#anyway 🦀🦀🦀🦀

[pythagoreanwhump]

WIJ Day 9

Falling

This is a part of the Trial AU, where Kai was arrested for espionage after becoming a political officer in the military dictatorship. This bit comes after The Arrest.

Contains: well look honestly idk how to warn for this one man. There's... very mild gore? uh stuff vaguely similar to current events and history that might make people uncomfortable idk go read the rambling in that tags that might give you an idea. And mentions and implied threats of whumpee's family and childhood but seriously this is super mild compared to what I normally write I think

Kai's fall from grace came violently, as anything involving them was sure to.

Within minutes of being processed into Holding, they had a bleeding nose from being slammed into the metal bars of their cell, a bit of skin had been torn off their wrist where it had been caught in the ratchets of their too-tight cuffs, and their back throbbed where a knee had violently forced them against the edge of a table. They could hear people talking outside the cell, not so quiet whispers. Shock, disbelief, plenty of that, but also unveiled excitement at getting to hurt them soon. Most of the guards on duty were new, and it has been a couple of years since they were here, but there were a familiar face or two.

It was one of those that they recognized that came into Kai's cell first, a staff corporal that seemed to be in charge, walking in confidently while the other guards crowded outside and tried to stay out of view despite wanting to see. They couldn't remember her name, even if they really tried to think. Not that that was easy as they sat eying her warily with dread heavy in their stomach. They definitely did remember working with her, though. She was still a private then, quiet, followed orders well. Never asked for anything, rarely ever spoke up, but eager when ordered to hurt a prisoner.

She leaned against the wall, staring at Kai and checking her watch every couple of minutes. It didn't escape Kai's notice earlier that they had been put into the cell with the screen in the corner. They had used it before, showing terrified prisoners video of people being tortured as a threat, their family and friends getting hurt, even. Fortunately, this guard did not seem to have anything like that in mind. She checked her watch again, and, clearly deciding it was time, turned the screen on to live news.

She circled behind Kai, wrapping her arm around their neck, loosely but enough to force their chin up, and they knew she could easily cut off their air if she so wished. "The news about your arrest should be breaking now," Her voice was flat, sounding almost uninterested save for the subtle edge of cruelty. "Can you imagine what people are going to say? You've had a successful career, Major Waykes, how could you be a traitor?"

They shivered when her other hand trailed down, undoing their buttons one by one. She took her time with it, holding them still against the back of the chair they were cuffed to with her palm flat against their belly. Her other hand smoothed down their chest, nails catching on old scars, before she grasped the edges of their shirt at their waist and peeled it back, her knuckles never leaving their skin. Then, nails raising red lines on their arms, she pushed their sleeves down to bunch around their wrists. "Oh, my mistake," They heard the flick of a switchblade being opened, then the pain of a sharp point being jabbed into their palm briefly before it was pulled up jaggedly, leaving a red line on their hand and slicing their shirt away. "You haven't been charged with treason, so not a traitor. There will understandably be calls for your execution, but most smart officers will know what that means. A spy doesn't get to die so easily. Are you ready to see people describe in detail how they want you to suffer on national TV?"

That seemed to have been all the talking the guard was willing to do, and she stayed silent the rest of the time, letting the sound of the news fill the room. She kept her left arm always pressing against their exposed skin somewhere while she worked with the knife in her right hand, pushing the tip into flesh until it reached bone, and shifting it around against one point, not switching spots until they cried out each time. For the first few minutes, the TV showed pictures of them while the anchor droned on about their past. Pictures from events meeting with foreign dignitaries, medals hanging from their chest; from training that were really photo ops, clad in all their tactical gear and surrounded by their team; one of their high school graduation, the teachers sitting in a row at the back of the stage in their dress uniforms. Pictures of their family.

Then, as the guard warned, reports started rolling in of statements from officers on the situation. Questions raised by reporters at the end of a press conference, followed by a suspiciously long answer. Journalists gathered outside of government buildings, asking for the opinions of those entering and leaving, only some of whom briefly paused in shock when realizing what they were being asked about. Then, reporters reading out excerpts of the many statements that were being posted on social media each minute. They were not going to discount how many people must really believe that they deserve harsh punishment in the form of physical pain, but having put out this same type of statements before, they know how much of it was motivated by fear. Fear of being seen as sympathetic to the disgraced officer if your response wasn't as fast as others' or not violent and graphic enough. In the short term, the suspicions of sympathy may lead to a few more painful meetings with Loyalties Officers, but they pile up into roadblocks in your career, or maybe eventually you become the one everyone races to condemn in their statements.

Every time they try to look away, their head is wrenched back with a hand in their hair. A few seconds of half-hearted struggling was apparently too much for the guard, and they found their face being smashed into metal for a second time in less than an hour, the blood that dripped from their nose gathering where their cheek met the table, and they felt it cooling down and crusting on their skin the whole time they were held down for the knife to trail down their back, the tip catching against their ribs as it moved.

The statements after the first few all sounded roughly the same, and Kai could imagine all the officers who were actually caught off guard by the news calling each other to share templates on what to say. The only thing interesting was the increasingly creative calls for violence. The guard seemed to bore of it, to Kai's relief. But still, by the time she prepared to leave, they were covered in little round open wounds over their bones and joints. In some spots, if the flesh was pulled and tugged enough, there was a bit of white that showed through briefly before being hidden for the blood welling up again.

Left tied on their knees for the night with their arms wrenched painfully behind them, they had plenty of time to think while guards walking up and down the hall stopped outside their cell to stare. At least none of them were ready to say anything to their face yet.

#Whumpmas in July #whumpmasinjuly #wij #wij2022 #Whumpmas in July No. 9 #Falling #whump writing #my writing #OC: Kai #vmd #vague military dictatorship #Trial AU #okay can I just say how weird it feels writing this after reading the news from the uk wisudhf #anyway 🦀🦀🦀🦀 #ima keep it real with you 57th prime minister of japan abe shinzo #>claims to want to raise the population >dies anyway #it's been a wild few days and I just wanna think about my torture in peace PLEASE #also this is a callout post for tumblr user straight-to-the-pain #stop thinking about war crimes!! #go to sleep and hydrate yourself #I know you're gonna read this 🔪 #sorry yeah the vmd is just Like That #think like #cultural revolution denunciation rallies type of bullshit #except twitter exists now #oh also for reference I wrote this and queued it up on the morning of 8 july so

[hailsatanacab]

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

#dpxdc #dcxdp #dc x dp #dp x dc crossover #batpham #hailsatanacrab🦀🦀writes #look. this has been in my mind for so long guys so long - and idk if its canon that the batfam have codes for time travel situations or what #but i feel like ive seen it before and if its not canon it should be #so here - how i think that would be funny to go down #i have so many thoughts about TUE and its place in a dpxdc crossover like holy shit there's so many ways it can go!! #i have another wip in the works thats kinda similar to this but with superman and i cannot wait to work on it again #there are so many ways i wanted this to go but i just couldnt get there - i wanted to keep it on the shorter side but like #perhaps ill have to expand #i just love the idea that like. theres a stranger at your table who knows you and knows you well. who knows the secret that youd die to keep #there's a stranger at your table and he says something and you know he's family. you know you're strangers but now... #now you have to be something more #oh man theres so many juicy ways it can go and I KNOW I DID NONE OF THEM #i want to write this whole plot again and make it angstier #(me with everything) #anyway! sorry love you all hope you enjoy it!!

[how2forgive]

HAPPY CANCER SEASON <3

#belated but anyway... Something Shifted. #MY SEASON! 🦀🔪 #l1

[tvonq]

#hi . … #wait no way thats the same hotel as me LMAO …??? #anyways want him #nct #dreamies #hyuckie #dream show #fave #280323 #🦀

[baerryjj]

Wake up babe more soft Finlenia bc my heart yearns 🌷🌿

#its 4 am🦀 #alarm rings and an hour but THE GRIND DON'T STOP BOY #the grind (drawing soft lesbians<3333) #do you think they've explored each others bodies #thats a rhetorical question #elden ring #malenia blade of miquella #cleanrot knight finlay #malenia x finlay #finlenia #elden ring fanart #wlw #anyways imma go see if sleep is still a viable option if not then fuck it we ball

[the-meme-monarch]

anyway i think it’d be funny in deltarune that the “the queen died” news happened and scc are like “QUEEN FUCKING DIED? ” and then they find out it was the queen of england and they’re already taking off their party hats

#in all honesty i think their feelings abt queen would be a little too complicated to be Just Positive to think she died #but then they just don’t give a shit abt the queen of england #idk how deltarune universes geography is but until then I’ll make jokes like it’s in Our World #anyway again fuck the queen of england 🦀🦀🦀 #just so we’re clear on where i stand #words from the monarch #deltarune

[sug4r-melon]

🦀 BLURR IS DEAD 🦀 

#gore warning #yes i drew this just for the joke #🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀 #anyway rip blurr u were cool for a while #tfa wof au #tfa blurr

[misc-obeyme]

Hello hello CC! Long time no see, 🦀🐚 here.

Just saw that you’re gonna run a short dnd campaign and wanted to crash through and wish you a nice session with the party!

I’ve really been wanting to get into Dnd but can’t really find a group to do it with. If I introduce it to my friends I’ll probably end up as the one running the campaign and I’m not too sure whether I’ll be able to do that given that I’m new, so I’ve mostly been listening to dnd podcasts during work.

It’s just fun to see someone else trying Dnd. If you don’t me asking; since you’re running the game, did you create the campaign or are you using a premade one? I can definitely see you maybe writing one if inspiration struck…

So again, have a nice session and hope you’ve been doing great during these past few months.

Oh, welcome back, 🦀🐚 anon!

Ahhhh DnD! Thank you, it was indeed a lovely session!

I will say that the thing about podcasts is that they really go heavy on the roleplaying element of DnD. I haven't listened to a ton of them, but I do feel like part of the point is to make it entertaining enough for other people to listen? And really you can kinda do whatever you want when it comes to some of this stuff. My group is super chill so I'm not sure we do the same level of like... acting lol.

Well, lemme tell you a bit about my personal experience so that some of what I'm saying makes sense!

I started playing probably... five or so years ago? Our usual group has six players, plus the DM, which is not usually me. That's a lot, but the interest levels between the party members vary. So there are about four of us who are really into it (aside from the DM) and two of us who are not as into it, but play because they like the friend group. They enjoy combat more than roleplaying and because there are so many party members, we tend to spend a lot of our sessions in combat. It's also big stretches of time between when we play because you know, adults with lives and what not.

So the rest of us were like what if we run a smaller, separate campaign just for fun so we can play a little more frequently?

And then it was like well... our DM has been DMing for years, you think he wants a break??

And someone was like yo CC you're creative, you'd be a good DM!

And I was like... yeah okay fine! LOL!

This wasn't my first time DMing, but it has been years. And then people got sick, so I ended up with a party of only two people lol. I had to fudge some numbers but they made it through the campaign.

Anyway, all of this is to say that I found it surprisingly easy to DM. I thought it was gonna be super difficult, but it really isn't that hard at all.

I used a premade campaign that I found for free online. This was because I was kinda just getting my feet wet, you know? I think I'd rather run a homebrew campaign, where I get to make everything up. But I'll probably do a few more premade modules with the full group just to get into the swing of things.

The biggest challenge is to roll with the nonsense players throw at you. For instance, this story started out with a sheep holding a Scroll of Speak with Animals because it wanted to talk to the party (it wasn't really a sheep, but a cursed wizard). Well, it runs up to the party and immediately one of my players is like, "Can I lasso it and ride it like a pony?"

And I was like... sigh. Roll an acrobatics check.

They didn't even notice the scroll before they wanted to lasso that poor sheep. And since my player was a halfling, they could actually ride it, so I was just like okay, sure why not lol.

I swear players just really enjoy coming up with the most bonkers response they can think of because of the DM's reaction lol.

Anyway, I totally get if you're nervous to DM, but I promise it's not as hard as it seems. And if you're playing with other people who are new, they tend to be more lenient and you can all learn together. Like there were a few times where I had to ask my players about rules 'cause I forgot them.

There's a starter pack that you can get that has a whole campaign and dice and like a booklet of rules and stuff. I think it has premade characters too iirc? It's pretty good for if you want to try it out with your friends without committing to buying all the books and stuff.

My group used to play in person and our DM had one of those grid white board style maps and he'd draw out every dungeon every session. We had little figures for our characters and tons of dice! I have some really pretty purpley blue sparkly dice...

But now we play on roll20.net online because I moved across the country. If you're planning on playing virtually, you can use roll20 for free. It has built in modules you can use, but you can also just upload your own maps and stuff.

ANYWAY. Wow I rambled a lot about that, huh? Sorry about that, I guess I had a lot to say about it! But I felt like it was kind of a unique situation what with the two groups and stuff.

If nothing else, you can also check local gamer stores or sometimes independent book stores. They often run DnD campaigns that anyone can join. I think there are also online campaigns you can join on roll20 and possibly other places, too! I hope you're able to find some people to play with!

#and I have super social anxiety too so I get why it can be intimidating #but it's worth it #anyway thank you for stopping by I'm always happy to hear from you! #not obey me #🦀🐚 anon #misc answers

[zero-braincells-left]

Blorbo chart with Q5U4EX7YY2E9N (Queen Deltarune)

#yeah I’ve been doing these quickly and skipping/forgetting things but. Shush #anyways queenkaard my beloved #zero answers asks #walugus tag 🦀 #queen deltarune

[pointdotiozao]

I don't think I'd fair well as a computer technician, this sjit stressful what if I fuck something up irreversibly . I just had to upgrade my ram memory and I was sweating amd trembling and farting the whole time, and everything went fine but I still can't believe it actually worked. I don't know how to deal with this kind of pressure, same reason why I don't like tattooing

#i love working with art commissions. i can always fix it if something ain't right. thank god #anyway I think I'm read fo use glaze now #ready* #🦀

[hailsatanacab]

I'll ask after that secret number 8!

I only remembered secret number 8 because I saw your wip here! I'd started this one based on the same prompt, then lost said prompt and stopped working on it 😅

Instead of a snippet, I'm just dropping it all here - maybe that way I'll feel inspired to finish it?

———

It’s a full house for dinner tonight and, really, that should have tipped him off.

Bruce sits at the head of the table, smiling softly as he watches over everyone’s antics. Damian is regaling Dick with everything they saw at the zoo that day (Danny had been so happy to see Delilah the purpleback gorilla again, and her new little additions to the troupe, too!) and how well they are implementing the grant the Wayne Foundation had gifted them. Tim, Steph, Cass, and Duke are all engaged in a thumb-war tournament which Danny has no interest in participating in. It just wouldn’t be fair on them.

Danny loves that look. The one where Bruce’s eyes crinkle when he thinks none of the kids can see him. It oozes love and it makes Danny’s heart, his core, ache. 

It’s been a little over a year since Alfred found him on the street and managed to wrangle him back to the manor to stay—even after the whole biting thing when he realised how rich they were. 

A little over a year here and Danny’s starting to feel like family.

Starting to feel like he might, just maybe, like to make it official.

“Danny,” Bruce says, drawing everyone’s attention. Danny starts at his name, but Bruce’s voice is warm and calm, and his shoulders lose their tension almost immediately. “Danny, I have something I would like to tell you.”

“Uhhh…” is all Danny can croak out, eyes flicking back and forth between Bruce and the rest of them. Smooth. Looking good, Danny.

Except… they’re all happy. All smiles, all relaxed body language, all radiating calm and love and acceptance. Well, not Damian—his face is as thunderous as it always is—which at least means it’s nothing too out of the ordinary.

“Danny, first of all, I just want to impress upon you that this is in no way something you have to do. You are under no obligation to join us and, no matter what, you shall always be welcome with us in the manor.”

Wait, what? Danny squints at Bruce, trying to parse exactly what he’s saying… Is he—is this them asking to adopt him? Do they want to make it official, too? 

It’s been a little over a year and of course Danny has imagined calling Bruce ‘Dad’. Of course he’s imagined being part of the family, of course he wants to make it official!

He can’t help the beaming grin or the bright and bubbling “Yes!” already waiting on his lips. All Bruce has to do is ask, all Danny needs to hear is—

“I’m Batman.”

The smile freezes on Danny’s face.

His lungs stop working, his heart stops working, he stops working, he just—

“And I’m Nightwing,” Dick smiles, breaking the awkward silence. 

Danny’s eyes snap to him, and then down to Tim when he admits to being Red Robin. Duke is Signal, Steph is Spoiler. Damian begrudgingly tells him he’s Robin, but Danny can barely hear it over the ringing in his ears.

“I’m Black Bat.” Cass cocks her head, almost looking concerned. It always felt like she understood him the most. Whenever he was feeling low, too in his memories, or stewing after a nightmare, she was always there, ready to card her fingers through his hair and never mention his tears. It makes his heart ache to think of it now. “It’s okay, Danny.”

It’s meant to be reassuring, but how—how can it be okay? How? 

Danny’s spent a little over a year with them. A little over a year with Batman. 

Batman, who works with the Justice League, who works with…

A little over a year. 

Just under 16 months since he escaped.

“Danny? Are you alright?” Bruce asks

Finally, his lungs kickstart and suck in a shuddering breath, only for everyone to drop their smiles.

Didn’t take them long, did it? Now that their ruse is up, there’s no kindness in their eyes, they’re just… cold, calculating. Evaluating. 

“Why?” Danny gasps, his fingers tingling, his heart in his throat.

Just under 16 months since he—has he escaped? Or was this just another one of their experiments?

"I... I trusted you, why—" Danny chokes back a sob, gritting his teeth as his shoulders shake. Why? Why would they do this? "I was happy here, with you. I thought... Weren't you happy?"

"Danny..." Bruce is looking at him, eyes narrow and eyebrows pinched, in some cruel facsimile of confused concern and all Danny can think is how much of an actor he is. How well he can play the part of a doting father. How much he made him want that.

"I don't understand, why..." 

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you before, I can imagine that it comes as a shock. We shouldn't have lied to you, Danny, but—"

"Stop it!" Danny slams his hands down on the table and pushes himself up on wobbly legs. Even standing, he feels so small. Smaller than Bruce, than all of his adopted siblings. They crowd above him when they all stand, too. "Just stop it! Why are you doing this, why are you still pretending? Stop it!"

It was easier, with Danny's biological parents. The knowledge that they'd do anything to get him on a lab table, to open him up and see what makes him tick, to rip him apart molecule by molecule, had always been there. He knew they hated ghosts. He knew they hated Phantom. He knew they hated him. It was easier because it was something he'd known all his life. When he died, when he became a ghost, he knew what to expect from them. It hurt, of course it did.

But it was easier than this.

"Danny, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath. You're having a panic attack and you need to breathe."

"Breathe?" Danny laughs, the sound harsh and choking, too high pitched in his hysteria. "You're joking, right? Or is this just more of the—the experiment?"

"Danny, please, we don't know what you're talking about, you—"

"You don't know? You're Batman! You work with the Justice League, you work with—" His words choke off as his stomach churns, bile rising in his throat. His whole body itches, screaming at him to leave, he can't go back, he can't, he can't, he can't!

Bruce takes a hesitant step forward and Danny scrambles back, his feet catching on the chair behind him and sending him careening to the floor. Where are the agents? Why aren't they swarming in, ready to apprehend him, strap him back on the table, carve him from the inside out.

"Please, Danny, calm down. We don't—"

Danny stops listening. His back hits the wall and he pulls his knees into his chest, his shoulders dipping down as he begins to sob. His heart throbs inside his throat, too painful to swallow around. Tears fall hot and heavy on his face.

Sure, he could run. He could phase out through the wall and he could be out of Gotham in a couple of hours. He's escaped the GIW once, he can do it again.

But that was before Batman knew who he was. Before he had the World's Greatest Detective on his tail.

Before he... 

He really thought this would be different, you know?

He wanted to make it official.

"Why did... Why were you so nice to me? Why did you make me like you? I really—I really liked you. I-I thought we could be a family."

"Danny, we are a—"

"Don't lie to me!" Danny snaps, but the force of his anger leeches all the fight from him, and suddenly all that's left is a bone-weary tiredness. There’s a lump in his throat that hurts. There’s a line down his chest that burns. "I don't care. I don't care anymore, I don't. Just... don't make me go back there. Please." 

Is it futile? He thought he knew how the GIW operated by now, the depths that they would go to achieve their results, but this... this was a whole new level of pain that Danny thought he had left behind him in Amity.

"We're not going to make you go anywhere, Danny, you're safe here, I promise."

"Safe? Safe? You must have—" he takes a deep breath, tries to stop the quivering of his voice. It’s all starting to make sense, now.  "The reason you're telling me who you are is because you must have told them everything already. I know the Justice League—I know you're working with them, which means the ex-experiment is over now, and they're coming to take me back. And I can't go back."

"Danny—"

"I can’t!” Danny glares at Bruce with all the rage he can, fingernails digging into his skin. “I’m not going back!"

"That's right, you're not going back, Danny. I won't let that happen." Bruce crouches down in front of Danny, his hands open and raised as if he's trying to say he's not a threat. "I don't know who you're talking about, and I'm sorry about that, but I can promise you that you’re not going back there. We will keep you safe."

Danny pulls himself closer, tucks himself further into the wall, eyes flickering all across the room waiting for that tell-tale flash of white as the agents start to swarm.

He should take his chances now and run, he should go, he needs to go!

The rest of them, his brothers and sisters of a little over a year, are spread out, giving him and Bruce some space. The same concern colours all of their faces. Why are they still pretending?

Steph is chewing on her thumb. 

Danny liked Steph and her brash confidence, her jokes. She's been promising to paint his nails for months now, they've just never found the time. He was going to go for green and black, or maybe a galaxy theme, depending on what she felt comfortable doing.

He likes them all.

"You were supposed to be my family." His mouth turns down at the corners and his voice shakes like a child. "You were supposed to—why? Why would you—I don't understand why you would make me like you..."

"This isn't an experiment, Danny," Bruce's voice is steady, soothing. "I promise."

"But you work with them and—"

"Who do I work with?"

"The Justice League."

"Yes, I do, but we—"

"And the Justice League works with them. The GIW." Danny trembles with the name, clutching tightly onto his hoodie. "I'm not going back there, Bruce."

Danny doesn't miss Bruce's look over his shoulder, nor Tim's nod in return. Tim turns slightly to the side to hide his movements, but Danny bets he has his phone in his hand, probably letting them know they can take him now. Guess this is it, then. They'll be here soon, and he'll be gone.

"Kill me."

"Danny? What do—"

"If you ever had any kindness for me, if you ever cared, kill me. Please, Bruce. I can't do it again."

"Danny..."

"End me now. Take my core out and break it, please, before they get here."

#dpxdc #dcxdp #dpxdc fanfic #wip game #thanks for the ask <3 and thanks for helping me remember this fic lol #also huge thanks for having the prompt linked because i have S O M A N Y prompt wips that i can't ever post because i've lost the post #didn't really know how to get danny to calm down #that's a lie #i have a few ideas of where this can go but no motivation for it - not against all the other wips #i'll keep at it and ig post to ao3 should it actually start looking alright #¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #dudes did u kno u can pin shit to your clipboard on desktop because i fucking love that #also if you use the windows key + . there's like emojis and shit #(((φ(◎ロ◎;)φ))) #<- and kaomoji too!!!!! #anyway that's been fun facts and fanfic with me. ur welcome #oh shit my writing tag #hailsatanacrab🦀🦀writes #at some point 'oh shit my writing tag' will just become my writing tag #anyway thank you again for the ask #good night everyone!!!!!

[sluggmuffin]

THE NEWWWW THEMMEEEE DID YOU FINISH THE SHOW??

LMAO NO IM LITERALLY ON EPISODE 4 OF SEASON 1 CUZ I ONLY REALLY WATCH IT IN MY MATH CLASS CUZ MY PARENTS WOULD KILL ME IF I WATCHED IT

buttt I can say I love John b sososososososoo much and jj is so like 👹 but 😍 at the same time and I love pop he's the only sensible one and-

#carson 🦀 #obsessed and only on episode 4 #anyways this is a cry for help

[tvonq]

#oh feedarchive notis are defo off for them #non existent in the following list #anyways last pic 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫🥴🥴 hes soooooo pretty #nct #jui #nct2023 #🦀

[arctic-hands]

The list of people in the "death" section of kissinger's Wikipedia article who praised his life does not inspire confidence that he was in any way a good man

#henry kissinger #george w. bush #vladimir putin #xi jinping #benjamin netanyahu #john mccain's family #anyway #🦀

[boywonderasf]

OKOK HEREA WE GO

before i begin Insane TED-Talk of The Day, im gonna preface that i love this take so much, but my brain does things more than one way. but both is v good!!!

anyways mb bout the rant and dont come for me if anything is incorrect or wtv. erm also i mostly focus on the main 4 batboys so pls dont be upset i didn't mention the other kids💀

ANYWAYS as the post said:

"Bruce Wayne is a dad in many different ways and for many different reasons, but chief among them is his ability to know that one of his kids is sick just by looking at them or hearing them breathe.

He can diagnose a fever with just the back of his (gloved!) hand on their forehead. He knows when they’re about to be dizzy before it even happens. He is A Dad."

OKAY NOW BUT WAIT WHAT IF HE ISNT THO LIKE MAYBE WHEN THEYRE YOUNGER BUT AROUND THEIR TEEN YEARS? ESPECIALLY DICK, WHO TURNED THIS INTO LITERALLY HIDING ILLNESS JUST SO HE COULD STILL WORK FOR BRUCE AND "NOT DISAPPOINT HIM" ??

DICK, WHO WORKS HIS ASS OFF 24/7 AND IS ALWAYS ON EVERYONE ELSES ASS SO THEY TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES ??

CONSISTENTLY DICK HAS TRIED TO GET AWAY FROM BRUCE'S TEACHINGS AND (even though Bruce probably didnt mean for it to be unknown,) ALWAYS MAKE IT KNOWN THAT ITS OKAY TO TAKE BREAKS AND CARE FOR YOURSELF

RAUGHHH AND ON TOP OF THAT, HIS EFFORTS ARE JUST SLIGHTLY LESS THAN USELESS (slowly getting better, but still) BECAUSE HIS SIBLINGS WERE ALL STILL WITH BRUCE AND SO IT GOT INSTILLED INTO THEM TO HIDE ILLNESS AS WELL IM GOING INSANE

JASON NEVER GOES TO BRUCE FOR ANYTHING AND ALMOST NEVER GOES TO ANYBODY ELSE OR ASKS FOR HELP (for many reasons, but still)

SAME WITH FUCKIN TIMBO! KID DOESNT HAVE A SHRED OF KNOWLEDGE FOR SELF CARE IN HIS BODY

Damian was already just like that, but hes also Dick's chance to help Dami unlearn all of those behaviors the others (including himself still bc hes a giant hypocrite) couldnt unlearn. Damian is still young enough to unlearn them quicker than the others can

and listen, this may all be stemming from me wanting the ultimate hurt/comfort with this shit, Bruce not noticing one of the (18+) kids is sick and all the other siblings jump to help care for and defend that one ill person.

cause its nice. you get the hurt from Bruce being oblivious and get to use the line "worlds greatest detective my ass".

and then you get the comfort of family caring for each other/significant other caring for sad and sick batkid whos upset that Bruce didn't notice.

yeah shut up ive read a fic like this before, and yeah it was fucking fantastic actually, but still this is true regardless!!!

anywasy, again please do not come for me if this all sounds dumb as fuck and is completely incorrect for some reason, im superstoned and autistic and this is what my brain decided to fuck around with tonight.

#dont kill me pls im just silly #ig technically its snz but not really?? #idk #mb i got technical with it💀 #so anyways #b/atfam #d/ick g/rayson #b/ruce w/ayne #j/ason t/odd #t/im d/rake #THE DAMIAN PART IS NOT EVER GOING TO BE KINK RELATED HE IS A MINOR PLEASE- #however the others i cant say have the same fate #damian is always nonsnz cause minors nah👎begone #im including wally cause birdlflash go brr #oo bee ranting #stfu u autistic lil cucumber🦀

[queen-boudicca]

#can't believe nobody's done this yet #that I've seen at least #anyway fuck yeah!! #for context she's the person who falsely accused Emmett Till #Carolyn Bryant Donham #🦀 #destiel meme #id available