#Tim just wanted Bruce to be more careful and steph wanted him to do more

[g3tinl0ser]

Chapter 1

MASTERLIST

IN GOTHAM

Jason sits at the bottom of the stairs, Alfred and his older brother both looking at him disapprovingly but he couldn't care less. He laced up the brand new black Converse his mom had bought him and smiled, you knew him. Knew that while he had been part of the family for years, these events still made him uncomfortable. Being forced to wear a suit only made him more agitated, the shiny shoes needed to be watched constantly and the buttons of the suit jacket just made his hands shake in anger. You stuck with the black of course, giving him layers of black shaded shirts for him to peel off and lose in his anxiety throughout the night. Giving him one last task at the end of the night to distract his mind as his parents made their final rounds. 

Dick chuckled a little, knowing his brother hated having to participate in these things. He thought once he got to the age that girls were interesting being a Wayne would interest Jason but no. He listened to Alfred talk about who would be in attendance while he brushed his fingers over his peacoat-style suit jacket folded over his arm. He too would never get used to having whatever he wanted. He had been adopted later than any of the others, at 15, you had done every single thing you could to spoil him to the heavens. The proof was lying over his arm, he really liked this style coat, so you had found someone to make him suit jackets the same style. Now they were light enough for him to wear constantly, he didn't care that some thought it was weird. It was something his mom did for HIM.

Soon Damian came tumbling down the stairs he looked very sharp in the pinstripe suit he had picked out earlier that week. Bruce had taken the growing boy to pick a new jacket but was quickly talked into buying an entire outfit. He had snuck into your room to have his hair styled and to check on his best friend/new sister. His hair was thankfully styled tousled his father thought as he chuckled watching his youngest son jump around in front of Alfred telling him about new music he heard that he was hoping to add to his playlists later. Tim was just behind the two of them in his all-black suit, he didn't have much to say. He understood his responsibility to the family as a Wayne, he had no problem carrying that out. He was more involved with the charities than any of the other kids. 

Jason might be a momma's boy, but Tim wanted to do what you do. He wanted to adopt and raise a family of kids who had nothing. He wanted to start his own charities and help change people's lives. He looked up to his father, he knew that without Bruce there would be no Tim Wayne. But you were his idol. “You look sharp, Son.” He heard his father's deep voice and looked up to see a look of pride on the man's face, it warmed his heart because he often felt like Bruce loved him less than the other boys. Bruce wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder, looking towards the stairs and chuckling. “We are going to be late like always.” 

The group of boys chuckles but Jason as always is quick to defend you. “We had to go out and find Stephanie shoes and some accessories and a jacket. Mom said even though it was short notice it wasn't fair that Steph didn't get something new.” Bruce nodded, the boys watching a loving look come to his face some of them groaning as Alfred laughed. “Mrs. Wayne has always been the best of us. I'm so happy we were able to alter an old dress for Miss Stephanie.” the clicking of heels drew everyone's attention from Alfred because at the top of the stairs were two beautiful ladies. 

Jason leaped up and ran to the top of the stairs to help his mom down but you quickly shooed him over to his new sister. You were hoping his protective nature would copy onto her as well because you knew she was beyond nervous and he was your only son who didn't have big groups of friends at these things. Steph looked adorable in your old Chiara Boni La Maxi dress. Yet another moment you were thankful for the million and one skills Alfred has. While you had taken her out to get her very own Balenciaga wool dress coat and Louboutin heels. She had picked out a modest-sized heel and a jacket that would last her as long as she cared for it. 

She cried while getting her hair trimmed and styled for the first time in years. You promised to talk to her about what she wanted to do with it long term and to find her a permanent stylist and she cried again. Jason acted like it was a huge inconvenience when she talked him into getting a pedicure with him while you got your nails done. Then she was so absorbed in looking at all the jewelry while you waited for the boy's watches to be cleaned and serviced that she didn't even notice when Jason pointed at something in the case and whispered to you. You getting her the smaller version of a Cartier bracelet the boys and Bruce had gotten you for mothers day last year. 

You loved being a mother, Tony laughing in your face had been the best reality check you could've ever received. The interview at Wayne Enterprises was a gift from god, their CEO a gift from your guardian angel. You quickly learned you were given the job purely based on your experience as Tony Starks assistant, but that was fine. W.E. was an insanely fast-paced business that dealt with whatever Mr. Wayne was feeling that day. The list of businesses they had their fingers in was long, and the number of charities they helped run was just as long. 

Bruce fell for you quickly, before you could even start showing. You had sworn off rich playboys but somehow he swept you right off your feet. He held your hand as you gave birth to your son, and helped you pick a name. He was the second person to hold him, gave him his first bath. Bruce started the adoption paperwork from his phone at your wedding reception. He never gave you a second to doubt why he was with you. Never gave the tabloids an ounce of information and did everything and anything you wanted. 

The look on his face, as you helped your newest baby down the staircase, showed that he was just as obsessed today as he was 13 years ago. He stepped forward to meet the three of you at the bottom, smiling brightly at Steph whose cheeks were brightening as she realizes all eyes were on her. Trying to break the ice a little she chuckled looking around “Is black the family color.” Jason and Tim make a noise between a scoff and a laugh as Bruce sways his head back and forth. “You look lovely Steph. If at any point tonight you're ready to leave, you just come find one of us ok?” The young girl nodded, she had assimilated quickly soaking up the love in the house. From Bruce and the boys hovering, to your reassuring smile, to the always warm pot of tea Alfred has ready for her. 

Jason pulled out the bracelet box and sheepishly looked away, even though he was the one to notice and point it out, he hadnt wanted to give it to her. “Umm.. Uhm. We got mom one like this for mothers day.. And uh..” He scratches the back of his neck, trying to figure out his words, thankfully his dad steps forwards taking it from him and opening it. “What Jays trying to say, is they want you to feel welcome. They all know how you feel. We are all here for you, whatever you need one of us will understand.” He helped her put it on before smiling at her and patting Jason on the shoulder and turning to you. 

Alfred ushered the kids out of the room and towards the line of limos waiting for them. Bruce tried to ignore Jason glaring at him as he walked out of the room but he couldn't and started laughing as soon as the boy pulled the door shut. “I swear that boy is going to kill me if I ever get you pregnant.” You sigh looking over your delicious husband, he's in an all-black tux as well but it's tailored perfectly. You don't even have to step to him because he's already there kissing you. The first thing you learned about being with Bruce, that lip makeup that didn't smear or transfer was a must. Next was when he kissed you, he kissed you breathless. Each time he told you he loved you, or showed you he loved you he did it to the fullest. He constantly talked about how in love his parents were, and how he never thought he would get that. Now that he had it, had you and this family, he gave and would always give everything he had towards it. 

“You know he's probably going to be there tonight..” Bruce said as soon as his lips left yours, his eyes trailing your hairdo, smiling slightly when he saw the pearl earrings with delicate strings of diamonds hanging from your ears. The pearls had been his mother's, he had added the diamonds to gift them to you. You smiled reaching for his hands as his cheeks blushed, “Yes Love, Dick talked to me last night. He said he caught Damian looking up videos of Stark and IronMan. We've never lied about who he is, we will just have to see what happens.” Bruce wanted to pull you close, wanted to remind himself and you that you belonged here. He wasn't worried about Stark taking you from him, he wasn't really worried about him taking his son. But there was always that nagging anxiety that he wasn't Damian's REAL father. 

“Would.. You be ok with me riding with him. I just maybe want to talk to him.” 

You smiled up at the love of your life, cursing Dolce&Gabbana for making a dress you look so fabulous in but can't wrap your legs around your man in. Nodding up at him while sucking your bottom lip in between your teeth. This was when he was the sexiest you thought, when he was being the best father ever. This was why you kept talking him into more kids, well at least one of the reasons. “I'll take the others, it will be fun.” Pressing a kiss quickly to his cheek before pulling him out of the house as well.

4 days prior 

Tony didn't know why he was doing this to himself.. to Pepper and his daughter.. to You.. It had been 10 years. But here he was, the second he heard Fury briefing the others on meeting yet another superhero group he was offended. “Umm.. why am I not being invited??” He had said snapping his fingers as he walked in to get everyone's attention. Had he paused and taken a second as he entered, to look at the screen he would've seen why. 

The Justice League. 

The large screen showed the key members, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Aquaman.

Next to them was a picture of a man Tony had met a few times before, Bruce Wayne. Equally as rich, supposedly just as smart but why was he on screen?? Even better question why are you on screen tucked under his arm??? You, Tony's old “assistant”, when Pepper was too busy running everything to do Tony's stupid little errands. Pepper thought her fiancé could make smart choices, that he had grown up. You ended up in her office a few months later, dead-eyed and apologizing profusely because he had told you that they had broken up. That's why he needed a new assistant, but now you are pregnant. “But don't worry.” You had said wiping your nose on your hoodie sleeve, “I got a new job a few hours away. It's well-paying, so I'm not asking for child support or anything. They are also paying for my relocation on account that I quit today.” 

Everything crumbled but slowly came back together after you left. Nat had liked you as well as Pepper so she glared often at Tony. Eventually leading to Wanda reading her mind and sharing with the group. Until this exact moment, the three of them had been excited to go to this ball. Nat and Bucky had been corresponding with you and your husband, who were able to get into contact with the Justice League. 

Tony scoffed hearing that, how he asked, causing Steve to roll his eyes leaning his face in two fingers, “They said Gotham doesn't run the same way here does. The Justice League, while mostly self-funded has programs to help any areas that are unfortunately damaged due to fighting. Y/ns husband is the largest benefactor of that, so they have a close relationship.” Tony rolled his eyes and walked for the drink cart he insisted was in all the meeting rooms. Nat spoke next smirking and twirling her pen “Bruce is very close with Batman.” Tony's spine straightened “According to the mayor during the last new reel I watched, Y/N and Batman personally funded and organized the rebuilding of the town's orphanage.” 

“Well.. kids was always something she was passionate about.. seems she has a thing for orphans..” Sam says before everyone's heads snap to him, throwing his hands up he chuckles “I meant cause Tonys.. and Waynes..” he laughs awkwardly before clearing his throat and looking out the window. Fury sighs, brushing his face annoyed “If you go, best behavior. I'll have you off this mission so fast Stark. We NEED them, since SHEILD has gone through the cleanse, we have been able to locate a few other super soldiers. We were able to link Captin Rogers and Johnny Storm which led us to an allegiance with F4, Y/ns friendship with these three has led us to this opportunity.’ Fury leans forward on his fingertips, staring Tony dead in his eyes “We only have one go at this, I will eliminate any problems we have along the way.. Am I clear?” He raises his eyebrow, his one eye making enough expression for Tony to get the picture. Rolling his eyes he nodded, starting to sit down just as everyones dismissed.

“I don't get to be briefed?” He says throwing his hands up, Nat chuckles as she walks by Bucky close behind her. “It's been made clear you're going for Iron Man decoration, you don't need briefing because you won't be doing any of the talking.” 

Sam and Wanda chuckled as they walked past “This is gonna be fun.”

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

“Mrs. Wayne, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. First of all, congratulations on the reopening of the orphanage! It’s truly inspiring work. And speaking of inspiring, I hear you and Mr. Wayne have recently welcomed another child into your family?”

Tony stood in his room after another fight with Pepper, she couldn't understand why he was watching these interviews. Why he was so worried about all of this, he had sworn he didn't want you, that this was over. 

 “Yes, that’s right! We’ve just adopted our fifth child—our fourth through adoption. It’s been such an incredible journey for our family, and every child we bring into our home adds so much love and joy. We truly feel like the luckiest parents in the world.”

For fucks sake they had a child together.

“That’s wonderful to hear! Five children—your hands must be full. What inspired you and Mr. Wayne to keep growing your family?”

 Tony couldn't wrap his head around it either, after you left Pepper had told him she was pregnant as well.

(laughing softly) “Oh, trust me, our hands are definitely full, but in the best way! Honestly, I can’t imagine anything better to do with my time. We have the space at Wayne Manor, and more importantly, we have the love to give. Every child deserves a home and a family who supports them, Bruce and I are passionate about doing our part to make that happen.”

He and Pepper had gotten married.

“That’s so beautiful. You’re both so devoted to creating a loving home. But five kids—any chance this is your stopping point?”

Raised Morgan together, the best years of his life. So why was he staring longingly at your mischievous smile as you looked back and the camera panned over to a straight-faced Bruce Wayne who had multiple children talking to him at all once. To some, it would look like he was annoyed, but Tony could tell he was listening intently. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t count on that! I’ve been known to talk my husband into a few things over the years, and I’m already working on him for another. We’ll see how it goes, but I think he’s just as soft-hearted about these kids as I am.

He had never messed up like he had with you again.

“Well, it sounds like the Wayne household is full of love, laughter, and plenty of adventure. Thank you again, Mrs. Wayne, for sharing your story and for all the work you and your family do for the community. It’s truly inspiring.”

 He had never even thought of you again, or even the baby.

Thank you! It’s such a privilege to be able to help. We’re just grateful to have the opportunity to make a difference—and to have such a big, beautiful family to come home to at the end of the day.”

The interview ended with a shot of Bruce pulling you in for a kiss while the kids of the orphanage played and ran around.  Until that briefing, he had no thoughts bouncing in that big head of his with you in them. 

So what's his problem?

He looked to his closet deciding it was finally time to pack and face whatever music was on the other side of this mission.

The Avengers had been welcomed warmly at the gala. Introduced to the representatives of the city and those who worked high up in the organizations TJL worked with. Bucky and Sam had drug the ladies out on the floor as soon as the talking slowed down, Steve getting pulled into a conversation with Veterans who had never been able to meet Captain America. Tony just stuck close by doing his best to keep his promise of best behavior but slowly drinking. Everyone inside was distracted once the noise outside raised, people were yelling and cheering. The small spaces around the door light up then flashes taking over violently fast as they opened and a group of teens headed in. Four boys all smiling to varying degrees and waving, shaking hands at the bottom of the stairs before walking to an older gentleman and then dispersing. 

Just as the noise started to ramp up again in the museum hall, the cheering came back but this time louder. The people were screaming, this time when the doors opened there was no flash just blinding white light from so many cameras going off. The silhouette of three people had the entire room turning and holding its breath for just a second before a round of cheers started in here too. All of the Avengers gasp as the doors close You, Bruce, and Stephanie all walk to the top of the stairs. You've always been tall, and in your heels, you're almost the same height as the man next to you. Bruce's arm wraps around your waist, pulling you to him as you guide Steph to stand in front of the two of you. 

Tony hates to admit it but you look amazing. Your skin is glowing and flawless, your hair full and shiny. He can see the sparkle in your eyes from here, only just overshadowed by the sparkles in your off-the-shoulder dress. The three of you perfectly match a full family unit. 

The room quiets down quickly Bruce greets everyone professionally before smiling down at the small blonde before him. "Tonight, we’re not just here to celebrate the reopening of the orphanage; we’re also overjoyed to share something very special with all of you. My beautiful wife, our boys, and I are thrilled to introduce the newest member of our family, our daughter, Stephanie Wayne." Steph's face turned a bright red as you giggled with her and the two of you helping her down the stairs. At the bottom Damian was waiting for her, excitedly telling her that his friends were thrilled to meet her. Over their heads, you could see Jason and Dick watching where the two of them scurried off too. 

Nat had tears in her eyes as she watched you shake hands and say hi to everyone. She watched as Dick came over and introduced a few of what she assumed to be friends to you and his father. She took her chance to drag Bucky towards you when Bruce was inevitably drug away for ‘men's talk’. It didn't escape her notice that his eyes never left you, so as she approached it didn't surprise her that Bruce repositioned himself in the group of men. Those tears from earlier fell as your eyes met, rudely you didn't even excuse yourself as you turned towards her. Walking as fast as your red bottoms would let you before wrapping your arms around her. 

Bucky smiled his heart full as he watched his girlfriend and her lost friend whispering to each other and hugging. Steve was quick to come up next leaning down for a gentle hug and warm words about you doing well. The conversation quickly picked up about how everyone had been, introductions to Sam and Wanda being made. You kept waiting, you knew he was here, and you could feel the weight of his eyes on you. You could feel Tony Stark getting closer, just as you watched Steves's eye glance behind you, straightening up quickly, your son squeezed between the two super soldiers. 

Damian had stripped his jacket leaving him in a bright white button-up with his matching pinstripe vest. His cheeks were bright and small beads of sweat were already gathered at his brow. “Mom, I know the rule is we can't have desserts until after dinner.. But we had a late lunch, and its Steph's first party-” You felt a warm hand at your back, lips pressing lightly to your temple to let you know who was there. You chuckled looking down at your littlest baby.. For now.. “This definitely sounds more like Tim than you buddy..” Damian's eyes got big, stuttering over his words as the Avengers but two and two together. All they can see is a boy version of Morgan Stark. All they knew was that you had left, that you had slept with Tony and left. It all made sense now. 

Sighing dramatically you look around, seeing not only Steph and Tim pretending to not be looking from a table they have cups at, but also Dick and Jason. You had left it up to the catering company this time to decide what was served, it must be good.  Looking back to your husband, you freeze, because just past him is Tony Stark. Somehow no amount of preparation had made you ready. All you could see was him, slurring his words and laughing at you. He had thrown money at you and told you to get rid of it.

IT. 

That beautiful it was standing in front of you now, begging for sweets. The other beautiful ‘its’ you loved were also begging for sweets. Seeing Tony triggered something in you, Bruce knew that as soon as you turned back. Sometimes you couldn't deny them things knowing they hadn't been able to even look at them before you. “Sure sweetie. Just make sure you eat responsibly because I'm not listening to any complaints about upset stomachs tomorrow.” Damian bounced from foot to foot, proving that he really didn't need whatever he was about to snag off the dessert table. But the smiles on all their faces as they walked as fast as Stephanie could towards the dessert table made the complaining they would definitely do tomorrow worth it. Alfred had already started moving drinks to a table with chairs before moving with a pep in his own step toward the table. Even on his night off you couldn't pull that man from the kids he looked at like his grandkids. 

Bruce introducing himself pulled your attention back towards the adults, Natasha gushing about you finding yourself a handsome man. Soon pulling you and Wanda off to the side just a few steps, allowing two separate conversations to happen. Steve and Bruce wanted to get business out of the way, for almost the same reasons. Speaking quickly about what needs to happen for the two groups to meet. The terms seemed normal, TJL was skeptical about involving themselves in more drama, but they understood the need for a large group possibly needing to mobilize in case of a global emergency. Just as Steve and Bruce went to shake hands the last drops of alcohol kicked into Tony's system. 

“I've heard the hardest part of this will be Batman.. People say he doesn't play well with others.” Tony's words carry enough condescension that it stops your conversation with the girls. Bruce's jaw ticks but he laughs once taking a drink, “I have heard that as well. The guy seems rough around the edges but he just wants what's best. He doesn't let anything or anyone stand between him and what he wants. Guess that's not for everyone.” He shrugs and lifts his glass a waiter walks over and asks if anyone else needs refills. You take a moment to look at Tony, he looks good all things considered. It puts you on guard immediately that he is unknowingly taking jabs at your husband. Turning back into Bruce his arm comes around your waist as you pat his chest. 

Your voice is as strong as Bruce makes you feel when you speak, “Ironman wasn't always a great team player, sometimes it takes the right people to really create a family.” You hadn't meant for your own jab at him to be thrown in there but it felt good. Tony's own flesh and blood was in front of him moments ago and he didn't even know. Warm fingers dig into your side as Steve agrees with you, turning the conversation towards the others in the group getting both your opinions. Unfortunately yet again, just as you think things are calming down and you can set up a meeting and walk away…

“So, tell me,” he sneered, his voice dripping with condescension. “Did you leave Stark Industries just to run off with our secrets and hand them over to Wayne Enterprises? Or was marrying the boss your way of sealing the deal?”

Tony Stark, ladies, and gentlemen..

Nat hissed his name through her teeth as your husband stood straighter. Alfred and Jason had been facing you at the table and your son definitely picked up on the difference in his parent's stance. You tried to smile it off, listening to your husband explain to Tony that his business really had no interest in what Tony did or didn't do. That he never asked questions about you and the only time he had come up was in the interview process. Tony, being a genius, put it together quickly and laughed. “Trendy babe! Being a high-level assistant really worked out for you, huh.” 

Bruce took a step forward without thinking, red immediately edging his vision. The large man moved with a slow, deliberate stride, his towering frame casting an ominous shadow over the room. His expression was calm—too calm—but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes, like the edge of a knife hidden beneath velvet. When he reached the other man, he stepped into his space without hesitation, his sheer presence enough to make the air feel heavier.His voice, low and even, carried a quiet menace that sent a shiver down spines. “You’re going to back off,” he said, each word measured, deliberate.

Your hands wrapped around Bruce, one threading fingers together, the others feeling his thick muscles flex in anger as he tries to keep himself in place. His face, normally a cool mask of indifference fell to anger when his wife was brought into it. He leaned in slightly, his broad shoulders and imposing frame leaving no room for argument. His eyes, cold and unyielding, locked onto the other man’s, stripping away any bravado he might have had. “Leave her alone,” he continued, his tone still calm but now laced with steel. “You don’t want me to have to repeat myself. If I do... you’ll regret it.”

 Movement out of the corner of your eye brought your attention back to your kids, Jason was already halfway across the room. Dick was standing up, pushing Tim back into his seat and jogging to catch up to his younger brother. Thanks to Dicks long legs and Jason's inability to use his manners, just trying to crash through people, they reached you at the same time. Dick comes up to his father's side and smiles charmingly, his hand out to cause distraction and introduce himself. Jason was at your side, he didn't introduce himself. He just glared at the man looking at you. “You need something, man?” Jason's words were sharp and cut through Dicks easy voice. 

Tony was taken aback at the look this kid was giving him, but when he looked back up at the man standing in front of him he saw it there too. Darkness swirled behind their eyes, a darkness that was ready to lash out at him in defense of the woman who stood behind them. There was no yelling, no theatrics—just a quiet, unmistakable promise of consequences. And as Bruce stood there, unflinching, it was clear he meant every word. For this man, his wife wasn’t just important—she was everything. And nothing, not even a ghost from her past, was going to harm her while he was there. It was just as clear their kids felt the same. 

 Ever the diplomat, Steve sighs thanking you again for meeting with him. Telling Bruce that HE will for sure be in contact with him and apologizing for the disruption before roughly dragging Tony out. Nat hugged you and made you promise to hang out, “you have a rich husband, buy a place and come spend some weekends with us.” she had laughed. The rest of the Gala was thankfully uneventful. 

Because you knew that if Fury and Steve got what they wanted, uneventful wasn't something you could count on anymore. 

NEXT>>>>

[justsomestuffreally]

I think the Batkids reaction to a Bruce who isn't de-aged to 8 but rather 29 (pre-Jason death, post his adoption) would be fascinating. 

Their reaction would vary wildly:

Dick: Oh. Bruce is soft again. Bruce calls them ‘chum’ and ‘buddy’ and gives head pats for no reason. He still isn’t perfect, his communication skills are still a work in progress, but compared to his future self? Without actively dying Dick is hugged plenty. Bruce asks him to go to the zoo, unrelated to any case, just to spend time together. Dick is hit with more nostalgia and longing for the past than he knows what to do with.

Also notable: his dad is younger than him. That is something. Second, holy existential crisis Batman, his dad is younger than him and already one adult and one teenage kid??? Dick is not ready to feel this old yet. Third, Dick has absolutely no idea how Bruce managed to stay patient through his no-pants years. He is going to thank reason every day from now on that Damian wears full protection.

Jason: After his death and League he clung to an image of Bruce. One many tried to beat out of him, but he still kept it somewhere close to his heart, buried deep enough even he couldn’t see it. When he came back Bruce wasn’t like this idea of him. How stupid of him to believe the mind of a traumatized kid. Trying to create one good thing before the kid drew his last breath. Making up memories that never even existed.

But they did. Every smile and hug and even his words reflect the image tugged safely against his still-beating heart. His dad very clearly, very deeply loves him. Which is so much worse. Because he can understand why a Bruce, who never cared, didn’t kill the Joker. But he cares. So why the fuck did he not kill the Joker?

Tim: The reason he joined the family, the reason why he became Robin in the first place was because he saw a problem when Bruce started self-destructing and thought ‘Someone needs to fix that!’. Therefore he went and collected Dick, who didn’t seem keen on fixing it. So, the job fell to him to fix it.

He thought he did a good job, he thought he fixed the problem. Except now he sees who Bruce was, and he knows he failed. Their Bruce is less soft, less affectionate, less like he was before. Batman needs a Robin and Tim didn’t manage to be good enough of one to save him. 

[Or: Tim has a guilt complex a hundred miles wide and blames himself for things that aren’t his fault part 52]

Steph: Jason and she are very similar. Both come from the Narrows, both have a mother addicted to drugs and a shitty father. The differences start when Steph keeps waiting on the roof of their apartment for Batman to whisk her away, while Jason tries to steal the tires of the Batmobile and is taken in.

When Steph started out as Spoiler Bruce tried to keep her off the field, and obviously this one would too (even if he would probably be less paranoid about it), but she knows this Bruce would have also taken her in. This Bruce would be the father she always wished for when she sat on their roof and couldn’t see any stars. 

And she didn’t get to have this because Jason went ahead and died. (Of course, she knows she isn’t fair to the guy. Dying isn’t fun… And she knows the only reason she lived is because he died. When Batman rescued her from Black Mask she was in such terrible shape that Leslie managed to convince the World’s Greatest Detective that she died. If Jason hadn’t died Bruce wouldn’t have been as paranoid, wouldn’t have noticed her missing so soon, wouldn’t have been as urgent in his response. Would have been just a minute slower, a minute which would have killed her. Just as it had Jason.)

For her, this Bruce is a distorted mirror into a past which never was. 

Cass: This Bruce and B are not the same person. They don’t move the same. In a fight, this Bruce is younger, faster, stronger. Doesn’t compensate for a previously broken spine. Less experienced. Still one of the most experienced she knows, but less. 

He still moves differently, outside a fight, less pain. More likely to engage in physical affection, more likely to hug and pat and talk. He talks more than B. B knows what she means without words. This Bruce doesn’t.

She likes this Bruce, warmth, and softness. But not as much as B. He knows what she means, when she wants a hug, when she tells him ‘I love you’ without words. B doesn’t need words. This Bruce doesn’t know her, doesn’t communicate like her. She wants B back.

Damian: At first, when this version of his father seemed uncanny and oddly familiar, he assumed it to be due to the stories of his mother. After all, she always told him tales about his father. He simply did not have the frame of reference to understand the kindness she spoke of. Clearly, the clash between the ideals of the League and the ones of his father causes these feelings, just as they did when he first entered the manor.

He presumed this to be the case until one day on patrol Batman laid a hand on his shoulder and told him he did a good job after no particularly impressive fight and he nearly called him ‘Grayson’. Because the stories of his mother may have painted the picture of this version of his father, however, it wasn’t what made it familiar; no, he knew this kindness. These hugs and compliments one would bestow upon a child. Compliments which, despite the indignity, still warm him. Because Grayson learned how to be a… caregiver from his father.

His father used to be like Grayson, used to be until his grief hardened him. Damian could have had this. Damian could have a brother and father who would- But he doesn’t because of Todd. He loathes Todd. Loathes him for ruining the life he could have had.

Why did he die anyway? Damian certainly wouldn’t have a problem escaping bonds created by the Joker, Damian would have disarmed the bomb in time, Damian would have never thrown this life away like he did.

[Or: Damian is a child who was raised by assassins and has unreasonable standards for fighting abilities and also is a child who needs to focus his rage on someone.]

Duke: He was neither there before Jason died nor in the aftermath [according to my math he was around 4 when Jason died] he joined the family when Jason was already back for 4 years or so. He mostly skipped all the drama. For him, Bruce is the way Bruce is because he is Bruce. It’s weird to see him so different, to see how grief shaped parts of Bruce which Duke assumed were just Bruce things.

He’s glad this Bruce is brighter, or not because it just highlights how much that light will dim? Who knows, certainly not him. 

What he does know is that, with their Bruce, he has a distance which, with his parents still alive, he appreciates. With this Bruce, he can understand why Dick struggled so much whether he wants to be his ward or son, how he doesn’t want to replace his parents but still have this Bruce as a dad. It definitely explained the ted talk Dick tried to give him after Bruce officially took him in as a ward.

He likes this Bruce well enough, but he doesn’t necessarily want him to stay this way. Yes, their Bruce is less happy, less open but he did heal, he did grow. Duke met a Bruce who tried to learn from his mistakes, learned to communicate better, and learned when to pull and when to push. For Tim, Damian, Dick, and certainly Jason there is too much baggage, too much history in their relationships, it’s difficult for them to ever move past- anything really.

Sure, when Dick and Bruce are on the same page they are essentially invincible but then the past catches up again and they don’t talk to each other for months. And honestly? Apart from Cass, Duke’s pretty sure he has one of the best relationships with Bruce simply because he got to know him at a better time.

Duke doesn’t mind this Bruce. But their Bruce loved Jason, cared for him so deeply the scars still show to this day. And he still chooses to open up again even if just a bit by bit. Even if just Duke can see it. He is used to being the only one that can see.

And maybe knowing this care extends to him, this love even grief can’t shake? Maybe it makes him feel just a little bit safer, a little bit warmer, a little bit brighter.

[silverwhittlingknife]

hi Silver! o/ because that fanart made me wonder - would you happen to know when/where Dick's stuffed elephant plush Zitka turns up in the comics?

GREETINGS CAM <3333 THAT ART WAS SO CUTE

Yeah, I think your instincts are right - it's a truly adorable bit of transformative fandom, but I'm 95% percent sure it's not comics canon. Barbara has canon plushies, but I don't think anyone else does.

I got kinda invested in the investigation (it's hard to prove a negative!) and I ended up typing out an entire History of Elinore/Zitka, so, uh, if you're curious, meet me below the cut for:

Where does Elinore / Zitka - the animal - appear in comics?

Did Dick ever have a stuffed elephant toy in comics?

Where does Elinore / Zitka appear in comics?

We're gonna go in chronological order!

Dick's circus elephant friend was first created for practical reasons: in Batman 436, Marv Wolfman does a big expanded flashback to Dick's circus backstory as a way to subtly show us Tim before officially introducing him (so that we can have a technically-solvable mystery-of-Tim's-identity in LPoD). In this comic, there's an elephant named Elinore who loves Dick:

Aww. Such a cute elephant!

Batman 436 comes out in August 1989. New Titans 60 comes out a few months later, in November, and guess what? When Dick visits the circus, he is suddenly surprised by an unexpected blast from the past! It turns out that even though it's been years, Elinore still remembers him!

Here's the part where Elinore remembers Dick:

SUCH a cute elephant. I love her.

(Guess who else still remembers Dick even though it was so long ago. Guess which other character is about to be an unexpected blast from the past. Guess which character Elinore is directly paralleling guess guess guess sorry everything is about Dick and Tim in my mind but I can focus I swear)

Four years later, in 1993, Batman: The Animated Series retells Dick's origin story. They like and keep Wolfman's elephant, but they change her name to Zitka:

Wolfman doesn't return to the elephant beyond those two appearances, and a few years down the line, New Titans gets cancelled and Wolfman's not writing Dick anymore anyway. So the animal gets abandoned for a while, until Devin Grayson, a fan of both Wolfman and B:tAS, revives the Wolfman-era Titans team in JLA/Titans and then the ongoing series Titans 1999.

Grayson then brings back the elephant in a flashback to Dick's past in Titans 16 (Jun 2000), where she imports the B:tAS name. Sometimes I'm skeptical of TV-to-comics imports, but honestly, I endorse this one. You lose the alliteration, which is a shame, but IMO Zitka is a better elephant name than Elinore.

Here's Dick with the newly-christened Zitka in Titans 16:

Grayson also briefly references the elephant in Gotham Knights 20 and - in a final angsty callback - in Nightwing 88 (Feb 2004), where Zitka tries futilely to comfort Dick in the midst of his trauma conga line:

... And... honestly, I think that's it for comic appearances? The two Wolfman comics plus the three Grayson comics.

Both Wolfman and Grayson are writing multiple titles - Batman, New Titans, Titans, Gotham Knights, and Nightwing between the two of them, spanning a big chunk of Dick's post-Crisis canon - and both writers use the elephant for heartwarming moments of nostalgia, which means if you're doing a post-Crisis readthrough for Dick, Elinore/Zitka feels memorable. But I don't think she actually shows up that much.

For post-2011, I am not as well-informed - throwing this out to the dash? anyone know? - but I feel like Zitka the heartwarming symbol of Dick's heartwarming circus past is, uh, thematically very at odds with the Court of Owls evil!circus vibes, so my instinct is that this story element was almost certainly dropped in the reboot.

Did Dick ever have a stuffed elephant toy in comics?

In WFA, yes; in main comics continuity, no. Technically, I have not read every comic ever published, so I could be wrong!! But I don't think so.

Below, find my rambling reasoning on the tonal vibes of pre-Crisis, post-Crisis, and post-2011, and why this particular story element doesn't seem right to me for the first two.

Pre-Crisis (...okay, mostly the Silver Age): stuffed animal, yes or no?

tl;dr no, requires too much background knowledge on the part of the reader, plus the elephant wasn't a thing until later

Elinore doesn't get created until post-Crisis, but also just generally, pre-Crisis callbacks are more along the lines of this reference in Batman 129 (published in 1960), where, wow, Batman and Robin are hunting jewel thieves - and it turns out Robin recognized this strongman! BUT HOW?!

The comic goes on to recap Dick's entire origin story in flashback, on the assumption that you may not know it.

(BTW, if you'd like to know more about Haly's Circus throughout the years, nightwingology has a great post here summarizing a lot of fun plotlines and characters!)

Basically: Silver Age comics are very self-consciously episodic and kid-friendly; they're not generally gonna do overly-elaborate callbacks because they don't know what comics their kid readers may have randomly picked up or remember.

By the time of post-Crisis, comic books were being written for an adult audience buying from the direct market, i.e. readers who are collecting whole runs & don't need or want Dick's origin story to be recapped to us in full every time it's referenced. That's why in post-Crisis, we get stuff like "hey, neat, this particular soda brand is getting mentioned in several different books!!" or "in order to understand this story arc, buy SIXTEEN DIFFERENT COMICS in FIVE DIFFERENT RUNS and read them ALL ACCORDING TO A NUMBERED ORDER and also you better be following the individual plotlines and recognize these five minor characters who we don't bother to introduce!! Good luck!!" But the elaborate post-Crisis plotlines - and subtler worldbuilding like a stuffed animal callback to Dick's backstory - don't make a lot of story sense UNLESS you're imagining your readers as completionist adult fans.

So IMO a stuffed animal wouldn't be a pre-Crisis thing unless it was The Episodic Story Of the Week, and I don't think a stuffed animal is action-adventure-y enough for the fast-paced storytelling of the Silver Age. (Unless it, like, came to life and tried to eat you or something.)

Post-Crisis: stuffed animals, yes or no?

tl;dr: no, Dick's a manly tough guy, he's not gonna have a stuffed animal, that'd be lame, like something Tim might do

Part of the edgy grimdark adult vibes in 80s/90s comics is that some characters who used to be kinda silly & goofy & lighthearted - like Batman and Robin - get reimagined as Serious and Angsty and Edgy in a Tough Cool Manly Brooding Way. This massively affects characterization for Bruce, Dick, and Bruce and Dick's relationship.

(I obviously love this change & love the tense Bruce-and-Dick interactions, but plenty of fans of the earlier fluffy comics really disliked the edgy retcons of Miller / Wolfman / Starlin / et al.)

The upshot is that post-Crisis is a period when you could have a recurring reference like a stuffed elephant, but you wouldn't have a stuffed elephant, not for Dick. I think a toy like that would be too cutesy / childish / effeminate to give a male character in post-Crisis, unless you were poking fun at him.

Now, you could probably let Tim have a stuffed animal, because Tim is sometimes cool but also sometimes a tryhard loser who is faking being cool and not entirely pulling it off (see e.g. the Robin comic where he practices tough-guy faces in the mirror, or the Teen Titans comic where Conner discovers his cringy Enya CD, or when he's fanboying over Connor and it's awkward, etc etc.). A stuffed animal would be deeply embarrassing, and you'd have to be careful to compensate by having Tim do something cool afterward - but Tim's character concept allows for "he's kind of a loser sometimes."

But Dick isn't!! In post-Crisis, Dick's a tough / impressive / "cool guy" character, the kind of guy anyone would want to be, even in the flashbacks where he's Robin, and even in the stories where he's more lighthearted than angsty. It'd be kinda lame for Dick to have a stuffed elephant, so he wouldn't. I feel like Dick would be more likely to poke fun at it if someone had one, like when he's making fun of Wally for liking the Hardy Boys. Dick could have a Batman action figure, at most, and if he had one he would have it ironically.

Basically: in post-Crisis, a male character hugging a stuffed elephant feels more likely to be a punchline to me, not something poignant. (Even with Tim, Tim could have an embarrassing stuffed animal, but he couldn't hug it when sad - that's too far. Maybe Booster Gold might do this. Probably he wouldn't, but spiritually, he would. Sorry Booster ilu! <3)

Instead, Dick instinctively deals with his inner turmoil like the TORTURED ACTION HERO he is: by punching things and brooding and yelling and joining the mob and sleeping on rooftops and going on obsessive secret missions and acquiring Angsty Stubble!! Just like Batman!

(Technically I don't know if Bruce ever joined the mob but you know he would.)

Anyway as you know this is my favorite continuity and I am poking fun affectionately, but uh, yeah sdfsfdsfs. No stuffed animals.

Post-2011 / Infinite Frontier / Wayne Family Adventures: stuffed animals, yes or no?

tl;dr it's in WFA! Probably not anywhere else, but it could be.

Post-2011 stuff tends to be cutesier overall, most of all in the current Infinite Frontier era. So I don't feel like this would be tonally out-of-line with IF comics. Taylor tends to go for more meme-y references rather than fanfic references, though.

So the obvious best fit is WFA, which is aiming for a rough approximation of Silver Age family-friendly vibes - wholesome, episodic plots, Teaching Good Moral Lessons For The Youth, etc. - plus lots of Easter eggs for fanfic readers and some comic references.

And look, here we are:

Aww.

Whew - that's everything I could find!

Anyway as you can probably tell, I LOVE the elephant, so this was a very entertaining rabbit hole to go down, thank you <3

[welcometogrouchland]

Thought about Damian and Dick's dynamic for too long and now I need to level a city block

[anxi04]

tim is on the thinnest ice for becoming a supervillain. the gotham rogues don’t know just how thin it is but they are well aware that out of all the bats (yes even the red hood, yk the crime lord) red robin is the one most likely to end up joining their rogue status.

most of the batfam are not aware of this, except for bruce, cass, damian, and jason.

cass knows just from watching him cause of course she does. she also found one of his Completely Normal And Not At All Supervillain-y Plans. she has him tell her the plans so he’s not spending weeks fleshing them out and it’s more like ranting to her. she does however keep an eye on him during his bad days cause some of those plans were concerning

damian was about to kill someone (very deserved, and also very early on in his career) and tim just drops down in front of him so damian is obviously thinking “oh shit he’s gonna tell them and i’ll be cast out of the family and oh god-“ and he just. “want me to help hide it or do you got it?” damian just blinks cause what. he thought tim was gonna be the most strict on the no kill rule

tim actually deliberately let jason know cause he pissed him off once (interrupted his nap). all he did was take over jason’s gang for a week, made it seem like he was red hood without jason knowing what was going on, make it better, and then insult jason and tell him how he could’ve done it EVEN BETTER but he just didn’t feel up to it. jason has both a newfound respect and fear of tim. he’s also a little salty about just how good tim ran his gang but that’s between him and the gods

bruce knows cause one time during tim as robin he rold bruce “if you kill anyone i WILL become a villain and you are NOT prepared.” and then forced bruce to go to sleep. bruce honestly isn’t 100% sure if that was a hallucination or not but he’s leaning to not. he also just doesn’t know what he can do about it cause that kid made him eat, sleep, shower, and take proper care of himself what’s he gonna do? bench him? bench the kid who benches batman once???

steph also learns but that’s cause she stumbled upon him literally about to take that step and instead of doing anything about it just called him edgy and that was enough to shock him back. she’s not gonna become one with tim but she jokes about them having a batman and catwoman relationship and that alone is keeping him from actually doing so

[sistertotheknowitall]

Masterpost

“But to the BatFam? That is just Some Guy. A random dude - if you will.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m missing my spleen.”

“Oh cool, yeah, missing organs suck. I’m missing a kidney and part of my liver. Oh! And my gallbladder but that was more of a necessary evil, it was like, poisoning me or something.” Danny was so focused on applying pressure to his wound (and maybe being a bit too light headed) that he didn’t notice how silent his friend had gotten. Like-wise the comms had gone equally quiet as Gotham’s vigilante family realized that they knew very little about this kid.

It was concerning how quickly they all started to see him as a friend considering it was them as vigilantes he interacted with the most. Tim was the only one who saw him frequently when out of the suit because he was a regular at Danny’s day job. (He worked as a barista in the coffee shop Tim favored.) The others saw him occasionally but more often than not it was just in passing. Steph, Duke, and Dick had to stop themselves from approaching him on the street.

It was odd, one day he had just moved to Gotham, seeming to appear out of nowhere, and then the next he was a constant presence in their lives. Usually armed and ready with a concerning or odd quip, it had started with him being another victim of the city’s petty criminals and had snowballed from there.

Now it wasn’t like the bats saw Danny everyday, but it was expected that he would cross paths with at least three of them before the end of the week. They ran into him more often than any other Gothamite, including the criminals and rouges they fought.

At first the constant meetings by “coincidence” was suspicious. If he wasn’t the one being saved from a mugging, kidnapping, or city wide villain assault, then he was near by and trying to help.

(“Trying to help” usually meant drawing attention to himself so the original victim could escape. Once it had meant Danny armed with a baseball bat against four grown men. Bruce and Dick have tried to talk to him about putting himself in harms way but the kid is surprisingly elusive when he wants to be. Yet, even when avoiding Batman and his eldest, Danny could be found on the patrol route of another family member.)

But honestly? The guy seemed just as exhausted as they were of seeing each other. By the twelfth time in a month, Danny had accused them of stalking him.

The background check Bruce and Tim had run came back clean and he never seemed to be involved in the various criminal activities. He was just there, a weirdly unlucky bystander. So as far as Dick and the others could see, Danny was a completely normal dude. He just said strange things and wasn’t intimidated by them, he actually made it a point to be unhelpful sometimes. When trying to learn his name he gave them the run around for two months. (“I know about stranger danger. I don’t care how often you say you’re the ‘good guys.’ I’m not falling for it.”)

On one memorable occasion Danny had disappeared for a week and a half. When they started to assume the worse, he popped back up behind the counter at work. Tim had relaxed significantly when he entered the shop to Danny organizing pastries in the display case. Once he’d placed his order, the young CEO asked Danny if he’d been on vacation. To which Danny had just sighed and told Tim “I wish, but no I was called to court to handle some affairs I couldn’t get out of.” (After a check to see if Danny had gotten charged with something and coming back empty, Tim had concluded that it was an odd way to say he had had jury duty.)

Thinking about it now, outside a stray comment or two, Danny didn’t talk about himself or his life. They knew he didn’t have a good relationship with his parents, “they were much more goal oriented than that joke of a kidnapper, but I think drugs do that to a person.” (It was still unclear if he meant his parents were kidnappers themselves or on drugs.) They knew he had an older sister who would “kill me again if she finds out I was in another bank robbery.” They also knew he was, possibly, depressed after last week’s comment of “is it considered murder if you’re already dead but, like, still alive?” (Damian had saved him from a drug ring but after another “baby ninja” comment the young Robin had threatened to give Danny back to his would-be murderers.)

Dick knew Danny was a weird guy who never wanted to elaborate on the things he said. (Jason was still confused on what he meant by “rotted milk soul.”) That didn’t mean the comments themselves didn’t say a lot about him. And tonight’s comment, accompanied by the prominent and jagged autopsy scars, said more than Danny was probably willing to share.

Part one

[timmydraker]

Everyone in the Bat Clan has been noticing something over the years, specially about Tim.

Every so often he will go to do something with his hands or even his entire body, such as swaying or shaking his hands, but always stops himself.

There’s almost this look of annoyance on his face that just barely hides discomfort, but he brushes it off quickly.

Bruce noticed and, thinking about Robin more than anything, offered some kind of fidgeting device to help him stay on task, only for Tim to snap at him for the first time. It was his usual snark or commenting on Bruce’s well being, but a real moment of lashing out.

He decided then not to bother Tim about his clear want to move around it play with something even if it’s just his hands, mainly because he was doing his job well.

Yet, as he starts to really try and be a good parent to his kids and realises that Tim is one of the places he messed up most by basically using him to cope with grief, he decides to ask the rest of the family what they think.

Dick says it could be ADHD and he needs movements, with Barbara backing it up with a few websites in agreement.

Damian says he should mediate and Cass so what agrees but says it probably won’t help someone like Tim that much.

Duke and Steph make up a somewhat chaotic plan of coercing him into telling them what he needs, out of love and somewhat aggressive care.

It’s Jason who just scoffs and says, “It’s stimming, you idiots. He has like, super messed up standards cause of his parents, right? They probably didn’t allow it but he’s got that like, autastic thing.”

Only Jason Todd could say something so smart followed by completely idiocy.

But he is right, very much so. It might also explain why sometimes he seemingly couldn’t handle touch but when he panicked he need to be squeezed as tightly as possible.

Naturally, with a family of emotionally repressed vigilantes, they decide to subtly let him know it’s okay.

Dick is the worst with it, speaking far too loudly about how Autism is okay and how he wants to learn to support autistic kids, while Bruce thinks nodding along to this helps.

Damian just stares at Tim for five minutes before bailing and running away.

When a month passes and Tim seem more like he’s even more ashamed than anything my, Cass smashes her hand on the table at dinner and drags him out of the room to talk to him.

Tim is forced to sit and listen to his sister, who may or may not be his favourite sibling, talk about how he’s not damaged or wrong for needing to stim and move his body. She calls him out on how he is being a hypocrite, for accepting people like Bart and Barbara and and her for their disabilities whether ADHD or something physical but not himself.

Tim wouldn’t have been moved by this if it was anyone else, but never in all the time he’s known her has he heard Cass say so many words in one go nor can see her cry so much. She’s loud when she cries, making up for her silence, but it’s only something any of them have seen twice and that was Bruce and Steph.

He doesn’t just magically accept that he’s neurodivergent, nor does he ever want a title as to what is different about him, but the difference is still noticeable.

A week later him and Dick are watching an episode of their show and something Tim adores, a comic series, is referenced. Instead of what he usually does, that being sitting there as still as he can, he bats his hands around a for a few seconds before pausing and waiting for Dicks reaction.

When Dick beams at him brighter than a sun he continues, smacking the couch and even Dicks arm in his excitement.

A few days later he makes a high pitched noice just to get to an itch in his throat and doesn’t realise that Jason is there, yet when the other responds with the same noice, given a bit deeper, Tim smile. Bruce walks in on them making strange noises at each other in a sort of echo.

It’s months later when it’s his birthday and his family has come together to buy him a new, stupidly expensive camera only to reveal they also added a red light room in the manner for him to print them that they really see how much safer he feels.

He flaps his hands aggressively and jumps in place, rumbling out words that don’t all much and thanking them over and over.

He squeals happily but only has a moment where he looks shamed before Bruce holds out a flat palm for him to smack excitedly.

Later, when he gets overwhelmed and crashes a little, Duke lies on top of him to give him pressure only for Steph to sit on him.

[clockwayswrites]

Die Screaming, Live Laughing

Danny/Tim, Cyan, Wind through tree branches/Windchimes @wisteriavines @darkstarsapocalypse (I saw you before you changed that! Twins!)

cw:bar parent fentons, more temporary character death, bones

The faint, mechanical whir under his fingertips as he spins the camera lens comforts Tim. The fiddling is familiar from the years of following Bats and crime across the city. The rooftops of Gotham are an environment that he’s far more familiar with than here. Here is nothing but endless trees and leaves.

Well, somewhere here is also the campgrounds and Bernard, Ives, Steph, and Cass; but that’s far out of sight and almost out of mind. It’s easy, as he listens to the wind rustle through the trees, to feel like nothing exists but the trees and Tim and his camera.

He spins the lens again.

Ostensibly, the four of them are in these woods to find Mothman. Which would be cool! But even Tim, who proposed this whole thing, knows that it’s just an excuse for the four of them to do something away from Gotham. To do something to make actual use of their summer between high school and college.

If Tim went to college, that is.

He’d been accepted, sure, but he… he just didn’t know if he wanted to. It felt like there were more important things to be doing than college. College was sitting in a classroom and listening to someone drone on about a subject that Tim could crash course himself on with the right library access in a month. It also meant new people and new noises and maybe even a new home. None of that sounds great, really. Moving in with Bruce to Wayne Manor had been enough change, thank you very much.

Tim’s foot catches on something and he does a half step to keep his balance. He expects to see a tree root when he glances down. It’s bone instead. That’s not… unexpected. They had already seen deer in the woods, the creatures got stupidly close to the campsite. It would make sense that with the big rains the few weeks before, there could have been old remains uncovered. But there’s something…

The dirt brushes away easily from the surface of the bone and, with a little digging, Tim is able to pull it free of the earth.

This isn’t a deer bone.

Tim knows this shape.

This is human. A femur.

“You have to be careful where you’re walking out here.”

Tim stands and spins, the femur held like his staff would be.

The speaker is leaning against a tree several feet away. The golden, setting sun backlights them, making them look almost angelic with how they’re wreathed in light. They’re hard to look at.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Tim says, plastering on a nervous smile that was only half for show. How did they sneak up on him? That should have been impossible with the leaves and branches scattered across the forest floor. “Do you run into animal skeletons a lot out here?”

“Not really,” they say with a shrug before they start forward towards Tim. Their steps are silent. “I don’t really get around. And also, that’s not an animal skeleton.”

“No?” Tim’s grip on the femur tightens. “How do you know that?”

“How? Well, that’s because it’s mine!”

Tim swings.

The femur goes right through the stranger.

“Sorry! Little intense, I get it!” They back up a step and raise their arms. The dappled sunlight shines right through their hand. Shines right through them like the stranger is just made out of gossamer. “I get it, but be careful with that, please? It’s my arm! Or leg? No, leg.”

“Leg, it’s a femur,” Tim says, his mouth running without him as his brain works.

“Leg. Ancients, I miss having legs. And arms… and, well, anything solid really,” the stranger sighs. “I am sorry for scaring you. Just… it’s hard not to get a little intense when someone is holding one of my bones, you know?”

“Oh shit! That’s right, sorry,” Tim stammers as he hurries to put the femur back down on the disturbed earth. “Do you— I mean, should I rebury it? Did the rains washing away the earth, um, wake you up?”

“Kinda?” They tilt their head as they crouch down next to Tim.

It’s clear now, as they move a bit out of the light, how transparent they are. It’s like in the shadow they lose tangency. Their hair is still just as blinding, being bright white in a way that’s really beautiful. They reach out to touch the femur but stop short.

“I’m tied to my bones. It’s why they dumped them all the way out here. After they killed me, I mean, all the way killed me, I haunted the fuck out of them. And yeah, sure, they could hurt this form of me too, but I always found a way out and then it all started again. Burying my bones was the only way to get rid of me, and those fuckers didn’t even scratch me a headstone in the tree or anything. Some parents, huh?”

“Holy— yeah,” Tim says. Looking back down at the other partially exposed bones he has to swallow back a wave of sadness. “Is that a yes to covering them up?”

“Actually… I’d like you to dig them up. I’m not stupid enough to think I’ll get justice or whatever, but I’d… I’d like to be somewhere proper and under my name.”

“What is it? Your name?”

“Danny.”

“Okay, Danny,” Tim gives a little nod and starts digging. “My friends and I will get you somewhere you feel safe. I’m Tim, by the way.”

“Thank you, Tim.”

Danny doesn’t help dig. He can’t, he explains as Tim and him talk. While his bones are buried, he’s not able to interact with them or else he would have gotten them out of there a long time ago. They learn together that as soon as the bones are free and set gently aside that Danny can touch them.

Tim never thought he’d see someone so emotional over a tibia, but Tim can’t blame the guy. Tim figures he’d be emotional over his own bones too.

The big bones are the easiest. The ribs Tim is extra careful with. The fingers are weirdly like peanut shells in his hand. (He’s not going to eat pb&j for weeks now.) Danny chats the whole time, asking Tim about the world. Tim feels wholly inadequate to catch someone up like that, but when conversation turns to technology Tim settles into a rhythm.

It also lets them figure out that while Danny died just shy of nineteen, he’s apparently spent almost two decades in the ground. He still looks just shy of nineteen. He looks like he should be in the forest for the same reason that Tim is, celebrating the end of one era and the start of the next. Danny should be looking to the future, not mourning it.

It makes Tim pause when he finally unearths Danny’s skull. What would it have been like to see Danny smile? To hear him laugh without that faint echoing quality that he has as a ghost? To touch him?

“I’m sorry,” Tim says and holds out the skull. Danny’s skull.

“Thank you,” Danny whispers. His hands tremble as he reaches out towards the skull. He crumples forward before he can touch it, a sob tearing through him.

“I’ll make sure you’re somewhere nice.

“Thank you.” Danny lets out a breath he doesn’t have and sags forward the last inch. His forehead bumps against the skull.

Then he keeps going forward.

The world explodes into light.

-

“Tim?!”

“Are you sure he’s still alive?”

“You can see him breathing, Bernard.”

“Pulse.”

“Tim!”

Tim gasps awake and blinks rapidly to clear his vision. His friends and sister stand clustered above him. It has gotten dark and their flashlights are blinding.

“You okay?” Cass asks.

“Ow.”

“Yeah, he’s okay,” Steph sighs. “Hey Tim, who the fuck is that?”

“Wha—” Fuck his head hurts. Who the fuck is who?

Oh, the person laying in his arms. The person who’s solid and warm and alive.

Tim starts laughing.

“Okay, maybe a little not okay,” Steph amends.

“Is he ever?” Tim hears Ives mutter.

“Guys,” Tim interrupts them discussing his status once he can breathe again. “This? This is Danny.”

“Being alive again hurts,” Danny mumbles against Tim’s neck and Tim can’t help it, he just starts laughing again.

Being alive does hurt, but fuck if that isn’t wonderful sometimes.

---

AN: So this one got away from me a little but, uh... tada? I was planing to have it all explained more, but once Danny didn't purposefully do it, that didn't fit. Basically all if his frankly absurd powers and as a ghost got jump started by his skull and Tim's lifeforce and tada? 100% pulled some from Tim's Gotham Knights character where he's an awkward little bean who is so not neurotpyical. Him and Bernard taking a vacation to hunt Mothman is from that too.

Anyways, stay delightful, darlings!

[luludeluluramblings]

Smalltown!Neglected!Meta!Reader x Yandere!Batfam ☁️ Part Five

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Part One ☁️ Part Two ☁️ Part Three ☁️ Part Four ☁️ Part Six ☁️ Part Seven ☁️ Part Eight

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A/N: Starting to realize I need to slow down, things are really getting complicated and I want everything to be included. Including proper warnings and important plot details and to really keep things more polished.

A/N: Also, going through the doubts on my writing, but we is gonna persevere, y’all. I’m going to take some time to focus on Obsessions.

Warning(s): Yandere themes, Obsessive behavior, Kidnapping, Vomiting, Slight Stalking

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

After running Date’s life, Tim starts to investigate Reader full throttle. Before it was just something he did to relax between cases when he couldn’t shut off his brain. Now, he didn’t want to miss anything. Not a single detail. He’d also been having trouble digging up an information on reader’s small town.

Apparently, they weren’t up to date on their technology. Can’t hack computers for information if the computers don’t exist. Still, it was nice to find out about Reader’s childhood. (Making notes for Bruce to add certain flora and fauna to the Manor’s garden and looking up any restaurants in Gotham that he could possibly take Reader too. You know, as friends.) But, Tim was nothing if not stubborn.

Reader, having a bit of whiplash from Dick’s comforting and sudden departure starts trying to fill their time by hanging out with Cassandra, Duke, and/or Stephanie.

They also call back home informing Nana about the Date incident. Surprisingly enough, Nana was sympathetic. (Though Reader couldn’t help thinking she was using that condescending small town sarcasm. Maybe they’d just been in Gotham for too long?) Regardless, Nana lends a comforting ear and even talks about BFF and their older brother, Childhood Crush, to Reader in an attempt to distract them. Telling them what the two have been up to. (How much they miss you. They can’t wait for you to come home visit.)

Reader, however, is a tad more concerned with Younger Brother. Making sure to ask how he is fairing and if he could come visit them in Gotham for a bit. Just to give Nana and Grand Daddy a much needed break since their age is catching up with them. (Aren’t you so sweet? Caring so much for your real family.)

But, Nana brushes reader off. No need, he’s been hanging out with Childhood Crush and BFF. They’ve really taken him under their wing. (They’d make great a great partners. Don’t you think, dear?) It does arouse Reader’s suspicions, but when they call their Younger Brother, he sounds… fine… Said he was having more fun with BFF than Childhood Crush, but that’s a given. (BFF knows Reader best, and won’t let anything happen to him or Reader.) They’re probably overthinking things about things back home. (That pang of homesickness just doesn’t seem to go away.)

At school, however, things were changing.

Damian wasn’t lying to himself about scaring off Reader’s friends. A few started to avoid Reader suddenly. But, a few, mostly the wealthier ones, stayed close. Not at all bothered by Damian’s sudden campaign. Some even introducing Reader to their closer circles.

Reader’s happy to have more friends, but the loss of Date and Reader’s more down to earth friends weighed on them. Reader’s new group felt like an isolated bubble cage that encloses tightly around them (and wouldn’t let them go.)

Bruce has been pretty strict about who Reader spends time with since the gala. But, Reader, going stir crazy when Cass, Steph, and Duke, respectively, are to busy (have patrol and missions), decides to ask Barbara if they can hang out with her. (A stranger is better than nothing.)

Tim’s seems to be too busy with whatever he’s doing. (He’s technically spending time on Reader, rather than with Reader.) Reader loves Alfred, but they’re always helping him cook. Dick’s gone off on some errand in Buldhaven or Gotham (Reader can’t remember, they’re a bit annoyed by how finicky he can be with giving Reader attention.). Jason might actually choke reader if they suggest hanging out. And, Reader is still pissed at Damian for being a rude little shit (Plus, they suspect he has something to do with their friends leaving them. They just can’t prove it.)

Barbara agrees to bring Reader to work with her at the Gotham City Library. Fully expecting Reader to mostly stay to themselves or possibly sneak off. (As members of the family are prone to do.) She is pleasantly surprised that Reader actually tends to stay by her side. Of course, Reader goes and gets a few books to curl up with. But, they quietly chat with Barbara, occasionally assisting with task, and mostly just enjoy silent companionship.

Reader doesn’t expect Barbara to entertain them, they can entertain themselves. They just don’t want to be alone at the moment. (Reader hates being alone when they’re sad. Hate. Hate. Hates it.) Barbara finds the silent and soft companionship to be a balm for the soul, so to speak. There’s no pressure. No duty. Just companionship. (It’s eases her mind how Reader is willing to stay safe. They’re not being dramatic or doing something foolish. I can get used to this.)

After the day is over, Barbara reports how Reader behaved back to Bruce. (Didn’t wander, stayed close by, wasn’t rude or sarcastic. That Gala had to have been a fluke. It has to be those horrible friends of Reader’s corrupting them.) If anything, it builds a level of trust with Bruce that Reader can be cautious and they won’t have to worry about them leaving. (Running away. Ha!)

Bruce decides Reader deserves a little more trust. (He wants to spoil his child.) Giving them more leeway to spend time in Gotham. But, only with members of the family. Which would be fine, if they were available. There’s, unfortunately, been an Arkham Breakout.

The entire family is on high alert for the next few days, especially since Joker escaped this time. (Hell, no. The family isn’t risking it. They won’t allow it. If Joker does something to Reader he’s dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Batman won’t stop anyone for killing him this time if he dares.) The family prioritize his capture, even recruiting the Gotham Sirens and the Superfamily to get the job done. It’s probably the fastest Joker’s ever been caught. (Joker is definitely pissed over the matter. And, will be making it everyone’s problem next time he gets out. What are you protecting Batsy? What are you trying to hide from me? Are we not friends?

Reader gets a brief introduction to Clark Kent during this ordeal. Before, Reader had only seen Conner and Jon around the manor hanging out with Damian and Tim respectively. (Conner would always try to flirt, which annoyed Reader. And, Jon was avoid on principle of being near Damian. Though, Reader was nice if they caught him alone in the manor. Which was growing more frequent recently.)

Clark is charmed, surprised by the Reader having grown up in a Smalltown. For Reader, it’s nice to meet someone who understands the longing for simplicity. Though Clark personally felt like he had something bigger to achieve outside of his town. Still they appreciate each other’s mindset. (Clark also wouldn’t mind inviting Reader out to the Kent farm. It would be fun to annoy Bruce. Plus, Reader is clearly struggling in Gotham. He’s not wrong.)

With Joker locked up, the family relaxes… Somewhat. They still have the rest of the rouge gallery to catch and have to work overtime to do it. Hardly any of them are seen outside the Batcave, which Reader is eighty-four percent certain is in the library.

Reader spends a lot of time pacing the halls. Looking at the paintings and furniture. It’s lonely. It’s like living in a house that’s haunted by ghost you’re supposed to know, but don’t. (If I have to live in a house haunted by ghost, I’d rather be haunted by the ones that loved me. I wanna go home. I want Momma and Daddy. I hate being alone. I hate it here.)

Stephanie, however, having made plans with Reader, finally gets a chance to take them out into Gotham. It takes a nearly a week, but they do manage to get out into the city together. Stephanie showing Reader all her favorite sights, pointing out landmarks and fun things. It’s possibly the funnest day Reader’s had since coming to Gotham. Arcades, Ice Skating, food trucks, street performers, it’s all new and exciting.

Nothing good last in Reader’s life it seems.

In broad daylight, Reader is forcefully grabbed and thrown into the back of a truck.

There’s a massive down side to being Bruce Wayne’s child. You easily get taken hostage and held for ransom.

Stephanie is helpless. She can only watch it happen too far away to make it to Reader in time. The horror and fear on Reader’s face made her stomach turn violently.

She immediately called Barbara to start tracking the vehicle and the thugs, sending an alert out to the entire family.

Once done she couldn’t stop herself from letting the disgust and shame bubble from her gut out on to the pavement. Just the thought of Reader being hurt making her physically ill. (Give them back. How dare they take what’s mine? It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left them alone. They’re helpless without me.)

[gay-dorito-dust]

Reader being Jason or Dick's girlfriend, who doesn't know about their double life, casually blurting out that she was never a fan of Batman and Robin or that she prefers Superman and the whole family is offended. 😭

I was tired and failed to realises that this came out a bit like a crack fic in the end but I’m sure you won’t mind…hopefully.

Jason: honestly has too much fun shit talking Bruce to you, especially when you didn’t know the man that you were shit talking as well as he did.

He just found it funny hearing you say with your full chest in front of his family that you prefer the Man of Steel over the Dark Knight.

It sends his entire family in disarray and chaos and Jason was thriving off of it immensely. He does not help the situation at all and would wholeheartedly make things worse for the sake of having something to talk about later.

Dick was borderline catatonic as Duke and Steph were trying to bring him back to reality.

Alfred excused himself from the room.

Damian was sharpening his dinner knife. Menacingly.

Meanwhile Tim was pulling up a long winded power point presentation about how statistically Batman was better than Superman. (In every possibly way, you’re just hating.)

That’s literally the title of his presentation.

‘Did he have this prepared in his free time or?’ You’d ask Jason who shrugs.

‘Let the boy have hobbies peanut, it’s not like he’s got anything better going for him right now.’ He replies, thinking that he should start coming to family dinners more if this was the end result.

Bruce might’ve looked the calmest out of everyone but internally he was cursing out Clark for stealing his future in law. He knew preferences exists and didn’t hold it against you, but currently he was in a disagreement with Clark over a recent mission and it had become a thing where the entire family didn’t dare speak or utter Clark/Superman’s name during this sensitive period.

Once Dick comes back to the land of the living, he’s practically hanging off of you screaming, ‘WHY?!’

Jason has to get involved and remove his brother off of you before he potentially scared you away from future family dinners, even though he himself barely attends any, but the moment you entered his life he wanted you to be more involved with the people in his life that cares about; whether he’d like to admit it or not.

‘They don’t hate me do they?’ You asked Jason by the end of the night, genuinely worried that his family might not like you after tonight.

Jason, noticing this, grabs your hands and grips them tightly in his and gives you a reassuring smile. ‘Babe I’m sure as shit they like you, I mean I’ve never seen them react like that before and if they didn’t like you, they would let you know immediately.’ He tells you, pressing a kiss to your forehead. ‘Besides, weren’t not a vocal bunch when it comes to our emotions. So seeing them get all up in arms over you preferring Superman and trying to persuade you into thinking otherwise was a highlight for me.’

‘Really you think so?’ You leant into him, still not fully convinced and needing his comfort more than anything.

‘Oh yeah. I’m for certain chipmunk. I think I even heard Bruce curse Clark under his breath once or twice.’ He tells you, pressing a kiss to your head as he holds you close.

‘But why? It’s not like they work with Batman, right?’ Your curious words caused Jason to stiffen and his breath to hitch as he tried to find the words before blurting out the first thing that came to his head. ‘No, they’re just…really devoted fans of Batman and Robin. So you could say that preferring Superman over them is a personal insult to them.’ He said, hoping you’d buy the lie, he genuinely didn’t want to subject you to the whole vigilantism so early on in your relationship.

Thankfully you did take the bait as you muttered into his shoulder, ‘okay, I hope they know I meant no offence but it.’ Jason let’s our a laugh, holding you closer to him as he closes his eyes to savour your bodily warmth against him. ‘I’m sure they do sweetheart, they’re the smartest people I know and they wouldn’t let something silly this affect our relationship.’ He said softly. ‘Now let’s go home and cuddle up in bed together yeah?’

‘That sounds like a great idea.’ You replied.

Dick: pouty baby.

What do you mean you don’t like Batman and Robin?! What did Superman have that he didn’t?!

For as far as Dick was concerned he has the fatter ass between him and Clark. He’s done the research.

He’s leaning all of his weight into you and says under his breath. ‘Why does my love betray me so.’ Meanwhile you’re looking at his confused as to why he’s acting as if you’ve just destroyed his lively hood with a single sentence.

Duke and Steph were patting Dick on the shoulder, sharing their sympathies with the revelation made at the dinner table.

Alfred left the room…again. First Jason’s partner, now Dick’s? What a coincidence.

Jason immeditly calls you his favourite and talks about how you and his partner -who also prefers Superman- would get along great while shit talks Batman simultaneously, almost as though he has a personal gripe with him or something.

Damian is sharpening his dinner knife…again but even more menacingly.

And Tim was back on the PowerPoint presentation where he goes into excruciating depths as to why Batman was statistically better the Superman.

The family is once again dissolved into chaos and Bruce was sat at the head of the table, calm, cool and collected but internally cursing Clark out once again for stealing another potential future in law.

(Clark has sneezed approximately twice at this rate and was taking every test to make sure he wasn’t coming down with anything serious)

After all was said and done and you were getting ready for bed, you asked the question that had been on your mind the entire night; ‘Your family doesn’t hate me, do they?’

Dick chuckled as he held you against his chest. ‘No, they love you enough to almost start a war over the fact that you like Superman over Batman and they’re not exactly the most in tune with their emotions. So seeing them react the way that they did? Only proves that they do like you cutie.’ He says as he gives you a peck on the lips.

You pouted. ‘But why does it feel like I just attached their lively hoods? It’s not like they know Batman or Robin personally or work with them in any capacity.’

Dick froze, he -much like Jason- didn’t want to subject you with the whole vigilante thing just yet, he didn’t want to scare you off so soon into the relationship in fear of scaring you away forever. ‘Devoted fans act like that whenever you tell them that you don’t like the same person as them.’ Dick replied, rubbing his hand up and down your back. ‘It’s an issue that should be regulated and or addressed at least.’

You hummed in agreement. ‘Well besides that, I like yours family, they all look like great people to know that have your back when you’re in a tough situation.’ You say as you kissed the side of his neck, nuzzling your face into his shoulder, feeling sleepy.

‘They really are.’ Dick replied softly. ‘They really are.’

[orionremastered]

Hi!!! , could you do batfam, with reader who always getting hurt by accident and reader like 'oh fuck it, is not that hurt' and the the batfam was like 😦😦

Batsis!Reader x Batfam

Take Care

"I'm fine, really," you protest as Alfred approaches with a medical kit.

Tim huffs from the batcomputer, turning in the chair to face you. "You got stabbed," he cries, "Again!"

"It's not like you've never been stabbed before, idiot," you spit back.

"Not as much as you have," Dick points out, giving an apologetic smile at your glare.

Okay, so maybe it's true that you through yourself towards danger one or two or fifty more times than any other member of the family, a complete disregard to your safety as made clear by Alfred stitching up your thigh.

"You shouldn't be so careless," Damian says with a frown and you bite back the urge to go, 'aw, you do care' but think wiser of that.

"I'm not careless, just... more passionate."

Cass pinches the bridge of her nose as Steph snorts into her coffee mug. Bruce is not amused, staring blankly back at you. "No more patrol for a month after you've healed," he says.

"What! That's bull— oh, don't look at me like that, Alfred," you mutter, "It's bad enough he's trying to bench me."

"He should," is all the older man states.

"You shouldn't take sides," you argue as he finishes stitching your leg.

Jason stands in the corner, trying to avoid your attention, but you notice him soon enough. "What do you think, Jason? Hmm? It's not that bad."

Jason says nothing, clearing his throat before walking back into the manor. You watch after him in disbelief. "Betrayal," you whisper to yourself.

"We just want to make sure you don't get yourself killed," Duke shrugs.

"I haven't gotten myself killed."

"Yet," Damian adds. "You haven't gotten yourself killed yet."

Frowns stretch across faces all over the cave at the thought of you motionless on the ground.

"Let's not have that, yeah?"

~~~

Masterlist

[flwrkid14]

The Immortal Weight of Tim Drake

There’s a part of Tim that he keeps buried deep inside, locked away so no one can see it—will ever see it. He can’t let them know. Not Dick, not Jason, not Bruce. Hell, not even Steph or Cass. It’s better this way. Because the truth is, Tim Drake isn’t like them. He can’t stay dead.

No matter how many times it happens—how many times a blade finds its way into his gut, a bullet catches him in the chest, or a fall from a skyscraper crushes every bone in his body—Tim comes back. Not right away. No, it takes minutes, sometimes agonizing minutes, where he lies broken, breathless, and unmoving, with nothing but the darkness pressing in. He feels it each time. The quiet nothingness of death that should be final but never is.

He’s not like Jason.

Jason died. Really, truly died. He was buried, mourned, and remembered as the second Robin. His grave sat cold, a monument to a boy too good for the world, too bright to last. And Jason, when he clawed his way out, became a zombie in every sense of the word—not quite living but not quite dead either.

Jason knows what it’s like to rise from death, to feel like he doesn’t belong, like a walking corpse.

But Tim doesn’t know that part.

Tim knows what it’s like to die. He knows the brief moments of oblivion that come with it, the aching cold, the stillness. But he’ll never stay dead. His revival is a guaranteed, while Jason's was a miracle. He’ll never have a grave. Never be mourned, because he’ll always come back.

And that’s what hurts the most.

No one sees him die. He’s careful. So damn careful. On the rare occasions when he can’t hide the fact that he’s dead for a few minutes—those close calls where he doesn’t get up fast enough—he brushes it off, masking the pain with a smile and a joke. If anyone noticed the blood pooling in his suit or the sickening sound of his heart stopping for too long, they never questioned it. The danger passes, and life goes on.

For them, anyway.

For Tim, it never really stops. Every death, every time he’s pushed past the edge, it weighs on him. He knows he’s playing with something dangerous—something unnatural. But what choice does he have? The truth is, it’s not just that he can’t stay dead—it’s that he should be dead. So many times over, in fact.

There are days when Tim wonders if he’s meant to be this way. Maybe, in some twisted, cosmic joke, the universe decided that Tim Drake would be the one who can’t die. Maybe it’s because Gotham needs someone like him. Someone to shoulder the risks no one else can take. After all, if Tim can’t die, what’s one more mission where death is a near certainty? What’s one more gamble with his life? It doesn’t matter anymore, right?

And he doesn’t want them to know, because the moment they know, everything changes. If Dick saw Tim’s body cold and unmoving for just a little too long—if Bruce knew Tim had been gone, even for a heartbeat—what would they do? Tim knows exactly what they’d do. They’d stop sending him on the dangerous missions. They’d protect him, smother him with concern, lock him away to preserve him like some fragile thing that can’t be touched.

But the truth is, Tim’s more dangerous now than he’s ever been. Because he can go where no one else can. He can risk everything, go into every deadly mission, every impossible scenario where the chance of survival is zero. Because he’s already proven that, for him, death is temporary.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t mean he isn’t scared every single time it happens—when he feels life slipping away, the weight of his body going limp, his heart stopping, his breath gone. There’s that brief moment, that flicker of panic in his chest as he wonders, Is this the time I don’t come back? Is this the one that sticks?

But then the pain rushes back, and so does his heartbeat.

He’s alive again, and no one’s the wiser.

Tim can die a thousand times over, but he’ll always get back up. And that’s his curse. To always come back. Even if it means he’ll always be alone in the moments that matter most.

He’ll never have a grave. Never be mourned. But maybe that’s the point.

Jason can have the grave, the tragedy, the return from death that breaks the world apart. Tim just… dies. And he’ll keep dying. Keep coming back. Because that’s what he’s meant for.

It’s better if no one knows. If they don’t know, they won’t hesitate to send him on the missions no one else could survive. They’ll trust him to do what they can’t. And Tim will keep shouldering that weight, carrying death with him like a shadow, never far from his heels.

Because for Tim, death isn’t an ending. It’s just another step in the fight.

[haveihitanerve]

No but okay guys i want you to imagine Damian Al Ghul. 

Little damian who is only ten years old. Who doesn't understand the concept of affection. 

Who colors instead of watching a family favorite movie because he believes it is a sacred family tradition and he is not truly a part of the family, even though they picked this movie specifically so that he could watch it

Who watches Bruce laugh with Dick and Tim and feels resentment because he has never been looked at that way, even though Bruce tries

Who sees Duke and Cass look at him in concern when he gets injured on patrol and thinks its because they think hes weak, not because they care

Who has never once felt any ounce of love from his Grandfather for just existing

Who jumps when Dick tries to hug him

Who almost stabs Tim for grabbing him from behind for a little sibling cuddle

Who does end up punching Steph in the nose after she tousles his hair

Who tries so hard to fit in to this new environment he was unceremoniously dumped into by his mother and grandfather but who does not understand because these people are kind and laugh and seem to like him????

And Damian is confused and scared and on guard because everything comes at a price and it breaks Bruce’s heart every time he sees Damian straighten when he walks in the room, when he eyes Duke and Tim with suspicion, when he tries to hide injuries because he does not want to be seen as weak. 

Just a Damian who is trying so hard and his family is too but hes still so scared and they don't know what to do….

Until Jason shows up. Bruce has been careful to keep the Red Hood away from Damian, to not shock the kid, not freak him out. And Jason is more than happy to stay away, even though it hurts him a little that Bruce just randomly cut off contact. But Bruce misses his son so he invites him for dinner, just the two of them at the manor, in one of the lesser eaten at dining rooms, and its good and easy and almost like old times…

When the door creaks open.

And Damian walks in.

And promptly freezes when he spots Bruce.

And then stares like a deer in headlights at Jason.

And Jason's spoon clatters to the floor. 

And before Bruce can react Damian is sprinting across the room and Jason has thrown his chair back with the force of his standing up and suddenly his youngest his cradled in his second oldest sons arms, legs wrapped around his waist, head buried deeply in his neck. And it all clicks and Bruce scolds himself because how could he have been so stupid??? But its okay because jason is there now and Damian is no longer shaking and when Tim gives him an affectionate punch in the shoulder there is not murder in his eyes but an unfamiliar gleam and suddenly Tim is tackled in a hug and he stands there in shock for a second before relaxing, his arms wrapping around the kid and they rewatch the movie and hang up Damian's drawings and tousle his hair and its okay. Its not perfect, but its okay. And for the Batfamily, that is more than perfect.

[an-gothamite-aka-zannalial]

I fell in love with the idea that Damian was doing graffiti with his friends but none of his family members knew it was him, that was a really funny idea

Jason: I have to admit that my graffiti with Roy in Crime Alley wasn't bad

Damian: really. I thought you would be angry because, well, you were made half naked by that person

Jason: Actually I think it's kinda hot

Damian: *Immediately planning to make them kiss later

Steph: I quite like the graffiti that J.B made for me

Damian: I have to admit, Brown, you don't deserve anything that good

Steph: You're just jealous because you didn't get yours from him, maybe he doesn't like you, kid

Damian: I don't need something like that, it just insults my name

Steph: Well if one day he makes you and you smile you owe me 10 dollars

Damian: tt

Dick: That guy captured how hot I was really well

Dick: *starts talking about all the things that should be included

Damian: *Regret following his friend's idea

Cass: Love the graffiti

Damian: That's pretty good but still not enough for you Cain

Cass: still love it

Damian: *Regretting doesn't make it better

Cass: Are you sad, he might want to make you

Damian: I don't need that tt

Cass: I'll ask him

Damian: *Regret again because appeared in front of Cass

Tim: I'm glad someone wants to appreciate my existence since you tried to kill me

Damian: You shouldn't be happy Drake, just because one person makes you doesn't mean you're famous

Tim: look who jealous now, just because he don't get one

Damian: tt fuck you

Harper: that person make better graffiti in one night than Cullen in one week about me

Cullen: Don't pretend to forget that you also tried to make one but failed, sis. This means he is much more talented than you

Harper: Nuh uh

Cullen: Don't use what I teach against me, I dare you

Damian: *Just listen and watch this match

Duke: I guess I'll have to look this guy up and thank him, that graffiti is amazing

Damian: You don't need to do that Thomas, he made it mean he doesn't care if you thank him or not

Duke: I still want to do them, I think there are only a few that he hasn't made yet

Damian: yeah tt

Kate: I'm so hot on that graffiti, and so are you Luke

Luke: Yes, I need to admit it. But aren't there only three left?

Damian: I don't think so because that guy made some for the Rouge's to

Kate: Isn't it true I haven't seen him, I guess he'd make all Gotham freak then

Luke: probably

Selina: So O and I have already gotten one, doesn't that mean the only ones left are the two of you

Bruce: No. I got one too I checked, And it says fuck you

Selina: he doesn't like you then, that means now there's only one left that doesn't have one

Bruce: yeah

Damian: *Makes a super duper big about himself in the middle of the city

[suzukiblu]

"Lex Luthor's latest character flaw" poll winner, "deciding he wants grandbabies and giving Robin a cloning lab about it". Behold, a new WIP strikes!!

“What,” Tim says, staring blankly at the brightly-lit and airy sunroom full of very obvious cloning technology in the very expensive penthouse that Lex Luthor’s bodyguards just dragged a handcuffed Red Robin and Spoiler into after kidnapping them straight off patrol in the Diamond District in the middle of an active crisis situation with the League of Assassins and disabling all their tech and every single one of their trackers six and a half hours ago, down to the bastardized Kryptonian-tech ones in their back molars and two more in both of their suits that Tim didn’t even know existed, plus the one he put in Steph’s collar that she didn’t know existed. Babs is probably just about feral by now. Bruce is definitely feral by now. 

And Lex Luthor is drinking what appears to be a neon purple protein shake out of a rocks glass while sitting at a neatly-arranged desk in the center of the sunroom lab, looking idly bored and scrolling through whatever’s on his phone with his free hand. 

Alright then, Tim thinks carefully. 

“There you are, I was starting to wonder if I’d gotten al Ghul riled up for nothing,” Luthor says, barely glancing up from his tablet. 

“. . . which al Ghul,” Tim asks with wary dread. 

“All of them,” Luthor says, setting down his tablet to give him a pleasant smile. 

Well, now Tim knows why nobody’s dropped in a skylight to rescue them yet. And also why half of Gotham is currently on fire. 

“Uh,” Steph says, glancing around the sunroom lab. “So like, lead-lined glass in here, then, or . . . ?” 

“We’re in Connecticut, so no,” Luthor replies dismissively. “Anyway, the Boy Scout always gets suspicious of too much lead in one place. Which I personally find darling, since anyone in Metropolis without at least a lead-lined and soundproofed bedroom is essentially asking for Kryptonian voyeurs, whether intentionally or not on said Kryptonians’ parts. Also, privacy laws exist for a reason. As do patents, copyrights, attorney-client privilege, HIPAA . . .” 

“Connecticut?” Steph repeats incredulously. “What the frick is in Connecticut?” 

“Currently, us,” Luthor replies matter-of-factly. “Hope, Mercy, do me a favor and go check the security systems manually, just in case any invasive species of vermin have gotten into them. Also, yes, there is kryptonite, and no, there is actually much more than you’re theorizing.” 

“You have literally no idea how much kryptonite we’re theorizing,” Steph says as the bodyguards both leave with an affirming nod. Luthor gives her a pitying look, then turns his chair a few degrees towards Tim. Tim immediately expects the inevitable threat or ultimatum, and braces himself for–

“I’d apologize for all the fuss, but I don’t actually care about inconveniencing you and don’t see the point in pretending I ever would,” Luthor informs him. Tim stares blankly at him again. What is even happening right now? “Now then, what are your intentions in regards to ‘Supernova’, as I hear someone’s started calling himself now. ‘Themself’? I’m not sure if ‘Supernova’ is meant to be gender-affirming or more a ‘too old to stick with ‘Superboy’ but there are already three ‘Supermen’ active and the whole, you know, general stubborn individualism they’re so fond of. Or ‘he’s’ so fond of. Whichever."

Tim stares at him. 

“Is this supposed to be a trap for Supernova or a shovel talk for me?” he asks, because a) he’s not telling Lex Luthor anything about Kon’s gender or personal choices that Kon hasn’t publicly stated, and b) only Lex Luthor would actually kidnap two active vigilantes in the middle of a crisis he’d apparently pre-arranged to give a–well, no, Bruce would also do that, definitely. But this is not a Batman talk, either way. 

Batman’s “talks” all involve tests, for one thing, so actually so far this is an improvement. 

“It’s an engagement present,” Luthor says pleasantly. 

Tim’s brain crashes, then does the slowest reboot of his life. He’s recovered from concussions faster, he’s pretty sure. 

“They’re . . . not engaged, though?” Steph says skeptically. “Or, like, even dating?” 

“Red Robin’s commitment issues are his own problem, not mine. I’ve got a schedule to keep,” Luthor replies dismissively.

[thealtoduck]

Secret Saviour

Damian Wayne x Male Reader

Warnings: None…

Part 1: Being the son of Roulette and meeting Damian Wayne…

Summary: When Bruce goes missing Damian finds an unexpected help in Y/n Sinclair…

(A/n: I changed the title from the poll)

——

Ever since the two of you studied together you and Damian had grown fond of each others company. Despite that Damian would never admit this fact, he insisted to his family that he was simply investigating you to see if you were somehow involved with your mother’s criminal activities.

He hadn’t actually found anything suspicious connecting you to Roulette yet which pleased him. Because according to him it means ”he dosen’t have to contact the GCPD… yet”. But Damian would have to put his ”investigation” on halt for a bit.

One dark night during patrol Bruce had suddenly disappeared without a trace, no comms could reach him and they had no way to track him except for the Batmobile’s last location, which hadn’t revealed the slightest hint. His allies looked for him for days trying to find even the smallest clue that would at least let them know he was alive but nothing.

Just when they felt like there was no where else to look they got a call from the watchtower. They answered and Martian Manhunter appeared on the screen of the Batcomputer.

”Hey J’onn, good news I hope” Dick greeted. ”The watchtower recieved an urgent message about Batman’s current whereabouts from an unknown source” J’onn said and another voice started playing from the speakers, one which Damian recognized…

”Is this the watchtower?” A voice came over a weak signal making the sound crackle lightly. Despite the bad audio quality Damian knew that voice immediately it was Y/n’s voice. ”I know Batman has disappeared and I think I know where he is, have someone meet me on the 4th floor of parking garage next to the Royal Hotel, on Wednesday at midnight and I’ll tell you what i know”.

The message then ended and J’onn said ”I’ll let you decide how to deal with the informant, make sure to be careful, contact the League if you need any further help, good luck”. Then he hung up and disappeared from the main screen.

”Do we go meet the informant? It could be a trap to get us too” Duke questioned. ”We don’t have anything else to go off, this could be our only lead, we have to go” Tim stated. ”How about two of us go meet the informant, while the others keep watch in the surrounding area and Oracle monitors, incase it’s a trap” Dick said drawing up a plan.

The others muttered and nodded in agreement of the plan. ”I wanna meet the informant” Damian then voulenteered on impulse making the others turn to him suprised by his eagerness. But Damian needed to make sure it was you, even if you might be luring him in to a trap.

”Alright” Dick said and walked them through the plan ”Me and Damian meet the informant on the 4th floor. Jason, you keep an eye from above the top of the Royal Hotel. Cass and Steph, i want one of you on the 5th floor and one on the 3rd floor, incase we need back up. Duke and Tim, you’ll watch from the building across the street, everyone clear?”.

The each member of the team uttered a quick ”Yes” in understanding. As Damian went to bed he knew needed to keep an eye on you tommorow.

——

The next day when Damian attended school he was on the watch for you. Once he found you, you greeted Damian as you usually did but as you got to class he noticed you seemed off. You were usually the more talkative out of the two of you but today you seemed distracted, almost nervous today.

When you got to lunch time and you and Damian sat down together he questioned ”Are you okay? You’re being quiet”. ”Oh… no I’m fine I just got a lot to do, so just a bit stressed you know” you answered vaguely.

The fact that Damian had pointed it out, made you seem more focused and yourself, he assumed it was to not seem suspicious and make him ask more questions. Once the school day ended you were quick in saying goodbye to him before you got in to a car as your chauffeur took you home.

——

Later that night Nightwing and Robin grappled to the 4th floor of parking garage and started looking around. There were some cars parked there that they kept a watchful eye on in case any goons were hiding inside. Soon the two spotted a figure dressed in all black.

The figure was looking down to the streets below the garage. The two approached slowly ready to grab their weapons in case of an ambush. As they stopped behing the stranger he turned around.

Damian had been right there you were hidden in a black hoodie. Not something you’d usually wear but Damian understood it was for stealth purposes. And even then he thought black suited you well.

Dick however was caught slightly off guard a kid was the one who had made an emergency call to the Watchtower…

”Thanks for meeting me” you said, your voice cautious as you looked around to see no one would hear you. ”So, what do you know?” Nightwing asked.

”I think that Batman was taken by the criminal, Roulette, ever heard of her?” you started. ”Yeah, she’s the one who runs those illegal cansinos, what makes you think she’s behind this?” Dick asked.

”I… have sources who work closely with her” you said Robin and Nightwing noticing the slight hesitation in your voice. ”They say she’s advertising a special event with her superhero cage fights that started around the same time Batman went missing” you explained.

”Any idea where she might have taken him?” Robin spoke up, his voice throwing you off for a moment, Robin sounded kinda like Damian. You got back on track and answered ”My guess would be her casino in Las Vegas, it’s her biggest one, she holds all her major events there and I think she’d make having captured Batman, a big event”.

You held out a flash drive in your hand and said ”This contains the layout of the Vegas casino”. Nightwing picked it up and said ”Thank you, you’ve been very helpful to us”.

”It’s the least I could do after all you’ve all done for the city” you told him with a small smile. ”I have to leave now” you told them. ”Good luck” you said walking off, you felt someone grab your shoulder.

Making you turn around being met with Robin. ”You shouldn’t walk home alone, It’s dangerous this late at night, someone should escort you” he stated. You smiled at him. ”Don’t worry I’m a tough boy, who can take care of himself, thanks for the offer though” you stated, a teasing tone to your voice and you once more turned around and strolled off.

——

Dick and Damian then started their drive home in the Batmobile. ”I wonder what sources he had, hope he’s not mixed up in that crowd, he seemed pretty young” Dick said with a worried tone.

”That was Y/n Sinclair, he probably got the info straight from Roulette herself” Damian revealed. ”Oh! That was your boyfriend? The one you’re ”investigating”? He seemed nice, I like him, Good pick” Dick stated.

”He’s NOT my boyfriend!” Damian said annoyed.

”You just offered to walk him home” Dick accused. Damian glared at his brother and said ”Just to make sure he stays out of trouble”.

”…Right” Dick said not believing a single word Damian said.