#they just threw out all of babs development

[wuve-mwah]

ok idk who needs to hear this but pls stop making cass kill people in modern day media. for the love of god if i see a fic or art or video in anyway implying she would kill someone despite her being very against killing and highly respecting bruce’s no killing rule it’s over for me 🙏🙏 (also if you don’t know much about cass i highly recommend her Batgirl (2000) solo run it is probably one of the better comics dc has ever made)

[bigskydreaming]

I’d say the thing about some characters lending themselves better to some stories than others actually can apply to the Batfam as well, and is a sign of how well-developed they actually are. I know I’ve ranted in the past about the tendency to try and fit the Batkids into niches like the smart one and the angry one and all of that, but in terms of story TYPES, I think they do have certain niche-like feels that mean some of them are better suited to certain GENRES of story than others.

For instance....I didn’t love Grayson, but that was more due to the overshadowing circumstances and the fact that I just think King and his writing suck. A lot. But the basic premise was not at all out of Dick’s wheelhouse. He IS well predisposed to kinda globe-trotting, spy versus spy, switching disguises like they’re outfits, making the most out of his ability to make friends everywhere he goes and turn enemies into allies.....those types of stories. Not saying these should be his only stories, by any means, or that he can’t center in all kinds of other types of stories, but I’m just saying, these kinds of stories do have more of a Dick Grayson feel than they do various other Batkids.

Similarly, Jason is better suited to gothic horror types of stories than the others, just in general. His history with the Lazarus Pit, his general disposition, his THEMES, like....they speak to the same kind of aims and tones that gothic horror both births from and embodies.

This might just be me, but to me, Tim is best suited to kinda oddball, off the wall sorta stories, and that’s part of why I’m so meh on him just being shelved into the uber-genius, mini-Bruce, heir to the best detective mantle kinda thing. I’ve spoken before about how much I miss 90s Tim, but to me, Tim was always at his best, and at his best-defined, most feeling like uniquely HIM, when he was playing the underdog. When he was just this well-intentioned kid who plunged into this world that was so much larger than viewing it through his camera lens had prepared him for, but he had spunk and determination and he wasn’t about to back down or let anyone think he was in over his head so he was gonna make it through whatever the superhero life threw at him even if flying by the seat of his pants the whole way. So to that end, I mean, I think Tim is at his best when just dealing with totally WTF kinds of stories. The cross-dimensional capers, the time travel mishaps, the ‘great, I was abducted by aliens on my lunch break and now apparently I have to save planet FUBAR with nothing but my pocket knife and scathing dry wit.’

I would fucking kill for Cass at the center of noir type stories where its like, idk, the Maltese Falcon and she’s the jaded but still optimistic-at-her-core PI when trouble walks into her derelict office wrapped up in an eggplant shawl and the name Stephanie. Maybe its just that I don’t think there’s enough focus on the fact that Cass is SMART and she’s as much a detective as any of the family, does plenty of investigative work and if she’s heir to the cowl she’d be just as good at the mystery side of things as Bruce is, but just......noir stories just FEEL like dappled shadows and eerie shades of blue and black with hints of moonlight spilling through slatted blinds and all of that just screams Cass to me, faint notes of jazz in the background, a wry smile on her lips as she plays her informant like a fiddle when chasing down clues.

Duke is another globe-trotter in feel to me, like his backstory and his family and his stories with the Outsiders, like, I really want to see Duke on more superhero teams than just the Outsiders now that that’s over, because he’s better suited to stories not confined just to Gotham, I think? Like, Duke fits the conspiracy theory chasing niche to me, like, his character really comes to life when pursuing leads all across the world, digging into his past, his family’s past, seeing how it all connects to various mysteries of the DC Earth that are generations old but still affect the present....like I don’t know how many people have read Planetary, but that to me is a PERFECT fit for Duke, and I would love to see him with his own Planetary style team or even just part of one.

Damian is best suited to coming of age stories, which sounds vague, but the thing is, it really is its own genre. So much of Damian’s character, the best parts I think, are about Damian FINDING himself, DEFINING himself......he more than any of the others, debuted so clearly defined by his origins, his parents, who he was CREATED to be.....and so he more than anyone else is perfectly poised to star in stories that are all about him breaking away from that mold, from parental expectations or preplanned destinies, or even just searching for things to define him on his own terms rather than through the eyes of others. Stories that are about choosing your own path, making a self-realization or having an epiphany about who you truly are or what you want to do with your life....that to me, is Damian’s best niche. Again, doesn’t mean that other characters can’t be great in these kinds of stories as well, just that if I’m pairing one character to one genre they lean into best, this is what’s that for Damian, IMO.

Steph is a bit of an oddball for me, and I don’t quite know how to describe this, but she’s best suited IMO to those kinds of stories that like......there’s not really a specific NAME for this type, but you know them when you see them. The best comparison I can think to make is like.....the kinds of stories Harley Quinn stars in? To be clear, I’m not drawing parallels between Steph or Harley or saying they’re the same kind of character at ALL, I’m just saying like.....Harley is another character who overall is very hard to pin down in specific concrete terms, but nevertheless is centered in various stories and adaptations that are nevertheless very clearly HER.....and that’s the kind of thing I picture for Steph. She fits that niche that isn’t really a niche for anyone BUT her, because nobody else can summon that type of feel for it......the kind of story that you can’t switch anybody else in for her because the story only works with her specific kinda....energy. Bleh. I really wish I could describe it better, like its very clear in my brain, but its a story that’s more of a kind of FEEL than it is a specific description? If that makes sense like at all? LOLOL. Whatevs.

And Babs, like, I would love love love to see her centered in a proper cyberthriller. I mean, they’ve done stories kinda like that with her as Oracle, but not to the extent I’m thinking. I mean just full on cyberpunk dialed up to 11. Give me Babs enlisted by the JLA because Brainiac is loose in the internet and she has to go into cyberspace utilizing different avatars of herself and calling in allies as needed as she relentlessly hunts a villain through landscapes of data she maps and molds and turns into traps. Babs hyper-fixating on her task, her hunt, to the degree that she has to be reminded to pull herself out at times and take care of her physical needs, has people grounding her so she doesn’t get lost in cyberspace and the lure of it all, this place that’s her domain and where she shines the brightest. And so it balances that razor edge that makes for the best cyberthrillers IMO. The ones where all the possibilities of the future as embodied in technology and cyberspace are balanced with the necessity of remaining human, of being human and with roots and history embedded outside of it, in the real world. And with there being a clear juxtaposition between the two even as the protagonist goes back and forth between the two extremes of their existence, the physical and the ephemeral.

Anyway. Like I said, you can mix and match and its not like Dick can’t star in gothic horror and Jason can’t do off-the-wall dimensional hijinks or noir detective stories and Tim and Cass can’t do coming of age, etc.....its just in terms of what I was talking about, how some characters lend themselves MORE easily to certain kinds of stories than others.....this is how I perceive the various Batkids.

[autisticcassandracain]

8 and 9 for the asks!

8. What hero doesn’t deserve their hype?

Like the entire batfamily minus Cass, Duke, and arguably preboot Oracle!Babs, and Steph lmao. I'm sorry but none of the batboys are consistently well-written, their solos have long stretches with bad or heavily biased writers, and especially for Bruce and Jason, characterization is often wildly inconsistent. Cass's solo has its issues, primarily with the racism, but it still stands as probably the strongest solo a member of the batfam has ever gotten, at least in terms of long-running ones. Duke is underrated as is, and his characterization is actually pretty stable and his development generally linear and interesting, at least thusfar.

Babs and Steph both receive less attention than the batboys, though Babs has a lot of attention as Batgirl, for which she's grossly overhyped bc tbh both Steph and Cass are more interesting as Batgirl, but as Oracle she's genuinely interesting and complex and she deserves her attention. Steph also deserves the attention specifically bc she got fucked over so hard SOMEONE has to do right by her and it sure as hell isn't gonna be canon, and since she has less attention than the batboys I think she can stay. But everyone else in the batfam is overhyped as hell.

9. What’s the worst plotline you’ve read?

New Titans Wildebeest arc, hands down. It's actually like, three different arcs (minimum) combined; Evil!Joey, Donna's evil baby child, and the Team Titans introduction. And all of them are bad!!! But what makes this stand out as the crowning achievement of awful in my head is the fact that these three full-length plotlines are all mixed together with little to no attempt made to connect them (with the exception of Donna's evil baby and the Team Titans, but still). Like they had three different ideas for awful plotlines and just threw them together. Halfway through the arc I legit forgot that Joey was still running around, evil. Vic gets pretty much killed and becomes a husk and they race by it. The whole Mirage thing is obviously probably the most insensitive/problematic element of the arc, but it also receives build-up, which is more than I can say for a good number of the other plotpoints. Like. It's so fucking bad guys. It's so bad. I've seen worse, but those arcs were literally unreadable/unfollowable. This was readable, although barely, so it takes the spot.

[bluerocketaconitum]

Pieces of my Batfam fics

These are little pieces of my Batfam WIPs that I actually like. If any of them jump out to you, I'd love to hear your thoughts! I'm trying to motivate myself to write more.

--

1. From my Forever Evil fix it - DickBabs

“Hey.” His voice and smile were barely there, but the sight still flooded Barbara's eyes with tears. He let her fingers trace over his cheek. “Hey yourself.”

'Where's T'mmy?”

“He's ok. He's asleep. Jason and Alfred fixed up his arm.”

He was drifting, and Barbara didn't want his eyes to close again so soon. She trailed a finger along his cheekbone where the black foundation had smeared under his mask.

“You look like a raccoon. A very good looking one, but a raccoon nonetheless.”

That got another small smile from him, but it seemed to be all he could do. His eyes slid closed.

--

2. From my baby DickBabs story - (heavily inspired by the characterizations of Robin and Batgirl in The Batman cartoon series)

-

He quickly palmed the tears away, looking at her sheepishly through damp lashes. Barbara knelt down. “What's up?”

“Nothing.”

“C'mon Dick, I know better. Something's bothering you, and it's not just your leg, nasty as it is. I'm not judging you for crying, by the way. I cried like a baby when I broke my collarbone last year, so spill.” It was a lie, but his expression opened slightly.

“It's just...” he sighed and scrubbed his eyes once more before replacing the mask. “Can't hide this from Batman.” he gestured to his leg.

“No... why would you want to?”

Dick took a shaky breath. “He's re-evaluating Robin.”

“So... you're getting a performance review? Why?”

“I got hurt. Last night. It's why I was off my game tonight. Missed a dose or two of pain meds.”

“Oh. How bad were you hurt? It's not like you've never gotten hurt on patrol before. We both have. I don't see what the big deal is.”

In retrospect, it made sense. He had been sweating and pale even before () had broken his leg.

“I got shot. It was a graze, but deep. Leslie said it hit my rib.”

“Zigged when you shoulda zagged?”

“Yeah.”

“And Bruce let you come out tonight anyway?”

“Not exactly.”

“Ah.” Barbara bit her lip, unsure what to say. Dick looked so miserable – tearful, soaking wet and shivering, one arm tucked around his wounded rib, swollen lower lip where one of the thugs had gotten a lucky hit in, leg swathed in their capes and his escrima sticks as a splint to twice its size, weighing him down. He definitely wouldn't be running or tumbling or flipping any time soon, and that was hard for someone who barely kept his feet on the ground as it was.

“When he finds out I went on patrol without him when I was supposed to be in bed, and got hurt worse, he'll ground me forever. I don't want to lose Robin, Babs. I can't. Without Robin, I'm... I'm nothing.” he whispered.

Another tear escaped under the domino mask and Barbara sat down next to him, putting an arm over his shoulders and pulling his shaking form close, sharing some body heat and wishing for at least one of their capes to keep off the chill. He was freezing and he must have been exhausted because he allowed her embrace, almost melting against her, without any wise cracks or complaints. It made Barbara's anxiety shoot up higher. Dick loved casual touches and hugs, but when he was really hurting, he tended to clam up and insist he was fine. The fact that he was practically in her lap without any protest worried her.

She slid her gauntlet from one hand and brought it to his forehead. Hot. There were beads of sweat running down his hairline and his lower lip was trembling. Barbara winced. A very recent gunshot wound, coupled with a nasty open fracture and then a dip in the filthy Gotham harbor were all contributing factors to what could easily develop into a dangerous fever.

She hugged him closer.

“Not nothing, Dick. You're special even without Robin. But let's worry about that later, ok? Right now, we're just taking a breather and making sure the bad guys are gone so we can get home.”

--

3. From my Dick and Tim story -

“Did you check in with Oracle?”

“No. I thought you did. You were too busy soaking up the sun, weren't you.”

Dick stretched his arms toward the sky and his spine popped luxuriously. “It just feels so good. And it'll only get better. They say Dibba is what summer feels like.”

“Yeah, well, I'm getting burnt. And they confiscated my sunscreen at the airport. Glad you're having such a good time.”

Dick reached into Tim's messenger bag and plucked his ball cap from under the flap, setting it decisively on Tim's head to give his face a modicum of shade. he shook his head sadly. “You poor little vampire. You're actually worse than Bruce and that's saying something.”

-

From the same story as above - for context, Dick is temporarily blind, and they've been locked in a storage room in their civilian identities.

-

"I think i found a way out. There's boxes stacked to the ceiling, but there's a vent..."

Dick could hear Tim rustling around and grunting as he moved and un-stacked the boxes. "I don't think they realized this was here. And..." more grunting followed by a triumphant "yes! I can fit into the vent."

"Can I fit?" Dick asked.

"No. I'll come around and unlock the door."

"Are you sure? You know I can contort -"

"No!" Tim cut him off. "Absolutely not. I hate it when you do that." Dick could hear the shudder in Tim's voice and he grinned up in his direction as he deliberately shifted his shoulders backwards and up into an impossible angle around his head.

"What, this?"

"Quit it! That's gross! I will leave your freaky, boneless ass in this room if you do that again."

-

4. From my Dick and Damian story -

Damian's breath caught for a moment when an arrow from one of the higher rooftops sang toward Grayson as he landed a flip, but the acrobat spun and caught the arrow before it struck him, waving it in a cocky salute at the archer who had loosed it.

Damian grinned for the first time in half a year.

(I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of the batkids ((especially Richard 'I-grew-up-with-Roy-Harper-on-my-team' Grayson)) being able to catch arrows. I think they've done it in the comics once or twice).

-

From the same story as above -

“Are you mad at me, lil'D?” Dick asked quietly.

In answer, Damian abruptly threw his arms around his brother, hugging him tightly. Dick returned the hug, wrapping arms around Damian's shoulders.

“I thought you were angry with me.” Damian said into his brother's shoulder. “Because I didn't hear from you. Father wouldn't say anything of import during his calls. I could not tell if you were getting better or not.”

[emilystoryspot]

Bruces Baby pt.2

Link to part 1 HERE

Link to the inspiration HERE

word count  5367

Months 2 and 3

I hate sleeping in with a burning passion but Bruce read to me that exhaustion was one of the symptoms of pregnancy along with a bunch of other stuff, so I slept in. Dick liked to enjoy watching movies with me, Tim and Damien on the weekends. Eventually I started to develop a baby bump one morning. I noticed it as I was buttoning up my blouse, “How long are we planning on hiding this from the tabloids?” I asked Bruce who was slipping on his shoes.

“They find out when they find out.” Bruce finished putting on his shoes and walked over to me and placed his hands on the small spot where my stomach began to stick out, “I'll send Alfred shopping for more clothes for you, to keep it hidden.” He kisses me on the cheek and buttons up my maroon blouse for me, “When you're ready, i'll have lunch with Lois and Clark, if any tabloid are gonna find out it's gonna be them, then I'll tell the justice league because Clark will already know.” 

“I think I'm gonna wait.” I looked at myself in the mirror just like that the bump was gone with a loose shirt and a skirt. “I think i'm gonna wait.” The bump tiny was still not noticeable with dresses, but i figured If I start wearing more blouses now they won't question it later. 

Everyday at work went smoothly and instead of going on steakouts or patrol Bruce and I would sit at the comms with Babs even though with Bruce there, he ran coms me and Barbra talked about the baby, who has since been dubbed, the baby bat.

Over the coms that's all everyone talked about, Dick hung up the Nightwing suit to don the Batman and other than that everything was the same. 

“How soon until you know the gender?” Stephanie said as she threw a knife at someone.

“That's if they want to know the gender,” Babs said into the comm. Her and I were answering these questions while Bruce stayed strictly to the mission comms.

I let out a laugh, “Beginning of the fourth month. so two months we should know.”

“You want to know?” Damian asked.

“I haven't really thought about it.” 

“Easy you want to know so you know to buy the dino toys or the other -” Jason gets cut off.

“Jason!” Bruce hollers into the comms, 

“I'm good, someone just tried to stab me so I stabbed them.”

“Okay then Cassie just said you're sexist.”

I let out a laugh as Steph and Jason had a fight through Cassie, “I might choose to not know and get a little bit of everything.”

The next morning I had morning sickness for the first time in awhile, Bruce woke up when I did, but the bathroom was already ready for me, even though it hasn't happened in a while he still prepped the bathroom, for this exact reason. He tied my hair up in a bun and held it as I heaved over the toilet. With one hand he had opened the water bottle and handed it to me, keeping his hand on my head he placed one on my back. I sat on my knees and took a sip of the water, i took a deep breath and let myself fall backwards into Bruce, he caught me. His legs were spread apart and I fit perfectly between them, i maneuvered my legs into a crisscross situation. One of Bruise's legs is stretched out and the other is up, I lean into the knee, pressing my forehead on it. “I hate this” I say shutting my eyes knowing that a second wave is coming.

“I hate this too.”  Bruce lets his hands slip from my hair and back and onto my shoulders. I take another sip of the water and twist the cap on setting it down. I then feel it coming and then I'm on my knees again and more puke comes out of my more, my lungs feel hoarse. I cough over the toilet before falling back on the floor. The drop from my knees caused my whole body to shift and before my head hit the floor, Bruce caught me, suddenly I was crying and I didn't know why. He wiped my face and held me. 

“I don't think…” I coughed into my arm, rolling the side of my onto Bruce's chest, “That I can get back into bed.” I felt his arms bear hug me as he stood up so that I rose with him. He didn't pick me up like he did before but instead we waddled with me secured to his chest, my arms were wrapped around his neck, both of Bruce's arms were attached to my back and it was less of a waddle more like he was carrying me without moving me too much. When I felt the bed on the back of my knees I gently let go of Bruce and sat on the edge of the bed, he bends down and picks up my legs. I lightly moan as I roll over. He gets back into bed with me and i feel him stroke my hair eventually I fall asleep and when I awake again he's gone most likely he went to work, I check my phone, I don't have to go today, I stay in bed

The next few weeks go smoothly and both me and Bruce have decided to wait until its born to know the baby's gender, that conversation caused Jason to yell and TIm broke a cup and  coffee is now everywhere, DIck just laughed and Cassie was the only one who agreed with us, there is now a list on the fridge of boy and girl names, dino nugget made the list in the subcategory of gender neutral. These lists are the highlight of my mornings, with my morning sickness having subsided me and Bruce now spend our mornings reading through the names crossing out the ones they don't like. They've caught Alfred a few times taking photos of them. My stomach is now bigger and I've switched to elastic waistbands. Tomorrow me and Bruce have a doctors appointment for my five month checkup and then we're having lunch with Lois and Clark. 

part 3??

[star-gamerxox]

Holiday Special 2020

(This takes place in a world where none of their written stories are canon, it’s a work where all shipkids exist. It also brings up their canon age-

This is 'Second Canon' although true canon fits in their actual stories.

I didn’t include any child partially done or that don’t have canon ages figured out to work with these babs-

I also won’t add Kai and Maelee.

Also I put a couple in development characters under the guise of pregnancy-

Most ship kids belong to me

Viri’s original design by @amarald  

Picmlaoho belongs to me and @seertale )

“Merry Christmas!” A tiny body flopped on Nightmare and he let out a groan, wrapping his arms around his child.

“Hello baby. Where are all your siblings?” He asked and the child giggled more.

“Downstairs with papa!” The child, a very happy Aurora, bounced on Nightmares chest while he groaned.

“You are four, child, why are you like this?” He grumbled and his daughter squealed before deciding it was time to finally leave her dad alone.

“Don’t start presents without me!” He yelled out and aurora giggled. He groaned before his eyes widened.

“Shit… which kids are here this year? I know Cayda is here but… would Error even let EveFalcity here?” He groaned a bit before opening his door and going downstairs.

“But papaaaaaaa!” That was Pearl. She was the youngest of his kids, at 3 years old, but she didn’t remember Reaper, her biological papa.

“Nope. We gotta wait for your dad.” Killed hummed. EveFalcity wasn’t there but she was 16 now and he had hardly been in her life. 

“Hey kiddos!” He called and Pearl stood and darted over.

“Daddy! Daddy! Presents!” She wasn’t his only child that only saw Christmas as gift time.

“Wait baby,” He hummed. Onyx grinned, laughing while Cayda and Cobalt simultaneously groaned.

“But daaaad.” 

“Wait.” He chided yet again as he walked over to Killer and kissed his head. He loved his kids and he loved Killer. He just realized he had found his love for Killer much earlier in his life, although that would mean most of his kids wouldn’t even exist.

“Papa gets a present first.” He hummed and Killer smiled up at him.

“Oh?” He grinned

“Yep.” And then Nightmare got on one knee.

“No way!” Onyx sat forward and laughed. He was the oldest besides EveFalcity and yet not even he had seen his dad married. Killer nodded and Nightmare kissed him before sitting back a bit.

“Yes way.” Nightmare smiled as he slipped the ring onto Killer’s finger. They both reached to rub the almost invisible baby bump Killer had. They were both grinning widely.

“Now presents!?” Pearl whined and Nightmare turned before he started to laugh.

“Yea baby. Now presents.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cross looked at Calypso through a slightly pained gaze. The boy was just a year or two older than his own son he had with Nightmare. It was a vivid reminder of the five years he spent apart from Dream after their fight. Dream had went to Killer while Cross had, admittedly, gone back to the only other home he knew. He had gone back to Nightmare.

But then he left his son there. Thinking about Cayda wasn’t a happy way to celebrate his Christmas though so he tried to focus on the ten year old that sparked those thoughts, Calypso.

“What’s up kiddo?” He asked. Calypso giggled more and hugged him.

“Morning Papa.” Calypso didn’t know Killer much but he did at least know him.

“Morning baby… were is your dad and siblings-“ he has that question answered for him as Dream ran in with their eldest two. 

One thing that always stuck out was the fact that Calypso got none of the corruption that Dream had at the time of his birth. He also got none of the corruption his older siblings got.

“Daybreak! Toss it here!” Sunrise called and Dream laughed.

Dream wasn’t corrupted like that anymore but their eldest children were, which was a grave reminder of that time. 

“Hey… where is Nelaya?” Cross asked suddenly.

“Hiding.” Daybreak said as he threw a wrapped item at his sister.

“Again?” Dream asked.

“She’s six. This is her first Christmas without Dust.” Sunrise mumbled. Dream sighed a bit and rubbed his head.

“I swear… my poor baby…” he rubbed his small baby bump before going to go find Nelaya.

“Baby… come on sweetheart… we can call him…” he called out until he heard a familiar sniffle.

“No! I wanna go home!” She whimpered.

“I know… I know…” he whispered quietly before slowly going closer to her and lifting her up.

“I wanna go home…” she whispered again and he bounced her a bit.

“I know… but for now this is your home… let’s go…” he mumbled as he walked back over to the others. The kids all moved to surround them and Nelaya managed a small smile.

“Presents?” She spoke up and Cross started to laugh softly. He gently placed his only picture of Cayda in his pocket as they went to the tree.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Evelyn shhhhh!”

‘I can’t talk! How can I make as much noise as you!?’

“Just shush!”

‘You’re the only one making noise, Dawning!’ 

“Quiettttt!” 

“I hear two little eleven year olds trying to sneak presents at 6am while our parents are asleep.” A warm voice was heard.

‘EveFalcity!’ Evelyn darted away from her twin and tackled her eldest sister.

“Heya kiddo. Let’s not do presents now. Viri will be very upset if she finds out you did this without her.” EveFalcity sighed.

“Well… what about Syntax?” She hummed.

“He comes at one. Currently he’s at his dads.” She picked up Evelyn and threw her over her shoulder.

“Let’s go find our brother.” She hummed and Evelyn cheered. Picmlaoho was still asleep in his bed. Evelyn and Dawning moved to lay in their beds

“Morning kids!” Ink chirped as he threw open the door, holding the two year old Viri on his hip.

“Morning dad…” Picmlaoho mumbled as he rubbed his eyes and sat up. Evelyn decided to roll off the bed and Dawning laughed.

“Chri-mas! Chri-mas!” Viri chirped from her spot in her dad’s arms.

“Yep.” Dawning reached for her baby sister who squealed and made grabby hands for Dawning. She stood and took her sister from Ink before laughing as Evelyn rolled on the floor.

“Seriously?” Error walked over and rolled his eyes before lifting up Evelyn and Pic, since both were small, and walking downstairs. The laughs of the eldest child were heard in the hall and Ink threw an arm around Dawning before going downstairs. 

Error had finished making breakfast as the kids did stockings. Viri came in waving around a very small teddy bear. Dawning, Evelyn, and Picmlaoho all had matching bracelets. EveFalcity’s big stocking gift stuck out compared to her siblings. A beautiful necklace with a moon charm.

“I saw that Night sent a gift and you put it under the tree… that’s new.” EveFalcity spoke up as she sat down for the meal.

“He wants to be in your life… he has for years. He usually sends you a gift but he sent you two and he sent you that necklace.” Error hummed and she smiled a bit.

“Well that’s nice… maybe I can see him tomorrow?” 

“He’s still your parent Eve. Of course you can. He has other kids now. He’s realized a whole lot about himself over the past years. He really wants to be in your life… he really does.” He smiled and EveFalcity rested her head on the table and looked at her necklace.

“Thanks Nightmare…” 

“He really does care about her, huh?” Ink smiled as he watched his kids unwrap their presents. Somehow Viri now had a bow on her skull and Evelyn had somehow put one in her right eye. EveFalcity was resting peacefully on the couch, looking at the gifts from Night, Ink, and Error.

“He always has Ink, it’s just, he was scared when she was born. That was 16 years ago and our lives have changed a lot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Daaaaaaaaaad. Come onnnnn! I gotta go to papa and Ink’s place at one!” Syntax bounced around a bit despite being almost as old as his elder brother Zenai. 

“Yea, yea. Ze, go get Elliot and Azalea.” Blue hummed and Zenai nodded before hurrying off. Elliot was four and Azalea was already almost eight.

“Elli. Come here bubba.” Zenai grinned. He was Dusts son but for a lot of his sixteen years, it had just been him and his dad. His dad had dated others, that’s how Syntax came along, but then Blue met Red. Red came with his daughter, Azalea, who was two at the time.

No matter how much Blue loved his husband, he openly would admit he would have stayed with Dust if the other hadn’t flat out disappeared. Zenai loved his step dad and his younger siblings though, that never changed. He just missed Dust.

“Zalea! Come on!” He called the girl over and she grinned. She poked the still half asleep Elliot and the child whined loudly.

“Okay! After breakfast we’ll do gifts and stockings. At noon, Syntax gets to go to Errors so he gets to celebrate Christmas at both of his homes!” Blue always looked tired but Zenai was impressed how excited he seemed for this holiday. He did it every year and Zenai was always impressed with his dad because he had been like this since the year Dust left.

“Yay! Waffles!” Suddenly Azalea was standing on her chair and nearly jumping off it. Even without being biologically related to Blue, she somehow got his crazy energy, 

“Yep. Waffles. Although you better be careful princess or there won’t be waffles for Christmas, it’ll be a trip to the emergency room for Christmas.” Red hummed as he walked over.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Zenai hummed and Blue snorted.

“You were a very chaotic child.” Blue responded cooly.

“No. I meant that it wouldn’t be the first time for Azalea. Remember when she was four? She was trying to get her stocking down using Elliot’s bouncy chair. She bounced straight into the fire and we spent Christmas in the burn wing with a sobbing two month old. We all already know I spent many Christmas’ getting a cast put on some broken limb.” Zenai hummed as he ate breakfast.

“I have no clue how your girlfriend handles you.” Syntax hummed.

“Well you’ll see her at Error’s, why don’t you ask her for me?” He grinned and Syntax shot him a glare.

“Just because you grew up with my big sister doesn’t make this any less awkward. You’re my big brother and EveFalcity is my big sister. Even if you two don’t have any family relation, it’s strange for me.” He stuck out his tongue and Zenai laughed.

“Yea, yea. Come on. Presents.” Somehow the younger two were finished. Zenai was mostly finished and Syntax was too.

“Yay!” Azalea ran ahead and Zenai laughed.

“Be careful!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bryin groaned and flopped on his back.

“When can we start?” He mumbled. It was already noon and his presents were mocking him.

“When Pandora gets here. The Foster place was very iffy about letting her spend Christmas here. We said around lunch.” Spoop, Bryin’s younger half brother, mumbled. Bryin didn’t hate Spoop but he definitely didn’t like him either. His parents had been separated for a couple years when they finally got back together. Horror came back with two toddlers and, sadly, the elder twin- Rye- died in a car crash a month later with his biological dad. Spoop didn’t remember either of them.

“She’s your friend, go get her.” Bryin glared and his six year old, younger, brother held up his hands.

“Im six, not a miracle worker!” He yelped and Bryin groaned.

“Kids! Guess who’s here!” Lust yelled from downstairs and Bryin ran down.

“Finally!” He laughed. Pandora was a skinnier girl with super tiny wings. She was seven, a year older than Spoop, and she had lost her parents about 6 months ago. Somehow Spoop and Pandora had convinced their parents and her foster parents to let her stay the day here. At their House. On Christmas.

The older brother wasn’t amused by Spoops plans.he was eight by now, almost nine, and he was supposed to get his first tablet this year. That wasn’t happening now. They could afford a tablet and gifts for Pandora.

Or so he thought.

Bryin had come to terms with the fact he wouldn’t get his long awaited gift. He didn’t blame Pandora, or Spoop.

Spoop and Pandora were finished with their presents and Bryin stared at his final one, a bit confused. As he opened it, his eyes lit up.

“No way…” he looked up at his parents. “How?”

“Well… I know you wanted a tablet to help you play games and we didn’t wanna take that away from you… so I picked up extra shifts at the restaurant and Horror did some extra odd jobs.” Lust smiled and Bryin lit up. He moved to hug Lust who just grinned and spun his son around. 

“Thank you Daddy! Thank you so much!” Bryin nearly cried and Lust just smiled.

“Of course baby… of course.” He whispered as Horror moved to join the hug, surrounding his love and their eldest child.

“Of course.” Horror’s voice was more raspy but it always made Bryin smile, just as the boy was now. Both parents moved slightly when Spoop wanted to join, letting him in. They even encouraged Pandora to be part of a family hug.

“You’re the best…” Bryin whispered and, as if sharing a brain wave, Horror and Lust smiled.

“No you are… all three of you.” They whispered, almost in unison.

What a good Christmas this turned out to be.

[swordmaid]

And Brienne’s whole ‘I m goin to join the Kingsguard and write a loving tribufe to incest but nothing was lost that important’ also gave me a love/hate vibe.

I guess when I said Book JB was more tender than their show counterparts, I was thinking of a meta I recently read that said by punching Ron Con after her insulted Brienne, Jaime was punching himself for his past behavior and cruel words towards Brienne and it was a sign of his growth towards being a better person and more knightly. 

answering all of this in one go so it’s easier for me! 

re: brienne joining the kingsguard, supporting incest. I think Show Brienne had always been written as someone who becomes a knight. I really don’t remember the finer details about the show and only like the plot points but iirc we don’t really know what she wants to do outside her being the sworn swords to the starks right? Like I don’t remember Brienne ever saying that she wanted to go back to Tarth someday or she wants to travel the world etc. (And her being Selwyn’s daughter HAS been established on the show so her being his heir IS  a thing i guess?). All she was was that she was Sansa’s sworn sword, so her being in a KG in the ending makes SOME sense I guess since they didn’t give her any other desires than having someone to serve. Her being in Bran’s KG in particular makes no goddamn sense since her oath only makes her sworn to Cat’s daughters (???) but we’re not talking about that. And I don’t even know about the white book scene but maybe it was just her making sure everyone remembers him as good rather than evil?? idk honestly my mind blue screens when I have to think about the show so again--inconsistency in the writing!! we love to see her.

re: book jb being more tender than their show counterparts. i’ve read that meta and i do agree with it! but i will say that having a snarky dynamic =/= doesn’t mean that they can’t be tender. they can bicker WHILE being tender with each other. they can be soft with each other as well act like the absolute fools. the thing is, book jb’s relationship has an influence not just to their relationship with each other and how they see each other, but to their own individual characters outside of that relationship if that made sense???. that meta explains how jaime is seeing his past behaviour and being disgusted by it, and it shows the readers how much his own character has developed from meeting and being in brienne’s company. the jaime before would more likely had joked with ronnet--he had never shied from saying how ugly brienne was before, so it would make SENSE if he did have a laugh with ronnet but the jaime now--the jaime who’s been in brienne’s company, who knows her individual worth and sees her as his protector as well as the jaime who’s going through his own introspection right now--does not agree with what ronnet is saying and is frankly disgusted by it and that is WHAT growth!! ronnet was similar to him at the start of asos (in terms of how he sees brienne) but after what they’ve been through in the riverlands, he values brienne now and he can’t stand the thought of someone bad mouthing her (just like brienne can’t stand it when people are calling him kingslayer in feast even though ... she relentlessly threw kingslayer at his face in the start of their roadtrip). i think they can both grow as individuals, and their relationship can also develop while still retaining some aspects of their dynamic. there’s that little scene in asos where tywin tells jaime what happened to vargo hoat, and jaime was so excited to tell brienne even though she wouldn’t find it as funny as him--i think that’s an inkling of how their dynamic would be lol. also that scene in general was just very cute and peak boyfriend activity

I also maybe said show JB was more snarky because Show!B was more confident and brutal compared to the romantic, deeply compassionate and gentle, shy, and chronically self-effacing. Basically I am tired at picking @ my memory of things like a vulture. 

Maybe I was mixing up book Brienne’s character with book JB’s dynamic, ehhhhh? Again, I am tired.

i totally get you but i don’t think we shouldn’t forget that book brienne is almost always perceived as someone who’s standoffish, mulish and very stiff -- in her universe. we as the readers get that impression as well, and it’s only till we get in her head that we are proven wrong. we know that she is shy, and that shyness comes from the fact that she’s been ridiculed most of her life, but what comes out is her being awkward and stiff and very antisocial. brienne herself admits that jaime’s words DID cut her (poor bab LOL) but from how she is in asos, most of the times she does bite back when he does. book brienne IS gentle and she IS compassionate and all that but that doesn’t erase the fact that she did/does have a combative dynamic with jaime, and does not mean they can’t go soft either !! but obviously it would depend on where germ takes their relationship and what facets of themselves that they’ll choose to reveal to each other. 

[mismerccray]

Met His Match

DAMIAN FIC IS HERE!!! So, I aged him up a bit and didn’t include a lot of dialogue. Hope you guys like it!

y/n= your name

y/s/n= your superhero name

word count (1626)

Damian Wayne was a lot of things at age 16. He was strong, fast, and just as talented as his elder brothers. He was beginning his last growth spurt, finally catching up to his brother Dick. He had a mind like his father and a mouth like his mother. For these reasons, he never quite met anyone he deemed to be on his level.

Then he met her.

(Y/S/N) was the protege of Selina Kyle before she branched out at age 15. She had all the acrobatic prowess of both Selina and Dick, but the ruthlessness of Jason and the detective mind of Tim and Babs. He never even saw her coming.

They first met while he was out on patrol with his father and brothers. He was still new to the rank of Robin at age 10, but he was making progress in controlling his venomous mouth and easily triggered temper. Bruce said they were waiting for someone to show up, at the top of the Wayne Enterprises building. Damian quickly got distracted by what he considers to be his fools of brothers playing with a NERF foam football. Suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder. He looked back and no one was there. He looked down and the ball was gone. He looked around confused for a while as his brothers laughed. 

A shadow passed him suddenly and he leaped into action with a punch, only for his fist to be caught in the softest gloved hands he’d ever experienced. He finally caught sight of her, and he brow furrowed in annoyance. But his heart skipped a beat when he got a really good look at her standing beside Selina and his father. Skin like rich cherrywood, curls that managed to escape from under her hood in almost unreal spirals, and the fullest lips he’d ever seen. Lips that were pulled into a cocky smirk.

That was the first time he’d seen that smirk, but not the last. 

She quickly became a damn near permanent part of his life. She transferred schools, was in his homeroom class, would waltz around the manor like she owned it, and bothered him during patrol. He saw her more than he saw his own father. Then she had the audacity to sleep in his bed. There are over 30 bedrooms in the manor and she picked his. Well, he refused to be put out of his own room. So at age 11, they shared a room whenever she was around.

At first, it was pure venom in his words when he spoke to her. He could admit to himself that she was beautiful, but he refused to see her as his equal in any way. Not after she embarrassed him in front of his family, not when she kept up with him on patrol (When she wasn’t thieving with Selina), not when she was his equal academically, and not when she was able to return his jabs with the calmest, damn near amused demeanor.

Damian Wayne had never met a girl like her. He’d never met anyone like her. As the years went by, they stayed by each others sides. His words only softening with her. His sarcasm not having it’s usual punch with her. Hell, his insults and jabs felt almost like something else when said to her. And she just rolled with the punches. And just like he grew, so did she, and he found her more beautiful every day.

He couldn’t keep his eyes off her curves. No matter how much training and fighting she did, her hips and thighs truly completed the hourglass figured she’d been developing all along. She had what he considered an “acceptable” amount of softness to her skin. It complimented her sweet yet fierce nature perfectly. If there were ever any gaps between situations in Gotham, he almost forgot about it. Almost.

Last night, they were on patrol with just Batman and Nightwing. Somehow when investigating an abandoned warehouse on the docks, they were separated and surrounded by Two-Face’s goons. They were supposed to be fighting back to back, like they always would. Today, Damian went rogue. He began fighting every goon in sight, not caring that he had just abandoned his partner. Moments after kicking one of them in the face, he heard a scream that made his blood run cold. He turned his head and saw a mountain of men manhandling (Y/S/N). When he tried to run over to help, he was caught and hauled away.

It was a bad situation. Thankfully Batman and Nightwing came to their rescue after taking out Two-Face. The original dynamic duo brought the kids back to the cave to be looked at by Alfred. It was the quietest ride Damian could remember. He could tell without looking at anyone that not only was his father and brother mad at him, but she was furious. 

As he expected, when back in the cave, he got a real lecture on having your partner’s back from Batman and Nightwing. They ripped him a new one while Alfred stitched up a gash on his arm. Jason and Tim had gone out to take over patrol for the Robin and (Y/S/N). Alfred sat in silence, diligently caring for the boy, with a look of disappointment evident on his stoic face. Damian came out of the situation with a few scrapes, bruises, and a nasty gash on his forearm where one man had pulled a knife on him. (Y/S/N) wasn’t as lucky.

She came away from the encounter with a broken wrist, black eye, some broken ribs, and a broken arm. She was beaten like a grown man by a group of grown men. And her partner didn’t have her back. She was silently fuming while Dr. Thompkins reset her broken limbs and treated her. Her nails gripped the side of the table as much as she could to prevent her screaming. Both in pain, and at the person she once considered her friend. 

After Batman and Nightwing returned to patrol, Babs took over the computer so Alfred could take the injured teens upstairs. On the way up the stairs in the manor, (Y/N) refused to speak a word. Not a glance was spare in his direction. Before they could get to the floor Damian’s room was located on, she made a sharp turn into an empty bedroom and shut the door. Damian turned and stared at the door as he felt the guilt truly begin to suffocate him. 

He later found out that she had asked Alfred to prepare the room for her.  

It took Damian a month of his apologising and her silence before she even reacted to his existence. That reaction truly reminded him of her ferocity, but he’d never been on the receiving end of it. Until now. As soon as he approached her in the kitchen, she put her head down and began to count her breathing. Bruce was sitting next to her and watched this from over the Wall Street Journal and his cup of coffee. It seemed that Damian was so desperate for forgiveness, that he completely overlooked her apparent rage. 

Until she threw her bowl of cereal at his head. Bruce’s eyes widened, but he knew better than to stop her. When that girl got mad, she became damn near godly. Instead, he shifted himself in between the two teens to make sure she didn’t aggravate her injuries... and to make sure she didn’t kill his son.

Damian easily dodged the bowl and watched in shock as she commenced a full screaming rage rant at him. 

“You were my best friend, you self absorbed, sheltered, rich, asshole! You were supposed to have my back! I have had enough of this shit, I am done with people who won’t look out for me! I fucking ditched Selina’s “You’re a better hero miserable” ass for it. I refuse to give your bratty self entitled ass any special treatment! I.... I just fucking can’t with you.” She walked around Bruce and Damian. Marching her way to her room to pack her things. She already had a key to Jason’s safe house in Downtown Gotham. Now to figure out how to get there.

As she’s planning her exodus from the manor, a knock came at her door. She stopped moving and watched as her door slowly creaked open. Damian slowly walked in as if he were entering a lion’s cage. And he was. He had a look on his face that she couldn’t quite understand. But he finally understood.

He finally understood the feelings he had for her since they’d met all those years ago. He finally understood why he had been watching her the way he had for years. Finally understood why he kept her close to him. Finally understood why he had acted the way he did one month ago. Now might be his last opportunity to tell her. For the first time in his life, he can put his pride aside. Only with her.

She heard him out. They talked, they cried, and they came together in fully realized feelings.... But only after she slapped him across the face. Her exact words were that she wanted to “Slap the last bit of stupid boy” out of him. It was then that Damian knew, he Met his match.

“This has been a story read by Stephanie Brown and dictated by Dick.” Stephanie smiled as she ended the story she had been telling her Titan team mates. Wally looked at her with a somewhat amused and confused expression.

“Steph, we asked what time it was, not how the Demon Spawn got a girlfriend.”

[gender-chaotic]

I don’t think I’ve hear anything about your Paranormal Investigator au?? Could you tell me/us about it?

Anon bless, thank you for giving me an exuse to info dump about my au. Also just a warning this is going to mix characters from all 3 canons and its gonna be pretty long. So this au takes place in pleasent pines Connecticut (based on peaceful pines from the show) that is a paranormal hotspot of sorts. Its seen as a town curse and while many of the townsfolk are vaugley aware of the cryptids,ghosts,monsters,ect. That are apart of the town they tend to turn a blind eye/ignore it. This also has to do with the witch trials that took place in Connecticut hundreds of years ago which raises the towns superstitions. Beej, adam, babs are paranormal investigators who live out of their van with lydia who doesnt live in the van with them but helps them hunt the paranormal Beetlejuice/bj/beej (Lawrence beetlejuice Shaggoth) (23) is one of the local paranormal investigator, at a young age he learned he could see ghosts due to the death of his father which was thought to be him leaving his family. After that beej started to see ghosts anywhere they were and tried to tell people around town and attempt to help ghosts as much as he could. This sparked beej's interest in becoming a paranormal investigator and he attempted for years to tell people and town and get them to pay attention but he ended up gaining the reputation as being the "crazy wierd kid who thinks he can see ghosts". Over the years as beej started to humant and investigate the paranormal more and more in town with the rest if the gang the town started to resent him more and he was also seen a making their "curse" worse not to mention breaking into buildings and generally "causing trouble" around town to do his job. Juno, mother to beej and his twin brother Donny hated this and for years tried to shut down his belief in the paranormal and discourage him from hunting ghosts. The fact that beej insists that he says he kept seeing his father as a ghost around made it worse. Juno is a successful buisness woman in town obsessed with her image and status in town and often pits donny and bj against eachother and cares more about they make her look than her own children. She made it clear all bj's life he was a disappointment and always insulted and berated him but favored donny, she even attempted to have beej institutionalized because of his ability to see ghosts and also undiagnosed mental illness she never took seriously, but since beej was always deemed "mentally healthy" it was never sucessful but gave him a fear of being institutionalized and asylums. When beej turned 18 she kicked him out of the house and beetlejuice dropped out of highschool, after this beetlejuice officially started his parnormal investigation buisness out of his van traveling around town and even out of town or out of state at times. Juno still lets him and the rest of the gang in the house at times or atleast let them sleep in the van in their driveway because donny begs her. Beetlejuice often steals food and supplies from his mom's place but donny replaces it for him and attempts to help beej out financially but of course beej is too stubborn to take it. Barbara(21) lived on a farm her whole life with a deeply religious family and was homeschooled, she often went into town to read books at the library where she learned about witchcraft and immediately took a liking to it, secretly practicing at home. Her parents unfortunatly found out multiple times and each and everytime threw out or destroyed any altars, books, herbs, ect. She had anything she had to do with witchcraft. When she was 18 a monster/crpytid started hunting down and killing local farm animals. Baraba who is an animal lover and also a very young witch secised to try and bring the animals back but failed and while doing so was kicked out of their home, blamed for the murders of those farm animals even after she insisted and begged it wasnt hrler and that it was somwthing else out there but none of her family believes her instead she is called the devil and various other insults. After this she moves in with adam for the time being who's parents reluctantly take her in temporarily. Adam (21) used to go to school with beej and donny back in middle/high school. For a long time he kind of saw beej how everyone else saw beetlejuice, and thought he was a crazy trouble making wierdo not wanting anything to do with him until one day barbara brings beetlejuice around telling adam they should help him hunt the paranormal, withadam being the tech guy since his love for fixing and building things carries over into more modern tech in this au. Adam doesnt believe beej at first but on their first job that quickly changes and the 3 of them eventually become paranormal investigation team, barbara being their witch/mystic and adam ad their tech/research/ and camera guy. Adam's parents eventually kick adam and barbara out because they don't approve of Barbara's witchcraft but also that both of them are working with the "town menace" beetlejuice so after that they live with beej out of the van. Often struggling to turn a profit or make ends meet . all of them become infamous around town and ans are mostly hated especially since they're rivaling otho. Otho(early to mid 30's) is the town's medium,exorcist ,paranormal investigator and rival of our mystery gang. Most of the town looks up to him and he's seen as the savior of pleasant pines when he's actually a fraud. He rarely actually solves any actually problems or finds a cheap/half assed way of doing it while pretending to this all powerful mystic. He also tends to just straight up exorsize ghosts even low level ones that arent demons or poltergeists when beetle juice tries to help these spirits and they down need to be exorsized. Otho is assisted by vanessa (She is the magician's assistant from the film)(24/25) his loyal assistant who enjoys having power in town and living ontop working for otho uaually willing to do whatever he says to help them rise to power of course she is very independent and will speak her mind, still often doing what she wants. They both along with otho's other followers want the mystery gang gone. Delia (early to mis 30's) is one of the the many deticated followers to otho in town, being one of his closest friends and wants to help in anyway she can. Delia is also a witch or a witch in training under otho but very new to witchcraft and since she is taken under otho's wing she doesn't really know alot of proper witchcraft. Delia is more naive and thinks otho is actually helping, wanting to assist him and the town in anyway possible. Lydia (13), Charles' daughter and delia's stepdaughter is fascinated with the paranormal and runs a blog "pleasant pines paranormal" documenting all things weird in town. Lydia is also obsessed with the mystery gang and desperately wishes to join them despite being so young and a job like this will put her in alot of danger. She eventually convinces them to hire them because of her father's connections to certain buildings and lands around town since charles has a job in real estate and is pretty successful/well off giving them leads ahead of otho. With her step mother's close friendship with him this also gives them a chance to one up him. Lydia can see ghosts loke beej but keeps it mostly a secret to not be ostracized even more by the town like beej is, and eventually learns witcraft under barbara. Through out the story lydia is also trying to look for emily's ghost around town or find her in some kind of after life. Charles (late 30's) as mentioned works in real estate in town inadvertently helping the gang with leads and investigation. Charles is more neutral toward otho and the mystery gang, he doesnt really see otho as a great saviour of the town like everyone else but luts up with all the otho stuff because of delia. He also doesn't hate the mystery gang just see's them as a bunch of kids making money the same way otho is although he isnt thrilled his daughter is following them around. This is the main cast and story for now, there are more characters like: tina (miss argentina) (24) who is childhood friends with beej and donny she like charles is more neuteral toward bith parties although since she ia friends with beetle juice she is more on their side, often trying to help them with food, essentials, somwetimes lets them sleep in her apartment and use her shower. She unfortunatly doeant areally believe that beej can see ghosts like the town and thinks its "delusions" which puts a strain in their friendship especially since tina thinks they should find a real job, this isnt malicious she's just worried about her friends and hates seeing them struggle. Tina Secretary/assistant to juno in this au and the ex girlfriend to vanessa. Tina doesnt really like otho and broke up with vanessa after she became closer and more loyal to him. Claire (13) lydia's classmate (and crush) like in the cartoon bullies lydia for being "weird" and helping the mystery gang, claire's parents are rich followers of otho. Sometimes acts as a spy/informant for otho to prove her loyalty to him and her parents. I think this is all the basic info and main cast stuff for the au im probably missing some stuff tho. Theres also alot of things i have developed already and alot more world building i want to do so if y'all wanna hear more about this au hmu in asks, I'll probably even draw some stuff for this au.

[taleofharrison]

A Million Dreams

Pairing: Ben Hardy x reader

Summary: Reader and Ben have a beautiful relationship that only becomes stronger as the years go by. He met her while he was working in Eastenders

Warnings: This pure fluff but maybe some grammar mistakes English isn’t my first language and the timeline may be kind of a mess, also I know nothing about fashion so I don’t know if there are mistakes about it.

A/N: this is for @queens-n-roses 2k writing challenge, her blog is one of my favorite. It is based on the song A Million Dreams which is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies so this was really fun to write. This is my first time posting so if you like it let me know

2013

Your first job after you finished your career was in the BBC you took care of the costumes for different shows but your real dream was to become a successful fashion designer with your own clothing line. It wasn’t gonna be easy you knew that and you were happy working there it was a good way to start your life.

One of the shows was Eastenders you felt like it was a dream since you used to watch the show with your grandmother that’s where you met Ben you helped him get ready and fixed his hair a little bit though it wasn’t your work, he was always so kind and like to talk with you before his scenes you didn’t want to accept it but you had a little crush on him little do you know as weeks went by he developed a crush on you too.

“Hi Y/N” he said when he got back to return his costume “I was wondering if…you would like to go for a drink with me tomorrow”

You were surprised you never thought he could see you as more than a friend “I’d love to”

“Cool so…see you tomorrow” he kissed your cheek and left you were so happy you couldn’t believe this was really happening.

The next night you were at a bar near his flat both drinking a beer laughing this was the first time you ever talked to him outside work you couldn’t believe how funny and kind he really was.

“So…Y/N” he said after taking a sip of his beer “tell me about you we’ve talked enough about me”

“Well…what can I say? I love designing and I dream of having my own clothing line someday…maybe work in Paris or in Milan for a while” you said with a gleam in your eyes which Ben thought was adorable “I know it’s stupid it may never happen” you said looking down at your beer.

“No, it isn’t” he said holding your hand on the table “I think it’s great…you know when you talk about it you have a gleam in your eyes”

“Thank you my parents never wanted me to study design but my grandmother taught how to sew and she died before I got into college she wanted to be a fashion designer as well she was really happy when I told her I wanted to study design” you said you felt really comfortable talking to Ben about it both of you felt like you had known each other for ages “my parents said ‘you should study law or something like that you will never make it as a designer’ I guess they were kind of right”

“You’re joking? I’ve seen some of your drawings when I go get my costume and they’re so good” Ben said “You’re really talented”

“Thank you” you whispered

2016

You and Ben had been dating for three years now and you were so happy about it. A week after your first date he asked you to be his official girlfriend of course you said yes. Now you were getting ready to the premiere of X-Men: Apocalypses wearing a dressed you designed, now you were a well kwon designer you still remember when you got your job as an assistant in a fashion magazine.

“They are going to call you” Ben said trying to calm you kissing your shoulder “you’re the best fashion designer in the world”

“How can you be so sure? This magazine is really important if I get the job…” you said you were really nervous when the phone rang “Hello...yeah this is she…oh it’s alright yeah thank you”

“And…did you get the job?” Ben asked he wouldn’t admit it but he was as nervous as you.

“I got the job!” you screamed “I GOT THE JOB!!”

“You see baby I told you!!!” he hugged you so tight he was really proud.”I love you”

It was the first time he ever said that “I love you too”.

And from that moment on your career only grew you were discovered by another designer and he helped you to get to the next level you were finishing your make up when another memory came to your mind when Ben got the role for X-Men.

Ben was a really nervous walking around your bedroom this stressed you and Frankie out.

“Babe I know you’re really nervous so am I but you have to calm down you’re stressing Frankie too” you said from your desk you were working on some ideas for your next collection.

“It’s just this is a big role you know? It’s going to be great”

“You’re so talented they are going to call you” you said leaving your desk giving him a hug “do you want to watch Netflix until they call? I can finish later”

He nodded.

You were halfway through the third movie when Ben got the call saying he got role you were really happy and proud “I told you all of our dreams would come true” you said before kissing him.

“Ready?” Ben’s voice brought you back to reality.

“Yeah I am” you said looking yourself in the mirror for the last time you were really nervous this was your first public event as Ben’s girlfriend you both wanted and tried to keep your relationship private to avoid any hate comment but now you were tired of it Ben wanted to show he was your boyfriend to the world “you look so handsome”

“And you look so beautiful” he kissed you.

The premiere was awesome and you two received kind and beautiful comments on your instagram accounts people really loved you two together you even thought that you should have made public your relationship earlier.

Two months after the premiere he was sure he wanted to marry you. You both had a really good relationship, you rarely had big fights and when you had them you would always make up the same night, you started living together a year after you began dating and adopted Frankie together. It was a Sunday morning when Ben missed your body in bed with him he checked the time it was 7.30 am so he went to look for you he took the small red box he kept in his drawer at first he wanted to do something special like surprising you in Milan or a fancy dinner but you loved simple improvised stuff and he couldn’t wait to ask you.

He found on your studio drawing he smiled he thought it was cute sometimes when you had ideas in your dreams you would wake up and start drawing them in the middle of the night in fact seeing in your pajamas in yours stool with your hair made a mess made him love you more and he felt more confident of his decision of asking you.

“Hi babe” he said kissing your head “what are you doing up so early?” Ben was in pajamas you didn’t know what time it was you just had an idea in the middle of the night and you had draw it before you forgot it.

“I’m working on something I just got invited to the fashion week in Milan” you said in a yawn but with that gleam in your eyes that appeared every time you talked about your job or about anything you loved which Ben loved.

“I love that when you talk about your designs and all the ideas you have your eyes have this special gleam and I just want to spend every moment of my life next to you” you stopped what you were doing and turned around on your chair to look at him “we’ve been through everything together and I just love everything about you” he popped a red velvet box out nowhere “will you marry me?”

“YES!” you said bursting into tears you were so happy you threw yourself into his arms kissing him “I love you so much” you said as he put the ring on your finger.

“I’m sorry I asked you this way…I just couldn’t wait” he said “I was planning on surprising you in Milan”

“You know you don’t have to do that” you said “This moment is perfect just me and you”

2017

You’ve been married with Ben for five months now and you two were the happiest people on Earth you were working on something for your summer line you had taken some inspiration from the 80’s all the colors and prints really made you happy when Ben burst into the house.

“Y/N! I NEED DRUM LESSONS IMMEDIATELY!” he screamed.

“If you want to learn there is a teacher near here” you said calmly whenever Ben was stressed you stopped what you were doing to comfort him “you don’t have to act this way. Why are you so nervous?”

“I…may or may not have said I knew how to play the drums to get a role” he said you were confused.

“Why would you do that?”

“I really want to play Roger in a movie about Queen” he said with a smile just the thought of the possibility of getting the role made him really happy.

“Baby that’s awesome” you said you two were big Queen fans “You have to start your lessons right away!”

When he got the role you two were so excited he even took you to meet Brian and Roger and you were there when he met the boys, you were there first day shooting live aid you even did the BAB dance with Joe and Gwilym.

“You sure you don’t want to come with me today?” Ben said holding your hips “You know everyone will miss you there”

“Of course I want to go but I really have to stay here finish something for my new collection” you said but it was a lie the truth was that you thought you were pregnant you hadn’t had your period in 2 weeks and you really hoped you were pregnant “good luck” you kissed him goodbye.

Once he left, you did two different pregnancy tests to be sure they turned out to be positive you couldn’t wait to tell him it was happening you really were having a family with him you burst into tears again another one of your dreams came true.

When Ben got home from set he was really tired and he really had missed seeing you around even Roger and Brian thought it was weird not seeing you there.

“Hey babe” he gave you a small kiss on the lips.

“Hi! Did you have a good day on set?” You asked as he sat on the couch next to you.

“Yeah…but I missed you” he hugged you and pulled your back closer to his chest “everyone actually”

“Yeah I missed everyone too” you said in a sigh “especially Joe”

“I knew you were cheating on me!” he continued the joke “but Joe is mine, babygirl”

“You wish” you laughed with him “hey can you help me finish some designs? I ran out of ideas”

“Sure”

You gave him some drawings they all were baby clothing “You’ve never done clothes for babies why…” and then he saw the last drawing it said ‘which one do you like for our baby?’ “Are you…are you pregnant?” he said you nodded your head.

“I found out this morning” you said with a smile.

He got up from the couch with you in his arms he couldn’t believe it.

“We’re going to be parents!” he was really happy about it he put you back on the ground “I have to tell the boys! They are going to be so happy about it”

“Hold on” you said “we can tell them tomorrow on set…now can we just lay in the couch and cuddle? I missed you so much today”

“Yeah I can do that”

You giggled as you laid down in the couch with him his hands were in your flat belly while he kissed your neck you felt safe and warm in his arms you were thinking about how happy you were in that moment this was actually happening you were having a family with Ben you two had successful careers and been through a lot together you knew you were going to be wonderful parents and your life was perfect those million dreams you had as a kid came true the moment you met Ben and you couldn’t wait to see your kid making his or her dreams come true.

--

[gellavonhamster]

thoughts on ASOUE Season 3

from someone who remembers the last four books (except for TGG) quite badly - I think I have to mention this at once. Overall I really enjoyed it, but to me, it was a season of bringing everything to the max - an expression which here means "some parts being absolutely perfect but some parts also being completely ruined". More detailed review under the cut.

Things I loved:

Acting. The main kids have developed into really good actors; their performances were outstanding. It is difficult for me to determine how much of Sunny is CGI and how much is actually Presley Smith, but she was as adorable as ever (I LOVED how sweet and pleased her face was when she suggested pushing Olaf overboard). Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes delivered a lot of emotional scenes and showed the inner conflicts faced by the Baudelaires perfectly (also, remember how we speculated about why the Baudelaire siblings never really cry on the show? Well, there was a lot of crying this season and I cried with them, too). The rest of the cast was also splendid. Kitana Turnbull is still nailing it as Carmelita, Lucy Punch is still an amazing Esme, Tony Hale is still a great Jerome. Neil Patrick Harris's performance this season included a number of heartfelt scenes I wouldn't even think the show version of Olaf capable of. Usman Ally's performance, together with additional character development, was more than I could ever wish for Fernald, one of my favourite characters. Really, everyone did great.

I agree with the review that said that in this season, children are finally not overshadowed by adults. The adult characters (Kit, Fernald, Lemony, Dewey) still get more to do than they did in the books, but they do not take up as much screentime as Jacques and Olivia or the Quagmire parents. It is truly the kids (the Baudelaires + Quigley + Fiona) who are in the focus. As it should be.

When I say that something in a book/film/show made me cry, it is often an exaggeration, but I literally wept when Sunny was persuading Violet to leave her in captivity as a spy. Especially when Sunny tied up her hair the way Violet does, and also when she showed that she learned to be brave from Violet. It is my favourite moment of the season.

Quigley. I can't say the Quagmires are my faves, but it's still a pity that the show made Duncan and Isadora (to my mind) pretty bland. Quigley feels like a much more fleshed-out, interesting character than both his siblings combined - brave, resourceful, but also a bit reckless. And he's the only Quagmire who has the right hairstyle (well, at least he looks very much like the Quagmire triplets in the illustrations for the translation I've read).

Fernald and Sunny shared the cutest moments of the season. Yet still - I thought that when Fernald threw the cage off the mountain, he knew it was empty, but even if he did not, it wouldn't be completely out of character for him to sacrifice something he cares about to win Olaf's respect. Loved the Cinderella parallel and how Fernald is a messed-up version of Sunny's fairy godmother. Also when he found out she was poisoned and took her in his arms T_T

The interaction between Fernald and Fiona was exactly what I hoped for, they're ride or die for each other since the very moment they're reunited

Jerome/Charles and Babs/Mrs Bass! I'm choosing to believe both Jerome and Babs survived the fire (I mean, Justice Strauss managed to escape, and she was on the freaking rooftop!) and reunited with their respective love interests. Here for the implication that Charles is now running the lumbermill on his own after Sir fled - maybe it will finally become a better place of employment.

I dreamed of Bea II and Lemony sharing root bear floats and I cannot believe I actually got to have this

Kit and Lemony having some scenes together!

The first shots of the Hotel Denouement... very pretty, very aesthetic 

I liked how it is shown that the Denouement brothers still care about one another despite their ideological differences (the way Frank and Ernest are both clearly grieving during the trial!). Another thing I liked was how at first they made it seem like Kit is dating the wicked brother. If I haven't read the books, that would've been a big "holy shit" moment.

The Man with a Beard but No Hair and the Woman with Hair but No Beard were properly menacing, and making their beard and hair essentially the same but upside down was brilliant. 

Some of the theories they chose to make true on the show are the ones that I believe to be true as well (e.g. Lemony being the taxi driver in TPP, The Man with a Beard and the Woman with Hair being Olaf's chaperones/guardians, Olaf and Esme having murdered Carmelita's parents).

Lemony carrying around photos of his siblings :(

When Violet closed Olaf's eyes, I cried again.

Things I hated:

I propose we all agree that Ish is lying about being the founder of VFD because he hasn't seen new faces in ages and finally there are some new castaways whom he can bullshit about being more important than he actually was and stroking his ego. It became clear a long time ago that the show doesn't give a damn about the canon timeline, but VFD being that recent does not make sense even in the Netflix-verse. What about so many VFD buildings, the underground repurposed as secret tunnels, the whole city being shaped like the VFD sign? It couldn't have happened that fast. What about Kit saying she hadn't learned to hang glide until she was seven? Does not sound like a regular thing to teach a child. Also it means that All the Wrong Questions cannot be adapted for the screen because then the Netflix-verse would contradict itself. The VFD was introduced as such a huge, omnipresent organization, and in the end it boiled down to, like, a group of too ambitious students letting their teacher fill their heads with nonsense The Secret History-style? Ridiculous.

The only things I liked about the opera flashback was how dashing everyone looked (I think this was Esme's best look in all three seasons) and how happy and careless and relaxed they were while Beatrice was singing. In all other respects it was a trainwreck. I am not upset that on the show it didn't happen when the characters were kids because I do not have a strong opinion on what age everyone was then, and because learning that your friends and your girlfriend killed your parents sounds like a traumatizing experience no matter the age. But that's the thing - on the show, it didn't go down like this. The horror of what happened was downplayed by reducing the number of victims to Olaf's father only, by not mentioning Kit's involvement at all and turning a premeditated murder into manslaughter. And where's Bertrand? Olaf blames both Baudelaires but we are shown that he saw Beatrice and Lemony with the darts. It isn't even implied that Bertrand made the darts himself for this purpose specifically because Esme has the same weapon. And how does it all tie with the masked ball scene in s2? Kit writes Lemony a note saying that "Olaf knows" - of course he does, he fucking saw them! Why did Esme have the sugar bowl with the antidote with her at the opera - was she just casually drinking tea with this rare and precious substance to overdose and gain superpowers? What about the sugar cubes left behind - was there also some regular sugar in the bowl to, idk, make it seem less suspicious? An absolute mess, in my opinion.

To continue the previous point: Bertrand seems like an absolutely unimportant figure, his role minimized to a minute or so on the island, and he deserves better :(

This is small in importance but I really disliked that Kit said that Violet ties up her hair just like her mother while in the books it was her father, no matter whether Kit meant Bertrand or Lemony =/

Also, like. Taking "or she!" from Fiona and giving it to Violet. Didn't like that. Neither did I like Fiona calling Phil Cookie.

IIRC they also gave "It's Herman Melville" to Kit instead of Klaus? Why

Larry was a recurring character who had a lot to do in s1 and 2, yet his death (and a horrible one, he was literally boiled alive) was presented in a quite an offhand way. I'm not saying he should've necessarily stayed alive - in fact, his death fits in very well with the motif of all decent adults eventually getting killed - but, in my view, it should've been given more weight.

As I've already mentioned, I don't remember The End that well, but everything about Ish and drugging the islanders seemed significantly less scary than in the books somehow

The shot of Duncan and Isadora was clearly copy-pasted from TVV... listen, if you're giving them a 100% happy ending, at least do not half-ass it

Things I have mixed feelings about:

I loved the Kitlaf stuff; probably showing that they were together in the opera flashback makes it less of a revelation than in the books, but I thought all their shared moments very moving. I also found it an interesting choice to make each of them recite bits from both poems, thus pointing out that Olaf once was not a stranger to love and romantic poetry and that Kit might share his ideas about "man hands on misery to man". However, I think it's a pity that Netflix eliminated all hints at Olaf possibly being Bea's father. Even if he was not, the possibility of it being true in the light of the Baudelaires still raising Bea with love and care is, to my mind, very important. 

Jacquelyn being R... well, we saw that coming. Her mother's death being so recent is another "fuck you" to the canon timeline, but at least it explains why in the previous two seasons nobody called her the duchess - officially, she wasn't one yet. I don't perceive the show as an extension of book canon - to me, it is just one interpretation among many - so this reveal hasn't changed the fact that I imagine R being different from Jacquelyn. On the one hand, I am happy that one of my favourite characters made it into the adaptation (yes, one of my favourite characters is a sum total of comments made by other characters and a possibly fake letter, what of it), but I would've preferred if her portrayal included more of what we know about her from the books, such as her being close to both Lemony and Beatrice.

By the time s3 aired, I had already reconciled myself to the fact that the show version of Kit will be extremely toned down, so this disappointment was expected and therefore not that strong. I think there were some moments in which she actually was more of her book version (recruiting kids to fulfil dangerous tasks like it's nothing special, telling Lemony he should return to VFD), but of course this definitely noble, action-hero, composed Kit who looks forward to becoming a mother and leading a quiet life with Dewie on some island (wait, did they mean the Island?) is significantly less interesting than morally grey and depressed Kit who took part in many dubious or outright sinister plans (such as the Anwhistle Aquatics fire and the murder of Olaf's parents, in which both she was not even involved on the show) and did not seem to care about her baby that much. It is truly ironic that Mr Poe repeatedly accidentally calls her Jacquelyn because show!Kit feels very much like a Jacquelyn 2.0.

My first impression of Fiona was "oh no, they really gave her all the flaws her stepfather had in the books". I ended up liking her because she worked on her behavior and most of the times she was rude it felt like she's just trying too hard to convince everyone, herself included, that she's got this while constantly being unsure and confused on the inside. But her weird rivalry with Violet still rubbed me the wrong way. I'm glad they resolved their issues in the end.

The sugar bowl containing the antidote is an okay choice (timeline inconsistencies aside), but 1) I would've preferred it to stay a mystery, like in the books; 2) I still like the "this bitch empty" theory more.

There was more of VFD being not entirely noble in this season (e.g. the Medusoid Mycelium) but of course it is still a very watered-down version of what this organization was like. 

Listen, I'd be lying if I said I hated the happy ending for the Quagmires and the Widdershins. Heck, my favourite post-The End headcanon is that they all (and Hector!) survived the Great Unknown and stuck together as one big family of choice. But what was the point of showing us the Bombinating Beast Great Unknown and, most importantly, having someone mention that it is a metaphor for death if it is not used as such? It is a metaphor, it does not necessarily mean that they literally died, it could just as well mean that the Baudelaires simply never learned what happened to all these people. A wasted opportunity.

I assume the Baudelaires never got separated from Bea in the adaptation (since she does not immediately ask Lemony about them but proceeds, on the contrary, to tell him what happened to them) and the reason she searched for Lemony was simply wishing to get to know her uncle. It's not bad, it fits well in the more optimistic narrative of the show, but the original story is still more interesting.

That's probably all - at least all that comes to my mind at the moment.

On the whole, I think Season 3 and the show in general were rather a good adaptation than a bad one. Most importantly, I think it succeeds in performing what I consider the main function of an adaptation - making the audience interested in the source material. I am sure more people will read ASOUE (and ATWQ, and other Snicketverse books) after watching the show. I am also sure those who will read after watching the show first have a big storm coming.

[the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars]

Chapter 9: James Saint John

Jamie was tired. To the bone tired, not just didn't sleep well tired. Being a superhero was more exhausting than cartoons had made it look. Especially when one had to keep up appearance for the private, secret identity. But Ally, Andy and Jessie could absolutely under no circumstances be pulled into whatever this mess was. Jamie had always been the big brother, protecting his little sister – and now he was also a father. Ally and Andy would only worry about him.

“You look sad”, hummed Leo and nudged Jamie's face.

Honestly, the over-sized kitten was absolutely adorable. Jamie smiled faintly and wrapped an arm around the lion cub, pulling him closer. Leo started purring and pawing at the pillow, rolling over to bare his soft, light-red belly. Whenever Leo was not actively on fire, he was very cuddly.

“It's just... stressful”, sighed Jamie absentmindedly. “And now, with the new guys popping up... Aquarius, Taurus, Sagittarius, Cancer... They've been all over the news lately.”

“And you're worried”, noted Leo, ears twitching adorably.

Jamie smiled faintly and traced the Leo-symbol on the lion's forehead, causing Leo to bump his head up into the caress. “I just... When Libra first showed up, I thought we could trust her... and it nearly cost me my life. I can not be that careless again, Leo.”

“You're right”, agreed Leo worried.

“But... why can't we? I mean, why would one of you turn their back on the rest?”, asked Jamie. “I just... I can't figure it out. Why would they turn evil.”

Leo made a curious noise as he rolled over to look Jamie in the eyes. “It's not that they're evil. It... the whole thing isn't black and white, Jamie. Who knows who got to them first before we did? It's about territory, about control. It... It's complicated.”

“What territory?”, asked Jamie confused. “California?”

“Bigger”, chuckled Leo, nosing Jamie's cheek. “We're aliens, Jamie. The planets aside from Earth do have a bit more going on. Territories all over the stars and moons.”

“Magic in the stars”, whispered Jamie with a note of longing in his voice. “But why Earth?”

“Earth is... wanted. It's neutral territory, it's a primitive planet – no offense. But you don't have galactic travels, you don't have magic. You're... a baby-planet and while most agree that Earth needs to be kept out of the loop until it's ready to venture out into the galaxy themselves, some planets think that it means the primitive planet should be claimed and used as a... colony, essentially. But other planets, mine included, think that Earth needs to be protected, given the chance to grow on its own. The Zodiacs, we're kind of... a protective force, sent to protect Earth from alien threats and meant to cover the tracks so humans don't learn the truth. Hence the tales of gods and goddesses.”

Leo crawled on top of Jamie, sprawling out on his chest and pawing at him so Jamie would continue cuddling him. “We twelve are meant to protect the Earth, but sometimes... things fall apart. We've been doing it for so long. Sometimes... I don't know what's going through Libra's head.”

“Libra's your friend?”, asked Jamie gently, scratching Leo behind his ear.

Leo closed his eyes and purred as he leaned into the touch. “Of course. We've been comrades for so many millennia now... We've been on so many missions together. I... I really don't wanna fight him. Or any of the others. And I really hate the tension of not knowing who I can trust...”

Sighing, Jamie wrapped his arms around Leo and hugged the lion-cub close.

~*~

“I'm going to the store. Anyone need anything that's not on the shopping list yet?”

Jamie raised both eyebrows as he poked his head into the living room. Ally and Andy were playing Mario Kart and accusing each other of cheating, while Jessie was... dead? Judging by the uncomfortable angle in which she was sprawled out on the couch, not moving. Which wasn't entirely unusual after a long shift. Being the loving brother he was, he threw a pillow at her.

“Urgh. What?”, grunted Jessie, clutching the pillow.

“Store. You need anything?”, asked Jamie and rolled his eyes.

“Yogurt?”, asked Jessie slowly. “Yeah. Yogurt.”

“Candy”, called Andy out. “And chocolate.”

“I'm good. Unlike other people, I put what I need on the shopping list”, grunted Ally.

Andy huffed and mimicked Ally, earning himself a gentle jab in the ribs. Rolling his eyes fondly, Jamie grabbed his dark-red leather-jacket and left the apartment. Babs was working and Jamie felt like doing something very, very normal again for a change. Somehow lately his life had been far too hectic. So doing their weekly shopping sounded like a nice change of pace. There was a nice deli just around the corner. He would just go there, get everything from their list and--

“Ah!”

...Never mind. Heaving a sigh, Jamie turned toward the source of the screams. People were running down the streets and, not really surprisingly, there stood the Hydra. A mighty beast with dark-red scales and five heads, roaring. The first time Jamie had seen her, he had been in awe, had been thrown back to his childhood and Disney's Hercules. Now, after having been battling it for two months, it grew a little stale if he was being honest.

“Leo”, whispered Jamie. “We're gonna take a little detour, okay?”

The red pearl on his necklace glowed in response. Walking around the corner into a back-alley, Jamie transformed. He straightened the hood of his costume before charging sword-first at the monster. Well. Monster. At its core, it was an alien fused with a human, so Jamie had to be careful.

“Come on, big H, we've already danced this routine. Why don't we just cut it short and you quit?”

“Le—eo”, hissed one of the heads.

“Little lion snack”, snarled another head.

“Actually, I'm the big lion. Leo Major. Not Leo Minor. There's a difference. Let me show you.”

With that, he charged ahead and aimed for the Hydra's heart. Only that Jamie, as a fire-user, was a horrible match-up for the water-spewing Hydra. The sword glowed as it singed the Hydra's skin. The beast snarled and swatted at Jamie. With Babs at his side, he'd have someone to have his back, but instead... instead Jamie took the claws to the back. In the end, he wasn't a well-trained Chosen One. He was just a dumb kid from Dublin who'd only been training for two months.

“Wo—oah. Watch out, Leo!”, called a blue-clad guy – one of the new... heroes – out.

That was the last thing Jamie saw and heard before he hit his head and went out.

~*~

Jamie's head was fuzzy when he woke up. The ceiling he stared up at was not his own. Frowning, he turned a little. It was a bedroom, but not a bedroom he had ever been in before. Bedroom however was good, because if the bad guys had captured him, he'd probably be tied-up in some dungeon or something. The walls were a warm yellow, while the bed-sheets were dark-blue. It looked nice, expensive and also very cleaned-up.

“You're awake. He's awake. Mattie! He's awake!”

Frown deepening, Jamie looked at the very excited Mike Maguire in the doorway. Like a happy puppy, only missing the wagging tail. Jamie shook his head. Wait. Why was he in Mike and Matt's... bedroom? Was that where he was? But the last thing Jamie remembered was a fight... He had been in his superhero-get-up, fighting the Hydra. With wide eyes did Jamie frantically touch his face, to make sure he was wearing his mask. He was. Confusing steadily raising, he looked down at himself. He was wearing his costume. So what was he doing in their bedroom?

“Hello, Leo. Mister Leo?”, tried Mike. “Uhm. You're probably confused. We found you, in an alley. Unconscious. Since none of your partners were around, we... we couldn't just let you lay there. I'm Mike, Michael Maguire, I'm a cop – so I'm one of the good guys too. And this here is my fiance. Matteo di Girasole. Look, he's awake.”

“I... I can see that, amore”, chuckled Matt fondly, kissing Mike's cheek before he turned toward Jamie. “Hello. We don't mean you any harm. We just found you and couldn't leave you laying there. We called a friend of ours, a doctor. Who... Wait just a second...”

Matt left the room again and Jamie used that opportunity to sit up some. He groaned at the ache in his... body. Narrowing it down further seemed not possible at this moment. Instantly, Mike was at his side with concerned eyes. It was kind of odd, seeing them like this. They were behaving so differently from how he was used to. Then again, they didn't know it was him.

“You okay? I mean, of course not, you got slapped around by a giant lizard”, grunted Mike. “But, uh, what hurts exactly? Just, wait a moment, my fiance is getting the doctor.”

“You like saying that”, accused Jamie softly. “Fiance.”

“Uh. Yeah”, admitted Mike with a slight blush. “Is it that obvious? It's only been not even half a year and I dunno, I really like the sound of it, I guess.”

“It's... cute. You love him a lot, huh?”, asked Jamie fondly.

“Ye—eah”, sighed Mike, a content smile on his lips. “I just... never met anyone like him.”

“World-famous billionaires are rare”, agreed Jamie dryly.

“I didn't even know he was a billionaire until we were dating for like a month and the first paparazzi attacked”, grumbled Mike with a frown. “Cheeky little shit just... pretended to run his father's old business. Sports-equipment being 'a family business' and all...”

“Mh. I think I read about that in a magazine before. From rags to riches stories do sell”, hummed Jamie. “Worked in his dad's small shop and then started developing his own equipment.”

“Basically, yeah”, confirmed Mike with a small smile. “He's really hard-working, you know. He sets his goals and... and then he's reaching that goal. It's kinda insane.”

Jamie smiled at himself at that. Mike really was very in love with Matt. It was... cute. At times a tiny bit obnoxious, but overall Jamie wished someone would love him the way Mike loved Matt.

“Ah. My... patient is awake. Not something I say usually.”

Looking up, Jamie saw a tall, broad-shouldered, dark-skinned man approach. He ran a hand over his bald head as he approached Jamie while scowling at Mike rather pointedly.

“Uhm, that is a bit... concerning for a doctor”, grunted Jamie.

“I'm the ME. My patients are normally dead”, countered the doctor. “And I usually don't make house-calls. You'd think, married to a billionaire, you could just call a private doctor.”

“I could”, agreed Matt. “But I don't trust a stranger. You, I trust, Doc.”

“I do not make house-calls”, repeated the doctor very slowly and pointedly. “Now get outta here so I can check on my patient. Both of you, get lost.”

With small protests did Mike and Matt leave the room and close the door. Jamie stared wearily.

“Hello. I am Doctor Charles Jones. You have a mild concussion and... at the very least bruised ribs, but I can't be entirely sure. You should go and visit a hospital, out of costume.”

“Yeah. Right. Should do”, nodded Jamie awkwardly. “Thank you, for... helping me.”

“Here”, sighed Doctor Jones and got a card out of his pocket.

“Your... business card...?”, asked Jamie curiously after a look at the small paper. “But didn't you just say you don't do house-calls and glared those two down like there is no tomorrow?”

Charles huffed at that and shook his head. “Can't have the knucklehead call me outta bed at every sniff of his boyfriend. Maguire, he's a good kid, but he's fussy when it comes to Matt. And I got better things to do than that. They can afford their private doctor. You however... if you get hurt on a mission and require a doctor, you can call me.”

“I can? You don't... even know me”, grunted Jamie surprised as he was being examined.

“True, true”, hummed Charles, gently running his fingers over Jamie's ribs. “Yeah, I don't think anything is broken there. See, I don't know you, but... I'm fairly certain you don't know my wife, Laureen, and yet you saved her life the other week, when a giant snake attacked the grocery store she was shopping in. She... would have died if you hadn't saved her. Many, many people would have died and gotten seriously hurt if not for you and Scorpio. You do something that... no one else can. And while I can't do that, I can offer you help if you need it.”

“...Th... Thank you”, whispered Jamie, blinking as he pocketed the card.

Somehow, he had never really considered it. Not like that. He knew what he and Babs were doing was the right thing, but he had never quite considered just how they affected people. The families of those they saved, people who were not alive only thanks to them.

“Thank you. For saving my wife”, countered Doctor Jones with a soft smile.

With that, he left the room. Moments later and Mike and Matt returned. Matt was better at schooling his features, but Mike still looked like he had a billion questions burning on his mind.

“What exactly happened after I got knocked out...? The Hydra...?”, asked Jamie slowly.

“Oh. Cancer and Sagittarius totally took care of that!”, declared Mike with a broad grin.

“Mh”, grunted Jamie with a deep, thoughtful frown. “They did, huh...?”

“Yeah! I mean, they're heroes too, right?”, asked Mike, with one of his very charming one hundred watt smiles. “They're like you, aren't they? I mean, aren't they part of your... team?”

For a second, Jamie just stared at Mike. He loved that blindingly optimistic, happy smile. It was so... carefree and Jamie found that absolutely captivating. He knew carefree people. But Mike? He was a whole new class of carefree and it was infectious.

“They're not part of my team”, grunted Jamie and shook his head. “Scorpio is my team. They... I don't know who they are. But they're not part of us.”

“Why... not?”, asked Matt cautiously. “I'm sorry, you have no reason to share this with us, you don't even know us. But the thing is, to all of Los Angeles, you and Scorpio are the great heroes and those two, they seem like you? So how come they're not with you?”

Jamie shrugged and averted his eyes. “Scorpio I trust. But those two, I don't know. They just appeared, together with the two women.”

“So you could like... get to know them? The more heroes on a team, the more effective, right?”, asked Mike curiously. “I'm a cop. I have my partner – my Scorpio, I guess. But the two of us can't just... do everything alone. We often need our squad to help out. Wouldn't a squad be more effective for fighting supervillains too? A superhero team?”

It made Jamie smile a little, before he shook his head. “One could say I have trust issues.”

“Why?”, asked Matt warmly.

The better question was, why did Jamie trust them? Talking to Mike and Matt like this was... easy. Somehow, the mask helped. Them not knowing that he was James Saint John. When he was Jamie, he found it hard to have an honest conversation with Mike and Matt, even though he trusted them. Maybe his crush was in the way? And more than that, he still didn't understand why he had come to trust them. But like this, behind his secret identity, he could actually open up to the men he trusted.

“Scorpio is trusting. Very trusting. We ran into another supposed hero before and she betrayed us. At this point, we can't know who is actually good and who isn't. Being a Zodiac isn't a guarantee for them to be good, even if they fought against the Hydra”, replied Jamie with a sigh.

“You... You should rest some more”, offered Matt gently. “You can stay until you feel good enough to leave, but please don't push yourself now to make things worse. You're safe here.”

Jamie bit his tongue to keep from saying that he knew that. If this weren't Mike and Matt, Jamie would have been out the window the very moment he had woken up. Because yes, he did have trust-issues. Even before Libra had betrayed them. The thought of Libra still made Jamie frown. The goal was to take the gem away from the woman and find someone trustworthy to carry Libra. Or at least that was the goal Jamie had set himself. The way Leo had told him, it wasn't the Zodiac himself who was evil. It was the human influence. So they had to get Libra the Zodiac away from the human host, to give to someone worthy of being a hero. Jamie's eyes wandered to look at the retreating forms of Mike and Matt. Would perhaps one of them...? Shaking his head, Jamie leaned back again. Just a little more rest before he would leave.

“I like your chosen mates”, stated a perky, curious voice.

Blinking, Jamie saw how Leo materialized from his marble. “They're not... mine, Leo. And really, how did you allow for me to just be taken away by random people?”

“No—ot random”, huffed the red lion and shook himself. “They're your humans. I wanted to go and get Scorpio really quickly. But then they showed up and I knew you would be safe with them and they brought you here and got a human doctor to make sure you're alright.”

Jamie sighed and reached out to pat Leo between the ears as he closed his eyes. Just a little more rest and then he would be on his way back home. It wasn't a good idea to stay too long, it might tempt him into saying things he wasn't supposed to say. Not even necessarily his secret identity, but more so the fact that he knew things about Matt and Mike – things the friendly neighborhood superhero was not supposed to know about them.

“They really are good people”, whispered Jamie lowly, with the smallest smile. “I mean... they took a total stranger home to patch him up. Sure, I'm a hero, but still... they endangered themselves by doing so. Hydra could have followed them.”

“Yes”, purred Leo, pawing at the blanket. “Good humans. You picked well.”

“Speaking of picking well”, drawled Jamie reluctantly. “I had a thought.”

“Mh?”, grunted Leo, rolling onto his side so Jamie would scratch his belly.

“Libra. You say Libra isn't a bad guy, that either their human is... a bad seed, or the bad guys got to them first and got into the human's head”, started Jamie, staring up at the ceiling.

“Ye—es”, nodded Leo as he waited for Jamie to get to the point.

“Say, theoretically, if we can get to them and get the gem from her, can we give Libra to a more responsible human, an ally?”, asked Jamie. “I mean, how deep is the bond between a human and their Zodiac companion? Could you theoretically rebond to someone else?”

“Yes. We can always only bond with one human at a time – so not grand our powers to multiple humans at the same moment. But... we can cut the bond and once we're unbound, we can find a different human to bond with”, confirmed Leo with a thoughtful frown. “But the thing is, we can only bond with a human who was born under our star-sign.”

“Okay. So, just have to find a Libra to bond with the Libra”, hummed Jamie. “I wonder when Mike and Matt's birthdays are...”

Leo huffed at that and shook himself. “You are a strange human. You can't court your chosen mates but you could ask them out to become superheroes with you...?”

“I trust them”, shrugged Jamie with a frown. “There... aren't many people I trust. Ally and Andy are kids, they're not being dragged into this. Babs already is in this and... Jessie... I can't do that to her. She's my baby-sister. I'm supposed to protect her, not put her in danger.”

“I think your sister can handle way more than you give her credit for”, stated Leo.

“Just because she can handle a lot doesn't mean she should have to handle it”, countered Jamie and raised both eyebrows. “She's already been through enough, losing our mom and home and... and it's enough. We fought hard to make this life for ourselves.”

Leo hummed at that, not commenting but looking at Jamie softly. Jamie sighed and rolled onto his side as much as his ribs allowed it, closing his eyes to nap. Not Jessie, for the past years he had done everything in his powers to shield her. He'd find a way to solve this without involving her.

Read here on AO3!

Previous Chapter <- || Masterpost || -> Next Chapter

[earthnashes]

The result of tonight’s stream! All of the current NextGen babs for AppleDash, PinkieShy, and RariTwi. My stream watchers helped me out with the designs and names! c: Okay so we have in order:

Snap Apple: The eldest son of Applejack and Rainbow Dash; he’s currently around like 5. He’s an earth pony but he loves the adrenaline rush he gets from flying. Moreso, he loves the speed. Since he can’t fly himself, he’s determined to be the fastest earth pony the world has ever seen! He’s.... quite the energetic little fellow, aaaaaand he likes to bite. Rainbow’s taken to calling her son “Snappy” because of it.

Cookie Dough: The adopted child of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, currently around the age of 11. They’re a Gargoyle/changeling hybrid and, due to Gargoyles generally having weaker magic naturally, this has affected the kid’s possibilities of being able to shapeshift. Cookie is withdrawn and shy but loves to imagine and act out characters... turns out they’re really good at it. In the future, when they get older, they’ll become a voice actor!

Bubblegum: The unborn biological child of Pinkie and Fluttershy. Bubblegum isn’t currently around because Shy is pregnant with her. but when she’s born, she’s a bouncing baby with all the joy in the world. She’ll grow up to be a dancer. C:

Stella Belle: Ya’ll should’ve seen this one already! I threw her in here to see how everyone’s color scheme worked together, and it seems to be lookin’ pretty good. :3 But anyway a brief on Stella: Rarity and Twilight’s daughter and the shining star of their world, Stella is sweet, intelligent, and just as dramatic as her mama. She likes to dress up and play makeup but she also likes to roughhouse and wrestle with Snap Apple; she never initiates these matches but she'll throw down no problem.

These were a lot of fun to make! I’m still slowly working on developing them though, so feel free to ask stuff about them or make suggestions for the babs! c:

[tmnt-veelicious]

Across the Stars - Ch.4

Fweehhh, next chapters will be much more interesting in my opinion :’D Fortune Cookie Leo™ is my favorite thing ever, protect dah bab~ First Chapter --> HERE Previous Chapter --> HERE Next Chapter --> HERE

At least once a month, Vee and April had agreed to have a good brunch together, always going to the same small café, taking their time to speak and take things slow. It was a good way to wind up and get away from reality, making point on different parts of their lives. ''Sooooo, you've been spending a lot of time at the lair.'' Vee kept her eyes on April as she kept drinking her coffee, knowing what was coming. ''What's your thoughts on the boys?'' asked the brunette with a smirk. ''Damn, why does this feels like some highschool gossip,'' lightly laughed Vee. ''Oh come on,'' teased the reporter. ''I just want to know what's your view of them. All I've got are Vern and Casey's opinions, which mostly consists of 'I dunnos'.'' The artist sighed, mindlessly tossing a strawberry around with a fork on her plate, thinking. ''Well, I dunno! Leo is hard to understand in my opinion. Some days he's smiling and others he looks stern, but overall he seems nice. Mikey is a real sweetheart and he always brings a smile on my face. … Raph is scary and impressive as shit but he seems to have a good heart...'' Her thoughts trailed off, trying to find the right words for Donatello. ''Donnie is … man, he's just like me. I like spending time with him and it's so easy to talk to him. It's hard to describe.'' ''Do you see yourself in a relationship with him?'' Vee almost spat her drink at that new question. She frowned as April was amused, clearly enjoying the artist's reaction. ''Why would you ask that?'' finally asked Vee. ''Well, you two spend a lot of time together, I don't see why not.'' ''He's a mutant, April,'' hushed Vee through gritted teeth. ''So?'' They stared eachothers, April unphazed and Vee at loss. ''… Hey, yeah, of course, I'll just get to my parents one day and be like: 'Mom, dad, here's a tall turtle dude I'm dating. He's a ninja and he kicks butt. New York is full of surprises, heh?' '' April was already laughing, but Vee tried to keep her cool. ''I appreciate the thought,'' she continued. ''But I don't see how this could work. … At least, not now. He probably doesn't even feel the same.'' ''Are you kidding me?'' added April with a smile. ''You should see the way he looks at you. … Vee, for the years I've known him, there's definitely something going on.'' ''I prefer not to get high hopes about this. … I'll let time take its course and see where it leads. … I don't see why everybody's getting excited over this, damn.'' '''Cause you'd both obviously be the most perfect nerdy couple, duh,'' joked April. ''Oh shut up,'' snickered Vee, slightly blushing. She couldn't deny all what the reporter was saying, but the overall thought somehow felt foreign to her. He was so different, mostly physically, and she couldn't help thinking how that made things most interesting. Maybe she did start developping feelings for him over the last few months, but she always thought of it as a crush and nothing more. Could things be taken a step further? Maybe. But the situation was far more delicate than if it was about a human man... She prefered to keep the thought at bay for now, preferring to focus on the friendship she had with him so far. *** Halloween. Gosh, Vee had lost the count of chocolates she had already eaten. She looked at herself in the mirror, checking out her ninja costume. She could only see her glasses, eyes and her hands from the pitch black outfit, two fake katanas resting on her back. ''They're gonna laugh at me,'' she commented, hearing April approach. The reporter was wearing a witch costume, her hat comically too big. ''Nonsense! I'm sure they'll find it charming.'' ''Do you think I'd be able to sneak up on them?'' challenged Vee. The brunette showed a grin, obviously amused. ''Dude, if you're able to scare at least one of them, next brunch is on me.'' ''Deal!'' They heard a knock on the entry door, April answering to no one else than Casey, her boyfriend. The cop was wearing his infamous hockey mask, preferring to dress up as Jason from ''Friday the 13th''. How original. When he spotted Vee in her costume, he couldn't help his laughter, which was amplified when he learned about the plan. They soon made their way through the sewers, Vee starting to retreat when they got near, hiding in the shadows. She had no clue as to if she would succeed, knowing she was nothing compared to actual trained ninjas, but the thrill was amusing enough. She had a glimpse of April and Casey getting in, greeted by the turtles. The reporter simply stated that Vee would be late, having some last minute work to do. The artist couldn't help her smirk, continuing her path, squeezing around pipes and corners. She stumbled around the kitchen area, freezing when she crossed eyes with master Splinter who was making himself a cup of tea. She pleaded him to stay silent, bringing a finger to her hidden lips, the rat simply agreeing with a nod and a smile (and a part of him was also curious as to how things would unfold). She moved to some higher ground, on top of a large pipe that provided enough darkness. The timing had to be right and the brothers near enough for her to jump in and give them a good scare. Master Splinter had probably guess her plan, soon asking for his sons to come to him. Vee was feeling an adrenaline rush, all too excited for this ridiculous prank. She noticed April and Casey following, although keeping some distance, their eyes trying to find a clue as to where the other woman could be. Then it was time, the turtles so near. She jumped, falling straight before Leonardo, the leader letting out a yelp as he involuntarily threw a punch towards her, Splinter suddenly stepping in and stopping the fist. Everybody was suddenly silent, Vee's eyes big from surprise, but she suddenly started to laugh, joined by April and Casey. ''Oh my fucking god, I can't believe that worked!'' she said, soon snorting loudly. The turtles were confused, Leo mostly on edge, and then they realized who the ninja was, Vee pulling on the piece covering her mouth, revealing her entire face. ''Maybe one day I can become a ninja,'' she joked, her smile wide. ''What the hell, Vee!'' spat out Leo. ''For a second I thought you were an intruder.'' ''Yo chill bro,'' started Mikey, amused. ''It's Halloween time! You gotta admit that she got us good!'' The leader showed a sour face, soon conceeding. ''… Well, she has some talent, I have to admit.'' Vee took a victorious pose, next pointing to April. ''Next brunch is on you, I won the bet!'' *** ''A ninja, really?'' chuckled Donnie, standing with Vee in the kitchen, both preparing snacks for the horror movie marathon that was organized. ''And why not? At least I put the effort of getting a costume. You have nothing,'' replied Vee, her hand doing a karate motion, jokingly slapping the turtle's arm. ''Hum, I'm obviously dressed as a giant mutant turtle, that costume took time to assemble. Have some respect.'' Both laughed, Vee slapping him again. At some point she was starting to get hot, her costume covering her whole. She removed the hood on her head, her hair now flowing around, free. She did not notice the turtle who was now watching her as she expertedly whipped out a hair tie from around her wrist, rapidly bringing up her long hair into a messy bun. She finally looked up to Donnie, frowning in amusement as he seemed speechless. ''What? Has Donnie.exe stopped working? Is there a reboot button somewhere?'' He let out a snort, instantly blushing as he turned back to his occupation. ''I- I think you have nice hair,'' he mumbled. Vee sighed, grabbing two large bowls of popcorn. ''Heh, maybe, but they're a pain to care for and they heat up my head most of the time. I wish I was bald.'' ''Oh please don't say that,'' he commented, his arms full of candy bags and chips. ''We can trade,'' she added, her eyebrows doing an up and down motion. ''If it means I can look epic for once in my life, hell yeah!'' ''OI! We're hungry over here!'' called out Raph's voice. That was their cue, promptly moving towards the living room area, smiles never leaving their faces. Everbody was seated around the television, Donatello mentally cursing his brothers as he spotted how the couch was obviously left empty at some part for him and Vee to sit on. She didn't seem to mind though, her smile never fading, eyes glued on the screen, awaiting for the next scare in whichever movie they were watching. At some point she would just fall back, leaning against Donnie, quietly laughing and discussing with him about how some of the characters' decisions were absolutely pointless or stupid. But then she got scared, her body slightly jumping, but her hand involuntarily slapping against the mutant's leg, grasping near his knee. The clapping sound mixed with Donnie's yelp scared the others, Vee promptly removing her hand, apologizing profusely, hiding her blushing face into her hands as the group was laughing. She felt her body tilt, an arm around her shoulders as she was now closer to the tall turtle who was still chuckling at her reaction. A part of her felt ashamed but it was soon replaced by a warm feeling, her new proximity with the mutant somehow confirming her hypothesis. There was definitely something going on... *** (Vee): Do you think I should apologize to Leo for Halloween? I didn't want to scare him to the point of almost hitting me! (Donnie): If you want, but it's not necessary. People react differently to fear. (Vee): I guess so... I just don't want to get on his bad side, you know. (Donnie): Ah! The day that'll happen, you'll know it. Although I wouldn't let that happen... (Donnie): He may look severe, but that's only because he wants to be a good leader. … He respects you, I can assure you. Vee sighed, setting her phone down, her traits forming a frown. It has already been two days since that Halloween party down at the lair and she still couldn't help thinking about her prank. Yeah, it had been funny and all, but she couldn't erase Leo's expression from her thoughts. Maybe she was overthinking, like always, and she knew she had to act before it would get worse... Jumping out of bed, she got dressed in no time, promptly leaving the apartment. Walking down the sewers almost seemed normal these days, the odors hardly a hassle anymore. She had a firm step, never deciding to back, not even when she finally got to the lair, spotting the blue masked turtle seated in the middle of the common room, on that platform circled with candles and drapes. He was clearly meditating,  Vee then not wasting any more seconds as she stepped up, sat down and copied his position, not even showing an ounce of discomfort. Even with her eyes closed she could feel the turtle's eyes on her, but he resigned himself to say anything, simply sighing and getting back to his previous state. Strangely enough, he didn't feel like her presence was invasive. On the contrary, there was this strange feeling of calmness and warmth emanating from her, the experience somehow new to him. He was used to feeling nothing when meditating, the cold air around cleaning his mind … but now he felt comfortable. They stayed like this for almost half an hour, Leo finally moving, his voice soft and calm when he told Vee to stay where she was, returning some moment later with two tea cups. He handed one to the woman, his eyes always on her as she took a good sip, her overall state relaxed and at ease. ''… Do you meditate often?'' he dared to ask. ''Yes,'' replied Vee with a soft smile. ''Most of the time I do it alone.'' ''You have a nice energy,'' added Leo. ''I'm used to doing it alone too, but this time it was a nice, unexpected change.'' The human put her cup down, her green eyes now fixed in his blue ones. ''Yeah, sorry for just barging in … but I first came here because I wanted to apologize for scaring you on Halloween.'' Leo started to laugh, surprising Vee. ''I should be the one apologizing!'' he started. ''I almost hit you. It's a chance my father has some good reflexes or else you would unfortunately be showing a black eye.'' ''I guess so,'' said the woman with a smirk. ''The thing is, I acted without thinking and without knowing how any of you guys would react, and that was an error.'' The turtle lift his hand as a stopping motion. ''What happened in the past, stays in the past. Let this be a lesson for both of us. … Beside, I have to say that you had some impressive stealth skills.'' Vee shrugged with a grin: ''Heh, wearing all black helped!'' It was surprisingly easy to talk to Leo this time, meditation probably being a calm factor for him. Sitting down with him and sipping tea didn't feel awkward, a feelign of peace mostly floating around the two of them, having finally found a common ground. ''… Donnie told us about your anxiety,'' began the turtle after he finished his cup, his tone still calm. Vee sighed, unsure of how to reply to this. ''Now, I don't want you to be mad at him for telling,'' he continued. ''I wanted you to know that if you need it, you can come find me for meditation.'' That offer surprised the woman, her eyes suddenly back on Leo. ''Like I said, you have a nice energy, Vee. You need to focus on it and bring it out. … I know things can be overwhelming at times. You simply need to reach out and ground yourself to something good. I know Donnie wants to be there for you, and I'm not against it, but it's also important for you to focus on your own strenghts and get yourself out of harm's reach when no one is around.'' ''I understand, and I appreciate your concern,'' started Vee. ''I'm not someone who's usually reaching out to people for comfort, my battles being personal most of the time... But I guess I shouldn't be slapping away a helping hand when it's offered.'' ''The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,'' commented Leo, hands placed before him, his stature wise, as if reciting a mantra. Vee couldn't hide her snort, smiling widely: ''Oh dear, you really sounded like a fortune cookie there!''

[thebatfamhasaliabilityanditsme]

So, since I’ve been here, they’ve finally begun to trust me enough that they will let Alfred leave the house. He’s been my constant babysitter, I suspect never more than ten feet away, even at my most intimate moments.

(A suspicion confirmed when I wondered aloud about Squatty Potties one morning, only to find one nestled beneath my toilet the next day. I choose to believe this is due to in-person, non-visual lurking and not a 24/7 live feed of my grunting face. Somehow, that seems more comforting. Anyways, back to the story.)

Of course, I’m not at the manor alone. Hey, baby steps. Bruce is working on something or other, above ground, in the study. I’m allowed to wander the house, but they still take extra precautions to prevent me from seeing the Batcave.

At some point mid-morning (vague estimates like this are part of the reason they don’t give me more responsibilities, I’m sure) the doorbell rang. Which is a little unusual. Usually if someone we don’t know visits, they use the intercom at the gate, and don’t make it past to the doorbell. If it is someone we know, they usually walk right in. I figured maybe someone needed help carrying something in.

Naïve.

I open the door and immediately start having a terrible flashback by proxy for Babs. Joker’s standing there (sans Hawaiian shirt, even though I can picture it so clearly) pointing a gun in my face (I can imagine the camera, but in this case the gun stands out a little more starkly). My heartrate skyrocketed and I lost track of my breathing. I’m pretty sure I instantly broke out in a sweat. Or at least I remember my hair being damp later.

My first impulse was to close the door, but I knew that wouldn’t work. There’s a story that goes with this too, but for the sake of plot flow, I think I’m going to just start adding appendices on this thing.

So. See Appendix A.

After an eternity, maybe just a couple of seconds, Joker rasped (See Appendix B) out, “Well, aren’t you going to ask me in?”

Lacking the ability to think of any better options, I opened the door the rest of the way. “Won’t you?”

“Why thank you.” He stepped over the threshold. He seemed alone. I couldn’t see anyone else, but I also couldn’t see a car out front. “I was expecting that prim British butler, but your manners are at least passing.” He spun around as I closed the door behind us, the gun waggling with a nonchalant threat. “May I ask after the master of the house?”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah, Bruce is right down here,” I half gestured in the direction of the study.

“Bruce!” he skipped over to my side, threw the gun from one hand to the other, elbowing me jokingly (but in the direction I gestured), “You’re certainly not that butler!” His voice dropped an octave to mock, “’Master Wayne this, Master Wayne that.’”

We started walking, and the silence hung too heavy on the air. I figured if I could at least keep him talking, Bruce might hear from around the corner and be able to react. “He’s not in today.”

Quick as a whip, the Joker quipped, “At the hairdresser’s then?” (See Appendix C)

And wouldn’t I be damned but I just about laughed out loud. As it was, a panicky smirk struggled on my face just long enough for him to see.

“Think that’s funny do you?” He threw the gun back into the hand closest to me and smacked the muzzle threateningly on my shoulder in cadence as he said, “They don’t call me the Joker for my impeccable sense of style.”

My eyes bobbed with the gun. Understanding his implication, I coughed out a weak chuckle, distinctly unlike the genuine laugh I had fought back a moment ago. He frowned.

We turned a corner. The study was just a few doors down this hallway. The doors were open. If I could get the Joker to talk loud enough, maybe-

“He’s in there, is he?” Joker dropped his voice to a whisper. Damn. “Well, once we’re there, you’ll be a good little maidservant and get his attention for me, won’t you?” The gun lifted from over my shoulder to touching my chin.

I just nodded.

We turned the corner into the open room. Bruce hadn’t heard us approach, hadn’t even heard the doorbell ring. Appendix D. He remained at the desk, shuffling through and examining a disarray of papers.

Joker stepped to be behind me. Yay human shield. He jabbed the gun into my back. Not too forceful, just a reminder. As if I’d forgotten.

I cleared my throat. Nothing. “Um, Bruce?” I heard my voice betray my fear with a squeak. Still nothing.

Now Joker jabbed the gun forcefully into my side. I jumped a little, raised my voice, “Bruce!”

Still. Nothing. Joker grabbed my shoulder, dug the gun into my side, and glared at me impatiently. I looked back with fear and confusion and apparently a little bit of “watch this” judging by the smile he gave me.

I inhaled deeply then let out a cry like a caribou calling for a mate, half leaning out of the Joker’s grasp.

“BUH-ROOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOOOSE!” Joker grabbed a knot of my hair firmly, yanking me upright as I finished shouting.

Bruce’s head jerked up from the table. (Appendix E.) His mouth set in a grim line.

Joker hissed in my ear, “Announce me.”

I tried to clear my throat, but all that came out was a weak little whimper, “Joker’s here to see you.”

The Joker let go and as I fell to the side, he simultaneously pistol-whipped me and said, “The Brit would have done it with more pomp.”

I hit the other side of my head on an end table on my way down and blacked out by the time I hit the floor.

---------- 

Appendix A: Jason’s Wild Ride

A couple of weeks ago, Jason got bombed off his ass. He entirely forgot that he had already announced his resurrection to Bruce and everybody, and in his inebriated state decided to do a shortcut version. In full Red Hood garb (the old one from storage with the musty blue jacket), he got on his motorcycle and just. Crashed. Through. The Front Door. Screaming “I’m back bitches!”. After fumbling for and dropping his gun a couple of times, Tim managed to peacefully disarm him. It went like this:

Tim: Uh, Jason?

Jason: Oh, hi Replacement!

Tim: Would you mind handing over your guns?

Jason: Y’know, I’m too sloshed to have these anyways. Take them.

When Jason woke up late the next evening, Bruce was LIVID. He all but dragged him down to the cave by his ear and made Jason go through firearms training again from Step One: don’t handle when drunk. Hungover is apparently okay.

I tried to ask Tim what got Jason so uncharacteristically blackout drunk in the first place. It wasn’t around any important dates I could remember. Tim just shrugged. He was either ignoring me, or didn’t know, or knew but didn’t trust me enough to tell me.

So! Not only did I 1- learn the original door was not reinforced in any way but also 2- witnessed the installation of a similarly “plain” wooden door in its place.

 ***

Appendix B: Rasped? Growled? Politely Queried?

What is up with that voice? It’s so haunting and familiarly unfamiliar. It’s halfway between “jovial pre-teen boy who’s voice is just beginning to crack” and “cynical 76 year old grandmother who’s been smoking since she developed the fine motor control necessary”. And yet neither. It’s something you can’t describe, can’t imagine, and then, once heard, want to forget.

 ***

Appendix C: Get it?

Because he’s bald?

…

I thought it was f*ckin hilarious.

 ***

Appendix D: WTF

Like seriously. What the ever-loving son of milk mold? BRUCE? OBLIVIOUS? Later, he said, no he REALLY hadn’t heard the doorbell and he REALLY hadn’t heard us approach. When I, and others, asked what he was doing, he just shut down and barked, “I was busy” at us.

F*cker.

“I WaS bUsY.”

 ***

Appendix E: Speedster’s POV

Bruce did not just “look up”. I feel like only a speedster would have been able to fully appreciate the range of reactions and emotions that passed over Bruce in that sharp half second. As is, I will imagine I am one and try to describe the details of his reaction, as I saw them. Also, as I’d like to interpret them.

First, when he registered me mid-cry, he closed his eyes and knit his brows. I’m fairly confident this was a “what is this liability on my house doing now”. Then, by the sheer power of eye-rolling, his head began to raise and he started to snap, “What”. If you’d have paused in that moment, it would have been glorious derp. I might draw it later.

As his eyes passed our lower half, he let just a shiver of confusion cross his face.

Then he registered who I was with and the hatred passed over him like a shadow. Just for a moment, the cowl was on. Just as quickly, the mask of Bruce returned. He settled on a concerned, indignant expression.

[shartlord420]

Absolutely!! Glad to have helped and been able to share my thoughts!

As for your questions- I don't necissarily have solid answers for everything, but I can for sure give you my stream of thought on each subject!

Have they ever talked about the Darla incident? If not, do you think they ever will?

In terms of in the comics themselves, I don't believe they have, not a lot has been explorwd yet. And in terms of "if they ever will"-

Writer wise? Hard to say, honestly. My biggest gripe with comics in general is that with every shift of writers, for better or for worse, there's a definite chance that things will be forgotten or dropped or changed just depending on what the current writer is interested in exploring.

Often the writers are more interested in exploring whatever new fun ideas they have rather than continuing to explore things set up by previous writers, so while I think it would be interesting, I'm not really holding my breath.

In terms of whether or not I personally can see them talking about it, if I think they would have, or if they will?

That's ALSO hard to say, honestly- but I think they would. I think talking about Darla is a given, they were both friends with her and both of them have seen her since her death, they both know she's alive. Bernard is aware that Darla was looking for Tim after being ressurected, so that feels like a very natural "oh hey did she find you" conversation.

And I think it would be fun for Darla to reconnect with the two of them as well- the writing, in my opinion, was a bit spotty in terms of characterization during the arc she was in, but I think she has a lot of potential. She's in the hero industry now and still doesn't know Tim is Robin, and there was an entire thing where she was tasked with killing (while indebted to the man who ressurected her) Robin at the same exact time she was trying to reconnect with Tim. It's interesting history and dynamics and stuff to explore!

But in terms of talking about the trauma of the gang wars, of watching their mutual friend die (which was undoutably especially traumatic for Tim, who did active CPR on Darla nonstop for an extended period of time while she bled in an attempt to keep her alive in hopes that someone would come, while knowing there's a stronf chance no one would), of having their school fully shut down...

That's harder to say.

Tim himself has a tendancy, especially these days, to throw himself into his work and distract rather than address or face his feelings head on.

When Darla died it was during the period where his father had forced him to quit being Robin, and Darla's death is what pushed him to disobey his father because he couldn't stand by and do nothing while these gang wars were going on. And he then fully threw himself into his work as Robin without really stopping to grieve, which Babs comments on and shows concern about- and Tim dismisses her suggestion for him to let the police handle a situation because he's been working for so long and she thinks he should take a break.

Tim, in the past, has had Nightwing, Babs, and even Batman to talk to about things- but it definitely seems like as time's gone on he's moved away from that, which makes sense because... a lot has happened! The introduction of Damian, the period where they thought Batman was dead and all of the family conflict during that period? Makes sense he shifted even further in this direction.

And Bernard? Hard to say because not a lot has been shown from his perspective, not a lot has been explored just yet on how he's developed, but he definitely seems to bring out a lot of good in Tim- which indicates that the way he is, at least with Tim, is something that pushes Tim to be more like he was before everything went all doom and gloom. He's chatty, he's warm, he's a safe space.

The thing is, though, Bernard... hmm. How do I put this. At least back when they first met, he has strong "class clown" energy. Definitely seems the type to joke around a lot rather than facing issues head on, so both Tim and Bernard seem to have this tendancy to want to not explicitly address things that make them feel bad.

But... Tim's tendancy is to throw himself into work, and Bernard's tendancy is more along the lines of fooling around, so the serious vs light contrast gives room for them balancing eachother out when meeting in the middle. And they both care about eachother a lot, and considering Bernard's little "joined a cult when Tim wasn't around", I think that opens the conversation a little in terms of talking about the more serious things that have been going on with them.

So, yeah, I think it wouldn't necissarily come naturally to either of them to candidly talk about things like Darla's death, and I don't think it would be the first serious heavy issue they'd talk about, but I can see them talking about it. The first time they met up since seeing eachother Tim was already opening up about how he feels these days, like his "programming's been corrupted and he can't figure out how to fix it". They were friends! They have a history of being someone the other can confide in and talk to about things, so I think that would persist.

Have Bernard and Darla dated or did it just stay a crush?

It just stayed a crush! Bernard was too nervous to approach Darla initially, saying to Tim that he totally could and would ask Darla out, he's not scared to ask his crush out, shes just always with those JOCKS so... so Tim "calls his bluff" and goes across the diner to tell the jocks he's volunteering to take Bernards beating so Bernard can talk to Darla. The jocks and Darla think Tim is funny, and Bernard DOES get a chance to talk to Darla- and she asks if Tim is single.

Bernard and Darla become good friends, but yeah, Bernard strikes out with Darla. Shows absolutely zero hard feelings about it though, and the three of them seem to hang out regularly after that. Darla remains enamoured by Tim and I'm not actually even sure if she noticed Bernard had a crush on her. He definitely didn't seem too hurt by that, though.

Bernard bisexual or comphet?

I could see it going either way! He definitely was very vocal about being interested in women- but as you said, that could very well just be him blowing hot air. Darla would absolutely be a perfect comp-het crush choice. One of the prettiest, if not THE prettiest girl in school, and practically untouchable, so a perfect excuse to never make a move.

And Bernard seemed to move on pretty quickly when Darla showed interest in Tim, and showed zero resentment towards Tim about that. And his first thought when Tim said he wasn't interested in Darla because he's already got a girlfriend, a girl Bernard's never met or seen? He asks Tim if Steph is a fake girlfriend and he doesn't want to date Darla because of OTHER reasons and that Tim can tell him if that's the case they're buddies he won't judge. So basically. Bernard is trying to figure out if Tim is gay. And while it's definitely in the joking spirit, I think you could absolutely make an argument for the closeted awareness and seeking out of those who might possibly be like you-

And of course, the way Bernard just instantly sticks to Tim's side since the moment they met? Definitely has strong "I have a crush on my best friend but haven't realized this is not a platonic feeling yet" energy.

And then Tim's stepmom? Also completely unattainable and objectively pretty.

I think it's interesting either way. The original creator of Bernard definitely intended his attraction to girls to be genuine, but I do think a very strong argument can be made for comp-het.

Hey, Timber/Timbern shippers! I have a question

Ok, so I'm relatively new to the fandom and I don't have much knowledge apart from the superficial thing...

But I would really like to get into Timber more. It's been hard for me bc I can't exactly connect with the ship?

I usually love and connect better with ships when I've seen them struggle before or in the relationship. Either bc they go through hardships together or bc of each other

So, if you have the time... Could you tell me why you like the ship sm? (Not saying there should be a reason though)

Why do you think they work (compability)? What do you think they love about each other? What do you think they dislike about each other (yes, the bad things too)? Do they bring the best out of each other (I know that's true for Tim, but what Bernard)? Do they have petty, meaningless fights or they have big, important arguments that they try to work through? Etc...

Idk, let me know your thoughts. I really think it will help me get into it (I also just love reading/hearing people's thoughts on what they like)

Thanks in advance :)