#he is also the Riddler's nightmare

[lurukifennecfox]

so, Amity Parkers fit in in gotham.

plus the city is so rich in ectoplasm it's almost like at home! in fact they probably only need their ecto-sups because it's so cursed.

the fear toxin works like caffeine for liminals. they found out accidentally while Wes was mid-rant and forgot his gas-mask like a dumbass he is.

Wes being Wes figured out the Bats identity in the first month since moving but he learned his lesson, kept his mouth shut and corkboard hidden safely in the realms having joined the Team Phantom a while ago.

Val visits some of her friends here sometimes, with the suit being part of her body now she's basically halfa-adjacent (she has suspicions she's one major near death experience away from actually becoming one) and she's getting major "Fuck-off it's my haunt" vibes from Crime Alley. maybe Red Hood's a ghost? not gonna check now.

Paulina is having emotions about Nightwing's ass and no one wants to hear them, curse liminal ability of ghost-speak.

all things considered? life is well. tho it might be a matter of time before the bats start getting annoying.

[milkymooshi]

Sharing a dart with Oswald would be a fucking nightmare and I just know it intrinsically in my heart

[burgundywing]

Bats and their least favourite Rogues to deal with (other than Joker of course)

Bruce hates dealing with Two-Face, mostly because of knowing and valuing Harvey as a friend and he feels a sense of guilt that he wasn't able to save the man.

Damian does not enjoy fighting Poison Ivy as he actually agrees with many of her ideologies, and cannot always fully convince himself she's not going about it the right way. Ivy knows this and loves to use it against him. Damian is also not fond of her cuddle pollen as it allows his overbearing older brother to latch onto him like the limpet he is with a viable excuse.

Tim HATES Hatter. Losing control of your mind is basically Tim's worst nightmare. The Joker Junior incident only adds fuel to his mind control terrors. Whenever Hatter gets out the rest of the family has to keep an extra close eye on Tim who tends to give up sleeping in order to put Hatter back in Arkham.

Scarecrow is the least favourite of both Dick and Jason. Although every member of the batfam have their fair share of traumatic memories, Dick and Jason always find reliving theirs hardest to shake off. Any loud thumps after set both of them off, Dick thinking yet another person has hit the floor and Jason thinking it was yet another strike of the crowbar.

Stephanie is terrified of Professor Pyg. He is not as loud and demanding of attention as the rest of the Rogues so the others never consider him as the worst but there is something about him that makes her absolutely sick to her stomach. She's had one close encounter with him and never wants to see him again. If she's a little quick to let someone else take a case that may involve him that's nobody else's business but hers.

Cass is not a fan of Riddler. She is the least equipped to deal with his games as she cannot fully grasp the double meanings of many English words and Riddler has very confusing body language to read. Cass does not like feeling useless and Riddler is terrifying in his own right so being completely unequipped to stop him is not something she enjoys.

Duke hates Condiment King. And Kite Man. Such B-list villains but of course with his luck they always escape on the day shift. Mustard and ketchup are incredibly difficult to get out of the cracks in his armour and Kite Man is annoying and has an unfortunate habit of picking him up and DROPPING HIM. Duke's over it.

[devilfic]

sleeping headcanons about bruce/reader… need to see that man rest, or like blink for more than a second

you are so real for this

bruce would be the type of boyfriend/husband that HAS to sleep closest to the door. like if the door is facing one side of the bed, that's the side he always sleeps on. same with windows. it helps him sleep knowing that if someone were to break in, they'd have to go through him before they got to you

does not EVER wear a full set of pajamas. hasn't worn them since alfred stopped trying to force him into the little silk pjs he had as a child

he has three looks for bed: oversized band tee + ratty pajama pants, shirtless + ratty pajama pants, or briefs. just the briefs

when his hair is long, he keeps a few hair ties on his wrist to tie it up when he's washing his face before bed

("wash" is generous... he's splashing his face with cold water)

when his hair is short, he does not bother keeping it out of his face. he comes out of the bathroom with his hair dripping down his forehead and you buy him one of those cute fluffy headbands for him to use

bonus points if you get him a sanrio headband

bonus bonus points if you get him one with kuromi on it like THIS and you get a matching my melody one

he's a super light sleeper, like you could slip out of bed to use the bathroom and you'll hear him suck in a breath like "everything ok?"

this also makes him a little restless on really bad stormy nights :((

he refuses to wear earplugs or a sleeping mask because he gets very worried about being at a disadvantage in case something happens

the best you can do for him is let him curl up to your chest and let him get caught up in your heartbeat instead

him being a light sleeper also means he randomly wakes up throughout the night as soon as he has to use the toilet or gets a craving for something to eat, so be prepared for him to move around quite a bit

when he actually IS asleep tho, he does not move at all

he also doesn't naturally cuddle when he's sleepy unless he's cold, he usually is the one being cuddled

sleeptalks

this happens more often when he's got a lot on his mind (so all the time) and you'll usually hear him saying random, incoherent sentences or calling out names

it actually really embarrasses him when you tell him he does this because alfred and his roommates at boarding school used to comment on it when he was younger and he just assumed he'd grown out of it but. let's be honest. he hasn't slept with another person in the same room for years. don't know why he came to that conclusion

it's also a little rare when you catch it because he tends to fall asleep only after you do

you catch it more in the morning when he's sleeping off a long night of batmanning

it's best not to tell him if he's said anything embarrassing,,, it will literally keep him up all night

it gets a little worse when he has nightmares. you can hear him calling out joker or the riddler's name seconds before he wakes up in a cold sweat

you don't tell him exactly what you hear, but you always ask if he's ok and if he'd like to head back to bed with you or not

since he was raised by Real Brit Alfred Pennyworth, alfred did sort of imprint upon him a tea addiction

there's one particular blend that alfred swears used to put bruce out like a light when he was sick so you make that for him when he's particularly stressed and it always works wonders

speaking of him being sick. he is a COMPLETELY different sleeper when he's sick

sleeps like the dead, snores LOUDLY, cuddles like crazy

it's actually the worst because he'll be so happy to pull you in and lay his head on your shoulder but then. he drools. and the. snot. the snot.....

you can imagine that whenever he's sick, you may as well be sick too

he does have the decency to wait until you start sneezing before he gives you a nasty little cough syrup-flavored kiss like the disgusting germ gremlin he is

he won't complain about feeling bad but he will sometimes have a little delirious moment where he'll be all cute and beg you to come to bed with him because he can't sleep if you're not there next to him

like you may go sleep in one of the guest rooms until his cold passes and you'll wake up to him curled up on the loveseat on the other side of the room or even just straight up laying across the foot of the bed so he won't accidentally cough in your face

it's hard to get him to fall asleep but sometimes he pushes himself to such an extreme limit that he accidentally falls asleep anywhere

in the cave? he's passed out on his desk

working on his car? takes a quick little power nap under the engine

in the middle of a business meeting? nodding off in the chair

has fallen asleep on the floor on the WAY to bed before and when you wake him up he doesn't even realize that he never actually got there

also slipping this in here for indulgence purposes but if you've adopted dick, dick will fall asleep on bruce anywhere

like he'll see bruce conked out on the couch like a dad who insists on getting up at the ass crack of dawn and just scooch on in and fall asleep on his shoulder

even FURTHER, if you guys adopt ace, he will nap on dick

the three of them can regularly be seen napping all over the place as the years go on. thank god your bed is big enough for all four of you

having dick and the dog actually makes bruce sleep more and also more soundly because when they're sleeping on top of him it's like a weighted blanket. like if a cat fell asleep in ur lap u wouldn't get up would you? you would simply sit there and rot. same thing with bruce

last thought but I also think as bruce gets older, he's going to fall asleep more often and that will result in a lot of conversations that go like this

bruce: that was a good movie

you: you fell asleep halfway through

bruce: I was resting my eyes

you: I paused the movie and you didn't even react

bruce: I was watching the movie

you: so who died at the end?

bruce: the villain

you: no one died at the end!!! we were watching paddington 2!!!!

but also somehow hears you if you make fun of him in his vicinity. you put a phone in this man's face to take a picture of him sleeping and when you go to look at the photo you see his eyes open like this

jumpscare warning: robert

taglist: @yikes-buddy @alexxavicry @theclassicvinyldragon @angxlictexrs @moonlightreader649 @geekyfer @thescarletfang @navs-bhat

[fetish4juggalos]

Bed time with Gotham villans

I haven’t posted anything recently and thought in light of 2023 coming to a start I’d post something for the new year even though we’re 6 months into it :3

I apologize in advance for both grammatical errors and spelling errors:)

Oswald Cobblepot

I can imagine oswald being a very wild sleeper. Like the kind that can go to sleep on the opposite side of the bed and end up with their leg over you with their arms wrapped around you

Probably has alot of night terrors specially about his mom and dad. Loud random screams in the middle of the night will be a common occurrence for you

Goes to sleep in a full pajama set with night cap and slippers:)

Blanket hog all the way, constantly kicking you in the back, cuddling into you, ect.

Though he's probably not the best to sleep with hes definitely got the nicest bed. Like im talking king sized with silk pillow cases, and sheets with a ridiculous thread count

I imagine him having some long ass night routine or some weird night ritual he follows before bed

He's the last to get into bed and the first to fall asleep

Likes a warm glass of milk (or a lukewarm glass of alcohol) before bed because he's old fashioned

Refuses to go to sleep without you and will wait till the early hours of the morning and late hours of night for you to come to bed

Edward Nygma (pre-riddler)

Ed unsurprisingly is very pleasant to sleep with

He’s not a very calm sleeper but he isn't like incredibly wild either. Maybe a arm or leg thrown over the edge of the bed but thats about it

Has the occasional night terrors but besides that is otherwise peaceful 

Sleeps in relatively normal sleep attire. Plain shirt with pajama pants mostly

Really basic white male night time routine. shower, brush teeth, wash face and head to bed

He has a decent sleep schedule with only the occasional sleep insomnia

Likes to spend a little time playing video games or solving puzzles before bed

Edward Nygma (post-riddler)

Sleeps a lot less then pre-riddler ed

When he does sleep it’s only for a few hours and tends to have nightmares in between periods of rest

He’s not one to initiate cuddling during bed time but he won’t stop you from cuddling up next him

Will at times sleep on the couch or wherever he ends up falling asleep. Mostly up to you to make sure he gets a healthy amount of rest

Over thinks greatly before bed and ends up circling the room on a tangent or whenever an idea strikes

Sometimes breaks into your apartment just to sleep next to you or will show up and pass out on your couch

Talks and mumbles in his sleep

Victor Zsasz

Victor rarely sleeps but will lay in bed just to be next to you for a few hours before his next job

Sleeps in mostly just boxers since he takes a shower directly before he goes to bed but on off days he’ll throw on a t-shirt and lay in bed with you

Calm sleeper surprisingly

It takes a specific type of man to be able to kill someone then come home and sleep peacefully

He’s a quiet sleeper which is also why he makes such a god assassin as noise suppression is a huge part of his job

You always fall asleep first and he likes to just stare at you for long periods of time

Half drunken water bottles and glasses on the night stand at all times

I feel like he would have some kind of lengthy skin care routine before bed

Likes cuddling especially if he’s the little spoon

Wakes up at ungodly early hours of the morning

Blanket hog but just to be annoying and so that way you’ll sleep closer to him

Only really sleeps if you’re sleeping with him as he doesn’t really sleep as much as most people and probably only rests his eyes for a few hours at a time

Jervis Tetch

Jervis is very affectionate when it comes to bed time. He loves cuddling, holding you, kissing you ect.

I imagine his bed is incredibly comfortable with many multi-colored and textured throws, quilts, and blankets covering the bed. Probably decorative pillows as well in many colors and shapes

Full pajama sleep attire. Button up sleep shirt, pants, slippers, and a night hat similar to Oswald

He likes reading to you or being read bedtime stories. His current favorite (aside from obviously alice in wonderland) is the wizard of Oz

A warm glass of milk or tea before bed is essential and he always makes some before bed

Jervis is a bit of a wild sleeper but for the most part stays in one spot on the bed only kneeing you a few times and stirring in his sleep

He runs warm so he doesn’t take up a whole lot of blanket but during the summer he ends up drenched in sweat blanket or not

Wild bed head since his curls are hard to tame at times

Stays up late so he falls asleep first since he’s always exhausted and sleep deprived

Wokenup in a cold sweat a few times from the occasional nightmares relating to his sister but all he needs is you to pull him back into reality

Talks to you until he falls asleep to help him get some energy out and clear his mind. He talks to you about anything and everything until he begins to drift off

Jerome Valeska

Jerome is an incredibly wild sleeper. So much so to the point where no matter what position or side of the bed he’s on he’ll end up on the opposite side in a completely different position

Throws the blanket off and on going from hogging it to throwing it on the floor

He runs hot so his sleep attire is mostly him without a shirt and a pair of tattered pajama pants or just boxers

He doesn’t really have a night time routine to speak of or a steady schedule

Normally it’s just whenever he’s tired and wherever he’s at that determine what his sleep is going to be like and how long it lasts

He’s a big cuddler at first but because he’s such a wild sleeper he’ll probably end up letting go of you and turning to the opposite side of the bed

He’ll wake up in a bad mood if he’s not sleeping with you next to him or in his arms in the morning tho even if it’s entirely his fault

He’s a brat so it takes forever to coax him into going to bed. Plus he’s stubborn so even when you get him into bed he’ll do everything in his power to annoy you or to not fall asleep

He talks a lot in his sleep normally it’s laughter or it’s him mumbling on about his mother and the trauma he received

He has nightmares but they don’t wake him up only increase his tossing and turning and sleep talk

I feel like he sleep walks at times when he’s not knocked completely out and I can image you’ve had to bring him back to bed a few times

[lazycats-stuff]

How about a one of the one where the family didn't know about male reader past and found scars. Let's see the justice league/titans/young justice reactions to readers past

R.I.P Deathstroke cause the moment anyone sees him there all about to jump on him🤣

Yup, RIP Deathstroke. Batman will kill him. Also, I think I wrote in a new style... No dialog at all.

Summary: (Y/N) used to be a weapon for Deathstroke. The batfamily didn't know.

Warnings: protective everyone, (Y/N) trained as a weapon, Deathstroke is awful, The family is read to kill everyone.

(Y/N) pulled his sleeves down. He couldn't let anybody see those scars. And nobody can't know about them. Once they do, they will kick him out and he will be back on his own again. He couldn't be back alone on his own.

Sometimes he got nightmares about his past. The things he had to do were absolutely horrible and it would make Batman wince and shudder. Some of the habits were outright impossible to shake off.

Sometimes he would skip meals when the mission has failed. Or he would overwork himself when he could hear Deathstroke in his head. He wanted to get the bastard out of his head, but he couldn't. No matter what he tried he couldn't.

He opened his window and stepped out on the roof. It was dark and cold, middle of winter here in Gotham City. He took his pack of cigarettes out and his lighter.

God knows he needed it today. Deathstroke's voice today was a bastard today. No matter what he did today, he heard Deathstroke. Judging him... Putting him down for everything he did.

He took a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He lit it, guarding the cigarette with his hand. He removed the hand when it was lit. He took a very long drag.

After a few moments, he let the smoke out. He never had actually smoked when you let the smoke to your lungs, instead he kept the smoke in his mouth.

He looked down, closing his eyes. He still remembers how he came to Gotham. He fought tooth and nail to run. He went through hell and back to get to America itself.

Somehow he made his way to Gotham city. He knew that he would blend in there, with the amount of people on the streets, especially kids. It wasn't a good thing, but hey, if it helped him, then sure.

None the less, he tried to atone on the streets. He helped out people whenever he could, especially with the main criminals in Gotham. Whenever he could mess their plans, he would did it.

But there was one thing that he has vowed to never do again. He has vowed to never kill again. He will never take a life ever again. He messed with Black Mask more times than he can remember, but his favorite person to mess is Riddler.

That man needed to knocked down a few pegs. Well, not a few, a lot of more. And he loved every minute of it.

The only problem here was Batman. He knows when someone else gets involved with his criminals and (Y/N) knew he had to watch out for Batman. Seeing the four Robins, Batman had an adoption problem.

Well, it had more to do with adopting probably troubled kids and turning them into the vigilantes. He didn't need that. Especially with Deathstroke looking for him. That wouldn't be a good idea.

But did that stop Batman from trying to capture (Y/N). Oh no. Batman and (Y/N) saw one another by pure accident. (Y/N) was looking for the explosives that he heard Penguin had.

And Batman has heard it too. That's when the two saw one another. He was accompanied with Robin and it seemed that they were looking for him too. (Y/N) wasted no time as he ran away. Robin went after him and that's something that nobody would want to see.

Robin is the closest thing to Batman with his effectiveness and plans. And that was something thar was scary to think about. (Y/N) ran like never in his life. He had no intentions of fighting the little demon.

He managed to escape that night, but Batman wouldn't give up. He was eventually taken and then introduced into the family. It took a while for him to relax, to start trusting his now brothers and a new dad, not to mention a grandfather.

He made sure that absolutely no one saw his scars. He made sure that nobody knew anything about his past too. After some time, he felt more relaxed and he could finally feel free. He was very close with his brothers now and his father too.

Alfred was his favorite though. Not that he had favorites, but Alfred was just so sassy.

Bruce was more than happy to see him relaxed and happy so he introduced him to the Justice League. The meeting went well and (Y/N) got uncles and an aunt, who adored him dearly. Bruce didn't even want to think what would they do if (Y/N) got hurt by anyone. They didn't know how brutal his past was and (Y/N) would have liked it to stay that way.

One day the mission went tits up to put it bluntly. (Y/N) got seriously hurt trying to get intel and he was rushed to the hospital wing. He started working as a (V/N) after a year after being at Bruce's. He was rushed to the hospital wing where the doctors got to work.

Bruce was impatient, waiting for the news. (Y/N) had to pull through. Right? Everyone was quiet as they waited for the news. Was the intel really worth it? Where did that mission before anything else?

Bruce rubbed his eyes. For the first time since the mission started, he wanted to rip this cowl off. These times, when he wanted to rip his cowl off, were very rare.

After hours of waiting, Bruce was finally allowed to see his son. He was shocked by the mere scars covering him. A part of his chest was exposed and there were clearly scars thar looked old.

Worse of all, it all looked deliberate. Bruce paled and the rest were no different. Bruce thought that his knees that were going to buckle and he would fall down.

What has he been through? After (Y/N) woke up, Bruce asked him about it and that's when (Y/N) broke down, telling them all everything. The brutal training, the punishments and everything that happens if he fails a mission.

Bruce saw red when he heard that it was Deathstroke. He wanted to go after him, but his son needs him more now. He embraced his son tightly, letting him let out the things that he has buried. (Y/N) cried for a while.

Bruce just held him tightly, making a promise to himself to get Deathstroke. The Justice League listened and they all promised to get Deathstroke. He won't be dead, but he will be recovering for years after they get him.

Damian and Dick invited (Y/N) to the Teen Titans. (Y/N) didn't have anything else to do that day and he has decided to go. Bruce didn't tell anything to his brothers per (Y/N)'s request. Bruce wanted to, but he wanted to respect (Y/N)'s wishes.

Damian and Dick noticed that something has changed in (Y/N)'s demeanor and something has shifted in Bruce's and (Y/N)'s relationship, but they couldn't pinpoint what has changed.

But (Y/N) seemed a bit more comfortable and that was all that it mattered to all of them. Dick has already introduced (Y/N) to the Teen Titans and everyone liked him a lot. He got along with everyone and it seemed natural to him.

Dick was happy that his brother got along with his team. It was nice to see that he was socializing with kids his age. Kori absolutely adored him, often calling him baby bird and just hugging him whenever she could.

(Y/N) didn't mind her hugs. They were warm and always tight. And they were always comforting. (Y/N) went to Dick's room, tired from the patrol from last night. He also wanted to take a shower, considering that it was hot and he was wearing a long sleeved T-shirt. Dick provided him with clothes when he was in the shower so that meant that he would have to step out of the bathroom to get it, scars exposed.

In theory, it should be fine, right?

It would be if Dick didn't walk in just as (Y/N) stepped out. Dick stopped dead in his tracks. Damian also walked in, looking for (Y/N). The trio looked at one another in shock. (Y/N) took a step back and that snapped Dick from his shock.

After dressing into the clothes that were brought to him in the bathroom. He thought about escaping, but he knew that he couldn't. He stepped out where Damian and Dick were waiting. (Y/N) told them both what has happened.

To say Dick and Damian were enraged was an understatement of the year. Damian was already hatching a plan to get revenge and Kori, probably sensing the tension in the room.

(Y/N) told her, hanging his head down. He knew what Deathstroke has done to the Teen Titans. Kori stayed quiet for a moment before hugging (Y/N) tightly. (Y/N) teared up a little and slowly the team piled into the room.

(Y/N) explained everything to them and he got hugs and reassuring words. And something that he didn't know, they all swore revenge.

The last people to find out about (Y/N)'s past are Jason and his Outlaws. Jason, instead of finding out on his own, was called by Bruce to let him know. (Y/N) didn't want to be alone at the manor and since nobody was going to be there, Jason offered to watch (Y/N).

(Y/N) allowed Bruce to tell Jason since he didn't have any type of strength left to let him know. Jason got to working. Blankets, snacks, comfort foods too and movies and TV shows.

Artemis, Red Arrow and Bizzarro could only watch in silence as Jason did everything. They heard (Y/N) was coming, but why did Jason need to do this?

When they tried to ask him, he would brush them off. Now they were all a little bit worried now. They have met (Y/N) prior to this and they liked the kid.

What has happened?

Jason stopped for a moment and everyone watched as (Y/N) entered. Jason immediately hugged his brother, leading him to the couch, still holding his brother tightly. He wrapped his brother in a blanket, moving the snacks closer.

Everyone was very curious and sat around the two brothers. (Y/N) just put his face into Jason's chest and Jason didn't mind it. After getting permission to tell everyone, Jason explained everything to his team.

Well, Deathstroke wasn't going to live very long if the Outlaws get their hands on the bastard. But for now, they will help (Y/N) in any way they can.

The promise of revenge came true a couple of months later. (Y/N) wasn't on this mission, but the Batfamily was. They didn't expect to find Deathstroke, but it was perfect.

The family thought like never before, with so much rage and anger clouding their minds, so much red in their visions that it looked liked they were possessed.

After beating Deathstroke to a pulp, they were happy. They made every punch and kick worth it.

Bruce took a deep breath, to finally calm himself. He fulfilled the promise to his son and now he could finally let go of that anger. The others felt amazing too. They have fulfilled their promises and (Y/N) could feel better.

[celaenaeiln]

ROBIN DICK WAS A WILD CHILD GIGGLING MANIAC

THEY STOLE THE BATMOBILE! THEY STOLE THE BATMOBILE AND TOOK IT OUT FOR JOYRIDING!!!

THIS BOY WAS CRAZY. HE WAS A CRAZY LITTLE PSYCHO WHO BEAT TO THE SOUND OF HIS OWN DRUM.

He's the kid you see in shows where you're like this kid is a goddamn psycho but he's a cute goddamn psycho so it's okay.

Dick didn't need a leash because he was an angry robin.

Dick needed a leash because the world wouldn't be standing if he was set free.

Batman-BRUCE-probably lost 10 years of his life with Dick. Hanging from chandeliers, taking the batmobile out for joyriding, taking down Gotham's worst criminals.

Also Dick doesn't fight monsters, okay? He plays with them.

What? Want proof?

DICK'S CRAZY IS SO INSANE THAT HE SCARES THE JOKER INTO SUBMISSION AND ISN'T THAT THE BEST?

Do you know what the situation here is? There is no situation.

He literally just dropped into Arkham to play with the Joker and leave after having fun.

You what happens after he leaves?

The Riddler asks the Joker, "Know the visitor?" or something and the Joker replies,-

"Why don't you just go riddle yourself, Eddie."

How bonkers do you have to be to seek out the most insane, use them for fun, and then throw them aside like a used toy?

Deranged little boy with a heart of gold. There's a reason criminals run when they see him.

"Every now and then, I have the feeling I've totally lost my mind."

"It's a great feeling."

CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!!!

Characters who have dual personalities are the freaking best. On one hand, he's a ruthless psycho with a penchant for walking the line but never crossing it. On the other, he's the darling of the universe with heroes and civilians feeling possessive, proud, and awed by him.

To the good, he's known as the Savior and the Light. To the bad, he's the stuff of their nightmares and hated obsessions.

A man who can wield his personality like a double edged sword is a man who can't be defeated.

[glitter-stained]

My very personal rating of every lazarus pit fanon side effects I've ever read, ranked from favourite to least favourite :

Tapetum lucidum (the thing cats have that makes their eyes gleam in the dark): that's so creepy and cool, eery in a more discreet way than a full-on glow, idk who hced that first but they are a genius

Contaminated blood laced with the lazarus protein: because our blood renews itself pretty often, this implies the existence of either a lazarus organ that continues to pump the lazarus protein in the blood, or, more probably, the contamination of one of the blood producing organs, maybe of the bone marrow, by the Lazarus pit. Like imagine the Lazarus Pit changing you down to the inside of your bone... The implications are so fascinating I'd love to read more about it.

Altered dna: this doesn't make sense, how does the magical healing pit change your dna, I love it so much, tell me more about the magic gatorade that rewrites dna

Accelerated healing/enhancements: what's funnier, that the pit gave Jason metahuman abilities like being able to withstand a meteorite and going toe-to-toe with Deathstroke (the wiki's words, not mine) and it was just never discussed, or that nothing Jason went through gave him these abilities that he really shouldn't have and he still does and it was just never discussed? I don't know but still, that stuff is top-tier

Glowing green eyes: on the one hand, eyes that glow when the person is feeling intense negative emotions (even better it's not just rage, like, imagine having a flashback or nightmare or getting fear toxined and their eyes glow and people think they're about to attack but they just scream that'd be so cool) but on the other hand, I feel like the colour is too limiting. Sure, Ra's or Riddler can fuck with the glowing green but come on, my girl Cass deserves eyes that glow gold (like the gold from the Batgirl suit). Jason deserves to have glowing red eyes. Cicero says that eyes are the reflection of the soul and while I love the idea of the lazarus pit being toxic, contaminating a part of the person's soul, in comics, a character's colour scheme is an essential part of their graphic identity, and I think altering it to the point of giving it a totally different colour is too much for my taste personally. Like, you are still the same person that you were before the bad thing happened. Yes, it changed you irrevocably, but you are still yourself and you should still have the right to your name and to the colour of your soul.

Lazarus Rage/Pit Madness: so I've seen this one criticized pretty often, often because of how unnecessary, and honestly probably damaging, to the understanding of Jason's character after his resurrection. And like, I agree, but also I've found myself to enjoy the fanon version of the Batfam. Like, I don't like that it's murky and confusing sometimes to figure out which is fanon or canon and that that leads people to judging canon actions from a standard of fanon information, and parts of it can be sexist or racist or classist, but the same can be said from canon, you have to be critical with what you consume. Basically to me there are two batfams and I consume both differently and enjoy both, and in the context of fanon I enjoy Pit Madness. The idea of uncontrollable, alien rage is fun, is angsty, and as someone with intense anger issues I'm telling you writing a lazarus rage episode was one of the most cathartic things I've ever written and it felt so good. I also think part of the upset on the subject is a bit undeserved because I see people complain that "the lazarus doesn't work like that because it didn't do that to other people" as if the way the lazarus pit worked made any sense. You're telling me this stuff healed Jason's malnutrition but it didn't fix his trauma? That it healed the Riddler's brain cancer but couldn't be bothered to fuck with Jason's hypertrophied amygdala and the fucked up connections between his amygdala and hippocampus??! Obviously we can't expect dc to know or care about science that much , but I still have the right to be nerdy about it. Jason went into the pit resurrected by God and with brain damage and Ra's said it was a plague and that could make him crazy, I fully believe he could have gotten Pit Madness even if the others hadn't.

Eye-colour change: that's the same thing as the glowing part but without the fun part, really dislike it. I need to be able to listen to I know these eyes/this man is dead from the Count of MonteCristo Musical while making up Under the Red Hood edits in my head please and thank you

Lazarus Pit brings people back to life: I hate it so much dc stop treating life and death so inconsequentially oh my gosh characters fighting life and death situations should not have a source of immortality right in hand I hate that lazarus resin lazarus toxin stuff they have right now and the idea that the pits can bring back to life plays into that idea so I really dislike it. I understand the appeal, it's the basics of coming back wrong with a side of rebirth in the water but instead of being purified it's being poisoned, but I just can't get over how frustrating it is to see a beloved character die and only be able to say I hope he doesn't come back for his own sake and then he comes back. Urgh.

[like-rain-or-confetti]

Listen can you make one with blackmask and the other rogues find out that some random college student made a dedicated sub reddit fan account that just posts random supportive messages and borderline wtf how did that bitch know what i ate last night or what body wash I use 😂

www.wtf-

When did the Internet get so scary?

TheRiddlerLover88: Convinced my parents to paint my room Riddler green 😍

Quackingduckquakes: If there's no Penguin fans in the world then I am dead x

Quittakingallthegoodusernames: spank me Two-Face and then send me to jail, thanking you.

HarleyQueen04: AYO, I heard Roman Sionis uses a new cologne. Internet do your thing, I need to spray down all my clothes with it x

N0turfanboi: low-key penguin can bend me over and-

It was a nightmare. Stuff of pure nightmares.

IamBatman96: guys, I found the same jacket Roman Sionis wears.

Igivemetheick: send pics or it didn't happen.

IamBatman96 sent an image.

Igivemetheick: ...omw.

Candyblues92: wait if I burn one half of it would I have Two-Face's jacket? Asking for a friend x

There truly was such a thing as too much Internet and no one dared to go too far into the rabbit hole.

Black Mask: He hated that the most commonly asked question on his thread was where he lived. He also hated how many were dangerously close to figuring it out. Apparently, triangulating his businesses and club gives a rough idea where he lived. Apparently he had to move because he just read one of these crazy bitches just said they wanted to feed him pie with their hair in it. He took out his phone sending an account URL to one of his goons. 'Make sure this one never finds me.' He'll appreciate the support...from the other side of the planet for safety.

The Riddler: The Riddler had hoped for some kind of decent intellectual discourse to laugh at. Instead he got nightmares. He saw a lot of discourse about his fingers. About how long they were and somehow that brought comments about how...skilled...he must be in various things. Then people were volunteering as tribute- whatever that meant- but then someone said. 'BRB, writing the fanfiction right now x' and that comment got too many likes for comfort. 'No man has pulled off green before the Riddler and no one will pull it off after the Riddler.' Finally the voice of reason has arrived. The riddler soon types up a response. No one knows its him but he'll argue with everyone until everyone sees things his way. It's practically a public service. He's educating the masses more than the pathetic excuse of an education system ever will.

Victor Zsasz: "I'd polish that bald head any day of the week, daddy. Hm. Good to know." Victor said aloud as he read. After some scrolling, he cracked a smile. "Aww SniperKnife really loves me." He never makes himself known on the Internet. Never cared for it beyond the occasional funny pet video. However, that username popped up all the time. It made him smile. Even on the hardest of days he could rely on SniperKnife to cheer him on. He read another. "What that gun do tho? ...well someone struggled in English class." He hummed. "Poor kid doesn't even know what a gun does."

Two-Face: First of all- he and Roman don't shop in the same place and how dare those little assho- ahem. He was a little salty after someone started a thread asking what the difference was between Two-Face and Black Mask and all anyone coukd really come up with was that Two-Face was burned and Black Mask...wore a mask. Which turned into people questioning what made everyone sure that they weren't the same person if one was masked. That sparked a debate before someone pointed out their different heights. That Two-Face was taller. That then turned into people analysing the heights of doors and other surrounding objects to determine each person's height. Then someone through off the conclusion by mentioning stilted shoes. He didn't really care who supported him or not. He found the public to be flimsy anyway so he never really notices the regulars.

Penguin: Who the hell started the rumour that Oswald was raised by penguins? And why is it STICKING!? The next thing was how big was a certain appendage and someone did some anatomical research to determine very much in his favour. That was definitely his favourite part of the conversation. He chuckled. "Oh Babycakes224, you're this close to getting a job." There was a pause. "Oh wait this one wants to buy me a boat!" "Eh?" A bartender asked. "I want to motorboat him-" "boss that's not what that means!"

[apileofashandember]

@thesummerstorms and @nepobabyeurydice put me back on my Annabeth Wayne shit so here's my hot take.

Out of Wayne Family members, the only one the rogues hesitate to attack in Annabeth.

a. She's the only one without a vigilante identity, paired with the fact that she disappeared from Gotham for an x amount of time, her skills have no association to the rest of her family, so she can get away with beating the rogues.

b. She looks at them directly in the eyes and yawns during their monologues (nightmares and sleep don't mix, okay?) . Monsters have been threatening to eat her alive since she was seven. Her camp director is the god of insanity and she's walked through two different kinds of hell and survived. Try harder. Also, the first and only time she was hit with Fear Toxin, she froze for .5 seconds for judo flipping Scarecrow. Riddler cries when he sees her because she solves his riddles before he even finishes telling them, all while cleaning her nails with a knife. If the Sphinx couldn't stump her why would he?

c. She makes friends with Poison Ivy. One of her best friends is Lord of the Wild, and one other best friend is super into wildlife preservation.

[little-pondhead]

My favorite thing about your villain Fenton au is just that he's a villain from like 1940s/50s DC. Like he's all camp no edge. But also he wins which makes it 2000% funnier than the idk The Riddler did in that time period.

Fenton's loose! And this time, he's been inspired by his parent's VHS collection of their favorite Saturday morning cartoons

(yes, I know the VHS tape wasn't available on the market until 1976 but work with me here)

Watch out, Gotham!

Ope, an anvil to the head? No worse than a pillow when it hits you, but it still weighs 200 pounds when you try to pick it up normally.

Walked straight off a random cliff without realizing it? Well, as long as you keep looking up, and don't question where the cliff came from, you'll be fine! Everyone knows gravity doesn't work until you look down.

Be careful of what strangers give you since it might literally blow up in your face! The large white presents tied with a red bow either contain banana cream pies or dynamite. Neither will really hurt you, but the dynamite powder is so hard to clean off with regular soap; it's a nightmare!

---

Fenton somehow manages to pull off every single old cartoon gag he's ever seen without actually harming anyone. But at the same time, he can invent and use technology that the DC universe is decades away from implementing. It drives the more tech-savvy heroes and villains nuts trying to figure out he pulls these stunts off.

[t4tails]

remember in arkham knight when the riddler said that he dreams about batman choking him and we the player and also batman himself are supposed to take that as like a violent nightmare thing and not edward nygma telling us about his wet dreams

[batmanfruitloops]

How do the boys snore because I see Riddler as a snoree mimimimimi individual Jon a honk shoooo honk shoo honk shooo and Jervis as a person who is in between the both of them

-🌜💤

Ed is a VERY loud snorer. He also has very bad sleep apnea though, which is part of the reason why. He'll just stop breathing a lot and that made Jo extremely nervous when he noticed.

This isn't about snoring, but Ed is also a starfish when it comes to sleeping, and he drools (again, the sleep apnea) so he's kind of a nightmare to share a bed with.

Jo is actually pretty quiet when he sleeps. He's just always in the habit of making as little as noise as possible, no matter what.

Jervis snores a normal amount. Not quiet like Jo, but nowhere near as loud as Ed. Jo also sleeps like a corpse, position-wise. Jervis likes to snuggle up, and he especially likes holding hands.

-Sarsee

[finniestoncrane]

Your One True Nemesis

Chapter 35: also on AO3 Masterlist Here Arkham!Riddler x Female!Reader, word count: 1.3k we veer from anything that can be considered 'canon' because this boy has GROWN, he is SAD, and he is willing to SHARE HIS FEELINGS💚 request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: fluff, angst because eddie is SAD ;-;

Whatever dream you were having, it was a good one. They mostly were these days. Positive, nothing too extravagant, you weren’t exactly living the perfect life, but it was exactly what you wanted, what you needed, to give you a positive take on things. Especially considering how tumultuous things had been up until this point, this one insignificant night. And not to mention how odd your life was in general. You lived with the Riddler. Edward Nigma. You slept in the same bed as him, kissed him, comforted him, flirted with him. All of that would be a normal thing, a healthy thing, a thing to brag about to whoever asked if you were seeing anyone, if it had been a normal person.

And then there were your living circumstances themselves.

“Where are you now, then? Back in the old neighbourhood?”

And you would have to reply to them in earnest, with a straight face.

“No, I live with my sort-of-definitely-but-we-haven’t-said-it-yet-boyfriend in his underground criminal lair which happens to be sewer adjacent.”

But you were happy. Despite everything. You slept, despite the dripping, grinding, rumbling sounds. Despite the thick, dense, acidic air. It was never all that comfortable under the ground. Nights were freezing, days were inexpressibly and sickeningly hot and stifling. None of that ever seemed to bother Eddie, whether he had gotten used to it, or refused to acknowledge the discomfort in a lair he chose, or he genuinely didn’t process human needs like an equitable temperature or not, you couldn’t be sure. For you, things had been better since you’d become closer to Eddie. All psychological, of course, but the lack of burning awkwardness between you both meant you had one less thing to worry about during the day. If you got hot and bothered by him, you could express it and do something about it. And at night, you found yourself sleeping so much better, curled against him, sharing the warmth of the loose embrace he held you in. It was quiet, perfect, and restorative.

But this peaceful comfort you usually found in sleeping by Eddie’s side was shattered immediately by the loud, wheezing gasp that terrified you out of your dreams. And spinning around to see what was happening, you found Eddie heaving himself into a sitting position in the dark, his chest rising and falling dramatically, sweat beading on his brow.

“Eddie… jesus, are you ok?”

Reaching up to him, you placed your hand on his stomach, pressing down and raising up to help him find a better pace, easing him into deeper, more balanced breaths. He was quiet, still shaken, clearly, and staring into the middle distance, nothing of note in the darkness that you could identify. Still, the sudden jolt and his silence had you on edge, and you pressed him for an answer, despite wanting to remain calm and comforting.

“Eddie? Hey, Eddie. What’s wrong?”

As though the gentle nudge had brought him back to reality, he took one quick, sharp gasp inwards and then exhaled long and loud, ending with his fingers pressed to the bridge of his nose.

“Nightmare.”

“A nightmare? Oh, Eddie. You poor thing, come here.”

Waiting to be brushed off and chastised for mollycoddling or patronising, you were surprised when he leaned into you and let you wrap your arms around his unclothed torso. Sensing that holding him tight for too long might only make things worse, you loosened the grip and let your hand fall to his chest. With your head nestled against his underarm, you let your fingers stroke through his chest hair, listening keenly to his breathing and gauging his levels of stress through his heartbeat, which thumped dully against your palm.

You had only just settled, eyes starting to close on their own, when he burst into a rant at an unreasonable volume for the time.

“It’s him. He’s always… he ruins everything. Everything! I’m permanently outdone by nothing more than a grown man in a ridiculous costume. He has gadgets, I have gadgets. And yet it’s never enough. He always gains the upper hand. Cheating! He’s cheating! He must be! That’s the only reasonable explanation as to why he keeps beating me, over and over and over again.”

Opening your mouth to speak, to offer him some comfort, you were quickly silenced again as he continued.

“Or maybe my parents were right. I’m ‘not all that’ and I never have been. Perhaps their assertion that I had ideas above my station, delusions of grandeur, narcissistic personality, as their colleagues and hired goons with doctorates declared. My peers, my colleagues, my so-called schoolmates. Teachers, lecturers, potential doctorate supervisors. None of them were ever able to keep up with me, so they blamed me. They placed restrictions on me, tried to have me institutionalised for the sole crime of being better than. Locked up in a prison of my own intellect. A slave to my genius. But perhaps… I wasn’t keeping up with them. And I’ve just… lied to myself. For my entire life.”

By this point, his breathing had accelerated, and you could sense the looming, full blown panic attack making its way from his heart to his throat. Broken, shattered, exhausted. And now, having an existential crisis. 

Everything with Eddie felt like a double-edged sword. Any time you made steps forward, it felt like it only made things worse, somehow. You managed to crack him, the tough nut that he was, managed to get him to open up, to trust you enough that he felt comfortable enough in letting himself be so vulnerable that he expressed his feelings. And then it breaks him. Takes away his power, his confidence. Reduces him to a shell of himself as he considers his entire life, his entire being, up to that moment.

“Eddie…”

You weren’t really sure what you could say, what you could offer to him. Other than yourself. 

Sitting up in the bed, you put your hand behind his head, letting your fingers run through his hair as you pulled him to your chest, letting him be comforted by you. 

“You know as well as I do that you can’t put your feelings back in, so maybe just… let them out?”

It felt like a risk, pushing him further, but he conceded to your suggestion, his body relaxing as he sank into your body. His fingers clung to you, his chest heaving and shuddering as he took pained and careful inhales and exhales. When you reached to stroke his cheek, you could feel it was wet with tears, and you pulled away quickly, not wanting him to feel exposed. But he took it, fingers squeezing once, before he placed your palm back against his cheek. Willing to let you know. Intimacy increased as you realised he knew, without words, that you were there for him, and there was nothing for him to be afraid of. 

And eventually, his tears subsided, and his breathing regulated. His fingers, stroking along your side absent-mindedly, the way he usually did, as though things felt like they were back to normal, at least even for the moment. You were agonising over what to say to him, what you could possibly do to make him know he was ok, that he could feel whatever he wanted in front of you. But the words were difficult to find. Luckily, Eddie never found that to be an issue, and he saved you from the tense silence.

“So… we are experiencing vulnerability together, shared and equal. Does that mean our relationship is still ‘weird’?” 

You smiled, a light giggle bouncing his head from the movement. 

“Eddie, as long as you’re a part of it, it’s going to be weird, yes.”

He lifted his head to look at you, his face lighter, a soft, almost hidden smile on his lips. There was a silence, staring into each others’ eyes, before he settled back down against you, wrapping his arms willingly around you and holding you tight, his words muffled by your body.

“How very rude.”

[much-vexed-glowy-mimic]

I got directed towards Music Meister and now he lives rent free in my head. Ludicrously overpowered, but that just means he's Gotham's newest and greatest nightmare.

Some headcanons for my verse:

-Number: 1.

-Chaos. He shows up 5 months after Riddler's brutal beating by Green Arrow and is the Chaos to Riddler's Order. Gotham ->Batman ->Joker ->Riddler ->Meister.

-Has no "real" name.

-20-ish, making him one of the younger rogues.

-Bothers Joker the way Joker bothers Lex. Joker considers him to be an anklebiter.

-Colors: Purples, greens and bright red.

-Just exuberantly happy man. Happiest man in Gotham. As happy as Gotham is dark.

-On the flip side, he's childish, petty, vicious and absurd.

-The JLA is terrified of him.

-Communicates mostly in song. He can talk, he just does it so rarely people assume he can't. -Generates music when he opens his mouth and constantly hums. This isn't something he can stop doing. He's constantly making some kind of noise. Can level entire areas if he's loud enough. (Rarely does this as it doesn't sound like music and starts hurting him.)

-Cannot stand still.

-Gagging him hurts him.

-Restaining him is basically torture.

-Green eyes/red hair. Gets confused for Riddler, even by Batman.

(They fell into a fountain, they're going to the Mayor.)

-People thought Riddler had drastically rebranded after Green Arrow's attack.

-Giant red shades.

-Can play any music he's heard.

-Make him mad or frustrated enough and he starts sounding like an orchestra mid breakdown. - *Angry orchestra noises*

-Doesn't care about people’s personal space. He will drape himself over anybody, he'll force people to dance with him. Has zero regard for people. (Basing that on the lyrics he sings in 'Mayhem of the Music Meister!')

-Really hates having his voice completely blocked. He considers it rude.

-Batman never gags him. Gagging him causes him extreme pain and makes him extremely mad and less likely to be cooperative the next time they meet. 

-His start outfit falls into Joker's purples-greens range, but his current outfit looks like he raided Riddler's wardrobe.

- "8D Full volume! 8D"

- "Crazy Frog. 6 hours, FULL FUCKING VOLUME!"

-Enjoys roaming around Gotham and singing, sending people scrambling. Classified as a tornado and even has a radio program dedicated to tracking him when he’s in storm-mode.

-Has his own music channel. Don't listen to it, he WILL order you to go steal for him.

-Meister: I was once proud to say I wan't deeply obsessed with Batman. Joker: What happened? Meister: He slammed me ass first into the hood of car and told me to be quiet. Joker: Ahahaha, the would do it.

-Motives for crime: Money, control, fun and attention. Sheer power display.

-Nightmare difficulty when it comes to handling him. He enjoys pushing and testing boundaries, teasing. Will just emit extremely high tones at random which can knock people out cold. He's also figured out what kind of music Batman hates. The only plus is he doesn't try to randomly stab Batman.

-Hypnosis: You're aware he's controlling you. Because he thinks this is funny.

-He really hates the Green Arrow family.

-Batman is the only hero he'll listen to. He just barely tolerates the rest of the Batfamily.

(In the back of the Batcar)

-He calls Penguin 'grandpa'.

-Really wants to sing with the Mayor.

-Is a somehow a fully licensed therapist. Batman assumes it's the Mayor's doing.

Refs pin!

[riddler-green]

Tea for three. 1

Summary: Flood consequences.

A/n: holaaa! Hellooo!!!1 I hope you have a great day, it took me a while to update because I came back from summer vacation and went back to college. Also start a Flufftober! (My AO3 ✮⋆˙)

With nothing more to comment, enjoy! ⊹ ࣪ ˖

Words: 6,120.

You looked at the ceiling of your cell while lying on your bed, wanting to distract yourself as much as possible from your current situation before falling into despair. 

You thought this might apply to a psychological experiment of some sort and you are the test subject, how long will you last between two psychotic neighbors whose vocal cords can't seem to get enough?

You estimate an hour before you finally scream out of annoyance.

But just as a possible psychological experiment can also be torture, the two didn't shut up for quite some time, the Joker laughed while your other neighbor sobbed making pitiful noises. You can't believe this is the same guy who made that whole malevolent spectacle.

You peeked your head out earlier and there you saw him, lying in the corner of the doorway where you can see him, his face swollen with tears, his expression shattered. It had to be him, there was no doubt that it was the same man, the one who terrorized everyone, lying like that, as if he hadn't done everything he did.

It was strange to see him like that, like he was sorry for what he did but you know that's a slight possibility. 

You close your eyes about to sleep when you hear the voice of the Joker, speaking in a way you had not heard him speak before, with a gentle voice comforting your other neighbor. 

It was not a dream, you heard it perfectly, he said a riddle to your other neighbor, for what purpose? 

That sounded somewhat comforting to Riddler, as he stops crying and gives a few small laughs at the riddle. 

You listened to the small interaction with an uneasy feeling, you kept silent in all those hours, hiding your presence.

You wish you didn't have nightmares tonight.

A week after the flood was indescribable, so fast but still the hours were just as slow, a lot of lost personnel, and security guards asked for days off to clean up their own lives, and some people disappeared in the waves of the city. You saw it all from your new cell, you managed to see the security screens with the news already on, the guards themselves needed to know what was happening instantly. Since the Joker was transferred to another cell for almost killing a nurse, the hours have been quieter. 

You saw him being led by several guards, he took his time to say goodbye to your neighbor and you, as he turned towards the cells, his haggard face gleaming, his smile rotten.

You want to talk to someone about it, but no one is available, your therapist's apartment was completely flooded and he was given a few weeks, on the other hand, Jonathan must be in Bludhaven, you're not that worried about him since he was fortunately out of town when all this happened, but still a part of you just wishes he was okay wherever he is.

Throughout that week, the news was devoted to showing the progress of the city's recovery, showing the heroic deeds of the Bat. When you wake up the first thing you do is look through the door at the morning news, see what Batman had done.

You saw reports of him saving too many people, you learned that he put your neighbor's supporters in their place in Bella Real's speech as the new mayor. You doubted Batman was the hero most said he was, but seeing him helping people made you change your opinion of him a bit.

Just a little bit. 

The news was your only entertainment these days, they didn't even let you go out to the library or other spaces except the showers, you understand, that the hard blow that the city received also had repercussions in the hospital, and you fear that the little peace you had achieved in these months will go down the drain for another patient with as much fame as the Joker. 

There was no worse punishment than this weird isolation imposed on you and perhaps all the other patients as a curfew to calm the waters and have less work. 

You haven't wanted to interact with your only neighbor so far, you don't know him, you have no idea how evil he can be so you leave him alone and he also doesn't seem to acknowledge your existence. In the evenings he would cry, for a few hours, and he wasn't so outrageous that you could reproach him for anything, it sounded like he was trying to be as quiet as possible but you still heard him.

It was a mix of emotions, your moral conscience spun and spun like a hamster wheel in search of an answer. As much as you heard the man cry seeing him like that didn't take away from the fact that he is still dangerous. Serial killers are notorious for having a lack of empathy, he proved that point when he did that twisted game with Batman. Now, he's just another Arkham patient like you, he no longer has his mask or his people, he's left alone.

You've watched him through the glass of your door, you've witnessed his daily routine of crying, you don't say anything to him. You just watch him analyzing every single thing he does when he stands in that corner near the door.

You felt like in your college days, already graduated and working. You saw too many people in that same state as your neighbor is now, sadness and crying is normal for human beings. But to say that the man you are looking at lamenting falls under the word "normal" is wrong.

You can't help but have that clinical eye even though you no longer need it, the reaction to his imprisonment is rather curious in your opinion. His capture was supposed to have already been established, so why is he crying? out of regret? out of fear? 

Before you could make any further progress in deciphering your neighbor, you were transferred to your previous cell, where you were better off. When they took you out you saw him out of the corner of your eye, he also looked at you, his face pressed against the glass, with his eyes open, you could only see him for a few seconds before the guards forced you to walk, that minimal interaction they had was strange, they did not speak at all, but his expression was communicating something. Did he know that you had been watching him all these days?

A month has passed since the flood caused by The Riddler, and half of the city has been successfully cleaned up, but the aftermath of the masked killer's anger has yet to be healed. 

You have seen the slow but sure progress through the window of your previous cell, the one you have called home on the nights when loneliness affects you the most, this time you can be more at ease knowing that you have no neighbors who could kill you if you are careless.

Through the window you saw the city of Gotham, the same city you haven't set foot in almost a year, you see the reconstructions of the bridges and where the bombs exploded, as the people trying to live their lives as if nothing had happened, walking between the big puddles, wearing rain boots up to their knees and covered with raincoats. 

You hear someone calling you from the door of your cell, you are so entertained with the panorama of the city that you don't even hear the first time they call you.

The second time your call sounds louder and you turn around in surprise, at the door there is a nurse with an envelope in his hand, you take a few steps through your cell and reach the nurse, but he keeps silent while he hands you an envelope with something inside through the crack of the cell door, the nurse leaves without saying anything, you thank him quietly grabbing the envelope and looking at it between your hands.

It's a simple yellowish-colored envelope with some wrinkles, you quickly open the envelope and take out what's inside.

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" you whisper in bewilderment at the cover of the book that was inside the envelope, a certainly unusual book with a colorful exterior with the five iconic characters walking down the yellow path, you found the drawings on the cover so fascinating that you almost forgot the most important part which is to look inside the book for a message. 

On the first title page, you read Jonathan's neat, fine cursive handwriting.

Appearances can be deceiving. 

Below the short sentence is his signature with the first initial of his name.

It doesn't bother you, his dedications are usually that frank, they usually have to do with the content of the works he gives you, maybe he said it for the Wizard of Oz? Why was he a phony? 

However you are touched by the gift, you return to your bed to start the new book in your hands, leaving the window and its view.

You hear Mr. M sigh for the third time, you want to ask him if he is okay but he is the therapist, and you are not. So you just keep silent closing your eyes and lying on the new couch in his office. You turned your head to look at him as he continued to write down whatever he was working on, you could see his tiredness, and his eyelids with dark circles under his eyes were noticeable, however, he remained level-headed but not trapped in his stoic appearance.

His stiffness is still there, but his posture is calmer, and the speed with which he writes also becomes slow and smooth, different from the small sounds of his pen moving fluidly when he gave you psychotherapy before the disaster.

There was an awkwardness in the air, apparently you only perceive it that way, Mr. M keeps writing, and you keep seeing him, maybe…

"Things are getting back to how they used to be..." your voice sounds a little hoarse due to the lack of speech these past few days, since you were isolated due to the flood talking to your therapist didn't sound so bad anymore.

"So it seems" he comments to you in a reflective voice without looking at you but acknowledges your comment, you change your lying position to a sitting one, the feel of the texture of the couch is so nice that if you continued lying down you would fall asleep.

You continue to analyze Mr. M, no words are needed to communicate something, and unexpectedly it calmed you to see your therapist in a different state than his professional and robotic self, the consequences of his private life were shown through his small gestures.

"Are you all right?" you ask without thinking too much, Mr. M is surprised to hear you stop writing to raise his head and look at you "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking".

You nod your head at his answer even though you don't believe him, your interest remains but you don't insist. Slowly you get up from the couch to stretch your legs, the handcuffs on your wrists make contact with your skin as usual, your therapist puts down his tablet with documents and starts to look at you in silence. You walk to your favorite spot, the window of his office.

"Will I ever get out of here?" is a question you ask yourself every day when a crippling pessimism clouding your vision makes you want to hide in your bed, or when you witness the sunrises from your tiny cell window. But since the flood, those rays of hope you once had of one day getting out of Arkham are gone.

"I would like to think that at some point you will be able to complete your reintegration process, but that decision is made by different people" You hear his pen coming into contact with his notepads again, as you go back to your routine of watching the scenery.

You sigh, it was a good answer but it wasn't what you wanted to hear, again "the isolation is getting to me" you declare bitterly, leaving behind the silent treatment you once gave Mr. M.

"You will return to your lucrative activities as soon as possible, in addition to the fact that visits have already been enabled again."

No one visits you, that's a truth that hurts you, you're pretty sure Batman won't be visiting you for a long time, he must be too busy cleaning up a whole city. 

"Will I be able to go back to the library?" you stop looking out the window to look at your therapist, and you see him smile kindly (something that happens very rarely).

"Of course," he replies.

Some books in Arkham's "library" have never been read, or well, touched so to speak, there are books whose pages are completely stuck together and covered in dust, with the pages a brownish color. 

In your hands is one of that style, it's a children's crossword book, you estimate about three hundred pages just by looking at it, the pages remain hard and difficult to use but nothing you haven't seen before.

You try to dust it off with the sleeve of your uniform, you don't care if you end up with dirt on your clothes if it's the price to pay for being in the library again. If it weren't for the fact that there were more people in the room than you, you would have jumped for joy at the sight of the bookshelves you missed so much.

Speaking of people, you were amazed when you entered the room to see what other prisoners were visiting the library. You kept a low profile by ducking your head and moved nimbly between bookcases to keep away from the other patients who were doing their own thing.

Back to the book, it is a valuable treasure, because despite its condition, all the crossword puzzles are blank, a rare occurrence, as usually books are scratched with dedications or phrases written between pages, after all, Arkham books are donated.

You smile as you place your discovery on the book cart to be ordered, but suddenly, a screeching sound makes you almost throw the book on the floor with fright.

It was a scream of pain, you left your cart to discreetly head towards the source of the scream. You poke your head through a bookcase to see an unexpected scene.

Two patients fighting, something that happens all too often, yet you find it peculiar that no guard has separated them yet. 

You watch silently as the confrontation happens, a patient threatening with his fist and another guy who tries to defend himself, you do not know what to do, in situations like these it is best not to interfere, Arkham patients are different from each other, but all are a box of surprise that you do not know what awaits you.

You recognize one of them, making your blood run cold, the man who was defending himself with his arms is none other than the fucking Riddler.

You frowned at the memory, and now that you see him without the glass of your cell separating them you contemplate his appearance in detail, glasses with a broken lens, his baggy uniform, and no doubt you notice his height, from your cell you couldn't help but notice how tall he is.

You don't recognize the other patient who looks with uncontrollable rage at the Riddler, his fist still threatening him, he speaks looking directly at him, you don't manage to hear his conversation but you don't like what might happen.

You conflict with yourself, go forward or backward, you tell yourself that you should walk away and ignore the fight, but, that empathic part of you is still alive despite the injustices that fate has dealt you.

"Hey!" you speak loudly, you take a few slow steps, the two turn to see you and you almost regret having spoken, the angry face of the unknown patient does not go away, but that does not stop you from moving towards them, now that you have the aggressive patient's attention you are not going to waste them "Could you stop fighting? guards do not get nice when there are disputes" your negotiating skills were rusty and you realized it when you talked to them, that's what happens for being alone for so many days. 

You see the patient's face getting angrier and angrier, you have dealt with people with anger issues, but this is very different, you don't know this person or the reasons for his stay in Arkham, at any moment he can attack you but you just don't falter your gaze, yes, he intimidating you but he must not know that.

"And who are you?" he speaks annoyed and you open your mouth to introduce yourself but he interrupts you "Ah, I know you" his irritation changes with a sarcastic smile and he moves closer to you.

"I-" you try to say something but again he interrupts you "You're Crane's pet, aren't you?" he asks letting out a laugh, your words die in your mouth as you process what he said, you take his words off guard.

What did he just say?"

"No" you reply in bewilderment, the patient's smile growing as he hears your curt reply.

"Okay" he raises his palms in surrender but his look full of madness unsettles you, he quickly turns to look at the riddle still lying on the ground "This isn't over, freak" he points his finger at him with a threatening tone, and walks away from you, you let out a held sigh when you have lost sight of him.

You direct your eyes to the man lying on the floor, his face says only one thing: surprise. It looked like his green eyes were going to pop out of his wide-open ones, the two of you remain in an awkward silence until you approach him offering your hand. 

He hesitates for a few seconds to grab your hand, but he takes it, without saying anything you help him up, and without waiting for him to say anything you walk away with your back to him. 

You don't want to get involved with a man like the Riddler, someone so popular and hated, you wouldn't be surprised if everyone is plotting something very horrible for him, as they say, prisons can be a real hell. Arkham is many things, a psychiatric hospital, a prison for criminals, or the perfect place to do your clinical internship. 

But you saved him from that patient, and you still can't find the reason why you helped him, you tell yourself it's just a matter of principle.

On your way back to your book cart, which is still intact, you can't stop thinking about what that patient told you.

<Crane's pet>

You thought the friendly "relationship" you have with Jonathan was discreet but from what you see it's not, so that's what they call you? How do they make fun of you? Calling you in a derogatory way Jonathan Crane's pet. Deep inside you feel that sometimes that's what you are to him, that insecure part that grows from the lack of human contact, Jonathan is a renowned person both in Arkham and Gotham, you're just a patient, why would he want to be your friend? 

You haven't seen him in weeks and that's starting to distress you, you only know he's still alive because of the book he gave you, but you don't know if the flood also affected him. It's the first time since you were locked up that you haven't seen him in a long time, and although you don't want to admit it, it's affecting you. 

You miss him.

You miss his visits, the times he seeks you out to see you and chat about trivial things. Despite Jonathan's firm attitude, you consider him as a confidant, your best friend, maybe something more.

All the while you stare at the doors waiting for him to come in in one of his stupidly fancy outfits and ask you how you've been doing. You pick up another old book and wipe it off with your uniform, the excess dust making you sneeze. You leave the book in its place to rub your nose, while hoping your sneeze doesn't mean a possible cold, you don't notice other person watching you from afar. 

You almost trip over your own feet walking towards the visiting room, you can barely lift your eyelids and see the path clearly, a guard behind you guides you with a firm hand on the chain of your handcuffs, leading you as fast as possible towards your destination. They woke you up in the middle of the night, you're not clear on the reason, they just said they require your presence urgently, you curse in your mind as they open the metal door to the visiting room, having an idea of who your visitor might be.

When you enter the room the first thing you see is him and you make an angry sound, the guard forces you into the room and you reluctantly obey. You didn't even notice when the guard who accompanied you left.

"What are you doing here?" you ask the man in the other room closing your eyes from the glow of the lamp, you reach for the metal chair and sit down, the man across the room watches your little movement in silence "What time is it? Couldn't you wait until in the morning or something?" you continue complaining opening your eyes adjusting to the light. The night knight hasn't uttered anything since you arrived, his mysterious aura was something that intrigued you but now when the guards disturbed your sleep just to see him, you find it a nuisance.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" you ask looking at him with a frown, the faster he finds what he's looking for the faster you'll be in your bed.

"You knew that?" not a ‘hello’, ‘not a how are you?’ he goes straight to the point asking you with an accusatory tone, you look at him with confusion now what is he talking about? 

"Know what?" you squint your eyes, Batman ever so mysterious, he moves closer towards the glass partition and you can see him better, you notice it instantly, there is something different about him, you don't know what it is at first glance, but there is something different.  

"The flood" he pronounced in disgust.

The flood? you repeat to yourself, not believing that what he said was indeed real "You think I had something to do with that?" you question him perplexed by the conclusion he came to, without you realizing it you start scratching your wrists from the itching of the handcuffs. 

"What you told me" he speaks with a serious tone "Made a lot of sense." 

"And because of that I'm already an accomplice?" you're still confused, does he think you have anything to do with it?

The first time you saw the Riddler was when he was crying in his cell, nothing else.

He kept silent examining you as if he didn't know what to say, thinking deeply about his next words. 

"You wanted my perspective and I gave it to you, that was all" You defend yourself looking for his gaze between his mask and his eyes covered with black dust, you thought he had changed, that after seeing him through a screen as a routine he would change. 

Silence.

"I didn't know" you speak quickly, the sleep in your body has drained and the shock comes, this is not how it was supposed to be the next time you would see the masked man after so many days of seeing him on the news "I'm telling you the fucking truth" you clarify again, his silence starts to make you nervous, you sigh lowering your head looking at your hands wrapped around each other, the irritated skin stays there, you raise your head to face the coldness of the dark knight again.

"Listen Batman" you speak to him with your voice returning to normal "I don't know what made you think it would be a good idea to ask me if I did or not" You give a long groan and continue "But your visits are never just to ask me stupid questions, there's always a reason, so spit it out."

Batman takes a seat and you hear his combat boots clacking in the room, his suit would look almost perfect if it weren't for some mud stains on his cape and gloves.

"The scarecrow knew it."

You make a grimace showing your discomfort, just hearing that nickname for the person who ruined your life makes you shudder, you just can't get used to hearing it, let alone saying it, as if it were a cursed name that just by naming it something bad would happen to you. Over time you have tried to overcome that fear, but in the context of this precise moment, where Batman talks about him scares you so much that you keep your hands in the pockets of your uniform.

"How do you know that?" you stutter your words.

"Riddler's apartment was seized along with all his computers" he informs you turning to look you straight in the eyes "Conversations between the two of them were found" he doesn't bring a folder with him, the more you listen to what he tells you your face gets paler and paler "Scarecrow was aware of what was going to happen and gave him his help".

At Batman's statement, you were provoked by absolute regret, that a man with broken glasses and an ordinary appearance was interacting with your worst enemy, and you defended him.

You shouldn't have done it, if you had known, you would have ignored it. 

"You still think he and I are some kind of team?" you can't help but be offended every time Batman insinuates that you're related to the scarecrow-masked man.

"Are they?".

You lose your patience when you see his seriousness, you can't stand that he treats you this way, an undignified treatment where he looks at you with great prejudice, you are not a monster, but why does he look at you as if you were?

"NO!" you shout "How many times do I have to tell you that man ruined my life, Batman?" you don't care if you look like a maniac, the person in front of you managed to disappoint you, again. "I saw you on the news did you know that? they kept talking about you, how excellent you are, the new hope of Gotham" You get up from your metal seat and approach the glass that separates them, and the man in the dark suit approaches in the same way.

"But you're nothing but a failure" you whisper to him with a frown "Face it Batman!" you raise your voice in anger, you point your finger at him touching the glass "You locked up the wrong person, the Scarecrow is still free harming this city and I'm still here!"You can see Batman practically biting his tongue in frustration, you stop your tirade in surprise at the masked man's willingness to listen to you, he had never stopped to do so before, walking away when you got angry, or insulting you when he was in a bad mood.

"You should have caught him instead of me."

The watchman avoids your gaze, lowering his eyes, you thought he would say nothing and leave "Sorry" he apologizes softly but you hear him and shake your head at his curt apology, all the while you dreamed of the day when the man he put you in Arkham would repent for the mistake he made, but now that it is reality and not a dream you perceive that those apologies are no longer necessary.

"I don't want your forgiveness," you tell him taking a seat back in the metal chair, scratching your neck and feeling the cold metal "What I want is Justice". 

He listens attentively to your request and slowly moves away from the light of the room, his suit makes him blend in with the walls, but you saw how he opened the door and left the room without saying anything.

You saw him go, he didn't say goodbye and you didn't expect him to either.

You can't sleep.

No matter how hard you try to fall asleep it just doesn't work, not when the ‘argument’ you had with the city's savior filled you with uncertainty and sadness. 

Even though you hated to see him, he was one of the few people who visited you, one of the few people you interacted with. It's complicated, so complex that even you don't know how you feel about him, all the time you stress the hostility you feel when talking to him, but there is also that melancholy when he doesn't come to see you. 

Before you were locked up, you held Batman in high esteem, at the time he was an unknown in the eyes of the city, a rookie vigilante, but now... 

You don't know what to feel anymore.

Hate, resentment, grief, admiration, all of these are what you feel when you think of the man you saw rescue so many people, a jumble of emotions that you hate to experience firsthand.

You hug the last book that Jonathan gave you, and the sun's rays say good morning while you just look at the emptiness, you just want to rest after facing Batman in the face.

Maybe you have become brave.

Brave? you? you smile as you consider that, that adjective fits Jonathan better, he is, not to the point of being a fearless giver of all, but he doesn't blink in a panic situation.

You used to think of Batman as one of the bravest people in the entire city for taking the risk of fighting crime by himself, however, at this point, he can't even stand to be in the same room as you without running away from you for the wrong he did to you.

Someone knocks on your cell door and you look up to see who the heck came to visit you so early in the morning.

"Good morning" Jonathan greets you by opening your cell door with his worker card, when he enters your cell he closes the door without a second thought, and quickly you get up from your bed and run to him.

"Jonathan!" you greet ecstatic and excited to see him after so long, without thinking of the consequences you hug him forgetting that he is a worker and you are a patient, you hear him let out a soft laugh as he accepts your embrace and wraps his arms with yours.

"Looks like someone missed me," Jonathan tells you and you feel his happiness when he talks to you and he hugs you, he takes you in your arms for a few more seconds before he pulls you apart, and the two of you look into each other's eyes, you swear you almost started crying right there, god, how you missed him.

"How are you? are you okay? were you here when the flood happened?" you blurt out several questions looking at him with concern, you realize he is still the same as the last time you talked, his smile is barely noticeable but you notice the sparkle in his blue eyes, he missed you too? 

"I'm fine, all this time I was in Bludhaven, I just got back to Gotham and..." he takes the time to finish his sentence but you beat him to it "Crazy, right?" you smile bringing out your bubbly side, with Jonathan by your side it's easier to smile and joke.

"It's a mess," he says raising a hand to stroke your head slowly "How are you? Tell me what you've done". 

Instead of answering him that there is not much you can do when you are locked up in Arkham, you are left wondering how to tell him the events of the month. You enjoy his hand on your head "It's a long story" you tell him and he stops touching you heading over to your bed to sit with one leg elevated and resting on the other.

"I have time," Jonathan said adjusting his glasses and waiting for you to take a seat next to him on your stiff bed.

You hesitated at first, it is not right for workers to interact in such a casual way with patients, that was made very clear to you since your first year of university, but it seems that Jonathan does not fit that rule, from the first time you met him you realized that he is not a common Arkham psychologist either, nor does he compare to Mr. M in both respect and popularity. So you put those thoughts aside and sit comfortably next to Jonathan.

"The first days after the flood were a nightmare" you start to tell your version and Jonathan looks at you with attention "Beyond the fact that they didn't let us go out to any corner of the hospital, the worst was when they transferred me to a cell next to the Joker and the Riddler," you say lowering your eyes but not your head remembering the few days you were there.

Jonathan doesn't seem surprised by what you said "So you met him" he comments and you nod your head taking your new colorful book, no more context is needed to know he was referring to the Riddler, the fresh new clinical case to study "What do you think?".

"I don't know," you tell him the truth since you found out that man knew the scarecrow you can't see him the same way "I don't want to talk about him".

"Why?".

You stopped looking at the book to see him, you know that tone in his voice, that voice he uses when he is working, but honestly, at what point is he not psychoanalyzing you? 

"Batman visited me, he told me himself that he and you-know-who worked together" you confessed censoring the name of the other criminal, Jonathan notices it "The Scarecrow" he stresses adjusting his glasses from the end pieces.

You give him an affirmative murmur distracted with your book, Jonathan doesn't stop being that scrupulous man even though most of the time he will treat you as a friend, he keeps trying to apply his therapy techniques so that you will try to overcome your fear of the scarecrow, which you don't like. 

"It makes sense" Jonathan looks down to see the same thing you are looking at "You know it can't hurt you anymore," he says to you in a low voice to reassure you, you shake your head, and you find no comfort in his words.

Even if he were free and you locked up he stays alive in your nightmares.

When you realize that the two of you fell into a comfortable silence in which Jonathan examined every corner of your cell, you speak again "Thank you very much for the book" You change the subject by picking up the children's story, the man next to you smiles.

"You're welcome" Jonathan accepts the change of conversation, but you are aware that his attention to your phobias is not over at all "Do you know why I gave it to you?" he asks you, and your animated demeanor returns.

"Let me guess, it must be because of the deep psychological significance each character has and their journey through Oz" you reply in a feigned voice full of pretentiousness.

Jonathan smiles but doesn't laugh, he points his finger at the cover of the book "I just wanted you to know that there are good scarecrows" You see his finger touch the image of the jolly straw man smiling next to Dorothy, you open your eyes starting to laugh.

"I know there are good scarecrows" You gradually stop laughing. "But I know there are bad too" You gently touch the cover of the book, it's nothing more than a children's story full of fantasy, in your mind you wish things hadn't ended up like this.

You turned your eyes towards Jonathan sitting so elegantly, at least you are no longer alone in this hospital.

Taglist: @ostricx @sunshinesetsstuff.��˙⟡♡

Thank you very much for reading! And sorry for the mistakes!*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧.