#Babs' Secret Folder

[medics-secret-shipfic-folder]

GUYS! GUYS!

SNIPER GOT HIS OWN VERSION OF THE BURLY BEAST! IT'S HAPPENING!

EVERY MERC IS GONNA HAVE THEIR TITS OUT!

[medics-secret-shipfic-folder]

He then fell off the table and broke his hip,, amen 🙏

[undertheredhood]

the real reason why tim never publicly makes fun of jason for wearing a knock-off robin suit while beating him up is because jason (during his revenge plan to kill the joker) had found the extremely embarrassing self-insert wattpad fanfic he wrote about being sold to batman by his parents and the last thing tim needs is anyone else finding out about it

[beardedmrbean]

People have started freaking out over this and even certain media websites have reported on it, but there is no indication that the lady who may or may not be Chris-Chan's girlfriend is pregnant.

Everything that was said can be found here: https://sonichu.com/cwcki/November_2024_livestreams#Jesus_Christ_Chan_-_Shadow_Generations_Speed_Run It looks more like Chris-Chan was just blabbing on about nothing after a troll sent a donation message.

I'd see that some large outlets were reporting on it when I answered the ask yesterday.

19:26: A donor tells Chris "We know what you did". Chris gets very quiet.

27:20: A super chat about Geno Samuel leads to a tangent about how no one have a full picture of Chris' life.

39:57: A donor asks Chris "When are you going to announce the child you're having?". Chris replies "when the child is actually coming into play or somewhere around that point or I just might keep y'all in the dark and wait until after the child is born."

43:58: Chris talks about future store plans, and continuing to work on the Twilight Sparkle's Secret Shipfic Folder card game.

52:46: Chris says that Vladimir Putin will die by his own sword and that a certain billionaire will die.

39:57 there that I highlighted is about it on there, vague at a minimum.

After the whole thing with Babs I'm not sure how I'd feel if there was a kid on the way really, other than hoping it's healthy and happy

[arturo-giles]

babs is explaining why i shouldnt wanna smash the disciples

@medics-secret-shipfic-folder

[medics-secret-shipfic-folder]

THE FUCKING HEAL AND STEEL NSFW JUST BELOW IT IS FUCKING KILLING MEEE

OMFG I AM LOOSING MY MIND

SO @medics-secret-shipfic-folder

I WAS LOOKING AT ONE OF YOUR BLOGS AND THIS ADD POP UP AND I JUST F CAN'T

WHAT DO YOU MEAN DIVORCE😭😭😭😭

CMEDIC AND CHEAVY GETTING A DIVORCE???????????

NOOOOOOO

Also finally put my hands on TBTF, because I couldn't finish some tf2 ff

But oooh I am SO hyperfixate on tbtf now... I am going insane

[angels-and-demons]

Toby, two days before his wedding: Alright. Fine. Operation Frankie Bab is officially shelved. But, if we ever renew our vows, I swear, you'll be a fucking grizzly bear. Even if I have to make you a onesie myself!

Frank: Fine. Your… if you renew your vows on your, say, twentieth anniversary, I will be a bear and bring your rings down the aisle. Happy?

Toby: Very.

[Twenty years later...]

Frank: *opens a letter* what...?

[He remembers the events]

Toby, coming out from his hiding spot: Frank Sinatra Junior Zhang.

Frank: that is... not my full name - and you know that.

Toby: the time has come...

[Toby pulls out a folder labelled "secret" in red sharpie]

Toby: Operation Frankie Bab is in motion. All we need is a Frankie. So, whadaya say? Wanna be a Bab?

Frank: ...what does that even mean?

Toby: Oh, the full name for the project was Operation Frankie Build-A-Bear, but that was too wordy - so, I settled on Frankie Bab for short.

Frank: you know, you could've told me that that was what it was short for, like, two decades ago.

[that-hippie-user]

i've gotten HOW MANY notes in the past hour????

XD wow, guess i been missing out, bein so shy and secretive on here. there are more of us babs than i thought!!!

:3 well, i welcome yew all to my humble abode.

free changies for all visitors, snacks are in the pantry over yander, and if anyone wants some bedtime stories i got a FurAffinity with a book i been working on.

18+ only, not because its a naughty book, but because its apocalypse fiction and has guns and violence. X3 aaaaaaaaaand diapers and nanny-bots.

XD oh but the page itself is DEFINITELY naughty, so uh, linking to the folder with the story itself for anyone who has an account and can read it.

dont venture into the full art gallery unless... erm... oWo unless ya wanna see my fursona in diapers.

are they clean?... dont ask questions you arent prepared to hear the answer to.

...here ya go

[medics-secret-shipfic-folder]

I think the funniest thing about tbtf is the dynamic between Cheavy and Cmedic.

Cheavy is a fucking cringefail basketcase who probably smells like gunpowder and vinegar, and Cmedic is just. The most badass and attractive man in the entire damn story. HE CANONICALLY USES THAT GOOD SHAMPOO! HE HAS A WHOLE ASS SKINCARE ROUTINE!

THIS CRUSTY FAILMAN MANAGED TO SNAG A SMOKESHOW. THINK ABOUT THAT. Like, same Cheavy. Awooga indeed.

God I love this fic. Where else can you find Cheavy being a complete cringe man over his hot bf. I provide a unique service to the Heal and Steel fandom.

[medics-secret-shipfic-folder]

THE FUCKING WHEEZE I LET OUT

@medics-secret-shipfic-folder

[abyssal-ali]

Batfamily as Swifties: Headcanons

Jason is a huge Swiftie-- he loves the lyricism; it really appeals to his classic lit snob side. He especially vibes with Reputation era (LWYMMD anyone??)

His voice-mail is 100% "I'm sorry, the old Jason can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause he's dead."

(Bruce hates it but everyone else thinks it's funny)

Dick and Steph are Swifties thru and thru and proud of it.

The rest of the family are swifties too but in the closet and make fun of Dick and Steph for their obsession.

...Until one day they find Jason vibing to I Did Something Bad in his safe house, singing at the top of his lungs as he cooks.

He swears them to secrecy.

One day during a road trip Dick and Steph have control of the aux (Steph won a bet) and they only play Taylor Swift.

Bruce breaks first and belts out Love Story

Jason laughs at him

Until No Body, No Crime plays. He has it completely memorized.

Duke joined the Swiftie squad when he joined the family.

Damian was caught secretly grooving to I'm Only Me When I'm With You while he painted.

Cass just loves music and sings along to anything, but one of her favorite songs to freestyle ballet to is Enchanted.

Babs is a BLINK but a secret Swiftie. She is caught when she's helping with a case. Babs instantly recognizes the background audio.

"Hey, isn't that mad woman?"

Tim:...how do you know that?

Babs: ...I heard Dick play it??

Tim: You recognized it that fast?

He's skeptical but glad someone else said it before HE did. He's teased enough about his ___ obsession as it is.

Tim is outed by Jason, who unplugs his headphones when he falls asleep, trying to pull a prank. What happens is better than Jason hoped. Tim's phone connects to the Batcave bluetooth speakers. Red blares, startling Tim awake and he falls off his chair.

He tries to cover it up by saying it's for a case. Jason uses his superior height and weight to scroll thru Tim's music files while Tim tries to retrieve his phone. The largest folder is labeled "rachmanoff" so the family wont be suspicious but it's every single Taylor Swift song (Taylor's Version) in existence. His attempt at getting out of teasing is unsuccessful.

Now they all blast their favorite songs throughout the manor...luckily Alfred likes her music too!

[phis-corner]

I saw your Cass x Marinette one shot. How would the Batfam and/or JL react to Marinette?

Bruce:

“Are you sure I’m not allowed to adopt her?”

“Well, if you do ever change your mind, I already have adoption papers prepared.”

Welcomes Mari to the family with only a tiny bit of snooping into her background, because Cass is scary. 

Still wishes that he could adopt her, but she’s going to end up part of the family either way, so whatever makes Cass happy works for him.

Dick:

“Another one, B?”

“What? What do you mean you didn’t adopt her? She fits all your criteria!”

“Oh. OHHHH.”

Lots and lots of hugs and squeals.

Instantly accepts her as a sister.

They’re gymnastics buddies now. He absolutely refuses to lose to her in a stretching contest.

Does his best to be a Mom™ and tries to cut her off from coffee too.

“We already have one coffee gremlin. Two of them will be unstoppable.”

Jason:

“New Wayne?” 

“Cassie’s girlfriend?”

“All right then. Am I allowed to corrupt this one?”

“So Bats can convert everyone to his methods, but I’m not allowed to teach even one of his kids to fire a gun?”

“You already know how to fire a gun? I want to see this.”

Mari isn’t as good as he is, but boy is she close.

Declares Marinette the best Wayne after Cass, because it’s universally agreed upon that Cass is the best.

Spars her a lot. Their skill levels are perfectly matched, so he only gets his butt kicked about half the time.

Tim:

Starts running a background check as soon as Cass tells them about her.

“Her name is Marinette, you said? I’ve got eight Marinettes that live in Paris with an age within five years of yours. Ooh, look, this one looks like Ladybug. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Is that her?”

When he meets her in person, the first thing he does is ask if Adrien knows about the voicemail incident.

“Of course I know about that. Had to make sure that you were good enough for Cass, didn’t I?”

Once Marinette proves herself (aka bribing him with delicious coffee-flavored sweets), they become coffee buddies.

That mostly consists of helping each other sneak in coffee beans for their secret stashes when they are cut off from it by their family, but it also involves the occasional outing to a cafe where they make various baristas nearly wet themselves.

Damian:

Challenges Marinette to a duel for his sister’s hand.

“Cassandra only deserves the best. Are you worthy of my sister?”

It was originally a duel to the death. Cass stopped that with a look.

They fight for an hour and a half before Marinette finally pins him to the ground.

He is (mildly) impressed and allows Marinette to ‘continue courting my sister.’

Marinette finds out about his childhood and has to be stopped from portalling over to Nanda Parbat and killing both Ra’s and Talia.

“First Cass, now Damian? How dare they?”

Anyway, since she’s not allowed to murder, she settles for making all of Damian’s favorite childhood foods. Every. Day.

Steph:

“You’re Marinette! Oh my gosh, you’re the girl who makes Cass go all pink and flustered and-”

Cass tackles her to shut her up.

“We’re besties now. No takebacks.”

Marinette tries her best to get Steph to stop eating so many waffles with other tasty treats, to no avail.

“Yeeeah, those were great, but waffles.”

Babs:

“Think twice before you enter the Wayne household, Marinette. Seriously. It’s f*cking crazy in there, and once you enter, they’ll never let you leave.”

“Oh no. You’ve already met them, haven’t you?”

“Well, I tried.”

Does a deeper background check than Tim, somehow.

“Did you ever tell Adrien that you made the scarf?”

“How do I know? Security cameras, duh.”

Batman is scary, sure, but Oracle is the truly terrifying one.

She knows everything. Literally everything.

Including which Hello Kitty stickers Marinette used on which folders for each subject back in collége.

Duke:

Stares into her eyes very seriously.

Continues doing this for a very long time, until Marinette is positively sweating.

“Save yourself before it’s too late.”

Behind him, a crash sounds as Jason throws Tim off the side of the stairs, just as Dick walks past.

A paintball whizzes by his head as Damian charges in, screeching a war cry.

Cass joins the fray and takes them all down in thirty seconds, standing victorious, until she’s sniped by a paintball and dramatically falls to the floor.

Alfred is holding a second paintball gun. 

Alfred wins.

BONUS

Clark:

Is at the Manor for an interview. Enters the living room to see them all congregated on various seats.

Eyes glance over Marinette at first.

Blinks, then looks at her again.

“Bruce. Did you get another kid?”

Marinette cheerfully informs him that she actually turned down the adoption papers.

“I-is that allowed? Is that allowed???”

Diana:

Also declares herself Mari’s mother.

“She is a fierce warrior, this one. I must take her under my wing.”

“You are the wielder of the Ladybug miraculous as well? Well, since Bruce has not managed to adopt you, I must do so now. Mother would love for her successor to be her granddaughter.”

Is disappointed when Marinette insists that she has ‘two parents, both alive, and I am very happy with them!’

“Alive, you say? Do you need me to fix that?”

“NO!”

“Well, all right then.”

Decides to be her mother in spirit.

Starts showing up at the Manor weekly to train her.

[sarunohadaki]

DQXI/ATLA Crossover

Crossover week: Home | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

And so it begins! Time to pull out my fat folder of fic ideas!

This one I have a vague plot down but need to work on it a lot to get it to where I want it to be. There are many elements of the spirit world from the Legend of Korra that I think would lend itself very well to the ideas I’m about to discuss, but unfortunately, it’s been whole years since I have last watched the show, which I never finished.

More under the cut because it gets long. Spoilers for a potential future Saru fic and parallels to DQXI and a bit of Legend of Korra.

Rating: T

Relationships: Mainly Adventure/gen, with a dash of luminerik

Fic title idea (given what day this is being posted): Earth, Wind, and Fire

Premise: The fic is set in an Erdrea that has properties of the ATLA universe, mainly bending abilities and the hybrid animals. Yggdrasil is still a giant tree, but in this universe would also serve the dual purpose of being the main gateway into the spirit world.

In this universe, Yggdrasil didn’t quite get to pick who would become the next avatar. I wanted to do something with Harmonic Convergence, but it doesn’t quite work the way I need it to for my purposes. Add it to the drawing board, Alfred!

Mordegon would be human in this. He is Carnelian’s trusted advisor, and therefore, whispers in Carnelian’s ear that the rebirth of the avatar would only cause unnecessary trouble for a world that has been surviving fine without one for 10,000 years. Mordy convinces Carnelian to nearly murder a toddler but in canon fashion said bab ends up in a river for an indefinite amount of time and gets adopted by a rustic village community in the very country that intends to kill him. Great.

All of that being said… who is this avatar, anyway?

Eleven

Up until he was 16 and completed his village’s traditional rite into adulthood, El had believed he was like all the other kids. Waterbending comes as easily to him as breathing, and he uses it often, though mostly to play pranks on others.

Personality

I’ve looked at Aang and Korra and while both of them are very different avatars, they both have an excitable energy that I just adore. I will take that and inject it into my protagonist, thank you very much.

In a bold departure from meek or even level-headed Eleven, I want to emphasize his mischievous side, the side that stole Dunstan’s joke book as a kid and caused trouble for the other villagers. He has a strong moral compass, is self-assured, and likes to try new things. Maybe he even brags a little bit!

Abilities

He’s a casual waterbender user, but talented enough to still be pretty powerful with it.

El hasn’t used the other elements in a very long time. I say that because I feel like he’d had the ability to use all of them as a child, but Chalky deterred him because he knew to reveal that El was the avatar would be… a very problematic situation. Unlike the rest of the villagers who live in relative peace and ignorance, Chalky is more privy to the dangers of the world and decides to encourage El to stick to one type of bending to keep his identity a secret. Maybe El slips up sometimes, but who cares all that much?

Idk. I’m not sure I’m keeping any of that last paragraph. But as a child, adults tell you stuff all the time and you just believe them, so I can imagine Chalky sitting El down and saying, “You have to pick one element.”

The other characters (speedrun):

Gemma: Firebender (let the girl do things please for the love of Yggie)

Erik — No bending, knives, boomerangs, swords

Veronica — Earthbender

Serena — Waterbender

Sylvando — Airbender! (this fic’s version of a Kyoshi warrior, disguised as a woman when they first meet him, goes by Sylv, genderfluid) — fights with a fan

Jade — Firebender

Rab — Airbender (Later revealed to be the Air Bison the North)

Jasper — Firebender

Hendrik — No bending, shield, greatsword

Worldbuilding

I'm not going to get in-depth. It'd be... a lot. So, I'll just cover which elements are where. No country is distinctly a specific element (there is no named fire nation here), but some areas are going to be heavier on one element than another.

Heliodor: Mostly firebending, with touches of earth and water, particularly in villages like Cobblestone with a lot of waterfalls.

Gallopolis: Earth and airbending.

Octagonia: Mostly earth bending/no bending.

Sniflheim, Gondolia, Puerto Valor, Lonalulu: Waterbending.

Hotto: Firebending.

Phnom Nonh: Earthbending and firebending.

Arboria and Angri-La: Mostly airbending.

Girl’s Medal Academy: Everything, though it’s not the main focus of the school.

Plot

I initially wanted to take the video game plot and mix it with story beats from ATLA to create a blended disaster, but I was having trouble determining how to do that, so I put it on the backburner.

I know I want to do something with the spirit world and Yggdrasil’s seedlings. I know I wanted to include stakes where countries go to war or there’s some sort of overarching political… thing. Along with action scenes, waaaay more worldbuilding for Erdrea, and character dynamics that are more than just, “I joined your team and support you now!” We need a Toph in this fic! We need kids who don’t know what the heck they’re doing and get at each other’s throats sometimes!

I don’t want the reader to open up the fic and know immediately what’s coming, which indicates to me the fic needs a whole renovation, one with a plot made from my own brain. Because I don’t want the fic to just be, “Eleven went to Heliodor. He got thrown into the dungeon. He met Erik and they ran into a dragon then they jumped off a cliff.” That’s completely valid to write with new spice, but I would like to conjure up something different!

But I keep getting stuck at the beginning! It’s like trying to wade into a thornbush. You don’t. You just walk up to it and it’s all in your face and you just give up before even trying to untangle it, lol.

So for right now…

[medics-secret-shipfic-folder]

The fucking WHEEZE I let out

Cmedic wears the pants in this relationship!

I haven't made any TBTF incorrect quotes in a long a time so here:

Cheavy: Exactly! 🫵

Cmedic: Put that thing away.

Cheavy: Sorry... 👊

Cmedic is the dominant one in this relationship I don't make the rules it was @medics-secret-shipfic-folder who convinced me...

[bigskydreaming]

tagged by @rose-blooms-red

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and i’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

Only going with Batfam fics since that’s the fandom I share with Ro, and like, I’m ridiculous and work on literally dozens of WIPs for years at a time in fits and starts, in the idea of occasionally finishing one and posting it in completion which works great in theory but never seems to work out that way in practice OH UNKNOWABLE UNIVERSE, INEXPLICABLE ME.

Which means my Batfam WIP folder, as in fics that are actually in existence in bits and pieces because non-linear writing FTW (dubious), is already ridiculous enough as is. Keep in mind this is the accumulation of like....literally five or six years of adding content and writing stuff here and there. But yeah, also keep in mind like, I’m just ridick. Thing you gotta remember is I write primarily for me, to just get things out of my head. Like, I do really like external validation too, but I’m very very weird in that like, I have tons of stuff people have never read, original and fic-wise, and its not like...because I don’t want people to read them, its just......Things Happen and then they don’t and....yeah. This has been a presentation of Deep Thoughts, By Me. Let’s just say management is aware of the issue and its being worked on.

SERIES 

KINGS OF THE SKY (aka that one where Jason doesn’t die, one-shot installments)

Weapons of Choice - Dick POV during his Robin days

Teachable Moments - Jason POV when he calls Dick after the Felipe Garzonas case and everything jumps ship from canon

Blood of the Covenant - Jason POV while Dick’s recovering from the Church of Blood storyline, plus enter The Adoption Issue

There are other later installments that make sense to me but wouldn’t make sense to anyone else without the in-between pieces, so just leaving them out even though whole ones are entirely written ahfishflahfal

BURY YOUR DEAD, LAY THEM DOWN, LET THEM REST (aka Ric fix-it series, plus addressing Lots More, one-shot installments)

Tell Me Your Secrets, I’ll Make You A Ghost - Duke POV with Dick pre-shooting, plus with Cass in near aftermath

You Can’t Take It With You, But Don’t Leave It Behind - Cass POV immediately following previous one, Interlude-ish

The Dead Don’t Live Here Anymore - Ric POV, bonding (slowly and awkwardly and very very dysfunctionally) with Jason and Cass at the same time, hello powderkeg, meet match

The Good Die Young and the Bad Aren’t Dead - Jason POV investigating things hinted at in the previous

Welcome To Purgatory, We Hope You Like Your Stay - Tim POV confronting then awkwardly teaming up with Damian who has Plans re: these Nightwing impostors

Life After the End of The World or What the Hell Are We Even Supposed To Be Doing Now - Jason POV confronting Cass about the secret she’s been keeping re: Dick but its not what he thought it was

 A Ghost, A Zombie and a Dead Guy Walk Into A Bar - Ric POV, with Cass and Jason again

The Long Dark Night of Richard John Grayson - Ric vs the door keeping his memories locked up tight

Two Houses, Built In Shadow (aka that one where I build a rival family of villains/antiheroes to act as the Batfam’s foils)

Smoking Guns and Smoking Mirrors - Dick POV and Babs POV, introducing Dick and Babs’ counterparts - 3 chapters plus epilogue

Werewolves of Gotham - Jason POV, introducing his counterpart, 5 chapters

Ghosting the Machine - Tim POV, introducing his counterpart, 3 chapters plus Interlude-y epilogue

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil - Duke then Steph then Cass POV, three long-as-fuck-dear-god-what-was-I-thinking chapters

Providence - Bruce POV, introducing his counterpart, seven thankfully much shorter chapters (its all relative, shut up)

Queen’s Gambit - Dick POV then Cass, pinning down the identities of the rival fam before they can figure out theirs first, format to be determined as everything written for this part is an incomprehensible mishmash of paragraphs out of context hahaha I do things smart

Way Down Deep Where The Sun Don’t Shine - Jason POV, the climax and denoument, five chapters plus epilogue

MULTI-CHAPTER STANDALONE FICS

They Never Said Saving the World Would Go Like This - that epic saga of Dick and Kyle

The Spy Who Forgot To Come In From The Cold - the Spyral + amnesia fusion fic

Ghosts of Graysons Past - John Grayson makes a deal with his old buddy Boston Brand to save his son from his fate at the hands of the Court of Owls, and Jason gets roped into riding shotgun via ‘so apparently I can see dead people now, but not all dead people, just SOME dead people, the really really loud ones’

99 Views To A Kill - that Dick and Boone Vengeance Academy AU

Been There, Done That - Dick fosters then adopts a kid being fucked over by the system in ways eerily similar to his own past, aka does the Bruce Boogie and projects like whoa

The Vienna Game - the Batfam versus a global criminal gang with secrets upon secrets and unveiling some of theirs in the process

The Brothers (Most) Grim - that one where Jason is thrown by Dick being a mob enforcer then supervillain as he prepares to make his return to Gotham, Things Then Do Not Go According to Plan, Dammit Dick 

The Patron Saint of Robins - the one where Dick doesn’t forget but everyone else still does

Shadows Cast - that one where Jason becomes Flamebird and he and Dick focus on abused kids in specific

Hunt the Dark - that one where Dick learns some magic in the in-between Robin and Nightwing time, which comes in handy when Jason’s return from the dead is accompanied by some unseen supernatural predator stalking the ghost that got away

SHORT(ish) MULTI-CHAPTER STANDALONE FICS

First, Do No Harm - aka the one where Dick saves a fairy and the fairy’s a little shit about it

We’ve Only Got Nine Lives, Let’s Waste Not A One - aka the one where Dick and Selina bond over something and Bruce has no idea what it is and its driving him nuts - not cute, very angsty, I am sorry

The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side of the Tracks - aka five times Dick taught a sibling how to trainsurf plus one time they reminded him he gave them good stuff to go with the bad 

The Boy in the Red Hoodie - years later, Dick realizes the kid he taught a few self-defense moves during that brief time he ran away in Robin: Year One wasn’t really named Peter anymore than he was really named Freddy

Once Upon A Time In Gotham - that de-aged to a teenager fic

Forget Us Not - Jason and Dick are revisited by reminders of a case they worked on together when Bruce was ‘out of town’ years ago while Jason was still Robin

ONE-SHOTS THAT HAVE NO EXCUSE FOR NOT BEING DONE, WHAT AM I EVEN DOING (oh right, I guess technically I have SOME excuse for fanfic not having been the biggest priority in my life for a few years but look I am Drama, hear me wax rhapsodic whilst emoting most verily)

Point of Origin - Jason POV, fall-out from the Bruce mindwipe reveal in Identity Crisis and how it might have made his relationships and way of interacting with Dick and Jason in particular like...swerve

Tell Me No Lies - Jason POV, despite the years and the death between them, post-UTRH, Jason still knows his brother’s tells, and his brother knows his....its why they’re avoiding each other

Witness to a Crime - Cass POV, that thing where you notice things no one else does, but not always knowing what they mean

We’re Just Not Gonna Talk About These And The Passage of Time, That Asshole

Born Under a Bad Sign - and its sequel. They still exist! In theory!

By Lost Ways - oh yeah, I was supposed to get back to posting that huh, I should do that, okay, righteo, that’s a mea culpa my dudes

Tagging anyone who wants to be tagged lol, cuz I suck at this but if you see this and are inspired to do this as well, you can totes blame me for the tagging!

[black-streak]

Saturday night's alright for fighting (but Sundays are meant for rest) - A Little Perspective

Part 12

This actually takes a bit of a different tone to what the rest has been and is more of a reflecting inner monologue than anything else. But! We finally get a little more insight on Tim. Those who were there when this entire story idea sparked for me on the discord might recognize what this set up is leading to! And let me say, that bit is coming very very soon. Like, in the next three parts. Which means the main plotline is almost up! Anyways!

Tag list: @emjrabbitwolf @mystery-5-5 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @fandomkitty8 @dast218 @silvergold-swirl @shizukiryuu . @my-name-is-michell @kurogaya913 @elspethshadow @thecatnipmademedoit @shamefullove @ladylucina28 @crazylittlemunchkin @rayray384 @cassiejaydee @yuulxd @ladysblackcat @naclychilli @caffeinetheory @persephonebutkore @fertileleaf @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @weird-pale-blonde-person @st0rmy-w1th1n @littleblue5mcdork @dudet @naoryllis @disneyfoxuniverse

~---~

Sometimes, old hobbies come back from the dead. 

'Like many things in my life,' Tim snarked to himself, meticulously cleaning each detachable lens and placing it back in the small carry case for his camera. 

The old camera hadn't seen the light of day in nearly 7 years, when suddenly it became an almost weekly guest star to his life once more. Normally on a night where patrol fell to someone else or early in the morning after a quieter night out. Occasionally it would sneak out during a date or after waking up with a warm body pressed to his. And while Marinette supported and encouraged his newest endeavour, he never informed her that she'd been the inspiration. Or rather, Vixen.

It started when she first moved into Gotham, before Damian had brought her home and formally introduced them all. A shadow started descending on the nights of the city, but unlike most, this one seemed determined to make a positive impact, even if it never played by the rules. 

Thugs didn't find themselves unsure of how they arrived at a police station. Civilians were never found being helped by sweet, gentle strangers. Stray animals wouldn't stalk people around without an ounce of fear in their step. And Gotham villains did not fumble into their own traps so inexplicably as to knock them unconscious and be easily transported back to Arkham.

And yet, the entire family had come reeling to the fact that all of these things were exactly what was happening.

And as usual, the job of figuring out who exactly decided that rules were flexible fell to Babs and himself. 

That went downhill fast.

Cameras, street or self planted picked up nothing. No amount of hacking, research, or heat detectors could scrounge up an ounce of proof to even confirm the shadow was real. They often found Babs cursing under her breathe in those days, unable to comprehend what type of magic bullshitery this nonsense was.

Tim… well Tim thrived on the challenge. At first, he cursed and bemoaned the lost hours to no results, only to find himself being stalked one night. Shivers ran rampant down his spine as hair stood on end. The warehouse looked empty, but he knew better. He sensed eyes following his every step through the place. Taking the risk, he left to see if the feeling continued, only to find to his delight that it did. The shadow was tailing him. 

While nothing else came from that night, the idea started to form that perhaps if he kept its interest, he could study it as it studied him. Sure, the creature learned his behaviors as well, but his backup outnumbered it if things came to a head.

Two weeks after, Marinette barrelled head long into their lives. The tiny woman seemed timid at first glance, but a keen eye could see the sharp, intelligent gleam to hers. With the hunt for the shadow still in motion and the little woman's attachment to the coldest of the bats, Tim kept his distance. He felt no dire need to pursue any connection to someone perfectly content staying by his little brother's side. Especially if that gleam was any clue as to how dangerous getting close could be. Marinette was beautiful and intelligent and if the muscles coating her body were to be trusted, most likely vicious in combat. In other words, ridiculously attractive. And completely off limits. For as much as Damian might have believed otherwise in their early days, Tim wouldn't compete for someone his brother was so obviously endeared to.

However, that never stopped her from approaching him. Randomly at times, he'd find her by his side, asking questions or offering random thoughts to whatever project he laid out in front of him. Eventually, the object of his newest obsession came to light. Not that she knew they were speaking of the shadow, but Marinette had helped nonetheless. She took one look at his research and made an offhand comment about things being easier to decipher and look back on when provided with pictures and suddenly he was off, rooting through the closet in his old room, hunting for a camera case.

Suddenly, proofing the shadow followed him became easier. He patrolled until his senses alerted him to a new presence and worked around it until he found himself facing towards the entity, pulling out a camera and snapping a series of pictures. It became little things he clamored to: the way something shifted, how random little flickers of movement happened in the edge of photos, how a perfectly steady camera somehow had a haze to half of it's pictures. It threw him back to his days following Batman and Robin and then later, Nightwing through the streets, practically studying them under a microscope until he eventually uncovered their identities.

 In retrospect, that's probably how he gave himself away. Suddenly the shadow became more present, constantly showing up for all his nights as though it knew his schedule, despite not being consistent.

 In retrospect, that's also how it gave itself away. Or rather, herself. 

Vigilante talk had always been heavily coded for the family no matter if they were alone or not. Only the Batcave allowed freedom to speak openly. So who could possibly hear enough of their conversations to not only decode the meaning, but for long enough to use the scheduling to stalk him for more than three weeks now? The answer: Marinette. 

And yet, Tim couldn't bring himself to give her away. His shadow never caused any real harm. Always cleaned up after herself and honestly was doing hero's work when she branched off. The only real problem the bats had with her was that she was an unknown. But now? He knew her, so it became okay. Plus, he hadn't any proof, so really, it was self preservation that led to him not accusing Damian's little girlfriend of being the hidden creature in their night. Or so he told himself.

Suddenly, he found himself sneaking photos of the young designer, comparing her movements and stature to anything he could from the photos of his shadow. He never found anything concrete, but the pictures continued. If only because now he found that Marinette made an excellent subject and never seemed to mind the few times she noticed his lens pointed in her direction. They still kept distant, but it was too late. Tim knew too much and only became more fascinated and drawn in until a startling realization hit: he wanted her. Only he couldn't and would not pursue her, for she was with Damian. 

But suddenly, that was thrown out the window. Because she wasn't with Damian and the two had no interest in one another. Because she pressed herself into Tim's side and coerced him into sleep and flirted with intent. Because suddenly his shadow in the night followed him in the day and called herself his.

He found himself in the precarious position of hiding her secret from his family and protecting her from those who did find her all the while watching her freely laugh and tease with the same people in the light of day. He took photos of it all. From her laughter at the antics of his brothers, to the content look upon her face as she baked with Alfred. From the soft smile on her lips as she slept in his arms to the mischievous look she shot him from the folds of her transformed suit. Obviously he couldn't carry the camera on him at all times, but the collection grew nevertheless, tucked away in a compiled folder on his desktop, only labeled Mari.

Soon after, the subject changed and expanded, moving to capture the Gotham skyline at dawn or the gothic cathedrals as the sun set behind them. Cats stalking in the moonlight, Dick swinging from a chandelier. Jason with the softest smile he'd ever seen the man wear. Titus playing with Ace in the front yard. The view from his office chair at work. Damian hanging from the ceiling, trying to coerce a bat into letting him take it down below to treat a small nic in its side. Alfred relaxing in the garden. All pleasant memories he no longer wanted to take a chance of forgetting. And of course, the lens found its way back to Mari, but it was so much more now.

Closing the camera case and tucking it away as a small knock sounded at his door, Tim could only smile a little to himself. Maybe Vixen the mystery had started all of this, but truly, the outcome made all the sleepless nights and headaches and confusion worth it.