate because they’re trying to keep a low profile).

And then Luffy returns and we’re back to Punk Hazard, except this time, Law’s crew are in the mess, too.  Law’s plans are crumbling, Luffy is being a royal nuisance, and then things go from Bad to Worse.

I don’t know how far the anime has got so vague blanket manga spoiler warning from here.

Luffy gets captured.  Kaido knows they’re there.  Kaido attacks his crew.  If it wasn’t for Shinobu having a devil fruit useful in that situation, that would have been bye-bye Penguin, Shachi and Bepo.  So there go Law’s plans and his crew are in danger.  Punk Hazard but worse.

Then, thanks to the traitor, Penguin, Shachi and Bepo get captured.  They’re also accused of being the traitor, and Protective Law rears his head big time.  The Heart Pirates in effect leave the alliance.  Not officially, because Law knows he’ll need them later even if it’s only as bait while he gets the hell out of there with his crew, if required, but he strikes out and they hear nothing from him until voila, Penguin, Shachi and Bepo are back!

And this was the return of Pain In The Ass Law.  He’s smirking at Hawkins, and someone else I’m currently running with the theory of Drake.  Oh look, North Blue buddies!  Known Quantities.  Some scheme is hatched (looking forwards to that one).  He’s also protecting the hell out of his crew, because Hawkins hit him where it hurts (North Blue not-so-buddies.  Known Quantities.  Works both ways).

Now?  Now, we’re looped right back to Sabaody again.  The Three Captains are back, Law is back to being surrounded by idiots but still proving himself whilst protecting his crew and scheming (and this time knows how to include Luffy and Kid into his schemes!  Character development!).

It’s been two years, he’s been through hell (again, Oda please give him a break), but the core things we saw back in Sabaody?  They’re still there, and the closer he is to his crew the clearer we see them.

So to answer the question will he go back to that?  No, because that’s not how character development works, but I do think we’ll see the Pain In The Ass Law more once Protective and Scheming Law aren’t needed in earnest (unfortunately, as long as the Strawhats are around, he’s always going to have some sort of guard up because he’s learnt and he’s not stupid.  As they’re our protags, that means we’re probably only going to see Law much while he’s with them).

As for his crew?  We know, thanks to the SBS, that Penguin, Shachi and Bepo have known him since basically the day he lost Rocinante.  Whatever hell of a mess he is at the moment, it’s not going to be anything like 13yo Law after his whole life crumbled again.  It’s not known exactly when he meets the rest of the crew (except Jean Bart), but it’s somewhere in those 11 years between Minion Island and Sabaody (and maybe some again in the time skip).

So some of his crew, at least, have seen him worse and basically learn to love again (as cheesy as that sounds).  They might not like the blip, but they’ve seen him worse, so they’ll know that it’ll pass.  And as I’ve been saying, we’ve seen him far more without his crew than with them.  There’s a high chance that how he acts with them hasn’t changed as much as the change we’ve seen as readers.

This basically turned into an Essay on Law oops.  But it was a very interesting question!