#and ripple isn't a weird dick about it!

[strelles-universe]

forgot to say I read Riverstar's Home the other day. having escaped Dawn of the Clans, I actually kinda liked it.

River and Night are best friends and it never goes romantic and I like that.

Also our mans is magic. He meditates and receives visions from the river and can astral project himself out lmao

I also like that he straight up doesn't like Clear Sky. From the moment he meets him, River Ripple dislikes every part of him. He hates the way he's territorial, hates the way he treats his son and the way he treats his kin.

Perfect view of Clear Sky.

[averycollector]

DC, stop de-aging Batgirls 2022!

For those not in the know,

When Barbara Gordon first debut'ed at Batgirl, she was ~5+ years older than Dick Grayson. This fact is important because it meant that, in Batman Beyond (cartoon), they revealed she and Bruce had dated it was not totally weird. Because she was *also* only about ~5 years younger than him.

(It was still weird. But they did use it to highlight the reason old!man Bruce was alone. Also Nightwing was married to Starfire in the comics at that time so.... idk).

When Cassandra Cain (aka Batgirl II, aka Black Bat, aka Orphan) first appeared in Gotham, she was seventeen. It was then later confirmed that she is just a *tad* older than Jason Todd.

Stephanie Brown (aka Spoiler, aka Robin IV, aka Batgirl III) arrived on page at 15, had a baby at 16 (coinciding with NML and Cass' first appearance), died at 17, and returned to go to college before taking up the Batgirl mantle. If time worked correctly, she would be ~19 or 20 ish.

But then... Well. Events occurred and its just now getting ironed out. And believe it or not, I'm not even going to talk about the later two Batgirls this time. No, this is a post about Barbara.

Look, I know that comics are inherently *bad at continuity* because of the shared universe. Every comic should be taken as the viewpoint of an unreliable narrator. Characters go from being good people to assholes and back. One characters 'funny quip' is a deeply offensive insult to someone else.

This is without touching the eldritch being that Tim Drake turned into when (around 2011-ish?) they (DC highest ups) decided that Robin both *had to be a teenager* and *had to be* Tim Drake. Which had (and has) reality warping effects. (The only Batclan member aging is Damian?! No, really. Go check. But this only applies when Tim is offscreen.)

But through all this, Babs remained the 'oldest' Batclan member. (Minus Bruce). Because she was not a 'viable' love interest she was allowed to go develop into an awesome character as Oracle. She kicked ass, took down international baddies, was a huge bitch to people sometimes, lost people, gained people, apologized, and became something like the Wine!Aunt of Wayne Manor.

She also lived in a Clocktower rigged to explode and *did explode it multiple times*. Like, Oracle became *as important* to the success of Batman and Robin as Alfred. And *more important* to the safety of Gotham than everyone that is not Batman (who only retains that title due to Justice League activities, really).

Then, well...

Unfortunately, I can find no better way to say it.

Barbara Gordon can walk again.

I'm not going to comment on whether this was a 'good' decision. Or if it ruined representation or improved it. (Both, from what I understand from the other commentaries I have read). But there is no denying *now* that what it did do was suddenly make her a 'viable love interest' again. (Yay ableism! /s)

This ripples out of course. Since Batman is full up on flirtations and fans would cry foul of a pairing between the two (see backlash from Batman Beyond), she was assigned to Nightwing. So now they are closer to the same age. So close, in fact, that they attended Prom together!! Isn't that sweet?

This also means that Babs is no longer *old enough* to be considered a true peer to Black Canary and Catwoman. She is no longer old enough to have had a hand in training 20-somethings. Oh no. So Cass gets turned into a true Wayne instead of Oracles' ward. And Steph gets deaged as well.

Its ableism. Its sexism. Babs should be allowed to date younger boytoys (Dick) without being turned into a youth (TM). She should be allowed to be ~30 and angry and smart and *tired*. The recent Batgirl comic run could have been the College Sorority run. Instead of a 3rd grade field trip.

But no.

Instead Babs has to be Dick's age because *gasp* who dates an *older woman* (Batboys, historically. Batman and Nightwing and Robins generally date older women).

The best thing about Oracle was that she was a bitch sometimes. That she got tired and angry and lashed out. Then *actually apologized and made it up to people*. She is not supposed to be a *nice* person. She is supposed to be *kind*. She is supposed to be the sort of person that puts a bat on her chest and proceeds to stand *so firmly* against Batman's bullshit that Bruce *gives up* trying to control the Batgirl mantle. She is supposed to be *older* than the twirp-Robin. As is tradition! (Becoming such when Cass and then Steph were older than their Robins).

I miss when writers understood that #highschool sweethearts, was not a requirements for #adult relationships.

[jasmehraj]

Stuck in my soulmate's body

What's going on with our lives?

Chapter 1

If you are sheet at me..... HEY! HERE'S AN UPDATE! I SUCK! THERE'S POSTERS/HEADERS WHATEVER THEY ARE CALLED ARE MINE! BUT THE ARTWORKS ARE NOT MINE! LOVE YOU! HAVE FUN!



I opened my eyes but I never got the time to defend myself. Pain rushed through my abdomen spreading like a ripple from where his fist connected with her body. She went flying to the other side of the room. She groaned. The groan came out in a boyish voice as she lifted her big boy hands to cover the area that had been hit. 

She opened her eyes to look at the person who hit her, or rather, him. She was in Jason's body again. This time in workout clothes, sitting on a sparring mat as her sparring partner gave her a hand.

"Jason. You need to pay more attention to your surroundings. Our life is very dangerous, we cannot take risks like this-" Marinette cut him off. She may be in Jason's body but she refuses to listen to the lecture meant for him. 

"SAVE IT Mr. Wayne!" Recognition shone in his eyes as he gave her a smile.

"Aah. Mrs. Dupain Cheng. Don't worry I have a lecture for you too." This caused her to groan again, as she stood up and dusted her clothes. The pain had subsided. Almost. She could still feel the dull throbbing from the punch. 

"No need to groan Marinette. We cannot guarantee-" She cut him off again.

"-if I ever ended up in Robin's body in the middle of the fight and got seriously injured. Bla bla bla. I know everything Bruce. You just caught me off guard." 

Alfred's voice echoed throughout the cave. "Welcome again Miss Marinette. I'm sure you said something about baking Macarons the last time you came." She brightened at that.

"Yes! I'm coming!" In her rush she tripped on her own feet and rolled quite painfully.

"Ouch. Jason's very tough. I'm very surprised he isn't dead even with all the bruises you give him while you are in his body." She turned to the newcomer. 

"The Dick is here!" She jumped and hugged him. He was an adult now. A young adult. But he doesn't like being called that.

He ruffled her or Jason's hair. She really needs some word to mention this without confusing her own conscience.

"So how's it going?" 

"Good. School's nice except Chloe. She just-" She groaned and threw her hands in the air. "-I hope she doesn't end up in my class next month. We are starting the new school year." 

Dick chuckled, "Good Luck then. Jason looks funny doing that." He pulled out his phone. "Please do it again. I'm falling short of blackmail material." 

She gasped. "Are you trying to BlAcKmAiL my soulmate?" Her tone was low and dangerous.

Dick gulped and threw the phone in a random direction. "NO! I DIDN'T MEAN TO OFFEND YOU! PLEASE DON'T CUT MY COOKIE SUPPLY-" 

She put a hand up to stop him. She started again, in the same tone as before.

"You will send them to me. I am on shortage of blackmail too. And the first time I meet him in my own body, I will need them." 

His jaw flew open as he pointed at her and his eye twitched, "YOU SCARED ME! I THREW MY PHONE SOMEWHERE!" 

There was silence for some time and then Marinette wheezed, which caused both of them to start laughing loudly.

"Let's go make some Macarons and then we'll go collect some blackmail stuff." They both went to kitchenette.

He opened her eyes still in a defensive stance. But when the painful amount of pink struck his eyes, he relaxed. He looked in the mirror. He looked at his, more like Marinette's hair, which was wet, then forehead, then eyes, then nose, then lips and when he went a little down the neck. He screamed and ran away from the mirror, covering the lower half covered with the towel with his arms. He closed his eyes.

"NOPE! NOT HAPPENING BRAIN! DON'T!" Nobody came up, so he assumed that her parents must be busy. He sighed and went towards the closet. 

This that this that. Too short. Too long. Not cute. Too pink. How can that be comfortable? Too girly. 

He sighed and took out the shirt he had given her and put some shorts with it. If she was here, she would have smacked him hard. He laughed at the thought of her smacking him. They have never met each other in person. Only through phone calls, and their personal diary. 

He looked at himself in the mirror. She was cute. The first thing he will do when they will meet in person would be pinching her cheeks.

His mouth formed an 'o' when he looked at the mirror. His throat made a weird sound which was similar to choking as he covered his chest with those small hands. How can she leave him with this? Why? Now he will have to figure out how to wear th-that thing! The thing women wear! YES BRA! He can't go to the bakery to ask help like this. She will pay for this. He huffed and looked for that piece of cloth.

Okay. Maybe it wasn't so hard. WHO WAS HE KIDDING? IT WAS SO FU**ING HARD TO PUT THIS THING ON! IT HAS BEEN 20 MINUTES AND HIS ARMS ARE SORE.

He accomplished his goal after 45 minutes and let himself fall on the bed. He doesn't care if she's angry that he put on clothes when they changed…. Wait, that doesn't sound offensive at all. He's at advantage. It's not like he saw that. He covered them with napkins and then put on that idiotic clothing them removed the napkins.

"This is my home now. I'm not going anywhere but sleep here after a f***ing struggle for one f***ing hours. I will sleep till I change back even if it means five days. Now I'm rambling to myself." He shut his mouth and laid there.

The sound of the clock was the most annoying thing he had ever heard. He started counting. 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

"F*** IT! YOU KNOW WHAT! I QUIT!" He stood up and went towards the board. She always pins small notes on what to do. 

Dress 

"Nope can't do that."

Shopping

"I don't want to suffer her wrath if I get something ugly."

Baking

"I can do that. But I'm not in the mood."

Homework

"I can do that!"

He went to the desk and got to work.

Permanent taglist: @nathleigh @jalaluvsu @togetherwekill @stackofrandomstuff @qualitypeacepainter @greatcatblaze @shewhorises-tjyj @myazael @jjmjjktth

Taglist: @damnaged-princess @abrx2002

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Monthly Follower Recs

Follower recommendations of April 2019.

Links Last Checked: September 24th, 2022

a new kind of blue (ao3) - writingwannabe

Summary: After almost ten years of bottling up his romantic feelings for his best friend, Dan decides he can go on no longer, and after confessing all, he decides that in order to move on with his life, he must move away from Phil and attempt to start life as an individual rather than one half of a double act. In which Dan is a hopeless romantic and Phil doesn't know what to say.

A Room With A View (ao3) - t_hens

Summary: 'The best part by far, though, was the windows. Floor to ceiling sheets of pristine glass to overlook the whole city.'

aka window sex in the new flat.

Better Than Me (wattpad) - floofdjh

Summary: Dan Howell is a camboy. At only eighteen, he's already become popular on many porn websites and has been involved with a magazine. Desiring for someone to trust to create his darkest fantasies with, he downloads Tinder, where he meets the sweetest man alive. But surely this man could find someone better than Dan, couldn't he?

Cold Fingers (ao3) - itsmyusualphannie (itsmyusualday)

Summary: It all starts because dan stole the blankets.

Ilomilo (ao3) - eugenebby

Summary: Dan's childhood best friend unexpectedly passes away, after returning home from the funeral, everything seems different. Is it just Dan's mind playing a devious trick on him or is his world truly falling apart?

Meet Me At Red Dragon (ao3) - watergator

Summary: phil lester is a single 31 year old with a wild eight year old, ethan. dan howell is single 27 year old with a quiet five year old, noah. when they meet at their son’s swim lessons, for some reason phil can’t get the pretty brown eyed stranger out of his head.

Pas de Deux (ao3) - scifi

Summary: for ten years they’ve been friends with benefits; no messy feelings, no exclusivity, and no commitment. for ten years that arrangement was great, except dan’s hopelessly in love with his best friend and he can’t keep doing this. not when phil doesn’t love him back.

Phanetics (ao3) - A_mess_and_a_half

Summary: Phil Lester is at the end of his rope, selling flowers on the streets of London in 1841. He seems all out of luck, unable to get a proper job because of his accent, and sending what meagre earnings he's getting to his ailing mother back north. That is until he runs into a linguist by the name of Daniel Howell, who offers to teach him how to speak like a proper gentleman. Hopefully this works out for the both of them.

Based off of My Fair Lady but Dan isn't a classist dick and also there's some added homophobia sprinkled in there because Dan and Phil fall in love in the 1840's.

Picture Imperfect (ao3) - intoapuddle, jestbee

Summary: He knows Dan hates to be patient. What he wants is for Phil to get on with it, to overwhelm him with sensation so much that he can no longer think about all the expectations he's failing to fulfill. But Phil knows better.

Ripple (ao3) - cafephan

Summary: Phil has a cheating boyfriend. Dan is a poet, facing an ultimatum.

The Cottage (ao3) - wekingsandprettythings

Summary: There was a cottage on the hill on the Isle of Man that he loved. It had been beautiful at one point in history. Crisp white siding, a bright red door with roofing to match, large windows and a beautiful garden surrounding the path from the gate to the doorway. He always wanted it to be his one day.

The Second World (ao3) - itslacey

Summary: On the eve of Dan’s twenty-fourth birthday, nothing seems to be going right. His parents are acting weird, and even he feels a little funny. It’s not until later that night on his actual birthday, do things start going downhill. Someone has come for him - and he claims he’s there to bring him home. It’s not long after that Dan finds out he’s actually an angel to a place below heaven, and he was stolen from his home twenty-three years ago. And the answer as to why, isn’t, exactly, pretty.

Three is the Magic Number (ao3) - Allthephils

Summary: Dan and Phil are super best friends and strictly platonic soulmates. They already share most everything but when they decide to try sharing a hook up, things get a little blurry around the edges.

We Didn’t Know We’d Make It This Far (ao3) - NelindeA

Summary: Another one of those "Dan and Phil had a falling out and here's what happens next" stories, only it isn't all what happens NEXT, it's what's already happened.

[mayonara]

Hi ! If it isn't too much trouble, can you write anoter hospital fic? With Dick still the newbie nurse and Jay as a patient in a coma whose spirit grows attracted to him and kinda follows him until he wakes up? (idk my mind is weird sometimes >.

This was actually really interesting to read! I’ve actually always wanted to write a weird spirit ficlet so thanks for sending this!

The strangestthings always happens to the ones that don’t pay attention. Or in other words,the ones who tend to have bad luck. Jason was probably one of them. He knew hewasn’t dead, not exactly. Seeing that he was staring down at his body, layinglifeless on a hospital bed and hooked up to tubes that trailed back to themonitors. Where it clearly showed that he was still alive and beating, thoughjust unconscious. His heart rate was steady, but he was still asleep.

The odd thing was,how the fuck was he looking at himself from up above? Up above meaning, he wasfloating around like some spirit and gawking down at himself. Jason huffed abreath and brought his hands to his face, inspecting them. He was mostdefinitely completely there, a bit transparent if he had to describe himself,but he was still very much clothed and himself.

It was eerie. Almostreminded him of those horror or sci-fi movies. Okay, well, he was probably asci-fi movie himself right now. Since he was hit by a car during traffic, nothis fault, and ended up hospitalized.  He was taking a left turn on agreen when a car decided to speed up and hit him right smack on the passengerside, sent his car flying and hitting the light pole. He was aware of himselffor a few seconds, and knew he’d been bleeding, that his body ached and hurt inall places and his head was throbbing in pain. And soon, he passed out. Nextthing he knew, well, he was a fucking spirit of some sort. 

Floating around inthe air like he was part of the air. Though he could move around, he figured itwas actually more fun to stay up above versus on the ground. Sighing softly, heswam down and floated right beside his body, eyes squinting in wonder. He couldsee that his head was wrapped in bandages, face all battered and bruised. Hisbody as well seemed to be in awful shape, leg in a cast and strung up and anarm in a brace as well. Fuck, the asshole had done a number onhim. How long had he been asleep anyways?

Jason wasn’t dumband knew that his body was probably in a coma considering his spirit hadsomehow detached itself as odd as that was. While he hovered about, he let hismind ponder when suddenly an idea lit up in his mind. 

Maybe he could justtry putting himself back in? Maybe that would work?

Worth a tryanyways. Jason attempted to jump right back into his body, but he was blockedout, ran into a wall or more specifically his body as he was knocked away.

“What thehell?!” hecried and rubbed at his head. Who knew spirits could get injured? 

As he was mopingabout, he heard the door click open and immediately ran off to hide himself,only to realize that he probably couldn’t be seen anyways. So he settledhimself back at the top of the ceiling, watching as a male nursed entered theroom. 

Jason hummed aloudto himself as he narrowed his eyes at the nurse, checking him out. His body wasfucking fine, muscular and toned in all the right places. Hecould just tell he worked out seeing how those biceps fit firmly into his shirtsleeves and his chest protruding out just slightly. And not to mention he hadbeautiful dark hair, looked soft and silky. He was sure he was good-looking aswell and as if to answer his speculation, the nurse turned around to faceJason’s body, revealing his face in full view to Jason’s spirit.

As expected, he washandsome with sun-kissed skin and pretty blue eyes, a masculine and finejawline with a beautiful pointed nose. Soft yet sharp features, enough to beconsidered a 'pretty boy.’ Yeah okay, he was definitely apretty boy and Jason was kind of sad that he couldn’t exactly interact withhim. Since he was a damn ghost, er, spirit actually.

“HeyJason,” the nurse spoke and that sent a shiver down his spine. He wassurprised he could feel such emotions, couldn’t help but be attracted to thisnurse of his. How silken his voice sound, fluid and gentle. And then when hesmiled, oh fuck, it was blinding and Jason couldn’t handle itanymore. He flew right towards the male and hovered in front of him, eyesleveling down at his name tag. 

“Dick,huh?“ Jasonmurmured to no one but himself.

Dick said nothing,hadn’t heard him speak and continued his check up on Jason, examining all hisvitals and running a hand through his hair, touching his forehead to check histemperature and all that other boring medical stuff. When he was finished, hehuffed a heavy sigh and placed the clipboard he’d picked up back at the end ofthe bed. "I hope you wake up soon,” he murmured, giving him one lastglance before he left the room, closing the door shut.

Jason decided tofollow him. Besides, it’s not like he had anything else to do.

Honestly hefelt like a bit of a stalker but well, since no one knew that he existed orcould actually see him, he didn’t feel so bad. Jason trailed behind Dick,watched closely as the man greeted everyone that passed by him, all theemployees of the hospital and even the patients. The expression on his face wasalways kind and soft, genuine.

As he turned thecorner, he bumped into a young boy and swiftly moved to catch the kid by thewaist, preventing him from falling on his butt. The kid’s eyes flickered at himand his lips tugged into a wide smirk.

“Grayson,”the boy said in a familiar tone.

“HeyKiddo!” Dick greeted excitedly and wrapped his arms around the kid,pulling him into a tight hug. “Come to visit me?”

The kid scoffed.“No, I came to visit father,” he muttered, but there was a slightpink crawling up his cheeks, and Jason suspected that he was embarrassed.

“Okay. Say hito B for me then.” Dick then gave him one last hair ruffle, which the kidtook with an immense pout, and let him go.

Dick continued onhis way and weaved through a bunch of patient rooms, checking on them and eventaking the time to chat them up a bit. Jason observed him in curiosity and forsome odd reason, found himself a bit smitten with the nurse. He was justso nice? With the way he treated others, always patient andwore a smile on his face. He was respectful and if someone got a bit out ofhand, like typical people were and whirled up a complaint, he handled itcalmly.

Though Jason didsee him retreat to the break room to cool off, huffing a breath and drinkingsome water to calm himself. So at least he had a method of de-stressing.

After he finishedvisiting his round of patients, Dick went to the bathroom and oh–Jasonshould probably stay out. He patiently waited for Dick to do his business andthen followed him back to the break room once again.

“Hey, so I’moff in about 15 minutes,” he spoke to a ginger-haired woman with rimmedglasses as she was typing away on the computer.

“Cool, be sureto sign off. See you later boy wonder,” the woman smiledteasingly and waved at hand at him as he just rolled his eyes in amusement.

Boy wonder eh?Seemed like they knew each other, quite familiar too. Jason wondered abouttheir relationship, but didn’t have time to think any further about it as hewas whisked away by Dick, floating behind him as they headed towards the lockerroom and oh–he maybe shouldn’t be in here.

But he couldn’texactly turn around and just back out of the room when he found Dick undressinghimself. Had his fingers curled around the hem of his scrubs, tugging it up andover his head and then tossed it onto the bench. And Jesus Christ,his back was damn beautiful with those fine curves along his muscles and god,he just wanted to run his fingers, following the lines that adorned his back.

Technically hecould and maybe he might just try it since it’s not like Dick would feel themand it’s not anything bad. Really, he’s just going to touchand then be done.

So he did. Jasondrifted closer towards the man until he was hovering just behind him, eyesstaring straight at his back and felt a lump caught in his throat as heswallowed. Dick was preoccupied with digging around his locker for a shirt andgod damn, the man was messy. His things were all over the place and nothingseemed to be neatly organized. Though that wasn’t a concern of his and returnedto his immediate task.

Hesitantly, Jason’sfingers hovered just mere centimeters away from Dick’s back before he drew upenough courage and pressed against it. Only to find out, well, he couldn’tactually touch or feel it and it just went right through. Figures. Hewas a damn transparent spirit after all. 

Jason sigheddisappointingly and swiped his fingers through Dick once more to pull back tohis side and saw the man shudder.

“It’scold!” he exclaimed and swiftly slipped on a shirt as another shiverrippled through his body.

Oh. Did that havean effect of some sort? Maybe it felt like a wind was blowing by, similar towhat he’d seen in movies. Maybe those movies were slightly real, well at leastsome aspects. Jason was tempted to try again but restrained himself, didn’texactly want to torture the man too badly.

Dick finishedundressing, slipped off his pants and god damn, what kind of nurse was he thathe had such a defined and toned body? His legs were beautiful, lean yet thickin just the right places and okay, that ass. He’d noticed thatass earlier and it was plump and round, but firm and Jason just wanted to copea feel. Not that he could. Violation of Dick’s rights anyhow, but he couldadmire it from afar. Not to mention it was kind of cute that the man worebriefs with tiny little bats on them. 

Dick put on someloose joggers and then zipped up a thick hoodie. He reached for his bag andstuffed his scrubs in there before he grabbed his keys. And then he left theroom. Jason followed him all the way down to the parking lot and watched as heclimbed in the car and drove away. He wanted to follow him home, but well, hesupposed he couldn’t exactly leave his body here so he retreated back to hisroom. Found his body lying there just as he’d seen it in the morning.

Maybe he couldattempt to sleep and hopefully his body would come through from the coma. Hewas looking a little bit scrubby now with some hairs growing on his chin andhis hair looking a bit oily for his taste. Ugh yeah, hopefully he could knockhimself out and come too.

Jason settledhimself on the nearby chair, attempting to lull himself to sleep. If spiritscould sleep.

Okay so spiritscouldn’t sleep and he’d been wide awake for days now, had just been hanging outin his hospital room or exploring other places. At least during the day hecould entertain himself with Dick, and that never got boring. He noticed thatthe man would visit his body once a day and greet him before he checked up onhim.

It was kind ofstrange because there seemed to be a bit of tenderness in his eyes every timehe looked at his comatose body, like he knew him. But Jason was sure he didn’tknow Dick from anywhere and this was the first time he’d seen him.

Well he couldn’tfind out too much from being a spirit since he couldn’t quite ask questions, sohe just passed the time by being Dick’s personal stalker. And the more time hespent around him, the more he grew fond of the nurse. He was just sosweet? Good? Nice? Jason didn’t know but there was justsomething about him that was attractive. Like the way he smiled. The way heseemed to always put his all into his job, and how he’d look forlorn when he’dfound something wrong with his patients. It was endearing.

He kind of wishedhe’d just freaking wake up soon so he could talk to the man. It’d been about aweek since he’d somehow extracted himself from his body. 

Nighttime had felland Jason hovered before his body, eyes squinting and staring at his pale self.Damn, he looked gross. He was kind of tired at this point of being a freespirit. Couldn’t do much besides observe people and things while he spent hisnights restlessly. It was getting eerie and he was kind of freaking out that hemight just stay this way. He needed to get back into his body and soon.

So he tried oncemore to jump back in, but it rejected him, bounced him right out and Jasonhuffed a sigh. 

Come on. 

Maybe if he triedto sleep it off again the next time he’d wake up back in his own body. He hadto at least try.

There was a hand onhis forehead, soft and warm, a little bit rough around the palm, but it feltcomforting and he sighed contently as he relished in whoever’s touch it was. Hefelt the hand leave his skin briefly before fingers trailed gingerly down his cheek,a bit ticklish and he almost let out a giggle.

Who the heck?

Jason drew in abreath and slowly fluttered his eyes open. Immediate brightness struck hisvision and he hissed from the sudden intrusion of light chasing away thedarkness. It was blurry and he couldn’t quite see, had to blink a few times ashis vision slowly focused in. Eyes rolled back and he titled his head slightly,felt the hand that’d been touching him jerk away. Heard someone gasp softlybeside him as he turned to place his attention on them.

It was an angel.

“Oh,” theangel murmured, pretty blue eyes wide in astonishment. “Oh—um,” hesaid again and pinched his brows in concern.

“You’repretty,” Jason whispered, mind a little muddled from his deep and longsleep. He couldn’t really remember much and it was kind of hard piecinginformation together, but the first thing that came to mind was that whoeverwas standing in front of him was pretty and it just rolled off the tip of histongue.

“Uh,”Dick stuttered and flushed. “Thanks?" 

For some oddreason, something was drawing him to the man and he couldn’t but be attracted,felt like he knew him when he really didn’t. This was definitely the first timethey’ve met, but there was just something about him that he kind of liked and itwasn’t just his pretty face.

"We should um—weshould call the doctors,” the nurse, whose name was Dick as Jason had readhis name tag, said. 

“Wait.I,” Jason said and damn his voice was groggy, sounded like he hadn’t spokefor days. “I—Who are you?”

“I’m yournurse, Dick,” he explained and smiled gently. “You were in anaccident and ended up in a coma. It’s been a few weeks now.” And then hesighed gently, eyes a bit glassy as he gazed down at Jason, seemed a bitrelieved at the fact that Jason had woken up. “I’m glad you’re fine.”

Jason blinked,confused at the statement, but there was just something about his expressionthat read a little deeper than a simple nurse taking care of a comatosepatient.

“Do I knowyou?” Jason questioned. Maybe they did know each other and he wasforgetting from his coma times.

Dick chuckled alittle. “No.” Oh, well that’s strange.

“But—”Jason started and Dick hushed him.

“I knowyou, but you don’t know me,” he said and brushed a strand of hair back outof Jason’s eyes, thank god because it was annoying but he couldn’t feel anyenergy in his arms to do it himself. “We um–we met briefly at a coffeeshop. You accidentally took my order and then got me a new one. It was onlybrief, but I just–I don’t know. I remembered you when they brought youin,” Dick explained, nibbled on his lips in anxiousness

“Oh,”Jason said and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to recall that memory. It wasslowly coming to him, and there it was. He did remember doing that,accidentally took someone’s drink, drank it, and then got called out by Dick.Initially thought ‘what a douche’ only to realize he was the real douche. So hetreated him to a coffee and they talked briefly. He was left with theimpression that Dick was handsome, but didn’t think too much of it since he wasin a bit of a hurry. So that was all lost and forgotten.

Until now that Dickhad rejuvenated his memories.

“I kind ofremember now,” Jason said and wow, that smile, so brightand genuine, was memorizing.

“I’mglad,” Dick said gleefully, lips curved in a pretty smile.

Jason hummedsoftly, also glad that he was able to meet Dick again because fucking, he wassmitten for sure.

“I’m going tocall the doctor,” Dick said and reached over his head to push a button onthe headboard of the bed. “In the meantime, let me check yourvitals.”

He could checkwhatever he wanted and Jason wouldn’t mind, but maybe he’ll reserve that tohimself. “Sure.”

“And…”Dick whispered ever so softly, the color on his cheeks deepening a shade.“We can get coffee after you’re discharged. Um, together. Whenyou’re better of course.”

Jason quite likedthe sound of that and smiled. “Sounds good.”

Now he just had to get himself out soon enough to take Dickout on that first date.

[carbonjen]

So for a prompt cause I'm feeling some angst. What if Dick was the one that died and came back? Similar scenario in Dick not being avenged and I'm sure he'd be angry but not Jason angry cause Dick isn't like that but he's still mad. And Jason (who looked up to Dick and loves him and they had a bit of interaction before his death) does whatever it takes to convince Dick to come back to the family?

I really think this is a super fun idea. It puts all the characters in such interesting positions and it’s fun to explore how different Dick’s motivations would be from Jason’s, especially with how he would want to handle things. 

Back from the Dead

Jason still remembers the day Dick Grayson died because it was the day part of Batman died too. Jason had watched through the camera in Bruce’s cowl as Bruce went off to Blüdhaven and dismantled the gang that had worked with the Joker to kill Dick Grayson. The Joker had been sent to Arkham with almost every bone in his body broken. He’d watched as over the next week, Batman took down every big crime syndicate in the city and drove the fear into them so hard that no major crimes happened in Blüdhaven for three months. Bruce never killed anyone though, something that surprised Jason to no end. 

Bruce was extra hard on Jason and Gotham in the next few months, often training Jason so hard he wouldn’t even be able to go out on patrol. Jason would go to school the next day sore from a rough night of training only to go back to the manor and do it all over again.

The problem was, Bruce didn’t get better. He had been a father figure for Jason until Dick passed, after that, the relationship between them had grown painful and oppressive. Jason escaped to the titans but as soon as he turned 18, he went off on his own, creating a name for himself as the Arkham Knight. 

Jason had tried settling in Blüdhaven, but Bruce had kicked him out of there so fast, Jason had seen stars. Soon there was a new Robin, Jason had made a name for himself in Crime Alley as the silent protector and life was finally starting to feel like it was going uphill. 

If Dick Grayson had ruined it before, Jason should have known he would ruin it again when he returned in a red Nightwing suit. 

Bruce had thought it was a ghost at first, but after Jason had seen him, he met up with Tim, the new Robin. 

“He’s back,” Jason said, sitting across from Tim in the corner of a small coffee shop. “Bruce wasn’t seeing things, but he can’t handle this on his own. You and I are going to look into this ourselves and we’re going to try talking some sense into Dick. Bruce can’t know until we’re sure about what’s going on. Best case scenario, we get him to come home. Realistically, I’d like to chase him out of town and we won’t tell Bruce. Worst case scenario, Bruce finds out we were hiding this from him and he never forgives us.”

Tim thought for a long moment. “I’m in,” he said with a firm nod. 

“Wait, really?” Jason asked. “I thought you’d be against this.”

“This could be the one thing that truly drives Bruce crazy,” Tim said. “If it’s really Dick and if B finds out about it, he won’t rest until he has Dick back and we don’t know what Dick has planned. If Bruce did this on his own, he’d be reckless and make mistakes. I’m in.”

They’d strategized for the next few hours. After seeing Dick, Bruce had been scouring Blüdhaven. 

“If he’s smart,” Tim said. “He’ll avoid Blüdhaven, knowing Bruce will search there. He’s probably set up in the one area of Gotham that Batman leaves alone.”

Jason smirked as the puzzle pieces came together. “Crime Alley.”

That night, Jason went out with a plan and his heart nearly stopped when he saw the flash of red in the skies. He’d been right. It left him breathless for a moment. Dick was still alive and Jason would be the first one in the family to talk to him. It was an immense amount of pressure, but Jason knew he could handle it. 

Jason landed behind Dick on a rooftop. 

“I was wondering who would find me first,” Dick said. His voice was a little deeper, but it was so achingly familiar that Jason forgot what he would say for a moment. 

“Well, Batman is kind of being kept in the dark on this one, so it was going to be me or Robin.”

Dick shook his head. “I can’t believe he still has one. I have to admit, I’m impressed neither of you ended up like me.”

“He was manic,” Jason said. “Pretty much every criminal in Gotham and Blüdhaven know that if you touch a bat, you don’t come back from it.”

“Unless you’re the Joker,” Dick replied. “I don’t know what kind of messed up person it takes to keep letting the Joker go out like that. You and I both know Batman has the technology to stop the Joker for good without killing him, but I don’t know why he’s still out there.”

“Robin and I have a theory,” Jason said. “It’s messed up. But we think Batman needs the Joker the same way he needs a Robin.”

Jason didn’t know what happened, but in the blink of an eye he was on his back, Dick on top of him with an escrima stick at his throat. 

“Don’t you dare say that,” Dick hissed out at him. “Don’t you dare say he needs that piece of shit the same we he needed me or you. I know what the Joker means to Batman, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think he should still be allowed to play his fucked up little games.”

Jason held his hands up in surrender. “Fine, okay, I get it. I agree with you. Why do you think I’ve been forced into Crime Alley, huh? I tried to leave, but Batman got so freaked when I tried that I was forced to come here. Your death doesn’t mean nothing. It means he fights harder to make sure one of us won’t die because of it.”

“I was going to ask you to come home,” Jason said. “But now I see that’s not going to work. But I will ask you to stop playing with the Batman otherwise he’s going to drive himself crazy and end up in Arkham right next to the Joker. Either get out of town or confront him and let him know why you’re upset. Playing these games with him stops him from taking care of real crimes in Gotham.”

Dick pulled the escrima stick back and Jason took in a breath. “How are you alive?” 

“Long story.”

“I’ve got all night,” Jason replied. “And my apartment is nearby.”

“Fine,” Dick said as he straightened, not bothering to help Jason up. He took off in the direction of Jason’s apartment and Jason followed behind him, not at all surprised that Dick knew where he lived. 

When they got back, Jason took his helmet and the bulkier pieces of his armor off, Dick staring at him the entire time with caution, like Jason might call Batman at any moment. 

Dick looked the same, a little older, but he still had the pretty face that Jason remembered lusting after as a kid. His hair was a bit longer, but it still had the characteristic little wave that Jason had always admired. Jason wondered if is eyes were still the same shade of blue, but Dick kept his mask on and his muscles coiled, ready to escape at any moment. 

Jason sat on the couch and looked at Dick, waiting for him to talk. 

“When I died,” Dick started, sinking down next to Jason. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but apparently, there was some weird universal anomaly where someone punched a small ripple into the universe and I was brought back to life. I don’t remember much from when I was revived, but I remember digging my way out of the grave. Talia al’Ghul found me and dipped me in the Lazarus pit to heal all the damage that had been done to my body. 

“When I woke up, I was at the League of Assassins headquarters and I was told that as payment for reviving me, they wanted me to join them. It was the only way I could get out, so i completed their training and then left. It took a few years for them to let me go, and when they did, I came back here to confront Bruce.

“The issue,” Dick sighed and looked down, taking off his mask and tossing it aside. Instead of the clear sapphire blue Jason was used to, Dick’s eyes were a bright turquoise, a perfect mix of the blue and bright green of the pit. “Is that the pit can kind of take over sometimes when you’re upset. Sometimes I’d be out and the pit would take over and I’d...I’d come to and there would be blood on my hands and I...I killed people, Jason. I went against the one thing I was never meant to do. I killed people.”

Jason reached a tentative hand out. Dick had always been a sucker for affection before he died, but now, Jason had no idea how he’d react. Jason placed a gentle hand on Dick’s shoulder and Dick melted into him, body pressing to Jason’s. Jason wrapped his arms around Dick and he rubbed Dick’s back as Dick cried. 

“I don’t want him to kill the Joker,” Dick told him. “I just want him to make it so the Joker can’t hurt anyone again.”

Jason nodded. “I think,” he said carefully. “Bruce won’t want to be the one to do that, but I think Tim and I are on the same page with you on that one and we can help you do whatever you think needs to be done to stop the Joker from hurting people without killing him.”

Dick looked up at him, eyes red, making the green stand out. “You’d do that for me?”

“Dick, I don’t know if you ever figured it out, but I would do anything for you.”

“Are you saying you had a crush on me?” Dick asked, small smirk on his face. “Little Wing, that is so cute.”

“Yeah, well look at you,” Jason said, cheeks reddening. “It’s kind of hard not to have a crush on you when you’re so damn pretty.” Jason looked anywhere but at Dick, well, he tried, it was hard when Dick was practically on top of him. 

“Jason,” Dick whispered. “You do realize you’ve grown up to be quite the looker yourself.”

Jason laughed. “I see you still use super weird terms, like ‘quite the looker’.”

Dick shut him up by pressing their mouths together and Jason was still for a moment as he processed the fact that his previously dead, incredibly hot, predecessor was kissing him. 

Dick pulled away a few minutes later, leaving Jason panting lightly and looking at Dick with wide eyes. 

“So do you think telling Bruce can wait a few days?” Dick asked. “I think I want to catch up on things a little bit before I talk to the family again.”

“Uh, yeah,” Jason said with a nod, knowing exactly what Dick was implying as Dick’s hand ventured downwards. “Yeah, I’ll tell Tim and he’ll make sure we’re safe.”

“Good,” Dick said. “Because there’s a lot of things I missed.”