#but thank you for the starter x

[wandixx]

Seriously chaotic fashion misadventures

I realized I posted a teaser and never really followed up on it, so here is some more of that

“Hey, Dami?”

Boy hadn’t looked up from the kittens he was bottle feeding but let out a hum indicating he listened.

“I'm thinking about trying out a more girlish style. Do you think it would suit me?”

Well, Damian had no idea but if Dani wished to give it a chance, then, well, the only proper reaction was to offer his aid.

*-*-*

“Father, I require access to your rouge gallery.”

Bruce almost choked on his breakfast when his youngest made this announcement.

Rouge gallery, as his children playfully called it, was vast collection of lipsticks, which he collected to uphold his Brucie persona. Famous playboy with head constantly in the clouds couldn’t not show up with discreet signs of scandal from time to time. And it couldn’t always be the same shade. Or scent when he choose more subtle approach and used one of his more feminine perfumes.

In all honesty, he enjoyed this.

But that’s not the point, point was that Damian wanted to use it and Bruce needed to know what disaster would fall upon him if he agreed.

“Mind telling me why, chum?”

Dick, who visited Manor for a weekend, barely stifled his laughter while Tim stared at his empty coffee mug like it personally betrayed him. Cass just wore her usual knowing and mischievous smile.

Damian shifted in his chair, hands clenching on butter knife. He was nervous and suddenly Bruce dreaded the answer he was about to hear.

“I don’t see how me sharing this information would change anything. It won’t be used to cause harm to anyone but it’s necessary in the extracurricular project I just started.”

“Dami, what project?” Dick asked, voice oozing with genuine curiosity and excitement. He was almost bouncing.

“I don’t want to disclose it.”

“Is this a hero or civilian type of deal?”

Damian didn’t look any of them in the eyes, both hands clenching on his seat as he kept shifting. Bruce narrowed his eyes. Was his youngest… flustered?

“Civilian”

“Alright, great” Dick swung back with single clap, almost tripping his chair over “I think B won’t have anything against you using his rouge gallery, will he?” Man knew his oldest son well enough to recognize his ‘don’t you dare to disagree’ tone. He was confused but there wasn’t any harm so he nodded with affirmative hum.

“Thank you, Father”

Boy practically inhaled rest of his food and rushed outside. Despite all his training and all his efforts, they clearly saw his excitement. Tim pinched himself and returned to staring at his mug.

“Cass, have you seen what I’ve seen or am I overreacting?” Dick asked, barely restraining his enthusiasm. Girl nodded eagerly, shoving more crumbs into her mouth. Young man cheered, throwing his hands up.

“What have I missed?” Tim mumbled, frowning a little.

“BABY BAT HAS A CRUSH!”

Cass nodded again with wide smile.

Oh.

Oh no.

Who were they? What did he know about them? Was Protocol 3r0s started? Did someone run a background check already? What could they do if they somehow hurt Damian? Was this person a risk to their identities? Oh gods, oh no.

He probably will have to do The Talk™.

He always dreaded having The Talk, with any of his kids. He felt The Talk with Damian would be even worse. Understandably so.

“Also sleep in at least three da-”

“Fuck off, dick.”

“Was this insult or-”

His children remained obvious to how much work it meant, cheering and sassing each other like they often did.

*-*-*

Damian did not know how it was possible but he lowered his guard enough to get caught.

"What are you doing?" Brown choked out after they stared at each other for a long moment.

"It does not concern you–"

"You're rummaging through my wardrobe, not many things concern me more and also, that's frickin creepy don't do it to anyone outside of the family"

She did have a point however he was not convinced it would be the correct approach if he shared his plan. Father's wards (even unofficial like Brown) tended to make assumptions and overreact based on these conjectures. Dani wasn't easy to scare off but he didn't want to check if his family would manage. They often did things thought to be impossible.

He tried to get away but the blonde stood fiercely in a door, leaving the window as the only way out. He wasn't this desperate. Yet.

Girl looked more and more angry at his silence. He had to give her some answers.

Now that he actually considered it, she could be a useful asset. She was far better versed in women's fashion and if he phrased it correctly, he wouldn't even need to bribe her. Question was, how should he phrase it?

"I have an acquaintance- I have a friend," he corrected himself "from the animal shelter I volunteer at. She mentioned wanting to try out more 'girlish style' and asked for my opinion. I wanted to see if you had any clothes that would fit her. She is smaller than me so I thought that whatever I take, it wouldn't be missed." 

Brown grinned with an unsettling gleam in her eyes. He suddenly regretted opening his mouth if not coming to this room in the first place. 

"Say no more, I have a plan Demon Child"

[kit-just-kit]

She jumped, just a little, at the sound of the voice. Not that she was scared, only surprised. Kit had thought she was alone. Not in the entire library of course. But at least in this area. The 'Classics' section wasn't for everyone, particularly at this time on a Saturday evening. Most were out dining, dancing, maybe even dating. But not her. She could've been, possibly........yet a choice had been made to steer herself away from that life and instead, concentrate on things that wouldn't ultimately disappoint her.

And whoever was disappointed by Bronte, Austen, Shakespeare and the like?

"Oh.......um hi, just something.......familiar and comforting. 'Pride and Prejudice' would be my first pick but if you haven't got that in, then 'Mansfield Park' or ' Emma' would do just as well?".

| plotted starter | @kit-just-kit

On one fine evening, as the dim light of the library flickered softly, Mordecai Voidwalker drifted silently between the towering shelves, his ghostly form blending with the shadows. The scent of aged parchment and dust enveloped him, a familiar comfort amidst the chaos of his existence. It was then when he noticed a woman, her eyes seemingly wide with wonder as she wandered through the aisles- clearly lost in her own world. Mordecai felt a twinge of curiosity; new visitors often brought fresh energy, and perhaps a chance for mischief?

A particularly ornate book rested on the shelf, its cover shimmering with gold leaf, Mordecai saw this and materialized just behind her. “Looking for something in particular?"

[jasminexbaudelaires]

Kids today…I swear. I always thought I was a smart, inquisitive kid growing up. Even when I worked at the hospital, I almost always had the answers to their random questions. But now this kid legit just made me question everything I know with one simple question. We were grooming the horse at the end of our session, he put the brushes up, and then he turned around and out of the blue asked me whose name was Bingo - the farmer or the dog. I just…I think I need to go lay down.

[i23kazu]

HIII YING, CONGRATS ON 1.5K AGAIN!! You deserve it all and more, and hopefully we all get to watch you grow some more <33 Keep going and slay like how Xiao slays his demons <333

Speaking of which, there's that sentence starter thing, right? Would you mind if I requested a "You came..." "You called." with Xiao + Romantic? Honestly, hurt/comfort sounds pretty good but I'm interested to see what other big ideas you've got from it 👀

“you came.”

“you called,” he pointed out, mask dematerialising as his hands once again become free to hold yours.

“i thought you were on a mission?” you held him close, fingers meeting his shoulders in a tight grip. you buried your head into his crook of neck — the ache in your heart wishing you could stay there forever.

“you know already that i’d drop everything for you. the call for war is weaker than your call for me.”

the two of you stay like that for a while — your hands intertwining and untangling and twining together as it takes time for the pieces to fall naturally into place again, after so long.

“i wish you didn’t have to go again, xiao.” your face contorts to a tired, longing smile; when would you see him again?

“when you next call me,” xiao seems to have read your mind. “i will be here. like i said, my will to be in your arms will undoubtedly always be stronger than my will to fight for liyue.”

you hold on to that promise.

[vuulpecula]

"Stamets," Fox called over her shoulder, hardly turning to look to see the distance between them. Upon the ground, something had begun to move. A plant of some sort, one that quickly began emitting spores the moment she had said his name. "Uh, Paul, I think you should take a look at this." Not being an expert or even a novice at the study of fungi, Fox took a small step back, unsure what she was looking at. Whether or not it was dangerous didn't matter much, for in that moment, she could not shake the sense that it very much was.

@quantumstarpaths ❤'d for a star trek / star wars / dune starter !

[tsunael]

Send ⚓️ to see them wearing or doing something associated with Limsa Lominsa.

screenshot meme | accepting!?

Limsa Lominsa ever crawled with seedy opportunity for the poor and destitute. Having only ever known life in the floating world, Tsuna's falling in with one of the many dancing troupes that littered the city seemed the natural course.

[seraphiixa]

@sunfirekid liked for a starter.

"I have been too soft on you... If you've made it this far, all that worry has been for nothing," she said, frowning. She used to feel very protective over Hiru --- she viewed him as a child gone astray in life. He just seemed so young to be Wanted, to be putting himself in danger the way he did with his chosen, ah, 'lifestyle.'

She could see she had been condescending in the past. Here was a man grown, who has willfully decided to be a criminal. It was still the wrong decision, she would forever maintain, but he was not misguided by youth.

"It makes me think of you a little differently...," she said, her words lingering as she found herself in thought. Did this make them enemies?

[aandriskobold]

Welcome to WEST-13: Session 0

A new MOTW campaign, set in a small and isolated mining community on Syn, a planet in the Dis-37 system in the far away WEST-13 galaxy, where the VHS (Vivid Holographic System) technology became obsolete long before the inhabitants of Syn could send the first shipment of prismatic glass which was their mission purpose.

Now the people of Syn live a simple life in which everyone knows everyone else. They fish, they farm, and on the weekends they explore the system and/or go to church, either by sitting in on Cinema Reformist VHS showings or taking a rocketship up to attend the Avant-Catholic Satellite Mass.

Join us for session 0, in which we get the gang together, receive some unexpected letters, go on a non-hostile hike and become the VOAT (victims of all time?). Let's just ignore what that little goth kid said about "survival rate of 1."

Featuring:

DISCOVERY SOLIS (they/he/any): The Flake

FLEETWOOD NOX (they/them): The Jury-Rigger

KUROSAWA CLAXON (they/them): The Professional (that's me!)

BLUES-JAZZ DANGO (he/they): The Spooky

SISTER MARY BLESS BOWIE (she/her): The Expert

And a variety of delightful NPCs played by our dear Keeper @saequis, who also drew some of the PCs so far!!

[ID: pencil sketches of the characters. On the left Kurosawa looks down at a document. They're wearing a bomber jacket and a spiked choker, with their hair in messy space buns. On the right are busts of Sister Mary, a dark skinned old woman in a habit with an eyepatch, looking serious, and Fleetwood, who looks up inquisitively. They have light skin and a lean build and are wearing a vest and gloves, and their long hair is shaved on one side, with headphones over it. In the middle are full body sketches of Sister Mary, standing in her habit and holding a huge laser gun. Next to her Fleetwood squats, elbows on their knees, holding a massive wrench. End ID.]

Phew! This is a long one! A lot of setting up to get through. Please enjoy at your leisure.

DISCOVERY SOLIS (they/he/any): The Flake.

On Monday we meet Disco, a grandparent in their 60s with dark skin and long, braided grey hair, usually under a yellow sunhat or a headscarf while they work in the garden. Today they're taking care of their gaggle of grandkids and two dogs, Bao and Pierogi, when the phone rings. His wife Hartley is on the other end and says that he has a letter from the House of Accords:

Congratulations on your successful application to the Venture Office. You have been selected from a pool of literally dozens of similarly unknowing individuals to be a part of the new Venture Office Away Team. Bang! Please report to Rashomon Noa at the VO on Saturday next at wanetide for your mandatory induction. In the event that this telegram reaches you after Saturday next, please report to the VO last Saturday. Yours by mandate, Rashomon Noa, Venture Office Administrator

Disco is somewhat suprised as they never applied for this new position. But later in the week, at the Yesterwhile Museum where they work as an archivist, their colleague Gravity Song admits that she signed him up, since it's such an important job, but one she can't do herself as she's "frail as fuck." Disco, although upset that Gravity didn't ask, agrees to go along so long as Gravity takes on more responsibilities around the museum, particularly the training of Aldrin Rasputin, the new apprentice.

FLEETWOOD NOX (they/them): The Jury-Rigger

On Tuesday we meet Fleetwood Nox at their work at the rocketyard. They have long neon-green hair that's shaved on one side, and wear a white vest top, blue cargo pants, fingerless gloves - and headphones. All the time. After an uneventful day (except for their colleague, Rover, sticking a rivet through his hand), they head home to find the postwoman, Clancey Feng, sitting on their step with 63 "i-fucking-dentical" messages, which all came in yesterday. When they open them, they find each one the same: a successful application to the Venture Office. Except they didn't apply either. They fling the letters down on their workbench.

Later we learn that it was Fin Leppek, their supervisor, who applied on their behalf, among other colleagues, since Fleetwood has a reputation for the things around them exploding. It's never their fault, apparently, but it does make them a little bit of a liability when you're working in a rocketyard.

KUROSAWA CLAXON (they/them): The Professional

On Wednesday, Kurosawa Claxon walks home from their work as a location scout for the Syn Dramatic Society. They have long black hair in twin ponytails, and wear all black t-shirts, cargo pants and gun and knife holsters (it's a dangerous business) - but their bomber jacket and heart shaped sunglasses are pink. Their dads are playing ping-pong with the neighbours and their little sibling Cuaron is playing Pong in their room. Kurosawa convinces them to come out for lemonade and they point out the letter for Kurosawa: an invitation to the VO away team on Saturday night. Funny, because Kurosawa's been applying for a lot of stuff, all in the Dramatic Society, but not this. They assume it's another bid from their dads to get their life together, and decide to go along since maybe they'll spot some good spots for shooting on the way.

The next day, they meet their boss, the location manager Bruce Man, outside the foley studio where they're recording for a cyborg vampire romance. Bruce gives them a script for Snake Apocalypse 2 [a bare-faced reference to our old D&D campaign], tells them they can't read it but need to find 40 locations by next Tuesday. Kurosawa tries to play off the concern by saying they could use the weekend gig with the VO to find locations. Bruce reveals that he signed them up, because the VO have a spaceship - one that they can use for the benefit of the Dramatic Society.

BLUES-JAZZ DANGO (he/they): The Spooky

On Thursday evening, Blues-Jazz sits in their house in the middle of nowhere, making his daily broadcast which, today, is about gardening. They have hunched shoulders, shadowed eyes, bitten nails, long and tangled hair, and they wear cloaks and loose, patched clothes. After he finishes recording, he hears a yelp outside and gets a terrible premonition: something awful is going to happen. They hide under the bed.

There's a knock at the door and eventually Blues-Jazz opens the half a dozen locks to Clancey, the postwoman, who checks their identity before handing them a telegram just like the others. Clancey asks what he's doing all the way out here and tells them their family was asking after them. Blues-Jazz shuts the door.

Later, while he walks around the house and garden watering plants, he hears a voice. Jeeves, a man with a bushy mustache, appears sitting in the windowsill, at a kitchen chair, lying on the ceiling, and asks if he's going. Blues-Jazz says no, it's dangerous, they got a premonition and they don't know who signed them up for this, and throws the letter into the fire.

SISTER MARY BLESS BOWIE (she/her): The Expert

On Saturday morning, Sister Mary wakes up to the call to prayer of the Avant-Catholic church. She claims to be 42 but looks extremely elderly, and dresses in a full velvet black habit and a sequinned eyepatch. She's well renowned in the community for her actions during the UFO incident 30 years ago. She and her unwitting host, Ghibli Keller, eat breakfast before heading up to the satellite church.

The service is held in part of an old spaceship which orbits the planet of Syn, with fortified-stained-glass windows and a wall of amps for the band and choir. After the ceremony the Other Superior (Janet) approaches to exchange passive-aggressive insults and give Sister Mary a lettter, like the ones the others received, and one Sister Mary herself has gotten more than once over the years. Janet has signed her up to let her see more of the world and do more good in the community.

On Saturday at wanetide, Disco, Fleetwood, Kurosawa and SMBB meet at the Venture Office - all of them are late. When Disco raises his hand to knock, several miles away, Blues-Jazz gets a horrible feeling, another premonition of something awful [aka Bats got a snake-eyes on the first roll of the campaign].

Rashomon Noa, a tall lanky guy with a ginger combover, invites the four of them into a room full of precarious metal cabinets creakingly full of paperwork. This is where people file forms when they explore on the weekend, so that they can be rescued if necessary. This search-and-rescue is our new side gig, since we're the "most competent, most available people on the planet!" according to our colleagues. Rashomon says we have access to the Moondog, a small spaceship, strictly for emergencies only but open to modifications, with a look at Fleetwood. Kurosawa implores them not to blow up the ship, to which Fleetwood says "People don't really die on these things, none of us are going to die."

[I, X, want it on record that they said that in session 0 when it all inevitably goes south.]

Rashomon also mentions that a letter was sent to Blues-Jazz Dango, who none of the rest of the party know - unusal in a town of this size. They head out to track them down and get them onboard too, the more the merrier.

Speaking of Blues-Jazz, he's panicking about this intuitive bad feeling and calls home. Their mum picks up and reveals that she sent the application: "It needed someone who's willing to be a good person, who's thoughtful and considerate." They reply, "I don't want to hurt anyone again... this might lead to more of that." His mum says, "Bluejay, you never meant to hurt anyone." [half of the players are crying at this point.] Blues-Jazz hangs up, but not before agreeing when his mum asks if she can call again.

Meanwhile, the rest of the new VO Away Team take the tram out and trek through the forest to find Blues-Jazz's house/radio station, out in the boondocks where Fleetwood often scavenges and experiments.

When the team calls out, Beejee panics, looking for an escape route. Jeeves says he'd help, but he's "about as useful as a figment of your imagination." Beejee insists they aren't interested, but eventually the team talks them around, with the idea that they can at least make some fun mistakes in this line of work.

As Beejee steps out of the house, a young person with a red mohawk mullet, goth clothes, huge clompy-stompies and a bajillion piercings jumps from the roof: Oddity Ng, the field journalist of Black Body Radio, the pirate radio station, asks for an interview: "how do you feel about starting a job which has a survival rate of one person, ever?"

The Venture Office Away Team are finally united in trying to discredit this dipshit.

That's all for this time! Bonus dogs as a thank you for reading this far:

[ID: a pencil sketch of two dogs. Bao stands, he is short and round with skinny legs and long ears, and a big bushy tail. Next to him Pierogi sits, he is tall with a long nose and ears and looks up haughtily. End ID.]

[marimelwrites]

@wildestdrcam - continued from your reply to my open starter HERE!

Celeste's reactions to his unconventional date idea put a grin on his face. Glancing over at her when she playfully asked if he was planning to propose in IKEA, he couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "Well, if I was going to propose to you in IKEA, I wouldn't very well tell you about that, now would I?" He was teasing her, of course, but he truly wasn't about to tell her those plans. Of course, he'd thought about marriage. How could he not, when she seemingly fit his life so perfectly?

Kerem led her towards the showroom floor so that they could stroll through all the setups that showcased products in the most homey looking settings possible. "So," he began by grabbing her hand and threading his fingers with hers. "I want you to get a good look at things. Point out looks you might like, if you like them. The ones you absolutely don't like." He stopped at the first setting and his eyes landed on her once more. "The reason I've brought you here is simple... I want to see if you'll move in with me? We can start fresh. Find a home that we like that we can build together, and eventually decorate however we want. But only if you want this too..."

[thanaredreamtof]

Closed for @drnkdazed continued from here

Liz couldn’t help but laugh when he asked her how much of a loser he looked. She pretended to step back and take a proper look at him, as if to consider it. “Maybe….maybe an 8?” She joked, but with no malice behind the words at all. She moved over closer to the guy, and extended her arm out in the direction of the balcony. “If you’d like we could sit out there…it’s a bit stuffy in here after all” she said, and made her way out the door, hoping that he’d be following behind her. There was smoke in the kitchen, which didn’t really bother her but she’d prefer the fresh air. “So these parties aren’t really your thing then?” She said, and opened up a beer she’d grabbed from the kitchen table, she wasn’t sure who even bought them. “They aren’t really mine either…well kind of…I’m new to this whole…party scene” she said, her eye brows raising slightly as she spoke. “You’re friends walked off on you then?”

[callmewhenyougetthis-a]

[ tip-toe ] for a kiss on the forehead - Andrea and Chris // @divinedxsign

She felt a pair of lips on her forehead and had to physically grab onto the cushion of the couch for fear she might blow away. Chris thought the gift she'd given Andrea of two tickets to see a show she'd been wanting to see for a while was good, but not that good. "Oh, c'mon," she said, waving her hand away and taking a deep breath. She had a funny way of acting natural. It always looked like someone who was very awkwardly trying to remain casual, but clearly spiraling on the inside. They were friends who normally showed affection to each other. It shouldn't have been so... what was it? Butterfly-inducing? That sounded too sappy.

"It's nothing. Dooon't even mention it. Happy Gal-entine's Day, sweetie."

[chvmpcgnerps]

closed starter for @popcultr based on this

it was funny how the two of them once spent every waking moment with one another. yet, here she stood trying her hardest not to allow her gaze to linger in his direction too long. a part of her lit up at first sight of him but then she remembered. remembered doing the one thing she had tried to keep from doing. as her date indulged himself in a conversation about sports, winona decided to help herself to a drink from the open bar. conveniently, she took the seat closest to him, though many were vacant as the partygoers scattered about the dance floor. the hard part wasn't the approach but accepting his response for what it will be. "how long do you suppose you'll stay upset with me?" win spoke softly once the person that occupied their attention had left. " because i don't like this whole being at odds with you thing..." her gaze remained fixed on the bar top as she bit down on her bottom lip.

[heartsbreaking]

— open starter

muse : leslie macher ( 50+, real estate agent, mess of a parent) verse : main (scream set any time in the 2020s )

"i actually do mind if you join me actually," leslie snapped, taking the devil horn headband off her head and putting it on the bar. maybe it was giving the impression she liked the holiday. would someone who liked halloween be drinking alone in a bar? she looked behind her at the person who'd approached her. "give me one good reason why i should let you stick around."

[ham-samwich]

thinking about compliments as compliments vs as conversation starters

[vuulpecula]

"After the Clone Wars, I thought we would recover," with one sweeping motion, she indicated the planet. "They say the war is won and yet, the Empire comes and takes just as the Separatists did." Fox swallowed, turning from the scene laid out before them. Mines dug deep into the frozen mountains, patrolled by troopers that reminded her far too much of the clones that had once been stationed there.

"You should not linger here, it is not safe for those from this planet--it is certainly not safe for those who are not."

@clonewar ❤'d for a star trek / star wars / dune starter !

[noisilyscreechingsong]

Dp x Dc short idea

Jason is Danny’s dad

Warning: Language

Jason had just returned to the family publicly about two weeks ago. It hadn’t even been that long for him to settle before something happened. The press weren’t even off his ass and he has Alfred requesting he return home for an urgent matter immediately, which is butler speak for get your ass here right now!

The family was happy but adjusting to everything. They had mandatory family dinners at least twice a month and voluntarily got together more frequently, mostly just the siblings, but every once in a while Bruce would sneak in for a movie in the family room.

Alfred was pleased with the progress the family has made over the course of many years. It finally felt like everything was coming together and maybe settling down. He knew he thought that too soon when he answered the buzzer at the front gate. They weren’t expecting any visitors and looking at the video feed it was a young woman with hands on her hips glaring back at the camera. There were two large bags with her and surprisingly enough a young child playing in the grass just a short distance behind her.

“Wayne Residence, Alfred Pennyworth speaking, how may I assist you, ma’am?”

“Lettin’ me in for starters,” she says back with venom on her tongue.

“My apologies, but you do not have an appointment.”

She snorts, “Nah, but ya see, I saw that bastard on the news and thought I’d drop off what he gave me.”

To get her point across, she turns and looks back at the little boy not paying her any attention.

“Danny!” She snaps and he jerks his head to look at, who Alfred is assuming is, his mother. “Come here.”

He hops up at his own pace and dusts off the grass on his knees before trotting over. She leans down to angle the young boy away from the camera and pushing back his hair.

He couldn’t see it well before by the way the boy was positioned before, but Alfred could clearly see a prominent patch of white hair on the left lower section by his neck. Just like the white batch on Jason.

“You gonna let us in now?” She asks rudely.

Alfred has already determined he did not like this woman. He still buzzes them in. He contacts Jason immediately followed closely with Bruce.

Alfred then helps the two carry in the bags, while subtly checking for any weapons or explosives. Instead he finds things meant for a child.

He really didn’t like this woman.

Bruce is the first one to arrive down the stairs, pausing towards the bottom. He glances at Alfred and can see the displeasure in the butler’s eyes.

“Hello, ma’am. I’m Bruce Wayne, nice to meet you.”

“Fuckin’ everyone knows who you are, Brucie Wayne,” she huffs with a roll of her eyes.

Bruce glances down at the very young child who is hearing the foul language. He couldn’t be more than five, and completely oblivious as the little boy runs a hand along the wall and looks around at everything. He particularly keeps going back to the shiny chandelier above their heads.

“Who might you be?” He asks the woman, coming back to her as she almost touches the vase on the entry table. She draws her hand back to fold her arms across her chest.

“Grace.”

The name seems ironic compared to her behavior.

“And how can I help you, Miss Grace?”

“Your thought-to-be-dead son left something of his. I’m here to return it.”

It took no detective to determine she was talking about the boy currently using the door frame to the sitting room as leverage to rock back and forth, holding on with his tiny hands. Bruce could see the splash of white among the dark hair from this angle.

Bruce hums.

“Is that so?”

“I’ve already contacted Master Jason. He should be arriving soon. Shall I prepare some refreshments in the drawing room?” Alfred informs.

“Thank you, Alfred. Right this way,” he says to Grace, directing her toward the left while pulling out his phone to ask Tim to prepare the proper equipment downstairs.

“Danny!” The woman calls with impatience. She glares at the little boy who calmly turns to look at her, then skips behind them.

Grace huffs but doesn’t say anything else as they enter the room. She sits herself in the middle of the love seat and Bruce takes one of the chairs across from her. The boy, Danny, explores the room thoroughly, walking around without pattern and investigating every nook and cabinet to keep himself entertained. Very curious little child.

Bruce tries to engage her in conversation to dig up more information, but she firmly wanted to wait for Jason before divulging anything. He did however find out that Danny is four and needs to be enrolled in kindergarten next turn. Grace works night shift but wouldn’t say where.

Alfred came with three waters, one in a smaller plastic cup for Danny, and a plate of crackers and cut up fruit.

Grace eyes the butler with a raised brow. However, the first words Danny has spoken in their presence is a cute, “Thank you, mister,” before munching on a cracker and sipping from his cup. His curious eyes flick over the fruit and wanders over to his mother who picks at a rip in her jeans. He taps her knee and she sighs.

“What is it?”

“What’s that?”

Danny points to the fruit.

“What’s what?”

He creeps forward to point directly at the blackberries mixed in with the blueberries and strawberries.

“Blackberry,” she answers shortly.

“What’s it taste like?”

“Why don’t you try it and find out?”

He must have approved of that suggestion and reaches in to clumsily wrap a tiny hand around one of the dark berries. He flips it over in his hand for a minute, observing it at all angles, feeling the texture of the little bumps, before shoving it in his mouth. Danny leans his body over the coffee table to drag the bowl closer and rummage through it for more goodies.

Really looking at him, Bruce could see Jason’s freckles and the few other similarities like his square jaw and lip shape. He hasn’t seen it yet but Bruce bets Danny has the same crooked grin as his son.

He has the woman’s pale complexion and nose shape. His hair was straight like hers instead of Jason’s curls, but Danny took his dark coloring compared to her light brunette.

The boy was an adorable mix of both his son and this woman. He almost felt the test was unnecessary, but he didn’t stop Alfred from replacing the plastic cup and take it back to the kitchen where he knew it would be handed off to Tim.

Thankfully it was a day where there weren’t any meetings for either of them to attend.

Surprisingly, it isn’t Jason that enters the room first, it’s Damian coming home from school. The fourteen year old, almost fifteen, holds a leash in one hand with Titus standing patiently next to him, ready for his after school walk.

“Father, I heard we have guests.”

The teen stops in the doorway and Danny turns with interest until he spots the animal, then his eyes bug with excitement.

“Mommy, doggie,” he whisper shouts.

She just hums in affirmative, looking the new arrival up and down.

Danny grabs a blackberry from the bowl and trots over to Damian. He holds out the piece of fruit.

“This is a blackberry,” he states proudly.

Damian blinks down at the small child. Titus tilts his head, his nose working hard.

“I’m aware.”

“You can have it, if you let me pet your doggie,” he negotiates like he needed to give something in order to receive permission.

Damian looks up to his father for answers.

“Jason will be here soon,” is what he gets instead, his father’s lips twitch.

Damian looks back down in sudden realization when he sees the similarities between the man and this boy. He sighs tiredly.

“Pennyworth. A wet washcloth if you please.”

“Right away, Master Damian.”

“Next time, you only need to ask to pet Titus, you do not need to give me anything in return,” he tells the child.

Danny looks down at the berry sitting in his stained hands.

“So you don’t want it?”

“…Maybe later.”

“Okay!”

Danny skips back to carefully set the berry off the side on the tray, as if to save it for Damian for later like he said. He jogs the short distance back to them.

“Can I pet your doggie now, please?”

Damian takes the washcloth Alfred hands him with a nod and crouches down to get level with the boy.

“We must wipe our hands first. We don’t want anything sticky in his fur,” he explains as he holds out the washcloth for Danny’s hands.

The four year old looks down at the stains to see what he means and then places his hands on the washcloth for Damian to get the juices off.

The teen then calmly explains how to properly approach a dog he does not know by letting Titus smell the back of his hand first and then to always stay calm and confident.

Titus, the gentle giant that he is, had no problems letting the tiny child pat him and run small fingers through his short fur. It was endearing to hear the giggles when Titus used his big nose to sniff at the child’s face and neck. Sitting down, Titus was taller than the child standing up, which would have been scary to some kids, but Danny seemed to love Titus instantly. The little boy easily telling the dog what a good boy he is even with the dog sitting there doing nothing.

“Titus needs his afternoon walk now,” Damian informs.

Titus stands at the word walk, clearly ready to go.

“Oh, okay.” Danny turns to the big dog to reach up and pat his head twice. “Bye-bye, Titus. Have a good walk.”

The two leave and Danny skips back over to hang over the arm of the love seat his mother sits in, typing on her phone.

“Mommy, did you see the doggie? His name is Titus. He’s a good dog.”

“Uh-huh,” she comments without really listening.

“Do you like dogs, Danny?” Bruce asks with a smile.

Danny looks at him like he forgot the man was there, tilts his head as he studies him for a moment. Bruce waits patiently until Danny deems him okay and perks back up with bright eyes.

“Uh-huh! I love dogs! Mommy says we can’t get one ‘cuz our ‘partment is too small and they’re dirty. You’s guys are lucky,” the boy rambles as he wanders around the coffee table to get closer to Bruce and away from his distracted mother.

“How do you feel about cats? Damian has a black and white one around here somewhere.”

Danny shrugs and they continue to have a rather pleasant conversation about different animals and foods and each of their houses. It takes up the amount of time for Jason to walk through the door, seemingly already informed of the situation from Alfred.

Jason was… flabbergasted. Bewildered. Caught unprepared. He was a lot of words. Mostly he was scared.

Did he really have a child? A son? If that was true then he missed so much. He missed all of his firsts. First words, first steps, first laugh, first everything.

Would the boy even like him? What if he saw all his scars and was scared of him? What if he didn’t want anything to do with Jason after not being in his life this whole time?

But the boy might not be his. There’s that. That could be… Jason didn’t like the disappointment that thought brought.

Grace was the first one he noticed. Her ripped jeans and low cut top being out of place among the antique furniture and Persian rug. She scowls at him, putting her phone down.

“Finally decided to show up?”

He bites back a comment. He broke several traffic laws to get here, it wasn’t his fault he was fourty minutes away at the time he got the call.

He glances over at Bruce and instead his eyes zero in on the child standing by the armchair Bruce was sitting in.

Just one look and he knew the boy was his.

He looks to Bruce anyway for confirmation, since he has no doubt he sent off a sample to Tim hiding like the troll he is in the basement. The man nods. Jason sucks in a deep breath and suddenly needs to sit down.

He sinks heavily in the matching armchair next to Bruce’s, separated only by a round end table. Jason can’t stop staring at those big, blue eyes that are filled with such curiosity and innocence he almost breaks down right then. But he can’t. He has to be strong. He can’t just walk away to get a handle on his emotions. He’s a dad now.

“You’re a hard man to find,” Grace folds her arms over her chest.

“I’ve been busy,” he answers lamely.

She humphs and looks away with a shake of her head.

The boy, Danny Alfred said his name was, creeps around Bruce’s legs to get closer, obviously seeing something in Jason enough to investigate. The room is quiet as they wait to see how Danny will react.

Coming to a stop right before his knees, Danny stares up at the large man with lots of scars and muscles from what he can see. He wasn’t scared. There was just something familiar that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He looks… he looks like… and he also feels almost like…

Furrowing his brows in a pout, he knows his Mommy doesn’t like it when he does it, but he still makes his eyes burn with green.

The man gasps and his eyes also swirl into an angry green.

“Daddy?” Danny asks with hope and joy.

Daddy swallows and then nods.

“Yea, buddy, I’m your dad.”

“Daddy!” The boy cheers, jumping in place with a wide smile. “Daddy! Mommy, look! It’s Daddy!”

Danny wastes no time climbing into the man’s lap and wrapping his arms around him as far as they’ll go (not very far) to press his ear to Jason’s chest over his heart. He’s practically vibrating with excitement and Jason makes sure to set a large hand on his back to hold him close.

“I fuckin’ knew it,” Grace hisses, her eyes wide at the display earlier. Both of their eyes had returned to their calmer blue and teal color, but everyone in the room saw it. “I knew he got it from you.”

His eyes narrow in warning, pulling the boy closer to his chest. He sets a hand over Danny’s exposed ear to protect him from the harsh words he’s probably already heard before.

“Do you have any idea how creepy it is to deal with a tantrum when your kid has fucking glowing green eyes?”

“Did you hit him?” Jason growls, the vibrations seeming to settle Danny even more.

“Please, I’m not my mother,” she dismisses with a sneer.

Could have fooled him.

“Everything was fine until he started doing freaky shit. I don’t know how to raise a meta kid, alright?”

“What are you talking about?”

Now he was just confused. What stuff was Danny doing that Grace thought he was a meta?

“Don’t try to pretend you don’t have powers too,” she points viciously.

“I’m not pretending. I don’t have powers. I don’t have the meta gene. What can he do?” He demands while being transparently clear.

She just glares back at him, obviously not believing him. That didn’t exactly matter at the moment.

“What can he do?” He repeats with emphasis.

She puckers her lips like she’s tasted something sour and then lifts her chin.

“Why doesn’t he just show you, huh? Danny- Would you stop babying him? Danny, show him the things you can do.”

After Jason takes the hand off the boy’s head, Danny turns to his mother warily.

“But you don’t like it,” he reminds, like she forgot.

“He wants to see it, so show him,” she waves a hand at Jason like he just asked for something he would regret.

Danny leans back to look up at his dad.

“You won’t get mad? Or scared?”

He sounds so unsure and scared. As if Jason could ever hate him. Jason really wants to punch something. Preferably something with her face on it.

“I promise I won’t.”

Another parent might have something more profound to say to reassure their child, but Jason was just starting out and honestly, it was more than Bruce would ever say.

Danny thinks for a second before wiggling to get down. He looks back once more at his mother who gives him a ‘get on with it’ motion.

The boy fidgets a little before covering his face with two hands like he’s playing hide and seek, then- disappears. Jason jerks at watching his son blink out of sight like a Martian.

“Boo!” Danny pops back into view, exactly where he was standing before with his hands out like any child on Halloween.

Jason blinks and then starts laughing. This was karma. Danny could literally become invisible, something the Bats train to do for years.

“That was good, buddy,” Jason chuckles, ruffling the kid’s hair.

Danny hesitantly smiles back, a bit of hope and pride in those eyes.

“There’s more,” Grace interrupts, seemingly uneasy with how well Jason reacted.

“Yea?” Jason directs to Danny, his focus on his son.

Danny gives a shaky nod, glancing over worriedly at Bruce who is just silently watching. Jason could see the tension in his shoulders but also the intrigue.

The boy places a hand on the coffee table and focuses on his hand. It took a few minutes of concentration before Danny’s hand went through the table like he was just dunking his hand in a pool instead of through a solid object.

He pulls his hand out and they could see it be slightly translucent.

“That one’s harder to do when I want to,” Danny mumbles.

“You mean it mostly happens on accident?”

Danny nods.

“I drop a lot. And get stuck sometimes.”

Yea, Jason can see how that could be a problem. He can’t imagine how terrified Danny was the first time a body part got stuck in an immovable object. He really wishes he could have been there for him in his panic.

“The last thing is hard too. But I’ve been practicing. Watch!”

Danny jumps once, twice, and on the third time he lingers in the air, coming down slowly like someone in water or astronauts on the moon. Danny pushes off the ground a fourth time, this time floating steadily higher like gravity meant nothing to him.

Despite the kid obviously have done this before and enjoying it with his giggles, Jason stands under him in case he falls. And falls he does. Suddenly, like the strings being cut and gravity taking hold of him again, Danny plummets into Jason waiting arms. The boy grunts on impact and then smiled sheepishly up at his dad.

“Sorry, Daddy. I promise I’m doing better.”

“That’s okay, squirt. I’m glad I was here to catch you.”

Jason plops back into the chair with his child in his lap.

“Anything else up that sleeve of yours?” He teases but is equally as serious.

Danny shakes his head enough to make his hair fluff. Jason looks to Grace for confirmation and sees she is still recovering from Danny’s fall out of the air. How many times has she had to catch him? Or wasn’t able to catch him?

She clears her throat.

“I don’t know if it’s part of it, but he never gets sick. Never even had a cough.”

Children always get sick, that’s how they build immune systems. For Danny to have never gotten even a cold, Jason doesn’t know if it’s worrying or a good thing.

“Any allergies?” Is the first thing on his mind, thinking of what Alfred will need to know.

She shakes her head with a negative hum.

“In one of the bags is a folder with all of his documents. Birth certificate, immunizations, doctor visits. I also made a list of some favorite things and things he hates. It has foods on there too.”

That was… honestly more than he was expecting from her. But it also cements the fact that she intended to drop him off with him and then never see them again. She raised him for four years and she doesn’t even want visitation? Does she not understand there are legal documents she needs to sign to transfer custody properly?

“There are some things you need to sign, but it will take some time to get it sorted,” Bruce chimes in all business.

Long nails swipe through the air like signing her rights away was trivial.

“My phone number and address are on one of the documents. Just tell me when and where.”

She stands to leave and Jason can feel Danny tense up.

“Are we leaving?” He asks worriedly, climbing down from his seat on his dad’s lap. He didn’t want to go.

“You’re staying here. With your dad,” Grace says shortly, not once looking at the boy.

“Are you going home to get the rest of our stuff?”

“No. I’m going home. You’re staying here. End of story.”

Danny visibly thinks on that for a second then scampers after his mother as she leaves the room.

“Is it like Robbie where his mom lives in one ‘partment and his dad lives in a different one?”

Grace sighs and runs a hand through her hair. She’s clearly flustered and is showing it as irritation, but Jason can’t help but trail behind in case she says something that she shouldn’t.

“No, Danny, it’s not like Robbie. I- I am leaving you here and I’m not coming back, okay?”

Jason takes a step forward to draw her attention and send her a look that says ‘choose your words carefully, this is a conversation he will remember for a long time’.

“But- but why? Is it ‘cuz of my things? I’m sorry I scared you, Mommy. I didn’t mean to. I won’t do them again, promise.”

Jason grits his teeth at how desperate his son sounds, trying to keep his mother with him. Even making a promise he can’t keep.

Grace finally looks at her baby. Sees the turmoil and tears in his baby blue eyes. She gets down on her knees to get level and places her hands on his tiny shoulders.

“You will do them again and that’s not a bad thing. Your things are part of you. That’s okay. You’re not in any trouble. I just- I’m in over my head here, Danny. I can’t take care of you the way you should be taken care of, okay? But your dad can, I hope. So I’m leaving you here. With him.”

Danny’s lip wobbles and she has to restrain herself from not hugging him like she always does when he’s upset.

“Then- then you’ll visit, right? Like Chase’s grandma visits him?”

Why is this so hard?

“I don’t think so, baby. I don’t think you’re gonna see me again. I’m sorry.”

Danny is silent for a while. He wipes his eyes and sniffs.

“Are you goin’ ‘way like Jamal’s dad?”

The ten year old in the same building as them lost his dad in a wrong place wrong time type situation. Jamal had told Danny his dad went away forever so he couldn’t see him again. Grace had told him that when people go away forever, they get put among the stars he loves so much to be remembered.

Grace wears such a pained expression Jason half thought she was about to burst into tears.

“Kinda,” she nods. “So give me a big hug, okay?”

Danny was in her arms before she finished speaking. Jason didn’t exactly know why she wanted to stop all contact, but he had a theory that if Danny really was a meta (and with his powers he was leaning toward believing it) then Grace would want to distance herself as much as possible to protect them both. He met her in Crime Alley, he knew they didn’t live in a good spot. If any one of those crooks saw Danny use any of his powers, they could steal him easily from his single mother. She didn’t want to give those kind of people leverage to get Danny and sell him off. She wasn’t trying to be cruel, she was just trying to do what was best for her kid, even if that meant cutting her out of his life.

He had a strange new respect for her he didn’t want to acknowledge.

Grace takes a heavy breath and pulls away showing Danny’s tear stained cheeks. She wipes them like it would do anything.

“I gotta go now, Danny.”

“No,” he cries and Jason’s heart breaks a little more.

“We gotta say goodbye now. Please.”

Grace is just barely hanging on. Jason knows as soon as she walks out that door she’ll break down.

“I don’t want to. Don’t want you to leave,” Danny whines, trying to keep a strong grip on his mother.

She holds his hands in hers and gives him a serious look.

“You’re going to be fine. You’re gonna be just fine with your dad.” She leans in and whispers, “You’re not alone, Danny. You are never alone. Just look up. Look at the stars, baby, and you’ll be okay.”

Danny pouts, but thinks about those words.

“I like the stars,” he mumbles.

She smiles, probably the first one in a while.

“I know you do.”

She kisses his forehead one last time and stands. Danny whines. She steps away.

“Bye-bye, Danny. I- I love you.”

“Mommy,” he cries, tears and snot coming full force now.

Jason can’t take anymore and picks up his son to hold on his hip.

“It’s okay, buddy. I got you,” he assures. He turns to Grace who is having the internal battle of her life in the foyer. “I got him.”

It’s an assurance to her too, that he will take care of Danny, that he would be there for him. It was a promise.

Grace sees it for what it is and leaves out the front door without another word.

Danny screams and cries and struggles, but Jason holds on tight, scared he’ll fall or use his powers to get away and disappear. The man walks back to the drawing room so his son wasn’t staring at the door longingly.

As soon as Jason sits down, Danny struggles harder since they stopped moving. So Jason stands again, adjusting the boy in his arms and starts pacing a path around the room.

Bruce has already disappeared, not knowing what to do with a heartbroken child crying his eyes out. Alfred has cleared away the tray of snacks, leaving two waters on the table, one in a small, plastic cup. Jason spies Damian poke his head in for a second to see what the matter was, and upon seeing no immediate threat went off wherever. Other than that, father and son were alone to figure themselves out.

Danny was going through a lot for a toddler and Jason didn’t exactly know how to handle what happened either. He tried his best with speaking reassurances into the boy’s hair, but he didn’t know if Danny even heard him over his own crying.

It was a rough first meeting to be frank, but after a while (what felt like ages) Danny cried himself to sleep and Jason felt it safe to finally sprawl out on the loveseat with the boy laying on his chest. Compared to a grueling patrol, that was definitely worse. He never wanted to have to go through that again, but knew as a dad it was part of the job description.