#she would look at him and be like ??? you're not duke thomas

[casscainmainly]

I love that Shiva meets Duke and decides that she has another kid now

Genuinely the Shiva-Duke interactions were so good in Outsiders I desperately need more of them. It's funny because she gets invested in him after the panel below, like look at her face:

She's like 'wow this kid is hilarious I'm going to adopt him now'. On a more serious note, I love that she is the alternative to Batman throughout the series, but she's not automatically the worse option just because she's a) not Batman and b) a woman of colour. She represents choice and agency, a choice and agency Bruce cannot give because of his White perspective:

And Duke sides with her immediately (the below panel is actually before Shiva makes her offer):

This is lowkey peak Duke characterisation because he's the person who calls Batman out, who doesn't have a personal stake in Bruce being right. His sense of justice has never been imparted through the Bat symbol, which honestly should mean very little to him. Shiva recognises this. Bruce offers him safety - Shiva offers action. Because she knows, without hesitation, that Duke Thomas will always choose action.

[haleswallows]

For @aug-kissed - Week 4 First Kiss | Chocolate Kiss | Goodnight Kiss Fandom: DC x DP Pairing: Danny Fenton/Duke Thomas Chapter 3 of 3 Teaser:

“What if I just keep driving?” Danny says, still turning on the blinker and starting to slow for the ramp. “We could. Go to Chicago instead. No one would know. Or we can go to Wisconsin and harass Vlad. That sounds like fun, yeah?”

“You mom would know. Jazz too.” Amity Park creeps up quick. Duke still can’t get over the great wide open of the plains states. He stares a bit at the sprawling outer edges of the town, amazed at the lack of skyscrapers and how big all the yards are. The single residential houses are foreign, Duke's thoughts on the brownstones and apartment complexes of Gotham.

“Last chance.” Turning, Danny warns. “I mean it, we’ll be there in like five.”

“You're doing the thing. Worrying and catastrophizing –.” Duke gapes. It's his first look at the GAV, painted with a mural of Phantom holding up the world a la 80s stoner van. “Holy shit.”

There's a convenient spot in the driveway next to it for Danny to park. Duke can't stop looking at it. “Holy shit,” he helplessly repeats.

Danny opens his mouth to reply, but doesn't get anywhere. A truly large man in a bright orange hazmat suit bursts from the front door of the house and charges across the lawn to them. “Holy shit,” Duke tries again, fearfully this time.

The driver’s side door wrenches open. Duke gets a glimpse of Danny’s face screwed up in a pleading ‘save me’ expression before he’s hauled out of the SUV and lifted into a hug.

“Dann-o!” the man shouts. “You made it! We’ve missed you so much, your mom’s inside. Held up a little in a project, but she’ll be right up as soon as she’s done in the lab.”

“Hi, Dad.” Danny pats the insanely broad shoulders of Jack Fenton. “Missed you too.” Jack sets Danny down. When Jack scrubs a hand over his head, Danny stumbles.

“Oh! I’m so sorry. I got so excited and totally forgot.” Jack stoops to peer in the SUV. For some horrific reason, Duke’s brain feeds him the scene from Jurassic Park of a dinosaur peering into the Jeep. He blinks. “Hi, Duke!”

Duke plasters on his best and charming smile, tries to make it look like he isn’t cowering against the door. “Hello, Dr. Fenton! It’s nice to meet you.”

Holy shit.

[breadandblankets]

when his parents are fully recovered, Duke still spends his weekends at the manor with the bats

that would take a looooooong time imo, there is a period of time its like a year maybe two where Duke just kinda Hovers over his parents, like if he lets them out of eyesight (of which he has a Lot of mind you) theyll just up and disappear

the fact that he has to leave for hours at a time to attend classes or be a hero Kills him every time

it comes to a point where his parents have to basically throw him out, tell him he can't waste his whole life watching over them, that he needs to live for himself

he doesn't know how to tell them that he doesn't remember how to be himself anymore, its the part of him that is most like Bruce, he doesn't know who he is without the mission

"Living in fear isn't living babybird," his mom has to tell him. "You're surviving, nothing more."

"Life is hard, its sad, its confusing and it gives you no instructions or hints," his dad continues. "Its a bunch of leaping without looking and thats just that."

Here's something instead, the bats come to Duke. Wayne money puts them in a nice townhouse on the lower west side, its more than big enough for the three of them (so much so that Doug complains about dusting it all, but manages it anyway)

luckily its never just the three of them

babs takes the subway a little ways off from old gotham on fridays after work, she brings muffins from the little bakery around the corner and talks with Duke's parents for long enough to be invited for dinner

cass swings by when she's getting off patrols and duke is starting his, she brings coffee and funny stories to tell, she's there so often that it might as well be her third home, on rotation from the manor and the clocktower, she soaks up easy affection like a cat in a sunbeam.

damian comes by on saturdays, elaine puts on a pot of tea (something she got at some point or another, its all just a routine by now) they sit in near total silence while they drink their tea, damian does his homework, and elaine devours the newspaper, she reads him the funnies and when duke gets back, they play mario cart and try not to kill each other

Bruce starts off awkwardly at first he feels immense guilt for what happened to Duke and his parents and doesn't really know how to express it outside of sullen silences, it's been so long since the last time they met that he's not even sure he's welcome, he is quickly disabused of the notion, and is now regularly goes with the Thomas's to Knights games

Idk sometimes the manor is too cold too full of ghosts to full call it home, sometimes u need to drag your nocturnal found family kicking and screaming into warmth and light

[that1emowitch]

At the end of the world / Or the last thing I see / You are never coming home, never coming home

Prompt from @tuna-f-b: Do you still do request? If yes and angst is o.k: what would happend i all the bats died? Like how would the hero community react. The supers alone. Clark having to deal with losing his best friend(?) and the kids he basically co parented- as well as seeing his sons lose their best friends(?) Specially as ships that would be awesome angst

A/N: I'm not crying you're crying (Also, for those who don't know, Izzy is Duke's canon gf and one of the Robins from We Are Robin)

Words: 2504

TW: Mentions of blood, Major character death, Coping with loss, Self-blame, Mentions of relapse (drugs)

“If you’re watching this, I am either deceased or indefinitely unable to continue my duties as Batman. But the world still needs Batman. Gotham still needs Batman. My son Damian Wayne, if he is an adult, shall inherit my mantle— if not, Dick Grayson will take over until he is. In the event that he, too, is unavailable for any reason, the mantle goes to Tim Drake, after him, to Cassandra Cain, then Duke Thomas, then Stephanie Brown, then Jason Todd, should he accept it.”

In the video recording, Batman pauses, taking a deep breath.

“In the unfortunate event that the entire family is… deceased… I have a list of contingency plans on both the Bat-Computer and the Justice League’s primary databases. Oracle will help you access it, but in her… absence… the password is “a6ghr83kc02m”.”

Then video-Bruce takes off the cowl, his pale blue eyes looking straight into the camera.

“I know I was never the best with feelings. But I would like my children, my allies, and friends to know that I’m proud of you. And to my fellow Justice Leaguers… Diana and Clark, I am truly grateful for your companionship. I would never have made it this far without you. Barry, Arthur, Dinah, J’onn, you’ve all been good friends. Oliver, Hal… you’re not so bad either.”

Bruce turns around, and looks over his shoulder, the shadows of the Batcave making the scene even more dramatic.

“I wish you good luck.”

Then the clip ends.

A shuddering breath leaves Clark.

It’s real.

He’s really… They’re all…

He can’t do this anymore. He turns around and walks out the door, leaving the other core Justice Leaguers staring sombrely at the now-blank screen.

He doesn’t know when he started flying, when he started trying to escape. The walls of the Watchtower seem to be suffocating him, but he has enough sense not to just leave the airlock yet.

Instead he finds a corner by a window, far, far away from the others, where he can see a majestic view of Earth, the moon, and the Sun in perfect sync with each other.

He falls to his knees.

His breathing’s uneven, a tear rolls down his cheeks.

Then he feels a hand on his shoulder— soft, trembling, yet steady.

“Kal,” Diana whispers, sitting on the floor next to him. She doesn’t continue— she isn’t sure what to say.

“They’re all going to die, you know? We’re going to bury all of them. Everyone on Earth, everyone we know.” Clark’s voice trembles, in a way Superman’s never does. “It scares me so much.”

“Kal,” Diana says again, pulling Clark into a hug. “It’s okay. We’ve lost… We’ve lost so many of our friends. It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to grieve.”

“How are you— how are you so—” Clark can’t form his words properly. He turns to Diana, to see her face tight with grief, eyes misty with unshed tears.

Her voice breaks slightly as she speaks. “I don’t want to believe they’re gone. But… we have to carry on. We’re the Justice League. Our people need us, Kal.”

“So we just go on and on? Forever?” Another tear runs down his cheek. “Ollie, Hal, Dinah, Lois, Jon, they’re all going to… they’re all going to die one day and we just have to… to go on?”

“I’m sorry, but it is the truth,” Diana whispers, her eyes stinging with hot tears. “We must find peace in the fact, right now, that Batman— Bruce, the Robins, they— they were so brave. Brave till the end. And they fell as warriors, defending our world. I’m sure they’ll all reach Elysium.”

“And Dickie, Damian, Jason, Tim, Cass, Duke—” Clark’s voice is hoarse. “They were so young, just kids… I… I know Dick, Jay, Tim, Cass… they were adults, but… they’re gone, they’re gone…”

“They were heroes, like you and me. Don’t forget that.”

“I… I know, I just—” Another shuddering breath escapes Clark. “I just— I…”

“It’s okay,” Her voice is forcefully steady, but with an undertone of heartbreak. “It’s okay…”

Dinah looks around the room, her heart heavy.

Clark has left, Diana’s gone after him— both of them need their space, she knows. They were close to Bruce and the other Bats in a way no one else in this room was.

Was.

The word still weighs down on her.

Hal speaks up finally, breaking the deafening silence. “I always thought he hated me.”

No one replies for a long moment.

“I miss the kids,” Barry says finally, his voice quiet. “They were just… Robin was only 14. The others, even Nightwing, they had… they had their whole lives ahead of them.”

More silence.

“Jason, when he was Robin— do y'all remember? Kid was always my favorite,” Ollie says finally. “Was always so sassy. Roy loves him.”

Loves. Dinah winces, but doesn’t correct him. It’s easier to believe they’re just gone for a little while.

“Bruce was a good man,” Arthur adds. “They all were.”

“Tim was, I believe, the smartest,” J’onn says, somber. “It was his plan that allowed us to save Earth.”

“Damian!” Dinah says suddenly, jumping from her seat. “His… his mother. She shouldn’t have to find out from someone else.”

Everyone freezes, faces tight.

Dinah sighs, looking down. “I’ll do it.”

Then she leaves the room, dragging what feels like a heavy weight tied to her soul. She has to do this.

Roy’s sitting in a corner of his apartment, hugging his knees. All he can think of is Jason.

He’s never coming back.

He can still feel the lingering ‘goodbye’ kiss Jason gave him not two days ago, he can still hear him say, “I’ll be back before you know it, babe.”

He never came back.

He’s dead. Dead— dead dead dead DEAD DEAD—

“Small Red not okay?” A booming voice snaps Roy out of his thoughts. He looks up to see Bizarro’s pale blue skin and cold eyes looming over him. He’s crying. “Red him coming back.”

It takes Roy a second to register that Bizarro speaks backwards. It takes everything in him to not punch him for saying that, for giving him false hope.

He feels something he hasn’t felt in years— feels that whisper in his mind— one hit and it’ll all feel better. Just one hit.

NO! He screams mentally. He feels like bashing his head open.

Instead he lifts his dead eyes to survey the rest of the room— Kori’s on the couch, staring into space. Artemis has a crying Lian in her arms, she’s showing her something— old photos of Jason. Talking, whispering in a broken voice.

No, no he should be the one comforting Lian—

What’s he gonna say?

That— That Jason— That her Papa’s gone forever? That he’s never— he’s never coming back?

No— Jay— Jay deserved so much better, he— he already died once before, he’s been through so much, things were supposed to be better now— not— no, he’s— 

Roy feels Bizarro sit beside him, gently patting his arm.

He snaps out of his thoughts again, turning to Jason’s former teammate, his eyes red-rimmed. His voice raw, he whispers, “Jay’s gone…”

Wally’s standing in the Hall of Heroes, staring up at the holographic projection of Dick— he looks so majestic, so mighty, staring ahead with nothing but hope and courage in his eyes.

Nothing like the cold, dead body that Wally held in his arms just two days ago.

He’s surrounded by his teammates, his friends— Kaldur, M’gann, Artemis, Zatanna, L’gann, Garth— yet he feels so alone.

He sees it again— Dick bleeding out it his arms, his wounds so fatal he died before help arrived. Wally’s the fastest man alive, damn it, yet he couldn’t even save his best friend— his boyfriend. He feels the moment when Dick’s breathing stopped, when his body went limp, when his grip on Wally’s hand loosened.

Everyone’s quiet. M’gann’s stress baking again, L’gann by her side. Artemis and Zatanna are sitting together, Garth’s lingering in a corner, and Kaldur’s standing right beside Wally— close enough for comfort but not so close he’s lurking. He’s shaking.

He can still hear it, hear Dick forcing out his last words, telling Wally it’s okay, that he loves him, that it’ll be fine.

It’s not fine. Not without you.

He wants to scream.

He wants to cry, yell, hit something, do anything.

But he can’t move.

So he just stands there, almost as still as the holographic projection of Dick before him.

Kon is left reeling.

Tim… Tim is…

Tim’s dead.

Tim’s really gone.

He thinks, for just a second, that this is how Tim and Cassie must have felt when he and Bart “died”.

Bart is sitting beside him on the couch, leaning on his side, Cassie’s got her head on his lap. Neither of them speak— Bart’s not even fidgeting— they’re all just trying to be there for each other.

The other Titans are up and about, but staying close for comfort. Jaime and Gar are making food for everyone in the kitchen, Raven and Vic have come back to the tower to make sure the others are okay, and he’s sure Karen’s around too, somewhere.

Yet he feels so empty.

Feels nothing at all.

How can he, when his best friend is dead?

Jon hasn’t spoken in a bit. Not when his Mom brought him his favorite soup, not when Grandma and Grandpa showed up to ‘help’ him and Dad through this, not when Krypto plopped down beside him to comfort him.

He hugs the dog close.

Krypto’s technically Kon’s, but Jon’s sure Kon wouldn’t mind if he stole Krypto for a day.

Another sob escapes him, and he buries his head in Krypto’s back. The dog whines, licking Jon’s hand.

He can’t believe Damian’s gone. 

Really gone.

And he didn’t know just how much he would miss his friend.

Dinah finds Talia Al Ghul on a building in Metropolis, overlooking the city. Her face is tight with sorrow, but she keeps herself in check, her back straight, head held high.

She already knows, Dinah deduces.

“I… I’m sorry,” Dinah starts, unsure of what to say. She knows, from her experience as a psychologist, that ‘sorry’ is the last thing a grieving person wants to hear, but she doesn’t have anything else to say.

Talia doesn’t reply for a long time. Then she says, her voice numb, “I should have known, when bringing Damian into this life, that I would also be bringing him amidst the dangers that come with.”

Dinah’s brows furrow. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything at all.”

“I should have trained him better, I should have kept him close, I should—” Talia takes a shuddering breath. “I should have never brought him into this life.”

Dinah can’t argue with that— she knows how Damian had come to be, and it… wasn’t the best birth ever.

“Now leave, hero,” Talia says, her voice numb and cold. “Go back to protecting the world. Leave me be.”

Dinah wants to say something better, comfort the woman, but she can’t. So she just turns back, and leaves.

By the time Harper Row makes her way to the Clock Tower, there’s already quite a crowd there— Kate, Renee Montoya, Harley, Ivy, Silena, and Helena Bertinili— they’re crowding around Babs, comforting her. Luke Fox and Isabella Ortiz are at the computer, looking through something.

Harper tries to open her mouth to speak, but she can’t get the words out.

She makes her way over to Luke and Izzy, shoulders hunched.

Just three days ago she’d been hanging out with Duke and Izzy and Cass and Steph— they’d all been so carefree, so happy…

And now…

Once she gets close enough she realizes Izzy’s crying, and immediately wraps her arms around the shorter girl. Harper’s trying to hold back tears of her own, too. She feels Luke putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder, squeezing tight.

No one speaks for a long time, they just stand together, seeking comfort in each other.

Then Babs rolls her wheelchair to the center of the room, wiping at her bloodshot eyes. But when she speaks, she sounds surprisingly steady. She’s compartmentalizing, Harper realizes. Putting away Barbara and bringing Oracle back.

“Gotham needs her heroes, now more than ever,” Oracle says, head held high. “We must honor our friends by doing the one thing they’d have wanted— to keep fighting. Keep Gotham safe.”

She sighs, her face tight to fight away tears. “Luke. Batman’s contingency plan, in the Robins’ absence, was to pass you the mantle of Batman. Do you accept?”

Luke’s eyes grow wide slightly, but he straightens himself, looking away. “I… I accept. Dad isn’t going to be happy, but… Gotham needs Batman.”

“Thank you.” Oracle nods at him. “As per Bruce’s will, all Wayne assets, the Manor, and the Batcave are split between Kate, me, Alfred, and Lucius. I… Lucius and I are still figuring out who’s going to take over Wayne Enterprises, but on the vigilante side, I’ve got a plan.”

She turns to Ivy, Harley, Kate, Silena and Helena. “The Birds of Prey are needed here, now more than ever. Dinah— Black canary has offered to help us with Gotham, too.” 

Harley nods, sniffling. Beside her, Ivy speaks up, “The… Most Rogues aren’t happy about this. They’re not rampaging— Bane has fashioned his own version of the Batsuit, he’s going around ‘saving’ people, screaming that Batman never dies. The Joker’s searching for Lazarus Pits and Bruce’s body. Jervis Tetch and Nygma held a get-together yesterday, in the memory of the Bats. I… I think they might help us.”

Harper’s gotta admit, she’s quite surprised about this. Even Babs freezes, taking in this information.

“Gotham needs Robin as much as she needs Batman,” Izzy speaks up from beside her, her voice small but firm. “The Robins can come back, this time you can give us formal training so we can actually help.”

Oracle turns to Luke. “Taking on Robins is your decision, Batman.”

Luke winces at that title— it doesn’t feel like an honor to him, it just feels like an incessant reminder that he’s the last one left. Because his friends are dead. But he nods, anyway, not trusting himself to speak right now.

Then Oracle addresses Harper. “I… would you like to be Batgirl?”

Harper’s heart stops. Memories flash into her head— seeing Steph in the Batgirl costume, seeing Cass in the Batgirl suit, both of whom are now gone.

“N— No,” Harper stutters out, eyes tearful. “I can’t— I’m sorry, Babs. I appreciate the offer, but… Cass was Batgirl. I can’t take her place.”

“I understand.” Babs just nods, lips pursed, misty-eyed. “We will all need to work hand-in-hand until everything settles, we will need to be vigilant. Carry on Batman’s legacy, for as long as we may need to.”

No one speaks again.

They all just let it sink in, hearts heavy.

They’re going to have to do this alone now.

[a-blind-bat]

GhostLights Event: Blind Date With a Prompt - @dcxdp-ghostlights

and With the Stars as Our Witness

Edit: I forgot the prompts…

Prompts: Fanasty AU | Gala

*~*~*~*~*~*

Danny wasn’t a fan of these galas. He felt suffocated being in a room with so many people. Royals, legends, and the wealthy all gathered in one place for a celebration. The bustling of conversation along with the low buzz of music coming from a band in the corner mixed together to create one sound that bangs at Danny’s ears.

Sam had dragged him and Tucker along with her. She was forced to attend on account of her parent’s wishes and she would be damned if she had to suffer through it alone. Only seventeen minutes into the party, though, Sam got trapped in a conversation with some earl and Tucker was showing off some of his inventions to potential patrons, leaving Danny to try and entertain himself. Irony is a funny little thing. So here he is, awkwardly standing in a corner and trying to drown out his boredom with extremely expensive wine.

He should’ve made up an excuse, acted like there was a life-threatening emergency to attend to. He would rather be fighting a dragon over experiencing this party for a second longer. Even if it was a Wayne Gala, which was always praised to the high heavens, he found the party to not live up to the legend. The head of the house, Bruce Wayne, was easy to spot. He was always crowded around various wealthy participants, all laughing and chatting their heads off. He did not envy Ser Bruce, seeing as he had to interact with so many people. Even watching the crowd made him tired. The longing warmth of his bed filled his mind as he absentmindedly swirled the red wine around in the glass.

A sharp sound of metal repeatedly hitting glass pierces his ears, and he looks up from the pool of red to see an old man dressed in a black suit befitting those in wealthy circles. He was standing on the stairs and tapping a spoon against a wine glass. The crowd quiets down to a murmur as the old man clears his throat.

“I welcome everyone to our humble estate, we are gathered here to celebrate our newest addition to the Wayne linage. "

Right, the whole reason anyone was even here in the first place. The Wayne family had gained another child. Not through birth, but through adoption. Bruce Wayne was famous for picking unfortunate children off the streets of Gotham and adopting them into his luxurious life. This was his fifth…sixth kid? Danny had lost count. The rich really could afford everything.

“Chosen by Ser Bruce Himself, we welcome Duke Thomas,”

A roar of applause filled the ballroom as a person Danny presumed was Duke came walking down the stairs. Danny didn’t know what the new kid looked like. He was expecting another black-haired, blue-eyed, perfect prince archetype, seeing as the rest of the ones that were adopted were similar. But Duke was different.

The whole crowd was quiet except for the band, who played music to accompany Duke’s descent down to the ground floor. His smile was bright and blinding, and Danny could swear there was this light surrounding him, emitting off of him and surrounding him like the wings of an angel. He was dressed in yellow, gold, and black, his outfit befitting one of a prince. Halfway down, Duke’s gaze met Danny’s. The other boy's eyes turned from brown to golden and Danny had this urge to run towards Duke, to hold him and get to know him. It wasn’t a feeling he had ever felt before; it was terrifying.

Duke looked away as he finally reached the ballroom floor. The surrounding guests rushed to greet him and present their own gifts. No doubt a way to buy themselves into the good graces of Duke and Bruce. The old man coughed to gain the attention of the guests once again.

“I know you're all excited to get to know him, and what better way to get to know someone than with a dance!”

The party erupts into a roar as the band starts to play a sweet and romantic melody. Duke is immediately swept into the chaos as the dance floor becomes filled with waltzing couples. Before Danny could think, his feet were carrying him to the dance floor, his eyes fixated on Duke Thomas, who was currently enrolled in a dance with a nice young lady in a peach-pink dress.

As soon as Danny stepped into the dancing crowd, he got pulled into the arms of a young woman in a beautiful red gown. They twirl around a bit and he loses his Duke in the crowd. He looks across the ballroom floor for him as he dances around, eyes darting from one person to the next. He finally spots Duke with a different lady. This one is wearing a glimmering dark green gown, her smile big as they dance around. Duke looks around above the head of the woman and his eyes soften once they meet Danny’s. Duke twirls the lady around with one hand and lets her go, twirling her right into the arms of another lady as he bows to her. Danny lets go of the woman in his arms and bows to her, walking off towards Duke. Duke gets swept up into another dance with a nice gentleman in a fancy blue outfit adorned with jewels. They twirl and twirl before the gentleman spins Duke around with one hand. Once the spin ends, they both bow, leaving Danny an opportunity to finally dance with Duke. Danny felt various tingles shoot up through his arms as his hands interlocked with Duke’s. It was exhilarating. He had never felt this way with anyone before. It was even more strange as he had never seen Duke Thomas before.

Now that Danny is closer, he can get a good look at Duke. Duke’s a little shorter than he expected, maybe an inch or two below Danny. Beauty marks sparsely cover his face and a small scar across his left brow. His brown eyes were no longer brightly golden, but Danny could see tiny gold specks floating around in his dark brown eyes. He was beautiful, and Danny could feel his heart race. His cheeks felt hot and yet he felt as if he was completely at peace.

“Do you ever not stare?” Duke asks, a smile accompanying his question.

Danny laughs. “Don’t act like you weren’t looking for me as well.”

“It’s quite hard to look away from someone who’s glowing green. "

Danny steps back a bit too far and steps on someone’s foot. He quickly apologizes and leans in close to Duke.

“I glow?”

“Do you not know? Your eyes, they shimmer this toxic green sometimes. I was inclined to think you were magic. "

Everyone knows magic users don't receive warm welcomes in the kingdom of Gotham. So being accused of being magic was a big deal. While magic users may not get burned at the stake, there’s still prejudice and if they find out Danny can do magic-.

“I can feel your panic. No need to worry.” Duke’s eyes turn into a shiny golden. “I’m magic as well,”

“Is that why I was so drawn to you?”

“Perhaps, seems like magic souls seek each other out. "

“I just realized you don't know my name. They call me Danny.”

“‘Danny’? I like it, I think it fits you, I’m Duke, you already know that but I still like to introduce myself. "

“It's nice to meet you, Duke. "

They waltz together for what seems like forever. Until Duke speaks up again.

“Do you like stars, Danny?”

“I like the stars, yes,”

“Then I have something to show you if you’ll be so kind as to let me”

Danny nods and Duke slips them both away from the party. He leads the other boy to a balcony, out of immediate sight of the rest of the partygoers. The yellow light of the ballroom pours out onto the balcony, clashing with the dark of the night. The night sky is littered with shimmering stars, the light cast from the bright stars shining down on Duke makes him look like he’s in a romantic painting.

“I rarely like these big parties. When I get overwhelmed, I tend to sneak out here. I thought maybe you would like it. The stars always looked lovely up here. "

Danny loved it, the stars dancing around in the sky. Glowing so bright, so far, yet so close. He looked back at Duke, the stars twinkling in his eyes alongside the golden specks. Duke was lovely.

“You glow as well,”

Duke’s attention switched back to Danny, one eyebrow raised and a worried expression on his face. He looked down at himself, trying to find this glow Danny was talking about.

“I don’t think anyone else can see it. "

“We see in each other what others can not, sounds like a poem to me. "

“You like poems?”

“Sometimes,”

Silence filled the air again, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was nice. Danny acknowledged how strange his feelings towards Duke were. They had only just met, not even spending an hour together, and yet he was so drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. It was intoxicating and so free to be in the presence of someone he had never seen before tonight.

“Do you feel it too?”

Duke doesn’t even have to explain. Danny knows what he means. The magnetic pull drew him closer and closer. The glow in Duke’s eyes shows a part of him that no one else knows. The comfort and peace he feels just being near each other. He had never felt anything like this before. It scared him and he wanted to dive headfirst into this feeling. To know more about the magic boy next to him.

"Was afraid you didn't,"

Duke smiled at his answer, and Danny was no longer in a hurry to get home. His bed could wait. And if they shared a kiss that night, the stars would not tell.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Come find me on AO3!

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Spellbound - Chamber of Secrets

Peaky Blinders X Harry Potter - Part Four

Previous Parts

Summary: This is just a short blurb about the family at the end of COS and the summer. Thinking the chapter for the end of Prisoner of Azkaban will be pretty long, and then of course I'd like to spend a lot of time on the fourth book and then moving forward as things get darker. I have a great request for the beginning of Order of the Phoenix. If you have any ideas for POA GOF OOTP HBP or DH, (or any Peaky Blinders events too) please send me a request so I can add it in.

Thanks for all the love on this series! <3

The second year of school went just as well as he had expected. A giant fucking snake tried to off him. He lay in the hospital wing already knowing what was going to happen. Ron and Hermione were both asleep. He was so thankful they would be alright. Ginny was safe, and he knew a thing or two about Voldemort so he’d write to her over the summer to see if she needed anything. Something about the pain he inflicted made a person want to turn inward and isolate, Ginny was already so quiet, he didn't want her to disappear. 

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths for a brief moment he thought maybe his family wouldn't come. He’d be in and out of the hospital wing so many times at this point maybe they got tired of coming? The feeling made him sick, he didn’t want to be a burden on his family, especially the Shelby’s. 

He heard hushed voices arguing and he relaxed immediately. They pilled in through the doors and Madam Pomfrey was at a loss to try and stop all of them. You rushed in managing to escape her and landed on his bed wrapping him in a big embrace. 

“I must ask you all to leave. He needs to rest! I sent you a letter confirming he is unharmed -” 

“Unharmed! He’d bandaged! -” Polly snapped moving over to his side to look at his arm. 

“Not to mention traumatized by the giant snake that tried to eat him,” John said following his Aunt.��

“Definitely going to be some lawsuits coming your way,” Esme said giving her a hard look. 

“Look at our little fighter! Snake didn't stand a fookin’ chance against our boy!” Arthur boomed, throwing a few fake punches in the air. Ron sent Harry an amused look from across the room.

“Ah Poppy, you haven't aged a day,” Sirius said with a wink handing her a box from Honey Dukes. She took the gift still trying to get a word in to respond to all the rude comments. 

“Thanks for looking after him. I almost had a heart attack when I read your letter.” Remus spoke with his hand on his heart. Madam Pomfrey's flushed annoyance quickly turned to sympathy as she looked at Remus. “It’s a real relief for us to know you're here for him, I couldn't stand someone else -” Remus shook his head unable to finish. She patted his arm tenderly. 

“Try to keep them quiet dear,” She said softly. “See if you can get some food into him too.” She gave Remus one last look before retiring back to her office. 

Sirius gave Remus a wild look that made Harry want to burst with laughter. 

“Oh don’t start with me.” Remus snapped. 

“I didn't say anything.” But Sirius’s smile said it all. Harry laughed with a full heart seeing his family all together. 

“Finn was caught in a school exam or he would have come along too,” Polly said. 

Thomas stood at the end of his bed. He hadn’t spoken but looked at Harry in a way that meant he cared. Most people wouldn't have seen it but Harry knew it was there. Something he could trust. 

“Now, how are Ron and Hermione?” You asked softly, tracing your fingertips along a newly healed gash above his eyebrow. 

“Good, they will be alright.” 

“Ron and Hermione, didn’t some girl get flushed down a toilet?” Arthur asked, his voice still completely too loud for a hospital wing. 

“You met Moaning Murtle?” Sirius asked. 

“Oh we met her alright,” Ron called out. Everyone let out a sound of greeting at Ron’s voice.

“Where is the little pumpkin head?” John called out. Ron got up and they cheered him on. He moved over to Hermione's bed next to Harry and pulled the curtain open. 

Hermione gave them a big smile. She was still a deathly shade of pale, but her eyes were bright. 

“The Three Musketeers,” Polly said affectionately. 

“How many times is this castle going to try and kill you three, Eh?” Arthur asked shaking his head. “Should have both you come ‘round this summer to learn a few things.” Ron’s face perked up and Hermione fought the urge to laugh. 

“My sister’s going to be okay. She’s still in a healing sleep.” Ron said changing the subject. 

“Are you really going to file a lawsuit?” Hermione asked her eyes looking to Thomas.

“No.” Tommy said and Harry let out a breath. 

“The school trying to kill you is at least half the fun,” Sirius said with a smile and Remus elbowed him in the ribs softly. 

“He’s joking,” Remus said. “We will talk to Dumbledore about our concerns.” 

Hermione nodded then closed her eyes again. 

Thomas gave a nod of his head towards the door and everyone got the message. They needed to let them rest. The way Sirius set his face told Harry he would not be leaving. 

They said their goodbyes and Polly assured him that it would only be a week till he was home again. Harry watched you get up to give Tommy a kiss and return to his side. 

“You need to come home early just write to us.” He patted Harry’s foot and Harry gave him a nod. 

“Thanks for coming.” He hated how emotional it sounded. Tommy waved him off. 

“Couldn't keep them away. Looking forward to having you home kid.” He gave Harry a nod and then left. 

Sirius, Remus, and you stayed and he was grateful. The three of you went on to tell them whispered stories of their many nights in the hospital wing. Hermione dozed off and Ron tried to keep his laughs to a minimum due to his bruised ribs. 

Remus went down to the kitchens and brought back two trays of food. Ron’s eyes almost teared up.

Eventually, night fell and Madam Pomfrey gave them a hard look. 

“I can stay if you want,” Sirius said, and while the comfort of having Padfoot at his feet sounded nice. He knew he would be okay. Sure there might be random bits of Voldemort scattered around but his family had chased those scary thoughts away. 

“I’ll be okay, if I can’t sleep I’ll use the mirror.” He lied to make Sirus feel better.

You leaned in to kiss his forehead and adjusted the blankets. You did the same to Ron. 

“Really, if anything happens you call us right away. No heroics.” You said sternly and the boys nodded. 

Harry watched them leave and found it wasn't that hard to drift off with a full stomach. 

_________

That Summer was one of his all-time best. Mr. Weasley won a contest and wanted to spend the money on a trip to Egypt. He placed the letter down and tried to think up his best negotiation skills. He looked both of you over as you ate your breakfast. 

“Erm -” he cleared his throat earning him both your and Tommy’s attention. “You know how it is having kids. Mr and Mrs. Weasley never get a lot of time to themselves.” 

“Don’t all their kids go away to school for most of the year?” Tommy said giving him a look.  

“Yes, well - I was thinking maybe I could invite them over. See if they want to go to Egypt alone.” Harry looked up from his eggs on toast with big eyes. He watched the silent conversation play out between the two of you. 

“I think that would be a nice idea,” Tommy said. “Business is in a good place. I’ll be around more anyway.” 

“We’ve got the space.” You agreed. 

Harry continued on “I’m also worried about Ginny, you know. I think it would cheer her up after everything. Not to mention we can help with chores and I can give my pocket money to the cook to help with the food increase-” 

“Harry we said yes.” Tommy stopped him. “If you are negotiating with people you have to pay attention.” He scolded him but Harry didn’t care. He beamed and ran upstairs to write to Ron. 

Harry moped around the house waiting for the letter back. He would understand if they would all want to go to Egypt, so he added that they could come stay after their trip too.  He sent a letter to Hermione and just as always he got a response by the end of the day. Her parents are taking her on vacation to visit family in France. He told her to have fun. 

He waited and wondered if maybe they hadn't got the letter, maybe they had already left. 

The phone rang in the middle of dinner and Tommy let out a disgruntled sigh of annoyance. 

“It’s fucking dinner. Who the fuck calls me in the middle of dinner.” But Tommy knew full well it could be a family member in crisis, so he watched as you got up to answer the call. 

“HELLO - THIS IS AURTHUR WEASLEY.” Harry heard his voice from across the dining room and darted to the other phone in Tommy’s office. 

“Hello, Arthur.” You said pulling away from the phone. “Don’t shout just - softly.”

“Oh, like this?” he said still speaking very slowly. 

“Exactly.” You encouraged him. 

“Merlin’s beard! It’s like you're standing next to me!” 

“I know it’s great.” You smiled. “Is everything alright?” 

“Now I hate to call during supper. But the family is rather excited about Harry’s letter.” 

“Ah yes, how do you feel about it?” 

“Well, they are quite keen on going to yours. Are you sure you want to take on the lot of them?” 

“Of course! It won’t be a problem. We have lots of room. Field in the back for Quidditch.” 

“Yes yes, they have mentioned the Quidditch. Wanting Sirus to teach them.” you laughed at that. 

“Of course, they are more than welcome to come after your trip as well.” 

“Ah kids, staying at yours is apparently more exciting for them.” 

“Still I don’t want to interfere with family time, just thought maybe you and Molly would appreciate a vacation alone.” 

“Dear, you have no idea how nice that sounds.” He chuckled. “Well, Percy is adamant about staying home to study, but everyone else good to go. I’ll have them pack up and we can send you some money for food -” 

“Oh gosh no. Don’t worry about that. Have enough to feed an army and then some.” 

“Well if you change your mind on that just send us a letter.” 

“Alright. Might be easiest to get them here by floo.” You suggested.

“Oh yes, certainly. We will send them over on Monday?” 

“We look forward to it.” you smiled.

“Well, thanks again love. I’ll let you get back to your supper.” 

“Thanks, Arthur. Cheers!” 

The phone disconnected and Harry let out a whoop of triumph. He was so excited. 

____________

Harry wondered how things could work so easily. They were initially a bit intimidated by Arrow House, but once settled in Harry loved how they fit into the family. 

Fred and George being the eldest worked with Sirius and Remus to construct the Quidditch pitch. After that, he felt his family was the happiest. There was no leftover school drama. The world wasn't ending. No threats from the business. 

They would wake up eat the breakfast you’d cook them in the kitchen. Sirius and Remus would come and make them laugh and put on records while they ate. They’d pile outside on to the pitch and practice. Sirius would show them different moves and plays while Remus read. 

Ginny was by far the easiest to teach, something Harry thought was interesting. He was just happy she didn't feel left out. 

Then the family would get off work and watch them play. Harry looked down at their blankets and chairs in the grass, food and wine laying around, sun kissing their faces. He listened to them laugh and shout out cheers and commands that didn’t really make sense for Quidditch. He knew this was the happiest moment.  

They would have a late supper in the grass, then sit by the river when everyone cleared out. Fred and George would tell them scary stories from a book they had found in the library, editing them of course to feature magical creatures. Sirius would have them in the cottage teaching them card games till the late hours of the night. 

Harry knew they had never had their own bedrooms before, and was shocked that they all ended up piling into his room. This just meant the jokes and stories could continue till they fell asleep. 

He had never laughed so much and slept so little. He really didn't want the summer to end as if something inside him knew that this was going to pass. The warmth of the summer would fade and the reality of his situation would be coming towards him soon. 

With everyone he loved around him and having fun it was easy to forget about Voldemort.

[inamindfarfaraway]

Duke Thomas: Another story I’ve heard about myself, this one happened while I was in We Are Robin. Remember that? All the cool kids would take to the streets in masks, fighting crime, saving lives, being like “Hell yeah, we're all Robin!”. And there was this guy I knew who had a twelve-year-old son. His name is Batman and his son’s name is Robin. Robin had been fighting crime for two years longer than me, but he’s three years younger and spent most of his childhood in a murder cult, so it pretty much evens out as to who is behind who in life. And Robin was an asshole. So is Batman, but that's less noteworthy because he's always been like that. But Robin used to be nice. My friends and I, we admire him. We love the idea of him. We love what he represents. It's just an unfortunate fact that this child, when you meet him in person, is gratuitously mean. He'd be like "Desist, you impostors! I am the only real Robin! You are disgraces to all you hold dear!" and cut us with his steel sword.

And one day he decided to leave town for most of a year, which you should never do if you're an asshole. And at this time, Batman had amnesia; he had died for a minute fighting the Joker and got his brain repaired by magic and forgot who he was, forgot that he was Batman; so he was leading a happy, normal life for a bit. And everyone in We Are Robin noticed that Batman and Robin were gone, and we all got up individually and thought, ‘Okay, let's get into the Batcave and destroy the place.’ We wanted to do this not because it was easy, but because it was hard. Breaking into the Batcave is one of those things that's so awesome that you're basically obligated to do it if you can, and being both teenagers and the kind of people to become a street gang of volunteer vigilantes, we thought we had a shot. And we did! Oracle let us right in because she too knows that Batman and Robin are assholes and thought it would be hilarious. And she was right. She's very clever like that. She did a wonderful job, turned off the alarms, opened the gates, edited the security footage, kept the Bats away from the cave all night. I should mention that she was an adult, so our actions were her responsibility.

I walked into this party. More kids than I even knew the movement had were there and everyone was drinking like it was the end of the world. People were drinking like it was the civil war and a doctor was coming to saw our legs off. It was totally unsupervised. We were like dogs without horses, we were running wild. I walked down, I walked through to the display area. They had a giant penny from an adventure. One dude took a running start and threw his body into the giant penny and knocked it over. Another kid sat on the Batcomputer keyboard and took a shit on it. So the party was going great.

I'm standing in the Batcave, and I'm holding a red cup; you’ve seen movies. And I'm standing there and I'm holding a red cup and I'm starting to black out, and I guess someone said, like, “Something, something, Superman”. And in a brilliant moment of word association, I yelled, “FUCK METROPOLIS! FUCK METROPOLIS!" And everyone else joined in. A hundred drunk children dressed in unofficial Robin gear yelling, “FUCK METROPOLIS!”. With the confidence of people who’ve seen death and aren't afraid of it anymore; you know that, like, ‘It doesn’t matter if I survive, what matters is that it needs to be done!’ confidence. The reason someone had said, “Something, something, Superman” was because Superman was there. He had heard us with his super hearing. So the Man of Steel himself flew into the cave and got to the main area and looked out over a sea of drunk toddlers yelling, “FUCK METROPOLIS!” in his face. But he was almost impressed. He was like “Wow”.

Then he leaned into his Justice League communicator and asked, “Oracle, what the heck?”

And my friend Dax - who invented his own grappling hook guns, this man is a genius - he grabbed a smoke bomb, threw it on the ground and yelled, “Scatter!” And everyone ran in different directions. We all ran in different directions. It was like that scene in Ratatouille when the humans come in the kitchen and all the rats go in different ways. We all ran in different directions. I ran across a bridge and I jumped over the Batmobile and I slid down a banister and now I'm running along the underground river and there was this big pitch-black passage in the rock and I thought, ‘I've never gone somewhere that dark before’. And then I woke up at home.

The next day, I went on patrol, because that's what we did back then. And I'm walking into an alleyway and who do I see but Nightwing? And he says to me, “Are you aware that the Batcave was infiltrated last night?”

And I said, “No.” You know, like a liar.

"Oracle, Red Robin and I are investigating it, but we could use We Are Robin’s help.” And he didn’t approve of us at all. He would never have acknowledged us as heroes, let alone asked us for help, unless he felt utterly desperate. “This wasn’t just a thief or a spy. It was a villain with a personal vendetta sending a message of malice and disrespect. They bypassed the security flawlessly, but caused obvious damage inside. They knocked over the giant penny. They took a shit on the Batcomputer. But the worst thing,” he says, “the worst thing is that they stole a photo of Robin II.” Robin II, the one after Nightwing and before Red Robin, was murdered by the Joker when he was fifteen. This is Nightwing’s dead little brother. So he’s trying to stay calm in front of me, but he’s freaking out about it.

And I had a thought that Batman, for comparison, was having around the same time about a life of courage and altruism: did I do that?

I figured, no. I wouldn't have done that. But I was never sure.

Until a year later. Relax. I'm playing video games with this guy named Jason, who also used to be a Robin. A year later, the movement’s kinda died down. We're playing video games for a couple hours, and then Jason says to me, “Hey, come here. I want to show you something”, and he takes me into his bedroom and then he takes me into a side room off of his bedroom - never a good thing to have. He shows me a tiny room that is covered wall-to-wall in stolen photos and belongings of the second Robin from different Batcave break-ins over the years. Mementos of a murdered child superhero taken from his family.

And I said, “Why? Why do you do this?”

And Jason said, “Because it's the one thing they can't replace.”

That's the end of that story, but how fucked up is that, right? That's crazy. So I don't drink anymore.

[lonelynpc]

The Batfam as Medical Specialties

bruce wayne is an anaesthetist: you might say, “but, lonelynpc, bruce wayne would be a paediatrician,” to which i would say, "no". this man can pay attention to 1000 things at once. he’s writing in the anaesthetic record while listening to the monitors, singing his favourite song and listening out for close. he knows exactly what the patient's heart rate, sats, etc are from sound alone. he can recognise the most minute changes in the monitor’s sounds and will know exactly what it is that’s dropping or increasing without looking up. if he's standing up, you know there's something to be worried about. (brings cakes in from alfred for his team every day, don't @ me)

dick grayson is a trauma surgeon: this is because i am afraid of him and i am afraid of trauma surgeons. he’s terrifying and he works fast. he's an inexpressible comfort to people in his care, he regularly gets flowers or chocolates from families and patients. he’s lovely outside of work but at work, jfc can you stop glaring at me over the drapes? (also treats his entire team to dinner at the end of every month)

jason todd is a paediatric surgeon: i don’t wanna hear it. he definitely pimps his students, interns and residents for sport but the second he’s around his patients? he's "doctor jay". he’s got stickers in every pocket, fun scrub caps, a dragon stephoscope cover, a jelly finger monster on the end of his penlight and an endless supply of teddy bear tegaderms. he's got toy stephoscopes and teddy bears in his pockets at all times to give to the kids. he puts a bandage, wristband, hospital gown, mask and hairnet on patient's toys before they wake up as well.

barbara gordon is a cardiothoracic surgeon: she’s serious, intimidating and calculating. people look at her and wither. she’s yelling at interns for talking, pimping her med students about everything including her surgical playlist. you get a question wrong? “do some research. i’ll ask you again when i see you next,” and she will not forget so you better do that research. she's strict with patients because she cares and gets so excited when she sees/hears improvement.

tim drake is a radiologist: he’s glued to that damn screen and pounding back black coffee. he’s seeing the problem before you even know there is one. “oh, you don’t see that tiny hairline fracture with your novice eyes? you're pathetic, get out of my way. i’m getting you an ophthalmology consult.”

stephanie brown is an orthopedic surgeon: she’s a jock. i can’t explain it. she is a jock. she’s blasting the most absurdly mixed playlist, singing along and wearing her space suit and lead. she's fun and can tell you the exact injury and the severity just by hearing the mechanism of injury. no filter though smh, she'll tell her intern that they should get their back looked at after seeing their posture.

duke thomas is a neurosurgeon: can’t explain it but he is. he’s got the lights out and that headlamp on, nobody talk to him, he’s Looking™, did somebody breathe? who did that? own up so i can kick you out, you should be ashamed of yourself and your family.

cassandra cain is a general practitioner: i think she’d love being a general practitioner (family medicine). she’d like having regular patients, she'd like the variety and the payoff. alternatively, i'd say she'd like pallative care and providing comfort in end-of-life care.

damian wayne is an ob/gyn: look, let’s be real, he’s probably a vet but in human medicine? ob/gyn. he chews out residents but he also chews out partners in the room for being annoying during delivery. he has a chaperone with him 24/7 and will kick all non-essential personnel out of the room during an exam. also has mastered the old "oh, could you go sign the discharge forms at reception?" to get a partner out of the room so he can ask if the patient is safe going home.

[animeredhead101]

Minor Ships DP x DC Crossover

Duke Thomas / Danny Fenton

You Are a Monster (But So Am I) by TheWrittingOwl :

Gotham was not known for its snowy weather. Sure, they'd get decent snowfall in time for Christmas, and they often fell victim to the east coast blizzards, but never had they had snow earlier than Thanksgiving. Of course, it's while Duke is doing his Halloween patrol that a freak blizzard hits Gotham. As he waits for someone to relieve him for the night patrol, he comes across something... strange in the snow. The weather may be strange, but it is still Halloween. AKA 5 Times Duke denies he's a monster fucker and 1 Time he kisses the monster Word Count: 16,046 Completed

Cassandra Cain / Danny Fenton

lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood by halfgone(milkywxy) :

Based on this Tumblr prompt.

Lex Luthor has recently acquired a son. Weapon? Parole officer? ...Lex now has a teenaged god and he'll be damned if someone tries to take the kid away from him.

Word Count: 519,936 On-going

I wasn't expecting this fic but I love it! I usually hate Lex Luthor but I love how the author developed his character with Danny. One of my new favorites for sure!

Kon-El | Conner Kent / Danny Fenton

play it cool for you by aschriles :

Just because Tim had gone and got himself a boyfriend didn't mean Kon had to go and get himself a... whatever the heck he and Danny had going on. Fuck buddies. They were fuck buddies. Word Count: 18,409 Completed

Eat the Acid by DisillusionedDanny :

When Elle decided to introduce Danny to her new clone friend Conner, she was expecting a new brother. Not a new brother-in-law. Tie that in with some clone chaos, best friends Vlad and Lex, and a baby, and Conner and Danny are in for a ride of a lifetime. It could have only been fate that caused them to meet when they did.

Word Count:24,788 Completed

Seeing Double by Scififan33 :

What do you do when you find out you aren't who you always thought? Jazz knew it was the chance to get Danny away from their Phantom obsessed parents and Danny was just in shock. Hopefully, he'd be allowed to explain but why would he want Danny around? Word Count: 20,098 On-going What do you do when you find out you aren't who you always thought? Jazz knew it was the chance to get Danny away from their Phantom obsessed parents and Danny was just in shock. Hopefully, he'd be allowed to explain but why would he want Danny around? Word Count: 20,098 On-going

Thomas Wayne / Danny Fenton

Mourning a Young Soul Leads to Shared Custody by Olive_of_Vanders :

Danny was given a choice.

Become King or parent a ghost kid. Ghost kid sounded a lot more easier to him.

Word Count: 41,929 Completed

John Constantine / Danny Fenton

Completed

And My Exes, They Haunt Me by JoyLess_NightSky :

"Look, mate-" "Don't call me mate. That's weird." "Right. Your highness-" "That's even weirder. But, fine. Go on?" John sighed, obviously done with the interruptions. "This isn't just about us, luv. Alright? I get why you're angry, but me mates need ya. Heck, the whole bloody damn world needs ya! The twat that came through is very much about to do the whole bloody world domination schtick ya kept Pariah from doin'. That ain't something you're alright with, is it now?" The summoned man gave Constantine an unimpressed look. "If it's you asking? I might make an exception." OR: The Justice League is in over their heads with the new enemy. They need help, and Constantine may know a guy. But the guy… doesn't really like Constantine a lot right now. Word Count: 2,914

On-going

Lair of the Mysterious Reaper by Joshua2000 :

Danny's lair is the House of Mystery. When he enters it for the first time, he finds John Constantine and Zatanna Zatara occupying it. Between being the ghost king, the reaper of the souls of heroes and keeper of the balance Danny really needs a break. Based on a series of prompts by Sleepy (LonelyLittleWhiteRabbit) Original prompt here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45336712/chapters/114063079#workskin

Word Count: 6,815

Like and Survive- Phantom’s Guide to Young Hero Survival by robinasnyder :

When the world becomes aware of teenaged superheroes there is an immediate and fierce wave of backlash and controversy. That's where Phantom comes in. Phantom saved the world from a meteor fifteen years back; an impressive feat back in the day but now that meteors threatening all life on earth is such a common event that hardly anyone thinks about it. Phantom is considered an old timer who deals with a small city and nowhere else. When he begins uploading videos with advice for young heroes, he hopes a few new heroes might avoid some of the pain he went through. He's shocked at just how popular his advice suddenly becomes. Word Count: 306,940

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Five Little Ducks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batman

Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.

Chapters: 7/13

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara

Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma

Chapter Seven: Please Don't Think It's Funny

Bruce let Jason play hide-and-seek in the manor. He thought it'd be harmless but realized he'd made a horrible mistake after an hour. He called Duke and Steph to help, trying to conceal his panic. Steph arrived first, and Duke met her shortly afterward. "How do you lose an eight-year-old kid?" Steph asked as she checked under the staircase and the tables. "The world's greatest detective is the world's okay-est dad." She chuckled to herself as she jogged up the stairs. "Jason! Jason! If you stop hiding, I'll give you all the candy in my pocket!"

"Yeah, because he's gonna take candy from a stranger," Duke teased as he checked up high.

"Wait, he's tiny... Like, fit inside cupboards small," Steph whispered. They started opening cupboards and knocking on them. Duke came to a halt and grabbed Steph's arm.

"I think I know where he is, but Bruce isn't gonna like it," Duke replied, "Bruce! He's in the cave!"

Bruce darted upstairs, pushing Steph and Duke out of the way as he zoomed past them into the Batcave. Jason stood near the computer sobbing. Bruce ran to him and scooped him up. "Jason, I'm so-. You're so light," Bruce pulled away and looked at Jason's face. "Oh no... Jason, I'm Bruce Wayne... And I want to help you." He was so caught up in finding Jason that he didn't notice the difference in size or the change in his scent. He smelled so young. He even looked young. Not quite an infant, but he was close.

Bruce rocked Jason until the crying stopped. Duke and Steph came downstairs, and they exchanged a glance. "He's-."

"Jason Toddler-."

"Duke!" Steph chastised him.

"You thought it," Duke mumbled.

Jason cupped his hands around Bruce's ear. "Is Mama gone?" Jason mumbled.

"I think so, Jason... I think so," Bruce asked.

"Where's Daddy?" Jason questioned.

"Jason, would you like a cookie?" Bruce replied. He was afraid to say anything to upset Jason. He was so tiny and fragile. Jason nodded. "These are my friends Stephanie Brown and Duke Thomas."

Jason sniffed and waved at them. "She's pretty like Mama," Jason pointed to Steph. Steph chewed her lip, holding back tears of her own. She came up to Bruce and took Jason.

"Well, aren't you a sweetie pie!" Steph exclaimed in a sweet voice despite the tears in her eyes. "Let's go get you the biggest cookie in the kitchen."

Duke and Bruce followed her upstairs. Steph sat Jason on the counter and messed up his hair. She turned around and grabbed a cookie from the jar. Jason held it with both hands. "Thank you," Jason whispered, "Mama's gone... But where's Mommy?" Then it clicked for everyone in the room. Jason had forgotten his birth mother, but he was old enough to talk by the time she'd gone.

Jason ate his cookie, and Bruce poured him a small glass of milk. "Bruce, he's-. How old are you?" Steph asked as she grabbed the glass.

"This many," Jason whispered as he held up two fingers.

"Bruce, he's two. He can't drink out of a cup like this. Don't you have any emergency sippies?" Steph asked. She covered the cup with plastic wrap and poked a straw through. "Here you go, cutie pie."

Jason drank his milk and set it aside. "Thank you," Jason whispered. Bruce was still in shock. How could Jason have regressed?

Jason reached for Bruce, and he announced something, but neither Bruce nor Duke could make it out. "He said he has to wash his hands in the potty," Steph replied.

Bruce carried Jason to the downstairs restroom, and Steph plopped down on the couch in the living room. "You okay?" Duke asked as he sat next to her.

"I guess so... I mean," Steph took a deep breath, "It's weird to see a guy like Jason so tiny and vulnerable."

"Guess it is kinda sad when you put it like that," Duke replied. Silence fell between the two, and Bruce brought Jason back.

Jason tugged Bruce's sleeve. "Mr. Wayne? Can I go up?" Jason asked. Bruce nodded and picked Jason up. Jason closed his eyes. "I so tired."

Bruce rubbed his back. "Yeah? It must be so exhausting having to be a big boy when you're scared, huh?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded.

"I like you," Jason whispered. Bruce lay back in the recliner, still holding Jason. "You be here later?"

"Of course. We're not going anywhere," Bruce whispered. Jason held on tight to Bruce's shirt. "Jason... It's alright."

"Okay," Jason mumbled. Bruce smoothed Jason's curls down and watched as they bounced back into place. Jason loosened his grip on Bruce's t-shirt and started to suck his thumb quietly.

Bruce gestured for his phone once Jason was asleep. "Text Zatanna for me," Bruce whispered. The only noise in the room was the soft sound of Jason sucking his thumb. Duke sat on the couch with his phone in hand. "Can you tell her I need her help and that it's an emergency?"

"He's exhausted," Steph whispered as she looked at Jason. "Why do you think he got smaller? I thought he was getting older?"

"I'm hoping Zatanna can answer that... I hope this is as small as he gets," Bruce spoke softly. Zatanna texted back immediately, and before Steph could read the message, she appeared in their living room.

"I came as soon as I heard you say emergency," Zatanna stated, "What's wrong?"

Bruce pointed down at the little boy sleeping on his chest. "Remember my son, Jason? This is him," Bruce answered. Zatanna chewed her lip. "When I found him a few days ago, he was five years old, and he had an inscription written in liquid on the back of his head. Latin."

"Here, let me hold him while you write it down... How old is he now?" Zatanna asked. She took Jason and patted his back as he stirred.

"He's two. He was eight this morning and seven yesterday-. He was getting older, but now he's young again," Bruce replied as he took a piece of paper and wrote down the Latin inscription. Zatanna glanced at it. "I got a distress call from Jason, then his line went silent, and when I got to the warehouse, he was five years old. Every time he ages, he forgets who I am to him... He knows I'm Bruce Wayne."

"Someone failed Latin in high school... But, I can tell you now, it's not a curse. I think he asked for this," Zatanna explained, "This spell is sort of like the flu. You have to let it run its course, but once it's over, it's over... From what I gather, whoever did this fudged the Latin. They should've said, puer mens et corpus potest cor sanare. That would've followed with the implied intention. A child's mind and body can heal the heart, was what they should've said in Latin... But the spell on the back of his head read a child's mind and body to a child's heart."

"If he asked for this-. He called me because he wanted me to take care of him," Bruce whispered to himself. Jason lifted his head and looked around.

"Mr. Wayne?" Jason mumbled.

"It's okay... I didn't go anywhere," Bruce reassured as he reached for Jason. Zatanna handed him over, and Bruce smiled at him. Jason blew him a kiss.

Bruce smiled. "Where's Daddy?" Jason questioned. Everyone grew silent.

"He had to go away for work for a little while," Bruce whispered, "So, you'll be here with us until he gets back." Jason hid his face in Bruce's shirt.

Bruce rubbed his back as Jason burst into tears. "Aww, it's okay, Jason. We're gonna take good care of you until your daddy comes home," Steph reassured him as she walked over and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand.

Zatanna waved and uttered something before disappearing. Bruce offered Steph and Duke a painfully grave glance. "What I'm about to do can never leave this room," Bruce warned. They nodded.

Bruce set Jason down on the couch. "Do you know Mr. Rogers?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded as he cried. Jason took several deep, tear-filled breaths, attempting to self-soothe. His whole body shook as he wept and stuck his thumb in his mouth to keep quiet. Bruce patted Jason's arm before singing Please Don't Think It's Funny. Jason listened carefully and hiccupped as he took his thumb out of his mouth and wiped his tears away. Halfway through the song, Bruce tickled Jason to elicit a laugh, and Jason tried to sing along. Duke and Steph stared in shock at Bruce dancing and singing with Jason. Jason let Bruce hold his hands.

After Bruce finished the song, he breathed, and Jason copied him. "Mr. Rogers always makes me feel better when I'm scared... What about you?" Bruce questioned. Jason nodded. "He's such a good neighbor. I want to be a good neighbor like him. Could I be your neighbor? Would you like that?"

"Uh-huh," Jason offered Bruce a smile.

"Thank you for your smile. I know that was really hard... You are such a brave little boy," Bruce complimented him. Jason sat on his knees and leaned forward, kissing Bruce's forehead.

"You're nice... I like you," Jason whispered. Bruce wiped Jason's face with his thumbs, and he beamed.

[queer-ragnelle]

So who among the Arthurian characters is into cottagecore? Morgan has to be right?

hi!

you know what i'm gonna have to disagree. i don't think morgan's affiliation to magic and nickname "le fay" are enough, especially bc she prides herself on a lofty status that elevates her above the humble rural living that cottagecore romanticizes. i mean here she is in the vulgate proclaiming herself a king's daughter (isn't she the daughter of duke gorlois?) while she prepares to kill her husband and get away with it.

queen shit. here are some characters i think would be into cottagecore.

arthur: when thomas berger wrote him as loving his simple life in wales with his family and sleeping out with the dogs and genuinely relishing his modest upbringing with his foster brother? i felt that.

blanchefleur: she definitely named herself "white flower" after her own garden's award winning blossoms at the county fair. she bottles it for perfume too, if you're interested. perceval always keeps a little vial around his neck so he can smell it and think of her while on quest or when he gets lost on his way to take out the trash. thanks wifey.

brangaine and palamedes: whether or not she can actually achieve this lifestyle whilst in the service of isolde, she definitely dreams of fleeing to the countryside with palamedes. it also makes his commute shorter (cottage is on the edge of the enchanted woods in which the questing beast roams).

culhwch and olwen: after the nightmarish tasks they underwent just to get married they absolutely retired far away from court life where those shenanigans wouldn't reach their children.

dindrane: she's the quintessential nun, one who didn't learn necromancy. she enjoys all the typical stuff expected in a remote hermitage; gardening, baking, making wine, going on an adventure bilbo style complete with chaotic means and tragic ends, bird watching.

fisher king and elaine: since the queen passed away they just want more father and daughter bonding time out on the boat to fish. they catch dinner in their little pond and take it home to cook and go to sleep happy. they do the same thing again the next day without any obligations besides living. nothing bad happens.

green knight and wife: pretty sure they invented cottagecore or at least introduced the concept into the realm. they have their own line of cottagecore starter kits with little seeds to grow personalized mini gardens for a country oasis even in the discomfort of your monarch-sanctioned barracks. so what if the plants they sell are annuals and you have to buy a new one every year. aren't you committed to the aesthetic?

isolde and tristan: did they or did they not smash in that grotto like their lives depended on it? i rest my case.

merlin: have you read mary stewart's merlin trilogy? my guy wanted the quiet life so bad it made him look stupid. he died as he lived, in the middle of fucking nowhere. say what we will he committed to the bit to the very end.

tor: he is literally a cowboy farmer kid turned knight. actually forget the whole list he's the only one.

thanks for the ask!

[cephalog0d]

Batfic - "Musical Costumes"

Rating: Teen and Up (Language)

Category: Gen

Relationships/Characters: Bruce Wayne & Jason Todd & Tim Drake & Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Duke Thomas & Damian Wayne & Barbara Gordon & Alfred Pennyworth; Dick Grayson (mentioned)

Additional Tags: Humor, Banter, Batkids Being Batsibs

Words: 1,057

Summary:

There was a quiet moment before Jason felt the prickle of eyes and looked up from where he'd been absently scratching lines in the arm of the chair (sorry Alfred) to see the collective attention of the room placed on him.

"Absolutely fucking not," he snapped vehemently.

(Full text after the cut or over on AO3)

"-so someone will have to be spotted as Nightwing a few times for the next week or so," Bruce's briefing concluded. There was a quiet moment before Jason felt the prickle of eyes and looked up from where he'd been absently scratching lines in the arm of the chair (sorry Alfred) to see the collective attention of the room placed on him.

"Absolutely fucking not," he snapped vehemently.

"You are the closest-" Bruce started.

"No I'm fucking not!" Jason gestured at his own torso to emphasize the point.

"Height-wise you are," Steph added very unhelpfully. "Weight wise it's more…equidistant," she conceded with a loose wave between Jason and Tim.

"Technically Duke is the closest but I think even Gotham's criminal masterminds might notice that," Tim threw out, pedantic as ever.

"What, because I'm a meta?" Duke asked with an impressively straight face.

"Yes," Tim said in the same flat tone. Cass only barely tried to muffle a laugh. Steph didn't try at all. Jason chose to ignore all of them, glaring defiantly at Bruce, who mostly just looked like he wanted a nap. Or a child free vacation. Whatever, it was his own fault he kept collecting more and that they were all awful.

"No," Jason repeated. "I am not running around in that stupid suit just because Dickhead managed to break himself showing off."

"That is not an accurate-" Damian interjected, predictably jumping to Dick's defense in absentia.

"You have before," Cass interrupted him neatly. Her expression was a lot more controlled than Steph's, but her eyes were bright with suppressed laughter.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jason said pointedly.

"Dick's current suit isn't even that bad. It's not like you have to wear the old Robin suit. Again," Tim said mildly. Jason narrowed his eyes at Tim, who met his gaze unflinchingly and took a slow, deliberate drink.

"Boys," Bruce cut in, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. Jason decided to temporarily let it go and ignore both the way Tim smirked behind his cup and Steph's quiet "oooooh".

"Do it yourself," Jason challenged Bruce, earning a burst of laughter from the rest of the room. Bruce's expression did the constipated thing that usually meant he was at least mildly regretting his choices in family. Good.

"Oh my god please do, I will pay so much money to see that," Steph gasped breathlessly.

"Stephanie." Bruce's reprimand, predictably, did nothing to silence her.

"Father has his own duties as Batman," Damian said snippily.

"Additionally, I do not believe Master Bruce's joints would appreciate those kind of acrobatics," Alfred added as he appeared and started clearing things off the table.

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce said with another sigh.

"Cass can do all that flippy bullsh-oot," Jason hastily corrected when Alfred glanced at him.

"Are you saying you can't?" Cass asked sweetly.

“Of course he can’t,” Damian scoffed not all that quietly.

“Damian,” Bruce said. Cass ignored them both. She met Jason's glare for several seconds, just smiling and waiting.

"I know what you're doing," Jason finally said, jabbing a finger at her.

"But it's still working," Tim muttered.

"No, it's not."

"It's okay if you can't," Cass said sympathetically. "I can."

The right answer was to leave it at that and walk away and Jason knew that, he wasn't an idiot and he didn't have to prove anything to these assholes, he should just get up and leave and let them sort their shit out amongst themselves, they were manipulating him, Cass with her disingenuous smile and Steph with her barely restrained laughter and Tim with his infuriating little smirk and Damian with his condescending sneer and Duke just watching them all with amusement while he finished his post-patrol sandwich.

But.

That spiteful little thing in his chest that had guided so many of his most ill advised decisions in the past had taken hold and just because he knew they were baiting him didn't mean he didn't still want to prove them wrong.

"Fine!" he snapped finally. "Fu-reaking fine!" Alfred gave him a knowing look but didn't say anything about the slip. "I refuse to do the stupid puns, though." He could at least draw that line.

"It's okay if you're not clever enough to do that part," Tim said with a condescending pat on the arm. Jason very maturely did not break his fucking fingers, but he did bare his teeth in what was only barely a smile.

"I'm going to glitter bomb your apartment. Emphasis on the bomb." Okay so not that mature, so sue him, Tim started it. Tim opened his mouth, presumably to say something even more inflammatory, but got interrupted.

"Boys," Bruce said again, more sharply. “Tim, leave your brother alone. Jason, thank you for your assistance. Stephanie, whatever you’re planning don’t.”

Steph made an affronted noise and widened in her eyes in a comically innocent expression that did not fool anyone for even a second.

“Right, well, some of us have been up all day,” Duke said as he stood. “Good luck, Hoodwing.” He left the room, grinning, as Tim choked on his drink and Bruce sighed again and rubbed a hand over his face.

“Hoodwing?” Cass repeated thoughtfully, testing out the word. “Redwing? Nighthood?”

“I like Nighthood,” Babs’s voice spoke up. None of them would admit to being startled, but several of them did perhaps sit up a little straighter at the sudden addition.

“Have you been listening this whole time?” Jason asked, and immediately mentally face-palmed.

“Jason.”

“I know, I heard it when I said it.”

“Anyway, I’ve got some alerts that need looking into, if you’ve all decided who’s wearing what costume.”

“No one else is swapping costumes,” Bruce said sternly. “Everyone go get ready. Oracle, tell me what you’ve got.”

There was a brief scramble of finishing drinks and snacks and everyone broke to go gear up. Steph had a scheming look that Jason absolutely did not trust in the slightest but she was dragged off by Cass before he could get a further read on it.

A few minutes later, though, he got a text.

((I have a whole headcanon that people swapping costumes temporarily is just a commonplace thing for Secret Identity purposes, because half of them are public figures, so if one of them gets injured or has to travel as a civilian they'll get one of the others to be spotted in their suit while they're out so nobody puts together "This Bat doesn't show up when this Well Known Public Figure is out of town/obviously injured".

(Hey remember in Batgirl: Year One where Bats made Dick dress up as her to throw Gordon off her trail?)

Of course, some people make better duplicates than others.

(Tim is referencing the fact that in the comics, Jason was fully wearing a copy of his old Robin costume, complete with the lack of pants, during their infamous Titans Tower altercation. Because I will never let go of that fact, it is absurd, absolute drama queen Jason Todd, what a doofus, I love him. Cass is referencing in preboot Nightwing where there was an arc where Jason was running around murdering folks in a Nightwing costume to undermine Dick.)))

[slothspamsstuff]

Okaaay....this is just my headcanon but but but here's a thread on each Batfam member's sexual orientation (some of them might be unpopular opinion but it's my opinion so...)

- Bruce Wayne is bi, he might have been bi-curious at one point if he is not 🥹 playboy, charming, flirtatious and rich, he's everyone's dream. And I don't think the Bat himself is in denial of his sexuality, in fact, though lowkey, he might just be casually talking about his flings to Alfred if he didn't consider feelings a scary thing.

- Please forgive me for saying this but Dick Grayson feels like a straight guy who's very comfortable with his sexuality that he doesn't mind the gay jokes and he himself would make non-homophobic queer jokes towards his friends (regardless of their sexuality).

- Jason Todd is either bi or straight, because of that Judd Winick interview and because he's giving major bi friend vibes (trust me I'm bi), who leans towards dating girls but he might have been too jaded or fearful of commitment to be in a relationship so he's still single til this day. But he might also be similar to Dick, he might be a straight guy who is constantly attracting queer friends and is ok with that. Maybe he just has a smart mouth and wants to tease or provoke other guys to the point that it seemed queer as a hetero man, like how guys irl do? I dunno, but he could either be bi or straight, he gives off both vibes to me honestly lol. I can’t decide on this one.

- Tim Drake, similar to canon storylines, bisexual, need I say more? Though I'd like to see them build Tim and Bernard more cuz Bernard is a bit too similar to Steph now, and Tim and Kon also have a very interesting dynamic so I am very conflicted. I like the fact that even though they've broken up, him and Steph are still friends. I really appreciate healthy relationships like that (i...if of course you look past the fact that he might have wanted to unalive her dad).

- Stephanie Brown feels like she could be pansexual, she's chill and she doesn't mind being in a relationship with someone of the same gender, of the opposite gender or genderfluids or trans. But to get the most accurate impression of her, I will spend my time reading Batgirls. For now, her vibes scream pansexuality to me.

- Damian Wayne is straight, but he is just not into relationships. Though I also like his dynamic with Jon, I can't see them as more than friends (but you're welcome to ship them, it's actually a cute ship but bc they're literally children so I just can't see anything more than platonic). I know the Asexual Damian trope is also very popular but to me, he seems like a straight guy who, like Jason, is not into relationships due to the nature of his worklife.

- Barbara Gordon feels like she could be straight or bi, that's up to intereptation, but for the most part to me, she seems to be straight, I mean she loves a guy named Dick so...and her interactions with BoP members seem very platonic to me. But other headcanons are also cool, please enlighten me.

- Duke Thomas is straight, he's like that one YA romance novel live action main character, an awkward teenager except he's a metahuman and also a vigilante. Yes, he's sassy and funny and nice, I know, but his vibe doesn't scream queer to me.

- Cassandra Cain is bisexual because of her interactions with Tim and Steph in the comics. She's the quiet bisexual friend/lover that everyone is comfortable with. And I love, love that about her. Yes, Cass seems to be the downright not heterosexual, hell, she might have been more into girls than guys.

- Kate Kane is 100% a lesbian, this is not a headcanon. She's so gay that nothing about her is straight, not even her name.

- Ok, weird one but I think Alfred Pennyworth might also be bisexual, he could have banged the queen as an agent in his younger years then started dating the prince a year later. Or he could be demisexual, who knows, maybe he loved someone when he was younger, then something happened and he can't find himself being in another relationship with anyone else, and also younger Bruce only had him so he didn't have time for dating.

Sorry, idk much about Harper so I can't say fo sho.

Edit: my take on Cassandra Cain before anyone comes at me with their extremist anti batcest bs again (and unless you're here for Bruce and Damian as a couple, I don't even think batcest is a word that should exist) and here. Don't go looking for dramas, be polite to other people please. Just because you don't ship it doesn't mean you should act like an asshole about it. Their interaction happened in canon and I simply stated the fact with pictures from the actual comics, I don't ship them as a couple because well, I just....don't? But it's not like I'd care or I'd be grossed out if anyone ships them because well, a ship doesn't harm anyone nor does it affect my life, but going for harassment and being aggressive about what other people like, that has nothing to do with you or your life... you're the weird one and maybe you should touch grass or get some real life friends to talk to because that's just sad.

[batstorm93672]

Do I Know You?

~First (Here)~ Next>>>

Damian sat and sighed as he was tied to a chair. Heaven forbid he decides to go to the Cave and only be able to take off his mask before being bombarded by his family.

"Father, what is the meaning of this?"

Batman looked at Damian and furrowed his brow "Why do you keep calling me that, how did you get in here and why are you dressed like Robin?" "I'm your son, I am Robin" "Don't lie!"

"Alright B how about we lay off the kid? Not gonna get anywhere shouting"

Nightwing walked in and handed Damian a cup of water. "Here, don't mind him. We just want to know what's going on"

"Richard you're a part of this trivial thing too? Also did you put anything in the cup?" Nightwing paused and kneeled down "Okay. We just want some answers, number one. How do you know who I am?"

"Tt. Fine I'll play. I'm Damian Wayne-" Damian jerked his head to Batman "-your son and I'm-" He looked back at Nightwing "-your brother. Alongside with Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas and not to mention the million of others father brought in as he is a magnet for taking in children"

Nightwing nodded and took off his mask "Are you a speedster from the future?" "What? Ew, no. I'm Robin" "Listen, you might be getting something confused. There are no more Robins, the last one was Tim. So where did you get the costume?" "Okay hasn't this gone on long enough? Where is Titus or Alfred the cat? Do you need them to help recognize me or something"

Dick raised a brow "I have no idea who those are"

"Tt. This is tiring"

Damian stood up, untied hands and ankles, he rubbed his wrists. "I untied myself about a minute after you tied me, I know your tricks father, you've taught everyone how to escape knots like yours. Try to get a better tactic. As for you Richard, hasn't this gone on long enough?"

Bruce took off his cowl and studied Damian carefully "He may be telling some truth. It's hard to tell, who is your parent?" "Other than you? Talia Al Ghul is my mother"

The two adults looked at each other with wide eyes. "She doesn't have a child. She told me she had a miscarriage" "Do I look like a miscarriage?"

"Dick. Call for Tim and Cass, they may be able to figure out if he's lying. In the meantime I'll look into this kid"

Damian groaned and sat back down. "Can Pennyworth at least come down? I'd enjoy his company"

"N-" "Yeah I'll get him"

Bruce narrowed his eyes making eye contact with Dick, the two had their private conversation internally and while Damian could decipher the gist of it. He didn't want to right now. This is dragging on long enough.

Bruce sighed for like the fifth time "Fine, let him come. He stays here and under surveillance. Understood?" "Hear you clear"

Bruce left and Damian eyed Dick, wouldn't they have stopped by now?

"Richard... are you still joking with me? Hasn't this gone on long enough?"

Dick looked guilty and sad "I'm sorry, but we really don't know you"

Damian looked down, recounting what he just went through moments before showing.

Someone approached him, a lady with a crystal ball typical isn't it.

"Young boy, won't you indulge this old lady?"

"I'm sorry, I can't-"

"Oh please? This is all I ask of you"

Robin nodded and came over, she was an elder and he respects them. Not to mention she would probably insist and Damian would rather not have to do that.

"Come child" Her wrinkled yet soft hands went over his gloves and she closed her eyes, she was wearing a shawl and attire of stars and eyes decorated on the cloth. "I see... you are of a great destiny. Yet though this is apparent, you are deeply troubled with choices. Leading to terrible consequences. Not to mention the loneliness you are faced with, a great destiny yet an even greater shadow. Tell me, the family you surround yourself with, do they truly see you? You have so many doubts and fears, that you will be alone and forgotten by them"

"...That sounds correct, my fears tend to obscure my view of the path ahead. I feel like one day, they will forget me. And that I'll be alone. Sometimes I wish I was forgotten so I could avoid the pain and move on with my choice without feelings" He... didn't mean to say that much, what is happening?

"Then it will be"

"Wha-"

A flash of light, recovering his vision to see no one. The lady was gone.

...Curious, it may be time I go back before they worry.

Damian kept his gaze away from Dick who was talking on the phone.

They... forgot me. They don't know me. It's like I never existed...

[emperor-neo]

All families, no matter the shape and sizes will always have weird constant roles and dynamics present with each other.

So I can guarantee Batfamily has one too like:

Bruce Wayne - has to be the strict parent; who wants nothing but the best and safety for his children.

Selina Kyle - would be the fun mom; careless and honest to her children, acts more like a bestfriend than a mom.

Alfred Pennyworth - is the loving grandparent; the one that would overfeed his grandchildren with foods and love but leaves the necessary parenting to his own children i.e Bruce.

Barbara Gordon - I imagine her to be the responsible eldest sibling; the sibling that protects all her younger siblings to death and acts more like a parent when the actual parents aren't there.

Dick Grayson - is the golden sibling; the most stable part of the family, he's the person everyone looks up to and parents compares to.

Jason Todd - is the hypocrite sibling; the one that would pretend to hate his siblings but would kill a person if said person looks at his sibling funny, as well as the person that would tell his younger siblings to never smoke yet you can see him everyday smoking at the side of the house.

Tim Drake - is the needy middle child; the lazy sibling that would stay in one place like a couch potato and order his younger siblings absurd orders and errands like fetching the remote even if he's only 5 feet away from it while the person he's ordering is farthest away from it, a menace to younger siblings by using age as seniority, suprisingly the most successful one.

Cassandra Cain - the neglected middle child; sometimes nowhere to be seen in family photos and keeps getting forgotten also lurks around the house at the middle of the night. Due to being neglected as a middle child she has developed necessary developmental skills to survive on her own. Knows way too much of your secrets and the most likely to be the person to home alone the entirety of the house.

Duke Thomas - the innocent sibling; the one that wants to get on the good side of the parents, the one that would rat out the others if blamed.

Harper Row - the definitive gay sibling.

Cullen Row - the closeted gay sibling.

Damian Wayne - the cute youngest and annoying little brother - the one sibling that can get away with everything from murder to stealing and is mostly exempt from chores because he's the obvious favorite but still gets errands from his siblings as a punishment. Also the most demanding for attention, like keeps asking for his turn on the playstation and toys.

Jean Paul Valley (Azrael) - the crazy very conservative uncle you don't want invited in thanksgiving dinners; the uncle that holds debates around political facebook groups and shares the most absurd theories. Suspected by the family to be racist.

Kate Kane - the typical cool wine aunt; the aunt you'll go to when you're coming out and the one you're sure will never have a family because she's beyond it.

Lucius Fox - is probably the grumpy but fun grandparent; the grandparent would let you smoke and drink alcohol.

Luke Fox - the chill young uncle; you'll probably don't wanna mention his the uncle.

Stephanie Brown - the ex of the sibling that became too attached to the family; The family friend that you would always see inside your house.

Part 1

Each role and dynamic are different from the persepectives of a particular family member like Damian might see Stephanie not as a family friend but a fun sibling.

[newtonsheffield]

Little women au surely!! Anthony as Theo and Kate being the painting queen she is as Amy and liking him her whole life while he stares at her sister

I was really scared you were going to say Jo and Laurie was where it was at here and I was gonna have to respectfully say: no

But Okay!

Edwina is only a few years younger than Kate, whose mother died of scarlet fever shortly after she was born, and everyone had always assumed Edwina and Anthony would grow to get married.

There was affection there, everyone felt on behalf of Anthony at least, he was always staring at her (He was actually staring at Kate but Kate never seemed to pay him any mind in fact all they did was bicker.)

Little does he know that Kate's spent her entire life loving the boy who lived across the way. Every time he'd ask her to dance obligatorily after his mother had nudged him towards Edwina, her heart would just about pound out of her chest. And she felt ridiculous. Because he only asked her because he felt he had to, after dancing with her sister and watching her all alone. And everyone had decided he was for Edwina, not her, she must put this aside, she must.

And then he proposes.

And Edwina is nothing but stunned, when she says, "Anthony, I can't. I don't love you, I've tried, and I don't think you love me. You're just trying to make everyone happy."

"We could be happy, together Edwina, we could be, and everyone expects it." Anthony manages to stutter out, still holding an engagement ring stupidly.

"But would we be in love? Or would you always yearn for another?"

He leaves for the continent with his wounded pride the next day, and Kate hasn't seen him since.

Until he returns for his sister's wedding, Daphne is marrying The Duke of Hastings, once his greatest friend and he returns. While Kate's expecting a proposal from Mr Dorset any day now. And she still can't stop staring at Anthony.

Kate finds him one morning, barely 11am and he's already been drinking.

"Ah! There she is, the woman who'd criticise me if I joined a monastery! What's the matter, Kate? No chastisements today? Has Thomas stolen them all from you, leaving nothing for me." He says, lounging against the sofa.

Kate just shakes her head, tears already stinging at her eyes. "If you were running away I would criticise you."

His laughter is a hard, flat thing, not like it used to be and it unbalances her a little. "Oh and the great Thomas Dorset never runs away, he stands dutifully by with his cheque book waiting to be of service no doubt!"

She flinches back at the implication, the one that's half correct, mostly true, but someone needs to provide for them, and Edwina deserves love, and Kate would never get the love she wanted anyway. "Women have few options Anthony, we must marry if we're to be of use, if we're to do anything with our lives. Unlike men like you who can drink and whore their way through life with nary a thought for anyone else."

Anthony stands striding forward until they're chest to chest, spitting the words at her "How dare-?"

"How dare I?" Kate scoffs, "How dare you? You have every advantage the world can offer, and yet you do nothing. You run away when someone injures your feelings because it was inconceivable that they not be returned because why should they not? You have everything a man can ask for, a person can ask for and you're wasting it. So do not sit there and scorn me, when marriage can only ever be an economic proposition for women!"

Anthony's eyes darken and he steps closer and it throws Kate a little off kilter again. There's a look in his eyes that Kate has never seen there before and she can't place it when he says, "I see Edwina has been withholding some of the reasoning to her rejection of my proposal. I tried marrying for obligation, Kate. I can't say I recommend it."

Her heart's pounding in her chest and her head's spinning a little, and then Anthony's eyes drop to her lips and before she knows it, they're brushing against hers. No, Not brushing, they're claiming hers. And it feels terrifying, and perfect, but it's also sad. Because she knows it can't last.

So she plants her hands on his chest and wrenches him away, breaking her own heart in the process.

"Don't Anthony. I have spent my entire life loving you, and it's cruel to play with me now when we both know all you want is a woman who will give you purpose. I won't do that for you. Find it yourself. Come back and be the head of this house. Be yourself, or nothing at all. Because this man. This one who drinks and gambles, and plays with people's lives isn't you. And it's tragic to see."

There's tears streaming down her face when she runs from his house, forgetting the book she'd gone to collect for Mary, her heart breaking over and over again.

And two days later, she stands in the middle of the town fete, Thomas Dorset down on one knee, the eyes of the entire county looking at her, Anthony's eyes burning into hers over Thomas's shoulder. And she says-

"No."

PART 2