#cursed gotham

[smallandangry24]

Headcanon that Gotham accepted the Waynes as a blood sacrifice for the rise of The Batman when Bruce vowed to be the hand of Justice in the city over his parents bodies.

That Gotham is sentient and chose a rain and red soaked little boy kneeling on cracked pavement and grief in supplication as its Champion against The Curse that plagues her waters.

[blu3-ja3]

Hi so! Here's a bit of setup for my Cursed Gotham Story... Actually good father Bruce Wayne cause I say so.

So everything is normal for Bruce's backstory, has a happy childhood blah, blah, blah, until his parents are murdered. Travels the world young and becomes Batman once back from his travels, being trained by the league of assassins and Ra's Al Ghul. He becomes the vigilante at 16, developing a non-lethal style of fighting over the next 2 years before he goes to the circus. Dick's family is murder, Bruce at 18 adopts Dick who's 7. I like the idea that Bruce is still a little new to the vigilante stuff, like he's only recently given the mantle of Batman and befriended Commissioner Gordon.

Dick is definitely still murder vengeance Robin to start, like Dick is the most feral Robin and I will always stand by that. Kid is a menace to the goons of Gotham and is absolutely horrifying, more so than Batman himself. Like maniacal laughter while bouncing around performing amazing feats of acrobatics. Nothing to flashy but the kid has a lot of energy. Bruce forms the Justice League and keeps up play-boy himbo Brucie Wayne. Also I think Bruce homeschooled for a bit until Dick was like in his early tweens then Bruce realizing Dick has no friends and has him forms the Teen Titans.

So those two stumbled around as Batman and Robin for like 9 years, Dick's 16 and Bruce is 27 when Bruce adopts Jason who's 9. Dick and Bruce have a discussion about Dick passing on the mantle of Robin and him becoming his own vigilante. Grayson gets some time to decide and Bruce even tells him he doesn't have to give up the mantle or even keep being a vigilante. They compromise and come up with the Red Robin mantle while Dick decides on his path.

Jason is killed by Joker when he's 14, Bruce(32) nearly kills Joker but Superman stops him. This is part of the reason Gothamintes dislike Supes cause wtf do you mean you're stopping him??? Anyways Dick(21) stops vigilanting to grieve his little brother and asks Bruce to stop as well. Bruce continues being Batman not stopping for a moment. Bruce has a 'public' closed casket funeral for Jason after a few months of Robin's death, claiming he's been killed by illness hence the not showing for events as the Wayne's. Gotham is grieving cause they've lost Robin to the Joker and Jason Todd - Wayne to illness.

Timothy Drake at 7 (Tim is smart it's well established) finds Dick Greyson and begs him to stop Batman or help him because he's nearly killing people. Dick is dismissive so Tim goes to Bruce himself and tries to convince him after months of murderous Batman. Bruce gives Tim the mantle of Robin and still doesn't properly address his grief. Dick with the help of Tim and Alfred convince Bruce to stop for a bit. They all agree to the conditions that they'll step in and help Gotham in his absences as Batman. Barbra Gordon(20) becomes Batgirl to help Dick as Batman and Tim is still Robin.

Bruce leaves to travel, meets Talia outside of the LoA by chance, they have a small relationship then an argument causing them to break up. Bruce is back in Gotham after a few (5-6) months of travel. Dick becomes Nightwing after handing the mantle of Batman back over to Bruce. Tim is kidnapped at 9 and turned into Joker Junior, Bruce officially adopts Tim after the Drake's give up rights not wanting to deal with Tim's recovery. Barbra is paralyzed by The Joker and Jim Gordon learns about the Wayne's. Superman yet again stops Batman and Nightwing from offing Joker, Harley Quinn willingly goes through rehabilitation at Arkham after what happened to Tim.

Barbra at 22 becomes Oracle, Selena Kyle and Bruce Wayne start their relationship. Tim takes up the mantle of Robin at 13 after a lot of recovery. Stephanie Brown is Robin during Tim's recovery. Cassandra Cane(14) becomes Black Bat when Stephanie Brown(12) becomes Spoiler after Tim becomes Robin again. Duke Thomas (13) becomes the Signal (Daytime Bat!)

Damien at 8 appears at Bruce Wayne's (40) with Talia is carrying a freshly revived Jason(22) whom she stumbled across while coming to Bruce for help. Talia explains to Bruce her father's plans to possess Damien's body. She also explains how a few months before she took her planned leave Jason kinda stubbled into the picture. Talia was nursing him back to health before Ra's just dumped him into the Lazarus pit. Now he needs to be cared for and Talia is in too much danger to help him.

Bruce takes in both boys, Damien and Jason are out for a few months as they both recover. Tim(15) is asked if he'd like to become Red Robin, while Damien becomes Robin. Tim agrees and goes on patrol with the rest of the bat family around Gotham. Jason is still recovering but helps Barbra with being the Oracle.

SO! This is my rough background for the Batfam for my Cursed Gotham story! Jason's story is the one that changed the most but there's a reason for that... I'm excited for this!

Everyone ages when we pick up in our story.

Bruce: 40

Dick: 29

Jason: 22

Tim: 15

Damien: 8

Stephanie: 15

Cassandra: 16

Duke: 14

Barbra: 38

Jim: 68

Alfred: 70

Cursed Gotham Masterpost

[redlilith5]

DC X PJO

Back when Gotham city was being built Dionysus came across the founding families of this new city the Wayne Family, the Kane Family, the Crowne Family, the Cobblepot Family, and the Elliot Family. The families welcomed him thinking he was a man looking to settle down in their new city. Many things happened during this time but the basics are that Dionysus practically claimed the city to be his (to the immortals, the mortals are clueless) and named it Gotham cause he asked if they got ham and the families misinterpreted as a name. Dionysus blessed the city with many if not almost all of his domains.

He blessed the people with the finest wines, orchards and special plants that help the people relax and be happy. It resulted in alcoholism and addiction. At least they had pretty flowers.

He spread the joy of religious ecstasy though somewhere in between his ritual madness got involved and resulted and quite a few cults.

He taught the youth the wonders of theater and how life was more exciting with extreme dramatics. Gothamite culture evolved to be the most dramatic compared to others people city culture.

They say Gotham was cursed from the very beginning, back when it was but a small village. The reality was that it was blessed by it's patron God. Too bad mortals are stupid. At least the Gothamites loves their city and its blessing, they are the only ones that appreciate the city for what it is.

[thatrandomsarahchick]

Dcxdp thought I just had

What if Johnny's Shadow is Gotham's child?

Like, if Gotham were to have a core, I totally imagine that it would be a shadow core, and given that the city is canonically cursed, what if its child has part of a curse? And that curse is the curse of bad luck?

Thoughts?

[crystalline-tim]

Do you have any more photos of those in your Gotham?

Hm? Oh yeah I do.

Talia is a Lamia. She's been secretly helping us, she's actually not bad. I still don't fully trust her though.

Then Selina, she's a Nekomata. She also has a cat form (between you and me? I think her and Talia have been flirting while they are distracting Ra's)

And Mrs Nora! We think she's a Ice Queen. She really is the sweetest and makes really good food. I can see why Mr Freeze is so dedicated to her. Another reason why we are fighting so hard to break the curse.

[blupenguinz]

Imagine you’re the spirit that cursed Gotham just chilling in the afterlife and one day you decide to see how the city is doing so you look down and just see a grown man in a furry suit with an army of children fighting a man hating ecoterrorist, a Redditor with a massive ego, a gay clown and another furry but in latex that he occasionally hooks up with.

[justalittletotheleftofnormal]

What if Gotham was built on an intersection of multiple ley lines, but because of the curse placed on the city those line are fraying at the edges(some might be severed)

And now Gotham has a constant incoming flow of magic/spiritual energy with little/no outgoing flow

Thats why the JL or other magic user can’t cleanse the city(and trying to sever all the ley line<to/from Gotham> would only leave a Gotham sized crater)

*ones of the ley lines goes through Metropolis City(is probably one of the stronger line)

[sagaduwyrm]

I write something! I did it! The muse didn't even suddenly abandon me partway through!

Against the Smoke of the City (I Marched)

There is a city called Gotham that doesn't exist, but by god the Daily Planet is going to find it. Or Gotham is so cursed the outside world doesn't even know it's there, but that's nothing in the face of a reporter's curiosity.

Just off I-nine in New Jersey, there is a city that doesn't exist.

Clark knows this because for weeks the Daily Planet has been researching every piece of evidence they could find to prove the city that doesn't exist, did exist.

It started with a piece on the richest companies in the world where the numbers just wouldn't add up. It was Marlene Samson's first big piece, and she was crying when she came to Dean Jones, the Daily Planet's best eye for tax returns and accounting, certain she had to have done something wrong. The rest of the Planet assumed that would be the end of it, extending Marlene their sympathies for running into so many problems on her first big job, but certain it would be solved soon with Dean looking at it.

It was not.

Three weeks later, Dean came in with raccoon eyes, greasy hair, and a four foot pile of files that he had to make Clark help him carry.

Apparently, Marlene didn't do anything wrong, it was just that there was a whole multi-billion dollar company somewhere on the East Coast that existed in government tax data, agreements with other companies, and nowhere else.

It should be noted that even as a company that regularly reported on alien invasions, Superman's love life, and Lex Luthor's newest schemes, this was not the conspiracy the Daily Planet expected to find on an average day.

The crown jewel of Dean's coffee-fueled hallucinogenic research binge was a series of photos of an unfamiliar logo for one Wayne Industries on a variety of products from luxury cars, to prosthetic limbs, to the coffee maker in the office, often covered by a sticker from whatever company didn't want to admit they were reselling the products of a nonexistent corporation. Under each logo was a minuscule maker's mark that said, "Made in New Jersey."

This was about when the whole thing stopped being a personal project and became a company-wide mystery that the Daily Planet was determined to solve.

Diane and Thea were the next to come up with something. They were the history buffs of the group, the ones who wrote about the historical value of such-and-such building or how this event a century ago affected the city today. Real interesting stuff, if a little niche for some of their readers.

"The New Jersey Mystery" it was called.

It was a whole thing for anyone interested in the historical urban development of the New England area. Clark didn't claim to understand it, but Diane said that a large number of historians, amateur and professional, believed that there was something off about the socio-economic development of New Jersey, particularly in the lack of big cities. According to the historical and modern shipping routes, there should have been a harbor city as big as Metropolis in the area, but there just… wasn't. It was, frankly, baffling and mildly concerning to most historians, according to Thea.

It wasn't hard to guess that a missing city and a missing company were more likely than not connected.

Catt Grant was the next to dig something up, finding an old piece from the gossip section about some kind of scandal, written by one Vicki Vale. Dale, the IT guy, managed to find some emails from her time in Metropolis that identified the mystery city as sitting on the Mullica River, next to the Great Bay. Mrs. Vale complained extensively about the swamp land around the city, apparently caused by a dam being built where it shouldn't some fifty years ago, now spread to the entire area. The waters were known to be toxic enough to kill a swimmer, but not dangerous enough for the municipal government to do something.

That was just the beginning of it. Jack found police reports about a mafioso that was to be sent back to New Jersey to be tried with the rest of his group. Stella traced charity funds back to a foundation in the city. Sawyer and Thea managed to make a model of the supposed dam, putting an exact location to the place.

So.

Just off I-nine in New Jersey, there is a city that doesn't exist. They don't know its name, size, or population, just that money comes flowing out, legally and illegally, but people stay in.

And it is Clark and Lois's responsibility to prove that it does exist, and, hopefully, to figure out why it's on no map, spoken by no human tongue, and invisible to satellites and Superman's gaze.

+++

They take a bus first. They'd both prefer to drive themselves, but James Pierceson managed to get an interview that suggested that only people who'd been before could find the city they were looking for. A train was out too, as even if the conductor was a native of the place, it still only had a small chance of passing through the city. That was all James had gotten out of his interview, though. Nothing about the city itself, the company that drew Daily Planet's eyes, nothing. Just how to get in, and a warning to make sure they could still get out afterward.

The bus is their only real option. It's a creaky old thing, grimy in all the wrong ways, but it had the only driver they found that knew where they were going.

Clark stares out the window as they ride, eyes on the road so he knows how to come back if he needs to. He watches as the woods slowly change into swamp land, filled with strange, nasty , brackish water that smells too much like corpses for comfort.

Lois is beside him, typing on her laptop, putting together everything they've found so far, ready for whatever they find in the city. She looks up when she feels him tense against her shoulder, just in time to see the sign as the bus passes.

Turn Back All, nailed to a half-dead tree, rusted red and falling apart.

"Just a little joke folks, the locals aren't fond of tourists so they like to scare 'em off if they can. Just means we're getting close." 

The rest of the bus is seemingly mollified by the bus driver's words, chattering about the fun local custom, but Clark's eyes are on the next sign, peeking out of the foliage on the other side of the bus.

Beware.

The bus goes silent.

Danger.

Leave This Place.

Warning: Death.

They just keep showing up, one after the other even as the sky gets darker with clouds and the rot in the air gets thicker. Some are clearly set up by the city, with neat lines and bright colors. Some are probably made by the citizens, big pieces of wood or metal covered in messy paint. A few are just paint on the trees, dripping like blood.

Go Away.

This Place is Not Safe.

Get Out.

"They might as well have said 'Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here,'" Lois mutters.

Clark snorts, but his eyes stay up. The bus is turning a corner, and a city is finally visible through the thick foliage.

It was tall, is Clark's first thought. There aren't any suburbs of short little houses for the bourgeoisie, no industrial outskirts, just crumbling brutalist architecture and gothic decor right from the entrance.

He can finally hear the city too. He doesn't know why he couldn't before, how it hid from Kryptonian ears, but it echoes in his ears now, gunshots and sirens and screams and whispers. He can't hear anything else on top of the noise, like the rest of the world no longer exists even to Superman's ears. He would have been afraid if his mind had room for it.

The bus is being swallowed, Clark was suddenly sure. The signs were the teeth of the great and terrible city he sees before him and soon they would pass through the maw and enter the place of no return. Soon they would be in the throat and it would convulse and throw them downward and then the city would digest them alive. Whatever was left would not be the same as what entered.

The bus stops at a rickety station just inside the city. The bus driver turns to them as the doors open and his smile is friendly but his eyes are distant and tired.

"Welcome to Gotham," he said. "The most cursed city in America."

"Good luck."

[blu3-ja3]

Cursed Gotham

I love the headcanon that none of the Bats are supers, but over time? Gotham is slowly messing them up, one by one.

Bruce smiles at Clark one day in the Cave, and his eyes reflect the light back like a wolf's

Jason suddenly has tiny fangs, but nobody has the nerve to mention it

Alfred literally doesn't die

Dick can jump higher and faster than ever before, but barely notices it

Tim is awake for three days straight and doesn't blink

They're all subtly, but noticeably different. Gotham-blessed, or cursed, or something in between.

[blu3-ja3]

So I kinda rewrote a bunch of my cursed Gotham stuff! But it's here now so enjoy!

Cursed Gotham Masterpost

Leave the City (Our Lady Gotham)

Tim's POV

Gotham has been quiet which has been a godsend because Wayne Manor hasn't. School had started for everyone, Alfred helped keep everything together as Bruce scrambled to get everything settled. But even before the chaos of multiple kids going to school there was chaos.

It was a shock to everyone when Talia Al Ghul arrived on the doorstep of the manor that rainy spring night. Even more so when Bruce noticed the body of Jason Todd in her arms and the small form of Damian standing behind his mother ready to defend her from those chasing them.

Bruce immediately had the trio enter the house, Alfred took the unconscious body of Jason. I'd never seen the man cry but I will never forget watching that singular tear roll down his cheek. Bruce asked Selina to help Talia with any injuries as Bruce disappeared after Alfred.

Cass never said a thing to Damian but for whatever reason he attached himself to her side. She was the only one who was able to get the boy's injuries wrapped and cleaned while Selina helped Talia. Duke and Steph were so confused and we all just stood around useless until Bruce reappeared. Everyone was sent to the sitting room while Selina, Talia, Bruce and Alfred had a serious discussion.

None of us really know what was talked about in Bruce's office that night but we do know that Talia was in trouble. That she no longer felt safe keeping Damian around her father, that Bruce was the only person Talia trusted to keep their son safe from the LoA and Ras himself.

Jason's revival was still a mystery to everyone including himself. He says one moment he remembers heat and blistering pain, the next he's waking up in the dark buried alive. Talia doesn't know either she found him while running, she recognized Jason rather quickly and knew something was wrong. She took it as a sign to go to Bruce, it took them three days to get across Gotham without being caught by Talia's father.

To say it was easy would be a lie, whatever brought Jason back had left him with cracks. Bruce ran as many tests as he could before allowing Dick to call in Raven for help. She told Bruce that errant magic seemed to bound itself to Jason, Raven doesn't know why or where it came from but that was all she could glean.

Jason was upset at Bruce once he realized Joker was still around, he got even more furious when he learned what happened to Barbara and eventually me when I felt comfortable enough to talk about it. But Dick was quick to act and calm Jason by showing him the archived footage of Bruce's rampage being stopped by Superman.

It took us months to help Damian settle into life as a normal kid, Cassandra helped Damian the most. The two understood each other better than most, it made plenty of sense and Cass though typically mute was better than most of us when communicating with Damian.

Summer break wasn't as chaotic for the Wayne's but Gotham had some issues, it started with a sudden earthquake. It was a massive one that caused a part of Arkham to collapse, we spent a great deal of time trying to catch everyone who did escape. Thankfully no big names from the rogues gallery only a few.

Then the fall semester started and somehow Bruce learned that Kon was staying at Titans Towers. There were a lot of people upset with Superman the days following, no one knew that Supes had abandoned his half clone. Lois was especially upset because Kon was Jon's half brother and she'd like to know about him.

Kara became even more upset when she learned about Kon's name, Supes claims naming Conner 'abomination' in Kryptonian wasn't on purpose. That didn't seem to help the man's case at all, as it was an insult to to name a Kryptonian child a name not thoroughly thought out. Clark had a bit of a break down and everyone became privileged to the information of Lex being the other half of Kon DNA.

It took some time to figure out but for now Kon-El is a resident at Wayne manor. It was a surreal experience explaining to Bruce that me and Kon were dating but he knew, of course he knew. You can't keep anything hidden for long from Batman.

Steph and Cass started dating at the start of the fall semester so Steph has been staying in her claimed room at the manor more often. That's part of the reason Steph has attended more Galas and events with us as of late, more than before. She claims it's because she gets to be with Cass but at this point I think it's because of the hors d'oeuvres. Steph has always loved the fancy finger foods served at those events.

So yes the Wayne house has been incredibly busy! Everything from introducing Damian to the public eye, forging the proper paper trail to prove that Jason was under witness protection, and on top of all of this chaos Selina has become a permanent stay at the manor after Bruce invited her to move in.

I'm currently out following a lead on a case Bruce gave to me. A series of disappearances of young girls all throughout Gotham, the only common thread between them is their ages are in ascending order. The first girl was 5 years old, the next was 6 years old and so on. Totaling eleven girls missing all from different backgrounds and areas of Gotham.

Each girl disappeared from their homes, all within a week of the last one disappearing. I've investigated every lead Commissioner Gordon has given Batman, the only reason Gordon thinks they're related is because of the consistency of the disappearances. And all of them vanish from their homes with no signs of forced entry.

The latest disappearance hit closer to home then I would've liked, one of mine and my siblings classmates. A 15 year old girl named Jillian, she's a quiet girl who I shared a few core classes with. It took three days for anyone to notice she was missing, everyone at school thought she was sick. Her guardian wasn't even in town and still isn't, hence me breaking into the apartment.

I slip open the window and crawl into a very small and baron living space. There's only a TV, couch and dining table in the living room, the kitchen looks empty also but I sweep through looking at everything. There isn't much of anything in this apartment to indicate someone living here let alone the house being broken into.

I walk slowly through the hall to the first door, opening it reveals a bathroom. Slightly more personal this time, there's soaps and a loofa sitting on a small shelf in the bathroom. An assortment of makeup, hair care and face care on the counter next to the sink. A toothbrush and paste sitting in a cup near the edge of the sink.

I close the bathroom and move to the next door to find what looks to be the bare bones of a master bedroom. There's only a bed, dresser and mirror in here. A layer of dust covers the room, a clear sign no one inhabits the room. If they do they haven't been here in a long time.

I open the door across the hall to reveal an actual lived in room. Before I can get a clearer picture of the room something darts between my legs quickly. Moving to follow I watch the shape push open the door across from the bathroom. I opened it to find a small laundry room and the small shape, an extremely fluffy black cat with a little purple collar & ball and dark yellow eyes staring longingly at me.

"Hey there friend, let me see what I can do for you yeah?" I turn to look around and find a note on the wall.

Stepping over to the paper it reads: 'Grace, if you're reading this it means something happened to me. Please just feed Queenie, her foods in the kitchen. One part wet and one part dry, make sure her pill is crushed and mixed in. Please just take care of Queenie for me...~ Jill'

"Okay this might be something, a lead possib-" I'm interrupted by a soft meow from behind me.

I grabbed the shallow ceramic bowl from the elevated table it was on. As I moved into the kitchen the cat, Queenie followed, she quickly moved to sit in front of a lower cabinet door and chirped softly.

I opened it to find a container with dry cat food, a half a shelf full of canned cat food, and attached the door of the cabinet; a little basket with a blue pill bottle. I follow the instructions and place the bowl back in the laundry room, Queenie goes straight away to eating.

I move back to my original reason for being here, I step into the inhabited room. The walls are covered in posters, pictures, shadow boxes with bugs, and art. Shelves line most of the walls filled with books, small sculptures, candles and other such knick knacks.

There's a shelf sitting in front of the only window, on it are various plants. There's another shelf, filled with all sorts of strange things; skulls of varying sizes and animals, crystals and rocks, a jar with what looks to be a preserved salamander-like creature.

A canopy bed covered in plushies of various animals & bugs and at the foot of it a dresser. On the left side of the bed is a small bedside table, a small picture frame sits on it next to a lamp and clock. To the right near the window is a desk covered in papers and books.

Moving closer the papers are drawing of a person, a woman but her features are hard to make out. One of the books is a journal that is opened, from what I can tell Jillian was still writing in it before she stopped.

"Hey Oracle? Can you patch me through to Batman... And Robin?" I ask as I pull out my small camera and begin taking pictures of the room.

"Give me one second Red." I move back to where I began and take a wide shot of the entire room.

"Red Robin, what is it?" I step over to the desk and take multiple pictures of the desk and the items on it.

"I've got what I think could be a lead and would like your help if you're not busy... I also need Robin's help with a... Furry friend, think you could come to me?" I step back and take pictures of the room from various angles getting every possible angle I can.

It takes Bruce and Damian about ten minutes to arrive at the same window I entered in. The younger boy looks a bit bored and disgruntled when first entering through the window. But that quickly changes when Queenie trots over to him and rubs up against his leg. He crouches down and begins softly petting the cat as I guild B towards Jillian's room, showing him the note first.

With careful hands he takes the note and places it in a plastic bag, ones we commonly use to store evidence in. We continue toward our destination when I spot something I hadn't before. It was a few things actually, just before Jillian's room there's a small amount of discoloration (most likely blood) on the floor close to the door. And caught on a nail that seems to be working its out is a scrap of fabric. Batman and I collect the evidence and take pictures.

While I'm closer to the floor I can see deep groves on the floor, I follow them towards the door and find more scratches. It looks like someone was holding onto the door frame and was forcefully removed, inside Jillian's room near where the claw marks start, underneath a shelf is Jillian's phone charm. It's a cluster of blue and purple beads of different shapes and sizes with different charms scattered all throughout. At the very end is a little black flocked cat holding a fish in its mouth.

As I move to pick up the charm it's heavier than it should be, as I pull more of the familiar case of Jillian's phone slid out from under the shelf. The phone case was covered in teals, pinks and oranges from different stickers and pieces of paper sealed behind the clear phone case. Like everything Jillian owned it was colorful and covered. I pick up the phone and see the screen is cracked, as I try to turn it on the screen lights up with a battery icon that has a small sliver of red in it.

I place the phone in a spare pouch on my hip before moving towards the desk. As I pass the bed post at the end of the bed closest to the window Batman points to something. I look down and see a large gash taken out of the wooden post, B squats down to get a closer look. He reaches between the dresser and end of the bed before standing up to reveal he's holding a knife.

It's a simple switch blade knife, a chip in the sharpened blade but fine none the less. Batman reaches out a hand and I place my small camera into his hand before I leave to comb over the desk and its contents.

All of the drawings are done on the same style of paper, with pencil and charcoal being the main medium but there are a few done in pen and one at the very bottom done in water colors. All of the drawings are of three different people; one of a woman with a scar on her face, a man with glasses, and a figure with androgynous features. I've seen Jillian drawing this figure before in class, when I asked she just called them 'The Lady'.

I'm mentally kicking myself for not asking her more. Jillian had been drawing the figure relentlessly over the span of the kidnappings and was getting more and more... Frantic feels like the right word. I shake myself out of my thoughts and sort the drawings into separate piles, one for each of the different muses. As I sort a paper slip from the scared woman's stack and drift to the ground, there's writing on the back of the drawings. Flipping over the drawing I'm currently holding I'm greeted with more text.

"This girl seems to be the lead you were looking for Red," Batman's naturally low timber fills the air. I nod before gathering the piles into folders, the thickest one being 'The Lady's' stack.

I hand the three folders to B and turn to the journal. At the top is a date and time scrawled in the top, I quickly flip through the previous pages to find much of the same for each one. I place the ribbon place holder to mark the half finished page, I close the journal and hand it back to B.

Opening the desk drawers I found a teal note book with pink flowers and black branches, in neat cursive hand writing on the bottom is the word 'Diary'. I hesitate to grab it, feeling extremely guilty and a bit perverted for rummaging through my classmate's desk.

"You don't have to continue this case, I know you went to school with the most recent girl." I turn to look at Batman as he speaks, with his cowl on it's hard to discern what he's thinking.

My fist ball up at my sides as I take a deep breath, holding it, then releasing it as I relax my shoulders and fists. Do I want to hand this case back to Bruce? No, not really. I wasn't friends with Jillian, no one really was. She's a bit of an odd ball, constantly wearing gloves and avoiding contact with people. She's quiet in class, constantly drawing... But the few times I've interacted with her she was kind, soft spoken.

"No, I want to continue. I just feel weird for going through her personal space... Do you think we could call one of the girls to come help?" I ask, fidgeting with my glove. A soft smile curls across Batman's face before reaching up and calling over Spoiler and Black Bat.

It takes the two girls less time than Batman and Robin to show. Once they arrive Batman gives me the rest of his evidence bags and calls Robin to inform him that they're leaving to head back to the cave. Robin appears holding a carrier cage with a small grocery sack with what I can only assume is the cat's food and medicine. B doesn't say anything but we can all feel the questioning look.

"No one is here to take care of Queenie Father. And from what Red Robin has informed me of the guardian of Queenie's owner no one will be coming back for her. I will take on the burden of caring for Queenie while her owner is gone, that is my responsibility as Robin. To help those in trouble," Robin's speech doesn't leave much room for argument. We all watch as an eyebrow lifts under Batman's cowl before he makes a low grumble and turns towards the window to step out.

Robin turns back towards us beaming before scampering towards the window, he gingerly places the carrier with the cat outside of the window onto the fire escape before climbing out himself with the bag. Batman takes the bag from Robin before the two descend down the fire escape. A few minutes later the sound of the Batmobile starting can be heard. I show Black Bat and Spoiler to the room, the two girls enter looking around curiously.

"She's got amazing vibes going on in this room," Black Bat nods her head in agreement with Spoilers statement, I clear my throat to catch their attention.

"I need you two to go through her drawers, please... I feel like a pervert doing it but we've got to find anything that could help me with this case. Spoiler if you could go through her desk and Black Bat if you could go through her closet, you both know what B considers useful for investigations," I quickly blurt out what I need their help with before I crouch back down near the door trying to see if I can figure out how Jillian's phone got underneath the shelf.

I breathe a sigh of relief as both girls move to their respective area in the room. It takes a little over an hour of them looking through different drawers in the room while I scoured the room and hallway. I found more scratch marks on the laundry room door and on the floor in the living room. There was more blood on the floor and I noticed that a large carpet was missing from the living room judging by the clear discoloration in the living room.

I finished taking the necessary pictures of the evidence before I stood up to greet the two girls both have a bag with something inside. I collect them both and place them into the small messenger bag I have slung over my shoulder.

"What do you've got RR?" Spoiler asks as she rocks back and forth on her heels, Black Bat nods in agreement humming softly as she does.

"Okay, so far not much I don't even know what her journals and drawing will tell me. But Jillian put up a fight, there was an altercation in her room that caused the cut in the bed post as well as the loss of the switch blade," I say as I walk towards Jillian's room.

"Somehow in the altercation Jillian's phone slid under the shelf next to the door. Jillian was conscious when she was dragged out, indicated by the scratch marks on the door frame, the floors and the laundry room door." I point out the different areas to the other two as we walk back into the living room.

"They dragged her into the living room before knocking her unconscious, they then took the carpet and wrapped her in it. There were no signs of forced entry anywhere so they had to be let in." I step up to the front door and open it. I step into the hall and spot a small camera at the end of the hall above the elevator doors. I was expecting to step out into the hall to get a clear look at the various entry points, but there was a note stuck to the wall next to the door that caused me to pause.

The note read: 'Jillian sweetie, I let the bug exterminators your sister hired into your apartment. They left with your carpet all rolled up, said they had to take it back to their shop. I do hope no one else has to deal with whatever pest you've got. Hope to see you soon, Ms. Sullivan'

"You're good," Spoiler says after whisting, I mumbled a response about not expecting this and what my plan actually was. I take a quick picture before taking the note and closing the door. I slip the paper into a protective sleeve like we have been doing all night before tapping my com link to speak with Oracle.

"Hey O, can you or our friend at the cave get us the camera footage of the building we're currently in? And if there's any clear street footage, that as well. I need the footage from three days ago," I ask as I maneuver out of the window, stepping aside to let the others out before closing it.

"Sure thing, everything I find will be sent over to J and the Bat-Computer. You calling it for patrol tonight?" I confirm Barbara's question before quickly making my way via grapple back to the cave.

It takes me some time to return to the cave but I'm no less focused on my task at hand. Once inside the cave I quickly found an empty area and meticulously laid out all the evidence that we gathered. Jason stands up from the computer and stands beside me. I tap away at the small computer system on my wrist and start printing out the pictures me and B took while at the apartment. Jason moves to collect the pictures before I can even speak a word. I thank him when he sets them down next to me.

"Babs is getting everything she can from the footage but I'm here to help you with whatever you need, Little Bird." Jason places his hands into his pockets as I finish setting out everything. Jason is smart, we all are, and having an extra set of eyes on this case would be helpful.

"I'm going to get out of my suit, shower and make myself something to drink... If you could get this charging and start on trying to open it that would be appreciated, Jay," I say as I hand Jason Jillian's phone, he quickly slips on a pair of gloves before grabbing the phone. I remove my gauntlets and the main armor pieces of my suit, leaving me in a tank top and my black padded tights.

I walk towards the exit that leads upstairs to the manor, as soon as the grandfather clock moves out of the way I'm greeted by Kon. He's standing in a simple black shirt and is wearing baggy blue gym shorts with socks on. I smile at him as I move to walk towards the stairs leading upstairs. Kon followed me the whole time, holding my hand as we went.

Once in my own room I strip down to my boxer. I move towards my bathroom entering the small room and starting a hot shower, while waiting for the water to heat i turn towards the mirror. I breathe in deeply before peeling away my mask, having to go slowly as to not rip out the few eyebrow hairs stuck in the spirit gum. I breathe a sigh of relief once my mask is off and I quickly get into the hot shower after removing the last layer.

I groan when the hot water cascades over my sore body, I stand there for a bit with my full body under the stream of water. I let my eyes fall close as I focus on the feeling of my muscles relaxing. There's the faint sound of the bathroom door opening then closing followed by a slight shuffle of fabrics and the sound of Kon quietly humming to himself.

"Kon?" My mouth moves before I can really think. I can hear Kon hum in response, a quiet acknowledgement that he heard me.

"Would you... Come join me please?" I don't get a verbal response but I do hear the sounds of fabric moving and the glass door to the shower open. There's the delicate touch of Kon's hands on my back.

This isn't the first time I've asked Kon to join me in the shower, it won't be the last either. He starts our normal routine immediately, one hand gently rubbing circles into my lower back. The other gently squeezes my hip as it moves up and down. I open my eyes and meet his eyes, my breath catches as I get lost in the myrtle green. A ring of gold always surrounds his pupils even when they dilate, I think it's a Kryptonian thing... I don't know for sure I don't make a habit of staring deeply into others' eyes.

"You have such pretty blue eyes Tim, they're like clouds," Kon whispers to me, I can't help the small smile that spreads across my face. I bring my arms up and wrap them around Kon's neck, the contrast between my pale skin and his warm bronze always pulls at something in my chest.

I lean up and gently kiss Kon, our lips falling into a steady rhythm even as he steps closer to me. We stay like that for a bit my hands running over his shoulders and up into his curly black hair. His hands glide across my hips and up my back, gently working out any tension still there. Eventually though I have to pull away slightly taking in deep breaths to help soothe the ache in my chest. Kon steps away for a moment, reaching for my shampoo.

I turn my back to him and tilt my head back slightly so my longer hair falls back. I usually keep my hair at about chin to middle neck length but it's getting to the point that I need a hair cut soon. I feel warm hands curl into hair and begin to massage my scalp. I feel my shoulders slump and all remaining tension ease out of my body as Kon pampers me.

"Thank you babe, you don't have to do this you know?" I ask letting my eyes slip close and my head tilt down as Kon's hands move lower on my scalp.

"Mhm, I know but I like too. I like watching all the tension leave you because of my doing. It makes me feel good," He says as I feel the tinge of Kon's TTK reaching out to caress me, I hum at the slight static feeling washing over me.

I feel Kon step forward until his chest is flush against my back, with gentle hands Kon guides my head to be fully under the spray of the shower. He runs his hands through my hair before guiding me back to where I was before, then he comb his fingers through as he conditions my hair. I let out a slight squeak when I feel Kon shifting us so he's under the spray and I'm not. If it weren't for the fact that Kon's body constantly radiates heat I think I'd be shivering.

I feel a wash cloth begin to run over my body as both of Kon's hands leave me. I let my head fall back against his chest as he rinses his own hair. Once he's done one of his hand wraps around my waist and the other rinses the conditioner from my hair. I turn myself around and bury my face in Kon's neck, finding comfort in the smell on Kon's skin. He smells like warmth; sunlight, a strange citrus note to him, and like rain.

I'm being moved again as Kon backs up so I'm in the stream of water. The rag is gently pushed into my hand as Kon mumbles about washing my sensitive bits. I look up and flash a wolfish grin at Kon as he blushes, I let the smile loose its edge as I finish cleaning myself. I deposit the rag onto a hook to dry before dragging Kon back into a hug as I bury my face back into Kon's neck.

We stay like that for a few more minutes before Kon uses his TTK to turn off the water. We both get dried off and I walk into my room to change into comfortable clothes while Kon finishes his curly hair routine, as well as cleaning all of his piercings and replacing some with fresh jewelry. He's currently wearing all black and silver jewelry that makes his freckles stand out gorgeously.

I get dressed, eat something light while waiting for water to boil and make myself and Jason a cup of coffee that is poured into cups with lids. I move back down to the cave, Kon hovering behind me the whole time following. I quickly moved towards the table where Jason was currently sitting and handed him the lidded cup of coffee.

"Thanks Timmers, I've got the phone charging and Oracle is running through a script to get past the phone password, Jason says gesturing towards the colorful device sitting next to him.

"Thank you for your help, I'm going to start reading through everything and see what I can find. I'm going to set everything I've read through to the side, if you're feeling up to being my second set of eyes that would be appreciated Jay," I say as I pick up the folder of drawings with the scared woman. Jason nods and sips his coffee while he chats with Kon, I take that as my que to start.

[incorrectbatfam]

[thebibliosphere]

Me and about four other people will care about this, but it has taken me this long to realize that in season 2 episode 9 of Pennyworth (shut up, it’s enrichment in my enclosure) when Alfred is posing as Tommy’s driver and waxing lyrical about how, when he’s in America, he’s going to have a car just like this one. And the car, is a Ford Lincoln Futura.

A Ford Lincoln Futura.

Aka— the original Batmobile as driven by Adam West.

He’s driving the original Batmobile!!!

[blu3-ja3]

I love Brucie Wayne! He's amazing!

Gotham fucking loves Brucie Wayne

Some nice Brucie Wayne headcanons for you all

Hes an idiot and a dork but he makes social events interesting because who else would fall into the chocolate fountain?

At any social event where kids are invited as well he can most definitely be found with the kids, talking to them like they are adults

He never treats anyone as inferior unless they're dicks

He once punched riddler in the face because he interrupted a girls birthday party

He has an entire fashion line that is dedicated to giving people actually comfortable practical clothes

Hes an absolute unit in bed. For both men and women. (either top or bottom)

He once held a man upside down by his ankles and shook him until everything had fallen out of his pockets because he had used to be a bully and was now a dick

Can and will walk teenagers home if its late at night. 

Always tips very generously

He was once in line at a batburger and there was a karen yelling at the poor 16 year old cashier and he walked to the front and just started sticking 100 dollar bills into the tip jar with the nastiest smile aimed at the karen. ‘The more you yell the more i tip.’ (the cashier was, coincidently stephanie brown, and she high fived him)

He has a social media but never uses it unless its to draw awareness to a certain cause or to show off his children. 

He also posts beautiful pictures of gotham, or of mundane everyday things, showcasing the beauty in life

(Is canonically a feminist)

Will protect waiters/servers/janitors from creeps or gotham elite who think theyre better than them

He stopped adopting kids but still pays for as many college tuitions as he can

Funded a city wide disability infrastructure plan so people with wheelchairs could go places too

He once rocked three guys with guns’s shit because they were attempting to molest these little boys

Punched a teacher in the face for making a student cry

Will at any time drop everything the second one of his kids asks him to

There is an entire instagram account dedicated to pictures of him helping old people cross the street

Once a month he visits inmates at the prison and offers them jobs

Genuinely cares for his workers and buys them houses and cars if they need it

Literally created gothams public transportation system and made sure it was free

Teamed up with poison ivy to make public gardens for everyone to enjoy

Funds clean energy research

Any celebrity fan mail he receives he answers personally

One time a little girl asked him to come to her birthday party and he did and brought presents

Taught an entire school basic self defense

Brucie Wayne may be an idiotic little shit but he is the Prince of Gotham and Gothamites would lay down their lives for him more willingly than they would for Batman.

[fantastic-nonsense]

one of my favorite headcanons is that the people of Gotham originally thought Batman was an urban legend not just because Bruce was good at sneaking around and pretending to be a shadow in the night early on, but also because they live in an insanely cursed city, heard "shadowed wraith beats up criminals and leaves them for the police to find," and went "yeah that tracks. it's Gotham, ghosts fighting crime is totally believable"

[deadsetobsessions]

There, in the fog, a pair of glowing green eyes. Who does it belong to?

Surely not that which lays beneath the city, Gotham’s spirit that drowns in the cursed bogs buried beneath concrete and stone. Surely not she, who sobs songs of grief, she who croons silently for aid. Surely not she, madness incarnate, all gnarled shadows and crumbled concrete. Surely not she, Gotham herself, perched along her city’s gargoyles and looks over her own with stone eyes and stone heart that tries to beat like her own.

Her songs were answered with one of her own, a child whose parents were murdered in the heart of her heart. The parts of her that still loved as much as she could wholeheartedly accepted. The child that brought more children- who were all hurt by her and her own and decided she was worth helping anyways. Those eyes did not belong to her own children, those that she pulled the covers of relentless clouds over in order to protect.

No, no. Those eyes belonged to a different child. One that came later who Wailed along side her screams and soothed the madness that roiled beneath her streets.

Her screams were soothed by a child who is her liege, the small one that came and eased the rot that tore her marrow from the bones of her city- her own bones.

Phantom, she ruffles the hair of the boy king. Her gnarled joints and shadowed fangs and clawed countenance does not deter his smile and she loves the child more for it. Far better than the tyrant that tried to use her madness against her own people.

“Hi, Gotham. How are you doing today?”

Better, the gargoyles shifts and grinds. Thank you, my liege.

The boy-king laughs, bright green eyes glowing in the fog she’s summoned to obscure him from her knights. “You did most of the work.”

Not so, the winds whirls in between the white flames of the boy-king’s hair. But we have had this discourse.

Phantom smiles, sadness pulling at the corners of his eyes. She did not know human ways of emotion for she had always been a spirit, but this expression she knows well. It chases at the heels of her knights and now it is in a dogged pursuit for her liege’s heart. Gotham has found new things to hate. The shadows wrap around him.

Go, they whisper as Gotham herself slid back towards the cold stone of her city. Protect. Be happy.

“Okay, okay. But if one of your knights shoot at me again with their weird knives, I’m going to dye their hair neon pink.”

Gotham laughs, spiders bouncing along their webs. They will have deserved it.

The boy-king (hers, her liege, her son, her family, please, Gotham did not want to be alone anymore) laughed again and shot off from the perch she had provided.

[blu3-ja3]

Cryptid Gotham

ok, fake cryptid batfam is feeding me so well right now

like “the rumor around gotham is that a Bat watched the night” type

Bruce meets the JL and they all think hes some sort of meta when in actuality they could probably kill him with no sweat if he was unarmed

Bruce taking every precaution to make sure they keep thinking that way

Robin gets introduced as Bruce’s son/fellow cryptid and they all collectively freak out bc “HOLY SHIT THERES ANOTHER ONE???”

Bruce having to make up some bullshit excuse for why Robin is a child and going around fighting crime (some excuse like: ACTUALLY he’s technically a thousand years old, so this is fine)

the rest of the batfam shows up with just elaborate fucking backstories all based in the original story that bruce made up

dick’s robin retires?

no worries, jason says, he’s currently waiting on his metamorphosis bc their species has to go through that before becoming an adult

jason dies but the backstory was that they were immortal?

no problem, tim explains that sometimes their species goes dormat because they’ve lost too much energy

they acquire steph, but only for a few days?

no worries, bruce explains, sometimes their species goes under shifting to find the right body

one of the ones that I read had Bruce using and recorder and faking having 2 hearts, which Clark could hear, and when the recorder broke, to bring in Robin and explain that Dick was his 2nd heart splitting off of him (The Hearts of Gotham by schrijverr on ao3)

another one was literally batfam pretending to be slightly human versions of the animals they were named after and kon, being desperately in love with tim as he does, decides to uses ttk to create and shape wildly expensive gems and diamonds for tim because he thinks that “birds like shiny things, right?” (tim is rightly very worried that kon, in his dumbassery, decided to make large enough diamonds to completely dismantle the industry) and clark is later shown these diamonds, also very worried about the sheer enormity of these gems (‘a fake cryptid and a real romantic’ series by suzukiblu on ao3)

another one had batfam using engineered wings for fight and flight and their wings were a perfect complement to their costumes

clark meets tim without wings and is freaking out because holy shit he has no wings did he rip them off where are they??

batfam bonds through wing painting and fixing and the jl is in awe of them and their wings

best part is most of batfam does not realize that jl thinks their wings are very real and not mechanics and only realize when one of the younger ones ask abt them (Loading and Aspect Ratio by JUBE514 on ao3)

plz plz plz give me more recs bc i love this trope so muchhh