#luckily Damian is improving

[lolottes]

Damian to Jon: I was also alarming?

Jon to Damian: do you really have to ask?

Damian to Jon: luckily I learned to have a normal morality

Jon: you have a bat morality, it's still not normal … But I take it!

Jon, Kon, Tim and Damian all chatting, and start musing on their various anxieties about going dark side and how they would stop each other.

Elle wanders in and only catches the last bit where Jon and Damian are referencing world domination and is just like:

Elle: Oh, are we going dark side? Who do you guys need me to fight? I can body just about anyone in the League but I'm pretty sure Batman had some tricks up his sleeve to deal with me so we'll have to account for that. I know you guys aren't gonna want to kill anyone in your families, but I'm pretty sure I could alter the nightmare dimension to be less, you know, nightmare-y while still keeping it inescapable so that's an option -

Jon: W h a t

Damian: We are not going "dark side" Nightingale...probably.

Jon: Definitely! Definitely no dark side!

Elle, relieved: Oh thank the Ancients, that was gonna be such a bummer

Tim: Jesus Christ you didn't even hesitate

Kon: You didn't even need any kind of justification. Did you just hear Jon say "take over the world" and that was all you needed???

Elle: I mean, yeah? I wouldn't be happy about it but I'm not just gonna let Jolly and Day go and take over the world without me.

Jon: I'm not sure if I should feel touched or worried...

Damian: Are you seriously saying your loyalty to us is greater than your duty to the world?

Elle: Day I would crack the universe in half and devour the souls everyone who ever so much mildly inconvenienced you two if you asked.

Tim & Kon: *fear.jpg*

[steor-ra]

Yandere Superfam x Reader

The pregnancy was quite unexpected. Clark was so busy saving the galaxy this past month that he didn't have much time for Lois.

So when Clark discovers that Lois is pregnant after attempting to tell him several times and being ditched before she really had a chance, he feels terrible. How could he not have known his gorgeous wife was pregnant all along? Clark should have known, given his superhearing abilities.

He is also disappointed with Jon for not telling him sooner.

It's a given that as soon as he discovers of the pregnancy, he will pamper Lois to make up for every time she tried to tell him and to support her throughout her pregnancy.

Jon is thrilled to be a big brother; he has always wanted a younger sibling. It gets lonely when Damian isn't there to spend out with him, so the idea of having someone to hang out with every day is exciting. Jon has so much to teach his younger sibling.

When you are born, they're immediately in love. You look so cute and little in their arms, and they never want to let go. You've got them wrapped around your chubby little fingers.

Your nursery room is abandoned as soon as they take you home; you don't need it anyway, you could just sleep in your parents room, just cuddle in their arms safe. You would sometimes sleep in Jon's room if they'd let him

Their hearts fall into pieces everytime you cry especially if you get hurt by something or someone. It barely improved Superman's morale in the world and ensured that the planet would be the safest place for his baby to walk, if yk what I mean.

And don't get me started on the day you received your first shot as a baby. Jon was crying harder than you ever have, and Clark, who is holding you, is glaring so intensely at the doctor that if it's not the laser burning holes at the doctor, I don't know what it is, Lois is there to make sure that Clark doesn't actually burn holes at the doctor.

Jon is the best brother you'll ever have, and he will make sure of it. He dislikes sharing your attention with folks his age, save for his friend Damian, who may also be your friend! Just don't go too far and treat his friend as a brother figure, otherwise Jon will go insane. As I previously stated, Jon dislikes sharing his baby sibling; he is the only one you may refer to as brother; no one else.

Your father, Clark, will do everything in the world to make sure that his baby is happy at all times; if not, at least more frequently. He can't stay strict on your adorable face, especially when you make grabby hands to get what you want. It takes all to resist cooing and kissing your chubby cheeks, which he eventually can't take it anymore and just ends up doing anyhow.

Meanwhile, Lois is a little strict with you; she doesn't want you to grow up bratty, although she believes you will never be since her little cute baby is too gentle and nice to be that kind of child, so her strictness is not as frequent. She will also spoil her baby in the same way as the boys do; her baby deserves the best. Period.

They love you so much that they're willing to give up on everything if it means saving you from any danger

They also have all of the documentaries of your first time events, from the day you were held by your mother to the first day of school.

As you grew older, they became more paranoid

There are moments when you are put in a life-or-death situation, but luckily for you, there are many superheroes who are willing to save you because they are terrified of Superman, the man of steel, turning into bunkers.

The heroes connected to the league already know a lot about you, most likely because Superman can't stop talking about his baby whenever he's with someone or in a meeting. It's terrible, especially since the league is discussing some serious dangers, and then Superman comes in and says, "This is bad for my baby; I wonder what they're doing right now."

The joker kidnaps you one day, frightening your family to the core. Clark and Jon are both unable to hear or see you. They have no idea where you are. Lois was already crying when she couldn't find you in the house; she cried till her throat hurt, and that's when you understand something is serious when Superman calls Batman for help, dilated eyes, disheveled hair, and hyperventilating. Which Batman tried to calm him down and called for the league help him find you before Superman goes insane and starts flipping the world upside down. And when they finally found you, your family locked you up in the house forever.

Lois hugged her babbling baby who is unaware that you're never ever going to have a glimpse of the world ever again. It's the only way to make you safe, if you don't want them to lock you up in a bubble.

(A/n: send requests!)

[bigfan-fanfic]

Bats in the Web (Spider-Man!Batdad x Batfam)

What if batfam meets a version of Batdad who is Spider-Man in his universe??

"We can't interfere!" Bruce growls. "I know you want to help, but after the last world we jumped into, we can't take chances."

Dick sighs. The last world they went into, they nearly ruined everything because Gotham had no Batman yet.

But luckily, something descends upon the mugging in progress.

But it isn't Batman.

A strange silver cable zips into view and slams into the assailant's back, spreading in a strange geometric pattern. He stumbles forward at the force of the blow, before the cable springs taut, and the mugger is flung into the air.

Someone lithe and graceful sails through the air, trailing more silver cables and quickly wraps the stranger up in them, robotic arms emerging from their back to assist - almost like a four-armed... spider.

The mugger dangles upside down from a traffic light, completely mummified in silver, and the figure, in a black bodysuit with light-catching silver filaments in a web pattern shining along the whole thing, and what appears to be a yellow hood and short jacket, crouches atop it.

"You get home safe, you hear?" they call. "We'll just be... hangin' around."

The would-be victim grins up at them. "Thanks, Spidey!"

But the Bats are looking shocked.

Because that was clearly your voice, only slightly altered by a voice changer - the voice you use when you broadcast to negotiate with people while they're on patrol.

Before they can speak, though, you've flung yourself through the air, opening your arms to reveal the gliding wings attached from your sides to the arms of your jacket so you can sail through the air.

"Pops is... Spider-Man?" Dick yelps.

From what they can surmise, in this universe, Bruce still lost his parents at a young age, but he didn't develop the desire to become Batman.

Instead, while on a field trip, you were exposed to some kind of radioactive spider, and Bruce did what he could to keep your secret and develop his technological aptitude to help you.

It was Alfred's death that convinced you to become a hero - his last words to you being that with great power came great responsibility.

You and Bruce are still very young in this world, barely old enough to have adopted a young Dick Grayson. It's probable that Damian won't be born, and Tim won't be adopted by you.

You're so much more cheerful than Batman - Gotham's Spider-Man quips, sometimes with dark humor, and inspires her citizens to fight back against the oppressive darkness of their city with good humor and clever tactics.

The Bats make their way to Wayne Manor, only to find the harsh brickwork and traditional architecture has made way for modern-quality of life improvements, fiber optic light fixtures, glass bay windows, and high tech at every turn. It barely resembles their Wayne Manor.

In fact, the caverns beneath the estate aren't even utilized, with there instead being a high-tech laboratory on the grounds with a launchpad to fling you over the bay and into the city.

It's a shock to see them - Bruce Wayne, his body in shape but much softer: he obviously works out hard but he's clearly not a fighter. His movements are relaxed, even sluggish compared to the constant vigilance of the Bat. And he wears an unfamiliar expression on his face - a genuine lazy grin.

Meanwhile there's this world's you - lithe and strong, battle-worn and with the at-rest tension of a vigilante.

Alt-Bruce and you have an easy banter, a love very much like two young people - you're only a little older than Dick, after all, which he finds weird - especially when he and Tim babysit his younger version.

Jason is utterly touched when Alt-Bruce asks about all the kids, so he can make sure to adopt them - he wouldn't want them going homeless in this world. All Jason knows is that young Jason Todd in this world might just be saved from years of trauma.

You're still the strategist, but Bruce is your mission control and the gear/science guy - he helps with upgrades and is the one to suggest a way to get the Bats back to their world.

But you'll need their help.

You fly through the city that night accompanied by five gliding shadows. Shadows that brutally subdue the henchmen of Black Mask as you soar above their heads, connecting some power towers with a filament web, forming a major circuit Alt-Bruce can use to power a tachyonic collider, which should launch them back into their world.

They return to their world, but Jason pulls Bruce aside.

"B... you owe him."

"Owe him what? Who, Jaybird?"

Jason sighs. "Pops. You owe him a chance to see that smile. On you."

Bruce looks at him. "You think my face can still do that?"

"Hey, I was surprised that you were actually funny! But... yeah, I do."

"Maybe you're right. Maybe you're right..."

[zealouswitchwerewolf]

Head canon that all the bats are actually pretty decent cooks but only under very specific circumstances.

Bruce: if Alfred is anywhere near, he'll burn water. He can however cook for 15+ people, if he tries for any less he ends up overusing salt/sugar/spices and the food ends up inedible. Whenever Alfred has the day off, he secretly cooks for his kids while pretending he's just reheating Alfred's dishes. Curiously, they all usually find excuses to show up at the manor when Alfred isn't there, even Jason.

Dick: will not cook for himself even if he has to eat raw pasta. However, if one of his siblings is coming over or they ask for a snack he can make mostly healthy food with the most random ingredients that no one else would have put together. It's usually pretty good.

Jason: can't cook with people in his kitchen. He needs space. The exception is Alfred. Tim has taken to hiding in random places in the kitchen to see how long he can stay without Jason kicking him out. His best spot is top of the fridge, almost beaten by the time he hid inside a floating cabinet and it ended up caving to his weight and dropping him on top of the sauce Jason was making (luckily not yet on the stove).

Tim: only cooks when the recipe has precise measurements of each ingredient (mg/ml instead of cups/tbsp). Proceeds to completely ignore his recipe and ends up with a completely different thing, usually opposite of what he was making, still tastes like he had used the recipe for the final thing.

Cass: cooks based on vibes only so most of the time she's the only one who can eat her concoction, mostly using ingredients that require her to dance and contort around the kitchen at the beat of whatever music she's listening to or just whatever. That being said, her food improves drastically if someone's in the kitchen with her, out of her way but watching, cause then she bases her measurements and ingredients in body language and her proportions end up being incredibly accurate.

Steph: can make anything that requires batter and make it be the best thing you've ever tasted. So waffles, crepes, pancakes, some cookies, cake, etc. Anything other than that will end up on fire. Funnily enough, she can also make incredible fillings that have an uncanny resemblance to some of her previous ashen attempts.

Duke: can cook in the dark without making a mess. He's also a pretty decent cook in general but he somehow leaves piles of dirty pans/dishes whenever he's seen cooking, no matter how simple his dish is.

Damian: can only cook with the recipe or someone (Dick specifically but sometimes Alfred) guiding him. His favorite food is the one traditional from the league, specifically the recipes Talia gave him when he went to Gotham. He wants them to be exactly as his mother intended so he won't deviate from the recipe in the slightest. It's special to him. Just as it's special to cook with Richard and getting to learn his favorite foods from before Bruce took him in. He might or might not either write the recipe after each time he cooks with Richard and ask clarifying questions like "what do you mean measure with your heart? How many tablespoons is that? No, I didn't see, you covered my eyes and told me to 'trust the process'"

Bonus: Alfred has the skill of spoiling the food of people he deeply dislikes while making the rest of it completely perfect for everyone else. Even if it's all cooking in the same pot. He's gotten so good at it he doesn't even do it consciously anymore and forgets he's doing it. It still gets the point across though. Interestingly enough, each of the bats partners have gotten shitty food from Alfred at least once (either shovel talk style or because they did something mean to their respective bat or wtv), they can't even say anything cause all the bats will just look at them like they're being crazy because Alfred could never while Alfred smirks at them from the opposite side of the room.

[schrijverr]

Works Alone

When trying to pull the team together, Bruce’s ideas are dismissed, because he works alone. He goes home to his kids to pout about it.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none

~~~~

Bruce isn’t pouting. He isn’t! He’s not even a little bit miffed, because he doesn’t want the Justice League to succeed anyway. He doesn’t trust them, hell, he’s not even a full time member, he’s only playing along to keep the others in check. So why would he care?

However, attempting to convince himself doesn’t mean it is working or not clear on his face. The second he steps into the Cave, Dick comments: “Someone is pouty. Did anything happen with your new friends, B?”

He sounds a little too jovial about the whole thing for Bruce’s taste, because despite what he’s telling himself, he is pouty.

“Ridiculous. Father would never stoop so low as to pout,” Damian sticks up for him.

Damian had been sparring with Dick when Bruce arrived, but is now taking a break to drink some water. Seeing the two of them work together makes Bruce both feel better and more prissy, so he just grunts.

“He’s totally pouty,” Jason crows, from where he’d been ruffling through Bruce’s equipment. He would gladly give Jason all the stuff he needs, but Jason insists on stealing it, even if he’s stealing it in plain sight, which is more closely to just taking it.

“Take it back,” Damian frowns.

“Nah,” Jason says. ��You know how he gets when y’all don’t come by enough. I mean, you shoulda seen him when Dickface first moved out. Man’s a pouter, I dunno what to tell ya.”

“What’s B pouting about now?” Steph asks, falling into the conversation since she’s only just arrived to start getting ready for patrol tonight.

“We don’t know yet, he’s still denying he’s pouting,” Tim calls out, not having looked up from where he’s working on the Batcomputer all throughout. “Though it’s likely something with the League, since he just got back from giving back up.”

Heads turn his way and Dick concernedly frowns: “Are you okay? Did they do something?”

There is a dark, yet gleeful glimmer in Damian’s eyes as he asks: “Do we need to go out there and vanquish these super powered morons, father?”

“No,” Bruce sighs, still a little miffed, though his mood has definitely been improved by his kid’s banter, as well as their worry for him.

“Then what happened, old man?” Jason demands. “Stop that vague bullshit you always do.”

“Oehhh, Jason swore!” Steph immediately chimes in. “I’m telling Alfred.”

“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” Jason whips around to her, pointing his knife at her.

“Knock it off, I wanna hear why B is being pouty,” Tim interrupts them.

“Yes, cease this chatter,” Damian adds, a rare show of agreement with Tim. They’ve all been growing, Bruce thinks proudly.

“So what happened then?” Steph asks, rolling her eyes, though stopping her fight with Jason.

Jason luckily also lets it go for now, so Bruce can answer: “They aren’t working as a team. It’s just a group of skilled individuals now and it’s becoming a problem.”

“You’ve been observing that for a while, B. Why suddenly the long face about it?” Dick asks.

And now the embarrassing part, Bruce thinks as he admits: “John is trying to do something about it now. I offered my help, but he refused, stating that I don’t know how, since I work alone, while he has been in the army.”

It’s quiet for a moment. Then, the whole group bursts out in laughter.

“What?” Jason wheezes, while Dick cackles: “He actually said that? Are you for real? Oh my god.”

“I’m going to loose my shit,” Steph snorts, Tim chuckling in the background.

Even Damian is looking amused, although also slightly judgmental. He disdainfully comments: “They are not very bright and must lack observational skills, father. Are you certain you wish to proceed in sponsoring them?”

“Yes,” Bruce sighs again. He’d already had that conversation with himself. Many times. “There is a lot of potential there too. Which is what makes them dangerous. However, out there is dangerous too. They can protect like an army can. Like we can’t.”

“Tt, we can take on extraterrestrial threats and some villains,” Damian huffs, obviously displeased. Out of all his siblings, he’s been the most vocally against the Justice League.

“The brat has a point,” Jason surprises him by backing him up. “I mean, between us here and those still on the streets or running late, you basically have your own little army right here. Just recruit Wonder Woman and I’m sure we’d have a chance.”

“You just wanna work with Wonder Woman, don’t you?” Dick says, sounding a little smug as he slides up behind Jason to make a kissy face at him.

Jason just pushes his face away as he blushes and exclaims: “Shaddup, Dickhead.”

“Yeah, shut up! That’s the most sensible thing he’s said all his life,” Steph hollers.

“Kids, kids, calm down. We’re not disbanding the Justice League and adopting Wonder Woman,” Bruce interrupts, wondering how his life ends up with him saying sentences that he never thought he would be saying.

“I never said nothin’ ‘bout adopting her,” Jason scowls.

“Cuz you want to kiss her!” Dick sing-songs.

“Isn’t she like a few thousand years old or something?” Tim asks.

“Also not marrying Wonder Woman. Any of you,” Bruce says. “Why don’t we all just stay away from Wonder Woman. And the rest of the Justice League, which will continue to exist and not fall apart because they struggle at teamwork. Maybe John’s idea will work. It’s too early to say.”

All of them are giving him a judgmental look now and Bruce struggles to not react to it. It’s always harder when he agrees with them.

“But Green Lantern’s plan is hinging on esprit de corpse,” Tim says. “And that will never work, because it’s a military mentality and while you’ve been working together, there is no real interdependence outside a few emergencies.”

“Yeah, what Timmy said,” Dick agrees, gesturing towards Tim.

“I loathe to admit it, father, but Drake has a point,” Damian nods and that truly shows that it is a hopeless mission for John.

“We’ll just have to see,” Bruce says, deciding to end the conversation there. “Now get ready for pre-patrol brief. We have a few open cases to assign. Cass and Harper will soon be reporting from their early rounds, so get suited up.”

There are a few groans around him, but his kids grant him the mercy of dropping it. They probably know as he does that this won’t be the last time they discuss it.

Indeed a few days later, Bruce comes walking into the Cave again, trying not to let the thunder cloud above his head show too much. However, he knows his kids notice, some sending him a raised brow or an inquiring look. Bruce is glad that he’s come far enough as a parent that not even Dick or Jason are put off by his bad mood.

Dick is also the one to tentatively ask: “Not a good training session with the Justice League?”

“John has us running drills,” Bruce grunts. “It’s showing us each other’s moves and how to play into each other, but…”

“It’s not turning you into a team?” Dick suggest.

“Yeah,” Bruce says, sighing.

“Esprit de corpse,” Tim sing-songs, walking by with a steaming mug of coffee that he went upstairs to refill, ready to start working on the case he’s in the middle of.

Bruce ignores Tim, knowing he’s right, and pulls the cowl off to card a hand through his hair. “We don’t need to run drills, but we need to do trust exercises, talk with each other, get to know each other better, be- be-”

He doesn’t know how he wants to end that sentence, but Cass does, materializing out of the darkness in her sweats, she says one word: “Family.”

“I thought you didn’t like the Justice League,” Duke asks. Luke is covering his day shift today since the last few days have been busy for Duke, but as a true Bat, he doesn’t really know what taking a break means, so he’s in the Cave training.

“Hn,” Bruce replies, thinking. “I mean, I do like them, I just-”

“He doesn’t trust ‘em,” Jason says. He wasn’t supposed to be at the Cave, but it’s clear why he’s there when Bruce looks his way in surprise. He’s holding a box of files, likely stuff he needs for his organization, Bruce wouldn’t know. They’re at a point where Jason doesn’t kill and Bruce doesn’t ask.

“What? Why?” Duke asks. “You fund them and go on missions with them. Even share intell and use them as backup, despite the fact that there are metas and aliens among them. Why do that if you don’t trust them?”

“’Cause he’s also paranoid,” Jason answers for him. “He’s monitoring ‘em.”

“But also befriending them,” Dick says, defending Bruce. “He just needs to vet them closely first, before he does that.”

“Right, ‘cause he’s paranoid,” Jason says.

Duke looks at Bruce, who sighs: “They’re not wrong. The Justice League has a lot of potential to do good and they’re showing they want to be that goodness. But they also have the potential of mass destruction. We need to be sure they won’t be a threat and that we have the right contingencies, before we let them in.”

“Like I said, paranoid,” Jason repeats.

“But trying,” Dick adds.

“And is stepping in to help them get better teamwork going to backfire?” Duke wonders. “Like are we scared we’re going to teach them how to destroy everything as a team? Is that it?”

“No,” Bruce answers, before the peanut gallery consisting of Dick and Jason can. “I offered help to John, he didn’t want it. I don’t think they’re willing to listen to my opinion on it, since I work alone, so have no expertise.”

Duke snorts loudly at that, then suddenly says: “Wait, you’re serious?”

Bruce grunts as conformation.

“Why?” Duke asks.

“Paranoid,” Jason says, rolling his eyes, before hoisting his box up again, before walking off.

Meanwhile, Bruce actually explains: “I haven’t mentioned you, like I said I would. It’s best if they don’t know we’re connected, nor that Gotham hosts more heroes. Connections like we have could be exploited by them and Superman can do a lot more damage should he so choose than Killer Croc or Bane.”

“But they’re good guys, right?”

“For now,” Dick answers morosely. “I’m not saying I agree with B’s paranoia, I mean, I was doing team ups before him and it worked out fine for me without the layers of paranoid he has. But a lot of things can go wrong, especially when working with people that powerful. I also maintained a semblance of mystique just to be safe.”

“But you can try to tell them this isn’t working, right? They must see that it’s not,” Duke says.

“From what I’ve seen both Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman are warriors like John, so they think the same about this. Superman and Flash are office workers, they’d think of horrid team-building days. While J’onn is used to working together with people who can read minds,” Bruce answers. “Out of all of them, only J’onn might listen.”

Cass nudges him and signs: ‘You are not saying something. There is hiding in your shoulders and a bit of guilt in your jaw.’

“What are you hiding, B,” Dick prods, a little bit of genuine judgment and worry coming through the tease.

“It’s a risk to tell them,” Bruce answers sulkily, knowing it’s a little silly, but unable to stop his brain from providing pop-ups of all the ways it could backfire.

“B,” Dick whines, throwing himself to hang over him. “You can at least try.”

“I will, I will,” Bruce says, placating yet also meaning it. He wants to do right by his kids and they want him to have friends, most of them encouraging him with the Justice League.

And, he does. Tentatively he suggest doing some trust exercises among the drills they’ve been running. As expected he gets weird looks and even a scoff from Wally and a frown from Clark. But he manages to play into John’s ideas brotherhood, which means the others are forced to give it a try.

It’s not perfect, of course it isn’t. They still have to deal with the fact that they never agreed on a strategists or a leader of sorts. They still have to build an organization, a system, a proper way of working as a unit.

However, they are getting somewhere. Some prodding here and there helps and the more it helps, the more others prod.

Though it’s not until years later, when Damian is nearly outgrowing the Robin mantle, that Bruce finally allows them to meet his kids. To let them in on the inner workings of Gotham vigilantism.

Then John will point at him and exclaim: “You son of a bitch, you lied to me! You let me struggle on my own to pull these idiots together.”

And at that point, Bruce will be comfortable enough to ignore everyone’s protests and smirk: “I offered you to help, didn’t I? Too bad I work alone.” Making his kids – though they’re adults at that point – laugh like the day they first heard.

~~

A/N:

I think the League thinking Batman works alone is hilarious, especially if they establish later than the batfam

[we-ezer]

Ciel & Tim Twins AU

So this is the 2nd post for this AU and I wanna add on to the beginning of their story.

When Ciel is first reborn into the DC universe, he is suspicious of his twin brother. He's already had one fuck up his life once and he won't let it happen again. Luckily, this world operates on merit rather than order of birth. Ciel makes himself indispensable to his parents, continually impressing them and overshadowing Tim so that he won't be left behind as a spare again. Then, Ciel starts noticing that Tim is slipping away in the middle of the night. He follows him and finds out he has been taking pictures of Batman and figured out his secret identity. This finally bonds the boys together with their shared secret and Ciel relaxes his guard.

Although they have very different hobbies, they always make time to solve cold cases together for fun. Tim tries sharing his hobbies with Ciel (laughing when Ciel has terrible coordination on a skateboard and keeps busting his knees up) and Ciel shares his occult books with Tim (who doesn't really understand any of it but knows it's probably good knowledge to have). They both play chess together, but Tim is huge into technology while Ciel prefers classic literature. Eventually, Tim starts sparring with Ciel in hopes that exercise will help improve his brother's terrible physical condition. Ciel uses a fencing saber in their duels and practices his marksmanship at the gun range (dragging Tim along even tho "Batman doesn't like guns").

When their parents die, Ciel transforms Drake Industries into Funtom Toy Company once again. He donates to many children's charities and becomes as big a philanthropist name as Bruce Wayne with his success. Because Ciel knows Bruce is Batman, he knows Brucie is a persona and uses his own sweet persona (like from Weston Arc) to snipe at each other where nobody else but people who know them well can tell.

Post-Red Hood, Tim is kidnapped by the Joker. Ciel finds him and shoots him. Ciel was already a strange figure to the rest of the Wayne household, always distant with everyone except his brother, but now they start considering him a rogue-in-the-making. Tim is adamant that his brother was only trying to protect him and Jason is just glad the clown is gone, no matter if the kid who did it is a bit sadistic. Damian has always been a bit wary of Ciel, even if he always reasoned he's just the weak version of Drake.

[zeawesomebirdie]

Brudick Co-parenting + Batfam Shenanigans Rec List

Thanks to @holybatmandickgrayson for requesting this, and thanks for your patience while I put it together!! (And paging @steine-druff as per usual!) Dick acting as the defacto second parent in the Wayne household is one of the best brudick tropes, and it has my whole entire heart. And the batfam dynamic itself has so much potential and is a joy to read, especially when the common goal of teasing Dick about Bruce is involved!

These are in no particular order, but I've tried to organise them into general categories. The titles to each fic contain a link to it. A lot of these are on the shorter end of the spectrum, but there's a few longer fics included too! I hope you find something here that you haven't read yet!

Co-parenting

1. Till You Find Your Dream by Kyele [@timeforalongstory on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 177,062 words; 31 chapters; complete

Summary:

“You know, my child, that the orphanage cannot continue to support you once you become an adult.” The abbess sighs. “There is one path that is always open to you. You may choose a holy vocation, and take orders. The Sisters of Perpetual Grace will accept you as a postulant if you choose.”

Dick had known to expect this. “Thank you, Reverend Mother,” Dick says respectfully, “but I cannot follow that path.”

The Mother Superior nods. He looks unsurprised. “Then perhaps,” he says, “you would be interested to hear of another opportunity.” From the papers on his desk, the abbess removes a single sheet. “Are you familiar with Captain Wayne?”

---

Dick accepts a position as governess to eight war-orphans, adopted by millionaire and WW1 flying ace Captain Bruce Wayne. The rest is inevitable.

Starting this list off with a bang, this fic is glorious! It's a The Sound of Music AU and A/B/O, and that sounds like a wacky mixture but truly this is one of the best co-parenting brudick fics I've ever read. It features beautiful sibling dynamics, Dick learning to function in high society at the same time as he's teaching the children to do the same, and the best exploration of gender and social roles I've ever come across. And the way the children come to accept Dick as their governess then protect him from being fired by Captain Wayne is utterly glorious!

2. The Fall of An April's Fool by Mysterious_Aud_Lou; rated M; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 3,967 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

All it took was one mission, one week, one bed, and one very tired mistake for Bruce Wayne to realize that he was in love with Dick Grayson.... and then came the fallout.

Bruce and Dick just came back from a mission in which they were fake engaged, and during that short mission, Bruce got a little too used to acting as a couple. Of course, the rest of the batkids pick up on this immediately, but luckily Dick is great at improv, and so this one has lived rent-free in my head ever since I first read it!

Damian Playing Matchmaker

Because I have a very surprising number of recs with this exact premise! These also sometimes double as co-parenting fics with the other batkids besides Damian too :)

1. Covet by resurrectedhippo; rated M; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 16,059 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Dick Grayson is an extension of Bruce Wayne. If there’s no Bruce Wayne, there’s no Dick Grayson. They struggle to exist without each other.

The entire world wonders if they have ever been separate people.

This one is a little bit of both co-parenting and Damian being the one to force them together. It features Bruce denying his feelings for a million years, Dick helping to train each successive Robin, and so much mutual pining it hurts (affectionate). And of course, Damian calling a family meeting to announce that Bruce and Dick will need to be wed over the summer, much to the shock of every other person in the family

And I'm adding a cut here because this is getting long, but I've got more under the read more!

2. Better than the Sweetest Dream by shield_of_selene; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 15,089 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Damian accuses Bruce of failing his Valentine’s Day duties; namely, romancing Dick Grayson. This starts a chain reaction that leads to exploding heart bombs, forced imprisonment, and wedding bells.

I love a villain who can commit to the bit, and the Matchmaker, a Valentine's Day themed villain, does not disappoint! This fic also features Damian having a better grasp of Bruce's emotions than Bruce himself does, which is always a delight to see!

3. To Court a Grayson by Mysterious_Aud_Lou; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 3,285 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Damian Wayne has always gotten what he wants, and what he wants is his father to realize that Bruce will find no better romantic partner than Damian's beloved Grayson. So, armed with a briefcase and a carefully planned powerpoint presentation, Damian takes on the challenge of convincing his father that it's time to throw all other romantic entanglements aside, and begin to court Grayson properly.

Oh my goodness, where do I even begin with this one? The whole thing is just glorious, featuring Damian hacking into Bruce's work calender, Bruce actually sitting through the entirety of Damian's presentation, and one of the most delightful reveals I've ever read!

General Batfam

1. Old and New by junetangerine; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 5,241 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Objectively speaking, he knew the man wasn’t infallible or indestructible (heaven knew he’d picked enough fights over it, Bruce insisting on patrolling even when he could barely stand on his own), but the prospect that he might not bounce back into the brilliant steamroller of a man that Dick loved in more ways than was appropriate or healthy was terrifying.

Not as jarring as the Twilight Zone experience of having Bruce look openly delighted to see him.

“Dick!”

It was all Dick could do to remain frozen in place while Bruce crossed the distance between them and just kept going, right into Dick’s personal space and then closer, until his mouth was against Dick’s. It was short, just a firm press of lips, but enough to turn Dick’s world on its head.

---

A head injury leaves Bruce confused. He seems to believe he and Dick are a couple. Dick doesn't have it in him to say otherwise.

Exactly what it says on the tin. This fic is a delight, featuring Dick being incredibly conflicted and Bruce trying to deny his feelings the moment he gets his memory back! Also featuring the various batkids accepting this new dynamic with surprising ease

2. Be Kind, Rewind by kleine_aster; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 2,138 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Batman always thinks of everything, except for erasing his old tapes when he really, really should.

This fic is very funny! I greatly enjoyed the dynamics between the various batkids as they processed what they were watching, and Dick's frantic reaction to being caught with Bruce

3. It's A Christmas Miracle (Or Not) by RandomMayhem [@randomlymayhemic on tumblr]; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 6,864 words; 2 chapters; complete

Summary:

With Harley and Ivy causing chaos in Las Vegas, Dick and Bruce must go on an impromptu trip to stop the unruly couple. Only, they aren't quite sure what exactly they're supposed to be stopping...

Waking up married wasn't in the plan, regardless. Not with Damian on the verge of pulling a Rumplestiltskin. So, there's no doubt about it - the holiday season's about to get a whole lot crazier.

In which Damian threatens Dick's firstborn child should they return home late for Hanukkah. This fic is very cute and very enjoyable, and the batfam's reactions to their impromptu marriage are a delight!

4. Truth or Dare by rnedagemacaroni; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 959 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

This is why the Bat Family kids should not have free time.

Anything with the batkids actually getting to relax and have fun is an amazing read, and this fic is no exception!! Oh to be a fly on the wall during their games of truth or dare!

5. Wayne Family Adventure: the secret episode by Caroaimezoe; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 4,005 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Prompt: How will the Batfamily take discovering that their dad and big brother/mother have been in a secret relationship for years

I adore the sibling dynamics in this one, and Damian being smug the whole time is just SO cute! There's also so much that could be said about how valiantly Dick tries to keep their relationship secret only to fail so miserably, it's a true delight

And that's all for now! I hope you enjoy these!

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Into the Unknown, Part 49

First

Previous

Extra chap because we won the maribat awards

Marinette had, originally, been a little annoyed with Tim when he had told Jimothy and Bernard about their dimension-hopping… but she soon learned the error in her ways.

Because now she had someone to commiserate with. After all, Bernard, too, was dating a version of Tim Drake. They were kindred spirits, bearers of the curse.

It all started with a simple conversation.

Bernard leaned over the back of the couch, smiling and clapping politely at the picture Damian was showing him. “So, why are we letting the Tims cook again?”

Steph grinned a little, apparently still amused by the fact that there were, now, two Tims. To be fair, the chances of there being a set of twins that were separated at birth that happened to have the same name had to be small.

Marinette shrugged lazily. “They insisted. And I want to see which one is the better cook. See if I lucked out – somehow.”

Bernard shrugged. “Probably not. Tim is good at many things… baking is not one of those things. In fact, I’m 99% sure that his inability to cook is how the world attempts to balance the fact that he is good at everything else.”

“I have to buy new equipment every time he cooks to make sure he hasn’t cursed the pans.”

There was a loud crashing sound from the kitchen, and what might have been a minor explosion, as if the universe was proving them right.

The two of them merely sighed in that specific way that people do when they are used to a terrible thing and now resigned to their fate.

And just like that, they realized: they were no longer alone.

Steph glanced back at the kitchen. “Should we go see how they messed up?”

“Give them, like, ten minutes to try and fix it,” Bernard waved her off.

Marinette raised her eyebrows. “Why?”

“If they can’t fix it in ten minutes, then they deserve to get the Look Of Disappointment. Otherwise, it’s not our problem, and we can pretend they didn’t do anything wrong.”

She mulled this over for a few moments before nodding. Yeah. That sounded like a good enough plan.

Besides, Damian was frantically trying to show her the drawing he was doing of a cave (done in green crayon, for some reason). Whatever the Tims had done could wait.

From that point on, they had weekly meetings where they discussed their boyfriends – who they loved very much, but agreed could be somewhat exhausting from time to time – over a glass of wine. Like a book club. But meaner. Somehow.

~

Tim blinked as Damian made his way over to him with a look of grim determination on his face. He wasn’t sure what the kid wanted, and he wasn’t afraid to admit that the expression kind of threw him off.

Mostly because almost every time he saw the Old Damian make that face, it was right before a fight. And, granted, he was pretty confident in his abilities to beat up a small child, but he would very much prefer not to.

But then Damian walked over and wrapped himself around Tim’s leg.

Tim blinked down at him.

He only got more confused as Damian started attempting to climb him like he were a rope in gym class and his grade depended on how fast he managed to get to the top.

Damian managed to make his way all the way up Tim’s leg – somewhat surprising, Tim hadn’t been aware the kid had had that much grip strength – but then he got stuck, squinting up at Tim calculatingly.

He started trying to use the fabric of his shirt. Tim yelped and grabbed him before he could a) stretch out his shirt or b) fall. These were both equally terrible possibilities, and he was perfectly willing to put a stop to this at any cost. Luckily, there was no cost.

But Damian, improv and manipulation extraordinaire, used the newfound arms around him to latch on to Tim and start clambering up even further.

Tim stared at the kid as he came up to sit on his shoulder, looking very proud of himself.

“Why?” He asked because, really, what else do you say in this situation?

“Tall,” he said. He went to put his hands on his hips in a kind of ‘I’m better and smarter than everyone else’ gesture, but then had to frantically wrap his arms around Tim’s head again when he wobbled uncertainly on his makeshift seat.

“You could have just asked me to pick you up,” Tim pointed out, grinning as he brought up a hand to rest on the kid’s back to help steady him.

Damian shook his head. “Tall,” he said again, as if it made any more sense the second time.

Regardless, he just grinned and nodded sagely. “Ah, I see,” he said, trying very hard to keep the waver of laughter out of his voice. “I’ll take you to the park sometime soon. You’ll probably get a kick out of jungle gyms.”

Damian beamed.

~

Paige beamed as she slammed her hands down on the table. “I’ve got a promotion! I can get the good diapers now!”

Marinette smiled. “I’m sure Floyd is happy.”

“I guarantee he has no clue,” Paige said, shrugging. But she still seemed pleased regardless. “I’m doing this for me.”

“Ah, yes, the classic treat yourself by treating your kid scenario. I did that when I changed the stroller to one with more flowers back in the day.”

They shared a conspiratorial nod. What were they conspiring against? Who knows. Not capitalism, apparently.

Ava hummed. “Still, it’s wild that you got promoted. I didn’t think Mr. Matthews was old enough to retire, and definitely not bad enough to be fired or good enough to be promoted. He was so… average.”

“Got busted for mob activities,” Paige said, shrugging.

Ah, yes, average.

And, no, that wasn’t sarcastic. They all nodded. Sagely, this time. For, in Gotham, there was nothing all that shocking about finding out someone they were close to was engaging in illegal activities…

Speaking of…

“Damn. I should probably go make sure Orlando knows they’re looking into people more thoroughly right now,” Marinette murmured, packing away her food.

~

Tim hummed as he absently slapped a sticker on each of the miscellaneous boxes of energy drinks.

He preferred to shop at Thomas Thumb when it came to getting drinks, if only because it was much faster to do the sticker method than to sit there and wait impatiently as the people at the door checked your receipt to make sure you weren’t stealing. Now if only it wasn’t so expensive…

But, when he got to the end, he realized that the cashier had accidentally given him an extra sticker.

He shrugged internally and turned to Damian, who had opted to sit on one of the boxes in the cart. This was almost definitely unsafe, but it is what it is.

He popped the sticker onto his forehead.

Damian gasped in offense and started trying to peel it off, glaring at Tim all the while.

Tim pretended not to notice. He was too busy getting the cart out of the store so he could load up the car.

Damian, eventually, managed to peel it off. He put it on his shirt, wearing it like a badge. Possibly of honor, but probably not because… well… it’s a mass produced sticker. But maybe – after all, there is honor in actually paying for your things in Gotham. It’s a rarity.

Tim smiled at the proud look on his kid’s face and made a mental note to get him some more stickers, even if it meant that they would have to deal with getting them all off the walls and furniture every night.

~

She watched as Damian rode Frank around the apartment like a horse. Normally, she would put a stop to this, because the poor dog… but, honestly, Frank seemed pleased with this, her tail wagged wildly as she walked through the apartment with her emotional support human (because it definitely went both ways) on her back.

Marinette shrugged internally and leaned back to watch, a fond smile on her face.

~~~~~

Next

@unoriginalmess @hammalammadamdam @astrynyx @laurcad123 @927roses-and-stuff @toodaloo-kangaroo @queenz-z @imarivers8 @jeminiikrystal @adrestar @twsssmlmaa @literaryhiraeth @trippingovermyfeet @ev-cupcake @its-maemain

[britcision]

….

Well you activated my own personal curse so now I gotta say it

Family don’t end with blood, boy

Gonna also nick a bit from DnD where sufficiently old and powerful dragons can take a human form at will so Alfred alone is able to look human during the day because he has Practice

(He is not unbearably smug about this only because such displays would be unbecoming of his station but All The Kids Know He Is)

(Bruce Wayne Is A Vampire is one of the most popular tabloid rumours in this world and he encourages it mercilessly including by throwing camp Dracula balls)

The moment when a new bat first transforms into a dragon is at first terrifying

(Dick takes it best because he’s seen Bruce be a dragon and REALLY wanted to be one too so he considers it his own personal achievement until Jason does it too

This does not improve the relationship between Dick and Jason

Dick accordingly bursts into tears when Tim first dragons up, which does not reassure Tim in the least because How The Fuck Is He Gonna Explain This To His Parents

Tim has custody of the magic shielding ring until his dad dies, which is before Duke shows up anyway so this works perfectly)

Once they’ve got more than four dragons in the city it instead becomes a party rather like a quincinera

Not sure if it’s funnier if it is also an instant blood curse and Damian is Deadass Born A Dragon (Tallia laying a dragon egg and being So Confused anyone?)

Or it comes into effect at a coming of age, which is another secret reason why Damian was sent to Gotham when he was - Ra’s is NOT rebuilding every hallway to fit his dragon grandson through them

Bonus points if Selina “acquires” them the dragon shielding artefact so Bruce can chase her down and flirt on rooftops during the daytime because she got bored

Double bonus points if the dragons are proportionately sized and until they hit 25 are all under 3’ long

Jason Todd, newly 6’ wall of muscle, is FURIOUS that his dragon shape still caps out at Baby until someone points out that he’s at least more discrete than Dick, who is Totally Fucked trying to restyle his entire apartment before that birthday hits so he doesn’t have to move back into Wayne Manor

Red Hood eats at least one lieutenant

Steph grows scales on the back of one hand, freaks the FUCK out, and immediately orchestrates a screaming row with Bruce until Alfred informs her that Bruce isn’t the one who decides who’s family

Luckily the curse accepts this as a “no thank you” and leaves her and Harper at “slightly scaled”

Harper bitches about not getting fire breath until the scaled patch grows and then never mentions it again

Being Batfam is a punishment as much as an honour in this world for everyone except Cass, who didn’t like talking to people during the day anyway

…. Possibly better possibility, dragon Coming Of Age is 50 so Bruce is a 3’ dragon too?

Gosh I am just slowly rotatin an idea with dragon batfam. Like technically a couple ideas. One of which is them falling under a dragon curse after getting a gem of some sort that just, happens before the League is founded or anything so they end up draconic in nature. Which is technically a very short and only grazing over the idea but y e a h Just slowly rotatin it y'know

[impyssadobsessions]

Vacation Crashers Chpt 28

VACATION CRASHERS on Ao3 “The Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back”

After the family pulled apart, the rest of the afternoon was spent making repairs. The jet still needed a few more repairs to make it back safely, and the GAV had some damage from the fights and the explosion. Jack and Maddie split up to help make repairs quicker. Maddie insisted to help with the jet, not letting any of the bats have a word in. She began her work, often asking for tools or make shifting ones. She only ask questions pertaining to the project at hand. Jack was making the repairs on the GAV. Tim having joined him, both out of curiosity and to see what information he could get out of Jack. Jack, luckily... and unluckily, was quite a talker. He would go into every detail, then he would go on a tangent about ghosts, and then about something that happened. Tim found it was very hard to keep him on track of topic. But besides the tangents, it became very obvious that they were ingenious inventors. There was no boundaries with their technology, which was for better or for worse. They were quick too, as it only took until the early evening for Jack and Maddie to finish repairing. Bruce double-checking to make certain the repairs were accurate.

Everyone group back together after the repairs were done, preparing to leave. Jason, Damian, and Danny climbing back from the woods having said their last goodbyes to Bullwinkle while everyone else was busy repairing. Jason not wanting to be anywhere near the Fenton parents, and Damian wanted to properly see the un-dead steed for himself. Damian also got covered in ghost snot from the bull moose-wolf snorting on him. Jason and Danny got a good laugh from it. Danny walked over to his family, as his parents conversed with Batman about ecto-technology and what they did to make repairs. Maddie saying what needed to be changed out and what improvements were to be made, especially if Batman wanted it to run on ecto-energy. Bruce frowning as she picked apart his machinery, but still keeping some of it in mind. Jack reached a hand out to pat his son's shoulders as he got close, pulling him in. Danny returning a smile to his dad. Jazz was still standing near Cass and Dick having their own little conversation. Jazz providing them details on how to keep in touch with her, and other things here and there. “We'll be heading out.” Batman stated, “When can I expect you and your family in Gotham? I can arrange place for you to stay.” “Aw, thanks B-man! We still got a little work to do here, so we'll come around...uh..” Jack looked at his wife to guess how long it'll take. “It'll take us at least several days if not a couple weeks to-” Maddie started to explain. “WHAT?!!!!!!!!” Jazz yelled, her face contorted into utter disbelief as she confronted her parents. Her parents looking shock at her outburst. “Jasmine! I know we're outside, but-” “NO, no! Excuse me!? You almost DIED. WE almost died. THEY almost died trying to save you and you want to STAY?! For TWO weeks?!” Jazz looked between her parents, trying to comprehend what on earth they were thinking. Her parents frowned, glancing at each other. Danny stiffening under his father's hand, subtly stepping away back towards the bats. He didn't want to be dragged into it, though he was just as shocked as Jazz. “Now Jazzy, we have to! Its our job to-” “Then why can't you come back?! Why do we have to stay? Do you understand how traumatic this experience is for us! We need a safe space to properly... process..” Jazz noticed the look in their eyes. Every time she brought up something remotely related to psychology, they immediately shrug off whatever she was saying. Jazz stood their a gape, trying to rearrange her words, but she was so angry! “...I want a shower.. and a bed. I want to sleep somewhere, where I'm not afraid of something attacking our family! I.. Mom.. Dad please.. ” Jazz pleaded after taking a painful breath. She was trying not to cry out of frustration. Jack and Maddie seem to glance at each other, mulling over their words. Jack rubbing the back of his head, staring down while Maddie pursed her lips in thought. The bats all holding their breath, glancing at each other wondering if there was anything they could do. Danny rubbing his arm anxiously. “I'm sorry, sweetie, but.. with the level of contamination it be detrimental to leave it like this. I know your scared..” Jazz silently scoffed at her mother's words, pulling back when her mother tried to caress her cheek. She almost couldn't believe it. Of course their work came first. She was dumb to think otherwise. “They can come back with us. To Gotham.” Dick suggested. Maddie recovering from feeling hurt when her daughter pulled away, looking over at Dick with a raised brow. She glanced between them and her daughter, “Well, I don't know. Gotham is nothing like Amity.” “At least with ghosts you know they have only one goal in mind, criminals are a completely different story.” Jack stated. “I assure you, they will be safe. I have a colleague that will be happy to watch over them.” Batman stepped forward, beside Jazz. “That and we will be looking out for them.” Dick winked with a charming grin, gesturing to himself and his siblings. Jack and Maddie debated for a moment, “Hmm. Perhaps its best for the kids to relax, Mads. This was suppose to be a vacation.” “I suppose your right, Jack. I just don't like the idea of them being alone in such a big city.” “Then come with us! Batman needs your help anyways.” Jazz tried again, staring at her parents with pleading eyes. “Just.. for once..” Maddie let out a heavy sigh, rubbing her arm. Jack furrowing his brows, with a frown. They didn't want to hurt their kids' feelings, but at the same time, they couldn't just leave. There were still ghosts active in the area, plus all the ecto-contamination in the lake. Who knows what adverse effects it may have. They needed to neutralize it before the forest was overran with ghosts. “Spook!” Jack gasped catching catfish staring at them from the lake. “M̸̧̨̹̳̖̺͍̱̤̮͚̀̓͝r̸̜̀͂̑̋͝r̷̘̯̥̈͌e̷̙̲̞̪̪̲̻̋̈͊ǒ̴̜̚w̸̨̝̹̞̐̑̆̈̈́̋̑́̕͠͝!̵͕̥̣͚̌!̷̨̨̻̞̟̰͚̰̌̓͆̕͜ͅ!̸̧̱͚̦̘̻̦͈͍̤̖̜͒̂̃̌̉̀̎̀͊͐̐...” The Catfish hissed diving back into the water of the lake. It had been spying on them from the side. Batman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. Maddie looked back at her daughter, her resolved returned. “Jasmine, sweetie. I know you're always saying how grown up you are and I'm so very proud of how mature you've been..” Jazz huffed out air silently in at her mother's words. Now, they were acknowledging it? The audacity! Switching her words against her. Her fists clenched tightly as she tried to keep her emotions in check. “But.. Your father and I, have a job that's very risky. We need to put our lives on the line to make certain that not only are you and Danny safe, but everyone who may be effected by these ectoplasmic creatures.” Maddie looked at her daughter painfully. The bats were having a hard time watching, trying not to intervene. Jason and Damian silently scoffing at when Maddie said about keeping Jazz and Danny safe. Danny bit his lip looking down at the ground. “Yep, we always knew our jobs might take us away from you kids, but we hoped you two could be fine on your own. And look at you! Two peas in a pod! So independent! We could never be prouder!” Jack chimed hand on Maddie's shoulders, standing proud with a warm grin. Jazz rolled her tongue in her mouth, keeping back the urge to yell, 'no thanks to you'. That wouldn't aide her, though. It wouldn't change anything. They were still going to keep doing what they do. She couldn't do anything, so why waste her breath. “We hope you'll understand someday sweetie, if not today.-” “No. I understand completely.” Jazz cut her mother off cold, swallowing lump in her throat. Her jaw clenched tight, as she shook her head. Tears pricking at the sides of her eyes. “I get it. I do.” She sharply turned from her parents, with her head held high. Refusing to show a moment of weakness. She marched onto the the batplane, stopping only for a moment when her father hollered. “I love you, princess!” She didn't lower her head, just clenched her fists tighter and continued onto the plane. Cass ran after Jazz, to watch over her. Heart hurting from watching the painful exchange between daughter and parents. Damian look like he was about to insult the parents, Dick cutting him off. “Shh.” “Obviously they won't understand unless its spell-” “Shh. We need to make sure they come back with us.” Dick lightly pushing Damian towards the plane. Damian huffed before stomping his way into the jet, almost mimicking Jazz's exit except his chest was more puffed out. Tim moving towards the plane just to help feel like he was creating a barrier between them. Maddie sighed, shaking her head. It was hard, but she knew her daughter deserve the truth. Jack rubbing his wife's arm in comfort. They shared a smile with each other. Jason almost grabbed Danny back on instinct, as Danny slowly walked up to his parents. He recoiled his hand, crossing his arms instead. Dick elbowing Jason, giving a raised brow. Jason flipping him off. “So.. you guys.. are staying?” Danny asked hesitantly, as he walked up to his parents, rubbing his arm. Maddie gave Danny a soft expression, reaching out to brush Danny's hair out of his face. “I'm afraid so, Danny.” “With the levels of contamination in the Lakes, who knows what spooks could infest the forest!” Jack chimed. “Its better if we investigate it and clear out the area as soon as possible.” Maddie caressed Danny's cheek as she spoke. “Oh.” Danny glanced down with a sigh. “Hey, don't look so down, Dann'o! It shouldn't take us that long. I can even ask our dear ol'buddy Vlad to-” “NO!” Danny and all the bats.. even Maddie yelled out in unison. Then cleared their throats. “You know how busy Vlad is... with uh... his ...company.. and ...Vlad stuff.” Danny tried to save the situation, his heart racing. Jack blinked confused but smiled, “Ah, I suppose you're right. I did offered him to come on vacation with us, since he's part of the family. He did say he had other plans though. Shame.” Everyone let out a breath of relief, even Maddie. “So, I guess.. uh.. this is.. goodbye?” Danny muttered awkwardly. “Aw, sweetie. Not for long!” Maddie pulling Danny into a warm hug. Danny melting into it. “Hey, you can stay and join us, if you want, Danno! I know your sister didn't want to, but you and me can wrangle ghosts together. Maybe work on your grip! What do you say?” Jack grinned. Danny frowned at the mention of his grip, eye twitching in annoyance, but stayed in his mother's embrace. He almost felt like considering it. He really did miss his parents, but.. Danny's eyes glanced towards the plane. Jazz was in there. She was leaving. He would be left alone. Even without the use of the repellent, Danny wasn't safe with them.. and Jazz.. Though she would forgive him for staying, it still felt wrong to not be with her. The bats needed help too. They needed to plan, just in case.. Danny sighed, pulling from his mother's hug. He smiled up at his parents, “Nah... I'm kind of with Jazz on that one. A bed and a shower sounds nice, and maybe some mouthwash...” “Your breath does stink.” Maddie chuckled, smiling at her son. Jack ruffling Danny's hair, “Ah that's ok, boyo. You've been so sick this week, its probably for the best. We'll go hunting some other day.” Danny nodded, smiling up at his parents, feeling the back of his eyes burn. He took a deep breath, taking a step back from his parents. He wasn't sure what to say, looking between them both. “Uh... so .. see ya.. Don't turn into ghosts.” Danny chuckled awkwardly as he walked backwards. “Oh sweetie, you don't turn into a ghost. Our conscious gets imprinted on ectoplasm.” Maddie chimed. Danny flinched, feeling stupid for having said that. Moving a bit quicker away. “Yep, so if you ever see a ghost that looks and sound just like me, remember to blast it to oblivion!” Jack grinned. Danny had his back turn to them, face scrunched up. “Right.” “Right in the-” “Got it!” “Oh! And remember to be good, for Batman! No sneaking out or staying out late, young man.” Maddie stated firmly. Any heartbreaking feeling of leaving his parents, was gone as he was reminded what made it so hard to be around them. Danny replied through gritted teeth. “I'll be good.” “That's our boy!” Danny disappeared onto the jet with a grumble under his breath. The others frowning deeply, staring at the parents. How quickly they ruined the mood. Batman glanced at Dick who nodded in response. Dick pushed Jason towards the plane, ushering them inside as Bruce stayed out to talk to the parents. Tim, Jason, and Dick staying at the entrance to overhear, hidden from view. Bruce cleared his throat, addressing the parents. “I'll have to settle things with the League but I was making plans to come back out here. Are you certain you don't want to come with?” “Ghosts wait for no one!” Jack grinned. “We're certain, thank you for your concern. If there is anything you need, you can contact us on our Fenton phones.” Maddie chimed, handing Batman one of their Fenton devices. He found it a bit odd as usually he was the one handing out a way to contact, but considering the effects of ectoplasm had on devices, he took it. He'll have Tim get a better look at it later. Batman side glance back at the plane then towards the parents. “Your kids have been worried about you two all night. Even was planning on rescuing you without our aide.” “That's our kids! Bravery runs in the Fenton genes!” Jack patted his chest proudly. “I'm afraid this will leave a lasting impression, especially if you're not there.” Batman trying to persuade them, for the kids. “And it might be best to replenish supplies. Two weeks is a long time.” “Well, maybe it doesn't have to take us two weeks.” Maddie hummed in thought as she recalculated her estimate. “Oh, I know Mads. Let's bust this out in a week and surprise them! Then we can go and to that one museum! Danny and Jazz would love it.” “That's brilliant Jack, we'll have to get to work right away.” Batman frowned, clenching his fist tightly. He wanted to hit them, show them what they were doing to their kids.. but.. Batman relaxed his hand. That would risk Danny's identity. The two were already coming back to Gotham with him. He wouldn't jeopardize that. So he took his leave, in silence.. for now. ---owo--- Jazz was sitting cross legged in her seat, hands clasped tightly together on her lap. She stared blankly across with a cold expression. Every inch of her was stiff and clenched. Cass having knelled down beside her, concerned. She couldn't get Jazz to relax at all. Jazz remained silent and frozen in her own thoughts. Damian sitting across from her, sunken in his seat, arms crossed. He clicked his teeth as the conversation he overheard between Vlad and Jasmine replayed in his head. Finally understanding what Vlad meant about her parents. Partially wishing they were too late to save them... just a little. Danny sat a seat away from his sister, collapsed forward on his lap. His hands loosely clasped together, dangling against his legs. His leg bouncing, as his head was hung, hiding face behind his hair. Tim went to take a seat, plopping down with a tired sigh. All that work wasted. He felt like he could sleep for a week, but considering everything that happened, he doubt he get much. Jason plopping down, arms crossed and propped on his knees. He stared between the two Fenton siblings, then having to look down to keep his anger from boiling. They almost all got singed only for them to stay. He hoped that damn catfish or Bullwinkle give them hell. They didn't seem competent. Dick kept by the entrance, until Bruce came in. It was easy to tell that Batman was just as angry as the rest of them, as he made a beeline to the pilot seat. Dick following after, plopping down in a makeshift seat, beside Jason and Tim. He flopped like a rag doll a bit. Obviously just as exhausted and emotionally drained as everyone else. This definitely did not turn out how any of them expected. Batman flicked the switches, closing the door and started their take off, in silence. -uwu- They flew in silence, up until they were almost out of view from the lakes. That was when Danny jumped out of his seat, causing everyone to jolt back alert. “Aw, man! I should have stayed! What if Frootloop comes back? What if they get attack by another blob?! Ugh, I got to go back-” Danny was ruffling his own hair, in a panic. Turning translucent. “Danny! Don't!” Jazz stood up to grab her brother to keep him from phasing out of the plane. Danny turn back solid looking at the firm grip Jazz had on his wrist, then looking up at her. Furrowing his brows confused. “But what if-” “Danny, they're grown adults! They chose to stay behind. Besides! What do you think is going to happen if you phased through the plane?” “Right. Right..”Danny feeling embarrassed, his eyes dimly lit as he tried to work through his panic. Jazz loosen her grip, eyes softening as she watched her brother struggle. “Danny, it isn't your responsibility to look after them. Its theirs to look after us and you can't.. can't save people who don't want to be save.” Danny paused, staring at Jazz again. Looking of confusion on his face. “You.. give up on them?” Jazz stood back in shock, staring her brother in the face. She took a moment to let it sink in, finding herself nodded. “Yes..” She gasped as her eyes watered, almost shocked that she said it. She didn't take it back, as she blinked back tears. A mixed expression on her face as she almost didn't believe she was saying it. “Yes, I have.. I have.” Danny staring at her in shock. Jazz staring back at her brother, as her pent emotions spilled over.  “First thing to learn about psychology is that you can't FIX people and you can't HELP those who don't want to be helped. Those who refuse to listen. Mo-Jack and Maddie are those people! I can't keep parenting them. I can't keep begging them. I can't keep beating a dead horse! I can't.. I can't.”

Tears were spilling down her face. “I NEED to focus on us. I need to figure out something else.. because I CAN'T rely on them. I... I'm 18.. they were going to listen, if they were going to DO anything.. they should have already.” A moment of silence washed over them. Only the roaring of the engine and the sound of Jazz's shaky breathing and sniffling could be heard in that moment. The bats all watching this with held breaths. It almost felt wrong that they were watching this, as it was very emotional and personal. At least watching with front view seats. Danny was just staring at Jazz, eyes glued to his sister. He blinked, finally glancing down at the ground, hiding his face behind his hair. “Danny.. I'm so-” Jazz reached to touch her brother again, but he pulled away before she had a chance to. Danny collapsed in his seat, head hung over his lap. Jazz stood stun, her face scrunching with every huff of breath. She slowly lowered her hand, turning her head away in pain. Slowly sitting back down, slumping to the side away from Danny. Looking broken. As if her worse fear came true. The bats didn't know what to do. Its not like they were much better with their emotions. Any attempt to cut the thick atmosphere would feel artificial and useless. After a few minutes of them debating, they didn't have to as Danny spoke. His voice sounding crack. Jazz perked up, hearing his voice, glancing back at her brother. She wiped tears from her face, with a sniffle. “What...did you say?” “I said.. I.. can't.” He still kept his head hung over his lap. Jazz furrowed her brows confused. Danny clarified with pain in his voice, “I … can't.. give up.. on them.” Jazz looked like a wash of relief flood over her, as she gave a weak smile at her brother. “No one's asking you too, Danny-” “No, I mean I CAN'T.” Danny lifted his head, staring at Jazz. His eyes flashing a bright green. Jazz gasped, then looked at her brother with sympathy. The rest of the Bats feeling unease, knowing it must be something more holding Danny back. Danny turned his head to face the ground again. Jazz tried to reach out, but stopped herself, rubbing her arm instead. “A-at least.. Until I tell them.” Danny said as the realization was coming to him. “Danny, I don't know if it would change anything.” Jazz glancing at her brother, not wanting him to get his hopes up. Danny shook his head, sniffling. “Doesn't matter.” The crack in his voice, meant that it doesn't matter as much. “I have to tell them. I need to know if they be on my side or not when things go to.. Because.. I can't keep doing this either.” The dreadful feeling sinking in, as it was dawning on him. He couldn't wait. He shouldn't wait. He wiped at tears threatening to come as his breathing quicken. “I was hoping there be a perfect time to, but there.. won't be. Is there?” Danny looking at Jazz as he asked the question. Jazz pressed her lips, shaking her head. “I don't think so, Danny.” Danny snorted, taking a deep shaky breath. He took a moment, letting out a breathy laugh, tears managing to slip. He hastily wiped them away, not wanting to break down again. Tim jolted with an idea, glancing at the others then back at the pair of siblings. “Not to rush, but.. you can do it while you're in Gotham.” Danny and Jazz blinked, staring at Tim. As if being reminded that others were on the plane. “Yeah, that way no matter how it goes, you'll have us to fall back on.” Dick grinned. Danny and Jazz glanced at each other for a moment, and then Danny stared at the floor. Pondering it over. “Don't let these bone-heads rush make you feel like you got to decide.” Jason shoving Dick by the head into Tim. “hey-!” “I told him not to rush! Just a suggestion!” “No.. no the.. the sooner the better. I.. I think I'll chicken out if its just me.” Danny said shakily, but with certainty. Jazz smiled at Danny, proud of him. Cass pulling them both into a hug, of support. Making them blush. “I think that's a great idea. I rather know what side your parents are on as well.” Batman stated. Danny blinked, glancing towards where Batman sit. He nodded, leaning shoulder slightly on his sister, even after Cass released them from her arms. He wanted to silently let Jazz know it was okay to touch him. Jazz happily took it, and leaned her weight fully on Danny. Exhaustion setting in. “See Danny. Everything as it-” “You really like that saying.” “Mmhm.” “Ugh..” Danny groaned, though there was no real annoyance behind it. “........” “Sooooo.... anyone up for Uno?” Tim asked pulling out the deck, now that the tension was broken. The Fenton siblings shrugged, “Sure.”

[winterstorm032802]

"Robin, report"

Red Hood looked at his tracker, everyone was off patrolling and Robin was given the okay to pursue Scarecrow "Robin are you alright?"

After a few moments of silence Batman spoke again "Who's closest?" Red Hood sighed and ran his hand through his hair "It's me Bats. I'll get the brat back. Probably still chasing Crane"

Taking out his grapple he swung over rooftop to rooftop keeping an eye on the tracker. "Alright I'm at his location, I'm headed in" "Careful Hood, do you have an antidote on you?" "Yeah I'm all good Batman" Luckily Red Hood had an air filter in his helmet to keep himself safe from Crane.

As Jason walked in, noticing that the air was surpisingly not filled with Fear Toxin, which made Red Hood fear for the brat's wellbeing (which, no. He will not ever admit and don't I repeat DON'T LET GRAYSON KNOW) "Robin where are you?"

Something from above jumped down, Jason moved back in time and saw the glint of the sword that Damian always had. "What the hell brat? I'm trying to see if you're okay" Robin had a gas mask, so why is he going crazy and where is Scarecrow? Robin roared as he ran to Jason once again, sword in hand as he sliced the air and Jason shoved the boy away. Batman would be mad if he hurt Damian. "I'm gonna say this one more time kid, I'm trying to help you!" Robin breathed heavy and rushed to attack once more, his fighting wasn't his usual assassin ways. It was sloppy and all about as he tried to simply get a hit in. Red Hood took out a gun and shot the floor far away from Robin's feet. The boy was startled and dropped his sword, falling down to his knees. "Crap, I didn't shoot you did I? Are you alright Little D?"

"Don't come closer to me!"

Jason inspected his movements, erratic and strained. "Will you stop trying to cut me?"

"I-- AH!" Robin clutched his head and closed his eyes, taking off his domino mask and gas mask. "Stop! Please stop! I'm sorry I didn't mean to please! Leave me alone!" Damian looked up at Jason and the man had to stop himself from rushing over to hold him. Damian was... crying, no sobbing his eyes out. He was scared... did he get hit from Scarecrow? Jason looked past Damian to see Scarecrow knocked out, he had some cuts all around and next to him was a syringe. Damian had fear toxin running through him, in the form of liquid not gas.

Jason was racking his brain over what Damian had once said. It happened when the two were in the library and Jason was reading which led to sometimes engaging in conversation about their books. Jason saw the tired look on Damian and pointed out how tired he has to be and the brat replied with "If the league gave me immunity to most toxins then I'm sure sleep deprivation won't get me unlike how it would for Drake" Funny enough, after a few hours when Jason came back he found Damian asleep on the couch with a book that Jason spoke about before. Ah no not the time to be reminiscing, gotta help Damian since the antidote was for the toxin in gas not liquid, Jason was unsure of whether or not it would help considering Scarecrow always improves his technique if it's in another form. "Hey Little D, I won't hurt you okay? I know you're afraid, but I'm gonna take you home"

"H-Home? I... where?"

Ah the famous complex of Damian being unsure of whether or not he belongs, it always tugged at Jason's heart when he did that.

"At the Manor with Alfred and Bruce"

Damian held back a whine as he tensed up, the toxin was getting to him. He was so violent before, could it be that his immunity made him react differently and the shock caused him to snap to regular reactions? "I... Am I dying again?" Jason froze, that question was so... sincere. He was asking legitimately, no jokes or anything. Damian was unsure of whether or not he was alive? Is... fear so new to him? "You're not dying, you're okay Damian. You have fear toxin and it's messing with your brain. Whatever you're seeing isn't real" "No... but I hear them. Mother speaks to me, Grandfather scolds me and Father... I can not hear father... I wish he could save me from this, I don't want to die again. I didn't get to say everything to everyone, Drake needs to know to take a break and I hope he knows I'm happy he's my brother. Grayson needs to let himself be happy and let others share the burden as well. Todd needs to know he can move on because he has us and even if i don't say it I love my family. I don't want to die again... I don't want to die please don't let me d--" Damian was cut off from a hug from Jason. Jason had took off his helmet and embraced the kid, saving him from his spiral.

Jason clicked onto his line "Batman, I got Robin. He's been hit with fear toxin in the form of liquid I'm unsure of the antidote working. Scarecrow is down and I'm requesting a pick up" "Alright, I'll be there"

.

.

.

The first thing Damian realized was the fact that it was bright and smelled different. He was in darkness before so what happened now? He was about to question it all until he heard voices.

"-all good?"

"-stable"

Damian's head swam as he tried to hear the rest and the boy sat up. He was in his room, on his bed, a heart monitor was beside him and it was moderate. He was alive.

"Damian?"

Todd, Drake and Grayson stood at the doorway to his room and the boy rolled his eyes "Is knocking not a thing now?"

Drake looked exasperated at that "Seems the toxin didn't down your attitude, how great" Regardless of the snide comment, Damian could see the the relief in his eyes. Grayson made it to Damian's bedside "How do you feel?" "I am well" "Good, we managed to get the toxin out of your system, thankfully Jason helped you"

"Todd? So that part wasn't the toxin?" "No, first thing you did was try and stab me. All good though"

Damian clutched his blanket "You... Did I say anything?"

Jason looked surprised then a bit sad then neutral it was very quick so the others couldn't tell. "No not anything I could properly hear" Damian knew though, that face said otherwise. "May I have a moment with Todd?"

Tim and Dick left and closed the door. Leaving Jason who leaned on the doorframe. "What did I say Todd?" "I couldn't hear anything from you kid" "Todd don't play dumb with me, you're face gave it away" Todd sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Fine yeah I heard you say some pretty bad shit, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're alive and we're here for you Damian" "You... do not think of me less?" "Damian we're all fucked up somehow, but that doesn't mean we'll look down on you as if you're less than you bring yourself to be. We love you" Damian unhooked the system connected to him and stood up, going to Jason and hugging him. "Are you... willingly hugging me?" "Maybe... if a word goes to Grayson about this I will deny every fact of it" "My lips are sealed" "Thank you... Jason"

[a-few-of-my-favorite-mangas]

Spy x Family

Story by Tatsuya Endo

Manga Volume 3

Shonen, School Setting, Action, Adventure, Found Family

Story   ★★★★☆   ||   ★★★☆☆   Art

Summary

Twilight has overcome many challenges in putting together the  Forger family, but now all his hard work might come undone when Yor’s  younger brother Yuri pops in for a surprise visit! Can Twilight outsmart  Yuri, who actually works for the Ostanian secret service?!  

Review

Yuri’s really not happy about learning about Yor’s marriage to a man he knows nothing about... Yuri is quite possessive and even though he wants Yor to be happy, he also doesn’t think anyone is good enough for her or will be able to protect her as well as he can...  Loid clocks Yuri as a member of the special intelligence, when he recites a common ‘fake’ cover story.  Yuri is usually very smart and astute but when it comes to Yor, his calm reasoning is clouded by his feelings, and like Yor he can’t handle alcohol.  A slight mistake has Yuri questioning their marriage and he wants Loid and Yor to prove their love by kissing... needless to say all doesn’t go according to plan.

In the aftermath, Loid is now questioning Yor’s innocence, is she truly unaware of Yuri’s real job, was she planted to entrap or spy on him? He needs to know. Loid spends the next day spying on Yor an her typical day at work... Yor is depressed as she feels she isn’t holding up her part of their bargain - she isn’t being a good enough <fake> wife and mother. Loid learns a lot about Yor and it seems to be enough to quell his doubts... in fact, Yor’s earnest efforts are rather endearing, leaving Loid questioning his own actions and guilt - could Loid be developing ‘feelings’ even he is unware of, being a family man is starting to affect him.

Meanwhile, Anya and her class are excited at the prospect of earning a Stella in the next class competition of Dodgeball, but their opposing team has a ringer on their team, a huge monster of a six-year-old who is also determined to dominate and crush the competition for a Stella. This was a funny little Anya and friends story, I am really enjoying the switch between the more ‘adult’ spy and intrigue storylines and then the switch up to the more lighthearted and even silly Anya and her funny attempts to complete her mission at school.  I’m really liking all the kids, Damian and his two ‘lackeys’ are actually coming across as good friends to each other.  Their ‘bullying’ of Anya aside, Emile and Ewen are actually good friends to each other and Damian - in a similar way Becky is becoming a true bestie for Anya. 

Anya still isn’t improving her studies, she hasn’t mastered her mind-reading cheat, and her grade are abysmal - honestly, they are so bad I can’t believe she made it into the school. Loid is starting to be resigned to the fact that Anya isn’t smart enough to earn Stellas through grades, so he tries to find other means for her to earn recognition. A day volunteering at a hospital turn advantageous for Anya as she is in the right place at the right time to be instrumental in saving  a boy’s life - earning her first Stella! Being Anya, this goes to her head - justa little bit, lol. After a discussion with Becky, Anya decides that getting a dog would be a fitting reward for earning a Stella and getting one step closer to completing her mission ^_^

Extra bonus chapter is a centered around Loid and Yor. Yor has been injured on the job and is in great pain and being distant with the family. Loid, concerned that Yor is upset about their family arrangement - wants to cheer her up by taking her out on a date... unfortunately, one of Yor’s targets survived and wants revenge, luckily Franky and Anya shadow them on their date and manage to foil the bad guy. This was a jammed packed volume!

[batstorm93672]

Cold Steel

Part 1

Damian plopped down on his bed, memories of last night returning over and over without stop. He hated it all, said he wanted to show them the true him and the first thing he does then is shout and show how violent he is.

Fuuuuuuck

Great show you put on 'Robin' feel like shit enough now? Damian groaned as he placed his pillow over his head. Why can't he be better? Why must he let this get to him?

Stay away

Why won't the cold stay away?

Why must that sword play tricks on him like this?

Why would she do this?

I thought she loved me

She lied!

Liar!

Stay away!

STAY AWAY

STAY AWAY FROM ME

STOP IT

STAY AWAY!

"Damian"

Damian flinched and sat up headbutting whoever had approached him, the person groaned and moved back. "Ow... in retrospect I should have seen that coming"

Dick, Damian hasn't said a word to his brothers since he left them like that.

"What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to check on you"

Jason and Tim as well.

"Well you looked at me, now can you go" Less of a question more of a demand

"Actually we wanted to go to Batburger, want in?"

Damian took a deep breath in, they won't stop pestering so it's easier to give in now then to fight it. "Sure, let me get my jacket"

.

It was crowded, not that bad though so they luckily got good seats and all.

Jason sat by Damian and Dick and Tim sat across from them.

"So how's everyone doing?"

"I'm all good, a little sore from last night, but fine"

"I told you, you're getting old Dickhead. It's only a matter of time until your back gives out and then you have to have a cane to walk about"

"Hey! I'm perfectly fit for my age"

"Yeah, you were there during the Dinosaur Age we get it. Running from the meteors made you fast"

"Rude..." Dick crossed his arms and pouted as Jason smirked at the victory. "How about you Timbo?" "Doing pretty good, got about four hours of sleep" Damian raised an eyebrow "Eight. The average person should have about eight hours of sleep" "Hey getting four is an improvement" "I'll tell Alfred" "Y-You wouldn't dare" "Wanna try me?" Tim scoffed "You two are menaces on a roll tonight aren't you?"

Jason and Damian nodded at the same time, Dick looked at Damian and Damian felt it as he stared back at Dick.

"..."

"Damian if you don't mind we wanted to talk about last n--"

"Are you four ready to order?"

Damian had to hold back a sigh of relief, came over just in time. Everyone ordered one-by-one and Dick still kept an eye on Damian. Why can't he just let it go?

"Damian"

Damian grit his teeth, of course he'd try again. Golden Boy Wonder would keep at it until he got something "I said stay out of it" "We're your brothers, you can tell us anyth-" "Why should I? Just to feed your own ego and self-righteousness? I don't have to say anything or explain myself to any of you. So stay away already, what I do or say doesn't concern any of you"

It got quiet around the table, only the chattering of other customers. Dick looked... heartbroken to say the least, Jason looked sad and Tim looked concerned.

"Damian. I didn't mean to pry we just wanted to h-"

"Stay. Out."

Tim looked slightly irritated "We get it if you are going through something, but that doesn't mean you have to be so mean to everyone around you"

"Well Mister Detective if you really want to help, try looking at the clues of me constantly saying that I don't need it. I don't want your help. I don't want to hear anything. I want you all to stay away, I've had enough trying to hear all of this. I gave in to showing up here because I knew you would pester on and on about my behavior. It's normal for me to act out, it's who I am apparently. I don't need anyone to analyze me or figure out what's wrong. I'm fine"

Jason huffed "Dami come on just talk to us"

"You of all people shouldn't be talking right now. As if you are any better than me, I don't need you to tell me to express myself perfectly with others because you're shit at that too. So excuse me if I don't want to talk even if stated that I don't want to say anything you three decide to step in anyways. Must've gotten that from father as far as I can tell, having to be the God damn hero. I don't need your help, I don't want your help so if you could all get that through your heads that would be fucking amazing"

Regret...

Stay away!

Sorrow...

Stay away!

Suffering...

STAY AWAY!

Tears...

STAYAWAYSTAYAWAYSTAYAWAYSTAYSWAY!!!

GET OUT!

Damian stood up, keeping his head down away from everyone's stares. Getting out of his seat and leaving quickly, hearing his brothers cry out, why should he care?

I told them to stay away

They keep trying, but I don't need them!

THEY HAVE TO STAY AWAY

It's cold...

It's so cold out...

Damian breathed out, it was cold and it hurt.

Cold.

Was his corpse this cold?

How quickly he went from being alive to being dead.

The warm blood spilling as he felt his body go cold, the irony of his blood full of warmth against the cold of it all. The sword was cold, it was meant to kill.

He was meant to kill

He killed himself that night with a cold sword, with no regret, no sorrow, no tears and no suffering to be done when he had struck.

The snow fell down, it was cold just as he was.

Everything he wanted to be to his family was done for, he ruined it all. He yelled, he hurt them and he left. So much for change.

Damian stopped and put his hands through his hair, why is he running away? It was a fight he entered, it's a cowards way out to leave because it became too much. How pitiful, no wonder his brothers felt that way. Damian groaned and hid from everyone's view as he climbed up the firescape to the rooftop. It was a tall building, of course perched on it was a gargoyle. He sat down on it and watched as things went quiet, to his left came noises footsteps that he identified numerous times.

"Our definitions of 'stay away' must be very contrasting"

The footsteps stopped for a mere second then continued. Dick sat by Damian, followed by Tim and Jason. Damian didn't look to them, simply kept looking towards the sky. "Damian. We wanted to say sorry. We shouldn't have pried so much after you told us not to. It wasn't right of us to force you"

"Tt. Well I'm not entirely perfect in this situation either. It was becoming too much for me to handle, my thoughts weren't in order. I regret being so mean to you all"

"You have every right to be upset, we went too far"

"...I just don't know what to do, I'm cold and it's irritating and it hurts!"

Everyobe looked confused before Damian continued "I was burning once, down there where I was tormented and suffered every day for my sins. Then I came back, then the feeling of being cold won't leave. I still feel it, that cold night, the sword, the blood and the way I could almost feel my body go cold. I've spoken about the flames, but the cold is just as bad. Knowing that when I open my eyes the cold sword is still piercing through me, killing me no matter what I do! I want it to stay away. I vowed to not speak of it, to not let it show, but then that man last night had a knife aimed to my chest. The same fucking spot and I... I panicked, I got so angry and afraid that I was going to die again and feel so much sorrow and pain, I didn't want to die against that cold blade... I didn't want to feel like this, but for some reason it won't stay away. It keeps hurting knowing that I had killed myself... with no regrets... I killed myself in cold blood" Damian's voice gave away as he began to cry.

Everyone hugged him, the cold tears staining his face. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for being so mean to you, I don't mean it... I didn't mean to be so upset. It just wouldn't stay away from me it hurt"

"There's no need to explain anymore. We should have given you time instead of rushing it. We love you"

Damian sobbed harder at those words and let himself fall into the hug.

[yannowhatigiveup]

A Blinded Kiss

I haven’t posted anything recently so I dug around in my WIPs to see if anything was even worth posting and I found this that I made a while ago. It certainly isn’t the best but it isn’t the worst out of all my other WIPs.

"Is this really necessary?" The bluenette asked, eyeing a blindfold given by her brotherly figure.

"Of course it is Pixie!" An older man with two-toned hair replied, way too over enthusiastic about the whole situation. "It's a great way to find your way around the manor”

"And it's a great family bonding experience too!" Another man in the room replied, even more enthusiastic than the first.

"Fine, I'll do it Jay" the blue-eyed girl huffed, twirling the blindfold between her fingers. "What are the rules again, Dick?"

Dick beamed at the girl before answering. "Well Mari, it's simple. Put the blindfold on, count to fifty, spin around and try to steal a hug from anyone in the manor"

"So I have to walk around the manor blindfolded and try to sneak up on you? You know that's impossible!" Marinette exclaimed, she would not go around the house looking like a touch-starved fool.

"That's exactly why we're doing it" Jason replied, shrugging his shoulders. "It'll last a long time."

After a few seconds, the blue-eyed girl sighed, giving in to both Jason and Dick. "Fine, if that's what makes you happy" Marinette wrapped the matte-black fabric tightly around her eyes, already struggling within the first few seconds. She began counting and she heard the two scuffling away, smiling while being able to tell which direction they went in. In the mean time, Marinette debated her options.

'Both Jason and Dick would be the ideal choices but they'll be able to hear me from a mile away. Tim would be the most logical one since he's half asleep, but where does he even go in this maze? God knows where Alfred is, Mr Wayne is scary. Damian-' She paused her train of thoughts, granted Marinette had only met him a few days ago but that didn't stop the crush she had heavily try to cease. 'He'd probably hear me from a mile away as well. This game is so unfair'

Soon enough, Marinette reached fifty and spun herself around, she used a bit too much force than needed so now not only was she blinded but she lost her sense of direction. Giving herself a minute to recover, the bluenette began to walk. Using her improved senses, thanks to the miraculous, Mari was slowly able to create a theoretical map in her mind, though it did take much more energy than she desired.

"Fighting an akuma is easier than this" The bluenette muttered as she hit her thigh along the corner of a wall.

Even though she was using her enhanced abilities, she'd pump into a corner or a wall every now and again, the amount of times increased when her energy was being used. After wondering a hall for what seemed like hours, the bluenette came to a staircase, one that she ever so carefully used to get to a higher floor. Once she did, she kept a hand on one of the walls, using it as a guide. Soon enough, her hand came to what felt like a doorframe. The door was closed she could tell but it was recent used due to the fact that the doorknob was warm. Making sure not to intrude, she knocked on said door, she almost missed the muffled 'come in' had she not been paying attention. Marinette opened the door, went in and quickly shut it behind her, taking a deep breath.

"Okay I hope you don't mind but which room is this and whose in the room? Dick and Jason thought it would be a good idea to walk around the manor blindfolded while trying to sneak up on them" The bluenette huffed, only to freeze when she heard a familiar chuckle.

"I've heard, you're in my room, It's Damian just to clarify" 'Sh-' "So, what task must be fulfilled to give you permission to take the blindfold off? I doubt you want to keep it on any longer" Marinette giggled.

"You're right, I would probably get lost of I continue. Um, I have to 'steal a hug' apparently"

"So you have to hug someone without them inspecting it" Damian came to that conclusion to which the bluenette nodded her head.

"Yeah that's basically it, hey do you have anywhere I could sit down? I'm getting tired..."

"Of course, my bed is five steps to your front and two steps to your right, make yourself comfortable" She wasn't sure how red she had gotten but she obliged anyway. Had she not been wearing the blindfold, she would've seen Damian smiling at her flustered state. Giving herself a moment to regain her energy, Marinette turned to where she presumed Damian was working at his desk. "Can I hug you? Jay never said I couldn't ask the person first. I-I won't if you don't want me to! I just wanted to ask so..."

She heard the boy thoughtfully hum before he made his way over to her. From what she could tell, Damian was now in front of Marinette, looming over her.

"Did Todd or Grayson say it had to be a hug?" Marinette tilted her head in confusion and thoughtfulness, that had never crossed her mind before.

"W-"

"What happens if I kiss you instead?"

The bluenette didn’t reply with words as she knew how terrible her words would be in her flustered state. But she wanted this, her heart longed for it in a way it never did for anyone else. Instead, she nodded, giving the green-eyed boy permission to do as he wished.

She felt his hand lightly tilt her chin up towards, where she presumed, his face was. Then he pressed his lips onto hers, his other had behind her head, tugging at the fabric around her eyes. Marinette felt bliss, she was glad that no one else would interrupt this moment. Shivers went down her spine as she felt Damian’s hands travel up from behind her neck and to wear the blindfold was knotted, gently tugging at the binding. She was glad that when her face was free from the fabric that comprised her vision, the first thing in her line of eyesight were Damian's deep emerald eyes, the shimmered the same way they had when she first laid eyes on him, she'd been enraptured ever since. The boy, however, was smirking as he noticed the pink that dusted her face. Without a moment passing, she threw herself the green-eyed boy, delivering a hug. As she pulled away, her hands cupped his face and she returned his embrace with one of her own. When she pulled away once more, she smiled in satisfaction at his flustered expression.

"When did you realise you had feelings for me?" Marinette asked softly, her forehead pressed against his trying to regain her breath.

"That's a very easy question" Damian stared lovingly into her eyes. "I fell the moment I saw you take down that Akuma three times your size" Her eyes widened.

"You know about me being Ladybug?"

"The same way you know I'm Robin"

They both smiled, creating a truce to not reveal anything.

"Well I better get going, see you later." She got up from the bed and opened the door, only to turn around and say "Je t'aime mon cœur" before exiting the room, leaving a blushing Damian.

Marinette walked back down the stairs, the piece of cloth in hand and small love-struck smile on her face. When she entered the main living room, she came face to face with the owner of the manor.

"Oh hello Mr Wayne"

"Hello Marinette, I see you managed to get the blindfold off" The older man gestured towards the piece of fabric in her hand. "And please, do call me Bruce. Who did you end up surprising with a hug then?"

She smiled brightly before replying. "Damian"

His usual formal demeanor broke for a moment but Bruce quickly picked the pieces back up. "He didn't attack you or injure you in any shape or form?"

Marinette decided to play the oblivious little girl. "No..? Why, does he do it often?" Her head titled in confusion.

"Nothing it doesn't matter" Bruce simply sighed and shook his head. "Also, there's something I'd like to discuss with you at dinner, if you don't mind"

"No not at all, I'll see you at dinner then?" Bruce nodded and left, leaving Marinette alone in the room, waiting for her honorary older brother and his brother to come in. Which they did but only after some time, it was hilarious to see them crouched down, talking to each other in hushed voices. They flinched as she cleared her throat, both slowly turning towards the sound to find a smug looking Marinette and a blindfold whipped around her finger.

"I win"

~~~

Most of the occupants at the table were either in an all out war or were about to be, except for Marinette and an exasperated Bruce Wayne.

"So Marinette" The eldest Wayne began, silencing the rest of the table. "I hope you don't mind me asking but when you were off searching for Jason, you mentioned attacks that have been occurring in Paris, is this true?"

No one failed to notice the girl flinch. "Yeah it's true"

"...how bad are the attacks? In your opinion"

"Well it depends on how strong the person's emotions are really. If their emotions are strong, then the Akuma is strong too"

"What's the strongest akuma that Paris has seen?" It was Tim who asked and memories of the event began swimming through her mind, she got rid of them with a shake of her head.

"The deadliest akuma Paris has experienced was an akuma called 'Syren'. She's a regular person but, as an akuma, she managed to kill around 2 million people. But don't worry! Ladybug's cure managed to bring them back to life"

"D-did... did you die, Pixie?" Jason asked, his anger mixed with worry was boiling over and luckily simmered after seeing her shake her head.

"Do you think the heroes of Paris would let heroes from the Justice League come over to help?"

Marinette contemplated for a moment, should she really risk the heroes getting akumatized? "I think they would but I wouldn't know"

Bruce nodded while Jason leaned over the table to talk closer to his honorary little-sister. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want to bother you"

"You're not a bother, Pixie" Jason smiled at the bluenette on the other side of the table. "You never are and you never will be"

~~~

Marinette returned to Paris a few days later, in the mean time, Bruce and the rest of the batfam were planning their visit to the City of Love. Soon enough, the vigilantes were boarded on the plane. Their flight to Paris was relatively silent. After a few hours, they landed and the vigilantes waited on the Eiffel Tower, only to find out there was a battle going on. Before they could engage in the fight, they were engulfed with magical ladybugs that seemed to fix anything destroyed. As they were mesmerized by the cure, a certain spotted-heroine wobbly landed on the platform. Batman was first to notice.

"Ladybug" His voice caused the others to turn around. "Thank you for allowing us into your city"

Ladybug nodded, not uttering a single word.

"We were hoping, with your permission of course, that we could help you be rid of Hawkmoth once and for good" Again, Ladybug didn't reply. "Ladybug?"

When the heroine didn't respond, Batman glanced at Nightwing and the rest of his sons, clearly something was wrong. Unexpectedly, Robin took his glove off, approached the Ladybug-themed hero and placed his hand onto her forehead.

"You have a fever" he stated, his hand trailing down her face to cup her cheek. His family all shot him weird looks. She tiredly blinked at the vigilante, recognising him as Robin and allowed herself to fall into his arms, detransforming while doing so, leaving a burning hot Marinette.

"Dami?" He hummed. "Take me home, please..." She drifted off to sleep, comforted in her lover's arms. He glanced at his family, holding the bluenette close.

"Pixie...is Ladybug?" Red Hood's voice was first.

"You didn't know?" Robin's voice mocking confusion, enraging Red Hood that his youngest brother knew something about his sister that he didn't. Even more so that his demon brother was holding said sister,

"We should take her back home" Dick went over to feel the girl's forehead. "She's burning"

"Tikki?" Robin asked and a red creature flew out from one of Mari's pockets, startling most of the people there.

"I'll try to heal her on the way, follow me"

The floating red creature flew down from the Eiffel Tower, Robin and Marinette close behind. After some hesitation, the others followed, they ended up on top of a bakery. One by one, they entered through the trapdoor on the balcony, finding both Damian with his mask off and a weak looking Marinette. Despite her enfeebled state, the bluenette greeted each vigilante, her gaze landed on Jason.

"It's just a fever, I'll be fine"

Jason removed his helmet and ran a hand through his hair before both settled on his hips. "You don't look fine"

"I promise I am" She wasn't convincing, not at all.

"Fine" Jason huffed, he could never truly say no to the girl he viewed as his little sister. "But since when were you two a thing" He pointed at the two, his gaze resting maliciously on Damian.

"It's all thanks to you, you know" Marinette smirked at Jason's confusion. Tim snickered as he seemed to catch on to what she was saying.

"Had you not organized that 'blindfolded game', I doubt we would be together at this moment" Damian supplied the information, clearly unfazed by the burning rage in the eyes of his older brother.

"Baby Bird's all grown up" The eldest Wayne son overdramatized wiping a fake tear, Batman sighed at his two eldest sons while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Get your fucking hands off her, Demon Brat!" Jason tried to lunge at Damian, only to be stopped by both Dick and Tim. Though his fury only grew when Marinette snuggled closer to the green-eyed boy, both smirked in victory over Jason's horrified appearance.

Marinette was now part of the family in more ways than one. Though they wish they had found out in better circumstances, they would be able to take down Hawkmoth once and for all, side by side, all together. And to think this all happened because of a silly blindfold game.

[lemonadedbee]

this is another one of my furry ocs. his name is Bill and together with his best friend he's running very succesful company. their company mainly focuses on tech, devices, progrmas and stuff- one of their biggest hits are the mius.

this is his reference sheet here's something i already had written about him skks: Bill is a only child in a loveless marriage. His mother (Avery) is unemployed and a raging shopaholic who doesn't pay much attention to her son. Unlike her his father (Damian) is very loving person and caring especially for Bill but still cannot be there properly for him because of his work which makes him very busy and tired. They're household is either cold and silent or filled with screaming as both parents argue about their clashing life views. His only beaming hope and stability is his best friend Lemon and her family which look after him when Avery cannot be bother. When he's 10 his life turns to change. Starting with traumatizing car cresh with his parents and ending with them getting divorced. Luckily his father gets ful custody of him the unlucky part is that he moved from his home town to big city and has to forever say goodbye to his only friend. Living only with his father his life gathers some stability and improvement on their father-son relationship. Unfortunately with all that happened in his childhood and all the lots he experienced he grows up to be a shell of what his child self used to be. Focusing on work and school same way his father copes with trauma he ends up even more socially awkward and lonely. That is until in high school he completely accidentaly meets with Lemon again. After school both start a tech company. With its success come lots of money which Bill finds liking to. Bill starts being mainly focused on his corporation and money making he slowly forgets to pay attention to his and Lemon's relationship leaving him once again completely alone. More info: - Actually hates being called William and prefers Bill (but he won't get mad if you don't know any better) - In the main part of his story he's 25 (he was born on 6th July 2005) - he's male and uses he/him - Left-handed - Introvert - Perfectionist - Intelligent - Doesn't really care about anyone unless it's his dad or Lemon - Loves his hair (no touching or he'll cry/kill you) - HE LOOVES COFFEE - Hates his mother and cooking (He can't cook at all and everything always ends up on fire) - Also hates when Lemon runs in his office and makes mess hhhh she always makes mess in the office - is alergic to polen Conclusion: he's an asshole Also messed up childhood ganggg .

[soulmate-game]

Continuation of the story from Day 1, because you guys requested it enough that I started Thinking, lol.

Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020

Day 3: Siblings

—*—*—*—*—*

Dinner. One day after meeting her father for the first time. She had managed to postpone any sort of… socialization and emotional bonding, during their meeting earlier for everyone to choose from Marinette’s initial sketches for them and generally consult some more, by once again steamrolling everyone with Professionalism and Business Marinette.

But no longer. She couldn’t escape. Staring at a giant wooden, elaborate door like it was her pathway to Prison—

“Stop dramatizing everything in your head, Mari,” Adrien fondly scolded, gently rapping the side of her skull with one knuckle. “I got things to do, for your company I might add, so I can’t stay. But, you’ll be fine,” he leaned in, smirking at her and winking as he lowered his voice. “Besides, you’ve been through way worse than a little family reunion, Bugaboo. You’ve faced down way scarier people than the Waynes. You got this,” he encouraged before giving her a solid clap on the shoulder and a chaste kiss on the cheek, walking back towards their sleek but understated dark red car. Rented, of course, for the business trip, but nonetheless very nice.

Adrien had driver’s licenses for just about every major country. Marinette stopped questioning it a while ago.

She waited until he was gone before throwing her hands up. “Scarier people, he says. Like the Bat clan isn’t known for being some of the most intimidating heroes and vigilantes in the spotlight,” she grumbled. When she turned around, it was to the door already being open, and she jumped a bit in surprise. She hadn’t heard anyone answer the door, but sure enough Alfred Pennyworth stood there holding the door with a small smile, with Bruce Wayne and all of Marinette’s siblings gathered behind him. At least this time, nobody had their spouses or children. Every one of them was smirking, some more sharply than others (Damian).

“Would you like to come in, Miss Dupain-Cheng?” Alfred asked, waving his hand to gesture to the fact that there was plenty of room for her to enter. Blushing, she did just that, taking a breath and forcing herself to actually look at the family she had just met instead of down at her glossy navy blue pumps. Jason, the man with the white fringe in his hair. Second Robin, current Red Hood, her mind supplied, spoke up with a grin and his arms crossed over his chest.

“You don’t look so suave anymore, little Queenie,” he teased. Marinette instantly made a face, screwing up her nose.

“No. That nickname is vetoed. One of my friend’s nicknames is Queenie, and not only will she never let me live it down if she finds out someone called me that, but, just no,” Marinette dramatically shivered. “Most of my friends call me Princess nowadays anyway,” she shrugged. “Adrien started it, and it somehow caught on. It’s too much work to protest at this point.”

“You’re not good with crowds,” the soft spoken woman, Cassandra, decided to add. Marinette winced, shifting on her feet even as she followed the group to the dining room.

“Ehhh. I’ve gotten used to dealing with press and stuff, to a certain degree anyway considering my alias. And wearing my Business persona always helps in consultations. But, I’m not…” Marinette bit the inside of her cheek, clearly a little uncomfortable as she looked around. “The best at… actually talking to people outside of my small group of friends.”

Bruce sighed as most of his kids chuckled or snorted at that. Dick, the oldest but second-shortest of the men besides Tim, came over and draped an arm familiarly over Marinette’s shoulders. He still towered over her though, so he had to slouch a bit to do so.

“Ah, that would be the genetics. Let’s hope you stay where you are at instead of getting as bad at communication as B,” he told her cheerfully. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“What about Damian?”

“He’s even worse!”

“Tt,” said teenager tutted, rolling his eyes as they entered the dining room and he was able to come up to Marinette’s other side. “That was mostly how I was raised before I met Father. I have gotten a lot better than I used to be, Grayson.”

Dick gave him a smile, graciously relieving Marinette of the close contact in favor of rustling Damian’s hair despite the fact that the younger Wayne was taller than him already. “Yes, you sure have! But you still need improvement, baby bird.”

Soon enough, everyone managed to get seated around the large dining table. Bruce insisted that Marinette take one of the seats next to him at the head of the table, across from Damian, since this was her first family dinner. Dick sat next to her, Jason across from him, followed by Tim and Duke on Damian’s side of the table. On the other side of Dick sat Cassandra, and then Stephanie. Alfred served everyone before also taking a seat at the table, on the opposite end from Bruce.

And, true to BatFam tradition, everything was a little awkward for the first minute or two. Marinette didn’t know what to say, and nobody quite knew where to begin. Dick would normally start a conversation, but he was trying to glare into Bruce’s head a silent message of “talk to her, damn it.”

Finally seeming to get it, Bruce cleared his throat and turned to Marinette. “So, I wanted to ask. When do you find out about being my daughter?”

Several people around the table closed their eyes in mourning for Bruce’s social skills. Marinette though, just smiled in slight relief at the decision of how to start talking being taken from her.

“Oh. It was in stages, really. When I was ten, we started our unit in school on genetics. I don’t usually care enough about science to do much more than the school requires, but genetics captivated me for some reason. I researched it almost obsessively at home for a while, almost instantly realizing that there had to be a reason that I had blue eyes when none of the rest of my family did. After a week or two, I found my Maman and Papan’s adoption papers in their room,” she blushed, tugging on one end of her bangs, which she had framing her face since she was wearing her hair down that day. “I uh… I’ve always been a little nosy. I never told them that I found the papers, to me it was just the answer I needed. I didn’t think about it at all after that, and my obsession over genetics went away. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I decided to look into my birth parents,” Marinette sighed, shoving a bite of food in her mouth to buy her time before continuing. Everyone was focused on her, and it was a little unsettling. Every one of them had a sharper gaze than a normal person, and it made her feel like she was made of glass and everyone else could see right through her. “I was going through a lot, back then. I wanted someone to be mad at, I wanted to be able to blame my DNA for the things that had happened.”

“Things?” Bruce interrupted, back straight and eyebrows drawn down. “What things?” Marinette giggled, tilting her head instead of answering and just letting her eyes study him. Bruce Wayne, Batman, the Dark Knight. Original vigilante of Gotham city, one of the founding members of the Justice League. Famous for his secrecy, intimidating presence, and intelligence. Then she switched her gaze, one by one, to everyone else at the table before leaning back and taking a sip of her soda.

“Do you guys know anything about the situation Paris experienced for four years?” She asked, instead of directly answering. It was Tim who frowned, leaning forward to look at her and reply.

“I heard very vague rumors of weird things, but nothing concrete enough to investigate. What happened?”

Marinette hummed, deciding to sum it up for them. “The short version? When I was thirteen, a classmate of mine spontaneously turned into a giant rock monster and destroyed a good portion of the city. Turns out, that was the first of many attacks by our city’s very own supervillain, Hawkmoth. He had a magical artifact that allowed him to take advantage of anyone’s negative emotions to give them powers and brainwash them into being, essentially, temporary villains that he used for his own means. Two heroes showed up out of nowhere, powered by similar magical artifacts, to combat him and free the people he corrupted. Ladybug and Chat Noir, the original Parisian heroes and the leaders of the team that later had to form.”

Jason frowned, along with everyone else at the table. Finally, it was Duke who asked:

“How did we not know about villains in Paris?” To which Marinette just gave him a dangerously wicked smirk that was far too similar to Damian’s for anyone’s comfort.

“Because I do my job,” she told him flatly, sipping from her cup as everyone stared at her in various amounts of shock. “That’s why finding out that my biological father was Batman made so much sense. That’s why I wanted to find out who my birth parents were. I wanted to blame the heroism on genetics. And, it doesn’t look like I was exactly wrong.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Yeah, that was how her first family dinner and subsequent identity reveal went.

Luckily, considering that Bruce had hired MDC for a pretty long job, Marinette was able to finish school online instead of going back to Paris for it. There was no real need anyway, they had defeated Hawkmoth and gotten Adrien emancipated so for now it was calm in Paris. They didn’t need their heroes anymore, for the time being. This meant that Marinette and Adrien, along with a few employees that helped measure and cut fabric and do secretarial duties they needed help with, got to stay in Gotham while Marinette went back and forth to Wayne manor, Wayne Tower, and back to their temporary home.

After about a month, Marinette was comfortable enough with the Waynes that she found herself lounging in the bat cave as she sketched, though she kept raising her eyes to the glass tubes that held old uniforms. Damian was sat across from her, essentially laying out over two chairs while he played some game upside down on his phone. He might usually be a cold brat, even for a sixteen year old, but even he liked to abuse the way furniture should be used and ignore the world via technology.

But he still caught her constantly wandering gaze.

“You don’t like them.”

“They suck!” Marinette immediately agreed, slamming her sketchbook on the metal briefing table. “Your Robin outfit is the only passable one there is! The colors aren’t even the issue, even high fashion designers can appreciate a good color clash moment. But what was Father thinking?! Putting Grayson in that glorified onesie— why are there no pants?! Jason’s at least as a cape that can cocoon his body and prevent anyone from seeing the disaster beneath. I should thank Tim for at least upgrading the suit to having pants, but he still kept the outside-underwear look that I cannot forgive. The attempt at fashion, though, is appreciated. Disappointing, but appreciated.”

“That pretty much sums them all up,” Damian quipped, getting a snort of amusement out of his sister. Maybe that was one thing he had grown to like about her. She didn’t reprimand him for his sense of humor, and usually she even laughed along. The more morbid humor would get a playful shove and a glare, but no real animosity. And she understood him on a different level, too. One he appreciated even more.

“You said, yesterday, that the Cure brings back everyone who dies during a Miraculous-related incident,” Damian spoke up again after a moment, pointedly not looking at her. “Did you ever count?”

Marinette, this being one of the reasons he was quickly growing fond of her, immediately understood. She sighed, closing her notebook. She might have only been two years his elder, but she had had what felt like a lifetime of more experiences than he did, usually in the friendship and social department though. They were roughly equal in their heroism experience, which was weird to think about, but Damian still valued her input. It was different from the rest of the family.

“It was different in Paris than it would be for anyone else. I didn’t keep track of the number of people who died,” she finally answered, taking her hair out of its work bun and running her hands through the midnight black locks. “But I kept track of how often. Since nobody remembered their deaths, I guess I felt it was my responsibility to remember my failures for them. My former best friend, Alya. Over the course of those four years, she died seventeen times. Her boyfriend, Nino, died fourteen. The Mayor died three times. Chloe, my current friend and former bully, died twenty-two times,” she grimaced at Damian’s shocked expression, nodding grimly. “During those first two, maybe two and a half years, she was one of the primary Akuma targets. She was still either an active bully or in the beginning of trying to change for the better, so she caused a lot of negative emotions everywhere she went. Things got better once she matured a bit, though. Anyway, there’s this girl I used to babysit. Manon. She died five times before she was even ten years old,” Marinette shook her head, that look of age and exhaustion that Damian saw in every Wayne and every hero he had ever fought with seeping into her eyes. “My parents, they died thirty-seven times. They were constantly worried about me, and ran into danger on several occasions trying to find and keep me safe. But I could never tell them who I was. I physically could. I had the power to sit them down and say; Hey, I’m Ladybug. Stop running out and getting yourselves killed. But I never did. I valued my identity first. So I usually ended up seeing, in the middle of a fight, one or both of them squished under falling debris. Or drowned. Frozen solid. Burned alive,” she paused, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “So no. I don’t understand what it was like for you, to count bodies as you felled them. But hell, if it doesn’t feel like I should. Logic doesn’t mean much in the face of emotion, especially guilt. I know I didn’t kill the people I care about, but every single one of their deaths weighs on me like I was the one that caused it.”

Damian nodded, and they shared a few moments of peaceful, contemplative silence as they both ruminated on their less than pleasant memories without fear of being yelled at for what those memories contained.

“But, I do have a secret,” she admitted softly, attracting her brother’s emerald-eyed attention again. The normally cheerful woman was much more subdued even than before, sapphire irises self conscious and vulnerable, which was rare. She licked her lips, even more rare considering her love of her light pink lipstick, and moved off her chair so that she was, instead, sitting on the cold stone floor. Without hesitation, Damian joined her.

“Technically, it didn’t happen. It was a timeline that my friend, the one who I gave the snake Miraculous, essentially erased when he reversed time. But I remember it even though I shouldn’t. How could I forget?”

“You took a life,” Damian whispered, grimacing in empathy. “First time?”

“And the second, and the fifth,” she admitted. “Viperion had to try seven times before I stopped repeating it. But it was always the same person, back during our final battle. I killed Gabriel Agreste seven times. But nobody but me and Luca will ever remember.”

Damian and Marinette both knew it wasn’t the same as Damian’s childhood. They both knew that they would likely never fully understand one another’s trauma. Not the nuances of it. But they did understand the important parts, the broad strokes. Despite their vastly different lives, they understood the big parts that shaped one another.

That was why Damian took to her so quickly. If he had been younger and still bratty, naive, and angry at everything, then it would be a different story entirely. But he was matured, more willing to let himself feel sympathy. And that made the difference.

“You never forget the first person,” he remarked.

“No matter the age or timeline,” she agreed. “I saw how hard it was to stop. How sickeningly addictive it can be, but I hate what it makes me more than I like how it feels.”

“... me too,” Damian whispered. “Me too.”

—*—*—*—*—*

“Wooo!” Marinette cheered as she flew through the air, her hands latching onto Dick’s. There was no audience, but there didn’t need to be. Just the two of them, doing a routine that they’ve been working on during the few chances they had for the past several weeks. Marinette had never done trapeze before Dick helped her learn, but her time swinging through Paris streets helped tremendously alongside her general Gymnastics experience.

Marinette and Dick flipped through the air, swinging from bar to bar, Dick occasionally catching and tossing her again. They soared through the air, both curling through two flips before landing on their respective platforms with matching wide smiles. Marinette, chest heaving a bit since she was slightly out of shape (meaning that she wasn’t at all out of shape, only out of practice when it came to swinging through the air for any length of time. There’s a difference). She met Dick on the floor, who proceeded to ruffle her hair happily.

“That was awesome! Looks like you finally got the routine down,” he praised. She laughed, elbowing him.

“I bet I’m better on the balance beam,” she challenged, making Dick grin widely.

“Oh you are on!”

—*—*—*—*—*

“Ya ever died before?” Jason asked, making Marinette chuckle.

“Two-hundred and eighty-seven times.”

“You started as Ladybug at thirteen, right?”

“Yup. No training or mentor for the first year either.”

“Yeah, then that sounds about right. Wanna go break all the traffic laws?”

“Only if we take your bike.”

“Fuckin’ Duh. What else?”

—*—*—*—*—*

“You stalked Adrien?” Tim asked, smirking that insufferable smirk of his. Marinette groaned, flopping back onto the sofa.

“No! I didn’t mean it that way, anyway. I just took a lot of pictures and spied on him.”

“Yup. You’re Bruce’s kid,” he remarked, tapping away at his laptop. Marinette narrowed her eyes.

“You have noooo place to judge, Mister ‘Dick Grayson is the only person alive who can do four somersaults in the air!’ And ‘Yes, I‘ve known that you are batman since I was eight. Look at all these pictures I took when I— what was your terminology again?”

Tim rolled his eyes, but a grin was peeking through. “Yeah, yeah.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Four months later, and Marinette was staring down at all the garment bags she had painstakingly filled. Outfits for every single one of her new family members. It took a while, but they were ready for the Wayne Gala. Adrien slung am arm over her shoulder.

“You’ve outdone yourself again, Princess,” he praised, grinning at the array of coveted outfits they were about to transport. “But one teensy weeny, tiny little thing.”

“What is it, Chaton?”

Adrien grinned. “Do you have a dress for yourself? Bruce invited you, too, didn’t he?”

Marinette’s face drained of color, right as a knock sounded on the door. Adrien, seeing as Marinette was so far into Panic Mode that she could not be reached at the moment, went to open the door. A second later, plastic was all Marinette could see. Blinking, she raised her head.

It was Cass, holding out a pink garment bag with Marinette’s name on it.

“Thought you would forget,” was all the other woman offered as explanation. Marinette, after gaping for a moment, slowly took the bag from her. Cass smirked. “Present from WE.”

Marinette laughed.

“You guys are the best.”

—*—*—*—*—*

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