#it'll make sense when you read it

[selfishpresley]

another fem!checo fic gang

are you surprised?

[andiinaraethtash]

Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

Gen

Fandoms:

Batman - All Media Types

Batman: Death in the Family (Movie 2020)

Relationships:

Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne (mentioned)

Characters:

Dick Grayson

Jason Todd

Bruce Wayne (Mentioned)

Alfred Pennyworth (mentioned) - Character

Additional Tags:

Fluff

Angst

Fluff and Angst

in that order

Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating

Dick Grayson is Nightwing

Jason Todd is Robin

look I heard a song and it gave me feelings so now I'm giving you all feelings

Song: Chasing the Sun (Sara Bareilles)

Language: English

Summary:

"You said, remember that life is Not meant to be wasted We can always be chasing the sun!" --Chasing the Sun, by Sara Bareilles Dick Grayson contemplates graveyards, cities, and the weight of living in a world above others

Notes:

For @itsybitsybatsyspider

So I've never published in this fandom before. So this is fun. Also I don't know if I've done an independent one-shot before. So that is also fun. Enjoy! PS also hi Itsy! This one's for you!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

“My earth is somebody’s ceiling,” the song rang out, and Nightwing laughs as the Batmobile roars so loud it almost drowns out the music, which is already turned up obscenely loud. Next to him in the passenger seat, Robin shrieks, and Nightwing has to glance over to make sure he’s alright, because with Jay, it could go either way, but he’s grinning right now, so he’s probably enjoying himself.

That’s good. Dick doesn’t hang out with just him nearly enough, and when they do get to, he wants it to be a good time. After all, the rest of the time it’s the two of them and Bruce, which is never a good time. Quite the opposite, in fact. Just the thought of the man makes Dick’s blood boil, so of course he quickly forces those thoughts out of his mind, choosing to start belting along with Sara Bareilles.

“More than that, it’s to dare us to move!” he sings, purposely hitting the notes just ever-so-slightly off-key, making Jason swat him and shriek at him.

“Dickhead, you’re ruining it!”

“You said, that life is, not meant to be wasted!” He sings teasingly looking over at Jason, who rolls his eyes.

“My hearing’s being wasted, that’s what’s happening.” He’s nearly shouting to be heard over the music, but he’s not scowling.

Dick laughs long and loud as the chorus blares loudly for the last time, then as the music dies, he pauses it and pulls over, pulling out the McDonald’s bag as he pops the doors. “C’mon, Robin, let’s get some altitude!”

Robin rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t manage to hide the smile. In a matter of seconds, they’re on the roof of the high-rise apartment building, where Nightwing plops down on the edge of the roof and offers Robin his share of the fries they’d gotten before their little joyride.

As Robin joins him, kicking his feet in the empty air between the buildings, Dick sighs and relaxes, letting himself droop somewhat as he looks out over the city. They’d left early to beat Batman to the Batmobile, and with it being the middle of summer, sunset was absurdly late, a series of circumstances that left the skyscrapers’ silhouettes standing in sharp relief against the greying evening sky.

“Dude, this is freakin’ awesome!” Robin exclaims around a mouthful of fries, making Nightwing look over at him in amusement.

“‘Freakin?�� What happened to the kid who drops f-bombs every few words?”

Robin rolls his eyes. “I got made ta put five bucks in a actual swear jar, that’s what happened. Which is a stupid-ass rule, but whatever.”

He doesn’t say it, but there’s an unsaid, ‘it’s worth the food and shelter to go along with it,’ and Nightwing lets a small sympathetic smile play across his lips.

“Yeah. Can’t say I had one of those. Instead it was one dollar for every piece of furniture, art, or wall I damaged, and ten for the chandeliers.”

Robin smirks, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. “Wow, that’s what, a couple hundred thousand dollars?”

“Brat,” Nightwing says, swatting him upside the head.

“Am I wrong?”

Technically, no. It had only been a few hundred bucks, but… “Maybe not entirely,” he admits, and Robin laughs, the sound echoing across the city-scape. There was something about the way it bounced around that could have been eerie, but instead it was… comforting. Light-hearted. Care-free, the way Robin should be.

On an impulse, Nightwing shoves the rest of his fries into his mouth, waits a beat for Robin to finish his off, then grabs the boy’s arm and tugs him to his feet. “C’mon, race you to the Clocktower?”

Robin’s eyes seem to light up, even hidden by his mask, and Nightwing takes that as the answer it is.

“Go!” They shout almost at the same time as they take off across the rooftops, grappling across the larger gaps but throwing themselves across the smaller ones.

Nightwing is trying so hard not to laugh, his lungs too busy with the effort of running to waste his breath, but he wants to, by God does he want to. It was exhilarating, leaping through the maze of buildings, each different and unique and yet somehow so recognizably Gotham that he knew he would know each building individually as a part of his home city. There were apartment buildings from the eighties, office buildings from the last few years, stores and hotels and restaurants, all making up a bustling city that thrived despite the chaos.

Beneath his feet, he can almost imagine the lives of the ordinary civilians, thrumming along to hte rhythm of his heartbeat. It’s a heavy realization, to realize that they’re dancing over what the rest of the world would consider their ceiling, to know how much bigger and crazier their worlds are. But that weight is worth it, for the freedom to fly across the city like they are.

Tumbling across a gravel roof, he spots Robin somewhere to his left, vaulting over an air vent, and for the split second their eyes meet and Dick recognizes the look on Jason’s face. It’s the look of wonder he had when he landed his first trick on the trapeze in Haly’s. It’s the pride he’d taken in being able to do what so few others could. It’s the joy in being able to go out there and make a difference in others’ lives, in landing a punch, in outsmarting one of the ‘intellectual’ Rogues.

Yeah, okay. This kid was definitely a Robin.

There’s been a part of him, since he’d stumbled home to Wayne Manor to find another boy in his family’s colors, that had denied that Jason could—or should—have any part in that legacy, but right now, he didn’t know why he’d ever doubted it.

In the end, it doesn’t matter who reaches the Clocktower first, because the moment they get there, Jason looks up at Nightwing, grinning, and Nightwing grins right back reaching out to ruffle Jason’s hair.

“You did good, Robin.”

Live like we’re still alive

____________

From the ground beneath my feet…

He’s not quite sure why he’s here, other than that Alfred suggested it. The cemetery is quiet, but not silent. He can hear the light traffic from the nearest road, and of course the birds singing their overly cheery summer tunes. Even from here, he can almost hear the heartbeat of the city across the river, Gotham still alive despite the loss he’s only recently discovered.

The landscape is… nice, Dick supposes. He’s seen worse graveyards. Definitely destroyed creepier ones in fights against Scarecrow and Ivy. There’s not much tree cover, leaving the area sunny and vaguely warm, cooled mostly by the summer breeze.

He’s trying so hard not to look at the grave markers, the plinths and tombstones and occasional mausoleum, instead keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the city in the distance. It’s almost uncanny, how much the far-off buildings look like the stones surrounding him. They’re larger, obviously, but that tower looks like that plinth, and that tombstone is almost identical to that apartment building he can just make out—

The resemblance isn’t entirely inaccurate or superficial, he thinks. That this cemetery is a small city, its occupants as ignorant of the world above them as the people of the city are of Dick’s world at above them.

He’s walking through the paths between the markers, absentmindedly noting how each one is different and unique and so identifiable he’d know them anywhere, different in age and shape but united by what they represent.

His footsteps are heavy, a weight hanging on his shoulders as he walks to the area Alfred had shown him all those years ago. He knows intellectually, of course, that Bruce had insisted on burying Jason with Bruce’s parents, and the generations of Waynes that came before them, but that doesn’t stop the snag of irritation that Jason’s nowhere near his mom, or the city he’d protected.

Stuck between the dead and the living…

He’d swear every footfall is landing further into the ground, the familiar weight of grief pushing him down until finally he has to bow his head under the weight. He’s no stranger to grief, of course. He’s lost friends, teammates… family—but never someone so young and innocent and good. It’s anathema, almost, that Robin, brave, resilient, magic Robin is gone, but as Dick comes up on the newest tombstone, he knows he has to accept it.

Idly, he wonders if Jason’s at peace, if he’s happy wherever he is, if he could ever forgive Dick for leaving him alone with Bruce, stubborn, paranoid, doubting Bruce, who Dick knew wasn’t going to let Jason spread his wings when he needed to and yet had left him there anyway. Damn him for his unshakeable belief that Batman was good and infallible. There’s no way of knowing how things might have happened if Dick had stayed or if he’d taken Jason with him, but he wants to think he could have saved him.

The crunch of the grass under his heels as he crouches in front of the white marble rings out with his heartbeat like a symphony across the graveyard, and he almost sighs at the sound, a sound that means life, except he knows that the sound couldn’t reach below him to where Jason is now resting.

“Come on, Dickhead, don’t tell me your old-man joints are giving out on you,” he could almost hear Jason’s mocking, and shakes his head to clear it away when he almost reaches out to tussle Jason’s hair, only to stop when his fingers hit cold marble instead of a warm person.

Glancing over at the nearest tombstone, one shared by Bruce’s parents, he notes distantly how different and yet similar the dates on there are to the ones on Jason’s gravestone. Jason was born roughly a decade later, yes, but their lives were all cut too short, the dates too close together.

A deep breath fills his lungs, but catches on the way out as he tries to find words that say something, anything, about the boy who should have been his brother, if he’d just gotten his head out of his ass and had paid attention to the boy and the way he’d looked up to Dick.

So instead of trying to say anything about Jason, he just tells him one simple phrase, hoping it tells him exactly what Dick had never said to him in life.

“You did good, Jason. You did good.”

—Always be chasing the sun—

Notes:

Look, I was having feelings, okay, so any tears produced are entirely not my fault. Comments feed the soul, so let me know what you guys think--but please no criticism. I'm in a good mood for once, I really don't want that ruined. If you see a grammatical error, lemme know, but no hate. Here or anywhere, preferably.

[jesncin]

Who is your MM villain ?

For the Sons of Mars fancomic I'm working on or in general?

I tend to like the martian villains (D'kay D'razz, Cha'rnn O'zzm, The Master Gardner from American Secrets)!

In Sons of Mars, the "villain" is "Martian society as a whole", haha. D'kay D'razz is there too though, just because I think she's really cool and found a fun way to integrate her into the story.

[bmpmp3]

sorry to be a bit of a hater but i do wish youtubers weren't so scared of making their videos just like, "reviews", whys everything gotta be a "video essay" all the time. every day my recommendations are filled with 40 minute videos titled "_____: An Underrated Masterpiece" where the first like five minutes are reading the wikipedia definition of "masterpiece" in a somber voice with dramatic themed text on screen. please just tell me how good or bad you think something is and use the rest of the runtime to explain why. you dont need to put on all these airs

[deoidesign]

Hello! I just discovered your blog and I immediately became captivated by your webcomic, but I'm unsure where to read all of it. I know it's on Webtoons, but I can see it hasn't been updated for a while, and you still post about it.

Are your physical novels just prints of the webcomic? Are they a continuation? Is the story complete? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!

Glad you found me and are enjoying my comic!

It's only on webtoons, and the story is not complete yet! We're 2/3 of the way through right now. It's currently on hiatus, and it's scheduled to come back in about 2 months!

I'll explain why it's been so long if you're curious, but also for my followers who might also be wondering about it under the cut. Sorry, it's pretty much just me complaining haha

I took a month off I took 2 months to get the books printed I took a month to prepare my next comic and I took 2 months to write the rest of the series (I knew the character arcs I wanted, but not the time periods or mysteries!!!) I've been working on actual episodes since then

I had to take some time off because of some pretty extreme burnout due to the sheer amount of work it was to draw over 800 pages and write 6 complete stories in a year and a half... I was getting sick almost weekly due to the overwork, it was really really bad honestly. I was having to work 60+ hours every week just to keep up...

The nature of the comic itself is also difficult... Each of the arcs is a complete, self contained story which can be read (ideally) without context, and my arcs need to be about 10-13 episodes each... And since I have an exact number of episodes to work with, it's even harder.

It takes a ton of planning and a ton of refinement, and working week to week with no breaks I was forced to put out second or even first drafts, so I just wasn't happy with the work I was doing... And to do that for the rest of the series? I wouldn't be proud of the work I did.

Plus... To be entirely honest, webtoon has treated me quite badly IN MY OPINION... They deprioritized me before I launched (I had to beg for more promotion, I'm not exaggerating), they outright denied me the opportunity to even ask for a raise, I don't make any money on fast pass and they pay me less than my partner makes working at trader joes. My first editor left me completely hanging, my second editor (who I loved) was fired... And they told me I wouldn't get a third season before my first season even finished. So it was just repeatedly completely demoralizing.

I'm sorry it has taken so long, it'll have been 10 months by the time I come back. But I realized... I won't get promotion either way. I won't get more episodes either way. I won't get more money either way. So to finish everything, to make it feel good, to make it something I'm proud of, I chose to take longer to make it better.

I am fully aware I will lose a significant amount of my readership for this and it might genuinely affect my career moving forward. But it's what I had to do! So I'm sticking to my guns on it, and I'm confident long term it'll be worth it. It never could have been this good if I didn't take this much time.

[governmentmandatedryujinstan420]

ooc hand jumper fp spoilers but this what it feels like rn.

[fluffle-writes]

I wanna. Pick them up in my mouth and shake 'em around like a dog obliterating a squeaky toy

[hussyknee]

Everyone stop what you're doing and go read KJ Charles. She is a master class in queer historical fiction and writing diversity authentically.

[neverendingford]

.

[girlthativealwaysbeen]

this is the same feeling i had when i read about the kerala case...

[yo9urt]

i know やった is not considered to be part of the onomatopoeic/mimetic word family but it almost feels like it could be

[aparticularbandit]

there's a line i keep wanting to use in the junmugi cosplay fic and like. it is a good strong line and it just doesn't seem to fit so i'm gonna put it here (or at least a version of it - which also doesn't fit), and y'all can do what you will with it.

The first time Tsumugi Shirogane encounters acclaimed cosplayer Ryoko Otonashi, she is barely seventeen years old and just reaching out into the wider realms of fandom.

[stvlti]

Jaime × Jenny from my still-untitled Blue Beetle & Teen Titans fic

How are we doing Blue Beetle nation? Here's another WIP sneak peek featuring best girl Jenny :)

“Hey. Fancy meeting you here.” Jaime felt his face split into a dopey grin as he slid into the elevator.

“Hey, you.” When Jenny rolled her eyes, she did so good-naturedly. It was enough to block out the genuine glares and eye-rolls around him. There’s talk around his office, the interns all called him ‘loverboy’ behind his back, and he knew the few unfortunate souls who've caught the same elevator to try and beat the rush hour must absolutely loathe their borderline PDA antics right then. But he couldn’t help it; Jenny lighted up his days like nobody else.

“So—” he dragged the syllable out on his tongue, still unaccustomed to taking the initiative after all these months— “I was thinking we could, you know, check out the new sushi place this weekend? Or maybe—” he said the next part out in a rush, aware of all unwitting coworkers listening in— “we could head down to the beach and check out the night market?”

Jenny smiled, in that small, reserved way that dimpled her cheeks. God, he loved her so much.

“Are you asking to take me on a long walk on the beach?”

The tips of his ears flushed red. His voice goddamn cracked when he murmured, “Well, I mean. If you want.”

They stood close enough in the crowded elevator that it was entirely plausible for her hand to fall on his and the squeeze she gave it to be passed off as just them being jostled into each other.

“I’m kidding, Jaime. We can go to the beach any time.”

Jaime ducked his head to hide his smile that may just be permanently etched onto his lips. “So, when can I pick you up? Is tonight okay?”

“Hm. I gotta swing by the mansion, finish off my research for the week.” They shared a knowing look at the words, ‘research’. It was the best lie they could come up with whenever they had to discuss cape business in front of civilians. “But I’ll be free after 8:30, if you want to come over.”

She said it almost coyly, her voice dropping into that husky timber that always drove him crazy. Jaime bit his lips. “Guess I’ll see you then.”

“See you then,” she said.

The night couldn’t come fast enough.

[cloud-somersault]

every time i hear someone sayin' they only read completed fics but also complain because there's not enough 100k slowburns, i get so irrationally mad.

how do you think fics get completed? do you think the author sits on that 100K slowburn for months and posts it all at once? maybe interact and give some engagement

[dravidious]

You're more amazing than cuts

I opened the mountain door in Tunic! And now I'm decoding the instruction manual's text! One thing that's disappointing but also a huge relief is that

the secret text is actually English, not a special made-up language. I was pacing back and forth wondering how I could possibly figure anything out, and I finally checked an online guide for hints and the hints were. really weird?? Like, "this is the word for sword, but why does it only have 2 characters?" Like what? Why SHOULDN'T it have only 2 characters? That's just the word for sword in this made-up language right? Then one of the hints made it clear that it was supposed to represent the English word "sword", just written in a weird gimmicky way. Once I realized it was all just English, it was smooth sailing.

Still, that's pretty mean to anyone playing the game in a different language. I was even like "well it can't possibly just be English because the text stays the same when you change the language setting" but uh. Nope. I guess just fuck you if you don't know English.

[ladsofsorrow24]

i really should further the "go reread chainsaw man" agenda because some people read it in one go then come out with Very Wild conclusion