#he could do so much as bruce wayne. but he knows that it isn’t easy and he doesn’t really want to

[batgeance]

really very interested in exploring the dichotomy of bruce wayne and the batman and how bruce himself at this moment sees the two as entirely separate persons despite knowing damn well that the goals of both should align even though the paths of either are completely different

[clockwayswrites]

Die Screaming, Live Laughing

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

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

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

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

He spins the lens again.

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

If Tim went to college, that is.

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

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

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

This isn’t a deer bone.

Tim knows this shape.

This is human. A femur.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tim swings.

The femur goes right through the stranger.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What is it? Your name?”

“Danny.”

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

“Thank you, Tim.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then he keeps going forward.

The world explodes into light.

-

“Tim?!”

“Are you sure he’s still alive?”

“You can see him breathing, Bernard.”

“Pulse.”

“Tim!”

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

“You okay?” Cass asks.

“Ow.”

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

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

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

Tim starts laughing.

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

“Is he ever?” Tim hears Ives mutter.

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

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

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

---

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

Anyways, stay delightful, darlings!

[on-leatheredwings]

Checkmate

Yandere! Tim Drake / (AFAB) Reader

> romantic, rated M > tw/cw: yandere-typical behaviors (obsession). M rating is for a boner. just some sexual tension. reader is mentioned as bisexual.

> summary: Intellectually, Tim falls fast. Romantically, he falls hard. Seems this time it's both. > a/n: i just wanted to post some tim practice, pls let me know if i did okay. I made him a bit of a fuckboy i guess but ngl i think tim’s just run through af 😭 > word count: 1268

Tim likes you. And knowing himself, soon, he’s going to really like you.

More than anticipated, too. He didn’t think he’d have much of an opinion at all on you, when you had first met on your first day, in your new position as his personal assistant.

Personal assistant. 

At the reveal, he exchanged a hard look with Bruce across the room. Tim Drake had not been slacking on the job. And sometimes he had the eye bags to prove it.

Tim hadn’t even said anything yet, when you chirped, “Think of it as delegation.”

You gave him a pleasant, albeit cheeky look – which he respected. If you had the qualifications and enough charm to impress the hiring manager, who was a notorious hardass in interviews, you were probably fine. Probably more than fine.

Either way, he expected to forget your existence until you texted or called him to remind him about meetings he hadn’t forgotten about.

It turns out, you had… personality. Probably more than you should’ve, working in the professional setting of Wayne Enterprises. You dealt with Tim’s shit (absences, excuses), but gave as good as you got (ultimatums, thinly-veiled blackmail to run and tell Bruce). You were also… very attractive. And clever. And smart. And insightful.

And God, he wonders if you have a boyfriend. Or girlfriend. Partner. And he wonders if he can somehow orchestrate a breakup. 

Tim moves a chess piece across the board. 

Okay, maybe he’s being too hasty. 

Oh, for the love of– you know what? No, he isn’t being too hasty. Anyone working in such close quarters with the heir apparent of Wayne Enterprises is heavily vetted. But it’s about time he did his own background check on you. He has made it three whole months without doing so. 

See, he really is getting over his control issues. Eat that, Stephanie.

Okay, if he’s going to entertain the idea of courting you– Wait, wait, since when was it courting? Yeah, no. He’s merely entertaining the thought of you. He’s been burned too many times now to start courting.

Let’s talk about having sex first before we start talking about dating, he jests with himself.

Anyway. He wonders what would be the most interesting means of going about this. Coming out and confessing would be a little boring. Too easy. His eyes wander to your lips. You’re too focused on making your next move to notice him ogling the soft swell of your chest beneath a sharp button-up. You’ve rolled up the sleeves – very casual for this very casual hangout. You both lounge on your bed, in your bedroom, in your apartment, because if Tim wins, you don’t get to hound him on personally contacting investors. (Sometimes, you gotta leave malcontents out to dry. Make them miss you.)

He hopes you like being experimented with. Or maybe you like experimenting on others. He would do anything you liked because, man, it’s thrilling to know people and their wants. Anything you give, he could take it–

Tim startles as a realization comes to his mind. 

… Him. Taking it.

Is that something he wants? To bottom for you? … Is that something… he wants? 

Yes.

Now that the idea has been conceived, yes, he wants that. So that’s that. 

The reality of whether you’d want to do that… is slim… maybe? You’re bi as well. Maybe that changes things. He’s not going to think about it too hard, because now he’s getting excited.

Tim would love for the skittering, synapses-firing-on-all-cylinders effect in his brain to cool down – for everything to wash over with cool calculation and academic interest. He manages to do that much for even the most intriguing cases. But you… Tim sighs.

And now he’s hard.

Tim shifts uncomfortably. He’s lying on his stomach, held up by his forearms. 

He sighs, even though there’s an evil piece of his brain snickering and taunting, “But you love this, though!” Evil, evil.

At Tim’s increasing silence, you lift a brow. Man, he’s been out of it all game.

“Tim?” He comes back to planet Earth. “It’s your move. Again.” You wear a Cheshire grin. “It’s almost like we’re taking turns, or something.”

He blinks, baby blue eyes clearing up. He shifts in his spot, feeling trills of pleasure from friction against erection. Your sheets. Against his erection. He bites back a smile. Okay, yes, he loves this. He likes hiding like this, right under your nose.

Him getting a boner was a development he had foreseen coming ten minutes ago, once he started daydreaming about you. So he just went ahead and casually switched positions. A risk, but a calculated one. He was pretty sure there’d be no reason for him to get up and expose the tent in his jeans. And boy does he love it when he’s right.

Tim goes to move another piece, when he glances up at you and nearly goes slack-jawed. You don’t meet his eyes. Instead, you wet your lips, seemingly meditating on something.

You meditate on him. After all, Tim is so… pretty. Pretty in a way unlike the rest of his gorgeous brothers. He has pretty eyes framed by dark lashes and a smaller frame, though he’s deceptively muscled under the clean-cut slacks and button ups. He has silky black hair that often falls into his eyes; a defined jaw. And pale skin. He is notably the palest in his family, burning miserably on beach days. It is that pale skin, contrasted so sharply with his dark green tee, that brings your eyes to his collarbones.

Tim nearly erupts.

Fuck, yes. He caught you staring. It takes him self-restraint not to puff out his chest or try to show more skin, lest he reveal his hard-on.

You snap out of it only moments after he notices, grin returning to your face.

“You know if you lose focus like that, I’m going to win,” you tease, almost childlike mischief in your expression. 

Tim so badly wants to parrot the words back at you, but he doesn’t want to scare you into never checking him out ever again. The little inch you just gave him– oh, he intends to take a mile. Whatever small acquiesces you give in the future, he knows he’ll take that and much more.

Now, he’s hungry for you. As soon as this game is done, he’s going to create a new case study file, just for you. He could start kicking his feet at the thought, he's that excited. He’s excited! 

He’ll put the pedestrian, basic stuff like your height, weight, alma mater, major, past jobs and experiences. Somehow get into your social media that’s all on private mode to see what you’re always laughing at on that damn phone. He’s also going to bring up your phone records, go through your email, go through your physical mail. Oh, fuck, surveillance. He’s already in your room, too, luckily. If only he had more of his bugs on hand… The ones he always keeps in his belt buckle will do for now. Also, Tim needs to think of some way to acquire your breast, waist, and hip size – he has a good idea of those measurements, but he wants to know. When is the next time you’ll be out of the house and not at work, he wonders–

“Tim,” you whine, impatient. The sound is music to his ears.

Tim’s eyes rise from the board to your pouting face, and he smiles apologetically. Suddenly, your face dawns with disbelief and indignance.

Tim swiftly picks up one last piece and knocks one yours over.

“Checkmate.”

[gothamhappiness]

Being in a relationship with Bruce Wayne: a journey - Hi, Jason (Part V)

It's a big series about an afab!reader who doesn't like Bruce Wayne and who still falls in love with him (he fells quicker and harder)

Reader's origin story // Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4

Warnings: no proof reading, Jason's relationships with Bruce and Dick are discussed, mentions of Joker, violence, death

You met with Dick again in a bookstore. At first, you thought that it was quite a strange coincidence, until you saw him trying to talk with a very big boy who didn’t seem very interested in talking with him. Dick appeared upset ; the other boy was just shrugging and trying to focus on the books in front of him. 

You hesitated to go to them; you didn’t want to intrude. You weren’t too sure to recognise the other boy, but his face somehow seemed familiar. What decided you was where they were standing: the classic literature aisle of the store. Which was what you were looking for when you entered the shop.

You thought you could just say hi and then leave them alone if your presence was annoying them. You carefully walked to them.

“Hey Dick” you greeted the boy who turned around and instantly smiled at you. 

You weren’t too sure if it was a real smile yet, so you didn’t come closer to him, but his answer showed he was actually glad to see you.

“Hey, Y/N! What are you doing here?” he asked

“Buying books I guess.” you teased “I was looking for Mansfield Park or Emma, now I finished Pride and Prejudice” you said. 

The big boy to whom Dick was trying to talk to, quickly turned around and looked you up and down. He watched you with curiosity sparkling in his green eyes. Dick took his chance before his brother could go back to the cover of the book he was holding.

“Y/N, this is Jason, my little brother. You seem to share the same taste in books” Dick introduced the two of them

“Hi, Jason” you smiled as you cautiously observed him, remembering who he was now you knew his name.

You remembered what you read about Bruce and his son “who came back from the dead” and all the headlines about “Bruce arguing with his adoptive son”. It had quite broken your heart at the time.

“You’re Bruce’s new girlfriend?” he asked you quite bluntly

“I hate titles and I hate to feel like a possession. But yes, I'm currently seeing Bruce.” you replied and Jason nodded “I’m surprised you heard about me.” you added. 

“Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It's just that things are rocky with Bruce.” Jason said and you reassuringly smiled at him “And yeah, everyone is talking about you in the “family”. Dick and Tim said you were nice.” Jason explained his first coldness to you

“I understand; Bruce isn’t always easy and you don’t know me” you nodded

“Ah yeah?” Jason arched an eyebrow at you. 

He had expected you to take Bruce’s defence, like everyone else.

“Let’s say that I like challenges.” you smiled “And I’m not Bruce’s lawyer” you joked

“You should thank god for that, or you would have a lot of work” Jason grinned and you could tell Dick was quite happy about the current interaction.

“Can I buy the two of you a drink or something? Or a meal” you asked. “There is this sweet little café right outside the bookstore” you offered

You actually wanted to know more of them. Jason was curious about you so he agreed. Dick wanted to come as well, but he quickly received a call from Büdhaven. He reluctantly left the two of you together. Dick would have enjoyed some time with his brother too, but maybe you would help. If you helped with Bruce, he was certain you could do pretty much anything. At the same time, he really hoped Jason wasn’t going to scare you away from the family as a way to avenge himself.

But you knew better; you had met Red Hood before and you liked him.

You settled in the café. You started to talk about literature at first. You were both passionate so it was a good conversation starter. You gave each other some recommendations and debated on characters you liked or disliked. Your point of views on characters were often based on your experiences, so it naturally led to a conversion about each other’s lives. And of course, you arrived at the subject of Bruce Wayne.

“I’ll tell him to apologise to you. He shouldn’t have acted that way even if I do agree with the no killing rule” you said “You’re both right in a way, but… Bruce should have talked to you, he should have let you know what was going on with the Joker and why he couldn’t kill him. Why you couldn't kill him either. He should have been there to appease your anger, not the opposite” you said

“You’ll quickly learn that he doesn’t talk much. Especially not about his feelings. If it gets too personal, he’ll push the subject away. If it can hurt him, he’ll run away. He's a bad dad for that. And he might be a bad partner to you as well” Jason told you

“I’m sorry about what happened to you. It must have been so difficult to wake up without your family. And in a body you didn’t know. You did good, despite the murders and everything. Actually, Red Hood has always been my favourite vigilante” you admitted without commenting on the last part of Jason’s words. You wanted to believe that Bruce would make an effort for you.

Jason chuckled as you mentioned his vigilante persona.

“It’s true you never wrote anything bad about me. I thought you were scared of me… Until I realised we actually met” he teased, his eyes litting up

“Oh you remember? Yes I used to live in your territory, and now I’m nearby. I stand by what I said that night: I know what you did for people like us, that’s why I thanked you. Bruce can’t understand what it is to be poor and lost and to have to do bad things to survive. But I’ll make sure he does better with you.” you said “Just promise me to speak with Dick. Your brother looks like he is very eager to have you back in his life. He seemed very sorry you weren’t speaking with him earlier” you added

“I will try to talk with him again then. Thank you for… Thank you. I think I really needed to have this conversation with somebody but no one wanted to have it and I couldn’t really go to a therapist. You’re easy to talk with” he whispered, a little bit awkward

“I know” you smiled “I’m glad if I’ve been able to help”

“Is it your good action of the day to go to Heaven?” Jason joked 

“Absolutely” you giggled

A moment of comfortable silence engulfed the two of you. You both enjoyed your tea before you resumed talking:

“Hey you know what, this is my phone number. You can call or text me whenever you need it.” you offered

“Why?” Jason plunged his eyes onto yours. 

He was definitely not used of adults being there for him, especially without a catch

“Well I’m afraid I’m a family woman and my own family sucks very much. And since Bruce wants me around, I’d prefer it if I can get along with his people. I’d like to take care of you all.” you admitted, feeling a little shy to say all of this out loud.

Jason was also very easy to talk to.

“I don’t think I’m one of his people. Not anymore at least.” Jason sadly smiled at you

“You can be one of mine then. Take it as a repayment for allowing me to go back home every night without having to worry about anyone slicing my throat off” you insisted

“All the pleasure’s mine” he chuckled before saving your number onto his phone “You know, everyone says Bruce is nicer since you’re around. I have to admit this is true. Maybe happiness can truly change a man” 

“Even a bat?” you joked because Jason’s words were touching you a little more than you wanted to show it

“Even a bat” Jason nodded

A few days later, you received a message from Jason, clearly tasting the water with you.

J: Hey wanna go have some lunch together today or tomorrow?

You: Today sounds good :)

After this, you regularly had lunch together and Jason clearly started to see you as a motherly figure, and you saw him as a son. He crashed at your place more than once after patrol, so you could eat together. Bruce never commented on your relationship with Jason, but he heard you when you asked him to apologise.

Which he did.

Jason accepted it and tried his best with Dick and his other siblings. He was still feeling awkward around everyone, but he was slowly spending more time at the manor, even when Bruce was there. 

When Bruce asked if you wanted to meet all of his children anytime soon, you agreed but you instantly sent a message to Jason to make sure he would be there as well. He eagerly agreed because he couldn’t wait for you to be officially a member of the Batfamily.

--

PART 6

--

Taglist for all my work <3

@blublock404

@wind-canoe

@silverklaus

@couldeatthatgirlforlunch

Taglist for Bruce Wayne <3

@alishii

Taglist for this series <3

@Esposadomd

@moraxussy

@resident-cryptid

@legendarypiratecheesecake

@randomnamedmira

[gothamite-rambler]

The batgirls on their periods

My period is on and I've always wanted to write a story about that, but Winx Club wasn't something that felt the best for this outlet. Batfamily does work though because they're humans lol.

We go through out periods in different ways. The are the batgirls and batwoman are expys of that and this is how the male members of their family handle it. This is for all my girlie pops that have to deal with this curse. Let's dive in!

Dick Grayson: Hey Barb, you sent me this weird irate text, did I do something wrong?

Barbara Gordon (angry): Yes, remember that triple chocolate cake I had leftover? You better buy me a new one!

Barbara rolled over the man’s foot on purpose while grumbling curse words under her breath.

Dick: Ow, you said I could have it.

Barbara: Lies! Get me a new one or I’m ignoring you for the rest of the day and that’s including comms tonight!

Dick: Okay, I’ll do that after icing my foot. Freaking jerk.

Barbara (over her shoulder): Cake thief!

Tim Drake (having silently watched the arguing): Have the girls been acting… on edge lately?

Dick (once Barbara is gone): I hadn't noticed until my foot was ran over. What have you seen?

Tim: Stephanie has been eerily quiet and distant today. Which is not like her. Bruce asked her if she wanted to patrol a different part of Gotham and she just growled at him.

Dick: Hm... that is odd.

Stephanie Brown trudged the kitchen, wearing an oversized shirt and jogger pants. She grunted a greeting to the two men. She took a bag of carrots and a chocolate bar out of the fridge.

Stephanie (almost a whisper): I’m watching cat videos, don’t bother me. Oh, by the by, tell Bruce I will do the other part of town today.

Tim: Got it, bestie.

Stephanie grunted a 'thank you' and left the kitchen.

Tim: She hasn’t snapped at me too much.

Dick: Hm… wait… hold on… this isn’t the time is it?

Tim: Time for what?

Dick: We may be in the clear if Cass doesn’t have it.

Tim (confused): Have what?

Dick (shaking his head): You poor summer child.

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

Meanwhile Jason heard a knock at his door. He answered the door, seeing Cassandra Cain standing there, wringing her hands nervously.

Cass (frazzled): Hi Jason.

Jason: Hey Cass, everything okay, you look stressed?

Cass (bashfully): Do I? Yeah, um, my… Aunt Flo is visiting and I… I need to go to the store to buy supplies... I do not want to go in alone; you’re the only one I trust.

Jason: You don’t have an Aunt Flo and why would you need supplies to meet her?

Cass: Oh… oh dear, you don't get it. Um… my crimson tide… has arrived?

Jason: Crimson what?

Cass (pissed off): My period is on! It’s my time of the month! I need to buy tampons or pads before I bleed any-

Jason (covering her mouth): All right, got it... the message is in my head. Okay sure, I’ll get my keys.

Jason went to the living room to grab his backpack as Cass entered, surprised he would actually take her to the store.

Cass: Wait, you’re not… this isn’t strange to you?

Jason: I’m friends with Artemis. I’m used to this. Let’s get those supplies for you.

Cass clapped eagerly following Jason to his car.

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

Back at Wayne Manor, Dick waited for his father to answer the phone while Tim sat still unsure what was happening.

Dick (calling Bruce): Bruce are the girls on their periods?

Tim (gasping): Oh that's what it is!

Dick (irritated): Jesus Christ, Tim.

Bruce (calm): Hm... that’s why Stephanie snapped at me and that’s why Barbara cussed me out… I’m a little too used that. Then yes they are. Cass probably is too. Women can sync up sometimes.

Tim: How does he… Bruce how do you know this?

Bruce: Selina is very informative… and Harley is as well. So you learn a thing or two. Go easy on them and they won’t bite your head off. You didn’t do anything to piss them off have you?

Dick (ice pack on his foot): Nope.

Tim (prideful smile): I have not, so I’m doing good.

Bruce: Okay, well like I said don’t do anything else stupid, Dick.

Dick: I will try not to.

With that Bruce ended the call. He sighed then turned to his cousin Kate aka Batwoman as she sat on the passenger side of his car with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

Bruce: And then there's you.

Kate: Yeah, you’re just going to ignore me? No mention of the four way sync up?

Bruce: I’m ignoring a lot currently. I am a master at many things, women syncing menstrual cycles is not one of them.

Kate (agreeing): Trust me, women don’t get it either.

Bruce: Let’s get you your period stuff at least.

Kate: Could you not call it that?

Bruce (mockingly): Could you actually be prepared next time?

Kate: Ooh, catty? Maybe you’re on your month as well.

Bruce (chuckling dryly): You’re so funny let me tell ya.

Kate: I cope with humor. Get out of the car, cuzzo. Oh you’re also buying me lunch today.

Bruce: Of course, I am.

Part 2

[cherrrydragon]

➤ find something worth saving (it's all for the taking)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

← back to chapter list

SUMMARY ↳ Not everybody takes time to appreciate the holidays, it seems. Damian’s brow furrows as he inspects your arm. “You were…” “Awesome?” “Reckless.” pairing: jon kent x gn!reader x damian wayne warnings: nada wc: 3.2k

totally forgot to mention this last chapter, but this fic now has an official playlist!

It takes some convincing from Damian and Jon for them to let you go back to work. Jon says you shouldn’t be back so soon after getting shot. You tell him that your body is fine and ready to go, and also remind him that one of the first things you did when you were better was spar with the whole damn Batfamily. He looks properly sheepish after being chastised.

Damian says that you don’t need the job anymore, since you live with his family now. You tease him, asking if you technically classify as his sugar baby. He scoffs, turning away. It gets him off your case.

Sam damn near jumps over the counter to get to you when they see you walk in. “[Name]!”

At Sam’s shout, Carrie and Garrett pop their heads out from the back. Carrie’s face lights up, smile lines showing as she rushes over to join you and Sam’s hug. Garrett lets one of his rare smiles show, patting your head.

“You shouldn’t be back so soon,” frowns Carrie, pulling back.

You would lift up your shirt to show that you were fine, but she’s right, you shouldn’t be back so soon. A bullet wound on a normal person wouldn’t be completely healed just yet, but, you know, super healing. You’ve been left with a very faint scar. Jon spent his time tracing it, eyes hard and lidded. It gave you goosebumps when his fingers would pass over it.

You wave them off, laughing softly at their concern. "I'm fine, guys, really. It's good to be back."

Sam eyes you skeptically, arms crossed. "You better take it easy, though. We can handle things here."

Carrie nods in agreement, though she's smiling. "Just don't overdo it. We were worried sick about you."

Garrett gives you a nod of approval, his expression serious yet supportive. "Glad to see you're up and about, [Name]. Take care of yourself."

You promise them you will, appreciating their concern and warmth. Sam ushers you behind the counter, immediately putting you to (light) work, much to your amusement.

"So, spill," Sam insists, leaning in conspiratorially. "What happened?”

“What do you mean?” you ask as you organize some sugar packets.

“Dude, Robin and Superboy literally hauled your ass out of here.”

“They just took me to the hospital, Sam,” you sigh. “I got shot, it was pretty urgent.” Shoving a pastry in Sam's mouth, you push past them to ready the coffee makers. “In other news, I moved in with my future rich spouse.” It’s a way to distract them from questioning too much.

Predictably, Sam chokes on the bun. “What!? Hold on, back up a minute, when did you start dating somebody?”

“It was a joke, we’re just friends,” you chuckle. “He’s a huge worrywart and refused to let me go back to my apartment. Could barely walk out of the front door this morning. Said I didn’t even need this job anymore, basically said he’d take care of me.” He didn’t really, but whatever. “Isn’t he sweet?”

“So you’re telling me he basically said you can be the rich trophy partner? Why the hell are you here then?” Sam deadpans.

You match their expression. “Wow. Nice to know I was missed.”

Sam rolls their eyes. “You’re impossible. Who’s the guy anyway?”

“Damian Wayne.”

Sam blinks. Once. Twice. “Can you repeat that? I could’ve sworn you said Damian Wayne. Son of Bruce Wayne. Heir to Wayne Enterprises.”

You huff, placing a hand on your hip as their brain fumbles. “Dude, you bagged the big one. Holy shit, I didn’t know you could pull like that.”

“I told you, we’re just friends.”

“I thought he was, like, stuck up, or something. Cold ice prince type.”

You feel the need to defend Damian’s honor, even if Sam has no true ire towards him. “He’s nice. A good friend. He’s just… awkward.”

Sam takes time to look at you, a brow raised. You hope they're not doing that thing when they just look at you and know all of your secrets. Eventually they hum, dropping it.

“...You think you can ask his dad to pay my tuition–”

Tonight marks your first official patrol with the Batfamily. You're already suited up, crouched on the ledge of a rooftop with Damian. His cape billows in the wind. The city below is alive with lights and sounds, a symphony of Gotham’s nighttime pulse. You adjust your stance, feeling the adrenaline start to course through your veins. Damian is focused, his eyes scanning the streets for any sign of trouble.

"Keep your eyes sharp," Damian says, his voice a low murmur. "Gotham's quiet tonight, but that can change in an instant."

You nod, your own senses heightened, every sound amplified in the quiet of the rooftop. The tension in the air is palpable, a reminder of the city's ever-present dangers.

Damian glances at you, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "You ready for this?"

“Been ready, are you?” you challenge with a smile.

Suddenly, a voice speaks into your ear. It's Barbara. "We've got a situation near downtown. Reports of a robbery in progress."

Damian tenses, his eyes narrowing. "Let's move."

You both leap from the rooftop, descending into the city's shadows. The thrill of the chase ignites your senses as you navigate the rooftops with practiced ease. Damian is a blur of motion beside you, his movements precise and controlled.

Your arm muscles tense and release with every web swing. You take time to twirl and flip around Damian in an elegant dance as he swings with his grappling hook. The two of you move around each other in synchronized harmony.

As you near the location of the robbery, you spot the scene from above. A group of masked men are trying to break into a high-end jewelry store. The glass is shattered, and the alarm is blaring. Damian signals for you to flank them from opposite sides.

You land silently behind a dumpster, observing the thieves as they hurriedly shove jewelry into bags. Damian moves in from the other side, his presence a shadow in the night. You wait for his signal, your muscles coiled like springs.

With a sharp nod from Damian, you spring into action. You leap out, webbing one of the thugs to the ground before he even realizes what’s happening. Damian disarms another with a swift kick, his movements fluid and efficient.

The remaining thieves scramble, but they're no match for the two of you. You dart between them, your webbing and acrobatics keeping them off balance. Damian is a blur of motion, his strikes precise and powerful. Within moments, the robbers are subdued, webbed up and disarmed.

Damian steps back, catching his breath. "Nice work," he says, his tone grudgingly approving.

"Were you practicing those moves to impress me?” you ask cheekily.

“Why, were you watching me?”

“I just can’t take my eyes off of you,” you sigh dramatically.”

“Stop flirting, losers,” Stephanie teases on the comms.

Just as you're about to talk back, a low rumble echoes through the alley. The ground shakes slightly, and you exchange a wary glance with Damian. A nearby manhole cover bursts open, and a hulking figure emerges from the sewers. It's Killer Croc, his massive form towering over you both. What the hell.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Croc growls, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent.

You throw up your hands. “Come on man, I wanted an easy night.”

Croc advances with heavy footsteps, his massive claws glinting in the dim light. Guess he’s not in the mood for chit-chat. Croc chuckles, the sound sending a chill down your spine. "Think you can stop me, little bats?" His voice reverberates through the space, filling the space with menace.

“I am not a bat,” you mutter. “Only in spirit I guess." Killer Croc has a similar demeanor to that of Rhino, at least in terms of size. You’ve dealt with more than enough of them to be well equipped to deal with this situation.

You exchange a quick nod with Damian, silently communicating your plan. "Let's do this," he says, his voice low but determined.

Without hesitation, you both spring into action. Damian charges forward, engaging Croc head-on with a series of lightning-fast strikes and evasive maneuvers. Meanwhile, you use your agility and webs to dart around Croc, aiming to distract and disorient him.

Croc swings a massive fist, aiming for Damian, who narrowly dodges and counters with a precise kick to the knee. You take advantage of the opening, firing webbing at Croc's arms, aiming to restrict his movements. The webs hold momentarily before Croc tears through them with brute force. Boo.

"Keep him distracted!" Damian calls out, his voice cutting through the chaos.

You nod, focusing on keeping Croc off balance while Damian assesses the situation. With each move, you gauge Croc's reactions, looking for vulnerabilities to exploit. His strength is immense, and you start to hope this won’t take long. You’d like to get a decent rest tonight.

Damian maneuvers around Croc, striking with calculated precision. His training and experience shine through as he lands blows with pinpoint accuracy, each one aimed at weakening Croc's defenses. You watch in awe, both of Damian's skill and the sheer determination in his eyes.

As the fight wears on, Croc becomes more aggressive, his attacks growing wilder and more unpredictable. You dart in and out, using the environment to your advantage, hoping to find an opening. It's a dangerous dance, the alley echoing with the sounds of combat and the occasional growl from Croc.

Croc is getting overwhelmed, which means he’ll get desperate. His eyes keep darting to the window. He’s gonna try to escape, shit.

He shoves Damian to the side with his arm. For a split second, you want to make sure he’s alright, but you know he is. Trust that he is. You seize an opportunity to leap onto Croc's back as he charges out of the alley and onto the street. The sudden movement sends pedestrians scattering, and cars screech to a halt to avoid the monstrous figure rampaging through the city. You wrap his shoulders, providing you some extra distance from him as he tries to reach for you. He bucks and twists as he runs, trying to shake you off.

Croc flips up cars as he runs. Your claws dig into his shoulders as you steer him out of people's way the best you can, while simultaneously trying not to get thrown off. People scream and flee as cars swerve to avoid the chaos. With each passing moment, your muscles strain under the weight and movement of the monstrous villain.

“Should you be on vacation or something? It’s the holidays! Take a day off, Christ,” you grumble.

Croc chuckles dangerously. “Hang on tight, not-bat.”

It’s your only warning (aside from your senses screaming at you to get out of the way. Too bad you can’t) as Croc makes a superhuman leap, crashing straight through a window of Gotham Mall. Your suit protects you from the glass as it crashes down around you. Shoppers scream and scatter as the massive creature barrels through the aisles, sending displays and merchandise flying.

“Do you have any non-destructive hobbies?” you huff, dodging his grabby hands. Croc cuts a corner narrowly, slamming you slightly into a wall.

“Swimming. In the sewers.”

“Well, of course, where else?” Oh shit, there’s a baby in the way! You throw a web from each wrist, pulling yourself over to the stroller. You pick it up and narrowly move it out of Killer Croc’s way, putting it down next to the mother and quickly webbing yourself back onto Croc.

“Thank you!” the mother cries.

“You’re welcome!” is all you can say before your web pulls you back onto Croc. You curl your hand into a tight fist and hit him right in his head as you return. Croc staggers from the force of your punch, shaking his head as he attempts to regain his bearings. His momentum slows, giving you a moment to catch your breath.

“Spinnerette, report,” Bruce asserts in your ear.

“Uh, Killer Croc’s rampaging in Gotham Mall. Trying to minimize the damage,” you breathe, dodging another swipe from Croc. 

The noise of glass shattering and displays being knocked over is deafening. You hear Damian's voice cut through the chaos over the comms, “I’m en route. Hang tight.”

You cling tighter to Croc, using your agility to stay out of his reach as he wreaks havoc through the mall. “Yeah, hanging tight is kind of the plan,” you mutter, half to yourself.

You web his face, causing him to growl in frustration. Croc has a thick hide as protection, so your fangs won’t be able to pierce him. Your venom is useless here, which sucks because it would’ve been really nice to have in this situation.

Okay, you’re on the third floor of the mall, since the bastard jumped real high. How can you trap him? His advantage is his strength, so you need to restrain him so that he can’t use it. The whirring of a grappling hook catches your attention. Looking behind you, you see Damian swinging over to you, surprisingly gaining speed.

You spray a web towards him, catching him by the chest. Damian grips it as you pull him towards you. He lands with ease on top of Croc’s back. Croc's roar of frustration reverberates through the mall as Damian joins you.

“Fancy seeing you here,” you quip.

"Thought you could use a hand," Damian replies, his eyes never leaving Croc.

You grab his hands and wrap them around the makeshift web reins you had attached to Croc. “She–” you tap the ring you gifted him you know is under his glove, “–will tell you what to do. Don’t let him hurt anybody.”

Damian tries to catch your hand as you swing away, but you’re too quick for him. You gain speed, swinging ahead and away from Croc. “Tell me where a big glass window I can crash through is, K.”

“Take a left here.”

You swerve to the left. You can hear the commotion behind you as Croc thrashes and roars, but you focus on finding an exit point.

“Straight ahead.”

There. A large window overlooking the city. You see other buildings sparking with lights. Bracing yourself, you send yourself hurling into it. The glass shatters as you crash through it, arms out in front of you to protect yourself. Screams of people fade away behind you as you fall into the air. You’re lucky, there’s an intersection below you.

You swing onto a nearby lightpost. “I need the biggest and stickiest web you got, K.” You launch off and aim your hands in the middle of the intersection.

“Certainly, but it won’t be big enough for Killer Croc,” she says as a good and proper spider web slinks out and attaches to nearby light posts and buildings. The spiral pattern doesn’t extend to the radius of the web. “You’ll need to spin the rest of the web yourself.”

Bouncing off the center of the web, you start spinning the web across the intersection. The web begins to take shape, forming a large, intricate net that spans the entire intersection. Civilians look up in awe at your work. 

“Spinner!”

You look over as you hop across the web to see Nightwing grappling over. “Get the civvies out of here!”

He pauses, then nods. He swings down, quickly directing people away from the intersection to safety. He enforces power into his words, arms gesturing for them to go.

“Robin and Killer Croc are approaching.”

Using the web as momentum, you launch yourself and spray a web onto the ledge from which you jumped off. Climbing up, you stare down the large hallway of the mall. Croc is running straight towards you. He hasn’t thrown Damian off yet, so that’s good.

“Come on! I’m right here!”

“What are you doing–” hisses Damian in the comms.

Killer Croc growls, charging at you. His steps are thundering, echoing in the mall.

You brace yourself, waiting for the right moment. Croc lunges forward with a roar, his massive form barreling towards you. You time your move perfectly, leaping to the side just as Croc lunges out of the window space. You grip Damian’s cape, tugging him off of Croc as he begins to fall. The web bounces up and down as he lands in the center, trapped.

You pat Damian’s shoulder before jumping off the ledge after him. More webs spray from your wrist as you restrain Crocs arms to the web. You ignore his curses and yells as you struggles against your trap. It’s no use, the web holds firm.

“Holy cow,” whistles Dick, walking over. He reaches out to poke the web, but you snatch his hand away.

“Do that and we’d have to amputate you. It’s really sticky,” you frown solemnly. You’re joking of course.

Dick pulls his hand away, holding both of them up and a surrender gesture. “Okay, okay, I won't touch it,” Dick says with a grin, clearly amused. He looks around at the chaos in the mall, where people are cautiously peeking out from hiding places or rushing to leave.

“You know, you’ve certainly made a mess,” he comments, gesturing to the shattered glass and displaced merchandise around you.

“Actually, I think I’ve done worse.”

“Guess you’re fitting right in,” Dick remarks, his tone light but approving.

“Have I earned my rite of passage?” you smirk.

“Maybe if you can survive a month without causing a city-wide panic,” he teases, flashing you a grin.

Damian lands gracefully behind you, his cape billowing dramatically behind him. He surveys the scene with a critical eye, his expression serious and focused. You can tell he eyes Croc’s trapped form before he hurries over to you.

You hear the sirens of Gotham’s police force wail closer. “Always late to the party, it seems,” you hum, pursing your lips. You groan and flex your shoulder, still tingling from your little wall slam earlier.

“I’ll take it from here,” Dick reassures as the cop cars come to a stop near the scene. “You crazy kids go.”

Damian seems to have no qualms about that, since he grabs your hand and tugs you away. You let him drag you around, swinging with him as he grapples away. You swing through the night with Damian, adrenaline still coursing through your veins.

Coming to a stop on a rooftop, Damian’s hand runs down your arm, squeezing gently. “Are you hurt?” he asks gently.

“A little bruised, but I’ll be okay.” Your arm tingles under his touch. You chalk it off as pain.

Damian’s brow furrows as he inspects your arm. “You were…”

“Awesome?”

“Reckless.”

You catch his hand in yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I knew what I was doing, birdie.” He sighs, a mixture of relief and frustration evident in his voice. “I know, I know,” you reply softly, bringing his hand to your lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “But I’m here, and I’m fine.”

He meets your gaze, a small smile tugging at his lips. “You handled yourself well back there.” The moment lingers between you, the adrenaline of the night’s events slowly fading into a quiet calm. Damian’s thumb strokes over your hand, a silent gesture of reassurance and gratitude.

Damian holds your hand tight as he guides you home.

The next day, Spinnerette is trending.

notes: short chapter because its really just a filler but next one is gonna pop off i PROMISe

also, i hope i captured killer croc correctly? have literally never watched or read anything with him in it so im SO sorry if he is nothing like how he is supposed to be

also i straight up yoinked this scene from Spider-Man: Miles Morales, just replaced rhino with croc.

[to-the-stars8]

Can someone genuinely answer this ever lingering question as to why DC has such beef with Jason Todd?

They butcher his character and relationships, and for what? There’s so much fucking POTENTIAL not only with his character but with his story! There’s a way to actually write discourse in a relationship without making it so damn abusive. Maybe I’m missing something in the story or just in general, but it’s just so fucking irritating when it could be good.

You have a nice, good boy who only wants to help despite given the short hand in life who is then given a loving father who just so happens to be Batman. That boy is then murdered by Batman’s biggest enemy (don’t even get me started on the fucking Joker who essentially has become idolized in the worst ways by DC writers and directors) still trying to do the right thing despite being fucked over by the very person he so desperately wanted love from. Then, you have that same boy who’s just a little bit older, hurting and angry— acting out in every way he can against the man who loves him but couldn’t see past his own weaknesses. And what do DC writers do instead of making this complicated, intriguing and character growing relationship into something that’s not as fucking dumb and slightly out of character for Batman? They fuck him up.

It’s an extreme to say this, I know. And this isn’t against all DC writers, but you can’t deny a lie when it’s a pattern. It’s a cut and dry story that practically writes itself. You have a little boy who is so full of hope is growing along with the main character of the story (which, in my own personal opinion, Batman has Robin not as a soldiers—and omfg does that damn phrase make me violent—but as a potential, mutual factor of character growth) , who then gets a bit too cocky and distracted by his own hubris and need for love, to a hurt antagonist that goes against the man who he once called father. Like it’s too easy to not fuck this up, and yet DC seems to manages to do this every single time.

It’s almost like they want to portray Batman and Bruce Wayne as a man who is made “tougher” by his trauma (which has some patriarchal undertones if you catch my drift) instead of growing. Batman can grow. He can love. There’s one post that I’ve seen on Tumblr how Batman/Bruce does this whole vigilante thing out of love.

Which is why I don’t get why DC uses Bruce as a tool to hurt Jason when it isn’t really consistent. He loved Jason, and this is backed up by a lot of older and a few current issues. Don’t get me wrong, I get that their relationship post-UTRH is gonna be FUCKED. Yet, even the writing in that I can’t really agree with. KILLING (attempting to kill really) your son who had been dead for years, that you loved so much, and is acting out because YOU? Doesn’t make much sense, but, again, maybe I’m looking at this through a foggy lens.

This wasn’t meant to be a long post, but it’s just been on my mind and perhaps I could use another perspective. So, again, what’s DC’s deal with Jason and Bruce’s relationship, and Jason’s character as a whole?

[hollandorks]

haven

battinson! bruce wayne x f! reader

chapter fourteen

Summary: After the sudden deaths of her mother and grandmother, y/n is forced to return home to Gotham…and to the man who broke her heart three years ago. Back in Bruce Wayne’s inescapable orbit, she vows to get to the bottom of her former best friend’s new cold personality. But Bruce’s secrets aren’t what she’s expecting.

a/n: I'm back to posting semi-regularly, yay! Not sure when the next chapter will be finished because of the holidays but hopefully it'll be within the next week or so! This one is a little on the shorter side, but the next several will be longer I think! (Since I haven't actually written them--but I have plans and they're lengthy.)

Series Masterlist

word count: 2k

“Oh man,” Martinez groaned as his eyes flicked from Alfred, to her, to the picture, and back again. He gulped audibly. Next to him, Blake the security guard was white as a sheet. “Gordon’s gonna kill me.”

“Gordon’s gonna kill me,” Martinez said for the twentieth time as y/n poured him a cup of coffee to replace the one that was currently still on the foyer floor. “I was supposed to be the one paying attention. I was the one he trusted.” Which, he informed  her after maybe the fourth “Gordon’s gonna kill me,” that meant he was Gordon’s most trusted on her security team. He was one who was secretly supposed to make sure no one else was compromised. 

“Martinez,” y/n said for the nineteenth time. “No he isn’t. You were doing your job. You already said you didn’t leave, or fall asleep, or take a call. In fact, you did your job so well you ignored my offer of coffee.” She held out the new mug. 

Martinez was still nervously mangling the hat of his uniform. He was completely ignoring her reassurances. He went still after a second, then turned eyes that were twice as frightened to her. “Man, Mr. Wayne’s gonna be so mad too, isn’t he? This is his house.” 

Y/n narrowed her eyes. “I’ll handle Bruce. And besides–Alfred’s more in charge than he is, and he already agreed it wasn’t your fault.” Alfred had met Gordon downstairs a few minutes earlier. The elevator and entire lobby had been turned into a crime scene. Martinez and y/n were waiting to give their statements. 

Easing Martinez’s fears was much easier than facing her own. It was easy to focus on him and nothing else. Because in the short half hour since she’d first found the picture, each bit of new information was worse than the last. No one on the security detail had been harmed, bribed, or had even moved. The security cameras had been turned off for only ten minutes. Which all meant that someone had enough access to Wayne Tower and its security to get past everything extra that had been set up. 

They wanted her to know that they could get to her. 

And they were drawing it out. Instead of grabbing her, they were making her wait. Making her scared.

Y/n focused again on the nervous cop in front of her, who was still bemoaning the fact that everyone was going to be mad at him. 

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to be mad at you,” she snapped. There was a headache blooming between her eyes. 

Martinez quieted, looking like a kicked puppy with a mustache. “Jesus, I’m so sorry, y/n. If I can make it up to you at all–” 

“Just drink your coffee, okay? No one blames you.” Y/n took a sip of her coffee. Her hands were still shaking, and some of the liquid spilled over as she set the cup back down. Damn, she was wasting a lot of coffee in one night. 

She startled when a warm hand landed atop hers. She looked up and met Martinez’s soft gaze. He didn’t say anything else, but his presence was enough to steady her. 

“I’m so glad they didn’t shoot you,” she said after a moment. 

They shared a grin. “Hell, me too.” 

An awareness prickled along y/n’s spine.

She looked up, and there was Bruce. 

His hair was stuck to his forehead and his shirt was on inside out. Her stomach swooped. There really only seemed to be one possibility from those two clues, plus the fact that he hadn’t been home. 

Jealousy and shame spread like hot oil through her stomach. 

Bruce looked…angry. His eyes were twin blue flames where they stayed locked on Martinez’s hand atop hers. 

Martinez scrambled to his feet as if the king of fucking England had just walked in. More coffee spilled as he bumped the table. Y/n half expected him to bow for Bruce. She rolled her eyes. 

“Mr. Wayne! I’m so sorry, I swear I was paying attention, I–” 

Bruce’s eyes went cold. “And you are?” 

“Officer Martinez, we actually met back–” 

Y/n’s eyes narrowed. It was her turn to jump to her feet. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she said to Bruce.  

Martinez flinched. Bruce calmly glanced her way then went back to glaring at Martinez. 

“When the security of my home has been compromised due to incompetence–” Bruce said, still calm despite the obvious fury in his eyes. 

Y/n cut him off. “Oh shut up. Stop talking to him like that. It wasn’t his fault!” 

Bruce’s eyes flashed. “Well, it was certainly someone’s.” 

“Maybe it was yours, then.” The words rose within her on a tide of anger. God, her life had been threatened again, and he had the nerve to come home from fucking his girlfriend and act like a dick to her friend? “I mean, you’ve been letting the rest of the tower go to shit for years, makes sense that maybe security is a little lax. Especially if you don’t even give enough of a shit to ever be here.” 

They were almost toe to toe now, both breathing heavily. From the corner of her eye, she saw Martinez freeze in place, mouth open in shock. 

“I give too much of a shit, y/n. If your little boyfriend hadn’t been distracted–” 

Oh, y/n thought. Bruce thought Martinez was her boyfriend. And okay, maybe it looked like that, but Martinez actually had a great girlfriend who was in a group chat with them where they all sent memes to each other. She and Martinez wanted to set up a double date with her cousin and y/n.

The realization made the anger ebb, but then she was pissed off all over again. 

“What gives you the right to act like this?” she spat at Bruce. He was so much taller than her that her neck was starting to ache from glaring up at him. “After what you did, after what you said, you’re acting like you have any right to one, be involved in my personal life at all or two, be jealous!” 

Bruce flinched. Just like the first time it had happened two days ago, it didn’t feel as good as she thought it would. 

“Um,” Martinez said in the echoing silence. “We’re actually just friends and I–I’m going to go give my statement now?” 

Y/n barely noticed him leaving. 

She was so sick of being so afraid, so heartbroken, so…everything. 

“You’re going to apologize to him whether he’s just my friend or not,” she said, poking Bruce in the chest. He winced and tried to mask it by looking away. “I already told you, Bruce. I lost you three years ago. Stop acting like that didn’t fucking happen, because it did.” 

Bruce’s hands were clenched into fists at his sides. Now he wasn’t looking her in the eye at all. “I didn’t mean–” 

“Oh, shut the fuck up, yes you did.” But the words were bereft of the anger that had been present only moments before. She took a deep breath and a step backwards. “I’m just–sick of pretending things are the same, okay? I know you want to go all protective-best-friend thinking Martinez is my boyfriend or that he put me in danger but–I can’t just–Things aren’t–” Suddenly words were failing her. “It’s just not the same, okay?” 

She watched as Bruce softened, too. “Y/n, I’m sorry, I–” 

“Why did Martinez just run out of here like a bomb went off?” Gordon’s voice cut across whatever Bruce had been about to say. 

“Mommy and Daddy were fighting,” y/n said drily, her defense mechanism of humor kicking in. Bruce made a choking noise. “Find anything useful? Like maybe Frank Gallo?”

She could almost hear Gordon’s teeth grinding from across the room. “No.” 

“Bruce,” Alfred said from behind Gordon. “We have some things to discuss.” 

Bruce gave her one last glance before following Alfred out. 

Alone with Gordon now, y/n sank into her chair with a long sigh. She stared at the little coffee spills as if they had personally offended her. “If I spill any more coffee tonight I might kill someone.” 

“Now that would be a sight. Looked like you were about to do Mr. Wayne in already.” Gordon chuckled and took the seat across from her. He flipped open a small notebook. 

“I’m still not opposed to smothering him in his sleep,” she muttered. “Arrest me if you have to.” 

“How about I get your statement instead?” 

It didn’t take long. She was basically a pro at giving statements to the police at this point. When she was done, she said, “I’m so…tired of giving statements to the police.” 

Gordon regarded her with sharp eyes that didn’t miss anything. “We’re doing everything we can, y/n,” he said softly. 

“I know, I know. It’s just–getting shot at was scary and all, but this is my home.” Her voice cracked. She ducked her head and fiddled with her coffee mug so Gordon wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. “They’re telling me they can get to me here, too. Where I’m supposed to be safe.”

“I understand completely. We’ll get him. We’ll get them. I have a feeling he might show up on our doorstep sooner rather than later, with something bat-shaped pinned to him and a couple of black eyes and broken bones.” Gordon smirked. Y/n frowned as she realized she hadn’t seen Batman at all. Had he been downstairs? Maybe Bruce hadn’t wanted him to come upstairs. Her frown deepened. “Now, you’re going to have to help me convince Officer Martinez not to sleep in the elevator tonight. Or right outside your door. He’s pretty upset.” 

“I’m surprised he still wants to hang around, considering how much of a dick Bruce was,” y/n said under her breath. “But I’ll do my best.” 

Martinez took a lot of convincing, but eventually relented and went home to his girlfriend. He made y/n put a chair under her bedroom door handle first, though.

Bruce hadn’t reappeared by the time y/n went to bed. 

She laid down, the words of their argument–or whatever the hell that had been–replaying on a loop. Being around him made her feelings go haywire. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so angry at him. The heartbreak of three years ago had taken over her life and she had to admit that the anger felt…almost good. Cathartic. But it also made her feel out of control. She didn’t feel like herself. Being mad at Bruce went against years of instincts. She was used to defending him, or him defending her, to being on the same team together.

She was still wide awake as dawn broke over the sky hours later. 

Another thought kept turning over and over in her mind. Frank Gallo–or someone he had hired–had gotten into her home. Her very, very secure home. 

She had been afraid before, but it was nothing like this. Her safe haven had been…sullied. They knew who she was, where she lived, and had basically said right to her face that not even Bruce Wayne’s money and power could keep her safe. 

Added all together, y/n’s mind simply would not shut off in order for her to sleep.

It occurred to her again that she hadn’t seen Batman at all–had Gordon updated him on what happened? Because he had been in that photo, too. He had kept her alive, which she was certain had pissed off the Gallos. Was he a target? Maybe the picture of them together was a threat to both of them, but only given to her since they knew where she lived. 

When she rolled over, her eyes caught on all of her research piled on the opposite side of the bed. Her eyes snagged on those three words: white knight syndrome. 

She bet she had her answer about any possible feelings he might have. Even if he had shown up, he hadn’t tried to contact her, to see her, nothing. He was probably sick of having to keep her alive. He was probably leaving it up to Gordon and the police department now. 

Despite everyone who was trying hard to keep her alive, y/n felt utterly alone. 

Next Chapter

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[flyingcatstiel]

SuperBat Week 2024 fic recs

Day 5 - WE ARE FAMILY Meeting the in-laws | Parent trap | Tired dads

the cost of being a good dad by Mawiiish [T, 96,500 wc]

Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian are all tired of watching Bruce struggle with the stress of trying to handle the newly formed Justice League. He needs an outlet, he needs to relax, he needs to get out of the house, he needs... he needs to start dating. And what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? “Excuse me, I don’t know who you think I am, but I think there’s been a mistake.” “Bruce, right?” the guy says, albeit less confidently this time. He looks slightly concerned and if Bruce is not mistaken… a tad embarrassed. “Bruce Wayne? You look just like your pictures.” “My pictures?” Something finally clicks in Bruce’s mind, and he takes a small step back and plasters a smile on his face as to not rouse suspicion. Stalker. “Ah, of course, I’m sorry but I’m late for an appointment.”

Comment - Great "Parent Trap" kinda story with Bruce's kids having too much interest in his dating life and too much skills in setting up him with a handsome stranger. What could go wrong?

I (Know) I Wanna Marry You by ClarkeStetler [T, 23,800 wc]

Clark loves Bruce and has been dating him long enough that he's absolutely certain he wants to marry him, build a life with him, etc. But before he can do that, he has to make sure certain people are okay with it... and very few people have done too well going against seven Bats.

Comment - Clark wants to do things right, and that means asking Bruce's family to give him (them) a blessing. But first he needs a plan how to approach them. (#meeting the in laws, kind of)

Interviewing & Counseling series by Ginevra_Benci [G, M, 18,119 wc, 5 parts]

Clark is falling apart. Bruce Wayne, of all people, helps sort out the pieces.

Comment - While the fic is more about Clark finding a place where he belongs, Bruce Wayne and his sons are essential in this process. Also, some wise words from Nightwing to speed up his date with Batman. (#meeting the in laws, kind of)

This Side of the Stars by architeuthis [T, 43,900 wc]

After Clark's death, Bruce finally gets to know him.

Comment - The fic takes place after Batman v Superman movie which means that Clark is slightly indisposed for the most duration of the story. Instead, Bruce is there to help Martha Kent and to learn about the man he couldn't save. (#meeting the in laws, kind of)

who's coming to dinner by shipyrds [G, 4,160 wc]

Beyond the onslaught of comestibles are Ma and Pa Kent. They’re seated next to each other, which isn’t traditional, and also makes this feel even more like a job interview Bruce is failing. He thinks. He’s never actually had a job interview, never mind failed at one. That may be part of the problem. “So,” he begins, a tentative foray into the awkward silence broken only by the sounds of Jonathan’s fork scraping mashed potatoes onto his plate. “How’s the, ah, harvest this year?” “Bad,” Jonathan says, and does not elaborate. Three visits to Smallville over a year.

Comment - Bruce wants to succeed. The Kents don't make it easy. (#meeting the in laws)

My other superbat fic recs are here

[theblue6ook]

Shit Interview PT 3

Summary: Y/N’s first introduction of Bruce Wayne isn’t exactly the best: “I thought he was supposed to be charming.” [B (23) & Y/N (21)] [Eventual slow burn with Bruce]

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x fem!reader

a/n: Well hello there. If you liked this story, it’s a part of my “Out of My League” series. There will be more to come ;)

It had been a week since Y/N’s conversation with Alfred. When the driver had picked her up for her interview the next day and drove her to Wayne Manor… well, she thought she might faint. She had known the Wayne’s butler had taken over as Bruce’s parent figure, but-god-she did not know it was Alfred. How did John even meet him?

They held the interview on Bruce Wayne’s back patio, just outside the kitchen. Alfred had tea prepared and asked her various questions as she looked out towards the sprawling gardens. She could see everything from their view; his pool house, the tennis court, hell, even Gotham, but one thing was missing. Her boss. It had been a week since Y/N’s conversation with Alfred. A week since she was hired, and she still had not met Bruce Wayne.

-

Bruce sat hunched in the cave. The only thing illuminating the area was the artificial light seeping off multiple computer screens. He tried to straighten in his chair, feeling uncomfortable. This wasn’t a week of the usual patrol with the typical idiots robbing and running. That was child's play. This week, Bane had been breaking into research centers for the necessary chemicals to create a more permanent strength enhancer. Not only that, but each break-in, they took hostages and executives, making them give up private company data so they would know what other chemicals were going to be shipped and where.

He was growing frustrated. It should have been at least an easy trail to follow, but Bane had hired decoys, look-a-likes, to go to other research centers and pose as himself, and Bruce was only one person. At this point, he wasn’t even sure any of them were Bane- his thoughts were interrupted by an abrupt ring! Figuring it was Alfred with information involving the case, he didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Any updates, Alfred?”

“Uh, no. Sorry. This is Y/N, Mr.Wayne,” she stated, confused, but continued, “I don’t know if you got my last message, but Alfred told me you wouldn’t be in the office this week so,-”

“I’m sorry, who is this again?” Bruce sat up straight in his chair. He didn’t think to answer the phone any other way. Why would anyone else but Alfred have the cave phone line? This case is getting to me. I need to be more careful.

Y/N paused, rethinking what to even say. She didn’t even think he would not know who she was; Alfred hired her, for god sake.

“Oh, I’m guessing Alfred didn’t tell you then,” she stopped, trying to find the right words. “Well, I was hired as your new assistant. Yay… Anyways, I was just getting started sorting your schedule and wanted to know if you had any preferences-”

‘Yay,’ what was I thinking?

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he interrupted her yet again, with fake politeness, “I’m not in need of an assistant.”

Irritation crept up her neck. She did not take kindly to being interrupted, but this is her boss, so she’s trying to remain calm and… slightly collected.

“Well, you’ve got one,” she stated plainly. “Alfred seems to think I would be helpful to you anyway.”

“Does he?” This conversation is wasting my time. Bruce grabbed one of the case files and started violently flipping through it to make the most of this conversation.

“Mhm,” Y/N took a breath. “Alfred is a friend of mine, and he asked me very specifically, as a favor, to help you work and you know.”

“I don’t know actually.”

There was no more beating around the bush, so she decided to state it firmly, “To help you get back in the office. Look, I’m sure you’re busy doing… whatever it is that you do, but this will just run so much smoother if you help me and I help you.”

As she spoke more, Bruce found himself less and less able to focus on the task at hand. It had been days, and he just wanted one lead, and that was all. It didn’t seem like much to ask for. He rubbed his brow. I do not have time for this. 

“Well you don’t have to worry about it,” he laughed fakely. “I really have no interest in an assistant. I’m sorry to be the one to say it, but this is a waste of your time. There’s really not even a need to continue the conversation.”

I thought Bruce Wayne was supposed to be charismatic. Y/N looked around, speechless. She wasn’t sure what else there was to say. She sat shocked at her new desk in her new office and looked around. They had put a minifridge under her desk, and her chair didn’t squeak. It was the first place she had worked that was clean and new. No infestation, no slop, just clean, and she liked it. She liked it a lot. It was the first place she felt excited to go to work. No, no, I am not leaving.

“As wonderful as this conversation is, I’m afraid we’ll have to cut it short,” she starts. “Now. I’m going to be at the office tomorrow, and I do expect you, as my employer and the face of your company, to be there.”

“You’re fired,” Bruce blurted out.

“You didn’t hire me,” she countered, “Alfred did.”

“Well, don’t anticipate seeing me. I have other things to work on.”

“What work?” she said without a second thought. “Word on the street is you’re never in the office.” 

Bruce inhaled sharply; his blood pressure had to be rising. Abruptly, he hung up the phone. Turning toward the stairs, he practically leaped out of his chair. Making his way to the kitchen in record time, he turned left into the living room. “Alfred!”

There, in a small seat by the window, sat Alfred. He was unbothered and drinking his tea. Folding the newspaper, he looked up at Bruce, “I’m assuming you met Miss. Y/L/N. I sent her call down to the cave for you.”

“Alfred,” Bruce sighed, “Bane is planning another heist that I am supposed to catch before it starts, and you’re worried about my time in office? What don’t you understand about what I’m doing? I don’t need or want an assistant-”

“I beg to differ.”

“Please be reasonable,” he groaned. “I am not showing up. These cases take precedence over anything that assistant throws at me.”

“Then perhaps work on these cases at the office. At least be there to show your company you’re around, present, alive.”

“Why so my ‘new assistant’ can hover over my shoulder?”

“Well, you could try to ignore her, but I would be weary of it. She’s as stubborn as you.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Bruce stated bluntly, starting to move out of the living room back down to his own fortress of solitude.

“I hope the business you’re planning to tend to is at your place of business,” Alfred called after him. He couldn’t see Bruce anymore, but he heard him scoff from the other room. Alfred chuckled, “It must have been like talking to a mirror.”

[clockwayswrites]

City Pigeons - Part 10

WC: 817, Masterpost

Jason sighed as the tablet in his hands flashed with alerts. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“How did the meeting with Black Bat go?” Bruce asked instead of responding, because of course he did.

“You know it went fine,” Jason said, trying not to snap. “Besides, everyone likes her, there was a good chance it was always going to go fine.”

“We both know trauma isn’t always that easy,” Bruce said, his tone carefully modulated to be gentle. It rankled Jason, like it always did.

Jason took a breath and let his chin drop to his chest for a moment. Bruce didn’t mean it like that. He knew that now. This was Bruce trying as best as he was able— it wasn’t just another mask. Bruce just had to put effort into emotions that made it seem forced. Jason pushed away his flair of temper; it was harder to do than he’d like after too much worry and too little sleep.

“Ja—”

“I’m fine. It’s just like you said, trauma isn’t always that easy. I’m fine,” Jason said as he waved the concern away. “And names. You know we’re sticking to code names still.”

Bruce tilted his head, observing Jason through the white lenses. (That used to rankle too.)

“You thinking there’s a chance he’ll run.”

Jason sighed. He gave an exaggerated shrug to cover the worry that ran through him at the question. “Not run, exactly. I think he doesn’t believe that he can stay— that it’s even on the table. I think that we’re his last hope and he doesn’t believe in hope anymore.”

Bruce didn’t move. Jason gave him time to think that over.

“That’s why he doesn’t want to see… Wayne,” Bruce said, slowly, like he was feeling the idea out. “He doesn’t expect to get anything from him so it’s better to be healed up first.”

Jason shrugged again.

“Figure so. But also once that meeting happens, whatever happens, then all of this,” Jason motioned to the safe house, “is over as far as he knows. If he puts off the meeting, he puts off the risk of losing the first safety that I think he’s hand in a long, long time.”

Bruce’s shoulders hunched and he almost blended back into the shadows by the window. “If he’s already posed for it to go badly…”

“B, that’s not your fault,” Jason said— had to say. “The kid’s been through hell, maybe by his own family, of course he’s going to expect the worst.”

It was a long moment and then Bruce nodded, just once. “What’s the plan?”

If Jason really had his way, the plan would be to deal with all these ill feelings, but that’s not what anyone in the family was good at, him included. It would be what it would be.

“We’ll have BB over again for a meal tomorrow. I’m sure it will keep going well and she can help be on watch that night. We think it’s best to give that a few days before we introduce O or anyone else new, so you have to keep the rest of the horde reigned in,” Jason said pointedly. Then a though occurred to him. “Where is the little spawn anyways?”

“He’s on the roof across the block.”

“Yeah, is he? Because that was a lot of alerts—”

“Hood!”

Jason didn’t think before he was striding across the room towards Danny’s room. The kid was standing in the door. White hair stark in the low light. Green eyes bright.

Glowing.

Wide with fear.

“Danny?”

“Someone else is here,” Danny said. His voice was almost too quiet to hear, but Jason could half swear he felt it in his very bones. Danny reached out and clung onto the sleeve of Jason’s hoodie. A cold settled into Jason’s bones along with the vibration of the soft words. “Someone touched by death. Can you feel them too? They’re not not like us. They haven’t died. They haven’t died, but they reek of death. Hood, what are they?”

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe here, remember?” Jason assured Danny automatically. The words rolled out of his mouth without Jason having to even think about them, which was good, because Jason’s mind was still caught on Danny’s words: They’re not like us. They haven’t died. “Some Bats just stopped by to check on us.”

Was it Bruce? Did all of Gotham’s death cling to his shoulders like his cape?

Was it Damian? Was it the stench of the Pits?

Or did Jason miss something else slipping in with all of the other alarms.

“We’ll go check on Nightwing together, alright? I bet he has a little red and black guest who slipped in,” Jason said. He twisted his hand to hold Danny’s. The cold bit at his skin. He didn’t let go.

He hoped he was right.

He had a hard time believing in hope too.

---

AN: A myyyyyyyystery *wiggly fingers*. Gods I'm so tired.

I no longer tag, you can subscribe to the masterpost instead!

[ghost-bxrd]

Hey! I was the anon asking about your thoughts on Bruce being a bad dad (or really just closer to who he is in recent times) and honestly I just wanted your thoughts on it, so thank you!

I also love reading batfam fics where Bruce is a father that loves his kids and believes everyone can be redeemed regardless of whatever crime they may have committed: that’s honestly the Batman I like reading about bc thats what got me into his comics. But it gets complicated when I read fanfiction that uses stuff like UTRH as part of the fic’s lore and then just glosses over Bruce nearly killing his kid to save the Joker, bc that’s very uncomfortable to think about. It’s hard for me to believe that Bruce and Jason are cool when Jason now has the experience of his throat being torn open by his ‘father’ (bc I wouldn’t call someone like that my parent), and our last glimpse of him being his body crumpled to the floor in a pool of blood. Like thinking about how much had to happen between then to ‘now’ in the fic takes me right out of the fic bc that’s just what mentions of times Bruce was a bad father do to me 😭

I prob could’ve worded that more succinctly and shorter but as you may notice I expand a lot on my thoughts lmao. But if you do think up any prompts on Bruce being a complicated father in regard to Jason’s rule over Crime alley, please share!! I’d love to read them and MAYBE write something if the creative juices start flowing

Side note: Good mom Talia is my life blood. Like the struggle of trying to raise her children in such an unforgiving environment where she’s been trapped since SHE was a child OR in a place that, while not actively harming them (in a League where Ra’s isn’t evil), isn’t giving them the opportunity to shine the way she knows they could. Good shit.

Very valid. Everyone’s got their own preferences regarding tropes and world building 💚 and I can totally understand the batarang incident part. Jason should be pissed about it. Rightfully so. On the other hand I refuse to view this part as canon because the Batman I know would never and I steadfastly refuse to write this part as anything other than an accident/misunderstanding in every single fic ever lmaooo

Hehe I’ll try to come up with some complex parent Bruce Wayne prompts soon, so keep an eye on the corresponding tag ✨

And y e s, good mom Talia is awesome. Talia’s life hasn’t been easy but she’s trying to make the best of it and carve out her own little space of happiness for her and her son, and upon realizing that it’s still not enough immediately prioritizes her son’s safety and wellbeing to send him to live with Bruce. Something I imagine would be absolute agony for any loving mother. 🥺

[arunoy]

first meeting or whatever you call it

OKAY. SO.

E.M. (Evan Madison) meets the friend Jon wont ever stop mentioning every other day when they hang out for the first time. And his thought process simply is: “Oh, well, it was nice while it lasted. (His friendship with Jon)”

Why? He’s just purposely avoiding any form of contact with a Wayne for the sake of his mother.

See a longggg, long time ago, in this universe, based off of the 1930s-1940s run, Julie Madison breaks off her engagement with Bruce. She’s tired of him doing nothing with his playboy shenanigans, she doesn’t appreciate his slacking behavior, despite once loving him before. Well, she still loved him, so she stayed the night before leaving. Andddd nine months later, BAM. Evan Madison. Not Wayne, Madison. Julie broke up with Bruce for a reason, she will NOT be coming back to that man despite being like a billionaire. Oh, and she moved to Metropolis to continue her rising role as a star actor there.

To add on (differences in this universe), Julie’s engagement to Bruce was like… fairly… long… Like, since he had the first Robin to the… fourth… They didn’t get married ‘cause like, Gotham’s crazy, and Batman with his little lalala team of kids and wonde rpeople and whatnor have to handle all of that. Though, Julie obviously is not made aware the man she is married to is Batman (pls be kind she is DENSE.. ish…) So like the timeline, two to three years after Evan was born comes Damian…

Evan’s like a school senior to John, that’s how they knew each other anyways.

At first, Evan isn’t aware about his father until his mother tells him that his dad was Bruce Wayne. He didn’t really care, his life was great with just his mom as the only parent in the house. That eight-year-old boy didn’t think much of his dad, only when his mother would mention how lacking Bruce was to her once in a while. That’s what he thought he wasn’t different from his dad for; his physical health was slacking since birth, although it was more burdensome than whatever his mom thought of Bruce.

That thought comforted him; his mother still kept this life with Evan despite the little things he has done like Bruce. Julie tried convincing him that his intelligence and drive for art was enough, how passionate he was, that he was more than enough to her; but it never really worked. Not like he was too mentally unwell to be so concerned.

But! After researching and conspiring far too much than needed, he eventually discovers his dad, the quote, “most annoying man at worst,” is Batman. Shockers! Uh oh, his dad was really not like him at all. This kind of job is risky, this kind of effort and drive would swoon his mother all over again. This kind of man his father was truly was more useful than Evan could ever be.

Hey, he’s in his mid teens of angsty and insecurity when he finds out, he’s going to assume the worst. Like, he seen the disappointment, the frustration his mother had for people who are basically useless. The moment she finds out about Batman’s identity, she see how much better his father is. She’ll compare her poor-health, physically unwell son to the father who’s just better in every aspect—and sigh, looking at her burdensome son.

Evan can’t handle that. He can’t handle losing the mother who’s been a source of warmth in his life, he can’t be someone that’s just pathetic to the eyes of someone who has truly seen him. Neither is the risk of losing her because she knows Batman’s identity once she does.

so uh. BAM, he’s a little coo-coo, but becomes like crazy good at acting and manipulating to make sure his mother doesn’t have any connections to things he considers risks. He’s going to keep her bliss from things he considers harm. That includes the Waynes; avoiding the Waynes is a must.

So he meets Damian through Jon. He’s a little sad he’ll have to cut Jon off to keep from meeting Damian again, but it’ll be easy. It should’ve been. The moment he left after buying the three drinks, the moment he turned away from Jon, it should’ve been done there.

Anddd uhm uhm Jon yaps to Damian a while ago how a friend of his was like super nice and cool, but like really manipulative with other people so that builds like a sense of wariness in Damian when it comes to Evan? So when they met Damian was like observing the older and like “he looks like father,” then.. it spirals.. andd.. err… YEAH 😻😻😻

SORRY if damian looks a little off btw or jon. mostly damian because I tried to make all of my sketch bee more clear but like it took out the melanljtn so I clorored in digitally the melaljn because I wasnt going to leave him pitch white ❤️

[klbwriting]

The Jason Todd Anomaly

Chapter 18: You Punched Him

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Toddxfemale!Reader

Warnings: none, some angst

Summary: YN and Jason do some thinking

YN ended up at the gym and Marco was kind enough to let her stay in one of the storage rooms. It had a cot for when he sometimes slept there before his wife let him move back in. It wasn’t much but it kept her from the streets. She assumed he knew this was probably because of a fight with Jason but he didn’t pry that night when she showed up. He led her back to the room; told her she could shower and get some rest and he would see her the next day. When he finally left her alone YN cried. It wasn’t just about the fight, it was the realization that she had built something up in her mind, that she had found a home and a family with people who were like her. They wanted to make things better, help people, and Jason at least had understood her way of helping people. But that was all in her mind. She was a pet to them, and now it was over anyway, she didn’t know if they would want her back after she messed up like she did. She should had listened to Jason honestly; she shouldn’t have assumed she knew better than the man who had been doing this kind of thing for over a decade. Of course, they knew what they were doing, she was just an idiot newbie getting in the way. She went to shower, wanting to wash all of this guilt and stupidity off her before she settled into a restless sleep.

Marco woke her up in the late morning with a bagel sandwich and coffee, inviting her into his office to eat. He waited until she had started eating before he started talking.

“You know I know what Jason and those other boys do at night,” he said, shrugging his shoulder casually. YN cocked her head to the side. “What you started doing with them too. I can only assume you’re here because of some tiff with Mr Red Hood and honestly, I’m not surprised, it was about time you two hit the hard part of your relationship.”

“How do you even know any of that?” she asked, sitting back and looking out the office window. There were a few people in the gym, none of them being in the Wayne family luckily, but they weren’t paying attention to them.

“I’ve known Jason since before Bruce Wayne knew Jason,” he said. “Kid needed a place he could blow off steam when his parents failed him, I made sure it was here. Got that cot for him originally, then Bruce came along and even though he had a full gym at that fancy mansion Jason still came here some days, especially when they were fighting.” She nodded.

“So, I guess you’re saying I shouldn’t be around too long, he might show up,” she said. Marco frowned and shook his head.

“No, I’m saying that he hasn’t really ever had a place outside of here that he felt safe. Until you came along, I haven’t seen him here without you since you punched him in the face,” he said. She chuckled at the memory. “I knew as soon as you did that, he was gonna love you.” She rolled her eyes. “O stop that, you punched him, and I’ve never seen a guy fall so fast for someone. Ridiculous. You need to talk to him because you fell just as hard, and it would be a shame to let that kind of love die so easy.”

“You don’t know what happened,” she said before sighing.

“Ya, I mean, I don’t know what happened, but were you angry when you left?” he asked. She nodded. “Have you had time to think about how it should have gone different?” She nodded again. “Then it isn’t over, you need to talk to him, calmly, and then you can decide if its over.” She wiped her eyes quick so he wouldn’t see, but he did, handing her a tissue.

Jason hadn’t slept, pacing the loft. The other guys had left, all except Tim who Alfred insisted stay on the couch and not move for at least 24 hours to make sure the stitches didn’t tear right away. Tim had sat listening to his older brother thunk around in the loft before he had enough. He called up to Jason three times, but was ignored, so he violated Alfred’s orders and stomped up the stairs to Jason.

“Seriously man, just go out and find her,” he said, clearly annoyed. Jason turned around and threw the knife he was holding. Tim didn’t move, knowing that it wouldn’t come close to his head as it stuck into the wall behind him.

“I can’t believe I just yelled at her like that, told she isn’t one of us,” Jason said, back to pacing.

“Well, she’s not, yet,” Tim said. “If you trusted her more she might be soon.” Jason glared at him. “Jason, how did Bruce teach us? Outside of the cave?” Jason shrugged. “He let out go out, get hurt, make mistakes. He watched us from a distance so we didn’t die, but he let us be free and learn through doing. You, you are clutching her so tight she can’t do that.”

“I can’t lose her, I can’t just put her in the Lazarus Pit if she dies,” Jason said. He finally stopped and looked at Tim. “She can’t be one of us because look at us, we are all a mess, broken, and so fucked up and she isn’t yet and I can’t let her get this messed.” Tim stared at him.

“Jason you are such a lovesick idiot, she is one of us, she’s one of us like Stephanie is one of us, learning and maybe not quite as fucked as we all are. She needs us and you need her,” he said. Jason glared at Tim again before sighing. He was right, Jason knew it. He knew he should have been better, let her know he was terrified, that she meant everything to him, and that they could figure it out together. And he definitely had to make sure she knew she was part of their family, as messed up as it was.

“Well, I know she didn’t go back to her place, someone else lives there now,” Jason muttered. Tim shrugged.

“Where else would she go?” he asked. Jason grabbed his jacket and headed to the garage, he knew where she’d be.

[androxys]

Why Did Dick Do  A 180 On Using A Lazarus Pit?

In The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul, a major plot point is Tim Drake’s temptation to try to use a Lazarus Pit. In the past 18 months, he had lost his best friend (Superboy), his girlfriend (Spoiler) and his father. Ra’s agents take Tim to a Lazarus Pit, offering him the chance to get back some of what he has lost. Tim is severely tempted, but is opposed by Nightwing to take even so much as a sample. However, in Batman & Robin #7, Dick is on a mission to put the deceased Bruce Wayne in a Lazarus Pit to bring him back. What happened in the roughly two years of real world time to make this change? One could argue that it’s just different writers being inconsistent, which is a strong argument and the most likely answer, but I like to try to make comics make sense.

First, I think that in the time between the two comics Dick is really feeling the pressure of being Batman. Dick didn’t really want to take on the cowl, especially at first. I’m not 100% he ever really found peace with it, even after settling into being his own type of Batman. Ultimately, I think Dick just wants his dad back. While it’s easy for him to take his moral stance with Tim, it ends up being harder when it’s him, and when it’s Bruce, who is so much to so many. But there’s still Dick’s fear that the Pit would change whoever it brought back, in some way. How is this overcome? I think there’s a case to be made for the effect of Cassandra Cain. 

At the end of her first series, in Batgirl (Vol. 1) #72-73, Cassandra dies and is revived in a Lazarus Pit. Immediately after resurrection, she experiences a brief bout of what fandom calls “pit madness.” Lady Shiva, who can read bodies like Cassandra, refers to it as the “rage of rebirth,” but indicates that it can be overcome. Shiva proceeds in her conversation with Cassandra once she has judged that Cassandra has a “clear mind” and is once again in control. Cassandra fights Shiva and returns to Gotham, where she is tasked with helping protect the city while Bruce, Dick, and Tim leave for a year after the events of Infinite Crisis. There isn’t a clear indication of if Dick and Cassandra get to spend much–if any–time with each other between her returning from Shiva and his leaving. But what we do know is that when Dick returns One Year Later, Cassandra has become a villain through some really bad out of character writing drugs and manipulation by Deathstroke. 

Cassandra is gone for a while, under Deathstroke’s control, until Tim injects her with the antidote in Teen Titans #44 (April 07). However, the bad characterization drugs haven’t fully worn off until after Robin #162 (July 07). They talk about this later, but it can also be handwaved a bit as comics-time, so your mileage may vary. She’s back in control by Batgirl (Vol. 2) #1, where she’s on her mission to find Slade Wilson and David Cain for what they did to her.

Based on the conversation from Batgirl (Vol. 2) #1, it seems like Dick has been very out of the loop on Cassandra since she returned from the end of Batgirl (Vol. 1). Like, I know the explanation and recap given by Bruce and Tim are for the reader’s sake, but the way they deliver it means Dick has to be ignorant to serve as the proxy. In #1, Dick does not like Cassandra, or at least, he doesn’t trust her. However, given her entire journey in Batgirl (Vol. 2) is about getting back, and that she’s a trusted part of the Network in the immediately following Battle for the Cowl, I think it’s safe to assume that she and Dick get to a point of getting along and talking once again. In that talking, once she’s repaired her relationship with Dick, I think it’s quite conceivable that she shares more about her experience with Shiva, including her revival in a Lazarus Pit.

Batgirl (Vol. 2), crucially, happens after The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul. At the time, two names thrown out during Tim’s temptation are Jason Todd and Ra’s al Ghul–two people who have used Lazarus Pits and are not shining examples of rational actors. If these are your only two case studies, once could understand Dick’s hesitation to use a Lazarus Pit. As Tim notes, even Bruce has more questions than answers about them. But having Cassandra back complicates that –offering some answers and suggesting to Dick that no, someone who is disciplined can overcome the temporary rage and come back to themselves, that it isn’t a permanent warping of the soul. And who’s more disciplined than Bruce?

[stargirlfics]

Alrighty, once again I humbly come to you with more self indulgence because I just heard the LOUDEST cracks of thunder right now and my whole house SHOOK and well, yeah, you know 😩😭 Your Joel ones I reread and they bring me such comfort every time, I'm reading them again now 😭🥹💕

Alright, being up in Wayne Tower, if it rains or storms, it's gonna be scary especially with the windows and being up high and yeah 😵‍💫

Could I ask for some headcanons for early established relationship with Alfred comforting you during a storm?

He went to bed before you, but as soon as you heard the rain and saw the lightning flash, you race to join him under the safety of the covers as the thunder cracks. You try not to wake him as your arms try to fit around his torso while he sleeps. You're tucked right up against him like he's a shield, but you're eyes are just open, wide awake, occasionally glancing over to the window whether or not you can see out of it. You're trying not to tremble and trying your best to still your restless limbs, but you can't help it. Mumbling soft and embarrassed apologies to Alfred if he wakes.

You haven't mentioned anything like this to him before, being too embarrassed about it and worried he would think you were being silly and overreacting.

Thank you so much 😭💕 Please take your time! I just wrote this while it was on my mind while I try to catch my breath rn 😩😵‍💫

Aww friend I’m so happy I could bring you some comfort, I still remember and go back to the Joel ask you sent me, it’s one of my favorite hurt/comfort blurbs! 💓💓💓

Oh and of course! It’s the way I had some thoughts of Alfred being really sweet and caring during a bad storm floating around my brain this morning, we synced up lol no but I really love this! 🥺 he would make you feel so safe I just know it!

I have a headcanon that Alfred definitely sleeps soundly but also isn’t hard to wake, he’s spent so many years having to be attuned to his surroundings and keep alert and then with Bruce, ready to answer a midnight call if he should need his help

He’s a little harder to accidentally wake when it’s raining or storming out, I feel like he’s fond of that kind of weather but when it’s you, then, tucking yourself against him and whispering out apologies he knows something is off by the slight waver in your voice and then he notices you tremble with every lightning flash or boom of thunder

The way his first thought would be to cup your face, gently prompting you to look at him, and when you apologize again, embarrassed and worried he’s gonna laugh at you for being scared, he hushes you sweetly, sitting up a little to cradle you

“Please don’t apologize, my darling. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re safe with me.”

He does it so easily, moving so his body blocks the window, till you can only see and feel him around you and it makes you cling to him, already feeling a little better hearing him reassure you

“Easy, love. You’re doing so well! I’m right here, nothing can get you here, I promise.”

“How about I read to you for a bit hm? I think that will help while we wait out this storm, I know we didn’t get to finish the chapter we were on before dinner.”

It’s not even a second thought for him, he’s already reaching for the book on his nightstand, hushing you sweetly when you tell him you don’t want to mess with his sleep, you were just a little scared and the admission makes you want to hide your face but he won’t let you, telling you that he’s happy to do this for you

Please I’m so soft! Alfred kissing your forehead softly and whispering to you that you’re safe, that he has you and won’t let anything happen as the storm continues, you jump or shiver every now and then but less as the sound of his voice reading aloud to you kinda takes over everything else, it being all you can focus on because he’s so captivating to listen too!

He keeps you tucked against him, still making sure you’re not bothered by the window or what you can or can’t see and he makes a mental note to draw the curtains shut tighter when you calm down a little more, he just wants to focus on you and making sure you feel okay first 🥺💕 it’s making me so soft to think about!

Know this wasn’t much but I hope it brings a smile to your beautiful face! I adored indulging in this thought, Alfred is the best!