#Bonus points when a reporter asks Bruce about his t-shirt and he is forced to explain his choice with a straight face

[emotional-piece-of-meat]

Let me introduce you to this concept: batkids pick a silly t-shirt of the week, in which Brucie will be “accidentally” caught by the paparazzi.

Dick, as a millennial he is, chooses something with mottos like yolo or jokes about coffee. He also has a special love for quotes and puns, which nobody but him finds funny.

Jason does not participate, because he refuses to think about Bruce more than it’s absolutely necessary. And if some t-shirt reminds him of his dad Bruce, well, he just passes by.

Barbara, although she has a wonderful sense of humour, uses her power to spread awareness instead. When an important social or political event takes place in Gotham and beyond its chapels, the choice is hers.

Cass loves matching t-shirts, because it makes her feel that she belongs. Every time it's her turn to pick, newspapers spread out the touching headlines like “Bruce Wayne was caught with his daughter in I'm with stupid t-shirts”.

Steph simply goes to the women's department and chooses one of those ugly Eiffel Tower or a rhinestone “princess” t-shirt. They're also usually pretty tight, and, trust me, the press just loves it.

Tim wake up and choose violence Drake prints t-shirts himself, always putting some brainrot words on them. That's how “what a sigma” and “skibidi toilet rizzler” appeared in Bruce's wardrobe.

Damian takes great pride in his t-shirts, because he draws pictures on them by hand. Nobody could convince him that it's not, in fact, a competition, and he has to make sure that he is winning.

Duke always gives Bruce some niche band t-shirts. Plot twist? These bands do not exist. He just creates them himself and then proceeds to gaslight people, because “what do you mean you don't know batshit on the rooftop? You, uncultured pig! Their music literally changed my life!”.

[hysterialevi]

Lotus pt. 13 (Batjokes)

Author’s note: This one’s a shorter chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it regardless. As always, thanks for taking the time to read this story, and I appreciate all the support.

From Tiffany’s POV

DIVINITY CHURCH

Holding the photograph in my hand, I struggled to let it go as I replayed the paused memory in my head, almost able to hear my dad’s laugh fluttering in the background. I was just a little schoolgirl when he took this photo, and to see where we’ve ended up ever since that time...it hurt.

All that innocence, all that joy, all those years spent together -- and all that was left of us was a burning city.

Dad was gone, Luke was living in his own world, mom had locked herself in the house...and now, Bruce was also slowly drifting away -- plummeting deeper and deeper into Lotus’ irrevocable clutch.

If I was being honest, I didn’t even know if “Bruce” existed anymore. It seemed like Lazarus was his only identity now, and every shred of humanity he ever held in him...had vanished. Bruce himself might’ve “returned” from the dead, but the Bruce I knew was still sleeping in that morgue. And I’d be foolish to believe he’d ever wake up.

Taking a deep breath, I finally followed the actions of the other people attending the vigil around me, and laid the photograph down with care, lighting a single candle next to it. Countless candles had already been set aflame outside of the church, and even more people had gathered around to remember their loved ones.

There were photographs of late husbands, wives, parents, and even children -- all of them killed either by Lotus...or Lazarus himself. It was a sight I never thought I’d see, and I would’ve given anything to forget it.

Glancing off to the side, I averted my attention from the vigil for a moment when I noticed a mournful Blake standing not too far away from me, staring lifelessly at a photo of Avesta as he silently said his goodbyes.

He wasn’t wearing his Agency uniform tonight, and instead, wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, along with a dark jacket and fresh bandage plastered on his cheek. He appeared even more desolate than when I last saw him, and it seemed as if the emotion in him was gradually disintegrating further and further as the days flew by.

I couldn’t deny that his recent behavior worried me. I mean, everyone was being pushed to their limits because of this chaos, but Blake seemed especially damaged. I feared he would break soon.

Quietly making my way over to the agent, I patiently stood by as he placed Avesta’s photograph down, giving it its own spot of esteem among the clusters of candles. He didn’t utter a single word or shed a single tear, and the longer he remained without displaying any type of sentiment, the more worried I became.

I abruptly broke the disturbing silence and faintly cleared my throat, barely getting Blake to even look at me.

“Shouldn’t you be in a hospital?” I asked in a light-hearted manner, trailing behind him as he wandered off to a more private location away from the vigil.

“No,” he replied bleakly. “There are enough people in there.”

I shrugged. “I just thought you’d want to rest after everything that happened at City Hall. I know Lazarus roughed you up quite a bit.”

Blake’s expression sank grimly at that, and his eyes fell to the ground in reproach as he leaned against a tree, barely touching the candles’ light.

“Psh, I was one of the lucky ones. It’s true, Lazarus gave me a thrashing, but at least I didn’t get my stomach torn open.”

I blinked both out of confusion and disgust for a few moments, thrown off-guard.

“Wait, w-what do you mean?”

“Lazarus was torturing the Mayor,” Blake explained, his voice low and flat. “Just...cutting and slicing him open like a bloated pig...but I didn’t save him. I didn’t intervene. Instead, all I did was use him as a distraction so I could get away, and disabled the EMP generator while the Mayor was screaming in my ear, crying for mercy.”

Blake’s rough tone softened with guilt. “I...I let the Mayor die, so I could live. It’s the only reason I’m here now -- and the only reason he’s dead.”

The man gazed hopelessly at me with heavy eyelids, almost as if he were looking straight through me.

“...How do you forget something like that? How do you justify your fight against crime...when you’re as heinous as your enemies?”

I frowned out of sympathy and carefully approached Blake, offering him any kind of reassurance I could give.

“Blake, you can’t blame yourself for the Mayor’s death. Lazarus killed him. Not you. It’s not your fault.”

Contrary to what I expected, that statement only ended up sparking his grief into annoyance.

“I may not have killed him, but it’s the Agency’s job to protect people, dammit!” He snapped back. “We came to Gotham to save lives, and yet, the death toll over the past week has been higher than the death toll over the past year! What are we even doing here if we can’t help for shit? Avesta is dead. The Mayor is dead. And now even Waller’s in the hospital, ready to slip away at any moment -- all because I failed to do my job. Not to mention we have no escape at this point, considering Bane blew up Gotham Bridge. We’re trapped in a living hell, and so long as Lazarus lives...it’s never going to end.”

I raised my volume slightly, hoping to break Blake out of his enraged trance.

“Hey, Blake, stay with me, okay? I know things have been difficult, but we can’t give up now. Lazarus is murdering defenseless civilians, and unless we step up to fight back, we’re all going to die. We can’t let that happen. We can’t allow him to kill anymore innocents.”

That didn’t seem to help much, and Blake only continued to carry on with his rant.

“What does ‘innocent’ even mean anymore...? Am I innocent? I’ve killed people, Tiffany. Do you understand that? People just like you and me who had families waiting for them at home -- families that never got to see them again...until they lowered them into their graves. The Mayor was brutalized and tortured because of me, for god’s sake! Because I valued my own life more than his. Do you still think I’m innocent?” Blake shook his head. “...No. You only label me as such because I claim to do it for the greater good. But guess what? That’s the exact same goal our enemies are fighting for.”

The way Blake was speaking admittedly sent me into a state of alarm, and at this point, I didn’t even know what I could say or do that would calm his nerves.

Desperately trying to think of something, I hurriedly jumped in before Blake’s psyche could deteriorate anymore, and found myself mindlessly stepping closer and closer to him as we argued.

“We are not our enemies, Blake,” I said sternly. “We both kill people, yes, but we kill murderers. They kill innocents. That’s the difference.”

He scoffed, unconvinced. “And how do we know who’s who? Let me tell you something, Tiffany. If our war with Lazarus has taught me anything, it’s that there are only two types of people left in this world. Those who have blood on their hands, and those who lie. It’s just how the world works now, and as much as I want to see that maniac’s head roll off his shoulders, he is right about one thing: this road is leading to death’s door no matter how hard we fight, and there’s not a damn thing we can do to change that.”

Blake began to roam away from me before I could say another word and distanced himself from the vigil, waving a quick goodbye as he vanished into the night’s shadows, disappearing more with every step.

“...It’s like Lazarus said, Tiffany. There’s no crueler method to torture a man than giving him the illusion of choice.”

From Gordon’s POV

GCPD, COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE

“Due to yet another devastating attack conducted by Lazarus, City Hall is now in ruins after being hit by a number of missiles,” the news announced, “and the Mayor has officially been confirmed dead. Reports say that multiple agents and police officers were severely injured during the attack -- including Director Waller herself -- and I’m afraid the condition of Gotham Bridge is no better. The notorious Bane struck again tonight and detonated a series of bombs on the structure, completely decimating its architecture. At the moment, there is no way out of Gotham by car.”

Shutting the television off with a remote, I slapped the device back down on the table with a bit more force than intended and took a seat at my desk, contemplating on just what the hell to do from here.

Waller was stuck in the hospital, City Hall had been destroyed, and as of tonight, there was no way we could evacuate Gotham’s civilians -- not efficiently, anyhow. The weight of leading the Agency and the police force both fell on me now, and with the heavy amount of losses we just suffered, morale was lower than low. 

Fortunately however, there was a bright side in all this. We knew where Joker and Lazarus would most-likely be hiding, thanks to Quinn. The Bonus Bros’ Carnival, she told us -- at the funhouse, specifically. Apparently, Joker had turned the abandoned park into his own personal base of operations, and guarded the perimeter better than his own life. If we were going to infiltrate that place, it was going to take every single one of our people. And even then, things would be dicey.

I just wished I could’ve heard the whole of what Waller had to say about Bruce and Batman. It sounded like she knew where the caped vigilante was sneaking around, and to say I was concerned about Batman’s safety would’ve been an understatement. That man was a hero to Gotham’s people -- a hero to me. If someone like Lazarus was able to take him down...we were in some serious, serious trouble. 

Fighting a war without Batman was like firing a gun with no bullets. If there was any chance we could relocate him, I’d be the first to take it.

“Commissioner?” Someone suddenly said, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was Montoya.

“Renee,” I greeted, bringing my mind back to business. “Something you need?”

Closing the door behind her, Montoya took on a more empathetic tone. 

“Actually, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Y’know, with everything that’s happening. That fight with Bane was intense, and City Hall didn’t do so well either. As tough as it is, it’s important we keep our heads high in times like these. So, how are you feeling?”

I let out an irritated sigh, tugging at my collar. “If I’m being honest -- like hell. In all my years working with the GCPD, I’ve never seen something like this. At first, I didn’t take Lazarus too seriously, since he was nothing but a CEO, but I can see now what a goddamn mistake that was. I guess Wayne has more of his dad’s blood in him than we realized. Why couldn’t he have turned out like his mother instead?”

Renee sat on the edge of the desk. “Because people like her don’t survive in Gotham.”

I nodded at that, rubbing my chin in thought. “Sad, but true. If we’re lucky though, tomorrow will be the day we finally gain the upper hand. According to Quinn, Joker and Lazarus are skulking somewhere inside that deserted carnival just outside of town. They’ve got a lot of people guarding their little hideout, and even more guns. I’m not gonna lie -- it won’t be easy. But we can’t back down now. Not after all the damage they’ve dealt.”

“I hear you, Commissioner,” Renee agreed. “I just hope our men still have the strength to fight. Lazarus certainly knows how to drain morale, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that our chances of success aren’t great. But if Gotham has been able to survive for this long, I'm sure it can survive this. Even with Lazarus at the top.”

“You’re right,” I replied, “it’s just difficult to see victory as a possibility when a dead man is doing better than us. Despite there being no guarantee of survival though, I promise you I’ll do everything I can to smoke that son-of-a-bitch out of his hole, and put an end to him for good. I’d rather cure Bruce than kill him, but that might not be an option at this point.”

Renee stood up from her seat. “Whatever you think is best, Commissioner. I’m with you.”

“Thank you, Montoya. As tragic as things are, it’s good to know you’ll be here through it all.”

She beamed warmly at me, smiling out of gratitude. “I have faith in you, Gordon. Now try to get some rest, would you? You’re gonna need all the strength you can get for tomorrow.”

I chuckled and followed Renee as she headed out the door, the two of us secretly terrified of what was about to unfold the next day.

“Don’t need to tell me twice. Though, maybe someone should remind Lazarus what the word ‘dead’ means again.”

Renee’s face lit up with courage. “If it comes down to it, we’ll be there to show him.”

I smirked at that, taking one last look at my office before flicking off the lights. 

“You’re damn right we will.”

[itsdragonfire13]

YJ Livejournal Fic Rec Part1

I’ve become tired of losing stories I like on the Young Justice Livejournal so I’m going to make a list of them here. There’s a lot... Most will be under a read more. IF LINKS DON’T WORK PLEASE TELL ME!

This has 21 fics, I’ll probably make a few more of these fic rec things.

1. The Checklist: Wally has a HUGE crush on John Stewart-- posters on his wall, t-shirts, always trying to catch a glimpse of him whenever they're with the league, etc. I'm not too sure how old John was when he was given his ring, but I'd guess that, since Wally's 15 in YJ and John is already part of the league, he's in his early twenties? And maybe one day GL has to take Wally home after a mission or something, and Wally's all, "Ohmygod OHMYGOD what do I say to him" and the like. (Complete)

2.  Greetings from the Twineball (Wish You Were Here): Doing stuff together at super speed. Running to Paris for lunch and racing each other to the south pole to play with penguins, for example. I want lots of silly brotimes between the two, because Kon needs to have some fun.(Complete)

3. The Batsitter Begins:  all the batsiblings have a crush on wally, and they try to woo him in different ways. BONUS: they're all younger than dick BONUS2: they try to court him the bat way so it's extremely subtle, and after a while they get impatient and one of them just kisses him. (WIP, though you can kinda look at it as if it’s complete)

4.  Just Affectionate:  Wally's parents aren't abusive, just... neglectful, mainly in an emotional way. Distant. Fortunately, Wally has his aunt and uncle, and the Garricks, for hugs and smiles and emotional support and caring about that 'A' he got on his chemistry test. Small things. None of them realize that he's not getting any of these at home. They think he's just really social. Then, Barry and Iris are both gone at the same time, for whatever reason. (Mission, reporting, etc.) So are the Garricks, if you choose to include them. This absence lasts for an extended period of time, to the point where it starts to affect Wally. So he compensates when visiting Mount Justice. At first it's just extra hugs for teammates, which are nice, if a bit confusing. As time goes on, though, it extends to other things. Talking about his day, getting moody when there isn't anyone around, spending more time at Mount Justice than usual, taking negative feedback as more of a blow. This includes mentors, not just teammates. (Complete!)

5.  Five Times Wally Couldn't Drive and One Time He Could:  Wally, learning how to drive and being horrible at it. So Barry calls in Robin, because Robin is BAMF and can relate to Wally. And I'd love it if you included this little tidbit, because I kind of fell in love with it but am too lazy to write the rest. "You have a license?" Wally asks, his eyebrows horribly skeptical. Robin snorts. "Yes." Wally's eyebrow hitches higher, and the corner of Robin's mouth twitches as he tries not to smile. "In Russia." (Complete)

6.  On my honor, I will do my best: Superboy hears people refer to Superman as a boyscout. So, to try to be more like Superman, he joins the boyscouts. (Complete)

7. Play It By Trust: Despite how brief his stint as Dr. Fate was, Wally can still hear Nabu when he’s near enough to the Helmet of Fate (how near is up to you anon.) Surprisingly, Nabu is kind of a bitchy roommate. (Complete)

8. Kidnapping is Bad:  Wally is the only one that knows Robin's secret identity on team right? So I figure they probably hang out on the weekends in Gotham or Central or some place when they aren't doing missions or dynamic duoing. And seeing as how Dick Grayson has to be the receiving end of a multitude of kidnappings but this time I would like a time when kidnappers are forced to take Wally too because there can't be witnesses! (Complete)

9. Wally VS Wednesday:  So say Wally's dating someone older, whether it's Kaldur or Roy or someone from the League, and at some point when he hasn't been having a good day, his boyfriend comes to see him after school ends, right at the gate. Cue hug, or a careless kiss, and by the next day, everyone's talking. (Complete with a few bonus chapters)

10. Baby’s First Book:  Superboy is brand new in the world and he has a lot of firsts. Someone gets him a baby's first book were you put down all of the first things a baby does(first word, first laugh, first spit bubble). It can be a joke, something serious, maybe M'gann just trying to follow earth culture. Even though it's kind of silly the whole team helps to fill it up. So what would be the kind of things the team would want to remember?(Complete)

11. Wally.. Why do you Have Two Hearts?:  There is something about the Young Justice team. A secret hidden so deep that only one of them is privy to the knowledge. There aren't two aliens on the team. There are three. (and Timelords are very good at running.) (WIP, But can be looked as Completed)

12. ‘Cause They’re Part of the Six Teens: The mentors have to face a horrible, horrible realization. Even though their former-sidekicks are still nominally their partners... in reality, the members of YJ are Batman's. How they come to this conclusion is up to you, but I would love to see Batman stepping up for any non-Robin member of YJ. Crack/angst/slash/gen/whatever is perfectly fine.

Bonus: "Batman is the happiest I've ever seen him. Six teenagers and they're all his." (Completed)

13. Speedster Chase Instinct: Speedsters have an innate need to chase/race really fast things. Wally keeps his under control by playing tag/racing Barry every couple of days (and vice versa), but what happens if Flash can't be there for some reason? Bonus points if he suddenly goes running after the Javelin /Batmobile (Completed)

14. Everyone Needs a Little More Dick:  A certain Dick Grayson is put into the custody of a certain Agent Gibbs and his staff. He gets to meet the whole team and trolls the shit out of Tony though no one believes the poor guy when he tries to tell the others about it. Dick's got those innocent-who-me? baby blues that NO ONE can resist. Bonus if this when he's older and can still pull off the kicked puppy look. Super bonus if Superboy gets involved somehow, though just him. EPIC SUPER BONUS if you have Dick and Gibbs bonding in their red head kink. (Completed)

15. Hal Jordan or Uncle McAwesome:  Five times Hal Jordan was there for Wally as an uncle/mentor and the one time Wally was there for Hal. (Completed)

16. Batty’s Little Babies: 5 Times Batman thought of the members of Young Justice as his children.(Completed)

17. Mission: Seduce Sexy Snarky Damian: Wally is thrilled when Robin tells him his secret ID! After doing so, Robin takes him to Wayne Manor to introduce him to his brothers: Damian, Tim, and Jason. What Wally wasn't expecting was the feeling that came over him as he laid eye on the gorgeous Damian Wayne. Cue Wally beginning phase one of Mission: Seduce Sexy Snarky Damian! Romance ensues! Damian/Wally Note: The ages are reversed. Meaning, Damian is the oldest (precisely what age is up to author anon), Tim's second oldest, Jason is second youngest, and Dick is the youngest. Bonus: Insert humor as Wally tries pick up lines, over the top flirting techniques, and failed attempts to be seductive, etc. (Completed, it’s a minfill)

18. Fill(It’s just called that no other name): Cadmus cloning project always ended in failure - clone degeneration, imperfect powers, starts to have mind of its own and goes against them, etc. They can't make a perfect weapon that can kill/replace Superman. So tried a different approach this time. Instead of developing one weapon, they're going to make a set of different weapons - each focusing on different powers that could go toe on toe with Superman. And so Cadmus had their perfect set of weapons. Separated, they can handle a fight of their own. They have been trained thoroughly and their powers have been honed to perfection - the clone is now stronger, the speedster now rivals the Flash with his speed, and the alien could now use all her power with great expertise. (WIP; it’s amazing though!)

19. Filling the Empty Rooms: Since Roy has shown a love for masks only rivaled by every memeber in the batfamily, I would like to request AU where Roy is adopted by Bruce. Could it also include Roy, Rob and KF hanging out in the Batcave? (Completed)

20. Kid Lantern: Wally loses his powers (reason up to anon) and starts feeling down about being depowered. Though he knows that powers don't make the hero, he still feels that he needs them help. Cue Uncle Hal lending Wally Green Lantern powers until he regains his speed (which he does, eventually). And Wally, being the ever lovable teenager that he is, has some 'fun' with those powers. Perhaps he trolls people or maybe the powers allow him to save his friends from a really powerful villain. (Complete; Minifill)

21. The Hazard of Accidental Dimension Travel: Wally doesn't disappear. He travels dimensions. The JLU one to be exact. And he manages there for quite some time, getting himself an identity, a job, and even becomes a founder of the Justice League in that dimension. (Completed)