#Bruce later: where did all the cats come from

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

Bruce, not ready to wake up: Just five more…

Tim, bored, irritated, and sensing an opportunity to sow the seeds of chaos:

Tim: *races into the kitchen*

Tim: You guys will never believe what Bruce just said!

Damian: Well?

Duke: What did he say?

Steph: You can’t leave us hanging like that.

Tim: He said five MORE.

*collective gasp*

Steph: I had better not be one of those five.

Damian: Why does Father get to adopt five more children and I can not adopt five more cats? Cats are much easier to care for than people.

Tim, shrugging: I’m sure he’d be fine with it.

[emacrow]

Alfred's new ward making sure everyone is having great day during their day off from crime whether they want to or not.

Previous original post

Damian knew from day one of meeting alfred's new ward that he was going to be trouble..

He may have been stalking the kid doing alfred's work while alfred sat down in a comfy couch with a plate of fresh jasmine tea, his prescription medince bottle at ready and a raspberry strudel to nibble on.

He ain't going to replace his favorite Butler, not now, not ever. So Damian got Tim and Dick to help sabotage this heathen from taking over...Not knowing this kid was expecting their over the top sabotages. They tried scaring him with Titus but the little traitor lay there on his back getting belly rubs like it was heaven itself.

Changing the plumbing in his shower to freezing cold, but he walk out there refreshed. Tim trying to look of anything to blackmail him only for the batcomputer to go off the frizz with a virus.

Alfred did make sure to have his work sort out alphabetical because he is the Glue that keep these Wayne Manor going and everyone living in it not because caveman style creatures of the night.

Danny made sure Bruce didn't escape to his batcave on his supposed day off after 96 hours without sleep and spite driven nature, and don't even come with Justice never sleep excuses is going to run by him. He got Alfred's speical Bruce's tranquilizer gun at ready and he is not hesitating to shot you Bruce.

He does kept Tim from overdoing with the coffee addiction, giving him a better offer of coffee as long as he goes to sleep. Dick will still talk about Saturday night when Tim tries to sneak out to do some more investigating in the batcave only to see Danny dragged a unconscious Tim back to his room, a two tranquilizers to the back and one of his arm, though he didn't mention the Danny's glowing cat light green eyes that shine in the dark.

Danny's funny puns neon ghost stickers made dick's days, every morning as he goes to get his lunch, and he really want to know where he get them from.

Danny did actually helped a lot with the Wayne Manor as it never been cleaner before, Jason visited one time even mentioned that the chandelier never feel so clean to hang on from, not a speck of dust on it.

Damian getting a new animals book/documentaries, a new knifes for the collection or art supplies that match his demands in a way that keep his stabby nature at sate and bay for now.

Barb, Cass and Duke are amused by the fact that Bruce, Tim and Damian are having a little mid crisis that danny making them have day off on certain days such as holidays.

All this free time actually had alfred's going back to old hobbies that were nearly long forgotten such as conversations with old dear friends, practicing his old shooting skills, and having well deserved rest. Once his arm was healed, he stil did his duty along side with Danny as it was much quicker to do together as two people at hand.

What they will probably find out later on in the future that danny is actually Bruce's great grand uncle from his older sister side, and that he had disappeared when he was 20 years old in a old spooky town that vanished and still on today uneXplained series after his great grandmother moved to gotham. (But that another story for next post)

[livinghalfway]

Younger Years Pt. 3

Part 2

Summary: Damian gets temp de-aged to 6yrs old; cue him asking where his twin is. This is how everyone finds out about Danny's existence Word Count: 1664

The next morning when Damian woke up everyone was much more prepared to deal with his inevitable attack. The restraint on his ankle and Alfred the cat still napping on him helped deal with most of the initall anger that radiated off him though. The goal right now was to convince Damian that he had been de-aged, and all he needed to do was stay with them until the magic wore off. 

The topic of Danyal would come later, for now they needed to focus on Damian. 

Everyone had also prepared an item to show Damian to prove to him that they were telling the truth about his current situation. Alfred was first and had brought him a cup of tea the exact way the young boy preferred when he had first joined them at the manor. Duke showed Damian his school yearbook, and had marked which pages had an older Damian in them. Jason rummaged through the art room and pulled out a few old sketchbooks. 

Those had done well enough to calm the baby assassin down so that Bruce was able to explain the details to the young Damian. Which only served to make him think that instead of this being a test from his grandfather it was actually a scheme to draw him away from his birthright as one of the heirs to the demon head. 

To help further convince him Tim printed out the first DNA test they had done with Damian; making sure to note that the dates on these can’t be altered. Then Dick had showed him photos of him dressed in his Robin costume. What was strange though is that Damian didn’t look pridefully at the photos, only confused. 

Finally it was Bruce’s turn and no one was surprised when it turned out to be a family photo album. It was filled with photos of everyone from the last few years. Pictures of both big and small moments that the family had gone through. What was surprising though is when Damian practically exploded with rage with every page he turned. 

“Chum, is something wro-” Bruce tries to start once he sees how affected the photo album is making him. Only for said book to be launched at his head before he can finish speaking. 

“Get out!” Damian snarls as his eyes dart to everyone around the room as he repeats his words, “Get out!” 

“I told you this wasn’t going to work.” 

“Not now, Jason.” 

Dick makes an obvious move of wanting to comfort Damian, but is clearly holding himself back knowing that his succor would only make things worse. “Dami…” 

“You do not have the right to call me that,” Damian's breath starts to speed up with tears threatening to spill from his eyes. “The only one that will ever be allowed to use that name has apparently been long absent from my life. So I will repeat myself only once more; get out.” 

No one makes any move to leave at first and it isn’t until Tim clears his throat as well as putting a hand on Bruce’s shoulder does the others finally move. It takes both Duke and Tim to get Bruce out of the room, and Jason ends up having to practically drag Dick out. 

“Why did you pull me away from him! He was clearly on the verge of a breakdown based around the fact that Danyal, his twin, never came here with him! Damian needs someone to be with him right now!” Dick angrily breaks out of Jason's hold on him. 

Jason, immediately matching Dick’s tone retorts, “Since when has that kid ever liked having family much less strangers comfort him? Cause newsflash Dickiebird that what we are to him right now, nothing but strangers who are trying to act way too familiar with him. The only thing your sympathy will do right now is just make things worse!” 

“I’m not going to let my currently 6 year old baby brother mourn a death by himself!”

“We don’t actually know if Danyal is dead or not right now. Just that he didn’t arrive with Damian at the manor 4 years ago.” Tim interjects before any more arguing between the two can continue. “For all we know Ra’s could have sent one twin away to here while keeping the other involved with the league.” 

“Wouldn’t have Damian said something by now if that was the case? He obviously cared a lot for Danyal.” Duke honestly doesn’t know what the right decision is right now, but he’s more inclined to agree with Jason right now. 

Tim runs a hand through his hair in thought, “14 year old Damian, maybe. The Damian that first arrived at the manor four years ago, no way. Especially if he was told explicitly not to say anything. That little brat was still deep in the league mindset, and would have done anything Talia or Ra’s said.”

“Wouldn’t have Ra’s already used Danyal against Bruce though? He’s had plenty of opportunities to use the knowledge of a second child to get B to do practically anything for him. What possible scenario would he be saving that information for?” Dick at this point seems to have calmed down. He’s still obviously wanting to be with Damian, but also knows that Jason is right about how his presence wouldn’t be appreciated at the moment. 

Jason instead of offering any answers to Dick’s questions turns to direct his lingering anger at Bruce, “You’re being awfully fucking quiet right now B, what do you have to say about all this?”

“... I think it’s time to call Talia. I wanted to wait and give Damian the chance to explain himself before doing so, but if the league does still have Danyal we need to start planning his rescue as soon as possible.” 

After asking the boys to keep an eye on Damian, and to check in on him every once in a while without distressing him more Bruce headed upstairs towards his office. Once there he silently stares at the phone in his hand. 

It had been devastating to learn that he had a son, and missed out on so much of his life. Bruce had been angry at Talia, furious even, especially when she had raised Damian to be a child assassin. To learn that she had done this not once but twice shattered him. Even more so when he thinks about how his second son might still be a part of that life when he could have been living here with him instead. 

The alternative to that thought though, the unfortunate more likely option, is that Danyal is dead. 

That he had failed yet another child. 

Bruce presses the number and puts the phone to ear. With each unanswered ring he sees flashes of what could have been if both boys had arrived that day. What was Danyal even like? Was he similar to Damian, or was he the complete opposite? 

“Beloved, what a pleasant surprise hearing from you.”

“I know about Danyal.” Bruce leans back in his chair with his eyes closed. Today has already been exhausting, and he knows that it’s not going to get any better anytime soon. “What happened to him?” 

The amount of silence that follows tells him that for maybe the first time he has truly shocked Talia with his words. Eventually though she answered, sorrow clear as day in her voice, “How much do you know?” 

“I’d rather you tell me what you know right now.” 

“Danyal died two weeks before Damian was sent to live with you.”

There it was, the hard truth. A child that he was never given the chance to hold, to meet, and to love was dead. Bruce had nothing to hold onto from a child that died way too young. 

“My Father and Damian are the only ones that truly know what happened in that room; I didn’t even know at the time that he had pulled the two of them from their afternoon studies.” She continues softly, “By the time I reached them Danyal was gone. I imagine Ra’s wanted to make an example out of him because he had put his body into the pits … only he never came back out. The pits had even taken his body with them.” 

“Did you never question what happened to him?” 

“Ra’s told me it was none of my concern when I questioned him, and he forbade Damian from telling me himself. He had all evidence of Danyal erased after that; he only exists now in the memory of those who knew him.” 

“Would you have ever told me about him?”

“No.” 

“Hm.” Bruce doesn’t do anything more than acknowledging her response before hanging up, and putting the phone down. He wasn’t going to get any more information out of her, and he had more important things to focus on right than interrogating Talia. It seems they’re all just going to have to wait for Damian to learn what happened to Danyal anyway. 

For now though he needs to go back downstairs and make sure they haven’t exploded into chaos due to his absence, but as he exits his office he makes a quiet promise to himself and Danyal. “Even in death you will be a part of this family; I’m so sorry you will never get the chance to know just how much they already love you.” 

Once he reaches the batcave once more he sees Tim and Duke at the computer, Jason laid back with his feet on the center table, and Dick leaning by the med bay door. All of them though stop what they’re doing and look towards him as he enters; waiting for him to tell them what has become of the brother they’ve never met. 

“Danyal is dead.” It hurts to watch his sons lose what little hope they had that maybe by the end of this their brother would be coming home. 

[buckgasms]

Hi! Big fan of your work and okay you asked for it but I imagine mean bully!Bucky where he has his eyes on this young agent who just joined the team and she’s just so sweet and shy and he already fell for her when his eyes landed on her. He always secretly steals her underwear and she’s so sweet that she cries when she saw a cat got hurt on the street and Bucky saw her running to Bruce so he can help the cat, BIG MISTAKE cause the way her tears runs down her face he thinks she’s so beautiful and hot and it makes him more horny and so that’s where he starts bullying her just to see her tears and he step it up one day that during training he pinned her down and he can smell her getting turned on so he call her name until she cries but he just continues and put his thigh between her legs and he’s just so mean about it that before she gets any released he stops and ever since he can’t keep his hands off okay sorry if it’s weird

Thanks beautiful nonnie 🩷

Hmm ok so this sounds like a dark!Bucky to me, what with the underwear stealing and loving to watch her cry right?

Which I am certainly happy to accommodate 😈

This went a bit off course but i hope it's ok! It is a bit dark so please proceed with caution! ☢️

I imagine that first night after he sees you really crying, big tears sliding down your cheeks he's got your underwear wrapped around his cock as he fists himself over and over again, just imagining your pretty face and how much he would love to make to cry over and over.

It takes him so long to calm down from it because he just can't control the fire in his belly every time he thinks about you. So sweet and innocent, ready to submit and do whatever your told, take whatever he gives.

I bet he'd constantly tell you to stay late at the gym to work on your punches, belittling you and reminding you how weak you are and how you'd need someone to look after you all the time.

Maybe he sneaks into the showers to listen to your muffled sobs of frustration and tiredness just so he has something new to imagine later that night.

☁️

And maybe one night you are sparring with him and he lands a jab right to your stomach and you drop to the floor, winded and you burst out crying right then and there. He has to keep a straight face because he can't believe how fucking beautiful you look, sobbing and sweaty, laid out in front of him.

He drops to the floor pressing his knee right into your core and leans down, hands either side of your head as he comes in real close.

"How many times have I told you, you aren't up to this. You need protecting little girl..."

You huff and shake your head, pouting a little as you sob. 

"No I don't, you just keep treating me like shit and that last kick hurt..."

He grins before pressing his knee harder into your core and pinning your hands down to the mat. Before you can stop it a little moan escapes your lips, even as your eyes widen in shock.

"Doesn't sound like I'm treating you bad now, does it baby?" You curse as he grinds again, chuckling as you whimper and more tears spring from your eyes.

"Cut it out...let me go..."

He hesitates for a moment before relenting, sitting back on his haunches and watches you walk away in a hurry.

☁️

He wasn't sure if you'd come back again, but there you were bright and early, refusing to back down. 

This time he decided to ignore you. He left you till last each time there was an activity, and would just tut every time you didn't do something perfectly. 

So you tried harder. He could tell by the end you were desperate for some kind of reaction, but he gave you nothing.

When it came time for the hand to hand combat you were positivly fuming. So you kicked and punched and clawed at him with all you might. He had to put up a bit of a fight to keep you off but he did eventually manage to floor you.

He dismissed everyone but you didn't move. When the last person filtered out you were still stood on the mat, panting.

"I'm not done."

He smirked and dropped his kit bag. Squaring up to you on the mat. Before he could reply you lunged at him and scrabbled with each other for a good few minutes before he pinned you again.

"You gonna cry baby?" He mocked as you squirmed and groaned, tears leaking down your cheeks in your anger.

You managed to kick at his crotch, winding him slightly and escaping from his grasp, but he recovered quickly and as you rolled over he slammed his body down on top of you, his breath coming in pants by your ear.

"That wasn't very nice" he growled before manouvering to sit on your legs, gripping your hands behind your back. You continue to squirm and wail as he drags down your shorts and underwear.

"You wanna act like a brat, I'll treat you like one..." His first slap stops your movement and you gasp. He knows this is risky but he doesn't care, he lands spank after spank on your perfect ass, enjoying the little squeaks from you as he covers you in red hand marks.

Your body is shaking with sobs as he works, which only serves to make him hard as he keeps going, occasionally spreading you ass cheeks to look at your pretty holes, which he notes is glistening despite your protests.

Finally he climbs off you and presses his face into your ass, taking a deep sniff and pressing little kisses to your lips and ass cheeks before rolling you over to lie on your back.

Your face is blotchy and puffy from tears, and he drags you so your thighs are wrapped around his waist.

"There you are, much better, and so fucking pretty hmm?"

You whine as he paws at you, but you don't fight him, you just watch him rake his hands all over. 

"Why are you so mean to me?" 

Your little voice takes him by surprise and he leans over, pressing his hard body against your soft one.

"I'm not mean baby, I'm just worried about you. I want you to be safe, I wanna take care of you. Plus you look so pretty like this, I can't help it baby...."

You sob as he presses kisses to your tear stained face, but he relishes the way your soft lips respond to his, accepting his kisses as he dominates you.

"Do you understand now? You want me to make you feel better now sweetheart?" He keeps kissing you, grinding against your bare heat, waiting until you nod.

"Good girl, let me make you feel better now..."

He pulls back and smirks as he sees your eyes widen as his cock is pulled out and slapped against your heat.

You whine and protest a little as he drags the tip against your soaked folds but he hushes you with a finger in your mouth, sinking his cock in slowly but relentlessly until he is all the way inside you.

"S'too big Bucky... Can't...." You protest but he can feel your walls squeezing him tighter as he waits for you to settle.

"Yes you can baby. I can feel your cunt, doesn't wanna let me go does it? Tell me, tell me you want it..."

You squirm and moan as more tears slid down your cheeks. He growls and catches them with his thumb and sucking them, still waiting for you to respond.

"Fucking say it baby, tell me you want it..."

Your breath shudders but you nod and without waiting another moment he begins rutting into you. He can't believe how good you feel, how tight and soft you are. He loses himself in the pleasure, leaning down to lick and kiss at your tears as you wail in pleasure.

Your moans echo around the gym, and he feels you grip onto his shoulders as he pounds into you. 

"Bucky... Please..."

He pulls back, lifting your thigh to plant more smacks to your already sore cheeks, making you squeal and cry, your walls squeezing him tighter, fluttering as your peak builds.

"Come baby, show me what a good girl you are. My pretty little cry baby..."

More squeezes, more slaps and tears follow until you reach your peak. He follows quickly after, filling you up and claiming you as his own.

He collapses into the mat next to you, panting and sweating as you lay next to him shaking and whining. 

Eventually he gets up and pulls his shorts on, before pulling your underwear up tight and hauling you up and cupping your face in his hands. 

"Now, I wanna see you here tomorrow after class for another lesson alright? We're gonna work on things together and I can take good care of my little cry baby ok?"

You sniffle and nod at him, so he rewards you with a soft kiss before sending you off on your way.

He's definitely going to hell, but as he watches you scurry away he thinks, he doesn't really care.

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Let’s talk about Tim Drake’s failure to assert independence during and in the wake of Bruce Wayne: Murderer, and how it might explain why he lies to Stephanie Brown's face.

For Tim, Bruce Wayne: Murderer seems to mark a departure in how he thinks of himself as Robin.

Primarily, he seems to moves from the idea of Batman needs a Robin to the almost inverse, as he begins to posit the idea that Robin does not need Batman.

This concept starts appearing as a contrast to the way Dick Grayson's adamant belief in Batman manifests.

Gotham Knights #28 (2000)

Dick is unable to reckon with the idea of Batman’s guilt. And more than that, he says he can’t “continue serving a system” he doesn't have faith in. But what “system” is he talking about? They’re talking about a distrust in Batman. For Nightwing, the idea of a distrust in Batman is analogous to a distrust idea of vigilantism as a whole, as a “system”.

The innocence of Batman and the ability to be a vigilante are linked for him completely. He says that cannot and will not reckon with the possibility Bruce is guilty, doing so for him would be the same as doubting his entire life, doubting everything he has done as a vigilante. Dick's faith in Batman and his work as Nightwing, as a vigilante, are tied together completely.

And while Tim begins to oppose this idea via his doubt of Bruce in this issue, Tim's conception of Batman as wholly separate from Robin gets more emphasized through his epiphany moment in Robin #100.

Robin #100 & #101 (1993)

In this issue, Tim has reached a point where he is comfortable with the idea of being Robin without Batman. He is asserting that he has divorced his usage of the Robin mantle from Batman and his actions. If Bruce did kill Vesper, it doesn’t change Tim as Robin or what he does. He is able to continue on.

This is an uplifting sentiment, and it’s expressed in a beautiful way, through Tim’s musings after seeing a literal robin.

But it’s also extremely ironic.

In the very scene where Tim comes to this realization, staring at a real robin, a nearby stray cat not a moment later lunges, sending the robin flying away. In this way, Tim’s metaphor is dispelled. The “day/spring/robin” can be touched after all, can be chased away and changed.

And when Tim begins to assert to the cat, jokingly, that he “is Robin”, Tim is knocked out by Batman before he can even finish his sentence.

In this moment, the second that Robin asserts his independence from Batman, he is immediately proven wrong. Tim says the metaphorical robin cannot be changed by the night. But then, the cat attacks the robin, and it is no longer a analogous vehicle for his metaphor, it fails.

And then, Batman himself knocks out Tim. The actual Robin who tries to reassert control over his metaphor by scolding the cat and reaffirming his identity is immediately disrupted by Batman, who Tim just claimed had no power over him through his metaphor.

Tim asserts an independence, and then we see that concept immediately fail. Both on the metaphoric level of the actual robin, and on the literal level of Tim as Robin, the idea that Tim proclaims is undermined immediately.

The idea of Tim’s failure to assert independence from Bruce is not singular to Robin #100. The same idea is expressed in Robin #106.

Robin #106 marks the first one-on-one convo between Bruce and Tim once BW:Murderer/Fugitive has been resolved. Bruce’s name has been cleared, but the tension certainly has not.

As they drive together, Tim gets confronted head on with this. He is asked the same question which Tim had answered for himself in Robin #100: what would happen if Batman had killed Vesper?

Robin #106 (1993)

Tim’s answer in Robin #100 is that he would not be affected, that the actions of “the night/Batman” don’t affect his actions as Robin. An answer that we know is undermined moments later. So what does he say now?

He reasserts the conclusion he comes to in Robin #100: Robin can exist without Batman.

Notice how Tim uses “I guess” twice to preface his statements. His language is insecure and padded. He has to be goaded by Bruce to even continue, at first simply stating that he doesn’t know what he would do.

Additionally, alongside this dialogue, Tim’s internal narration is nervous and pleading. He says Robin has his own reasons to exist simultaneously as he frantically hopes his answer lives up to Bruce’s standards.

And as they continue the conversation, Tim’s assertion is further undermined. He gets nervous and frantically asserts that Bruce is “still the Boss!”

Robin #100 (1993)

And then, we learn that Tim was worrying throughout the conversation that he might be kicked off of the team.

Is that inconsistent? Didn’t Tim just say he’d be Robin even if he had to do so “by himself”?

Put simply, Tim Drake expresses a willingness to be Robin on his own, but that’s clearly not his preference.

He cares about staying on the team, he wants to stay on the team, even if he would keep being Robin on his own if he was kicked out.

And then, lastly, Tim himself recognizes that his proclamation had failed: what he was trying to say and what he said didn't line up the way he wanted.

While their conversation purports to show Tim asserting independence, it’s hedged over and over again, weakened conceptually.

By Tim’s hesitance, by his half hearted phrasing, by Tim’s pleading internal dialogue, by Tims frantic reassuring that Bruce is still his Boss, by Tim’s obvious fear he will be kicked off the team: the conversation where the focus is meant to be Tim’s reassertion that Robin is separate from Batman is sabotaged on every level, over and over.

It’s the same exact situation we see in Robin #100, repeated. Tim claims Robin is independent from Batman, only for the claim to be immediately and thoroughly undermined.

But, you may be asking, what does this have to do with Stephanie Brown? When did Tim lie to Steph?

Robin #106 is also the comic where Batman informs Tim that he plans to fire Stephanie as Spoiler.

In fact, Bruce informs Tim of this choice immediately after the conversation we just analyzed.

Something important happens in this moment: Tim is enraged, and importantly, he stays silent.

Robin #106 (1993)

He has to think to himself to not be respond, he has to remind himself not to jump out of the Batmobile. Tim clearly disagrees with Bruce’s choice to fire Steph, and he’s angry at Bruce for it.

But his anger is tied directly to his inaction. In every line of internal dialogue where we learn Tim’s frustration or disagreement, we also are shown Tim Drake’s suppression of that anger.

Tim, for some reason or another, pushes down his anger, and stays silent.

This moment is the key to the question I want to answer here: Why does Tim Drake lie to Steph about her getting fired?

Figuring out why he stays silent in this scene I believe will answer the question of why Tim maintains silence in not warning Steph that Bruce plans to fire her, and why Tim intentionally obfuscates the truth when she comes to him for advice.

Watch how Tim lies here:

Batman Family #2 (2002)

Tim knows that while Bruce certainly was holding everyone at arms length during BW: Murderer/Fugitive, that has since ended. Tim is let into the Batcave, Tim is having regular correspondence with Batman, Tim has gotten a return to normalcy.

Tim also knows that Steph is being singled out. Her radio silence is not the symptom of something affecting him or anyone else on the team at all. Her radio silence is because Batman is planning on firing her. Tim knows that she's going to be fired.

But TIm still reassures her not to worry about it. He tells her not to take it personally. Even though he knows that it is, in fact, personal.

Gotham Knights #37 (2000)

Once Steph finally finds out she has been fired Tim appears again to comfort her.

He hugs her. He sympathizes with her. And he, again, keeps up the pretense that he just found out Steph was going to be fired that day.

It’s a sweet moment, it really is. Tim’s “I know” is clearly genuine to me. I think he means it. I think he loves Steph. But he also let her find out like this. He also lied to her and kept her in the dark. That was a choice he made.

So, why did he do it?

Again, I think his choice to withhold when it comes to Stephanie being fired comes down to how he stays silent in Robin #106.

As we explored, Robin #106 is a continuation of the idea brought up in Robin #100. Both issues have Tim assert that Robin is independent from Batman, a huge departure for him. And then they both undermine and call into question Tim’s claim.

If Robin #106 represents the repeated failure of Tim’s claim to live up to reality, I think that explains why he stays silent here.

A Robin which is “unchanged” by the night, a Robin who made himself, who wasn’t “made by” anyone else, and a Robin who is a separate entity unaffected by the actions of Batman, the Robin that Tim describes in Robin #100, would voice his feelings and anger.

Tim Drake, sitting in the Batmobile, worrying he will be kicked off the team, still internally vying for Bruce’s approval and silencing his concerns, is not that Robin.

Whether he likes it or not, Tim is still (to a degree) reliant on Batman and his approval.

Tim is able to doubt Bruce and disagree with Bruce, but Tim cannot separate himself, or Robin, fully from Batman, despite his claims otherwise.

And with their relationship with one another so clearly still rocky in the wake of the distrust and anger they both experienced during BW:Murderer? It’s not surprising to me that Tim stays silent. Why risk jeopardizing the relationship he almost lost? Why risk potentially getting kicked off the team? Things are just finally returning to normal.

He can say he is independent from Batman, but his actions prove otherwise.

That’s why he stays silent in the car ride when Batman tells him he’s going to fire Steph, and that’s why he lies to Steph later.

It’s a trade: normalcy gets to be reestablished between Batman and Robin, and all Tim has to do is stay silent.

So, Tim stays silent. And when Steph comes to him, he lies to her. And when Steph falls apart, he comforts her because he loves her, but Tim’s relationship with Bruce is just going to have to take priority right now. Too bad. Sorry Steph.

[wandixx]

Ghost of fries and hero of cookies part 6

All work words count: 14 643

Words in this part: 2 686

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay

Or

Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: Batman wants an explanation. His kids however, wouldn't be themselves if they did add some chaos

Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

First part, Previous part

“Signal.”

Duke bit back a sigh as his last hope to leave Cave undiscovered disappeared. He shot Steph message of:

Having The Talk. Come as moral support

and turned around to face Bruce.

“Yes?”

B grunted in disapproving and ‘Signal report’ way but Duke decided to buy some time and answer only questions that were actually asked. He slowly sat at the briefing table and looked at the man expectantly.

Lift chimed and moments later Tim and Cass went to Batcomputer and training mats respectively. Duke was, like, 80% sure they were there to eavesdrop. He knew them well enough. He knew them well enough.

“The girl”

“Izzy?” Was Duke annoying on purpose? Yes. He really didn’t want to have this talk. Like, at all. Psychological warfare it was “I mean, I know she is civilian and you don’t approve but at least she isn’t doing anything illegal, right? Like, you know, robbing museums or killing people?”

Bruce looked repulsed and Tim snorted.

“Low blow Narrows, low blow” Jason announced through speakers. He was slightly winded as if he just finished a fight “Good job kid”

“So you’re listening too, great” Duke muttered under his breath before louder he added “Is everyone who wants in on a show, here already?”

“Give me a sec- here Dick you’re going live now”

“Thanks Babs, you’re the best”

“I know. Donuts, you know which one”

“Of course. Glad we’re finally going to talk about Duke’s kid”

“Shut up, she is not my kid!”

“Steph ETA 2 minutes” Cass interrupted.

At least Damian didn’t show up- as if summoned by this thought Damian stomped down the stares, Alfred the Cat curled in his arms. Maybe others had a point, calling him Demon kid and stuff.

“What is an emergency?” he demanded and Duke decided to take what little relief he could from the fact that Bruce seemed equally defeated by sheer number of people around for this talk. 

“It seems like… oh, literally everyone lost an adoption bet” Babs explained. Huh, so Steph didn’t change her stance.

Damian looked genuinely terrified as he muttered “No” eyes darting between everyone present in silent calculation.

“Oh, shut up” Duke whined knowing all too well his stalling had to come to the end. Maybe it was wishful thinking but he almost heard roar of engine of Steph’s motorcycle. Her presence would be double edged sword but she would help him advocate for Dani and that was more important.

“Thomas, what have you done?!” if it was anyone other than Damian, Duke would call sound he made a whine. As it was, he preferred his entrails to stay inside and since the boy showed up, called by thought, the older boy preferred not to take risks.

“Nothing, Babs is overreacting”

“Don’t deny it. She went about it kinda Tim Lite style but it worked”

“I don’t even know her surname, where she stays or really, anything about her life outside of our patrols, how do you expect me to go about adoption?!”

“B knew even less about me when he decided, yes this tire thief is my new son!” Jason chimed in and Duke knew he was grinning despite voice modulator.

“What from my origin story was lost to make Lite version?”

“Identities weren't breached as far as we're aware. Just ‘came one day and refuses to leave’ part and some light stalking. She was smart about it, invisible, keeping out of sight and to the hot spots. Wouldn't find her if I didn't know she was there”

“She could still just not tell, I mean I knew for years before telling anyone…”

“There is no way. Believe me, she has no brain-mouth filter, I swear”

“But-”

“She introduced herself by her first name,” Duke deadpanned ”She told me civilian names of heroes from her hometown, in context that didn't require me to do any actual research to clue me. I did anyway. I don't think she even realized she did it. If she knew our identities we would know already”

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested the thought of just how gigantic breach Dani accidentally caused.

“Well, it's as good of a proof as we can get for now,” Babs bristled. 

“Who let her in on such secrets then?!” Damian sounded genuinely appalled and Duke wasn't too surprised.

Like on a cue, Steph stormed inside on her Spoiler in civies. Bruce looked about ready to get aneurysm. Duke was a bit glad that everyone was doing such good job in distraction department.

“IT’S OKAY, WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!” Steph yelled, jumping from before her vehicle fully stopped. She threw something small in general direction of Batcomputer “Timmy plug it in, I made a PowerPoint!”

Duke felt blood leave his face. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what Steph put together but he probably didn't. Tim opened it anyways.

WHY HOOPOE IS ADORABLE&CHAOTIC BEAN AND SHOULD BE PART OF THE TEAM

The title slide said, one of the clearest photos of Dani from before she started wearing mask in the background. It was close-up of girl smiling, bits of brownie on her cheeks.

“Was this photo taken with a goddamn calculator?” Tim asked with disgust so clear Duke could taste it. Metaphorically of course.

“Nah, just body-cam. Her powers mess with technology a bit”

Tim still looked displeased at the craftsmanship.

“Don't worry, it's not  a bad photo. Baby Bird is just being perfectionist,” Dick placated.

Duke didn't realize that Damian froze until he unfroze and made his way to the screen, stopping less than one foot away from it. His movements were rigid, his face scrunched with distress. Alfred the Cat escaped its master probably due to hoe tense he was. Everyone in Cave quietened as soon as boy took first step and expecting mood had to run through microphones because nobody from the on-line crowd quipped in.

“This is the green of Lazarus” he whispered finally, sounding actually scared. Jason swore. Bruce and Cass visibly stiffened. Tim choked and he wasn't even drinking. Dick did his whinny breezy name saying thing when he wanted explanation and felt lightly betrayed. 

It was Duke's turn to freeze because… it wasn't. Of course he wasn't all that well versed in the Pit, less alone its color but he did bust quite a few trafficking rings with Jason and he saw his eyes afterwards all raging, toxic, neon green glory and it wasn't the same as Dani’s. As much as he liked English and how good he was at it, it failed him at simple task of describing the obvious difference between each other. He'd have more luck describing tastes with set of color samples from IKEA or something. And really, even if he tried he would lose the fight of competence with Damian. Who wouldn't.  But-

“There is no way she has any connection with LOA”

“Why is that?” Damian seemed to misinterpret it as challenge like he always did when emotions were running high. Duke took a deep breath. Well, it was a moment to use all of his diplomatic skills and speak in the language of the demons.

“I've seen her fight. She would be utter disgrace”

“It does not prove-”

“It does” Duke interrupted with the tone and mimic of person who saw too much because he did ”None of you have any say until you watch a tiny and I mean tiny ten year old tackle five Joker goons like it's a joke, by sheer virtue of super strength and intangibility-means-I-can-ignore-bullets-Signal-don’t-be-such-worrywart. She should get shot, like, three times at least. And she kept laughing!” he was low key wheezing at the end because even after all this time (a week) it was fucking horrifying. Bruce made a huff that meant he was laughing and put a hand on his shoulder as a sign of support. Dick's lighthearted laugh sang from the speakers.

“Don't worry Duke, it never gets better” B said with mirth.

He refused to elaborate whether he meant ‘kids keep jumping into danger like there is no tomorrow‘ or ‘it's equally terrifying every time’ and Duke decided to reflect on that sentiment later. It put some things into perspective. A lot of things if he was being honest.

Also, he was not ready for stuff like that to become even semi-normal occurrence. He was ready to give her all of his Alfred cookies if it could change anything. He knew it wouldn't. 

“Do you have any other evidence that your new acquaintance does not just fake being less experienced to make you lower your guard?” Damian asked warily.

“I had to teach her out of putting her thumb in her fist,” he deadpanned. Several people hissed in empathetic pain. Steph coughed to bring attention to where she stood in front of Batcomputer, other slide of her Power Point open. Duke recognised video from his body-cam.

“Exhibit A” she announced. She played a video with Dani’s first mugging attempt he witnessed. Let it be said, it was a disaster.

“Exhibit B '' One of Dani’s most epic fails at side-kick that ended with her falling face first to the ground.

“Exhibit C” Dani fumbled with zip-ties, looking at him utterly at loss.

“Exhibit D” the talk about her prior training.

“What’s was that sound?” Dick obviously on the verge of cooing when girl on video growled. Steph stopped video.

“Very angry kitten” Tim stated with soft smile.

“Honestly, furious girl” Cass corrected “She was really mad at you”

“Yeah, I know but promise of Alfred’s cookies was enough to placate her”

“You gave her Alfred’s cookies?!”

“She started by giving me a lot of food on a really shitty patrol, had to repay somehow”

“Was it from your share or-” Dick asked like it was most important thing in the world.

“Miss Hoopoe was added to my plans after she picked her new name” Alfred explained and shit, Duke really should get used to how man just appeared sometimes. Jumpscare the original.

“Alfred, you knew?” Bruce sounded so utterly betrayed.

“I have yet to meet her but I was informed about her presence about two weeks ago”

“He caught me printing mask for her”

“About that” Steph clapped and skipped her slide show “Look at thi clueless child with such horrible disguises and codename ideas” There was whole list of every name Dani wanted to try out and photo of her bare face.  Duke kinda repressed his memories of it. It was worse than he remembered.

“Did she really tried kenting that?”

“Got it after her cousin. He used his first name as part of his alias for almost half a year” Duke admitted in carefree tone, knowing it would cause a mess.

“Cousin?!” several people yelled in surprise.

“Caped cousin?!”

“Yup. Small time hero from Illinois. As far as I’m aware she’s alone in Gotham but they’re in regular contact and she has strong believe that he can and will help her if she used her panic button”

“Who in their right mind let’s kid alone in Gotham?!” Jason sounded about ready to strangle Phantom.

“He seems to be fifteen himself. And has anti-meta parents if I’m picking things up correctly. She didn’t mention them much. I highly doubt she has present parents at all, so…”

“What the hell Narrows.”

“I don’t know, it’s just a wild guess”

“Does it call for the rescue?” Steph asked eagerly.

“We’re not going to Illinois to rescue Phantom if he doesn’t ask for it. He has means to it” Bruce interrupted with bone deep sigh.

“How do you know I meant Phantom?” Duke perked up because he never mentioned this name.

“He is from Illinois, looks almost the same as far as I can tell from the photos and they share a lot of powers”

“I didn’t know you knew about random kid hero from other state?”

“He dropped by on few Justice League’s mission. There is still dispute whether we should approach him in his city or not. He was very clear on his opinion that we should stay away. I think we really shouldn’t”

“How you haven’t gone or sent anyone there yet?” Tim teased.

Bruce just stared at him then gestured at mountain of cases they were currently working on. Yes, they were printed. Apparently for man it made it easier to work on them like that.

“Can we focus back on untrained child you let join you on patrol, Duke?”

“You act like I could stop her from doing her own thing if I didn’t  let her. Plus, even though she doesn’t have combat training, she can handle herself well enough. And has this damn intangibility that makes her really hard to punch”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t tell anyone other than Alfred and Steph and I wanted to wait a bit before leaving her to the wolfs”

“The bet”

“Shut up Steph”

“When did you plan on letting us know?” Bruce ignored what blonde insinuated. Duke was utterly grateful for that, he knew he would get lecture for that later but he was more than happy to leave it be for now.

“Somewhen next week. I hoped to introduce her gradually but apparently everyone knew already?”

“Kids tell me things. Hoopoe made a good impression on them” Jason explained.

“Hero sightings on Twitter” Dick admitted without a shadow of shame.

“What he said” Tim agreed “This person from crochet dolls made one for your kid too, so in public eyes she’s our already”

“For the last time, she isn’t my kid!” Duke groaned but as always went ignored.

“Nobody expected old man’s tendencies to rub on you so fast, Narrows”

“Shut up and this is half a reason I didn’t let you meet her. All of you”

“With all due respect Duke” Babs started teasingly “You gave us ammo yourself. You improved her diet, you brought her to The Food Track Of Mental Breakdowns, you teach her stuff, you check in on her almost as often as her cousin and their friends do…”

“How did you hack her pho- No, wrong question, why?!”

“We’re all paranoid bastards, I needed to check out the newest bird. She legally doesn’t exist btw so I suspect some shady stuff with her birth but otherwise nothing sus about her. Comms and trackers for her are waiting in drawer C19. You will give it to her tomorrow”

“Aye, aye captain Oracle ma’am” he joked.

“Wait, you showed her The Food Track?”

“She deserved it” he gritted out.

Before this could turn into a fight or something, Alfred demanded:

“Since we are all on the same page now, I would like to extend an invitation for family dinner to miss Hoopoe”

“We’ll eat it down here in full costumes”

“As you wish master Bruce. Master Duke make sure to let her know”

“Of course Alfred”

And he planned to do that but Dani didn’t show up. He hadn’t thought much of it because she was unpredictable like that. She tended to disappear from the face of the Earth for a day or two and return with tales of her “autograph hunting trips”

But then she didn’t show up on the next patrol too. It was unprecedented. And she hadn’t responded to the check in. Three times in the row. He was getting kinda sick from the stress.

He knew Dani well enough, she wouldn’t ghost him like that and in Gotham disappearing meant three things: getting kidnapped, trafficked or six feet under. To their knowledge, Dani didn’t have anyone who would pay ransom for her other than Signal and no demands were made so the first option was out.

Bats launched full fledged search.

Duke himself found and busted two trafficking rings in three weeks which was around how much he did in two months on a daily basis.

Thanks to Oracle, they found Dani’s utterly crashed phone in the dead end in the Narrows. It didn’t look any better.

Duke really hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

With each day it seemed more likely.

********

Bruce: *wants to have private conversation with his son about unknown child he's been working with*

All of the Batfam: Hello there

Duke: I managed to keep Dani secret my family of detectives!

Everyone other than Bruce: I knew for past two weeks, but goood job kid

Random o Twitter: I'm sooo disappointed with Signal for letting Hoopoe fight crime. She is just a little child, she shouldn't have to witness Gotham's worst

Other Random: Have you heard about Robin????? Have you seen teories that Signal is teenager???? With proofs????? Are you mad at child for not taking proper care of the other child????? That's messed up my dude/gal

Yell at Batman

Signal: You act like she isn't personification of feral cat I try to coax home so I can prevent her from getting in trouble. I dare you to try and stop her

Phantom: I do too, 100$ if you manage. It would save me from so much stress

Random: Now, who the f*ck are you?!

(Guess who never touched Twitter with 20 meters stick in her life)

Next part

Tag list: @pickleking8 @mynameisnotlaura

[beware-of-pity]

Sins of the Father(s) V

Masterlist

Previous chapter - Next

Bruce Wayne (Battinson) x Reader

Crossposted on Ao3

Summary:

where is your faith? In the light and its blinding brightness?In a forest of terror and fathomless darkness? In a sea of doubt and unending questions? How can you still believe? in the midst of deafening silence and its hollowness? The dead know only one thing, it is better to be alive. And the alive know but one thing, to wish for the kiss of death.

Chapter V: Is Pius pious 'cause God loves pious? (Socrates asked whose bias do y'all seek? All for Plato, screech)

ִֶ. . ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🦇་༘࿐

You often wondered why the world had to be so complicated. When you would ask your father about all the complexities of the world he would say that such complex thoughts were not fitting for a girl so young. You felt safe in your conviction that as your parents, your mother and father would have all the answers you were seeking in them with your questions. You were much disappointed when you found that not to be the truth.

‘Curiosity killed the cat,’ your father would say, ‘But satisfaction brought it back’ you would counter back, earning a pat on the head pushed by your father’s exhaustion with your need for erudition. He did often ask himself where you got it from - not that he complained, he delighted in having a daughter so ready for the world, it did lift a weight of responsibility in not having to teach you matters that you were more than eager to take in your hands. Which is why, he did not wish to halt you in your path.

Your hunger, your strife for more, he had mistook it as a disciplinary one. He was wrong, you much later realized. You were no scholar, you didn’t study to learn, to become better than others or to achieve more. No, you did it out of curiosity, to understand the conditions of life. You much prefer to dive into a topic that got your attention than for it to be demanded so by your teachers. All of a sudden whatever topic they gave you to research became boring, you were sure that you would have enjoyed it much more had you had a choice in whether or not you had to open a book about it and read it. But you understood, that as the eldest, there were expectations, silent expectations, that you were required for you to fulfil. No one spoke of them, but your parents wanted you to do great things in life. You were sure they would still love you were you to not achieve what they wished of you, but you weren’t sure they would be happy about it regardless. They too had been products of such upbringing, and despite the fact that they allowed failure to be an opportunity, no such discretion was given to them. Especially your father.

But alas, not everyone can do as they please. Not all of us have such an easy way of doing only what we wish, only when we wish it. It doesn’t matter what you want, only what is required of you.

Knowledge is power, the most powerful weapon one can possess; a power that can come in many forms, free and limited, necessitous and fruitful. A power many possess more than others. When limited, it can constrain others in finding other ways to acquire it. Your father wishes for you to be bound full of such power, as he had been. So he made you attend private, afternoon lessons with the vice provost of an all-boys academy on the outskirts of Gotham he had been made to attend in his youth. At the time it had been but a hovel of sorts, just rising from the ashes of its first birth, only becoming the prestigious structure it is today because of the success of its many alumni, like your father.

To say you were bored out of your mind would just undermine the empty chambers echoing where your brain supposedly is. The sky outside was clouded, spotted by grey clouds that shielded such an uneventful February day; the clear sky lay beyond them trying to peak through the fast-paced, passing murky mass of fluffy galore. All so very enticing as you sat at the alumni desk reserved and prepared just for you in the provost’s office, or one would think so for a girl of ten years old with a very limited attention span, especially when being taught such an inspid topic.

The Constitution and the government it’s based upon.

“The Constitution establishes a Federal democratic republic which is also the system of the Federal Government; it is democratic because the people govern themselves; and it is a republic because the Government's power is derived from its people.” The provost’s voice echoed like white noise in your ears as they tried their best to block out the bothersome sound “As such, a constitutional government uses a written constitution to set forth the values and principles of government and to establish and limit its powers” he said “and how do we do that, Miss?” He asked you. You spaced in between his words, your mind focusing on anything but what he had asked you.

Particularly appealing to you now was the raven standing high on guard, resting upon the wooden log set on the provost's desk. You thought he must made for an annoying companion with its crackling noises, especially when one sought silence and its comfort. It crackled at you as if to urge you to answer the question, following its master’s wishes and demands. You wondered if the raven was his pet or a memorabilia he held for being part of the academy he was a highly esteemed professor of. The raven was their sigil of honour, after all.

“Through the law” you appeased, finally.

“Precisely”, the old man brightened at your engagement to the lecture and your knowledge despite your lack of attention, which although aware of, he made no reprimanding remark about. “And the law is set to make sure that every man is equally judged before it,” he explained “ ‘Equal justice under law’ they say or rather ‘All shall be equal before the law’. You can underline that”

Your fountain pen scratched at the paper as you pressured the tip of it, letting more ink fall free in the bold line you were lining under the words you had written in your notebook.

“Is it true, though?” This time, it seemed it was you who was not appeased by the provost’s words “Is what true, Miss?” He perked slightly at your question, curious about the inquiry.

“That we’re all equal under the law”

He took a moment to reflect on your words before taking his glasses off, folding them and placing them in the pocket of his finely pressed jacket as he walked closer to you, sitting at the chair before your desk. He seemed, eerily distuberd by the question, almost blown away by it, as if he had not been asked that in a long time or was not expected to be asked. Whatever the case, it did make him hesitate and hesitation often comes from wanting to give the right answer. You deserve that, of all.

“In an ideal world, we would be. Some would say we already are, but they only say so because they’ve never been at the receiving hand of what it means to not be able to afford this equality” his words held a hint of caution as if he was speaking out of turn, about something he shouldn’t be saying “I’ve been asked to teach you everything, so I will teach you this too. The truth is that some people are more equal than others” he wet his lips, which had grown chapped and dry from all the talking he had been doing until now  “As a great writer once said ‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.’”

“George Orwell”

“Very, very good, Miss " he smiled. “I see you’ve gone ahead of the text.” You straightened in your seat at his observation.

“That’s not a bad thing, I’m happy, but did you do so out of your own will?” He asked “I would not wish for you to have done so only as a way to be able to be proficient enough for our next lessons. God knows, my boys do that all the time, such a sore it is to deal with. By then, I’ll have nothing left to teach them”  he chuckled bitterly, but fondly “How useless I’ll become then”

“I wanted to read it” you reassured “I saw it in the library and the cover looked intriguing”

Such a simple explanation, perhaps a childish one, too. Wanting to read such a complex piece of literature because the cover was colourful and the pigs on it made you think it was about an actual farm; you would not tell him that last detail, nor that when you had first finished the book, you had thought it was truly about evil pigs and refused to eat bacon for the rest of the week out of the hatred you had grown for the omnivorous, hoofed mammal.

Only when you explained to your father, who had grown more than amused at the sight of you refusing the stripes meat at the breakfast table, why did your third eye open to the true message of the book.

How warm and red your cheeks had beamed as your father gave a hearty and well-meaning laugh at your misjudgment of the text. Only during your third read of the book did you truly comprehend how deep the real meaning of the premise ran - …..You still refused to eat your bacon after that either way, perhaps out of stubbornness or embarrassment, you did not give it too much of a thought to not feel the latter more than you already did.

“And let’s see, why do you think, as Mr Orwell says, that some animals are more equal than others?”

“Some people have privileges others do not possess,” you said, though slightly unsure of your words and thoughts, “and those privileges cannot allow everyone to be equal if only a small percentage can boast about being protected by them”

“That’s one, but it was a good and simple example” he praised you for it, even as you missed the bigger picture of the topic. He could not fault you for it; you were young and you would understand just how deep the issue ran in time. “And those privileges, how do you think they protected those that have them?”

“Well,” you paused, pensive, wanting to give the right answer, as a good student would.

You were privileged, but could you comprehend how deep your privileges ran? You being here, getting lectured in the afternoons by the vice provost of such a prestigious and private academy, was in itself a privilege - one a lot of people will never be granted. Everything you do in your life and will do in the future will always hold an underlining of privilege. You will never escape the nature of the life you were born into, and you fear that no matter how conscious you became of them, there will always be much more you will always remain ignorant of.

Because that’s how privileges are: the more engraved they are in your life, the more normal and common they become the more passive you are of them. The idea of something just being an everyday occurrence for you and being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for others would surely blow the mind of anyone who has never stopped to ask themselves just how truly favoured they were by luck.

How many would die to sit in your place? Have your life? How many dream of living the dream, even if just for a day? For a moment? To live the life they will never have because you don’t just get to build a life of privilege if you don’t hold any in the first place? The American dream is dead, the idea of it dies the moment someone becomes conscious of just how unreachable such life is with the life they’re made to head. Created during a period of so-called flourishment, people today cannot use the same playbook their parents used to live life today.

‘You work hard, you study well. You make a name for yourself, and you’ll be rewarded for it’, that’s what people were told. Do those things, and everything will just fall into place. People today work twice as much as their parents did and have nothing to show for it because their money gets flushed down the drain to be able to afford to live. People live to work; they do not work to be able to afford to live anymore.

But privileges are not just about your status or wealth, social privileges are the bane of Gotham City.

Even those who get to rise to the top will always be followed by their humble beginning. It’s a plague, a stank that those with their refined noses can smell at first breath. You often wondered why Mr Francatelli, a man who owned his own construction company and had made a name for himself in the industry, rising through the ranks of riches, and now being part of what was considered the elite of Gotham, was often looked down upon by his inner circle, those he called his ‘friends’. Not that he knew about it, and even if he did he was happy enough to pretend he didn’t know about the side glances and nasty, pitiful, eyes cast his way, which you and others were not prone to the same ignorance and indifference as he was.

You always felt bad for Mr Francatelli. He came from a good family, and it’s not like he chose to be born into a family that emigrated from Sicily during the midst of mass immigration in the 1950s from the poorer southern part of Italy. He made the best of his circumstances and made a living of it. Should he then be seen as a lesser being because of it?

You also knew very well how race defined another layer of privileges. Those who form a small group of a minority, whether because of their race or ethnicity, were discriminated against by the majority of white society. Privileges, oppression, stereotypes, and the superiority of being the majority against a small minority were often at the receiving hand of that discrimination. Not to mention that most of the discriminators feel that their sense of being threatened is a good enough excuse for being awful to others.

Violence begets violence. It is utterly ridiculous of the oppressors to act surprised when their victims act out and oppose their oppression.

“Justice can be selective,” said the vice provost when you didn’t continue “Privileges can cover for those that do not wish to be put under the hands of justice, and when justice fails to protect and act upon the victims’ best interests…no one can guarantee  that the victims will not take it in their own hands to deliver the justice they best see fit on their oppressors,” he said “That’s when violence becomes justice”

You saw him take a deep breath as if the reality of his own words was truly weighing down on him.

“Perhaps, my dear, Mr Orwell was not so wrong. We are animals, just like everything else on the planet. We feel superior to the urges and nature of animals, bragging about how we’re the most civilised civilisation on the planet, but the truth may just be that we have simply forgotten the laws of the jungle to bend over to those who will tell us who we are and what we must do. Animals can recognise a threat without being told, their instinct doing all the work for them, so why then should we be told by others, those that consider themselves ample-minded, those with a voice strong enough, or loud enough, to be heard, what they think is the truth and should therefore be the truth for us all. Animals do not listen to others, only themselves, they fight to the death for their survival, they use violence for it, and it works for them. So why, then, should it not be for us as well?” He asked in trepidation, blood hot and bumping in his veins, which protruded against his skin as if about to explode “A man, can turn into a pig, and a pig can turn into a man. What distinction will there be between us and them then? Perhaps we’re all just the same….”

You stared at his, stunned by his sudden burst of words, before he continued once more-

“Peaceful protests. Do you know why it’s the form of protest most used by the masses? It is because, were they violent by nature, god knows the many ways they would be labelled. The truth is, that peaceful protests never get those who are willing to make a change anywhere. But those who protest in other ways are seen as troublemakers, breakers of peace, unlawful, violent individuals who break the code of what a good, upheld citizen should be like. Silent and willing to submit to everything the government says.” He scoffed and scowled, “When….all forms of communication fail, between those that care for the citizen and those in charge of said care,  there comes a point, and, I must say, so we do not get confused, that I will always repudiate the notion of violence in its many forms, that violence is necessary….to survive. One can say that the methods in which they go on about it may be wrong, but we also need to ask ourselves, what other means are there if not violence? What other forms of protest can be strong enough to oppose a form of government? Some would say it’s terrorism, revolution, war; all forms reputable by the law. But what other way is there to bright light to an issue long forgotten?”  He inquired as if exasperated by the question itself, “For how much longer can governments of all the world wish to remain ignorant of the suffering of their citizens?”

“If they have no qualms with ruining our lives, why, then, should we have any for returning the favour?”

You had woken with a startle as the phone on your nightstand broke the quiet of your bedroom with its constant ringing, pulling you out of memories you could never forget. Your head, still drumming from the hungover you were nursing from the night spent drinking at that dinner you had been invited to, throbbed agonisingly. Your hand reached, unsteadily, for the phone handle.

"Hello?" your answer to the call was a slugged murmur, surely barely audible from the other hand of the line.

“Would you like to know the single only advantage to being the one person in charge of his own company?”

Bruce.

Your eyes opened for the first time since you had woken. You looked at the clock on your nightstand, which read 11:30. You groaned as you set up, your bones aching from how long you were asleep.

“Go on” You weren’t sure if you wanted to talk to him, especially when your temple pulsed terribly, but you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt despite how your last conversation had gone. Exactly what Bruce had hoped for when he picked his phone with the intention to call you.

“I find that I can do as I please” you heard him as you reached for the carafe of water to fill yourself a cup, pushing aside the metal ashtray filled with cigarette buds long smocked “Choose whenever to meet with my advisors, and when or not to send them away to not hear from them, which leaves me free for lunch”

“Well,” you gulped the last drop of your cup “I’ve just woken up”

“It’s 11:30”

“And I got in at 04:00” you confirmed what suspicions he might have had from your previous statement. The slight stutter coming from his end of the phone almost made you startle and ready for his response, so sure you would argue again. Instead, he simply said, “Do you think you can get dressed for me?”

Despite how on edge you were about the entire situation, you appealed to his request and got dressed, although in a rather scruffy and disarray way than usual. The pouring rain last night chilled the air, so you dressed according to the weather and comfortably: a jumper and maxi skirt, nothing eccentric.

You did stumble your way into your clothes, after all. Your driver had made an attempt to chat with you through the ride to Wayne Tower, but your unresponsiveness and lack of care for conversation, caused by your pained head, stiff back, and guts telling you of the possibility of throwing up your dinner from last night being in the cards for you, didn’t make you to be a good conversation partner.

As you sat at the table in the dining room at Wayne Tower, you and Bruce found each other in a rather awkward situation. Who should speak first? Break the ice? You thought that Bruce should apologise about….a lot of things, and Bruce…..well, Bruce, perhaps, thought he had nothing to apologise for. The silence, only broken by the crackling of the fireplace near the table, gave enough time for you to get a better look at each other than you did in almost two weeks.

His eyes were puffy once more, the dark circles that rounded his lower lashes deepened and sunk into his skin and….was that a hint of smudged black eyeshadow you spied in the inner corner of his eye?

In Bruce’s eyes, what he saw was that you were clearly still inebriated, nowhere near being sober from the night before. Your pupils were more dilatated than normal, and your eyes did not often stay in the same place for long, wondering and observing their surroundings like a newborn baby would.

He watched you try to hide a stifled yawn here and there, still not clearly as rested for someone who had spent the entire night out partying Halloween away, and sleeping the morning through. But then again….neither was he. His previous morning disagreement with Alfred in the Batcave, his later unwilling meeting with the accountants of Wayne Enterprises, and having to deal with the steady decline of the company he was supposed to take care of all made for a bad start to a day that had not even begun - especially when he had plans at the ready as soon as the night would fell, having to meet with Gardon about inspecting Mitchell’s garage to see if the ‘ D R I V E ’  in the killer’s note was truly indicative of a car being the next step to whatever clue he had left behind for them to follow with.

“We started at Mirabelle’s for dinner, and then went to the 400 for drinks, and then ended at... " you said as you tried to recount the last stop of your wild night. “Somewhere, I don’t remember, a pub of some sort.” You sipped your glass of water to swallow down all the saliva in your mouth from how dehydrated you were.

“Who’s we?” He asked. Lunch had been brought in by Alfred, who set it before you with great care and a hint of concern, seeing the state you were in. He left as silently as he had come without saying a word. Bruce, across from you, ate his lunch in relative silence.

“Colin, Philiph, Johnn-“The nonchalance in your tone irked him, especially when you mentioned some old classmates from boarding school and HIM.

“Johnny Lewis” he finished for you. You eyed him unsure of the edge his words held and where it came from as he named out Johnny. You took another sip of your water, downing it almost as if it were a shot, now because of the sudden dryness of your troath.

“Yeah”

He let the silencing hang for a moment as he went back to eating his lunch, the cluttering of his cutlery filling in for what you were sure to be reprimanding words. Surely disappointed in the company you surrounded yourself with, no doubt.

“You need to be more careful” he said and you smiled as you reached for your bag to pull your cigarette case and a bottle of pills, his eyes resting on the latter, skimming over the label on the small glass.

Librium

“Quite right, grime and grapes don’t mix”

“I mean, about where you’re seen,” the sharpness of his tone accompanied his hand flying to meet head-on with yours on the case. “And with whom” his utensils cluttered as they fell onto the plate before him. The sound rang in the air as you two stared at each other, a fire in both of you that had been burning and raging for some time.

“Why?” You, ever defiant, asked in the same tone as the one he had just used with you, making it clear you would not back down without a fight.

“You know why,” he said, “you think you can go guzzling around all the alcohol in the world, especially now more than ever?”

You stared at him, confused by his last word, though no less stone-faced than before. Uncertainty clouded your mind, clashing with the haze still lounging in it in a combination of alcohol in your system and the dizziness of sleep, as it often did when you were unfamiliar with the subject of the conversation you were put in. You hated being unprepared for a debate, even if this was no debate. Unreadiness was a weakness you could not afford in your field of work. Getting laughed at or used to the advantage to propagate an opposing point was often the result of it. Your hand itched with the want to take the bottle of pills and swallow them whole.

His eyes moved across the features of your face until they landed on your eyes. Your eyes, no matter how hard you could conceal things with your face, your eyes always spoke the truth. They’ve never lied, not to him.

“You don’t know, do you?” The edge of his tone was gone, now replaced by a softer, more comforting one, as if he was about to tell you about some terrible tragedy, handling you like a wounded deer. And maybe a tragedy it was, simply not for you

“Mitchell is dead”

“When?” You asked simply after a moment of contemplation, as if not fazed at all by the revelation, or maybe you were. It was something Bruce had always envied of you, being able to control yourself in front of others, whereas he was often overrun by his emotions, even when he would wish for it not to be the case.

“Last night,” he said, and your eyes immediately moved towards the copy of Gotham Gazette beside him on the table. Your way. It was the same copy of the magazine that his gaze had shifted to distractedly during his meeting with the accountants. He tried to shield it from your view, but your eyes were already set upon him predatorily.

“You shouldn’t—" “Let me see,” you both said over the other, and silence ensued. His eyes begged you to listen to him; he didn’t want you to see such a gruesome scene, one he thought was so reminiscent of one you had the displeasure of witnessing in your father. But you always wanted to have your way, he could see it, and you would not give the matter up until you would see for yourself. For a moment his eyes drifted once more to the bottle of pills still on the table, ensuring in him the idea that you really shouldn’t be seeing anything that was reported of Mitchell’s death.

You reach out, gently placing a hand over the fist he had involuntary clenched, knuckled white and raw — it was then that his resolve began to crumble as it often did when it came to anything related to you in any way.

“Bruce”, your voice was soft and mellow as a marshmallow, and he thought he could almost taste the honey his name dripped with as you spoke it “Let me see”  you say softly, your voice filled with compassion and reassurance.  I can take it, he could almost see your eyes tell him. 

He looks away again, his jaw clenching as he fights with himself. Finally, he lets out a defeated sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly as he reaches for the gazette, handing it to your eager hands.

Beneath the big, bold letters that frase the name of the journal, the headline read “MAYOR MITCHELL DEAD”  followed by “ACTING MAYOR TOMLIN TO RUN IN HIS PLACE"

You reach for the newspaper and open it. As you do so, Bruce’s eyes study you, intently, silently, wanting to see your reaction to the murder’s report, to see if you knew nothing, if you could tell him about something you might know about it, mention it, even if just in a passing manner. That’s why he had asked you for lunch - to interrogate you, which the moment you had shared made him forget about. Interrogating you was the least of his concerns right now.

You interacted with Mitchell well enough in the past to be familiar with him, even before you had entered the world of politics. You both had, truth be told. Bruce remembers how flauntily Mitchell would show and promote himself during those galas you both attended before his parents had died. At the time, Mitchell was a young man, fresh out of college, ready to take on the world in all the wrong ways. 

You both often sat on couches in lonesome corners he would lead you to after he’d see you cover your ears, the chattering becoming too loud for you to handle, for your sensitive ears and eardrums to bear. You followed after him like a baby duck, in your pink, frilly, dresses your mother would dress you into, still disoriented and unaware of the chaotic surroundings he had become accustomed to over the years. Of those nights, he remembers most the way his mother would smile his way at how gentlemanly he was with you, with approval and motherly pride in her eyes.

The longer he stared at you, the longer the original purpose of the lunch slipped from his mind. The silence, the crackling of the fire, you sitting beside him, in clothes that he could see you wear on a stay-in Sunday morning where you two did nothing but hang around the living quarters of the Tower, lazying the day away, the sound of you flipping the pages of the gazette, the lightness of the air, were all somehow comforting. He almost thought that he could see a future like this for him….

As Bruce’s mind cleared of all its mess, yours filled with conflicting and clashing thoughts. You stared at the sea of letters, wheels turning, as you sat the gazette back down on the mahogany table. The closed-up photo of Mitchell, slumped against the chair of his study, with his head duct taped, and with the clear message, the killer intended to send written upon it, leaving you with conflicting emotions.

It wasn’t the duct tape, or the blood dripping from his head, but rather….the way he was found.

You could see it,the image in front of you clearer than a memory you had lived and once more a reality. Standing at the foot of the entrance of your father’s study, wide-eyed, at the still form of your father in his armchair, blood dripping from the gunshot wound on his head, lips parted and eyes absent of life, as your mother’s wails of pain and heartbreak rang in the background as the police officers tried to calm her, while your younger siblings were ushered away from the scene…

You didn’t want to admit it, but you didn’t particularly feel anything as you read about the gruesome murder. Mitchell, you had spent most of your life abhorring him, could such feelings evaporate because of something….you thought more than deserving….happened to him?

He had it coming, you almost wanted to think before you chastised yourself for such a thought. You knew the kind of reaction you would get were you to utter them out loud. But Mitchell was not an innocent man as far as you were concerned. His policies and the negligence of the city put in his hands the pain he caused to the poorer and less fortunate part of Gotham. Why should you feel bad for a man who could not care less about corruption in the city as he did nothing about it? When he did nothing for the people that he was sworn to protect and help? Despite so, a man had died last night, and regardless of how you felt about him, you were made to denounce the crime had had fallen victim to.

Who you felt bad for were his wife and son, their pain one you understood well. You made a silent reminder to make sure to visit them later in the day, expressing your condolences, not because you wanted to be seen as the bigger person by the media, who could transcend political differences and come close to one institutional enemy, but because you were a decent human being, capable of empathy and compassion towards those facing injustices. Despite how you met the news of Mitchell’s death with chill distaste, his wife and son were innocent of the sin he drowned in. It is, more than often, the innocents who have to pay the price for the sins of the guilty.

Or so you’d like to think about his wife. Mitchell had a way about him, you had seen it and felt it. He had a rule of thumb over women, his wife no expectation, you were sure. Even you at times had been at the receiving end of it, just as other women of the opposing coalition. Sexist comments, more than inappropriate teasings and innuendos he never let himself hold back in private. After all, he was the mayor, who would dare oppose him? Men like him, prey upon the weak to feel strong because they know they’re not. You couldn’t help but wonder….

You looked at Bruce, who returned the stare, his brow furrowing at the rather serious and pensive look you gave him as you bit your lip. You had a feeling that his negligence for the city wasn’t the sole reason he was killed. If there was something deeper, something more obscene, something arcane about it, you knew he would not be an isolated case.

After all, men like him came in packs.

AN: I know this fanfic does not get a lot of attention, regardless, I wanted to let you all know, the little ones that always come back to read this fic, that I made a playlist on the reader of this fic.I also changed the layout a bit, to see if it looks better. Enjoy https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6XFUcwZTKXLhdxJ7241WdC?si=92a06a48b30341fe

[marinafanning]

batfam incorrect quotes (from perchance)

*talking on the phone*  jason: Remember how I said that cass and I were gonna have a calm night out for once?  silena: Yeah…  jason: Well, we’re in jail.  silena: *hangs up*

damien: dick, you risked your life to save me!  dick: And I’d do it again! And perhaps a third time! But that would be it.

tim: Yeah I'm LGBT.  tim: cuLt leader.  tim: God hates me personally.  tim: cowBoy hat.  tim: *sniffles* Trying my best.

cass: I like to play this game called nap roulette. I take a nap and don’t set an alarm. Will it be 20 min or 4 hours? Nobody knows. It’s risky and I like it.

steph, about cass: Can I tell them they look nice?  dick: Sure.  steph: Can I tell them I respect them?  dick: Maybe, if they ask.  steph: Should I show them an oil painting I made of us surrounded by our three cats and four dogs?  dick: …  dick: I’d save that for later.

tim: So what’s the plan?  jason: I don’t know. You’re smart, *points at cass* they’re mean, come up with something.

*at 3am*  cass: *runs into silena’s room and turns on the light* Wake up sleepyhead!  silena: *wakes up* Dude!  cass: *cackles*  bruce: *sits up from where they were sleeping behind silena* What the fuck, cass?  cass: *jaw drops* Wait WHAT-

silena: So, kate is no longer allowed to take the trash out at night.  babs: Why?  silena: Because I've caught them trying to train raccoons to fight five times in a row.  kate, arms crossed and pouting: You'll be thanking me when the third raccoon battalion saves your ass.

kate: Never gonna make you cry!  dick: Never gonna say goodbye!  kate: Never gonna tell a lie—  damien: I will hurt you.

steph, driving and singing to the Little Einsteins theme song: We’re going on a trip-  harper: In our favorite piece of shit!  babs: Doing 95!  tim: We’re gonna fucking die!

harper: I have an idea.  kate: A good idea?  harper: Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

harper: babs, how do you feel about lifting heavy things?  babs: My doctor just said I should avoid—  harper: Being a wuss? I agree.

jason: Where is everyone?  damien: silena had a nervous collapse, alfred is looking after them, kate is trying to kill steph, so I’m in charge.  jason: Oh my god!  damien: I know, right?

babs: If you ever feel stupid or weak or powerless, just remember that I am not. I am out there, very dangerous, and I am looking for you. Good luck.

bruce: babs won’t wake up, what do I do?  steph: Did you try kicking them?  bruce: Yes.  steph: I’m out of ideas.

bruce: I feel like everyone on this island is suspicious, babs. Except you!  babs: But bruce, I think you're suspicious!  bruce: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

*when the Squad drops food*  alfred: Eh, oh well.  cass: FIVE-SECOND RULE!  harper: FUCK!  kate: *just gets more food*  tim: *drops to their knees and mourns the food*  jason: *eats the food off the ground*

tim: dick, please calm down.  dick: I asked for two large fries!  dick: *dumps fries onto table*  dick: But all they did was give me a MILLION FUCKING LITTLE ONES!

tim: I'm not superstitious... But I am a little stitious.

harper: Thanks for not telling bruce what happened.  dick, dumbfounded: I wouldn’t even know where to begin trying to explain this.

cass: How do I make a date really romantic?  silena: Be mysterious.  cass: Okay!  *later, while on a date with steph*  steph: So where are we going?  cass: None of your fucking business.

[fractualized]

Time for a surprise The Man Who Stopped Laughing post! Here I was all mad that Jason disappeared in TMWSL #11, and then Rosenberg basically decided Gotham War: Red Hood #2 is a TMWSL side story with a lot I was not expecting!

I still hate that there's no effort at a legible timeline but all the surprises in this issue are helping me move past it. (OK I can't lie I'm always going to hate it at least lowkey.)

More thoughts:

So basically the Gotham War stuff is all happening before/during TMWSL #11 meaning the two Jokers were just hanging around Gotham for the two months Bruce was asleep I KNOW I SAID I'D STOP I'LL STOP. Jason strayed into Gotham War at first partly because of his search for Joker, asking the men Selina has recruited for clues about his location, but then he got more involved, enough that GW Red Hood #2 starts with Joker trying to find out where Jason is.

What an interesting turn!

The note does get to Jason, via a dead body (laid to rest by Scarecrow, not Joker).

Ohhh this is a twist. Last month in TMWSL, Ravager gave Manhunter a list of locations from Jason, places to look for Joker, and now we know they were provided by Joker himself?! Because he wants to make sure Jason finds him? And is probably plain insulted that someone who was pursuing him so single-mindedly suddenly stopped? hahaha

Jason says he'll meet up with Ravager in a couple days, but he misses his appointment because, as you may know, Zur-influenced Bruce decides to Clockwork Orange him so he'll feel debilitating fear whenever his adrenaline ratchets up. But Ravager isn't the only one who notices Jason's absence.

Joker did say back in the hospital in TMWSL that he might have plans for Jason, but I took that more as a taunt. I didn't know he actually was depending on Jason being around. (Though given the time jump, that could be a recently created plan.) Also, "Batman can't have him! I TOOK CUSTODY IN THE DIVORCE."

And look at Joker all ready to go with his hat! And the umbrella. The umbrella detail kills me.

It's also just really funny to me that like, sometimes Catwoman in Gotham War acts parental toward Jason. Here, Joker is intent on finding him. In the following pages, Harvey hears what happened to Jason and says Jason is "more one of us than he knows. And he's had a rough life because of that." And then Scarecrow comes upon Jason during a Missing Scene that takes place during Catwoman #58 when Jason tries to save a little girl from a fire...

Just when I'm laughing that Jason is everybody's blorbo, this happens.

MOMMY. Batman is Jason's Daddy, and Joker is Jason's Mommy. Oh my god. Rosenberg, you magnificent glowing sunrise.

Joker chases Scarecrow away like a disobedient cat with his squirtgun, and then turns back to Jason.

I think Grundy's pee could probably still ward Scarecrow off. Also is Joker mad Jason didn't tell his parents they have a granddaughter? :(

Joker again insisting Jason is important for his plans. Joker saying he's going to fix Jason, his "sweet boy." Is Joker of all people going to undo what Bruce did? That would be pretty hilarious, something to hang over Bruce's head later.

But whatever it is, it's not going to happen now, of course. Joker leaves Jason under the beam so the scene can play out as it does in Catwoman #58, in which Jason did not mention Scarecrow or Joker. I'm not sure if that's just because he still wants to take care of his own business or that he's not sure they were real.

I'm assuming all this means Jason will in fact appear in the TMWSL finale, though suddenly afraid of everything, which will be kind of weird for people only reading that story. Then again, maybe Bruce will end up fixing Jason himself in the last GW issue on Halloween, with how weird and inconsistent the GW writing has been.

Regardless, this particular issue was an unexpected delight, and it's boosted my assumption that the end of TMWSL #11 is a fakeout and this Joker is very much the real one. Too much would hit different in a bad way if he wasn't…

[igotanidea]

Benched : Jason todd x cheshire!reader

Another story from Cheshire!verse. The others are Cheshire cat, That damn gala and Five years later and Tired.

Summary: Y/N (vigilante name: cheshire) was benched by Bruce because of her strange behaviour. One night all the feelings found a way out and there was only one person who could calm her down.

Warnings: cussing, mentions of anxiety and panic attack, reader is locked in a room at some point, Jason and Bruce dynamics are a warning of itself

“What is wrong with you?” Bruce’s voice was stern and emotionless when he led all the batboys and Y/N to the batcave after a mission.

“Nothing.” She muttered incoherently hoping she wouldn’t have to deal with The Batman himself. She…. Had made some mistakes during a patrol and if it wasn’t for Dick’s reflex and Tim’s quick thinking it could have ended really bad.

“Are you trying to kill us? You’ve been erratic, chaotic and fidgeting for way to long.”

“Hey! Don’t you dare lashing on her!” Jason was always ready to stand up to his beloved Y/N. And now, as he saw her clenching her fists and narrowing eyes he knew she was barely holding. Normally she was strong and resilient, but – as much as Jason hated to admit it – Bruce was right. Something wrong has been happening to her for a while now. However, this was not a reason to attack her verbally.

“Stay out of this Jason.”

“The hell I will.”

“Jace. Come on, it’s ok. Just calm down. Bruce… has a point here.” She squeezed his arm trying to reassure him 

“Y/N. He has no right….” He hissed through clenched teeth

“How about we all just take a breather, hm? Look everyone, we are back, safe and it’s all good, right?”

“Shut up, Dick!”

“Look who’s lashing on who now.”

“What do I have to do to have five minutes of peace here?” Tim rolled his eyes and sighed deeply “will there ever be any time when you two are in the same room without fighting?”

“SHUT UP TIM!” both Dick and Jason shouted but Red Robin just shrugged and turned towards Y/N.

“Want to get out of here?”

“I want nothing more than that.”

“You are not going anywhere.” Before either of them could move, Bruce was in the way, blocking way out of the cave.

“Come on, Bruce. We are all tired and stressed and overworked….” Tim tried to bargain

“And that’s coming from a workaholic. “

“DAMIAN! Who’s side are you on?!”

“Mine. The only right one. I am the only rational one here.”

“You are an asshole, that is what you are!”

Before anyone realized it, everyone (except Bruce of course) was shouting at each other to the point where all words  became blurry and it was hard to differentiate who was offending who. It obviously started as a little banter between Dick and Jason and took off pretty quickly.

“What are those noises?”

“Oh, thank God you’re here Alfred. You’re like the only one who can make them calm down.”

“What about…..?” Bruce started but was quickly interrupted

“I’m sorry, Master Wayne, but it seems like you have no word in this discussion.  And I am not going to be the one to conciliate them. Again.”

“But….” Bruce looked helpless

“Miss Y/N, you look pale. Would you mind joining me for a cup of tea upstairs.”

“I would love to accompany you, Alfred. You’re the best company a girl could ask for.”

“This is enough!”

“Wait, did Bruce just raised his voice?” all of a sudden all the batboys went as quiet as the mouse.

“Father?” for the first time in his short life, Damian was confused beyond recognition and Y/N wished she had a phone to snap a picture

“Well, that’s just made my day. We finally pushed The Batman over the edge” Jason let out a laugh quickly moving to stand next to his girl and grabbed her hand.

“I’m out. Screw you all. I’m going to bed. Are there any cookies left Alfred”

“I saved a few for miss….”

“I’ll be sure to take good care of them.”

“I hate you, demon.” The girl hissed. She was really hoping for a midnight snack.

“Yeah, right. Get in line.”

“Leave us.” Once again Bruce was back to his cold, unemotional self.

“You mean you and Dickhead? Sure, be my guest” Jason’s hold on Y/N hand grew tighter as he tried to drag her away.

“Me and Y/N.” Bruce hissed

“Over my dead body!”

“That can be arranged.”

“You would break your no-killing policy for me? Woah. I’m flattered.” Jason scoffed ironically

“You’re insufferable.” Bruce stated

“Well, you’re die-hard.” Jason retorted

“You never listen!” Bat was starting to lose his patience

“You only listen to yourself!” Jay shouted

“ You’re stubborn like a mule.”

“You don’t care about anything!”

“I tried my best to raise you!”

“Well, I tried my best to live up to your expectations!”

With Damian and Tim gone, Y/N, Dick and Alfred were just left standing in the cave their eyes switching between Bruce and Jason fighting silhouettes like it was some sort of twisted tennis game.

“Can someone please…..?” Y/N started

“I hate you!” Jason yelled, his face almost as red as his helmet

“You finally admitted that!”

“You never cared about me! About any of us for what I know!”

“This is not true!”

“It is the only truth!”

“I always tried to protect all of you.”

“Ok, that is enough.” Dick knew exactly what was going to happen if they did not stop them “Y/N,  a hand there?”

“Sure. As long as you’ll deal with Bruce.”

“Take your aim, Cheshire.”

“I hate when I have to do this.”

“I know. But desperate times…..”

“Blah, blah, blah. More action less talking Nightwing.”

“What? I’m chatty. It’s part of my charm”

The girl just rolled her eyes and taking the stance, without an ounce of hesitation jumped right at her boyfriend tackling him to the ground.

“Have you been working out, Jay?” she raised an eyebrow. It was either this or she was getting weaker. It was much easier to ground him last time when he threw a temper tantrum in the cave. Which was last week.

“Maybe. You like my muscles Y/N. It’s ok to admit it.”

“Shut up.” She went red in an instance but much to her relief he was much calmer now, that she captured all of his attention. In the meantime Dick managed to calm down Bruce and everything was going to a good conclusion. All of them, one by one started to leave the cave but before Y/N disappeared Bruce grunted suggestively.

“Ok, all right! Fine! You got what you wanted, they are out. Now, what did you want to talk about.”

“You know, after all this time, you still know how to play both sides and twist people’s mind for your own benefit.”

“That’s not me. That is Cheshire. We are not exactly the same. Just like Bruce and Batman. I wonder what your investors would say if they found the elegant Mr Wayne beating up criminals in some dark and dirty Gotham alley….” She smirked trying to imagine Wayne Enterprises clients’ faces.

“Hide your claws. Now. What is going on with you?”

“Since when are you concerned?”

“Since you put lives of team in danger. Yours included.”

“It was not that bad.” She muttered looking down. It was. And she knew it. And he knew she knew. And she knew he knew she knew ….. Or whatever. Mind games was hard at times.

“Y/N” he sighed deeply. She was the first girl to become his sidekick. The first … daughter of some sort, even if he never truly adopted her. But, even if he did not like it, given their history together he had a soft spot for her. Deep, deep, deeeeeep inside, but still.

“What?” she spat on the edge of desperation

“Do you need help?”

“Help? No. No!” her face twisted involuntarily “why would I need help?”

“You’re obviously going through something.”

“Look who’s talking. That’s hypocritical, even for you Bruce.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“Why do you sound like…..?”

“You’re benched.”

“WHAT?!”

***

He benched her. Holy shit! She was like the only almost stable in the team and now she was on forced leave. For an indefinite period of time. Screw Bruce! In his own words, he was going to let her in again the moment she get herself back together. As if she wasn’t holding herself together!

While the boys were out, jumping on the roofs, chasing villains and getting their lives in trouble she was fuming in the manor walking from one corner of the room to another. Of course, for the last week, she was doing her best to disobey Bruce’s order. She was sneaking out the window the second they left, following suit, using the most of her flexibility skills to squeeze unnoticed, but it was for nothing. The first night, Bruce used some new technology (ironically, it was the tech SHE invented) to transport her back home, the machine claws (another irony) clenched over her body as she was flied to the manor. It was humiliating. The second time, she used the stun gun to knock her unconscious (Jason was ready to kill him for that, but luckily Dick and Damian managed to stop him). Third time she installed some crazy magnets to stop her in her tracks and when the team came back found her plastered to the wall, her hands dangling limply mid-air.

“GET. ME. THE FUCK. DOWN!” she struggled against her containment and Bruce just pressed some button cutting her lose. Luckily, before she hit the ground, Jason jumped forward and wrapped his strong arms around her, saving her from any damage.

“ARE YOU INSANE?!” he yelled, gently putting the girl down with the kiss on the top of the head and turning into a monster throwing himself at Bruce.

“Will it ever stop?” Tim whined without any hope for the future.

The fourth, fifth and sixth time was no better. No matter how strong and stubborn and resilient she was, she finally gave up. After tenth time. When Batman dragged her and locked her in the manor’s safe room. Up till now, she never knew they had one.

“FUCK YOU BRUCE!” she screaming pretty sure this place was wired and he heard her shouts in his comm right in his ear. Hopefully this will make him go deaf.”

“That’s my girl! Go louder, baby.” Jason laughed thought the communicator. So she was right, it was wired.

“Nah, it’s a waste of my throat.” She was slowly losing her voice “as for you Red, try not to get killed again, can you handle that?”

“Dunno. Guess you gotta wait and see, sweatheart”

“I hate you.”

“I love you, baby.”

“Ugh. Can you two just stop!” Damian yelled “I’m getting sick. Of you!”

“Nah. I think we can torture you a little more, demon. Auch! Dick, get the fuck off me!”

Y/N sighed deeply and shook her head. They were never going to change. And despite everything it was the reason why she loved all of them so much. Her reverie was interrupted when she heard the sound of key twisted in the lock.

“Miss Y/N? Is everything all right? I heard you scream and ….”

“I’m fine Alfred, thank you. Would you mind if I come up? Or would that be the violation of the rules?”

“Master Wayne can be excessive, we all know that. I’ve just made tea.” He motioned for her to come with him. Thank god for Alfred.

***

It was 3 a.m. and they weren’t back yet. That was weird. Normally a patrol did not take this long. For the last two hours Y/N was trying her best to fall asleep but instead found herself tossing and turning in the sheets missing Jason’s embrace and his warmth. Even the chamomile tea Alfred made for her did not help. She groaned in frustration feeling her heartbeat fastening. All of a sudden her head got flooded with the thought she has been forcing out of her system for the last two weeks. Bruce was right from the beginning. She was erratic and scatterbrained. She was distracted and nervous. He knew. He knew from the very beginning, even before her. Funny, since it was her organism who was sending warning signals she was purposefully ignoring. Until now. She felt like she was suffocating, her hands shaking, her head spinning and breathing was becoming a problem.

“What…. the hell?” she stumbled out of bed. Once again, it was 3 a.m. and suddenly she felt the rush of energy in her veins and needed something, anything to do before going completely crazy. So she got up and quickly walked to the kitchen hoping there were some dirty dishes or anything to clean up and keep herself busy. Unfortunately, Alfred made sure everything was cleaned before he went to bed. Damn! What’s your next great idea, Y//N? she though. Books, library! Great! That would keep her occupied.

Boys came back an hour later, exhausted, all of them just dreaming about going to bed. Jason in particular. He needed Y/N. He needed her next to him. When he did not find her in bed he freaked out. Like never before and raised an alarm like never before. Was she taken? Was she attacked? Was she hurt, injured, held captive or in pain? He was already reaching for his gun when Tim stopped him from rushing out the manor in his rage. He found her in the library, sitting on the floor, tomes and tomes splattered all over the floor while she was pacing nervously all over the place.

“Y/N.” Jason’s eyes opened wide at her flustered state “what are you doing?”

“Tidying up.” She smiled nervously and giggled. She giggled! Now Jason knew something was terribly, terribly wrong “I couldn’t sleep and though why not. I mean, I could have chosen to do some workout instead but figured that cleaning would be more useful. Or… maybe I should have cleaned up the bedroom instead. I mean, it’s been a while since I did. And the bathroom. Or perhaps I should have worked on that new IT software for Wayne Enterprises, I am way past deadline and HR is going to kill me if…..”

Jason took one stride into her and grabbed her shaking hands.

“Y/N. Please, please, calm down. What is happening?” her eyes were all over the place, everywhere but on him “Hey, you’re scaring me. Look at me.” His voice got a bit more commanding tone than intended but it worked as her terrified gaze fixed on him.

“Breathe with me” he spoke calmly pulling her to sit down on the floor, pushing some books away to make place for them “All right. Just…. breathe. In and out. That is good.” He gave her a couple minutes to regulate her hitched breath before speaking again “What happened?”

“I…. I don’t know.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“For like two weeks…..”

“TWO WEEKS!” he yelled and he jumped “Sorry. Why didn’t you tell me? Or anyone? But mostly me?”

“It wasn’t that bad….”

“Mhm, sure. That’s what I said after resurrecting. It wasn’t that bad. And everyone knew I was lying.”

“Jace.”

“Hm?”

“You never said that. If anything, you were always underlying you were through hell. And no one denied that.”

“Exactly, Y/N. I’ve been through hell. And that is why I know precisely  how a person going through it look like.”

“How? How does such person look like?”

“Like you at this moment. Was it a panic attack? Anxiety?” he cupped her cheek tracing her cheek. “Tell me.”

“You are giving me anxiety right now asking so many question.”

“Sorry baby. Do you need a hug?”

“Yes, please.” She nodded weakly and he just wrapped his arms around her pulling her into the comfort of his embrace.

“Whatever caused this, whoever caused this” he groaned “you are safe now. Everything is fine. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“What about you?” she muttered against his chest

“Me?” that was surprising “what about me?”

“Will you make sure no one hurts you, again. Or will you just be your reckless self?”

“Wait. Is that the reason…..?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. “ she sighed deeply “Partially. I guess I just had too much on my plate. Dealing with work and vigilantism and my restless brain seeing all the possibilities and missed opportunities. I guess my mind just decided to remind me all the mistakes and traumas from the last ten years.”

“No surprise you broke. Bruce gave a hell lot of traumas to all of us. But hey, on the bright side, you survived all of them.”

“Since when are you optimistic?”

“Ugh, your right. It so out of character. I should cut on my time with Dick, his attitude is rubbing off on me.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that. He won’t let you live through it” she laughed “hey, let go of me” she winced when Jason started to tickle her.

“Better?”

“I think so. But you know what” she ruffled his hair playfully “I like it when you smile. I missed that happy face.”

“Are you trying to tell me something babe?” he leaned toward her clearly going in for a kiss

“Nope.” She put a finger on his lips “I’m not going to wipe it off your face.”

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow “you’re gonna make me work for it?”

“You know me all too well.”

“Fine.” He sighed “I’ll give you 5 seconds of head start. Start running kitty. Because when I catch you, I’m not letting you out easily.”

“5 seconds?? Jason Peter Todd!”

“One…..”

“I hate you.” she turned around and rushed out of the library, avoiding all the books left on the floor in her anxiety haze.

“Five.” Was he cheating? Yes, definitely. But the game was on and he could not stop thinking about catching her and just having her all to himself.

[darkwritingsnshit]

Gone but not Forgotten 5

This is a dark psychological fuckery fic, . Please do not read if you’re under 18, or are uncomfortable with dark characters, mentions of death, descriptions of death, asshole characters. Smut will be in the last chapter

You were scared. Scared of yourself, of your mind, of everything that had been happening. Honestly, you didn’t know where to go. You didn’t want to go back to your house and finding a new place to live was too difficult to be an option. You knew you weren’t going home after you left Stark tower, it didn’t seem safe. You found yourself driving to the botanical gardens. Without thinking you walked through the beautiful plants until you found yourself on a bench in front of a pond full of lily pads.

            The air was clear, you could hear the wind and the frogs croaking from the pond in front of you. There was solace for a few moments, nobody was around to question you or your sanity. That was, until you saw someone in your peripheral come sit down on the bench next to you. You didn’t wonder how he found you, but you did wonder why.

            “Why are you following a crazy person around?” You were annoyed, you wanted a break, a moment away from everyone who thought you were losing your mind.

            “I never said you were crazy.”

            “But you’re thinking it.” You wouldn’t turn to look at him, you knew what he was thinking. You were so tired of people being worried about you.

            “How would you know what I’m thinking?” Bucky shifted to face you, so you did the same, even though you didn’t want to.

            “If you don’t think I’m crazy, why are you here?” You glared at Bucky, upset he would ruin your few precious moments of peace.

            “I’m-”

“Don’t you dare say you’re worried about me.” You cut him off before he could finish his sentence. You were sick of pity.

Instead of speaking Bucky stopped looking at you and put his hands up in defeat. He didn’t say anything else, so the two of you fell into a comfortable silence. You weren’t sure how long you sat and listened to the frogs, watched the lily pads, but eventually the sky darkened the water, and it was time for the gardens to close. When you stood, Bucky mimicked your actions and began to walk to the parking lot with you. You finally decided to look at him when you reached your car.

“I’ll see you later.” You told Bucky. “I don’t know when later is, but I’ll be back eventually.” You knew your paid suspension wouldn’t last, but you weren’t sure when it would be over.

“I don’t think you’re crazy.” Bucky looked at you with concern you wanted to smack off his face. You let out a dry laugh.

“That makes one of us.” You told him.

“Are you going home?” He ignored your statement. You let out a sigh.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go.” You admitted in defeat.

“You could stay with us, there’s plenty of rooms in that tower.” Pity. It was all you could hear, all you could see on his face. It was why you couldn’t go back.

“Sam told me to clear out.” Was the excuse you landed on.

“Sam wants you to be okay, he didn’t tell you to clear out.” Bucky countered. You knew it was the truth, but your pride was hurt, and you couldn’t trust your own mind anymore.

“Bucky, I need to go home, I need a shower and get some sleep. Thank you for sitting with me.” You didn’t know why he came to find you, he still hadn’t made his intentions clear.

“Are you going to be able to sleep?”

Your mind went to the bottle of sleeping pills in your drawer that Bruce prescribed you.

“I should be able to.” You didn’t want to share more than you had to, you couldn’t trust anyone anymore. It was getting under your skin. Bucky just nodded and closed your car door behind you.

“Get home safe.” Was all he said, the look in his eyes would stay in your mind until you got home.

You checked the camera tapes before you got out of your car. Nothing happened around your house all day, except the grey cat that lounged on your deck in the afternoon sun. Feeling safe enough to open the door, you walked into your house to find absolutely nothing out of place. It was the same as you left it that morning, down to the coffee cup you forgot to put in the dishwasher before you left. Instead of starting your computer and getting into the paperwork you knew awaited you, you flopped down on the couch in defeat.

“Do they know it’s you?” Steve asked over the dinner table he shared with Bucky.

“You mean, do they know I killed their best friend, or do they know I’m the one who’s been breaking into their house? Either way the answer is no.” Bucky liked playing his game. Change something in your life just enough to make you question your sanity, then put it back the way it was before anyone could validate your paranoia. He played this game before many times over the years, but this time he was having fun.

“Let me see it.” Steve told Bucky, who reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn journal. The one he left on your bedside table weeks ago, the one he took out of your drawer soon after.  Steve thumbed through the ink-stained pages, skimming the messy handwriting.

“This is gold mine.” He told Bucky, passing the journal back and taking a bite of his dinner.

Bucky pocketed it, knowing just how valuable little-known facts about your life were. Instead of engaging with Steve, he pulled out his phone to monitor the cameras he placed inside your house. Stark had cameras the size of a grain of sand, that would be nearly impossible for you to find, especially given your heightened state of unease. Technology would continue to surprise him.

“Quit holding out.” Steve held his hand out for Bucky’s phone. It showed you on the couch, face down. He could hear you crying quietly. “This is just sad, Buck.” He handed the phone back with a grimace.

“For now.” Bucky had his eyes glued to his phone, to you on the couch.

“I think you broke them.” Steve said with a look.

“That was the plan, stupid.” Bucky gave Steve’s shoulder a playful shove. “Now I can put them back together how I want.”

[wetratheadcanons]

some battinson headcanons cause i still think about him almost a year later but 60% is actually just me projecting onto him

is autistic (obviously), but also has adhd

he also deals with intrusive thoughts, it's why his no-kill-policy is so important to him

loves video games, obscure internet lore and horror - especially analog horror and found footage

his favourite games are project deepweb, he solved it in just a little under 2 hours, and vampyr, he always plays the pacifist run despite it being harder

has a whole wall dedicated to the five nights at freddy's lore, scott cawthorne might be his biggest enemy

absolute animal magnet despite being kinda terrified of all of them

can't go anywhere that has animals because they're immediately flocking to him

the whole "introvert at a party finds the dog" - situation but instead the dog finds bruce and refuses to leave

ace was the first animal bruce wasn't ever really scared of, alfred thinks he may have been trained to be a psychiatric service dog prior to his adoption

wherever bruce is in the tower, ace isn't far away, his presence calms bruce

prefers loud music, he doesn't like being alone in his head too much and the noise helps him

apart from nirvana and my chemical romance, his favourite bands are ghost and ice nine kills because he likes their consistent themes

selina gifted him a pair of pink cat-ear headphones once and they're the only pair he ever wears at home

he claims it's just because they're comfortable but everyone knows it's because he loves them

eats when he's hungry but rarely at specific times, it doesn't make sense to him

he can't really eat after waking up

doesn't eat meat, he feels like it lies too heavy in his stomach

he also doesn't like the smell of cooked meats or fish

he loves sour fruits and has a mild sweet tooth

has a caffeine addiction but he doesn't like the taste of coffee, prefers black and green tea (to alfred's delight) and energy drinks (to alfred's horror)

he's trans ftm who is either gay or bi with a preference for men (he doesn't know and doesn't care to find out)

selina and him never went further than their kiss, bruce will always put gotham before anything else (until dick comes along) and selina needs a freedom that he can't give her

they also both realised it was a spur of the moment thing since they barely knew each other at that time and found they're better off friends

they're co-parenting a kitten though it's adorable really

bruce found her half dead on patrol one night and called selina in a panic about what to do, they named her chewy

ace loves chewy, she sleeps on his head, bruce has an entire folder on his phone dedicated to pictures of them

had a robin hood phase when he was 6, tried to steal from his parents to give to people in need

alfred continually reminds him of this after he takes in dick

his favourite rogue is ivy, they have important conversations (as in ivy talks and bruce hngs) about climate change while bruce tries to stop her from murder

he implements policies build after her ideals into wayne enterprise

his respect for her rises after she gets together with harley

for all that he fights it, he can't sleep without the sound of gotham - which includes gotham typical crime

he thrives when he's alone, it's how he does his best work, be it batman or wayne enterprise

has trouble admitting defeat, dick joining him as robin helped him in that department a great deal

is pierced. he did almost all of them himself, alfred has a heart attack everytime he spots a new one

the public has a weird badboy image of him, bruce has no idea where it came from

doesn't bruise easily but is still constantly in pain

has an absolute shit posture, social anxiety and crime fighting don't help

sleeps in the worst positions humanly possible

has a weird thing about mirrors, avoids them as much as he can

doesn't give interviews ever, it's part being a social recluse, part everything the press did to his parents, part hating to be perceived

has troubles with empathy, but his compassion makes up for it in great detail

dick uses him as a jungle gym, he pretends to be annoyed but secretly loves it

when bruce is working on cases in the cave, dick hangs head down off of bruce's back with his legs over bruce's shoulders

dick claims it helps him think, bruce knows it's because he doesn't want to be alone

bruce loves the relationship dick and selina have, might be a little jealous that cat got through to the boy much faster than him though

after taking in dick, bruce makes sure to show alfred that he actually does see him as a father figure - regrets all the times he told him that alfred's not his father

that's all i have for now

[lazerswordweilder]

(Check the post itself not the reblogs I’ve made some changes)

Okay but Batman fic where he’s not actually human. He comes from a whole other planet of humanoids who have wings, the wings vary from swans to bats to parots to pidgons even to some more aqutic or zero-gravity looking ones! With other quirks that vary too, some people have markings, or skin tinted a specific colour, or scales, or those ears with feathers, or anthing else.

Batman was bat wings (duh) and black markings that are gnarled and dig into his flesh, almost like scars or wounds with orangeyred-gold instead of blood. They form lines around where his cowl is, his gloves are, his boots, his belt, on his thighs where the outside underpants are, and even a vaugely cirle shaped one where his bat symbol is.

He was orphaned and the Waynes found him, Martha (ever the rebellious) was like “Tomas I found and alien bird child, he’s ours now.” and Tomas is like “Okay.” and he becomes the dad who didn’t want a cat. Bruces wings are only little at this point so he can easily hide them in suits most of the time.

But they die of course, and Bruce freaks out so hard, and Alfred (who showed up when Bruce did and is secretly a bird elder making sure that the child survives with human, he’s like every crypid old man/wizard with all of the not explaining stuff and smirk) decides Bruce has had enough enrichment and brings him to his home planet and raises him as his second parent(s). Also Alfred had dove wings because he’s bruces angel and stuff, and also he keeps them really well groomed and regal, and his hair is white and has feathers in it, like water proof feathers that make his hair smooth, but that’s pretty much the only other change.

Roughly 50 human years later (which is when their species becomes teenagers lol) Bruce realizes that he is hell bent on revenge, and Alfred is like absolutely not, go to school you baby. So 80 years later Bruce graduates what was pretty much primary and intermediate school but better becasue it actually teaches you things (I speak from experience) Alfred is like, if you are so insistent you may go. But I’m coming with you.

So Bruce shows up, and wears a superhero suit (like all the other protectors did) that took inspiration from his own markings, and protends his wings are just a cape. All the meanwhile Alfred bullies Bruce into doing online schooling while he fightes crime, and that’s it, for like two years, that’s it. Then the Flying Graysons show up, their whole act is being bird folk who tie up their wings to do tricks that are actually dangerous. Not sure if I touched on this before but bird-folk live waaaaay longer than humans, so they raised Dick and taught him everything and so much more over about twenty or so years? That was about his infant to kid range (some people have theirs longer, occasionally shoter, he was always an early bloomer).

And then the Flying Graysons die because of it. And Dick refuses to wear hoodies to hide his wings because he doesn’t want to tie up his wings, even if they aren’t big enough to fly yet. And Bruce is like, okay, because of your trama we’ll make do with just quick stops everywhere, the police have worth things to deal with than reports of bird children at Walmart.

(Dick)Robin has robin wings of course, and specifically the yellow and black ones. His wings are built more for speed and zipping around rather than long flights or power which Bruces happen to be (bats wings have different used depending on the species). The black on the outside of his wings is a little too dark for shadows but over all don’t stand out much even when he’s in plain sight, they are useful for hiding. The yellow on the underside of his wings stands out howerever, barely anything in Gotham is such a vibrant yellow and he can often scare people by opening his wings wide if they’ve been in gloomy dark colours like the Gotham harbour for too long.

(Dick)Robins wings aren’t actually big enough/developed enough to fly yet and still have baby fluff but he’s just starting to fly by the end of his Robin years and almost all the baby fluff is gone. The wings go down to a bit longer start of his legs (the area below your but). For plot reasons there’s about a years gap between him being Robin and being Nightwing, lets say Jason showed up and took up the mantle of Robin and Dick decided to take a break from all the action and promptly becomes a police officer for only that year instead of keeping it as a job, the uniform was uncomfortable and hard on the wings you know?

But anyways in the year or so Dicks wings got a little bigger and lost a lot of the black on the outside as well as the yellow turning golden and the feathers growing longer and staying as ‘sharp’ (sharp as in sharp, not fluffy or round, sharp and defined). It’s not too much of a change but he looks older, this is also unusually fast, he was one of those kids who got really big growth spurts at random, I imagine this hurts because the bones are growing (like growth spurts) so that would be another reason for him to take a break.

Anyways by the time he shows up as Nightwing his wings are almost down to the bend in his legs but not quite, they have black stripes almost but not obviously meant to be stripes because they’re not, and his bright poping yellow has turned to gold and it’s less bright but more smooth, but it’s only really noticeable if you have a picture of him when he was Robin and comapre.

By the time we get the buff Nightwing ratehr than the teenger-looking Nightwing which is probably about 5 or 6 years his wings have grown about 5 or so inches past the bends in his knees and there are small groups of black feathers in the fluff of his wings and on some of his longest feathers, they haven’t changed in about two years so he thinks they’re going to stay roughly like that. Also the yellow has changed obviously to gold, it isn’t bright anymore, and doesn’t clash with his suit anymore, he also keeps more gold in the suit instead of the black and blues he has in cannon.

(Jason had the more classic red and grey wings, grey on the outside, red on the inside, he also had red feather ears and a few other patches of feathers like at the base of his wings and back and his wrists, with yellow and green feathers dotted around the red of his wings that he grew out of with age, as well as the red becoming more saturated and the grey a little darker, patches of red feathers also apear on his skin all over his body looking alarmingly like splashes of blood)

Also of course Gordon gets these bird child reports and is validly concerned given his citys rouges, and after having Batman dodge the questions for about two hours, Gordon is like, okay the winged child is with the winged man, sure their different species, why not. Oh also both Bruce and Alfred absolutely refuse to let (Dick)Robin go around jumping off buildings, acrobatics? Yes. Actually dangerous stuff? Wait until you have wings to rely on then you can.

Barbara Gordon of course shows up, she immeditely becomes Orcale as instead of getting paralysed she just has no wings, as the daughter of Commisioner Gordon (or wife in a few comics but I’m pretty sure that’s not cannon anymore?) she’s human. She still does Batgirl stuff, but no solo missions, she has accepted this is just concern for someone without wings and is okay with it and still gets into the actions and villianous plots a lot, just less. Due to this she never gets paralysed by Joker.

Okay and then the Justice League show up, and Batman’s like ‘haha, yes, normal human things, I do those to.’ because he lost touch with normal humanity a long time ago and the bird people have a vastly different culture. And he gets seen through in minutes, litterally minutes, the invasion ends and they just all collectively turn to Batman and tell him he’s standing next to at least two aliens, a amazon warrior princess, and like seven other crazy things, and that there’s no need to pretend to be human.

So they all try to teach Batman more human stuff, while freaking out, because he has literally been living in a cave (it was under Wayne mansion which Alfred had somehow kept clean even now and everyone found it suiting and nice), not even beds or anythings, just pilllows a a blanket so the spikes aren’t sharp. But anyways, this leads to members like J’onn and Wonder Woman getting more acclimated to human culture as Batman needs help too and they cannot have who’s supposed to be the smartest of them all not knowing what elevators are.

They have days where the League (or just as many non-acclimated members can go and two or three acclimated members) just go to theme parks and stuff under their civillian idetities, and Bruce always wears dresses or big jumpers and sweat pants/skirts because there is no other way to hide his wings and it’s always really akward in situations like that time Green Lantern got into a fist fight becuase people were being homophobic to him for wearing a dress.

Not only does this help the non-acclimated members learn humanity, but it builds a lot of trust between the Justice League and everyone seems to consider the league a second family, everyone is trusted with everyone elses lives. Also they went to a convention one time and Bruce got so many compliments, Green arrow just stright up wore his normal outfit but without the bow and mask, and the hat not the hood.

[alienfailboy]

i accidentally deleted the ask but i believe @rabbitlost ???? asked me to spill about thorbruce

i apologize for how unhinged i'm about to become.

i'm serving you mcu cracky fluffy realness i'm sorry, i was like eleven when i decided to make these freaks my whole personality

sorry about the spelling thorbruce nation 🫡

here's a bunch of head cannons

-thor and bruce are dating pre age of ultron. sorry argue with a wall.

-i think that the idea of thor dating a human is silly, like you don't think he'd think it was weird to be with someone long term that will die before he gets a gray hair, like i loveee jane i just think that that's a far more plausible reason for it not to work out.(also she's a lesbian so sorry)

- you know who basically can't die cause some higher power who he's not in love with hates him? bruce banner (said higher power is me i have to make this wet cat of a man suffer, but i get nicer later i swear)

-literally no one notices that they're together which thor thinks is odd considering that bruce is rather touch averse and thors always touching him. they place a bet. thor thinks it'll take the rest of the og 6, his dear friends who are geniuses and super spies, maximum 3 months, bruce is not a huge fan of mouth on mouth pda this is reasonable.... sweet boy doesn't realize that they're all too tired to do any sleuthing. this is fine with bruce who gave them minimum 8 months. also like his ideal scenario involves them living quietly alone where they only sometimes have brunch with their friends, phones exist for a reason please do not make me talk to you in person thanks

-after bruce goes missing thors like royaly confused. because what the fuck do you mean you lost a giant green rage monster??? where the fuck did y'all put my boyfriend????? he does a small discreet increasingly frantic search of earth before his horrible little brain that hates him decided bruce didn't wanna be found

-when bruce comes to on sakkar he points out thors haircut cuase wow baby omg when did you do that? wdym you missed me lol it's been like a few hours?? TWO YEARS ???

•insert hushed 'i missed you, i'm so happy your back' frantic kissing

•who is bruce banner if not a man unwilling but unfortunately helping topple a government just by existing?

-they won ragnorak! sorry i don't make the rules (yes i do) that's what happened, thors king, rejoice as i declare him allfather

-thor steps into the role of king rather easily. it does uniquely annoy him that he's no longer allowed to run around beating people up he has to sit on a throne and like... give a fuck? oh god

-thor has terrible eyesight, his eyes are grey so he's just going through life looking at blobs that are sorta friend shaped. becoming fully blind in one eye makes him start to wear glasses, designed and gifted to him by his glorious future husband who was done watching him bump halfway into door frames.

-he's half blind yes, but not missing the eye. it's that almost clear grey color

-lightning looking scars(only scars he had besides top scars,, cuase like god and healing factor but also i am trans and i've decided this is how it is sorry)

-bruce's eyes are scary bright green and they glow in the dark

-bruce has stretch marks near growth plates and joints

-he giggles and hehes at the fact that thor has short hair- which they hate, the only thing they hate more is growing it out. but it must be done

-thor has Monroe esque beauty marks, so does loki this is literally the main reason thor just never questioned if they were related.

-bruce has freckles on his nose and shoulders that you can't see unless you are like an inch away from him

-thor is, at a minimum, 6'4

-bruce is, at a maximum, 5'10 on a good day when he's wearing shoes and thor is slouching (hehe)

-thor has like fantastic posture,, they're royalty

-...bruce has been caught sitting in the same position as a question mark (?)

-bruce gets really into learning about asgard the way he did earth, knowing where stars fall, how the domain works, what the wild life is life, etc. becoming a genius on a different planet. thor likes it, likes telling him all the things he wants to know and showing him around the palace and town after things settle.

-thors not stupid.

-thor knows how to bake and refuses to learn how to cook

-until bruce loki and brun (the Valkyrie) each start kitchen fires in different ways, seriously loki you were boiling water????

-thor just fucking moves people around when theyre in his way, people weigh as much as like a grape to him so he just picks people up with his hands on their shoulders. bruce is like half a grape.

-bruce has also just moved thor out of his way. green veins n allat. not nearly as often but it happens

-bruce cannot function before 10am, he used to be constantly alert but after like three months on asgard he just gets really good at sleeping.

-also he becomes accustomed to thor constantly being there (as opposed to before when he would be splitting his time between hero-ing around the universe and being bruce's pet alien) he becomes very uncomfortable at the thought of going to bed without him

-loki and bruce have odinson sibling level beef because of the only two interactions they've had (A1 and ragnorak) and it's getting out of hand, but there's something to be said about feeling like an outsider and being weird and green flavored- so after a while there's no real oomph behind it

-after ragnorak bruce sleeps for like 20/24 hours of the next several days. he doesn't have to worry or get up and fight for the first time in a really long time. "hulk tired, banner can stay"

-thors really busy those first few days, rebuilding asgard and reassuring his people, preparing for his reign. but he's checking on bruce periodically. just sitting next to him while he sleeps for a few minutes he watches his chest raise, try's to remember that he's alive. that he was never actually dead.

-i think that months pass without the hulk but bruce just like, knows he's there. big man really is just tired he's been out and about for two years, but slowly over the course of several months turned years bruce does find balance between him n the hulk, and without professor hulk (yes he was dilfy yes i hated it, we hate endgame)

-thor just like accidentally calls bruce his husband to someone important, ur honor we're spiritually married, i forgor that that's not legally binding and im king of several realms and words have meaning and-actually do you wanna marry me?

-yes? obviously. are you being serious??? do i have to wear a tiara (*crown, cause your a consort to the king now, for some reason—loki probably)

-a few months post wedding (beautiful ceremony i was in the front row, i cheered very loudly) thor is made aware by captain vaguely stated but extremely correct (heimdall) and his own extremely hazy but very frightening dreams(he's pretty sure he's becoming a profit but whatever) that something very fucking bad is about to happen on earth. they're preparing for a war. remember your vision? yes your robot child but also like your VISION?? yeah, the everyone's dead one! it may or may not be about to come to fruition

infinity war and subsequent endgame fixit/head cannons are locked and loaded (please ask me about it please ask me about it please please please)

but i've been talking super long lmk if you want more domestic king nonsense i think about them all the time. also i know this was like really cringe but i warned you

uhm also some time in the next weekish i'm going to post this AUs (the better timeline) fun fresh and fruity thor redesign on @clarkkentsmalewife

the rest of the art on that account is highkey shit ass but whatever

okay love you bye 🤩

[sean-gaffney]

Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Vol. 4 Announced

I had written a post, which you can find here, where I talked about Looney Tunes that were never released officially in any medium. Did any of those make the new collection? Mostly no, as expected, but yes, one or two did! Let's look at the contents, in the order listed in the press release.

Along Came Daffy (1947, Freleng, Blue Ribbon). A semi-remake of Daffy's Southern Exposure from 1942 and Wackiki Wabbit from 1943, this has two starving men (who look a lot like Yosemite Sam, one red and one black) trying to eat Daffy, who has come to sell them cookbooks. Classic 40s Daffy.

A Bone for a Bone (1951, Freleng). This is one of the ones never released on home video before now! (It has streamed.) The Goofy Gophers vs. a dog, and while enjoyable, it's not the lights out classic the previous two Gopher cartoons were.

The Cagey Canary (1942, Avery/Clampett, Blue Ribbon). Tex Avery started this cartoon, then left Schlesinger's, so Bob Clampett finished it. It's very reminiscent of later Tweety and Sylvester cartoons.

D'Fightin' Ones (1961, Freleng). A psrody of the movie the Defiant Ones, starring Sylvester and a bulldog.

Dangerous Dan McFoo (1939, Avery, Blue Ribbon). A parody of the poem The Shooting of Dan McGrew. Avery would return to this poem several times over his career. This is the first cartoon to feature the voice of Arthur Q. Bryan (future Elmer Fudd) and Robert C. Bruce (the narrator voice for almost every WB cartoons from this point on).

Devil's Feud Cake (1963, Freleng). A "cheater" cartoon, using footage from previous cartoons. Yosemite Sam dies and goes to hell, and is told to bring Bugs back there to avoid eternal damnation. Not great, but they're running out of Bugs cartoons.

Double Chaser (1942, Freleng, Blue Ribbon). A "chase" cartoon to the extreme, with a mouse, cat and dog.

Double or Mutton (1955, Jones). A Sam Sheepdog/Ralph Wolf cartoon, with lots of cartoon violence against Ralph that was censored on TV being uncut here.

Fox Pop (1942, Jones, Blue Ribbon). A fox hears that silver foxes are highly prized, and paints himself silver, only to realize they only want the skin. Jones is starting to slowly become funny in 1942, this is a good example of him getting better. Also, a public domain cartoon, so has appeared on many bootleg WB collections. This is restored.

Henhouse Henery (1949, McKimson). An early Foghorn Leghorn cartoon, and the first to use "Camptown Races".

Holiday for Drumsticks (1949, Davis). Daffy Duck tries to "save" a turkey from Thanksgiving by eating all his food for him. A classic, one of three cartoons newly restored for HD for this set.

Hopalong Casualty (1960, Jones). A late-period Coyote/Roadrunner cartoon. The one with the earthquake pills.

Hyde and Go Tweet (1960, Freleng). Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Tweety and Sylvester.

The Impatient Patient (1942, McCabe, B&W). Released in its original black and white for the first time officially on home media, this has a loopy Daffy trying to deliver a message to "Chloe" in a parody of horror movies.

Leghorn Swoggled (1951, McKimson). The other Foghorn Leghorn/Henery Hawk title on here.

Meatless Flyday (1944, Freleng). A spider tries desperately to catch a fly. Finally foiled by wartime rationing.

Mouse-Warming (1952, Jones). Claude Cat versus a boy and girl mouse rather than Hubie & Bertie. This was on the Mouse Chronicles Blu-Ray, but unrestored.

The Mouse-Merized Cat (1946, McKimson, Blue Ribbon). The final Babbitt and Catstello cartoon, where Babbitt tries to get Catstello (a mouse - don't worry too much about it) to go after the cat by hypnosis. Catstello imitating Rochester has been cut from TV airings, will be uncut here.

Muscle Tussle (1953, McKimson). Daffy must try to defeat a muscle-bound blond at the beach in order to keep his flighty girlfriend. A parody of the "90-pound weakling" ads.

Muzzle Tough (1954, Freleng). The second Tweety and Sylvester cartoon on here, and another new restoration (maybe - does Japanese release only count?). Sylvester tries to get past Hector the Bulldog to get at Tweety.

Peck Up Your troubles (1945, Freleng, Blue Ribbon). Sylvester's second cartoon, and basically a Tweety cartoon only with a woodpecker. A new restoration, and thank God, as the old print looked awful.

Quack Shot (1954, McKimson). Daffy tries to stop Elmer Fudd shooting ducks. For the most part, his attempts rebound on him, but Daffy has the last laugh. Possibly the last Daffy Duck cartoon where he's "old-school" loopy Daffy all the way through. New to home media!

Road to Andalay (1964, Freleng). A post-64 (but only just) Sylvester and Speedy Gonzalez cartoon, but still directed by the master. New to home media!

The Sneezing Weasel (1938, Avery, Blue Ribbon). A standard 30s Merrie Melodie, but Avery's constantly chuckling weasel (voiced by Avery himself) is what everyone remembers.

Streamlined Greta Green (1937, Freleng). One of WB's classic plots, where a child is bad, is shown how bad his actions are, supposedly learns his lesson, but in reality doesn't learn a thing. This time the child is a car.

There are also two bonus cartoons, Lighter Than Hare (1960, Freleng) and Stork Named (1955, Freleng). Both came out years ago on collections that released the shorts as "widescreen". The fans were unhappy. They did not want a previously unseen version that cut the top and bottom of the cartoon, they wanted THEIR version. So these are in regular size (but restored).

It's a strong, if safe, collection. A lot of cartoons people have been begging for, including me. No blackface gags to worry parents, and only one Speedy Gonzalez cartoon to worry censors. I can't wait. No Porky Pig, though. :(

[seatsaverheartbreaker]

The BatFam as Reputation Tracks

In anticipation of the re-recording of Taylor’s best (controversial opinion I know) album, here’s my take on which Reputation track would the bird/bat/cat anthems.

…Ready For It? - Stephanie Brown

A dramatic start to the album.

“Are you ready for it?” In Taylor’s smug tone is so Stephanie Brown coded.

“No one has to know, in the middle of the night, in my dreams, you should see the things we do” you can’t convince me that Steph doesn’t love kicking ass and being a badass hero, to the point of dreaming about her alter ego.

“Are you ready for it? Oh are you ready for it? Let the games begin, let the games begin.” Is such a cocky way for Steph to hype herself up to go out on patrol and cause some chaotic messes within Gotham.

I Did Something Bad - Damian Wayne

Okay seems obvious, being an ex assassin and all but hear me out.

“I don’t regret it one bit because he had it coming” feels like something Damian would absolutely use against Bruce to validate making a hard decision within the field, but also as an excuse for threatening to stab Tim for touching his sword.

“You gotta leave before you get left. I can feeling the flames on my skin, he says ‘don’t throw away a good thing’” feels like an instance where Damian’s abandonment issues and insecurities and self-doubt would kick in and he’d try to run away from the Manor. Dick would catch him trying to sneak out, leant back against the living room’s door with a raised brow and a brotherly expression. Of course Dick would tell him not to throw away his chance at a real family, one that loves him, and would help him seek the redemption Damian wanted.

“They say I did something bad, then why’s it feel so good?” Could refer to later when Damian starts to settle within the family, rethinking the ways he had been taught by Talia to see attachments as weakness. How could they be something bad if they brought him joy and love.

Don’t Blame Me - Bruce Wayne

The OG drama queen to the family has to get a dramatic song. This whole song represents the alter ego of Batman as a whole and you can’t convince me otherwise

“Don’t blame me, love made me crazy” his love for his parents, and his loss of them, made him just crazy enough to start dressing up as a bat and beating up bad guys.

“Just play things for me to use” could refer to his playboy behaviours but it could also refer to his cat and mouse game he plays with his villains too.

“My name is whatever you decide, and I’m just gonna call you mine” applies both to his relationship with Selina Kyle, but also his relationship to Gotham as a whole. He’s fine to be called whatever they want to, but that was his city and he will continue to protect it.

“Echoes of your name inside my mind. Halo, hiding my obsession” Bruce hides behind the Batman mantle, using the inherit goodness of it to further his obsession with the Joker and his need for revenge.

Delicate - Selina Kyle

Something about this song literally gives slinky catsuit vibes, I can’t describe why. A secret relationship due to reputations and alter ego? Sounds familiar.

“My reputation’s never been worse, so you must like me for me” Bruce saw more than just the cat burglar Selina started out as, seeing past her actions.

“We can’t make any promises, now can we babe. But you can make me a drink” is so Bruce and Selina coded it’s almost insane. They couldn’t exactly take their relationship very far due to their polar opposite alter egos’ morals. But Bruce could make her a drink.

“Echoes of your footsteps on the stairs. Stay here, honey, I don’t want to share. ‘Cause I like you” Bruce was a playboy, Selina knew that. But she really did like the billionaire underneath it all. And she wasn’t the type to share her play toys anyways.

Look What You Made Me Do - Jason Todd

I know it was obvious but I could really see Jason listening to this song as his pre-hype for patrol, loving the drama of it deep down. Every verse in this applies to his life in one way or another, with “look what you made me do” being aimed at The Joker and the criminal and Bruce.

“I don’t like your little games, don’t like your tilted stage, the role you made me play of the fool…” would be spat with pure venom at the thought of the Joker and what he did to turn Jason into the Red Hood.

“I got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined. I check it once then I check it twice.” You can’t tell me that Jason doesn’t have his own list that he ticks off as he tackles the criminal underground. It would totally be the same shade of red as his helmet too, the drama queen.

“The world moves on, another day, another drama but not for me. Not for me. All I think about is karma and the world moves on, but one thing’s for sure; baby, I got mine but you’ll all get yours” is such a Red Hood verse. While everyone got over Jason’s death, moved onwards after the second Robin, Jason was still back there buried, resurrected, left feeling an immense amount of anger and resentment. Towards Bruce for replacing him. To The Joker for murdering him. To everyone who had wronged him at one point or another. But it was okay, because he was going to help them get the karma they deserved what they did. They would all get what was coming for them.

Dancing with Our Hands Tied - Cassandra Cain

Okay this one was so hard. Besides the obvious of Cass being a dancer [I literally can’t remember if this is cannon honestly], I think this song represents her background and her need to prove herself.

“Dancing with our hands tied” could refer to her pulling punches due to her background of being raised an assassin, trying not to go too far when she first became Batgirl.

“I’m a mess but I’m a mess that you wanted” Bruce saw her potential and aided her to do the good she wanted to do. He took her into his family voluntarily even though she had made mistakes within her past, and was raised to do bad.

“People started talking, putting us through our paces, I knew there was no one in the world who could take it, I had a bad feeling” could refer to people viewing her purely as a weapon versus Bruce’s idea that she could be more. It surely raised some self doubt within Cass that maybe she couldn’t be more than what she was born to be, maybe she would always be someone who hurt people.

There’s a quiet powerfulness to this song that I think represents Cass.

Dress - Dick Grayson

Arguably one of Taylor’s horniest songs, which seems suiting for Playboy 2.0. There’s an underlining romance to it which I feel represents Golden Boy, and is totally related to his relationship with Babs.

“Our secret moments in a crowded room, they’ve got no ideas about me and you” Bruce and Dick would attend galas and charity events and Wayne Enterprise events and nobody would know that the pair were vigilantes.

“My hands are shaking from holding back from you.” Is such a Dick Grayson move. You can’t tell me this man wouldn’t have the shakiest hands when it gets down to it.

“Everyone thinks that they know us, but they know nothing about…” His alter ego was secret, his relationship was secret. Everyone thought they knew Golden Boy Dick Grayson but they didn’t know past the flash suits and the charismatic smile. The scars, the trauma, the things hidden behind steady hands in public and shaky hands in private.

“Flashback to my mistakes, my rebounds, my earthquakes, even in my worst lies, you saw the truth in me” applies not only to Barbara, and Bruce, and his whole family really, but also to the city that loved Nightwing so much.

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things - Tim Drake

I love this little gremlin, but you can’t tell me he doesn’t blast this after someone diverts from his plans while on missions. His plan or the pettiness that may ensue. Riddled with resentment (unconscious I’m sure) and pettiness, and it kinda feels like it was written while on a coffee high???

“So why’d you have to rain on my parade? I’m shaking my head and locking the gates” he would absolutely sulk in his room afterwards, finding Jason crashing into the mission a headache and a half since the Red Hood didn’t follow instructions.

“This is why we can’t have nice things” is such a mumbled response to anything to do with his family. Dick broke the chandelier trying to show off some acrobatic trick? Jason put bullet holes in all of Bruce’s suits? Damian and Titus let Batcow out to run awry within the Manor? Stephanie hacked his twitter? This is why we can’t have nice things.

“Here’s to my baby, he ain’t reading what they call me lately” is a huge shoutout to Bernard who ignored the articles on Red Robin being caught napping on the high rise of Wayne Enterprise.

Call It What You Want - Barbara Gordon

This song is all about coming back from the lowest point.

“My castle crumble overnight, I brought a knife to a gun fight” offft this song could be so representative of Babs after what occurred with the Joker. She went from Batgirl to being a victim again, a hard thing to settle into.

“All my flowers grew back as thorns, windows boarded up after the storm, he built a fire just to keep me warm” Dick was by her side through it all, waiting in the hospital at her bedside for her to wake up. And he stayed by her side, helping light hope within her again.

“I recall late November, holding my breath, slowly I said you don’t need to save me” The fire itself turning into her becoming Oracle, taking back her power and continuing to fight for what she knew was right.

New Year’s Day - Alfred Pennyworth

This song feels very sentimental to me. It reminds me of the love Alfred showed and held for the whole Batfam, even when they weren’t at their best and made mistakes. It reminds Alfred of his memories of all of them growing up, the moments that were sparkling and filled with joy.

“But I stay when you’re lost, and I’m scared that you’re turning away” Dick would still relay on Alfred for advice, showing up with his chipper grin and a store bought cake as if he had to repay Alfred for raising him. As if he needed to repay such a thing. And Alfred would give him full attention, weighing in as a father would to his second ward.

“I want your midnights” And Alfred never minded patching up Bruce after midnight, never questioned Cass taking up the kitchen table to eat cereal early into the morning.

“You squeezed my hand three times in the back of the taxi” Cass would still reach for Alfred’s hand when he dropped her at her dance recitals, squeezing tightly with her smile before leaving him to join the audience.

“Hold onto the memories and I will hold onto you.” Jason would miraculously show up in the Wayne Manor library one night, caught by Alfred who would sit with him into the early hours of the morning. Even in the silence, Alfred didn’t want Jason left wondering if he had a place within that house. He always did, no matter his mistakes.

“Please don’t ever become a stranger who laugh I could recognise anywhere.” Was something Alfred never wanted to happen to his family. While they might not all live within the Manor, he still encouraged them to return home. He loved that family more than he could put into words.

Special Mention

Getaway Car - Harley Quinn

This song is Harley’s emancipation anthem and you can’t convince me otherwise.

“I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason” The Batman gave her that reason, seeing how their cat and mouse game represented love to the Joker more than Harley’s affections ever did.

“Think about the place where you first met me.” Has a whole new meaning now.

“It was the great escape, the prison break. The light of freedom on my face, but you weren't thinkin' and I was just drinkin'. While he was runnin' after us, I was screamin', "Go, go, go!" But the three of us, honey, it’s a sideshow and the circus ain’t a love story” side eye. What was that about the Bats obsession with the Joker? Harley always saw it, she just didn’t know how deep it really went. Until he abandoned her to drown within their getaway car, being rescued by The Bat himself.

“Ridin' in a getaway car. I was cryin' in a getaway car. I was dyin' in a getaway car. Said goodbye in a getaway car.” Her love and affections for The Joker was her Getaway Car and she had finally said goodbye to it. She betrayed him to the Bat and switched sides, not quite a hero but no longer a villain.