#but there is a MARKED difference in the bruce wayne we see with jason

[mangoisms]

there is something so incredibly interesting about this conversation and alfred’s view of bruce wayne and batman… i typed out the entire convo so its all under the cut because it's a Lot (that way no one has to read through the panels themselves. but also after this There are my Thoughts. which there are many)

Alfred: Perhaps it is less than a tragedy that Bruce Wayne’s affairs, for once, have displaced the Batman’s obsession. Bruce: What do you mean, Alfred? Alfred: Sir, forgive me for saying this, and understand in advance that I have had the pleasure of knowing no man more admirable than yourself… Bruce: But—? Alfred: But… Well, sir… As much as Gotham could not survive without the Batman… I doubt the Batman could survive without Bruce Wayne. Bruce: Have I been neglecting my personal relationships that much, Alfred? Alfred: Certainly not with me, sir, and not really with young Jason—but insofar as the Batman must take up much of your time, it is inevitable that Bruce Wayne’s affairs should suffer to a certain extent. You relationship with Miss Vale in particular— Bruce: Yes, I know I’ve been neglecting Vicki—but ever since taking on Jason, my time has been— Alfred: I fully understand, sir, and with luck, so does Miss Vale… But my meaning goes beyond such details, however important they may be. Bruce: And in the larger sense…? Alfred: By his very nature, sir, and necessarily to ensure his success, the Batman is a… a creature of but one overrriding emotion… Supreme outrage. Alfred: His consuming need for justice and retribution is the very factor which encourages his success. Therefore Bruce Wayne represents your positive side… The full spectrum of all your other emotions. Bruce: And I should pay more attention to those other emotions—even when I’m not forced to, as in the current crisis involving Jason? Alfred: It may be selfish of me, sir… Alfred: But I was never more proud of you than when you momentarily ignored the Bat-Signal to concentrate on Jason’s plight. Bruce: And as an ironic result, both Jason and Bullock were almost killed. Alfred: I admit there is that lesson to be learned as well, sir… But the Batman truly is a creature to be feared—even by yourself in the dark corners of your own soul. Without Bruce Wayne’s compassion to balance the Batman’s obsession… I fear the night-creature would devour your very heart. — Batman (1940) #377 

that last part especially is just so interesting. just because i feel it’s so different now?? like how bruce views himself, how everyone else views himself, where we are at the point in which batman is the true persona and bruce wayne is the fake one. like that one panel of diana, clark, and bruce with diana's lasso of truth where they introduce themselves and give out their real names but bruce's answer remains 'batman,' clearly implying that is how he truly sees himself

which i know, i think it was from the new-52 reboot of the league, so whether it was even any good is another question but i do think on the whole, dc has really pushed the whole bruce wayne is the fake side, the batman is the real one and it's not... bad, i guess. but i really like this interpretation so much more? where they are two sides of the same coin? you can't have one without the other and as alfred is saying, you shouldn't

in a way, i think what we have of bruce right now kind of proves alfred's point in how bruce would be consumed by his mission as batman if he neglected the other side of himself. i'm SURE it was not intentional on dc's part and they were trying to lean more into a grittier version of him and emphasize the batman side of him more for the audience but i also think it's what led to the deteroriation to him as a father? like a child - like jason here - doesn't need batman, he needs bruce. and i feel like we do see what happens when they get batman instead of that (like tim and cass; though it is received very differently since tim needs something else but takes it anyway and cass truly doesn't know any better and idk its that post about how bruce enabled her and saw himself in her and YEAH)

and i mean yeah, keeping in mind this is pre-crisis but still. did all of this happen because of jason's death??? maybe so. maybe so. i wanted to say no initially but it really is so impactful for him because like... that was his son. so i do kind of feel like it's safe to say that when jason died, this bruce wayne died alongside him too. idk if any of this makes sense but. yeah. yeah. yeah

[bitter-hibiscus]

bear with me as I overanalyze Jason's grave

there's like, a lot to talk about when it comes to Jason's grave, but let's start with the most important part: The casket.

The difference between a coffin and a casket is that a coffin has six sides, while a casket has four. However, the context in which caskets started to be used serves us great narrative purpose. Caskets started being produced, in America, during the Civil War, as a way to "beautify" death. See below:

It was the violence combined with the scale of death that led to the ‘the beautification of death’ in America during this period, and it was the shift in both name and shape of the coffin that was an effort to distance the living from the unpleasantness of death, and the hexagonal coffins were part of that distancing.

Many early American caskets were still six-sided, but noticeably grander. It’s almost as if the coffin was too honest, too basic and unrefined. The change in name from coffin to casket reinforces this point, as ‘casket’ calls to mind a vessel for storing precious goods, a euphemism, yes, but seemingly also a mark of intended respect. For Americans, the idea of a casket seemed a more appropriate term to honour their dead. (From Coffins to Caskets: an American History by Sarah Hayes)

So, a casket is used in an attempt to honor the dead, and, most importantly, to take away the ugly parts of how those soldiers died in the War. The casket is an attempt to sanctify the dead while omitting the context in which they died, and what they'd died for. *

Another thing that stands out to me is that Jason's grave has an angel statue. Jason's statue, specifically, is a praying angel. Praying angels symbolize that the buried was deeply religious and devoted to God. It's interesting that that pose was the one chosen, since there are poses that symbolize heartbreak, and ones that symbolize people who were "gone too soon" and were "innocent and pure". It feels pointed, then, that the angel Bruce had commissioned is one that symbolizes faith and being guided to the afterlife. Could be extrapolated to mean that Bruce saw Robin as a follower and a believer instead of a child, someone who would always need the guidance of a higher being (such as Batman).

Lastly, Jason was buried in the city graveyard, and not the Wayne Family graveyard. I personally like to think that this serves two purposes -- one, to have Jason's grave in the same place as his parents', and two, to distance Bruce from Jason's death. Bruce regularly visits Thomas and Martha's graves, they're literally buried in Bruce's house. But we only see Bruce visiting Jason's grave once, on his 18th birthday, though it's safe to assume he at least visits Jason once a year.

It also works to say that though Jason is part of Gotham, but he's not part of Batman's mission. While Bruce constantly uses his parents' deaths to fuel his mission and his obsession, he does the opposite with Jason. It's not Batman who failed, it's Jason who was careless, it's Jason who disobeyed orders and went against what Batman told him to. So he doesn't get to be in the family cemetery, because Bruce can't use his death to fuel his bad behavior. *P.S.: Batman Annual #25 uses the word coffin, but shows a casket. Caskets are more widely used in the USA, so I'm choosing to believe that Winnick just doesn't know the difference between them.

[toulousewayne]

Beyond the Bat: Pt I 🦇

So I read a story a couple of months ago. It was about Terry McGinnis searching for and bringing all that Batboys (Ex:Dick,Jason,Tim, and Damian) back to the manor as an aging Bruce Wayne begins to die. I liked the story and premise of it. It made be think of stuff I wrote a long time ago and maybe I could write something similar but different. Especially with a reader instead of Terry. So let me know what you think. ;)

Batfamily x batsis!reader

Synopsis: Three years since Bruce’s disappearance, and with all of Batman’s former Robins gone, Gotham is under protection of the Batwoman, but she will need help to take on one of Gotham biggest Civil Wars ever.

—————

A seasoned and experienced Vickie Vale comes on the screen of a television. “It’s been three years since the mysterious disappearance of Billionaire-Philanthropist Bruce Wayne, Wayne was on a flight to Shanghai for a business trip when the flight was thrown off course. Still to this day the flight, crew or Mr. Wayne have been seen. Wayne Enterprise Chairman Lucius Fox released a statement.”

—

“Today marks three years since Mr. Wayne disappearance. I-I was originally supposed to born the plane but Bruce…he felt that he needed to go instead.” He swallows,” After consulting with authorities and with permission from the Wayne Estate I come before you to declare Bruce Wayne as dead. Normally this is something done after seven years,but the family has asked for this closure. We respect their wishes. No further common.” He leaves as several reports and journals ask question after question.

——

Vickie returns, “This was from the press conference earlier today. A private memorial service will be held for Wayne early next week. We from the GCN family as well as Gotham Thank you for your contribution Mr.Wayne and may you find peace wherever you are. I’m Vickie Vale and have a good night.”

————

Gotham City was a sea of old rotten gothic buildings and shiny overgrown skyscrapers. Gotham had been the early stages of becoming more a city of tomorrow. Though the plans had fallen without Bruce. Most of north Gotham was now being rebuilt and renovated, the lights of the older city still shinned just a light more dim due to the new LED light that consumed the night.

Sirens filled the night and busy traffic and honking on every corner. Three squad cars fly down the road chasing after two armed trucks.

Gunfire rings the night and civilian duck away from the street.

“Pull over! This is GCPD!” The cars race onto the bridge and barrel pass cars causing some minor accidents in its wake.

“Lenny,should we stop?” A rookie driver swerves from running into a gas truck. The goon beside him pulls off his skii mask and takes an assault rifle.

“And risk getting thrown into a cell, I’d rather die than let the boss know we got caught, keep drivin.”

Lenny takes the gun and starts firing towards the squad cars. Taking out of the tires causing it to crash into a three car accident.

“Pigs, still too slow for Rupert Throne men.” The car speeds up and then faint sound a ringing as the goons look at each other.

“Did you hear that?” The car jerks as they’re rammed into. “The fuck?”

The turn to see the Batmobile flying towards them.

“It’s the fucking Bat!” The driver floors the gas and takes the exit into East Gotham. The take a sharp turn and rush down the road.

The Batmobile rams into the truck again and the driver runs over a bus stop and light rail.

“Do something!” He shouts. Lenny takes the gun and fires at the car. The bullets fly off the car without a scratch.

“Shit.” The car speeds besides them and slide swipe the truck. It barrels over the Batmobile and crashes into a store front. The goons groan. Lenny takes a pistol and leans out the window.

The Batmobile is parked on the other side of the room but it’s not moving.

“Where’d he gooooooo-“ he fires the gun as he yanked from the window and the sound of punches and grunts are heard. The lanky drive makes a run for it but only get five feet before his foot his tied and he pulled across the ground and pulled up toward the truck.

“Help!!”

The figure leaps down and towers over him. It draws closure until the grab him by the shirt.

“Where’s Throne?” A gruff female voice snarls.

“Look-lady I don’t know.” He punched in the stomach.

“I won’t ask twice.” She grips him tighter.

“He fled this morning, we were supposed to take this stuff to the docks and that’s it I swear.” He cries.

Batwoman grins, “That was so hard was it.” And she punches him in the face knocking him out cold.

Squad cars and a transport truck arrive seconds later. Another black Police van arrives and Commissioner Barbara Gordon wheels her way to the scene.

“Another one of Throne men?” The older woman pushes her glass up. She huffs, “Any word on where he went?”

“He’s left this morning, knowing him he told his men one place and went in the complete opposite direction.” Batwoman holds a phone out and hands it to the Commissioner.

“You think he’d left something at his mansion, he’s not a sharp as he used to be. He’s getting sloppy with his trails.” She turns in her chair as Batwoman hoped into his car.

“I’ll find out.” The car raced down the street towards the outskirts of the city.

“Alfred.” Alfred appears on the screen. He’s more weather and more grey than normal but the older man is still able to assist anyway he can.

“I see you have stopped the stolen goods from reaching the Harbour, I take it as that will conclude your night?”

“Not likely, Rupert Throne’s men said he fled town this morning, any activity on his bank accounts, or the offshore ones?”

“You’d think a man of his age would learn to stop his shenanigans,but I digress. Three days ago $100,000 was withdrawn from his checking account. Nothing sense.”

Batwoman nods, “I’m heading to his house, Barbara thinks he’s getting sloppy and I agree.”

“Very well ma’am,I will be here if you need anything.”

——-

Batwoman drops down in front of the doors to the office and pushes it open. She swiftly moves inside and feels the air is stiff.

She scans the room and sees that it looks slightly messy. Papers scattered around the room and desk, the fire is long gone and it’s cold. The chairs at pushed to the ground and safe is wide open. She glides to it and scans it.

“His finger prints are recent. At least..three days old.” The glances into the safe to find it empty.

She worlds around the find the door toward the hallway ajar. She ventures into the dim hallway. She turns a corner and is shocked at the scene before her.

“Agent A, I’m sending live footage to the Batcomputer.”

“My word, it’s a massacre.” The hallway is full of Throne’s men dead, blood, painting the marble tiles and splattered across the walls.

“Who could have done such butchery?” Alfred asks. Batwoman check the body of one of the men.

Batwoman stands up,” judging by the smell of decomposing and state of the bodies the time of death was 72 hours ago.” She passed by the remaining bodies until she comes to two large wooden doors with blood splattered and a dagger embedded in it. She pushes it and across the room his the master bed with Rupert Throne’s body.

“That smell, he’s been here for just as long.”

“Dear Lord, and no one knew.”

She scans his body and finds a large gash in his chest.

“He was stabbed with a sword.” She scans his hand and find gun power. She finds the gun on his bed and she able to tell he used it.

She looks at the door and sees blood. She scans it and it doesn’t match the blood from the hallway or Rupert’s. She finds a blood trail the leads to the balcony. Old bloody bandages are found along with the bullet.

“Seems like whoever was there wasn’t able to do the job without getting injured. I can’t track any blood trails it been to long and the rain has washed it away.”

“I’ve already notified Ms. Gordon she’s in route.

Batwoman looks toward the city across the bridge. “Something’s missing Alfred, and I’m going to find out.”

——-

The Batmobile races through the waterfall and down the platform until it stop. Batwoman climbs out and takes the lift down toward the Batcomputer where Alfred sits and the computer with a cup of tea.

“And how was the rest of the night ma’am?” She pulls off the cowl and pushes her dark locks from her face.

“There’s assassins back in the city.” She begins typing and pulls up the three other crime scenes.

The two look at each one. A victim with either a single large gash or several closely net ones are the on the screen.

“It’s not the small killer, the one that killed Throne and his men are different than these three. These victims were struggling and suffered. Throne’s was quick.”

“As quick as having a sword shoved into your chest can be I presume.” H sips his tea and stands with his cane. He moved quietly as he always did but a little more slower.

Y/n sighs, “Is he awake?”

Alfred stops at the elevator and nods. “He’s been up for sometime, I’ll prepare breakfast.”

Y/n stands up and was to the display cases. All different suits.

Starting with a few of Bruce’s old suits, then the original Robin and Batgirl suits. Finally she stops at of last suits. Bruce’s last suit was in mint condition as he left it.

She turns to the empty case and start placing her gear in it.

—-

She emerges from the office and ties her hair up waking into the kitchen.

“Mommy!” A little boy with brown hair and blue eyes smile with syrup all over his face. Y/n wipes his cheeks and smiles.

“Did you sleep well?” The five year old boy nods while eating his food.

“Finish up so I can take you to school.” She walks toward Alfred who’s making a plate for her.

“It still feels weird to leave her sometimes.” She takes the mug from him as well and sips on her coffee.

“Master Bruce wanted to be sure you were safe while he was gone. I don’t think he indeed for it to be permanent but he enjoyed the company as do I.” Y/n rolled her eyes.

“If you say so, though I will say we enjoy it with you Alfred. Even considering the circumstances.” Alfred gives her a weak smile and begins washing dishes.

“I guess most Assistants don’t get his kind of attention, or is it due to the fact I keep Bruce on his toes.”

Alfred smiles, “It had been sometime since someone annoyed him the way you did, and I think it loved having someone to color with again.” He glances at Rowan who has finished his food and brings the plate to Alfred.

“What do we say Rowan?”

“Thank you Alfie.” He sings. Alfred smiles warmly at the kid.

“You’re very welcome, now run along and get your shoes so you can go to school.” Rowan runs out the room and Y/n hums.

“These Assassins, do you think they killed Bruce?” She asks. The room is still.

“I don’t know, but I must say I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ll contact Ms. Gordon and see if she has any information.”

Y/n places her mug down and walks to the foyer where Rowan has his shoes on with his backpack.

She slides into her sneakers and grabs her keys. “Let’s go kid.”

———-

After dropping off Rowan Y/n pushed through the doors of Wayne Enterprises. Some of the staff waved at her while some held other emotions.

She walked past the front desk and into the elevator towards the top floor. She is met the receptionist Sara who doesn’t look up from her computer.

“Good Morning, do you have an appointment with Mr. Fox?”

“Really Sara.” The ginger grins and looks toward the woman.

“How are you hun?”

“I’m good, about as good as anyone.” The double doors open and Lucius waves her inside.

“I’ll talk with you later.” Y/n walked into the large office where Lucius turned to an old chest table and unlocked hidden elevator. They take it down in the underground bunker.

“So what have you crafted this time?” She grins with her arms crossed over her chest eyeing the new prototypes.

He nods takes a blue batarang, he throws it and it instantly electrifies the dummy.

“Fancy.”

Lucius picks up a device and hands it over to Y/n. “This was something Bruce wanted crafted, I’m still getting it fine tuned but it’s useable. Alfred filled me on our new decline of population use it and it will instantly capture and give a small concentrated burst of energy to those wrapped in it. Should help should you get out numbered by assassins.”

“How thoughtful, I appreciate it. Though I’m sure you giving me new tech isn’t the only reason you wanted to see me so soon. What’s going on?”

He takes a seat and sighs. “Bruce’s memorial is next week. They’re gonna be some changes with stuff around here. Now I’m not leaving per se but with him…gone. My attention will need to be focused more on the business side for a while. I’ve asked Luke to come home he’ll be helping craft some more stuff for you while I’m busy.”

She nods. “I understand, I appreciate you still being able to help.”

He gets to his feet slowly, “My kids now I’d never leave this unless I died. But with his services coming there are something’s that will change for you too I’m sure.”

“I asked what will happen to the manor and the cave. Alfred it’s not just his decision,what does that mean?”

Lucius nods, “Bruce’s son will have to decide what will become of his estate. And they’ll all have to agree,not sure how that’ll go.”

The exit the elevator and the office returns to normal. “Let me know how the device works.” Y/n thanks him before leaving and returning to the manor.

She immediately enters the cave, where Alfred is waiting.

“Ms. Gordon is on the line for you.” Y/n sits her purse down and answers.

“What’s wrong Commissioner?”

“You’re not gonna believe this, the mayor was just killed in his office. How fast can you get down here?”

———

Batwoman emerges from the corner of the office. Barbara looks frustrated as the CSI team dust for prints, take pictures and exam the mayor’s corpse.

“When did you find him?” Batwoman strolls toward the body as a few tech move away.

“Just after lunch, his wife found him.” Batwoman scans the body. She notices the same claw marks and a golden dagger imbedded in his chest.

She takes it out and glances at it. The craftsmen was old but it was just as good as if it was made yesterday.

She returns to the Commissioner who she shows the blade to in a clear bag.

“I’ve never seen it before, can’t say it isn’t something new for use.”

“I don’t think this is a common killer this is the work of something more sinister.” Barbara nods and something catches her eye. It’s a small piece of paper with the same dagger holding it into the wall.

Batwoman takes it and unfolds the paper. She read it and turns to the Commissioner.

“I have to go.” Before Barbara can question her she’s already gone from the balcony.

——

As nightfall begins to sit in Batwoman lands on a rooftop of a hotel with the red neon lights of the building flashing.

She scans empty rooftop and comes to a stop, she dodges left as three morning stars are sent flying. She throws smoke and evades another wave of the weapons.

She backflips from a sword attack and disarms the person causing them to stumble. She begins to fight the ninja and is hit a few times.

“You are no match for me, impostor.” She spats. The ninja kicks Batwoman back and she stumbles giving the ninja time to drive a dagger into his thigh.

“You are nothing like your Predecessor. He was a lot more quicker.” She kick Batwoman who punches her in the side.

Ninja regains her balance and glares at her. “You’ll pay.” She picks up the sword and turns to the her.

“Who are you?” The ninja draws her blade at her throat.

“I am apart of the League of Assassins those who don’t want to be apart of the sorry and pathetic League it as become. Me and my faction are purists who only serve Ra Al Ghul and we will complete his mission. Neither you or this court will stop us.”

“What—court.” The ninja chuckles, “You don’t know, the Court of Owls. Your predecessor was on to them before they killed him. They will try to take Gotham back but we will defeat them, we already have the last known location of the Pits something they can’t recreate, they’ll to will bow before greatness—

Batwoman knocks the woman down and disarms her once more. The two are in a fight for the sword and Batwoman pulls the Assassin way and pulls off her mask.

The woman has a short black bob with a white strike throw her hair.

“Who,are you?” Batwoman huffs. She yells as a dagger is driven into her back.

“Mistress are you hurt?” Another assassin yanks the blade out of Batwoman.

She grins, “I am.” She gets her feet. “My name will be the last thing you hear before the poison kills you, I’m Nyssa and don’t worry about Gotham I’ll take good care of it.” And true to her wound everything went blurry and fuzzy. The last thing Y/n felt was hot then cold and everything faded to black.

————

The flashes of light, sound of being and muffled voices come in and out before slowly Y/n wakes up in the cave to the faint beeping of machines. She sits up and groans as a hand is placed on her’s.

“Barbara?” The older woman nods and squeezes her hand.

“Are you alright the poison nearly killed you?” Y/n tries to sit up but is pushed back down by Barbara.

“You need to rest, Leslie and Alfred worked on you for hours to make you stable you need to give your body time to heal.” She offers her a cup of water which Y/n takes in on gulp.

“Who got me off the rooftop?” Her voice is gruff.

“No, Alfred called in some help.” They both turned to a woman Y/n never wanted to see, at least she hoped.

“Hi kitten.”

“Hello,Selina.” Barbara wheeled out of the room and Selina drew closer taking her spot.

“Alfred called me, he was worried. I happened to be back in—“

“…I don’t care why you’re back, or what you’ve come to steal. I don’t want your help.” Selina kept a somewhat vague smile.

“I understand you hate me for leaving you-“

“My entire life was spent in and out of neighbors houses, in the system because you kept getting sent back to Blackgate. You were never there for me, you or my father you talked on and on about. I’m twenty-five and still don’t know who he is or was knowing you. So I don’t need your help. Not now and not again.” Y/n laid back down and grumbled in pain turning to look at her monitor. “You can go Selina.”

Selina nodded and exited the room. A few moments later Alfred entered and sighed.

“Ms. (L/N) You do know the extent of your injury. I needed to remind you what could have happened if Ms. Kyle wasn’t in the vicinity?”

“….”

He sighs,”Very well, while you were done Ms. Gordon and I had to find the Assassin next move. They’re going to kill everyone in their way in order to defeat one another I hate to say it but we do need the assistance.”

If looks could Alfred thought to himself. “I assume you I’m not referring to Miss Kyle, you’re going to need more than one person to help you take on two deadly threats.”

Against his advice Y/n gets to her feet and exits the medical bay and made a beeline for the computer and begins typing away until four files appear on screen.

“He didn’t talk much about them.” She mumbles to herself.

“They all had their own problems and struggles with Master Bruce. But they all knew when he needed the help, I just pray you’ll ask unlike he wouldn’t.”

“Where can I find them,most of these files are four years old and no known addresses for any of them?”

Alfred moved to the side as Barbara wheeled up to the computer and began typing away as if no time had passed.

“Dick will be easy to find, maybe not to recruit. He owns a martial art and gymnastic studio in East Bludheaven. Tim lives in New York he mostly keeps quiet with attending tech events. The others will take me time to find them, they tend to go off the grid.”

Y/n nod, “I drive out in the morning—“

“I’ll take you to Bludheaven myself, I’ve asked Ms. Gordon to look after Master Rowan for a few nights if that’s okay will you?”

Y/n nods,” I’ll pack.”

———

Stepping onto the curb as a sharp wind bits through the air. Y/n pushes open the door into a dojo. A group of kids are doing routines.

She watches for a moment taking in the warm environment before someone walks behind her.

“Are you picking up or are you just here for the classes?” She turns to see a man in his late thirties. Black hair with sliver streaks, weathered features and bright sky colored eyes.

“Barbara wasn’t wrong, you do look the same.” He rolls his eyes and moves past her.

“Adult classes are Tuesday and Thursday, sign up sheet-“

“I don’t need lessons,” she grabs his arm. “But I do need your help.”

Dick removed his arm and turns to her slowly, almost as if his gaze his scanning her from head to toe.

“So,” he leans in a lowers his voice, “Your the new Rookie.” He smirks which in turns makes Y/n scowl.

“I’ve been at this for three—“

“Try a few decades. Look I know about you you’re not the first detective and probably won’t be the last. But I’m done with capes, cowls and spandex I left that life and I left Gotham.”

He walks past the students with Y/n following him.

“Look I don’t know what your relationship with Bruce was like-“

He scoffs and sits at his desk, “Be thankful for that.”

She narrows her gaze at some photos. Some with other boys younger than him and some of him younger than that.

“I came here for help for Gotham, you know as well as I do that Bruce cared about his mission. I’m not asking you to help me for him, but for the people you care about that are still there. For the memories you still have there the good one and the bad ones.” Dick turns away from her.

“I’m sorry but you need to leave, I can’t help you.” He stands up and opens the door for her. She shakes her head and leaves.

“That was a waste of time, think the others will be much help?” She slides back into the car as it drives down the street.

“I can’t say for sure, but I’ve prepared the jet for you, Master Timothy is in New York and he’s attending a gala.” Y/n sighs in her seat.

For the love of God why are your sons so stubborn Bruce?

[bats-and-birds-24]

Chapter 12

Dick could feel a vein in his head about to pop. It was all Bruce’s fault. He knew that people grieve differently, but desecrating Jason’s grave was a step too far. The manor doors opened to reveal an exhausted Alfred. His heart went out to his poor grandfather, who was given the unenviable task of caring for his absolute nutcase of a dad.

“Master Dick, I am well aware that the situation is dire, please spare Master Bruce from the worst of your wrath, he does not know what he is doing.” Alfred pleaded, the tiredness showing in his voice. Giving Alfred a pitying glance, he managed to get out, “I’ll see what I can do Al.” and continued his March down to the cave.

Downstairs, everything was dark save for the examination table, which illuminated an unrecognizable casket. He still knew whose it was though. Resentment burned through him as he remembered how he wasn’t even informed of Jason’s passing until he stepped back onto earth from an offplanet mission. He didn’t even get to see Jason one last time after he passed. The fight afterwards wasn’t fun to remember either. Then there was the Joker, the way he gloated about how hard he hit Jason, the way every fiber in his body acted on instinct, the need for Joker to be nothing more than a bloody splotch on the ground. He took a deep breath, he had work to do.

Pushing aside his stormy thoughts, he made his way next to his mentor, his father, and a man who had, at this moment, completely lost it. “Bruce-” Dick started, only to be cut off by the man himself with a single word, “Look.” The casket was empty. There wasn’t a body to be found. “I, did- did you take him out?” Dick sputtered out, as his heart began to race and his finely honed detective instincts began to kick in.

There were scratch marks and bloodstains on the inside of the coffin, one of the hinges was broken, it all indicated someone clawing their way out. Dick knew that Bruce was deeply flawed, but there was not a snowflake’s chance in hell that he would bury his son while he was still alive.

But the only option left was ridiculous, Jason would have had to have woken up alive, and dug his way up to the surface and left of his own volition. But then again, it wouldn’t explain why his grave seemed undisturbed for so long, and if Jason really is alive, where is he now? Jason was a notable figure in Gotham high society, it would be unlikely for the press to stay silent if they found the adopted Wayne boy who was thought to have died, wandering around the streets in ragged clothes. No, there was something more going on here.

Dick glances at Bruce, the confusion in his face must have been apparent, as Bruce states a single name, and that clears nearly everything up; “Talia.”

It was the only answer that made sense. The Al Ghuls were some of the only people in the world who he knew for a fact that could bring people back from the dead with their Lazarus Pit. They may also be the only people on the planet capable of covering up a crime scene so well that it could evade even Batman’s skills.

In spite of the dark scene in front of him, Dick couldn’t help but feel almost giddy at the thought of his baby brother still being alive. A long dead hope resurrected in him. Jason might still be alive.

He heard Bruce’s voice next to him, “Once the test results on the bloodstains come back, we head for Nanda Parbat.”

Back In Nanda Parbat:

Jason paced around his room, reminiscing about the fiasco that had been their last meeting. He was fully prepared for Tim to decline his invitation, but much to his surprise and relief, he had accepted. He supposed that he could take this as evidence that he didn’t fuck up too badly.

His plan was simple: sit the kid down and explain to him that while he had nothing against him, he wouldn’t be returning to Bruce, or Robin, anytime soon. Being Batsy’s sidekick was fun at first, but as time went on, he started to see the cracks in logic. He wasn’t sure if he had grown out of Robin, or if dying finally made him lose the rose tinted glasses.

He grew up in Crime Alley, the most rundown and dangerous part of Gotham, he knew of many people who would have benefited greatly from a second chance, a tiny bit of grace from the world. But there were also those who were so far gone, that it made little sense to keep them around at the expense of everyone else. He didn’t think that all criminals deserve the death penalty, and even if they did, it shouldn’t be decided by the Feds. But he can decide. He’s died, he’s grown up among criminals, he may not be the smartest kid around, but he knows how to read people.

He can live with being a killer, even if Bruce couldn’t.

Jason ran his fingers through his hair, a faint knock on the door broke him out of his reverie.

It must be Tim, no one else he knew knocked like that. The lower ranked assassins never wanted to enter his room unless they had to, Damian and Cass wouldn’t bother knocking, and Talia would knock once to let Jason know of her presence before letting herself in.

He rushed to the door, “Tim, Come in.” he said slightly breathless, he hoped it wouldn’t show too much.

The kid looked genuinely confused, yet hopeful, “You called for me?” “Uh, yeah, we need to discuss some things, about Bruce, Robin, and some other stuff.” he winced, that didn’t seem remotely friendly, more like a business meeting.

Tim’s heart sank, 'so it was just about Robin.' He chided himself for holding out hope that Jason wanted to genuinely get along with him. 'Jason probably wants me to quit Robin, but I don’t know if I can do that. What if he doesn’t agree with me and gets mad? What would Talia think? How would I get back to Bruce?-' He was rudely brought back down to earth as the door slammed open, revealing two diminutive figures, one in dark green, and the other clad in black.

The smaller of the two, ‘Was that a child??’ had a fierce frown on his face, “Todd, why have you not come to our training sessions in the past few days?” He eyed Tim suspiciously, as if he were the one intruding on their time. The second figure, a petite young girl, looked over curiously and gave him a wave. Good to see that at least one of them was friendly.

The smaller one stepped forward, giving him a withering side eye, “Todd, who is this.” He looked about ready to bring out his wakizashi as Jason promptly shielded Tim. “Damian, calm down, he is a guest of our mother, Tim Drake, the current Robin.” the small child, who was now known as ‘Damian” loosened the grip on his sword. He still gave Tim a severe side eye, but the thought of displeasing his mother put a damper on his stabby plans.

As Tim turned, he could see the black figure next to Jason, despite swearing that he saw her next to Damian mere moments ago. She nudged Jason, who seemed to have a moment of realization. “Uh, yeah, and this is Cassandra, you can call her Cass, don’t expect to reply though since she’s mute. You learn to understand her signs the more you get to know her.” The girl, now dubbed Cassandra, gave him a smile and a thumbs up, which Tim took to mean that he was making a good impression.

“Hi, Cassandra, hi Damian.” Tim could feel the stress melting away from him, it almost seemed like he was introducing himself to a new class, rather than whatever he was actually doing.

[batboysoneshots]

Vampires? (AU)

Hey its been literally months since I updated anything so here is a request.

Request: Can you make a fic where the Justice League realizes that the Bat-Family are vampires (wait and see if you understand me) please

(I literally bought DC VS Vampires (the graphic novel) yesterday)

Third person pov...

The Justice League Watchtower was abuzz with an unusual tension, a palpable unease that even Superman's sunny disposition couldn't entirely dispel.

It wasn't a villainous threat looming, at least not in the traditional sense. It was something far more insidious, something that gnawed at the edges of their understanding of their closest allies: the Bat-Family.

It started subtly, with observations that were too easily dismissed as quirks. Bruce Wayne, known for his nocturnal habits, seemed to avoid sunlight with an almost religious fervor.

Dick Grayson, his former ward and current Nightwing, had a startlingly fast healing rate after a recent encounter with Deathstroke.

Jason Todd, the volatile Red Hood, was seen avoiding garlic bread during a casual pizza night – a detail that, in hindsight, was a glaring red flag.

Tim Drake, Known as Red Robin and his quick strategies, was seen managing to talk down one of the villains thugs from setting off a large bomb.

Damian Wayne, the youngest Robin known for his temper and finest when fighting was seen taking down a man that was three times his size and weight with out breaking a sweat.

Then, there were the whispered rumors from Gotham's underworld. Whispers of a bat-like figure moving with impossible speed, of a crimson streak that materialized and vanished in the blink of an eye. Whispers that were quickly dismissed as the ramblings of paranoid criminals.

This confused and worried the Justice League, "There's something…different about them," Diana had said, her voice low, her brow creased with concern, during a tense meeting in the Watchtower.

At first, the others were skeptical. Superman, ever the optimist, believed there was a logical explanation, some advanced technology or a new breed of Gotham criminal responsible for the strange occurrences.

But Diana's convictions, coupled with the increasing number of unusual observations, began to chip away at their doubts.

Flash, with his super speed and ability to traverse time, was tasked with gathering evidence.

His quick trips to various crime scenes and Gotham's back alleys revealed a pattern—strange bite marks on victims, an unnatural speed during attacks, and a complete lack of any trace of conventional weapons.

The pieces slowly fell into place, building a grim picture that painted the Bat-Family, their own allies and friends, as something far more terrifying.

"Vampires," Green Lantern said, his voice heavy with disbelief. "The Bat-Family? It seems impossible."

His words, though spoken in stunned astonishment, echoed the sentiments of everyone in the room.

Superman then spoke after a moment of silence as the revelation of what the Batfamily where sunk in. "...We should confront them about it...just so we are curtain" he tells them, his blue eyes lookong around at the rest of the heroes.

Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter all give a nod of agreement with the Kryptonians words, the Justice League take the zeta tubes teleporting down into the Batcave.

As the five of them step off their arw greeted with a surprising sight, Batman was sat the batcomputer chair turned towards the Zeta rubes, Beside him stood Knightwing arms crossed as he leant against the chair.

Red Hood was standing in the shadows a book in his left hand that he was reading, Red Robin was sat to the right on the floor tapping away on his laptop.

Robin was infront of the zeta tubes, as if they knew the Justic League would come down to the Batcave, they watch the Heroes as they step off.

Superman steps forward his mouth open to speak. "...Bruce-" He's cut off by Red Hoods voice. "...bets off..you win Dickiebird" came the teens voice as he continued reading.

Nightwing cheers from his spot against Batman's chair. "..Hah! Told you...you three owe me 10 dollars each" he tells his little brothers who each groan and grumble annoyed before digging into their pockets and tossing the bills at the man's face.

Nightwing only grins as he grabs his money, Batman then speaks. "...how did you find out?" He asks the stunned heroes, Flash then speaks. "Well...it all fits in, avoidance to sunlight, speed, strength, fast healing" explains the speeders as they watch the Batfamily infront of them.

Robin speaks up watching the league. "...you aren't as idiotic as I thought then" he tells them as the Bat-Family smirk at being found out, they weren't worried about the league finding out, they just hoped that the heroes would've found out sooner.

Nightwing smirks. "...Any questions?" He asks before they get bombarded with questions from the League which they take turns answering, it was a strange conversation but in the end it made sense why they Batfamily were as mysterious as they were.

The end!

Hoped you liked this one shot so sorry for thr wait I know its been months since I last updated, sorry for any grammar and Spelling mistakes.

Requests are open!

Word count: 875

[messers-moony]

SONG ONE: WELCOME TO NEW YORK | T.D

Pairing: Husband!Tim Drake-Wayne X Wife!Reader

Summary: Tim plans a surprise trip to New York City, its better than he could've ever imagined.

Word Count: 1.4K

A/N: Apart of my new series! The Track list of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) used for imagines of Tim Drake! The master list for this series should be posted soon!

Her hands shook. The ground beneath her trembled due to turbulence. A steady weight of polyester was around her waist, keeping her in place. The plastic tray in front of her stumbled slightly. Her computer screen was trembling slightly. 

Beside her, the sound of clicking was like white noise. He hadn’t stopped since they boarded the jet an hour ago. Star Labs in Central City had invented a new device that Wayne Enterprises was interested in partnering with. Tim had insisted that they fly to Star Labs the next day to discuss details. 

She had rolled her eyes but woke up at eight in the morning anyway. 

The computer in front of her held documents for the fundraising event in Park Row. Jason had suggested they do something small for the kids living in the area. Neither of them had protested. Y/n had begun planning different things to bring up to Jason when they landed in Gotham. It was small things like libraries, small housing units, better convenience stores, and possibly, as a more extensive improvement, a school. 

Her heart was whole. She closed the laptop and let it click shut. Her hands loosened the seatbelt slightly, and leaned her head on Tim’s shoulder. He recognized the motion by turning to kiss her hair. She hummed and closed her eyes, lulled asleep by the plane's rumbling. 

It didn’t feel much longer before Tim shook her awake, “Wake up, we’re here.”

“Mmmm,” She hummed. 

He chuckled, “Come on, wake up.”

Y/n stretched off his shoulder and rubbed her eyes. The laptop was gone in front of her, and her bag was zipped up in front of her. The sun was setting outside the jet window. She went to grab her bag before a hand stopped her, “You won’t need that, come on.”

“What do you mean?”

“Trust me?” 

His smile could’ve stopped the earth from turning. It was close-lipped, and yet it made her heart flutter every time. Tim’s face was soft and kind. It always had been, even through his worst moments. He held himself together like an artist molding clay. He carefully carved every piece of himself together and showed only what he wanted to let others see. 

She could see through it where a tiny mark of imperfection covered every smooth mark. Where someone had molded it too many times, and it became too tender. Where the colors had changed into different ones from trying to cover up past mistakes. 

Tim walked out of the seat and held his hand out for her. She placed her hand in his cold, soft one and allowed him to lead her. He led her to the exit and climbed down the stairs. She followed behind. The air was dry, frigid, and cold. Thankfully, she had a hoodie, sweatpants, and beanie from when they got onto the plane. The dress and heels had been uncomfortable. 

He was dressed similarly. He was wearing an old Bludhaven University sweatshirt stolen from Dick. His sweatpants were an old pair of his, the faded Gotham Academy logo on the top left of the pant leg. Jason’s hand me down converse on his feet and almost falling apart. He wouldn’t throw them away. His grey beanie from Bruce when he had gotten cold as Robin. Yet on his left hand, on his ring finger, held his most prized possession. His wedding ring with the girl he’d love until he died, and he would make sure it wouldn’t be anytime soon. 

“Tim, this is not Gotham.”

He rolled his eyes, “Brilliant observation, Einstein.”

“Where are we?”

“New York!” He exclaimed happily, eyes sparkling, “I thought maybe we could use the night and day tomorrow just to relax.”

“There’s so much stuff to do during December in New York!” Tim continued, “We could go see the Rockefeller Christmas tree, or we could go see the Dukes Heights Holiday lights, or visit the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park-“

She placed her freezing hands on his cheeks, “It sounds lovely, Tim. Thank you.”

He was putty in her hands, “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Tim brushed a piece of hair from her face. His hand lingered behind her ear, and he gently pulled her closer. His lips brushed hers before pulling her closer. Y/n hummed and kissed him back. Tim’s lips were soft and so gentle. They always had a faint taste of mint from his chapstick. He pulled away, “What’re we doing wasting our time up here? Come on, we gotta go.”

Y/n chuckled, and that’s when she realized how far up they were. The jet had landed on a helipad far up in the air. She looked at the view and saw the Empire State Building and the smaller buildings beneath them. Under her feet was an illuminating sign that read Wayne Enterprises. Tim’s hand reached for hers before pulling them down the stairs and into the elevator. 

He pulled her to his chest. Her ear rested over his heartbeat. His hand rubbed her back and the other on her waist while they descended the building. It took minutes because people stopped to enter and exit through their trip to the bottom. Some made small talk with Tim, surprised to see him in the New York office. He had smiled politely and contributed to the small talk. 

They reached the bottom and walked out of the elevator to the outside of the building. There was snow fluttering around them. Some landed on their beanies and the tops of their shoulders. Their hands stayed connected as they walked through the city together. Christmas lights lit up the city at almost every corner, and the ground was covered in little specks of white. 

The night could only be described as magical. They roamed through the city. For once, having nothing on the agenda, just spending time with each other. No interruptions, no patrol, no training, and no people waiting to kill them. It was a smooth night. She could feel her eyes sometimes and see the flash of cameras, but it didn’t bother her this time. She felt proud. 

Because, yes, she was spending the day with her husband in New York City, and nothing could stop that. Not nasty paparazzi, not fangirled crushing on her husband, not the girls that giggled at her as they passed, and definitely not the older adults that glared as they talked too loud. Her heart was content. 

Tim swore he had never had so much fun in his life since chasing Robin and Batman around in the dirtiest parts of Gotham. There was nothing that made his heart feel as complete as the heavy camera in his hands watching Batman kick butt and Robins quips. But right here, right now, his heart felt even more full. His wife a steady weight beside him, her laugh boisterous and beautiful, the flecks of snow in her hair, the tip of her nose turning red. He wanted to marry her all over again. 

They spent the night in absolute bliss. The lights illuminated her face, and he wished he had his camera. However, he knew this memory was too precious to keep in a photograph. He loved photography, but he knew its limits. It could capture a moment, but it could never capture the absolute love in this moment. 

He saw something in the corner of his eyes. His heart sped up with the meaning of it. Purposefully, he led her that way, and she stumbled when he stopped, “Tim, why’d you stop?”

“Look up.”

Her face turned red, “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not,” Tim wished he could bottle the feeling up and keep it for whenever he wanted, “I love you, and I want to kiss you under the mistletoe.”

“Timothy,” Y/n scolded playfully, “You’re a dork.”

He grinned, “Your dork.”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that.” She quipped before pecking his lips. 

Tim watched her pull away, “Nope, not enough.”

He pulled her back tightly. His lips planted on hers, and he let himself have this moment. They weren’t one for public displays of affection, but he wanted this. He wanted it so bad. His tongue swiped her bottom lip, and she allowed it. His body went warm and soft. He could stay in this city forever. He’d leave Gotham forever if it meant feeling this every day. If it meant he wouldn’t have to feel the stress, the pressure, the anxiety. He’d do it in a heartbeat. 

They pulled apart. Her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen, and her eyes sparkling. His pupils were blown large, lips slightly parted, and his nose pink. At that moment, they felt a flash of light. Tim chuckled, and she rolled her eyes playfully. He turned to the man with the camera, “How much will it cost to get that picture emailed?”

[brucewaynehater101]

addon to my ask on if Talia being a child abductor of Jason is fanon or not, we should also take into consideration that "Talia too is a victim of the cult that is the League of Assassins and is neckdeep stuck in it (at the very least mentally) due to her father being the head of it and whatnot" and

"That explains--but does not excuse--her perpetuating abusive cycles and commiting vile acts" are facts that can coexist (apologies if these are fanon and misremembering as well)

I honestly don't know enough about Talia's backstory. I especially don't know the differences between the more racist/sexist characterizations and more accepted canon ones (I've seen some of the gist about how her being a terrible, abusive mom prone to violence for little to no reason being one of the racist ones).

I've also seen that the LoA (or LoS) can have different characterizations as well. There's the ones that are more cult-like with their worship of Ra's and others where their main focus is on "helping" nature (they do this through assassination, corruption, etc., hence the quotation marks. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with their methods, just stating they aren't exactly the "moral" way of doing it).

So, I guess it depends? I'm not the expert on this topic (hence why it took so long to respond), but here's my best guess for now:

Some versions of Ra's dislikes even killing humans and only kills out of necessity.

Other versions encourage his bloodline to fight each other.

Depending on the circumstances, it would make sense for some versions of Talia to perpetuate the abuse/toxicity in the way that she was raised (particularly if she never escapes that environment).

On the other hand, the same thing can be said about the Waynes.

If Bruce is an abusive POS, he might encourage settling disagreements with physical fighting (hence why Dick sometimes hits Bruce and Bruce sometimes hits Dick or his other kids). This notion could be passed onto Damian.

Damian can either be fucked in one or both homes. He could also have two semi-healthy but disagreeing homes.

Anyways, there could be reasons that Talia is characterized as abusive that aren't her fault (such as how the LoA/LoS and Ra's are characterized). She, as an adult, is responsible for unlearning these toxic/abusive ideals. This would be more difficult if she continued to stay wrapped up in LoA/LoS affairs.

It would be cool to see a storyline where she unlearns that shit and tries to cope with her trauma.

[kadencrafter78]

I'm thinking about a reverse Robin's AU focusing on Tim Drake. Because there's one thing I've seen a lot with these AUs and it kind of grinds my gears because it defeats the point of an AU: Red Hood Tim Drake.

One of my favorite things about AUs is the ability to see a completely different timeline because of the initial changes. But people who write these AUs keep making sure the second Robin dies. And it annoys me, so I want to get rid of that plot point.

So from there we have two options:

1. No Batfam Black Sheep

2. Tim leaves without dying

And I like that second idea, so that's what I'll expand upon. So here's a little snippet of writing about it.

Tim was never a Wayne. He wasn't Bruce's son, and he sure wasn't Damian's brother. Damian made sure of that. Tim was Robin because someone needed to be. He was Batman's partner, not a sidekick and not family. He followed Batman's rules because Batman laid them out. They weren't *his* rules.

Tim didn't put in the effort to wonder why he didn't care when the light drained from the Joker's eyes. He put it aside in the moment. It was the Joker, barely anyone would still call him human.

Batman did. He must have, considering the way he yelled while Tim stared at him with unblinking eyes. "He killed my father," Tim said to justify it. "He took the last family member I had." Tim's eyes furrowed as he stared up at his partner.

"Killing is wrong," Bruce told him. Bruce talked to him like a child. Tim always hated that.

Tim walked away, with Bruce screaming for him to come back. Tim didn't listen to him.

Years passed with no sight of Tim Drake. H head just disappeared. Batman found a new partner, Jason Todd. Batman's family grew. More sons and more daughters came into the fold and soon after joined the family business.

Tim looked down at Gotham with a scowl in his assassin's attire. Nothing had been done, not truly. It was marginally better, and people were less likely to be murdered in an alleyway. But aside from the Joker, none of the criminals ever stayed put away. It was still an onslaught of costumed and empowered criminals only dealt with by other slightly less insane people in costumes.

Tim leapt down as he saw the Penguin leaving the Iceberg lounge. He sprout out a blade from his bo staff and felt it cut through the criminal's flesh with ease. Tim dodged the gunfire of Penguin's antiquated umbrella and laid a few more marks into the older man. One more stab and the Penguin would be dead.

Tim heard Robin from rooftops away. It didn't take much effort on Tim's part to hear him as he fell to the ground with a clumsy landing. Tim looked back at him with vague recognition, having seen Batman's new apprentice in the newspaper.

Tim paused as he looked on at Robin. "You're here to stop me, aren't you?" Tim asked, feeling as if he already knew the answer.

"Please just put it down. I don't know what he did to you, but he doesn't deserve to die," Robin told him. This kid really was new.

Tim took that moment to make the final stab into the Penguin. He fully turned around. He pointed the staff threateningly at Robin. "Don't try to interfere again."

-------------------------------------

That was just what I imagined for a reverse Robins AU. Obviously Jason's name is up to change, because neither Tim nor Damian were Robin in this AU. What Tim was is still up for decision in my mind.

[msfcatlover]

@alycat76​ : Can you give me the low urban fantasy AU? 

YES! YES I ABSOLUTELY CAN!!! Ah, you have no idea how much I love this one!!!

Okay, so! This AU was actually born directly from my frustration with a bunch of Urban Fantasy AUs (and original stories, if we’re being real here.) Namely, that those stories will so often be like, “These magical beings are very, very rare,” and then the entire cast will be mystical beings of one sort or another. And I was like, “You can totally tell an engaging story in a world like this with an almost entirely human cast. You don’t even have to cut out the magic element or fun world building!” (And yes, that first part does accurately describe my Monster!Kids AU. Shhhhh, let me have my hypocrisy.)

I wanted to do that, and my brain is 90% Batfam brainrot right now, so here’s what I came up with.

(CW for minor mentions of sickness, canon character death, and child abuse. Bruce is not the abuser, for the record. But mentions are there. Also, Jason’s body is not restored to its pre-death state, and I do describe some of the things that would’ve been done to prep him for his funeral.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Very first point: Bruce’s tie to Gotham is more than just his love & dedication to his city. The Wayne family are supposedly one of the oldest families in the city, and of those old families they’re possibly (I’m still a little unclear here) the only one not tied to the Court of Owls? They’re the ones most dedicated to improving Gotham and ending its corruption, anyway. So let’s do something with that, shall we?

The Wayne bloodline has a bond with the city. Some might call it a blessing, some might call it a curse. The eldest member of the family is a Fisher King; the health of the Lord is tied directly to that of the city. When the Lord is sick, the city suffers; when the city suffers, the Lord feels its pain. And for generations, the head of the family has near-always been ill. Bruce has vivid memories of his father retching over the toilet, or calling in sick because the trembling was too much for Thomas to risk operating on patients (they are, depressingly, some of the most vivid memories Bruce has of his father.) As a member of the family, Bruce could see the marks just under his father’s skin, from ink-black to bruise-yellow and every sickly color in between, that nobody else seemed to see (Zatanna did, and she was the only outsider to assure Bruce he wasn’t crazy over it, but there’s only so much she could do for him.) It was terrifying for a young boy to see his father so ill, but Thomas promised Bruce that even though it was a “family condition,” Thomas & Martha were working on it; Thomas promised his son that by the time Bruce had to worry about it, they’d have made enough progress that Bruce would hardly even notice it.

Of course, that’s not what happened. Thomas was actually feeling well that night, better than he had in months, and wanted to go out to celebrate. Martha chose the restaurant and Bruce chose the movie. And maybe, if Thomas had kept feeling well, if he hadn’t had to stop to catch his breath, if the family hadn’t stepped into that specific alley to avoid blocking the sidewalk... maybe things would’ve been different.

When Thomas Wayne breathed his last, his son collapsed under the weight of Gotham’s rot & suffering. Joe Chill assumed the bullet must’ve passed through one of the parents to hit the child, and fled in a panic.

The hospital could find nothing wrong with Bruce, but he saw the understanding in Alfred’s eyes when he arrived and the first thing Bruce said to Alfred was, “I think I’m dying.”

(In most legends, Fisher Kings cannot leave their homelands. The Waynes are slightly luckier, but the longer they are away, the more they... fade. Energy seeps out of them slowly, color leaves their skin, no amount of sleep is ever enough, and they eventually need to return to Gotham to recharge. Bruce’s record is 3yrs, and the doctors shipped him home basically in a coma.)

(Bruce swore he would never have children, never pass down his bloodline’s curse to an innocent child who should not have to carry it. He got a vasectomy as soon as he legally could. Needless to say, he was furious Talia would go so far as to create a clone-son for the two of them, violating both Bruce’s right to choose and cursing Damian to carry on that line of suffering.)

Bruce learned his city & body well enough that he can use it as a map. Not a map that would make sense to anyone else (street corners that are directly adjacent to eachother might be on completely different parts of him, like one on his ribs and the other behind his knee.) During the day, he uses his resources to try to treat Gotham’s suffering preventatively, going after unjust rules & systems, weaving a new security net for Gotham’s underclass, etc. At night, his methods are more surgical, cutting out the tumors & rot, while also taking the time to help as many individual citizens as he possibly can.

As the legend of the Batman grows, reality starts to bend ever so slightly under the weight of it. He jumps further & more accurately than a man of his bulk should be able to, can always find the perfect corner to hide in, always has something to grab when he falls off a building.

Despite all the suffering Gotham causes Bruce Wayne, he still loves his city. And the city loves him back.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Second point: Dick Grayson is human, and he doesn’t exactly have any magic of his own. It’s... I’m calling it “being a conduit.” Basically, Dick resonates with any magic in his vicinity. He’s very sensitive to the presence of magic, to the point of it being basically a sixth sense, and on an instinctive level he attunes himself to any natural or environmental magic around him. To a very limited degree, he can even take on a few traits of what that magic is, but not... he can’t tune into a fire spell and burn you with a touch, but when he’s resonating with Gotham, he is slightly more resistant to poisoning.

It’s much, much rarer than being a magic user (though many magic users do eventually become conduits through sheer exposure,) but in the same way having perfect pitch is different from being able to sing.

...I’m making it sound so much more powerful than it actually is here. The main benefit Dick gets out of it is that when he attunes himself to any given city, the city will treat him as a native and most citizens just passing him in the street will assume he is too (this does not affect his ability to, say, speak the language or change his accent, it’s just his “vibes,” if that makes sense.)

As far as story goes, this means Dick can see Bruce’s curse-marks despite not being a member of his bloodline; if they’re in contact with eachother, Dick can even very faintly feel what the city is inflicting on Bruce at any given time. (This scares the absolute bejeezus out of Bruce when he realizes, as he immediately assumes he misinterpreted the curse, and “bloodline” just means “family,” or even “household,” and he’s cursed Dick as well just by offering him a home!) It also means that as soon as Robin becomes part of Batman’s legend, Dick can benefit from the city’s protections just like Bruce does.

It is, in fact, Dick who causes Bruce to realize there’s something more than just good luck happening, when Robin is thrown off a roof but fortunately finds a pole of some sort hidden by the building’s shadow to kick off from and make it to the next one over (this also triggers a rumor that Robin can fly, something Dick is more than happy to lean into with some tailoring on his cape, and yes, he does move even better & faster as a result.) The thing is, Bruce is certain there was no pole there, because he would’ve incorporated it into potential escape plans. And when he finally has the time to go back & check, after the fight is over, after Robin is safe... he’s right. The alley is empty. There’s no pole, no pipe, no nothing. But Dick definitely kicked off of something in mid-air, Dick’s not a metahuman or a magic user, he can’t double-jump or anything. Dick himself insists his foot just caught the top of a thin, flat cylinder, no more than two inches wide, just barely enough to jump from; Dick’s even pretty sure he saw the pole when he glanced behind him, sticking up out of the shadows. Nothing weird at all, except for how it doesn’t exist.

(When Jason dies, Gotham’s grief is strong enough to feel it all the way out in space. Dick doesn’t understand the heavy feeling in his heart, nor the sudden urgency to get home. He tells the other Titans to just drop him off in Gotham, but the closer they get, the worse Dick feels. When they actually break the city limits, Dick just melts into tears as Gotham’s pain howls through every inch of his body. Donna calls ahead, more than a little panicked, and nearly gives Alfred a heart attack with how worried & hesitant Donna is to just straight up say what’s wrong with Dick. She offers Dick the communicator, saying it’s Alfred on the line, and Dick snatches it out of her hand to ask the only coherent word any of them will hear from him for the rest of the day: “Who?”

When Alfred answers, Dick just... breaks. Right there in front of them. He’s trying to say something, something about that being wrong, something about having plans, but he can’t deny what he’s feeling, and he can’t seem to get the words out.

The Titans land in the Batcave, and refuse to leave. Fuck Batman’s rules, they’re not abandoning Dick... and Dick isn’t the only one who didn’t get to say goodbye.)

(Bruce & Dick still fight about it terribly once they’re finally alone. Bruce never once raises his hand to his son, but Dick tries to reach out to him, to touch Bruce’s hand and resonate, to literally share his pain, and Bruce jerks away saying, “Don’t, it’s not---”

Dick stares in shock & horror as both of them silently complete that sentence: It’s not real. If you asked Dick right in that moment, he’d say striking him would have hurt less.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jason was human, fully human, with nothing special about him at all. Well, except for how Gotham loved him even more than Batman. The resonance Dick needs to wrap himself up in for Gotham to accept him, Jason has it echoing in his bones. He’s one of Gotham’s truest sons, he’s part of that city, and the city is part of him.

It’s not Superboy Prime’s reality breaking punch that brought Jason back from the dead. I... Look, I wrote a little nursery rhyme to explain it, and I’ve no idea if it’s any good (but it can’t be any worse than the Court of Owls’ rhyme, which has just a few too many syllables in certain lines for me to find whatever rhythm it’s supposed to have.)

Take me home to Gotham If I die far away Put me in her soil In a shallow grave

I don’t belong in Paris Or under London Town Don’t bury me in Tokyo Put me in Gotham ground

If you lose me out at sea In storm or dark of night I’ll swim back home to Gotham I’ll just follow the lights

Don’t send me off to Moscow Or drag me down to Rome I’m Gotham born and bred, my friend I only rest at home

Oh, take me home to Gotham If I die far away Put me in her soil In a shallow grave

I don’t need no tears or funerals Don’t miss me every day For I’ve come home to Gotham And right at home I’ll stay

(As far as most people are concerned, that’s where the rhyme ends. This next part is less well known, in-universe.)

I don’t want no fancy coffin Just put me in the ground Dig a hole on old Park Row And don’t let me be found

My soul belongs in Gotham She knows me blood and bone There is nowhere else that I may rest I’ll only toss and moan

But I’ll rest well in Gotham For two years and a day And if I’m feeling up to it I might even awake

So take me home to Gotham If I die far away You know I’ll only rest in peace In my shallow grave

...Yeah. This actually leads to a few traditions very specific to Gotham, like lighting a candle on someone’s grave on the anniversary of their death to help “lead them home,” or sitting vigil by their grave for the first 2-3 anniversaries. Lots of people don’t even know it has anything to do with this rhyme, it’s just part of Gotham’s culture.

Bruce & Dick of course know the whole rhyme and fight not to get their hopes up on the 2nd anniversary (have you seen that one post where Dick goes to smoke a cigarette for Jason on his grave, chokes on the smoke, and then Bruce shows up and they just silently share it? Yeah. Those vibes. Big those vibes.)

They made one crucial miscalculation, though: they calculated when Jason’s return would theoretically be from the time he died, not from when he was buried. Jason claws his way out of the ground just a day or two after they leave.

Now Jason’s a full-on undead revenant. In exactly the same condition they put him in the ground. He has embalming fluid in his veins, and wires holding his broken bones together. His mouth was sewn shut. But he’s not braindead, he’s fully aware, so enjoy that nightmare fuel for your near future! Additionally, people can’t seem to recognize him as being out of place; he’s walking around in his funeral suit, covered in dirt, and hardly anyone gives him a second glance. He doesn’t register to people, just a face in the crowd, just another part of Gotham, and it’s... Look, Jason’s not complaining that he’s not being arrested or having people run screaming at the sight of him. He can’t even say they’re ignoring him because people will still look up, say their greetings, whatever when he walks through a door, or grunt when they walk into him. But something about the way people brush past him, the certainty nobody will remember him after their interaction is finished, hurts.

(The only way for Jason to be remembered, to leave an impression on the people around him, is to become part of a legend once again.)

Revenants come back for a reason, and Jason’s is to kill his murderer. But he’s part of Gotham proper now, and unlike Bruce, Jason can’t leave. He tries to, he drives all the way to Arkham in a hot-wired car, but he’s still a good half mile away before the pain becomes too much and Jason’s forced to turn the car around or risk crashing when he inevitably passes out. This Jason never trains with the League of Assassins, but he doesn’t need to; no Lazarus Pit needed to fix his mind, and his undead body can take a lot more punishment than any living human could.

(I have this mental image of Jason going back to Wayne Manor, right on the edge of discomfort-not-pain outside of the city proper, and needing to spill so many identifying secrets to Alfred to get Alfred to even let him through the door. Bruce is out of the country, so Alfred calls Dick to please come help him verify their visitor’s identity. Dick has no idea who this stranger in their living room is, until he closes his eyes and focuses on the magic. Dives in deep, letting the resonance of Gotham’s soul wrap around him, and is surprised to find it so much clearer & louder than it should be this far from the city’s heart. Louder than it’s ever been since Jason---

Dick opens his eyes, and his breath catches in his throat as he finally recognizes the face staring at him with so much raw hope.)

Anyway, Bruce refuses to kill the Joker even harder when he finds out Jason is back, because he’s terrified that the moment Jason’s unfinished business is done, Jason will go back to being properly dead.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Okay, last stop: Tim! The only member of the family to be fully supernatural, non-human from the start.

Tim is a changeling. Specifically, he’s a fae who was born without the spellcasting abilities most fae have, so he was traded for a human child. Tim has no memory of the fae courts or his home mound, but he’s a smart cookie and it wasn’t hard to do the math.

Tim can’t lie. He has to keep his promises and he can’t help but keep track of debts (the kindest people in his life will give him quick, easy ways to repay them; a cool rock Tim found, or an interesting bit of information. Tim doesn’t like to hold debts over others most of the time, and will offer similar outs or just tell himself the next nice thing they do for him makes them even.)

Tim can’t cross salt lines or thresholds with horseshoes above them.

Tim can’t touch iron or silver without burning his skin.

Eating non-iodized salt makes Tim sick.

If Tim speaks someone’s full name as part of a command, they will do what he tells them to (other people don’t usually realize this, because they aren’t forced violently; their own minds usually try to find ways to justify what they’re doing.)

If someone has a piece of Tim’s body (like hair, blood, or nail-clippings) Tim’s brain goes into panic mode as quickly as if they held a knife to his throat.

Those are the obvious giveaways that point straight to fae. Tim’s inhumanity can also be found in minute details of his physicality.

Tim’s eyes glow in the dark.

The tips of Tim’s ears are pointed.

Tim has never lost a tooth (but his parents had his eye-teeth removed when he was eight.)

Tim’s nails grow in tough & black as pitch. (He’s gotten in trouble many times at school for painting them, despite the doctor’s note explaining it.)

Hidden under Tim’s hair, his scalp grows thick, curved thorns like a rosebush. (His mother sits him down in the bathroom the day before company comes over, and meticulously removes them with a pair of nail clippers. It hurts. They bleed. Tim’s learned not to squirm or show how much he hate it. It hurts worse if anyone messes with Tim’s hair afterwards, but he’s learned not to show that either.)

And, of course, there’s the biggest giveaway of all:

In all Tim’s pictures before the single trip his parents ever took him on (a whirlwind tour of Europe just before his 2nd birthday,) Tim’s eyes were hazel-brown.

They’re blue now.

(Tim tells himself his parents leave him behind and push him away because they can sense something is off about him, but that they don’t know what. He tells himself they didn’t notice when the fae stole their son away, that the real Timothy Drake would’ve grown up doted on & treasured, traveling the world with them, seeing the sights. Tim tries not to think about how Drake Industries was spiraling before they took that trip, or how it stabilized before they even made it home.)

Tim still becomes Robin, barely resisting Name-commanding his way into the role (it wouldn’t be right, it wouldn’t be honest, he needs Bruce to trust Tim if Bruce is ever going to get better.)

Gotham itself sees Tim as an interloper, but when Tim is Robin it can’t do anything about that. When Jason comes back, Tim sets off all his red-flag alarms, and all he can see is an alien parasite trying to worm its way into his family. It won’t be until Jason saves Tim from supernatural poachers who try to torture Tim’s Name out of him (fruitless in the first place, Tim doesn’t know his own Name,) that they’ll be able to move past that. Gotham can project its suspicions & paranoia through Jason, but how Jason chooses to see Tim will also affect Gotham.

(Someday, Damian will find Tim’s eye-teeth and return them to him as a birthday gift. It will be the kindest single act anyone has ever done for him, as Tim feels safe & whole for the first time since they were taken. Nevermind that they’re in a jewelry box and not Tim’s body, he has his teeth back, and nobody can take them ever again.

Tim will struggle to tell Damian that Tim can’t even begin to express how much this means to him. In the end, Tim just tells Damian, “Thank you. I owe you.”

Dangerous words, with no limit on the debt.

Damian will blink, realize what Tim’s answer really means, and scoff. “Don’t be stupid. It’s a gift. You don’t owe me anything, that’s how gifts work.”)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Basically everyone else has the same stories they do in canon, but with a little less dying. I’ve given dying so much more weight in this AU, so like, Steph doesn’t die, Damian doesn’t die, etc.

Damian does inherit Bruce’s curse/burden when Bruce is lost in time, though. Dick helps him learn to manage it, on top of everything else.

[dcu-rarepair]

Day 1 Gifts

Eight fantastic Gifts have been released for Day One! Head to the Collection to check them out, and view the Release Schedule to see what’s in store!

We also have a handy Commenting Guide to help our Giftees with showing their Giftors some love. And now, here’s today’s works: 

Beneath the Skin by anonymous for byrdsofthenyte

No Capes/Demonology AU. Explicit | Rape/Non-Con & Underage Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent/Slade Wilson, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, background Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson It's essentially by coincidence that Tim finds out he has a Gift, and he doesn't even fully realize that he does, same as it was for his mother before him. He also doesn't realize how dangerous it is to dabble in these kinds of things; no one ever sat down and had a conversation with him about it, everything he learnt is self-taught. He doesn't know he can't afford to make mistakes, and inexperienced as he is, mistakes are unfortunately inevitable.

A Certain Indecipherable Feeling by anonymous for Kalinjdra

General Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply J'onn J'onzz/Clark Kent J'onn can feel an emotion from Kal-El that he cannot identift, and that feeling only seems to get stronger the more time the two spend together. Can there be an emotion unique to Human-raised Kryptonians?

girls just wanna have fun and have their funds, right? by anonymous for coolerdazai

Soulmates AU Teen and Up | No Archive Warnings Apply Pamela Isley/Selina Kyle/Harleen Quinzel Selina Kyle does not need any soulmates, thank you very much.

Incentive by anonymous for felinemotif

Explicit | No Archive Warnings Apply Janet Drake/Talia al Ghul "Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll be inclined to let you live this time," Talia proposes. The look Janet gives her is severe, and coy. "Sweetheart, you wouldn't want me this badly if I rolled over every time you asked." "Perhaps you need an incentive, then." "By all means," Janet purrs, words dropping to a whisper as her lips brush the assassin's, "incentivise me."

Magical Kisser by anonymous for classysleuth

Art | General Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply Bruce Wayne/Zatanna Zatara

Souls for Cheap by anonymous for G_of_Thorn

Soulmate Identify Marks Mature | No Archive Warnings Apply John Constantine/Jason Todd When Jason gets a magical injury, he needs the help of an expert. Lucky for him, Constantine is willing to assist. They both get a bit more than they bargained for in the process.

A Taste of Honey by anonymous for RayByAnotherName

Sex Pollen. Dubious Consent. Explicit | No Archive Warnings Apply Duke Thomas/ Damian Wayne 'Afterwards, Duke can only remember fragments - glass sharp, scattered and disorienting. Heat. Pain. Arousal. The bite of vines at his wrists. An ache in his veins like fire, like molten steel, burning him up form the inside. The taste of blood between his teeth.'

A Truth or a Lie by anonymous for Mickidona

General Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply Bea Bennett/Dick Grayson With Ric, though, there was something different. Bea couldn't say want. The way he moved, the way he examined the world around him, his opinions, everything about him was so alien to her. When he'd told her his story she knew it was a lie. Bea Bennett was intrigued, simple and so infinitely not so simple.

[navree]

...at least it's not the snyderverse? i'm trying to remain optimistic. 😣

Confession time, I have ambivalent feelings about the Snyderverse. There's stuff I didn't like but there's also stuff I liked a lot.

For one, I think it had really solid casting. Cavill nailed the look of Superman, J.K. Simmons as Gordon is brilliant, Ray Fisher was really good as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons is brilliant in anything and God almighty I wish they'd kept him for The Batman as Alfred cuz I loved his Alfred, and Ben Affleck is a really good actor and he had some great moments and great looks as Bruce Wayne. The only duds were Ezra Miller, who's psycho, and Gal Gadot, because she's not a very good actress (most of the success of Wonder Woman, which I loved, came from Patty's writing moreso than anything intrinsic in Gadot's performance).

There's also some good ideas and good bones to Snyder's ideas for the DCEU. I like most of what he was trying to do with Superman's origin in Man of Steel, and honestly, Batman's motivation for his conflict in Batman v. Superman makes a lot of sense. Bruce is someone whose abhorrence of senseless violence is the cornerstone of his beliefs; his parents were killed in an act of senseless violence, and brutality for brutality's sake without a thought to consequences is something he fights against at all times. It is absolutely reasonable that Bruce, seeing not only wanton destruction from someone who is making no attempt to mitigate it, and has infinitely more power to do real harm than anything else Bruce has seen, has serious concerns and wants to at least be prepared in case he ever goes rogue, not to mention the movie does give us solid reasons for it to be personal with how he loses people in the destruction of the WE building (and also that scene of him running into the danger while everyone runs away? brilliant). I also like that this is an older, more jaded Bruce who has been distinctly marked by the death of his child and the havoc that wreaked on him (though I don't give a FUCK what Mr. Snyder says, that is not Dick Grayson, when has Dick Grayson ever been the dead Robin, that is Jason Todd, I accept nothing else, it's Jason who Bruce lost even in the Snyderverse). It's canon to the comics that Jason's death made Bruce more violent, more volatile, and actively changed him for the worst in a way that not even Jason's resurrection has been able to fully heal, so that being part of Bruce's issues in the Snyderverse works as well.

And I also want to acknowledge that Snyder has absolutely been shafted by WB. The director's cut of BvS does make more sense and have more to the story than the theatrical version. And then there's the whole mess with Justice League, even though I don't fault Snyder for leaving production due to his daughter's death, and I'm fine with the push to see his version that came out of it, especially given a) how bad Josstice League was and b) Joss Whedon being a shithead in general. And there's the fact that WB was clearly gunning for a DC MCU from the getgo, without understanding that, for all its myriad of sins (and oh boy are there many), that took time, and you really had to build up a lot of those characters individually before slowly mixing them into a shared universe that could be its own entity. WB didn't get that, so demanding a Justice League before we even got solo movies for any of the players besides Superman was always gonna be doomed to fail, and executive meddling can't be laid at Snyder's feet.

And I do want to mention that the Snyderverse had movies that weren't created by Snyder or had much input from him, both good and bad. Wonder Woman and Aquaman, I thought, were great, and those were made by different creatives, and Suicide Squad (2016) was atrocious (though I did like that Affleck was willing to make cameos to lend credence to the universe, and that it had Harley as a participant in the death of Robin, because most people don't really grapple with the fact that, even though Harley didn't exist when ADitF happened, any retcon to have her involved with Joker from the getgo is going to have her as a likely participant in the torture and murder of a child, and it's an interesting way to delve into her character and how her own agency intersects with her being a victim of the Joker's abuse).

But there are some serious, serious issues with the Snyderverse that did make it really hard to root for.

Most glaringly, Snyder has good ideas, like I outlined, but I don't think he's a very good writer. Take, for example, the much derided Martha scene. I get what he was going for, Bruce is lost in rage and Clark's focus on saving his mother not only reminds Bruce that Clark too has people he loves, just as Bruce does, but that he has his own underlying humanity, humanity that Bruce cannot ignore anymore and has to confront, that Clark is more than a threat, but a full person. It's a way to highlight how lost Bruce has become in this mission, and to show how humanity comes from who you are, not where you're from, and that Clark is good to his core in a way that's admired. That's the point of the scene, I get that, I understand it, but there had to be a better way to write it than that. I mean, Hell, just have Clark start talking about "my mother" as Bruce is getting ready to gut him, which can lead to confusion on Bruce's part because "your mother's an alien", which leads to Clark struggling to explain that his mom's in danger even as he's near death himself (and also idk why Lois is there, I love Lois as a character, though I wasn't overly fond of Amy Adams's version despite my love for her as an actress, but she shouldn't be there). But instead we get the Martha thing, and it ends up reading as Bruce realizing, somehow, that there are more people named Martha than his mom, and it ends up reading really stupid. This is what plagues a lot of Snyder's DC stuff, especially in BvS and with Bruce, which is that the ideas work but his execution in the minutia really doesn't and bogs the whole thing down. (I will say that I did like the writing of Bruce in the scene at Luthor's party, especially when he was being sneaky, that was good).

Snyder also is a good director in terms of visuals, very good, I like his visuals in a lot of his stuff. But I don't think he's a very good director when it comes to performances. He can't really pull anything stupendous out of any of his actors. And some people, like Ben Affleck, are good enough that you can still get good stuff from them irregardless, but some of them are not. And Henry Cavill, however much I love him in The Tudors, is one of those actors who does need a director to guide him to give a truly memorable performance, especially if he's as outside of his wheelhouse as he was with Clark. So Clark, who's our first introduction to the Snyderverse and also its emotional lynchpin a lot of the time, falls flat, because Snyder doesn't really seem like an actor's director, in spite of his visual eye.

There's also the killing thing. For one, just off the bat (heh), Batman shouldn't kill. Ever. It is the antithesis to who he is on every level, and there's a reason why he sticks to it so rigidly in comics canon and why any attempt to make him a killer, even via inaction (cough Nolanverse cough) rings false and hollow. For two, Superman is a killer in this universe. Not great, but Superman has killed in the comics too. But somehow, this doesn't really seem to bother him. Clark is, indirectly, responsible for a lot of civilian casualties after Man of Steel, and BvS really should have shown him grappling with that continuously, in a serious way. He's standing as a symbol for hope, he wants to help wherever he can, and there are now scores of people who've left behind grieving loved ones, because of him. It should affect him a lot more than it does, drive a lot more than it does, especially as we watch how those deaths harden Bruce, and yet we don't really see anything from him, and it affects his character. Not to mention it makes him a hypocrite when it comes to Batman. "Oh the Batman branded someone while stopping them from sex trafficking young girls, he's so terrible!" you have literally snapped someone's neck, shut the fuck up. And also, yeah, Clark killed Zod. That should also affect him a lot in the next movie, not just because of how killing and loss of life should affect him in general, but because Clark, a Kryptonian orphan with no connection to his homeland, no people like him, has just decimated the only concrete connection to his home that he has. If BvS wants to highlight Clark's solitude, Clark's loneliness as an alien and how that affects him AND the people around him along with the general populace, his feelings on having to cut off a Kryptonian connection to save human lives should get a lot more screentime.

And, while I do laud Snyder having good base ideas, some of the base ideas didn't work. I understand wanting to shift Lex into being the kind of billionaire most people in the 2010s would recognize as "classic billionaire", make him more of a Zuckerberg or an Elon Musk, but the way they went about it didn't work at all. Doomsday coming in last minute didn't work, having Death of Superman this early didn't work, making Batffleck an angry Batman rather than the sad Batman he was born to be didn't work, Jonathan Kent's death didn't work, etc. And honestly, having it be a Dark Knight Returns adaptation really didn't work. Even beyond the general cultural stuff that influence TDKR, and my issues with it as well as Frank Miller as a creative, the Batman against Superman stuff didn't work in the Snyderverse, because Snyder doesn't seem to get why those stories hit so hard. They work because Bruce and Clark are friends, best friends, closer than brothers, they love each other so dearly and would risk so much for each other, put their lives on the line for each other no matter what, be there at their lowest (there's a World's Finest issue dedicated to Clark trying to help Bruce with the aftermath of Jason's murder, it's really good). Seeing them at odds, seeing them fight, it hurts because we know what was once there, and seeing it fall apart into enmity and violence is painful. Longtime friends turning on each other hurts to witness. It doesn't work if Clark and Bruce don't know each other and don't have any personal connection, because that takes away the edge that makes those stories tug at our emotions.

Like I said, ultimately I'm ambivalent. There's stuff that worked, especially in concepts and in broad strokes, and there's stuff that didn't, like Snyder's writing decisions once detail had to get involved. And between that and the ten million behind the scenes issues, like the studio constantly meddling in everything, like Ezra Miller's issues, like Amber Heard having the nerve to be abused by her husband which got everyone real mad at her because he was popular twenty years ago, it ultimately made the whole thing a giant mess that was doomed to fail, even if Snyder had been flawless (which he really wasn't, but the outside stuff that kept coming up in every single installment certainly exacerbated everything).

I'm hoping the studio backs off Gunn, and that he keeps up his good writing streak that we've seen with stuff like Guardians, and that the decisions I've seen that are worrying me turn out fine (or are at least rectified and dealt with in pre-production why is the FUCKING FLASH DIRECTOR in charge of Batman why God why?????? and also again please don't have the starting Robin be Damian I have strong feelings about that even though I love my dear boy), but it's early so we'll see. Fingers crossed.

[batstorm93672]

What about a story where Damian gets sent to bording school because Bruce can't handle him anymore and sends him without telling anyone. When everyone wonders where Damian is Bruce tells them that he sent Damian to boarding school that's not even in America. No one knew what to do and they couldn't take him out so it went on for years and Damian CD ame back a completely different person and everyone even Bruce was sad that they missed so much of Damian's life and Damianw mad that he got sent away and didn't get to be normal.

Wow okay dude, this is a curveball. I make angst to hurt Damian based on what I know, this is a complete turnaround you're going for the throat. I like that let's get started.

.

"This will be good for you Damian"

"Yeah sending your blood son to a boarding school in a different continent is exactly what I need"

Bruce sighed and rubbed his temple "It's only for four years, I'll see you until then, hopefully they'll help you" Damian scowled and got in the car, crossing his arms and holding the bag full of clothes and other essential items (maybe a dagger or two)

.

A week through and Dick, Jason, Tim, Stephanie, Cass and Duke dropped by for an unprompted dinner and movie night.

"Hey B, where's Damian? I thought he'd be excited to see us, it's been a week"

Three minutes of silence, Tim looked at Bruce, he was... avoiding something about Damian. Narrowing his eyes slightly he stared at Bruce.

"Where is Damian? What are you hiding?"

They all looked up at Bruce with suspicious glances. Dick looked worried "He isn't hurt it he?! Why didn't you contact any of us?" "He isn't hurt Dick. I sent him to boarding school"

Everyone stopped eating, Bruce looked sheepishly away.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"BRUCE HE'S A KID WHAT THE ABSOLUTE SHIT!"

"He was out of line too many times"

Everyone sunk in their seats when the seething rage came off of Dick. "So you sent him, by himself, a child, a raised assassin, someone who has trouble with communication and in general social practices to a boarding school. Where?" "Europe" "YOU SENT HIM TO ANOTHER GOD DAMN CONTINENT BRUCE?! I KNEW YOU WEREN'T THE BEST DAD TO ME AT TIMES BUT YOU SERIOUSLY STOOPED THIS LOW?!" Dick slammed his hands on the table as he stood up "We're leaving. We have to get him back home"

The flight was swift yet the tension could not be more thick as Bruce was the culprit of it all.

"Excuse me, I'm Bruce Wayne. I sent my son here a week ago. I'd like to withdraw him from the program"

"I'm sorry sir, all applications include that the child has to stay throught the entire four years or else it will be a mark on any academic records if he were to drop out"

"Okay, thank you for your time"

Bruce walked back to the others who were sitting in the room over.

"What did she say?"

"He can't come back... he has to stay the full four years"

Jason perked up and slowly turned his head to Bruce "Four... years? You sent him to this thing for four damn years?! Is there any days where he can come back?" "No, travel won't work for students on holidays" "You... no. No I'm leaving"

.

.

.

.

Everyone waited at the airport, things were tense around Bruce and anything mentioning Damian. Finally after four years he was coming back.

Damian looked so much older and a bit taller, his hair was still the same but a bit longer. He was wearing a uniform close to his old school uniform.

"Damian!"

He looked over to them and blinked once then began walking over. Dick enveloped the fourteen year old in a tight embrace. "We missed you so much!" "Thanks, please unhand me Richard. I'd like to go home"

"Yeah let's go"

Damian wasn't exactly the same, he was more open to conversation on many topics which is a welcome sight, but whenever anyone mentioned on how they tried to get him back a week in or how upset they were when they heard Bruce did that he would get snappy and walk away. Titus was a guard dog for him, the poor canine didn't have his owner for four years, he was overprotective on Damian.

At the dinner table Bruce spoke to Damian after two days of finally settling in.

"Damian I-"

"Tt. Only took you two days to talk to me, did you make sure to prepare your speech throught those four years?"

A quiet mumbled "Oh shit" came from Duke as Bruce sighed "I deserved that. I wanted to say I'm sorry. I wasn't fair to you. I didn't try hard enough to connect with you and I regret it"

"I don't care. You were hoping they fixed me and I was alone with no family for four years. Why should I care for your pathetic apology?" "Damian-" "Don't try to save yourself and keep your pride here. I don't give a shit about any of that. I thought that maybe you would take me back before I even got to the airport that first day. Yet you didn't show, next I hear that it took you a week to tell anyone that I was sent to another continent? Not even to mention you took one of the few things that I enjoyed and felt a part of, being Robin"

"I get your angry-"

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE PULL THAT HERO BULLSHIT ON ME! I SPENT FOUR YEARS WITHOUT MY FAMILY AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BE HAPPY? I WAS ALONE BRUCE! YOU LEFT YOUR OWN SON FAR AWAY JUST BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T HANDLE ME?! YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE SENT ME BACK TO MOTHER! INSTEAD I SPENT FOUR YEARS ALONE AND BARELY KNOWING ANYONE! NO ONE LIKED ME, CAUSE A ARAB BOY JUST DROPS IN AND ENDS UP GETTING TOP SCORES ENDING UP WITH ME BEING BULLIED FOR FOUR FUCKING YEARS! And you didn't even care... so why the hell should I care for your stupid apology that you use only because you were caught and called out by the others. I don't care what you have to say. I thought I could be normal with this family, even though I was a brat I thought I could still be appreciated for who I was. Yet you didn't like it, you never loved who I was and you sent me away to "get help" when all I wanted was a family who understood me. Who... even though I was difficult would still care as I did for them. But you don't care. I'm done. Richard, can I crash at your place?"

"Um... yeah, you can"

Damian nodded and glared at Bruce "Don't try to save yourself now, I don't want to see you again. Come on Titus. Pennyworth may you look after the others?"

"I shall Master Damian"

"At least someone in this Manor cares enough..."

Damian walked out and slammed the door, everyone else followed and didn't say a word.

[originaltyphoonkryptonite]

Chapter 20: Time To Talk About Granny Melinda And Her Family

Zella pov

The entire Wayne family, plus Gus, Cippia, Aileen, and me were in the study room either in pjs or sweats. Though I guess the four of us now count as members of the family. Well, I should say the five of us, have to count the baby. It was after the reception which ended after dinner. Aileen was sitting next to Gus on one couch and Cippia was curled up with Damian. Dick and I were curled together on a sofa. Everyone else on chairs or couches.

"So," Gus started to say. "I am guess everyone is here to talk about me having powers and about the girls' grandma."

"No kidding.", Jason snorts.

"Well like I said, Melinda was from a long line of shadow users and each one would get a mark. The mark proved the person had the power."

"You said that is the only difference about her and Zella's power.", Tim says.

"Well I wasn't exactly truthful. Because each shadow user could be put into categories which helped when training for a specific type of job. And each mark was slightly different to represent that type. But they all could bend the shadows to their wills in to objects like weapons or tools. That was consider the basic all must master before discovering their unique abilities."

"What are the categories?", Bruce asked.

"There is Zella's type, which is more or less one with shadows, hence the shadow form, wisps of shadows reacting to the user's will, and traveling through shadows. That was called The Shadow's Shades."

"I see."

"Another type was called Living Shadows. They could make life with shadows. But it wasn't as powerful as you would think. They could only make up to two creatures that are like Cippia but instead are intertwined into their master's shadow and they had to be small creatures. The critters get to a certain size but it was only about 5 ft long as the maximal limit. That was Melinda's powers."

"Really?", I asked curious.

"Yup. They had mind of their own but couldn't get too far from their person before fading away. I believe the limit was 2 miles. The critters also couldn't change shape like Cippia."

"Then why can Cippia?", Damian asked.

"I believe it is most likely that Cippia might have been the test subject that scientist mentioned to Luthor before we rescued Zella.", Bruce said with a thoughtful look on his face. "He may be a mix of the Living Shadow and the same type of Zella to such a point he can change his very body because he is basically in a permanent shadow form."

"That makes sense.", I said after thinking about it myself.

"So what creatures did Grandma make?", Aileen asked.

"Snakes.", Gus says simply.

"Snakes?"

"Snakes. Two in fact. One dark as shadows with red eyes and the other was more of a smoky shadowy with purple eyes. Their body constantly flowing and wavering due to their shadow bodies instead of Cippia's solid one. Kinda like the parts of Cippia that flow at the edge of his fur when he is in his large form."

"Did she name them?", Jason asked as we all looked at him. "What? I am curious."

"Rumplesnakeskin for the red eyed one and Excalibur for the other......She loved fairy tales."

"Was there any other types?", Dick asked.

"If I am remembering what Melinda told me there is two more. The Healers are what the name suggest. They could heal with shadows. The other one, they.....they had a nasty ability...they could kill with shadows.."

"But couldn't anyone with the basics could kill?", Steph asked.

"That may be true but the way they could do it was very nasty. They could kill by absorbing a victim's shadow. Hence the nickname, Shadow Reapers. They could also control people by taking over their shadows."

"That....that sounds horrible."

"Believe or not, they weren't as menacing as their name implies. Their job were to protect the family from people that try to harm the family. So they only acted like that when on duty. Otherwise some of them were the sweetest person you could ever meet, excluding Cinderzella of course.", he finishes while winking at me.

"Gus!", I said as I hid my face into Dick's shoulder as the rest of the family laughs at my blush.

"So they were the rare ones?", Tim asked.

"Nope. Zella's type was the rarest. In fact it was so rare that one was born every few generations."

"So how come Zell doesn't have a mark?", Dick inquired.

"Simple. If one with a mark marries another with powers, any descendant that get powers won't get a mark. Don't ask me why, not even the family knew why. But they could tell they were part of the family by the 'feel of the shadows'. Again, don't ask me, the family just knew. Even if the person had a completely different power, the family just felt that person's shadow with theirs and they would know."

"So is it possible to have a kid with powers if one of the parents doesn't?"

"Well if both parents have very strong genes, then it is guaranteed. If one was strong then it was a 50% chance."

Judging by the look by the way Dick nuzzled the top of my head, he was happy. When I looked up from hiding I did see the smile and he whispered, "Even if the little guy didn't have powers, I'd still love him."

"And how do you know it is a boy I'm carrying?", I whispered back.

"I know."

"So what did the marks look like?", I asked with a blush once again when I realized everyone was staring at us.

"The Healers' looked like a infinity symbol on its side with a staff in going from end to end. The Shadow Reapers exactly the same but with a sword coming through the symbol while it it is on its side instead. Melinda's where her two snakes intertwined. Those with her powers tend to have their mark be of the one or both critters. Shadow Shade's are Zella's superhero costume symbol."

"Had to throw in some family pride?", Alfred asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course. Zella should be proud of her powers."

"Was it possible for one to have more then one ability?", Jason asked.

"More like with enough training, they could learn a bit of another skill set. So for example, with healing one could learn enough to close wounds but couldn't fix broken bones, injured organs, or save someone by feeding their shadow with shadows until they could get proper medical help. Or just heal them themselves. I am not fully sure how they do the healing.", Gus said with a shrug.

"So now that is out of the way, why didn't you use your powers for healing me when I got back from patrol?" Dick whines.

"Because you didn't know about them and it would look weird if I did."

We all laugh at Dick's pout. We then spent the rest of the time talking about little mishaps that happened during a mission. Like Tim getting caught on a giant hook when he jumped down from a rafter to take out some henchmen when he was Robin.

[stnexus]

a toast to you…!

jason todd x black!fem!reader

minors dni, mature audience, suggestive content

summary: jason and his protective nature throughout the relationship amplifies even more when you’re drunk. his desire is not important when you’re under the influence.

cw: language, suggestive content, pretty much fluff, established relationship, one singular smack on the butt, drinking + intoxication, drunk reader, speaks of consent

names used(?): pretty girl, baby, sweetheart, pretty thing, beautiful girl

wc. 2.3k+

tag + note: literally rewrote this multiple times because i was struggling with the wording and pacing. then halfway through the third time writing it i was like this would make a great nye fic. so i started the process of writing it for the fourth time, while drunk (lmao). but ultimately started slacking. then i came along @fic-over-cannon ’s piece which pushed me to finishing, we were literally on the same wavelength i swear — despite our differences in time frames lmfao. there may be a follow up so let me know if you would like a part two. i really hope you all enjoy! i wish you all a beautiful new year’s eve + day.

the cold air of the crisp winter night nipped at your smooth brown skin, snow falling in a cast of white flurry all around you. your eyes felt somewhat heavy as your eyelids drooped — eyelashes fluttering just a bit as you took in the scenery. a pretty toothy grin tugged at your glossed lips. with your head tilted upward, you allowed snowflakes to rain down on you from the night sky. letting them drop down in all their graceful glory and melt into your already-cold skin. the tip of your nose boarding along freezing and your cheeks following suit. though, it did not seem to bother you one bit — your trench coat had long been shrugged off and draped across your arm. something you surely would have been reprimanded for during your childhood.

a giggle full of glee fell from your lips, almost like the joy that followed a child's first sight of snow. it was a melody that jason could never get tired of hearing. he listened intently as he sifted through his keys for the house key. finding beauty in such a place as gotham was your specialty, something that your boyfriend had come to adore you for. you were like a missile, seeking out the light in a dark room. your joy had been buried in studying the little things, then pulling them to the forefront for others to observe. it kept jason balanced and kept him at peace within the realm of gotham.

“now, what could you possibly find funny out here?” jason’s amused question broke the daze you had found yourself in, and he tutted at seeing you bask in the winter air with no coat. although a grin fell onto his face as he observed your happy appearance as he pushed the front door of your home open, the keys in the lock jingling and swaying in the process. a gush of warmth radiated from the gap in the door.

“the snow, jay. it’s beautiful.” you spoke with a slight slur to your words, your intoxication evident on your tongue. the pristine white snowflakes had begun to cling to your blonde-colored fulani braids as you looked at your boyfriend. his eyes took in every movement of your drunken state – vigilant at all times. shaking his head, he pushed the front door open, stomping his black dress shoes against the welcome mat at the front door in order to not track snow into the house.

“so are you, pretty girl. now get inside before you catch a cold to go along with that hangover tomorrow.” jason spoke gently as he grabbed at your forearm, pulling you towards him as he walked you over the threshold of your shared home. “i can tell you definitely enjoyed yourself tonight.”

it was never your plan to drink so much tonight. no, that was not the plan at all when you were told about bruce’s new year’s eve party. this had been your second time attending the event, marking two years since you had begun dating jason. as classical music buzzed around the open floor of wayne manor, you had showed up as quiet as a mouse, shaking the hands of those that spoke to both you and jason. your acrylics played at the emerald-green silk of your maxi dress.

it was not until bruce had spoken to you two that you started to loosen up a bit. taking a drink from his hand as he had welcomed you, then deciding to venture off on your own a bit. jason watched you closely as you admired the manor and spoke with those who approached you. a few times you had been offered more to drink and food as well, and you agreed politely.

jason’s eyes had moved from anyone he had conversed with to you during the party. the bulbs of glowing warm lights highlighting your skin with each movement you made, your dress fell perfectly over you. the cherry on top was that any time you passed by, you left a trail of your signature scent behind; it was like a pathway that he could follow to the end of the earth.

to say he had been stuck on you the whole night was an understatement. he was stuck on you daily — this was something more. he was sure you would drive him mad one day, but he did not think it would come so soon. he shifted on his feet just a bit as he watched the man he had been speaking to bid a farewell, his daze starting to send a wave of desire through him as the night progressed. though he began to push his thoughts down as your pretty eyes began to glaze over due to intoxication — peering at him with a gaze full of adoration.

it was almost twisted, really.

the way he knew you held such love for him. no matter what he had come from, no matter where his faults lied in the past. you had always looked to him like he had hung the moon and the stars — which he would gladly do for you with no questions asked. though, as he heard a small giggle leave your pretty lips, he knew it was time to go. he knew you knew your limits, but he also knew you would crash at some point. then it would be a mess as he tried to get your drowsy self to get ready for bed. 

it had been way past midnight, so guests had begun parting ways. jason watched you closely as you rejected a hand pushing another glass your way. your braids swaying just a bit as you shake your head kindly, the ends of your hair brushing across the cloth of your silk emerald-green dress.

the car ride home was filled with the low sound of the radio. one of jason’s hands splayed over your lap while you fumbled around with his fingers, running your hand over his forearm. his other hand was placed securely on the leather covered steering wheel. he already knew what you were hinting at, but a response of refusal had already begun to brew in his thoughts. it diminished the want that he had felt making its way to the forefront earlier, turning it into absolute nothingness.

your laughter filled the car at random times as you complimented jason a few times throughout the ride. your eyes tracing over his face as he drove, a hand reaching out to brush through his hair at times. the scenery flew by beautifully as you both neared your home. decorations that people had left up after christmas lit up the city.

“but jayyy, the snow.” a whine left your lips in protest as you both took in the warmth of the home. you could hear the locks of the front door slid into place, then felt your trench coat being taken from your hands.

“the snow will be there tomorrow, baby. whining definitely won’t work,” he chuckled as his dress shoes thudded against the hardwood floors as he took them off. watching as you stooped down to take off your heels, stumbling a little as you tried to stand once they had been removed. a gentle yet firm hand was wrapped around your upper arm, catching you swiftly as you were pulled up before hitting the floor. a small yelp of surprise falling from your lips. 

“you’ve gotta be careful, sweetheart.” jason spoke almost sternly with a small frown. pulling you towards him and over his shoulder, he landed a smack on your poked out asscheek. a spill of laughter fell from his lips as he listened to your cheeky protests that followed. he guided you both to the kitchen, sitting you on the marble-topped island in the middle of it.

“we already ate at bruce’s though—” a hiccup cut your words short as you watched your boyfriend drift around the kitchen. reaching into the cabinet to pull out a cup, the glass shining in the light of the kitchen. 

“i’m not getting food; i’m getting you some water. we’ve gotta sober you up.” 

“iamsober.” your words slurred together as your feeble attempt to feign a sober response fell flat on its face. a knowing laugh falling from your lips as your boyfriend’s eyebrow lifted in an amused manner as he filled the cup by using the water dispenser on the front of the fridge. 

“nice try,” jason stated as he neared you once more, hand jutting out to give you the cup. “we’re not going anywhere until you finish.”

“what if i said no?” you bit back jokingly, though the rim on the cup fell to your lips as you began to drink.

“well, we’d be here all night. i’d annoy you until you finished it.” he stated with a matter-of-fact tone. 

“i don’t know if you can annoy me, jason. that might be impossible.” a bashful smile covered your face as you downed the last bit of water in the glass. taking the cup from you and sitting it down, jason found himself standing in between your legs, his hands falling down to rub at your covered thighs.

“yeah?” he spoke slowly as he closed in on you, his face mere inches away from your own. the alcohol that lingered on your breath was still clear to him, and even more so as his lips met your own. your tongue swiped over his lip as if you were asking for permission to deepen the kiss. your hands reached up to play at the hairs close to the nape of his neck. subtle moans fell from your lips and were swallowed by jason, his black slacks beginning to tighten slightly in a certain area at your sounds.

“jason, i want you.” you declared as he had begun to pull away, rejection already seeping out through his demeanor. upon hearing your words, jason took into account once more the alcohol on your breath and the way your eyes held on to a dazed look. as if you were floating. your words were coherent at times but still veered off into a cluster of sounds at other times.

his protective ways are prominent in his actions. knowing you had not agreed to him touching you in your drunken state prior to your outing. your drunken words were of no significance to him.

“you’re drunk. not tonight, pretty thing.” he spoke sternly, planting a gentle peck on your lips as he picked you up once more. carrying you to the bathroom connected to your bedroom. his slacks were still tight in one area as he grabbed at washcloths. making sure to help you secure a black bonnet over your braids. he worked to ignore the cute little pout that sat on your drunken lips as he moved to turn on the shower.

standing in front of you, he dropped the straps on the dress from your arms and pulled it past your waist, watching as it fell in a pile at your feet. reaching for the band of your black lacy panties to pull them down.

“not we gettin’ frisky,” you giggled drunkenly once again. 

“we’re definitely not getting frisky,” jason almost choked in response, grabbing at your waist as you used him for leverage to kick the panties off. helping to remove your jewelry, he ushered you into the shower. “get your drunk ass in the shower, pretty girl.”

looking over himself in the almost foggy bathroom mirror, jason unbuttoned the first three buttons of his black-button up. with a bit of tiredness he let out a sigh as he got undressed, ignoring his dilemma in the process. hoping that it would ease its way down so he wouldn’t have to spend time handling it himself.

the warm white comforter splayed over the bed was like a personal safe haven. you had been covered in moisturizer and other essentials by jason. his hands moving quickly to help you get dressed, tightening around you whenever he felt you were about to lose your footing. your pajamas for the night, consisting of one of his shirts and a pair of underwear. the warmth swarming the house left no fear of you getting sick while covered in your usual nighttime attire.

only a pair of dark red pajama pants hung loosely from jason’s hips as he pulled the drawstrings together to tighten the waistband. the bedside lamp and moonlight that streamed through the window were your only sources of light.

“jason…” you hummed briefly as your eyes locked on to him from your position under the comforter. placed on your side of the bed, his side empty right in front of you.

“mhm,” he hummed while briefly letting his gaze fall on you, then back to the jewelry box that he was putting your belongings into. 

“you’re so handsome,” you drowsily confessed once again, your head placed on the pillow below you, eyes following his every move. watching as a lazy smirk graced his lips — a hand coming up to run through his dual-colored hair. his feet carrying him to his side of the bed. 

getting under the covers beside you, jason pulled you close by your waist. setting a kiss on your lips, he let out a hum when you began to kiss back.

“you are absolutely beautiful.” jason complimented quietly. “my beautiful girl.”

“happy new year,” your words fluttered into a muttered mess as you tried to fight your sleep. eyes becoming heavy with sleep as you move your head from the pillow to jason’s bare chest. a subtle laugh left his mouth as he watched your movements and the way you tried to reject the need for sleep as you groaned a bit in frustration. gliding his hand over your side, he tried to coax you into sleeping.

“happy new year to you too,baby.”

it was moments like these that jason found most intimate. the moments where you both stepped into the unknown, like the new year that awaited you. the moments that he got to hold on to you, while you held on to him. as his hand traced over your body and began to soothe you, he listened to how light snores filled the room. reaching with his free hand to turn out the lamp on the nightstand with very little effort.

[ragingbookdragon]

My Brother's Best Friend Is The One For Me

Wally West x Batsis!Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 3.6K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: Got to rereading my Batsis fics and came across the "What A Flashy Romance" and wanted to do another one with Wally because I love him. Enjoy! -Thorne

Being the middle child and also the only girl in the Batfamily meant two things:

1. She had four brothers that treated her like a porcelain doll, despite the fact that she could throw a punch at 336 PSI.

And

2. She followed an unspoken rule that Dick and Jason’s friends were off limits when it came to dating.

In all, neither of those things were major problems. She’d learned at a young age how to avoid Dick and Jason’s overbearing-protective-brother-modes, and Tim and Damian were younger, so she didn’t have to worry about them. The second one was also avoidable—most of her older brothers’ friends were the same, and she wasn’t around most of them to develop any feelings.

Well, there was Wally, but it was just a crush. A stupid, little school-girl crush—that she’d never really grown out of—that didn’t matter in the slightest. Except whenever Dick brought him over to the house and she had to pretend that sitting next to him didn’t make her heart race like she’d run a mile.

And the most annoying thing about the whole crush is that she couldn’t tell if Wally was ever interested in her or not. Most of Dick’s friends, Garth, Kyle, Roy, they treated her like a little sister—hell, they even said “Love you lil sis!” to her regularly. And yet, Wally didn’t. Now, there was the occasional head pat, but even that was an affectionate gesture that siblings and SO’s did all the time. It was infuriating, and so was Wally—but she was going to sort it all out the next time he came over because the worst thing he could say was “No”, and either she needed to hear that…or “Yes”.

***

Normal Sundays for the Wayne household usually meant Ultimate Waffle Breakfast and sitting on your ass all day until patrol—it was the one day of the week where they could do anything and nothing and didn’t have to stick to schedules. Everyone loved Sundays, especially (Y/N), because it meant that all of her family was home, even Jason (who tried to deny that he enjoyed coming home to hang out, but if that mile long grin was any help, he was lying). And while everyone was home, that usually meant that everybody’s friends were coming over too.

***

She swiped the syrup out of Jason’s hand when he swung it back around, grinning at him when he glared at her.

“I was gonna use that, (Y/N),” he griped, and she shrugged, uncapping the bottle.

She tipped it over and watched the syrup lazily pour out of the container onto her waffles.

“You were taking too long.” Her eyes twinkled with humor. “I guess you were as…slow as molasses.”

While most of the table groaned at her terrible joke, Dick snorted into his milk, causing it to splatter on his plate and across the table.

“Nice one,” he coughed, wiping his face and the dark oak surface.

(Y/N) bowed dramatically. “Well, I did learn from the best.” When Dick’s face lit up, she turned to Alfred and smiled. “Alfie, thank you for teaching me your ways.”

The old butler merely tipped his head, a hidden smile crossing his lips at the way the eldest son’s jaw went slack. She turned her attention to Bruce who was quietly chewing, eyes following along the research paper she’d asked him to check out.

“Dad, what’s on your agenda for today?”

He swallowed and flicked a line out with a red pen, etching his own comment in the margin. “Lucius has a few ideas about some new gadgets he wanted to run by me.” Another line went out. “I’ll call him after breakfast.” Bruce looked at her. “You?”

(Y/N) nodded at the paper in his hands, then slapped Jason’s who was reaching over to take a piece of bacon from her plate. “Waiting for you to finish tearing me a new one so I can redo the paper.” She cut into the waffle with the side of her fork. “Once I salvage what little scientific dignity you’ve left me with, I’ll probably laze around.”

“You mean what you do normally?” Bruce quipped, grinning when she glowered at him; his eyes went back to her paper. “You’re doing well so far.”

She huffed. “Tell that to every red line you’ve marked out in that paragraph.”

He flashed the paper. “I’m writing in the margins how to change it. This isn’t a dissertation, sweetheart. You’re allowed to make mistakes. We all do.”

(Y/N) grumbled as her cheeks warmed and she went back to her plate as the conversation flowed around her.

Most of it was the discussion of what everyone was planning on doing, Damian was going to play video games, Tim was going to join him (which she knew was going to be fun while the moment lasted until the petty sibling rivalry got in the way and their gaming dwindled into a physical fight that she and probably Dick were going to have to break up), Jason was going to use the workbench in the cave to upgrade some gear, and Dick apparently,

“Wally and Garth are gonna come over later and hang out.”

She paused, mid-stab of her fork and looked at up. “Wally’s coming over?”

He nodded. “And Garth. We were gonna go to the mall and get some new clothes.”

Jason snorted, laying an arm over the backs of Tim and (Y/N)’s chairs. “Spending money with daddy’s credit card, Dickie?”

Dick smirked. “Just like you.” Jason merely matched his grin, and while the entire table was cracking up at Bruce’s frown, (Y/N) was silent, heart beating faster at the thought of seeing Wally.

“(Y/N)?” She startled and looked up at Dick.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you were okay. You got quiet all of the sudden.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Yeah, just thought about all of the corrections I’m gonna have to do because somebody CAN’T STOP MARKING OUT MY PARAGRAPHS.” Bruce merely smiled and knocked out another line.

It was a lie. It was the biggest lie she’d told right next to the one she told when Bruce had asked her where she was on prom night her senior year a few years ago—she was totally not saving a different sector of the universe with Kyle Rayner, she was dancing with Sam Reilly all night—she strongly believed her dad knew the truth—Batman knew everything.

Bruce handed the paper back to her and she groaned as she scanned the red lines on every page. It was going to take her hours to go over this.

Jason leaned over and read the title, “Cellular Division and Mutation Under Extreme Elemental Circumstances…a composition by (Y/N) Wayne.” He cocked a dark brow. “Go big or go home, huh, baby girl?”

(Y/N) hummed. “Doctor Halberd wanted us to pick challenging topics for the research paper this term.” A crooked smile crossed her lips. “I’m nothing if not ambitious about proving I’m smarter than everyone else.”

“You need another source,” Bruce murmured, sipping the steaming black coffee. “One-fourteen is good, but I’d go for one-fifteen.”

She groaned and dropped her head. “Are you kidding me? I had enough trouble gathering that many.”

“Why don’t you use Barry?” Tim piped up, mouth full of whip cream and strawberries.

“Master Timothy, we do not talk with our mouth full,” Alfred admonished, and Tim blushed.

(Y/N)’s head shot up and she stared at her brother. “That’s actually a good idea. Speedsters would make for perfect references about cellular division.” An idea popped into her head and she glanced at Dick. “And since Wally is com—”

“Nope,” Dick interrupted, pointing at her. “Wally is coming over to hang out, not to be poked and prodded to finish a paper.”

She let out a whine and turned to Bruce. “Dad, tell Dick to let me at least talk to Wally about it.”

Bruce turned his attention onto Dick. “Let your sister talk to Wally about her paper.”

“Oh, come on,” he complained and (Y/N) stood from her seat, hurrying around the table to stand behind Dick’s seat.

She draped herself over his shoulders, tucking her chin in the crook of his neck. “I promise I won’t be annoying if you let me come with you. I’ll ask two questions every thirty minutes and I’ll go do shopping on my own, so I won’t be in the way.” (Y/N) craned her neck and pulled the most pitiful puppy eyes she could. “Please?”

Dick’s eyes darted to her face and then he looked away. Just one more push.

“Please frate?” she begged and when his eyes went wide from the usage of his native tongue, she knew she’d won him over.

He deflated and let out a sigh. “Fine,” he grumbled. “You can come with us.”

(Y/N) squealed and pressed a kiss to his cheekbone, as she grabbed the paper and hurried towards the door. She halted and spun around, looking at her father.

“What do I need to be most specific about?”

“Division under elemental circumstances.”

She glowered at him. “No shit Sherlock. Specifics.”

“Molecular division under terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.”

“That’ll work,” (Y/N) nodded and exited to room.

Jason looked out the door then back to his brothers. “She’s way to excited about science sometimes.” They merely laughed.

***

She raised the red lace, cold shoulder V-neck shirt to her chest before frowning, and switching it with the full lace blue shirt with mini golden lightning bolt charms hanging off the trim. After a moment, she pulled the blue one down and sighed.

“You know, if you want to impress him, I’d wear the red shirt.”

She jumped and barely managed to suppress the scream that was coming up in her throat as she swiveled around to face her door. Jason stood in the doorway, a knowing look on his face. She could play this one of two ways: she could be truthful, or she could lie—she chose the latter.

“What do you mean?” He snorted and walked into her room, taking a seat at her desk.

“I mean if you’re trying to impress Wally, wear the shirt that’s the color of his suit, (Y/N).” She looked away and into the mirror, but she couldn’t escape the eyes boring into her back.

“Is it that obvious?” she asked quietly, and he laughed.

“That you’re head over heels for Dick’s best friend? Oh yeah. Totally.”

She sighed and sat on her bed, pulling the red top over her torso. “It’s just a crush.”

“Seems like more than a crush to me, baby girl.”

(Y/N) pulled the fabric down and looked at him. “Are you gonna tell Dick?”

Jason scoffed. “Do I look like a narc to you?”

She cocked a brow and deadpanned, “Just the other night you told dad that Damian lifted Two-Face’s wallet when he was being put in a cruiser.”

“Well, that wasn’t something important,” he countered and nodded at her. “This is.” He paused and shrugged. “Nah, I’m not gonna tell Dickhead. Play this out however you see fit, baby girl.”

(Y/N) stared at him for a moment then averted her gaze and let out a sigh; Jason huffed.

“That sounds like a heavy sigh, (Y/N). What’s wrong?”

She shrugged. “I don’t even know if Wally would be interested in me. He’s him and I’m me.”

Jason stood and walked over, kneeling in front of her. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

(Y/N) met his eyes. “Anytime he’s had a girlfriend she’s always been super strong or really outspoken.”

“And you’re not?” he quipped, causing her to huff.

“You know what I mean, Jay.”

He nodded. “Okay, so you’re not an Amazon or shoving your head up someone’s ass for a story. But you’re you.”

“And that means?”

“You’re the only daughter of the World’s Greatest Detective who’s a wicked smart science major by day and a badass vigilante by night.” He cupped her cheeks. “You are intelligent, warmhearted, talented, and absolutely beautiful.” Jason smushed her cheeks together and grinned as she giggled. “And if Wally doesn’t see any of what I just said, then he’s a damn fool and not worth your time. You hear me, baby girl?”

She nodded. “I hear you.”

Jason gave her a firm nod and let go, standing to his feet. “Now come on let’s go do your makeup.”

(Y/N) blinked. “You can do makeup?”

“Baby girl, I can do a lot of things. Now hurry up. That razor sharp eye liner and golden eyeshadow isn’t going to do itself.”

***

She waited beside Dick with a pleasant smile on her face, and despite the fluttering heartbeat in her chest, Jason’s pep talk kept running through her head and with every passing moment, she felt her confidence rising. He was right, if she told Wally and he didn’t feel the same, then it was his loss and her gain to move on and find someone else.

A black sedan pulled up at the manor and the passenger window rolled down, revealing Wally at the wheel and Garth in the passenger’s seat. Dick waved at them.

“Hey guys,” he greeted. “How was the drive over?”

“Oh, you know, we saw three carjacking’s and one armed robbery,” Garth quipped. “I assume that’s normal for Gotham though.”

“It’s a bit below average actually,” (Y/N) piped up. “Hi Garth. Hi Wally.”

Wally smiled and Garth waved in return as the two siblings started getting in the car.

“You’re coming with us, (Y/N)?” Wally questioned and she nodded.

“Do you want me to lie to you or give you the truth?”

He chuckled. “I’m always open for a good story.”

“I wanted to buy out Victoria’s Secret and piss off any boyfriends who are in hot water with their girlfriends.” The guys laughed and she admitted, “Truth though, I need one last source for a research paper.”

“Gonna find that source shopping?” Garth asked and (Y/N) caught Wally’s eyes in the rear-view mirror.

“Actually, my last source is Wally.”

They fell silent and looked at her, though the speedster’s focus was on the road.

“What are you gonna source Wally on?” The Atlantean inquired.

“My paper is over cellular mutation under distress from elemental conditions.” She smiled at Wally. “Our speedster here, is a walking subject perfect for the paper. I can only hope that he agrees to be a willing participant.”

Wally chuckled. “I’d be willing to part with a few secrets for you. Of course, I’d have to—”

“Remain anonymous.” (Y/N) winked. “I’m sure my professor would be okay with me citing ‘The Flash’ so long as I had a picture with him to back it up.”

“I like pictures,” he murmured, pulling into the parking lot.

“That’s good to know,” she replied and when he put the car in park, she took her purse and added, “So I’ll leave you boys to do your shopping and Wally, I’ll text you any questions I have.”

“You’re not gonna hang around?” Garth asked and she shook her head.

“Nah, I don’t wanna be the annoying little sister who follows her older brother and his friends around.” She smiled at them. “Besides, Dick was kind enough to let me come along. Least I can do is stay out of your way.”

(Y/N) opened the door and waved at them. “Text me when you’re ready to leave and I’ll meet you back here.”

***

Despite the initial joke that she was going to buy out the lingerie store, there was actually some truth in the statement, and she drew her fingers over one of the lace baby dolls as she looked at her phone, grinning like a dope at Wally’s response.

Well, I wouldn’t say I’d grow a second skin from how fast my cells regenerate, but I can make my body heal instantaneously. -W

Can you regenerate limbs or major organs? –(Y/I)

Major organs or useful ones? -W

(Y/N) paused at his response and thought for a moment. It was risky. Sending the text, she was thinking about was risky, but it’d sure get her point across that she was into him. With her heart hammering in her chest, she pushed send and stuck her phone in her pocket.

Whichever ones are useful to you, Wally? ;) –(Y/N)

Her phone didn’t buzz for a good minute, and Wally took less than a second to reply, so he was doing one of two things: A.) Telling Dick that his younger sister sent a flirty text, or B.) Trying to figure out how to let her down easy. (Y/N) didn’t know which one was worse. Her hip buzzed and she inhaled shakily, pulling her phone out of her pocket with one eye cracked open to see how screwed she was.

Do you have a useful one in mind, beautiful? -W

She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from letting out the biggest gasp any human had ever made, and she nervously looked around her to make sure no one else was staring at her. She grinned as she replied to him.

Oh, I could think of one…or two or three…Why? Is there gonna be a pop quiz over this later? I’ll have you know I’m an excellent test taker. –(Y/N)

Is that so? Well, what happens if you were to fail this particular pop quiz, (Y/N)? -W

I guess you’d have to stay the night for a study session and help me make a better grade ;) –(Y/I)

As she waited for another response, someone’s hand touched the small of her back and she reacted, immediately stepping away from the offending touch to spin on them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Wally standing before her, a grin on his face, phone in his hand.

“I think an overnight study session is possible, (Y/N).”

Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, like a fish until she finally got her brain to work and asked, “I thought you were shopping with Dick and Garth?”

He shrugged. “Told Dick you asked me an advanced question that’d be easier to answer in person than over text.” He wiggled his brows. “You know, advanced equations and scientific gibberish.”

(Y/N) huffed a laugh and turned back around, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks as she picked up one of the teddies. And when she realized what it looked like, she only felt more flustered. Crimson with baby blue trimming and was practically a shoelace.

“Well, that’sa hint if there ever was one,” Wally quipped, and she pulled the lingerie out of his line of sight.

“It was just the first one I grabbed!” she exclaimed, snapping her mouth shut when people looked over at them. Her cheeks felt like they were wildfires, and she pressed her head against the cool metal of the rack, sighing with what little relief it provided.

“You know, (Y/N),” he started softly. “If you’re not comfortable, this doesn’t have to go anywhere. I can forget this ever happened if you want me to.” (Y/N) opened her eyes and peered at him, at the concern but also the kindness in his gaze.

“I just—” she murmured and trailed off before letting out a sigh. “It’s kinda complicated.”

“Okay,” Wally nodded. “My mouth might work faster than my brain sometimes but lay it on me.”

She cracked a smile and thought back on Jason’s words. If Wally doesn’t see any of what I just said, then he’s a damn fool and not worth your time.

(Y/N) took a deep breath and looked at him, admitting, “Wally, I have…feelings for you.” His eyes widened and though she felt the sting of embarrassment, she pushed out her words. “It’s stupid, like one of those dumb childhood crushes that just sticks with you, you know?”

She averted her gaze and looked at her peep toe heels. “I just don’t wanna screw anything up because even if you don’t feel anything like I do, I don’t wanna lose you as a friend. Because I do value your friendship.” She sighed. “And Dick. I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable about coming over to see him if there’s a chance you’ll have to see me too. I just—”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Wally interrupted gently, a smile growing on his face. “You’re thinking way big here, (Y/N). Bigger than you need to right now.”

She met his eyes. “Right now?” she repeated, and he reached out, taking her hand in his. His fingers felt tingly against her palm and he smiled.

“I like you, (Y/N).”

She blinked at him, practically dumbfounded. “You…you do?”

Wally nodded and confessed, “Have for a couple years, but I didn’t wanna make a move not knowing if you were interested.” His cheeks tinged pink, and he said, “But I’m glad you are. Like super glad.” (Y/N) giggled, suddenly feeling really foolish for all her worry and Wally let out a chuckle too.

She stared at him for a moment, relishing the coolness of his skin before pulling away, toying with the teddy in her other hand.

“So, about tonight…you staying over?”

Wally let out a groan and looked between her and the lingerie. “Probably, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away long enough to spend some time alone with you.”

(Y/N) let out a ‘pfft’ and winked. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Flash. You are the fastest man alive.”

“You’re into quickies? Good to know,” he grinned.

“Shut up,” she giggled.

[silverheartlugia2000]

Lets go for some shenanigans~

Bruce 'question everything' Wayne was having a time. Jason had been more avoidant than usual for the last week. the only ones in the family he had been willing to talk to were Barbara and Alfred.

So when Oracle tapped into not only the Bat coms but the JL ones asking for help extracting Hood plus one unknown from Ilinois as they were both currently under fire? Yeah Bruce has questions he wants answered now!

the strange entity Jason had been talking to and their conversation raised several flags alone. Barbara had been informing him on how the boy(?) Jason was currently holding had apparently been cloned from Jason back when he was still robin and he wants to read that file Oracle pull it up now!

When three voices approached the crater where the house had once been, two girls and a boy. The red head girl sees Jason, slides down into the crater the goth following after the former who is snarling and raising a bat while the boy shrieks "Don't creepstick the super heroes!!"

Bruce can see Jason tense, see his arms curl around the creature turning to take the blow while guarding his cargo while a feral growl erupts from his chest.

And it seems like that action more than anything causes the girl to pause. She stops mid swing looking Jason straight in the eye for a long moment, then drops her stance, "You're protecting him..?"

"Yes."

"Why?" the girl asks suspiciously.

"Birds of a feather and all that.." Jason shrugs, loosening his arms enough so the teens can see the sleeping glow worm.

"Holy Ancents.." the boy says. "You really did come back didn't you?"

"Revenant." Jason admits rubbing his chin over the white hair, almost like a cat scent marking, "or so I've been told at least."

Bruce is getting a headache, there are so many things he needs context for.. "I believe we should continue this somewhere more secure.."

All three of the teens tense up again.

"If it helps." Dick interjects, hands held up placatingly, one holding the backpacks "The guy that was here earlier told us to say 'Clockpa' if that means anything to you? That and something about the glow noodle here needing a leash before we leave?"

-

Jason was glad for the leash. They had been at the watchtower for a little over an hour. Surprisingly the kids had allowed Jason to continue holding Danny, which with how much dirt they were throwing around to keep Bats busy (not only had they found the Fentons files on their capture of Jason but also unleashed a metaphoric bomb of different things that had been kept from the Leagues notice. Constantine, when he had shown up, had actually put his serious face on instead of noping out) anyway they were clearly protective of Danny, giving big time Superheroes a stare down challenge like they were.

Danny had woken up from his stress nap no less than five minutes ago and after stopping long enough to check each of his fraid had seen the window and pressed up against it like a bug on a windshield. Tried to phase through it at least fifteen times now. Only getting his head through before the leash stops him, whines, wiggles, pulls back, looks at him with sad eyes, catches sight of the stars again and repeats.

Jason can't hold back the chuckle, Danny pouts at him again with a few little chirp sounds that he thinks are supposed to mean something but honestly feel like baby babble so he cant be sure.

"Spunky little punk isn't he?"

Jason turns to see Constantine smiling at Danny. Danny ignores them again purring while he watches a couple of Lanturns fly by.

"You know him?"

"We've met a couple of times." John shuffles in his pockets pulling out some of the ectoplasm candies that he had been supplying to Jason, putting a few in Jason's hand while unwrapping one for Danny. The gremlin snatches it from the mage crunching on the treat with a happy squeel "Likes to go by Phantom when he's heroing, helped me track down a living storm as well as break up a few cults that tried to summon the new high king of the Realms. I honestly didn't even know about half the shit that's been brought up tonight.. Kid likes to focus on other people's problems rather than himself. if I did you can bet I would have intervined sooner.."

Jason hums popping his own candy in his mouth. "I'm surprised they've let me look after him this long. Figured the sister at least would have been fussing over him."

"You protected him. that goes a long way to the fraid of a protection spirit. Not that he's going to do much protecting like this. He does have a doctor in the realms according to her, but I'll need some time to set up a way to get to him."

"Right, the clock guy said something about that.."

Constantine whips around in surprise "He met you in person?"

"Is he that big a deal?"

"From what I've seen, the Keeper of Time itself and Phantom's ghostly parent dosent make house calls lightly. What did he tell you?"

Wow Clockpa was a big deal then.. More headaches for Bruce yay! "Said Danny was a banshee, which by the way I have questions on how that differs between us in how to feed him, and needed a new anchor? Also wants you to teach him how to use a portal gate thing."

Constantine sighs kneeding at a knot in his neck. He already had a lot to go through with what the kids brought to the table, but he also wouldn't dare dismiss a request from Clockwork, let alone one involving the kid who dethroned Pariah Dark.

Jason and Constantine talk for a while longer, when Danny then decides that he's had his fill of stargazing, pulling against the leash to get back to his friends. Jason follows along offering the end of the leash to Jazz when Danny rubs under her chin and around her neck sleepily. Sam is still ranting although it seems like she's moved onto something completely unrelated. Tucker is sitting with Tim, half fanboying over their tech while helping sort through all the files that were saved on drives found in the go bags.

Then Superman comes back in, a glowing blur zooming over to Jazz, Jason's reflexes almost brain the twelve year old girl crowding on his kid if she hadn't phased through the attack. "Holy crap template! I didn't know he could do that! Can I do that? I want to be a little creature!!"

Template? Oh shit.. she gives off the same vibe Danny gives him.. something of Me and Mine, except a bit muddled and watered down. His clone has a clone. Jason's brain can't think of anything helpful to do other than silently offer the girl a piece of ecto candy and slump into the chair on Jazz's other side.

Danny lands at the feet of his cloning template, and in a desperate bid to not get murdered by said template, he gave a wry smile before saying, "HI, dad." He then used the moment of stunned silence to escape.

A week later, he regrets his decision as he walks down the stairs to find his template in his living room, interrogating his tied up parents.