#scarecrow is just too much but i get he is mad at batman for one upping him i guess

[hauntingblue]

They called ravager jasons lover (he just rejected her 5 pages ago). And harvey told black mask about his fear brain thing. And scarecrow heard and now he is after jason. And the fake joker is after jason too. And all this happened in between issues but we didn't see it.

[illustratedartist]

Jervis Tetch A.K.A The MAD HATTER 🎩🫖

OK So someone sent me an ask on here and unfortunately I can't find where it disappeared to-SO I'M VERY SORRY!

This person asked if I could make a reference sheet of my Hatter and share some headcanons, if I had any. I've never really done this before, or even had many headcanons so please bare with me lol. I didn't go into too much detail, Im not really a writer so I just tried to get the main points through.

Down The Rabbit Hole:

Has paranoid schizophrenia, and often hallucinates, especially when stressed. He mostly sees characters from Alice in Wonderland, seeing the Cheshire cat or “Alice” the most.

When very stressed or feel like hes losing control of a situation, he begins to stutter horribly. His words get jumbled in his mind, and thats when he starts reciting quotes or poems from AIW relevant to the situation hes in. Before he became the Mad Hatter, and became a criminal he stuttered constantly while speaking to anyone. 

 Jervis controls people by drugging and hypnotizing them, But the strongest form of mind control he has are the masks he puts on his “Guests”. 

For goons or regular street thugs he manages to get, he mostly uses cards on them instead of wasting materials to make masks for them. Figuring It would be easier than having Batman break them and forcing him to constantly  remake the same ones over and over. 

Also its a chance to call his thugs the “Card Guards” which amuses him.

His goons don’t matter much to him, but if he assigns you a specific character, you are highly important to his “Tea Parties” and are at risk of being forced to attend indefinitely.

 For his “Tea Party” guest list, he has crafted actual masks for them to wear, in correlation to the Character he assigned to each guest. He does make sure the guests are drugged with his special tea before putting the masks on them. Wouldn’t want to risk having you manage to break free of his control during the party! Or ever.

March Hare=Scarecrow, Dormouse= Riddler, White Rabbit= Ventriloquist, Cheshire Cat= Catwoman, The Dodo= Penguin, Mock Turtle= Mr.Freeze, Queen of Hearts= Poison Ivy, The Walrus= Bane, The Jabberwocky= Batman  

He customizes the masks so they even resemble the actual people.

His closest friends are Jonathan Crane, and Edward Nygma, his March Scare and Dorrat.

Jonathan was a psychologist so he knows how to handle Jervis, and can tolerate him for the most part. Edward on the other hand may think Jervis is a useful ally, but he's not nearly as patient with him as Jonathan is. Neither of them like being called by their "nicknames" Jervis gave them.

Jervis fell in love with the woman he had been working with, before he became a criminal, that put everything into motion. Her actual name wasn't Alice, but they both bonded over their fondness for the story, and he started to call her Alice as a fun nickname or inside joke. Though his obsession with her had already begun.

After losing it, and becoming a criminal and kidnapping "Alice" he was defeated by Batman, (Much like how it happened in BTAS). "Alice" fled Gotham after this, but Jervis doesn't know that, and is too far gone to realize that she would leave him. SO he roams the streets of Gotham looking for his beloved "Alice".

OK THAT'S IT! At least these were all I could think of. Obviously my Jervis is heavily based off the Arkham series and BTAS. But I love this little crazy guy.

[gothamite-rambler]

Harley and Scarecrow actually hate each other: Headcanon (or just wanting I wanted to try for fun)

Harley walked through the streets of Gotham and spotted Scarecrow fiddling with his jammed fear toxin machine.

Harley: Jonathan, you seem to be in a bit of a pickle.

Scarecrow (British accent, annoyed): Call me Scarecrow, you fecking know my name.

Harley: Your name is stupid, though, mate.

Scarecrow (condescending): Right, brilliant big words coming from Harley Quinn!

Harley (faking a British accent): Oh, bit harsh to say, innit?

Scarecrow: Don't say that, and don’t call me mate with that terrible accent!

Harley (smirking, leaning forward): At least mine is real.

Scarecrow (british angry): Sussex! I was born and raised in Sussex! Why don't you and that Spoiler—Let me calm down. I'm not dealing with you. Walk away, failed psychologist.

Harley: Big talk coming from a man who failed at being a psychologist—and British. Although you can't be missing much. I heard your soccer team is awful. You know, soccer? The correct way to call it.

Scarecrow: The American way, which also means the wrong way, stupid bent! At least we don’t measure distances with bloody American football fields!

Harley: Yeah, you just use stones to weigh stuff. And you eat beans on toast! When you lost the war against us, did we take your recipes too?

Scarecrow (really british angry): Beans on toast is a delicious meal! Where are all the bat brats to get you? I'm close to hitting you with my 'fear hose'! Don't play with me!

Harley: I'm sorry, bellend! How about we chat later over a couple of bo'oh'o'wa'er?

Scarecrow (tossing his hose to the ground): That's it! Let's go—put your fists up!

Harley (relishing this): You want to fight me? Perfect! I've always wanted to have a second round with you inbred failures.

Scarecrow: You are an absolute idiot and ruined your career for a clown! A literal clown!

Harley (mockingly): And you're a knockoff Alice in Wonderland villain. Mad Hatter says hi from Arkham, muppet.

As Harley smirked, the usually stoic Scarecrow growled and attempted to punch her. She caught his fist and punched him back. He quickly recovered and decked her in the nose. She sniffled but smiled and shook her head.

Harley: This is my type of pizza party! The next one’s for what you did to Nightwing!

The two began to fight, surprising most of the Bat-family, who watched from a distance. Spoiler pulled out her phone and started recording the sparring match, which involved slaps, punches, and headlocks, while Red Robin snuck over to disable the fear machine before it could be used.

Red Robin: Should we arrest him?

Batman: Nah, surprisingly, Harley’s got this one.

Orphan: They have history?

Batman: Yeah, they freaking hate each other, and Scarecrow hates everyone, so that’s saying a lot.

Nightwing: It’s funny seeing Scarecrow actually try to fight. Did she just defend me there too?

Batman: Yep. She felt bad after you had a breakdown from the toxin. Told me she wasn’t that bad anymore.

Nightwing shrugged, crossing his arms.

Nightwing: She's all right.

Harley (while giving Scarecrow a nuggie): Call them fries!

Scarecrow (really British and angry): Never!

[pastrydragon]

Can I ask for general relationship fluff hcs with your favorite Batman rogues?

How about some PDA headcanons?

Riddler

Will literally take time during his crime broadcasts to brag about his SO.

If they’re willing to play “Lovely Assistant” during his show he’ll even give them a quick kiss on camera if they do something he thinks is particularly cute.

Edward will dispense romantic compliments, hugs and kisses to his SO anytime anywhere.

Emphasis on romantic.

He’s kind of uncomfortable with sexual PDA, suggestive flirting and subtle touches are nice but anything too obvious will upset him.

He prefers to keep the details of his sex life private and enjoys being the only one who gets to see his SO that way.

Scarecrow 

I wouldn’t go so far as to call Jonathan an exhibitionist but he definitely appreciates his SO giving him affection in front of others.

While few and far between, John has had some romantic relationships, but none of those people ever wanted to be with him publicly.

It was always “Too soon” “Unprofessional” or worst of all, “Embarrassing”

So when his current SO gives him a long kiss on the mouth in front of his friends he practically turns to goo.

He gets a little thrill when his partner gives him a kiss on the neck or grope on the ass in public.

Not because people are watching, but because it means SO thinks he’s desirable and is proud to be with him, it gives a sense of permanence to the relationship in his mind.

Mad Hatter

Most of the time Jervis prefers to keep his affections low key in public.

Unless of course he feels like someone is giving his SO unwanted attention. (Certainly unwanted by him at any rate.)

Jervis doesn’t like to admit it but he can be a tad possessive.

Preferably he’ll take a seat in SO’s lap and start kissing them on the cheeks and fiddling with their shirt collar.

The man is a menace and isn’t above salacious promises to get his SO to go home early with him if the source of unwanted attention won’t take a damn hint.

Alternatively he could simply hypnotize the unwanted attention into walking away(and off a short pier.) if his SO is openly annoyed at the unwanted attention.

Penguin

The only person on this list that refrains from too much PDA out of a sense of propriety.

Possessiveness, personal insecurity and a general preference for privacy are all reasons he understands perfectly well, but he’s mostly interested in retaining a certain kind of image.

He’s a man of class, charm and elegance. 

He actively avoids crass displays and only engages in purely romantic interactions with SO while in public.

A light peck on the cheek or cooed compliment are both common displays from him.

He does enjoy showing his partner off to friends and associates just like any other prideful bird, but never in a a vulgar way.

Two Face

Harvey is a possessive bastard.

He does NOT like people leering at his lover for any amount of time.

Even if it’s because they’re being affectionate with him.

Harvey is the kind of boyfriend that rents private rooms at restaurants so he can hit on his date in peace.

It’s honestly a bit silly.

Harley

Harley wouldn’t know “modest” if it bit her on the booty shorts.

She’ll make out with her date in a public park at 2pm.

And it’s 50/50 whether she keeps it completely above the belt.

This women will say depraved shit that belongs buried in the depths of 2010 wattpad to her SO while in hearing distance of 20 different people.

No hesitation no regret.

She doesn’t even get off on it she just genuinely doesn’t care who hears, it’s honestly kind of impressive.

Catwomen

EVIL.

She’s not doing this for the pleasure of the act itself she’s doing this to torture SO specifically.

Selina will slide her fingernails from the top of SO’s spine and into their back pocket for a squeeze while no one is looking.

She’ll whisper everything she’s going to do to them later while no ones listening.

Then she’ll slip inside jokes about it into the conversations she’s having with other people just to fuck around with them further.

Finally, she’ll disappear into the night in the shadow of her broken promises… Until she shows up at SO’s house an hour later.

Poison Ivy

Very similar to Harley in lack of fucks to give.

She should be able to freely show her SO affection regardless of who’s there.

And woe to those who disagree with her.

Any complaints about her being “inappropriate” will be met with a handful of hay fever to the face.

And any cat calling or wolf whistling will be met with a garden pot full of death to the everywhere. 

Music Meister

This man will go as far as his partner lets him, he’s pretty much done away with the concept of “socially acceptable behavior” since becoming a supervillain. 

He was never a fan of that jazz anyway.

Besides the most extreme reaction he gets from fellow rogues to his shenanigans is to be told to “Get a room!” By Oswald.

Everyone else generally just rolls their eyes or teases him.

So besides outright having sex in front of someone he’s up for anything!

And hey, if it was the right person watching, Something could probably be arranged~

[malenjoyer]

hey, rc, do you mind just posting this?

hi! for those who didnt see my retweet, my name's ruin/ruina. malenjoyer (the real one here) and i have been friends since 2019 thereabouts.

to jayce and people who continue to support him: there is no conspiracy or alt account. there is no "this is actually someone else posting and lying." i can pin point to several drawings of his that have come out of conversations or jokes with me; i can give you timeline stuff. i can give you all the damn proof you need to know jayce is lying. there have been instances of sharing batman media, like the rogues podcast, that came because of me and being gushy about scarecrow.

but i gotta piece to say and me saying it on my blog won't really make it to your ears so.

my friend rc is an amazing person. he really is.

he tries so hard to be a good person and he is. he is kind hearted and listens to people. he gives his friends everything he can and receives just as much love. he's an amazing friend; hes funny and intelligent as all get out. he is fun to be around and has the most insightful advice you can ask of anyone. he's passionate about his interests. he throws himself wholly into the things he loves and it is so beautiful to see. he truly genuinely is one of the most real people you will ever meet. and i am truly, truly blessed to have his friendship in my life.

and it makes me mad, jayce, that you have seen him as someone to use. that you have the audacity to take my friend's identity and pretend to be him. you cannot begin to comprehend the amazing kind of person rc actually is. just because an online figure has a very private life does not mean you have right to pretend to be him.

it's devastating to watch him hurt and try to figure out how to navigate being stalked and used; it infuriates me. and i gotta know: for what purpose? for clout?

hey, jayce and co, quick question:

who drew this? what characters are they?

no points for guessing! this is an unpublished malenjoyer commission/wip for me! *my* oc and her dad. that he made for me months ago.

in case youre curious! ^ theres what she looked like before i asked for revisions. while we were on call! i have no shame in posting my discord user but for HIS privacy, i will block his out. but know, its not you jayce.

because try as you might to convince people you're my friend, there is so much more proof that you're not him. rc wouldn't do this kinda shit.

do you know what integrity is, jayce? you should look it up and get some.

rc has a private life and to use his private life as a way to gain your own following/friends/whatever is awful. its cruel. its traumatising. its awful. you're a piece of shit. you're an absolute piece of shit and rc might be too nice to say fuck you but im not.

fuck you. leave him alone.

ily 😭😭😭 MY RIDE OR DIEE

[littlefankingdom]

~ Batman: Knightfall

Bruce: ROBIN! He is killing Robin! No-- Not real-- Jason's already dead-- [...] But... Jason... Jason is... Dead. Just a boy good at heart, more brave than a man... Too brave to become a man. Just a boy, his parents felled in blood, his own life ripped and torn from the world he protected. Just a boy. But never to breathe, speak, or move again. Just a boy, but far too brave to face the stark, lurid madness of a grinning killer. Just a boy-- Dead-- But to his killer, nothing more than a SICK JOKE! Just a boy-- But forever gone.

I have so many thoughts about this.

Bruce being so pained by the memory of Jason's death, he is just screaming his name again and again, damn secret identities I guess, while beating the Joker. And the only way Scarecrow and Joker can think of to stop him is USING A MISSILE LAUNCHER. Two ways to stop Batman from beating criminals when he is blinded by grief: a child or a rocket launcher.

This deserves to be in the "top 5 moments that should have been recorded for Jason", but a recording wouldn't do it justice as it would miss Bruce's internal monologue, and also the context. Bruce is exhausted to hell and back at this point, he has no energy to do anything, he finishes all his fight by passing out somewhere. But, faced with the memory of his boy's death, he gains so much energy. Batman hasn't shown that much strength in weeks.

And Bruce never refers to Jason as his boy or son in this internal monologue, which goes hands in hands with his feelings toward adopting Dick in Gotham Knight. Bruce feels that he doesn’t deserve to call Dick his son and to adopt him, that he doesn’t deserve his kids. And he has a nightmare where the dead imply Bruce's adopting Jason was what killed him. Bruce refuses to think of Jason as his son, not because he doesn't love him as one, but because he thinks he didn't deserve him and his death is his fault. But, even tho he doesn't address Jason as his boy, his words are full of love for him.

Also, Bruce pointing out that Jason was just a "sick joke" to the Joker highlights that Jason didn't matter to Joker. It was about hurting Batman. Jason will only matter to Joker once he comes back angry at Batman. That's when he became interesting to Joker, when he can use him to hurt Batman more. And Bruce repeating Jason's name as he beats Joker is also Bruce trying to force in Joker's head his boy's identity, to force him to see the brave boy he sees and not just a joke.

Anyway, this is the 3rd time I have read Bruce getting fear gazed and it showed him Jason's death, which made him beat Scarecrow. So, I feel like Crane would get the memo that it doesn't work anymore with Batman, and he is the one that will shit his pants if he gazes Batman.

[wanderingmind867]

I promised I'd share my ideas for a hypothetical fourth season of batman 66. So here it is. All 60 episodes of my season four (although some episodes have more detail than others). I planned to write notes for a season five, six and seven. And I'd have each season introduce more and more characters. But I don't know if my attention span will last long enough for me to write all of that. Or if my fancasting website even works anymore. But at least I have all of this written down?

Season 4: Season Four would get 60-70 episodes, max. A full season of 60 episodes, split into part one and part two, or something like that.

Episodes 1 and 2: A two parter based on the events of the Batman '66 Comic, Issue #1. A story involving The Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and Catwoman (Julie Newmar).

Episodes 3 and 4: A story involving The Joker (as played by Cesar Romero). Not much else to say beyond that right now.

Episodes 5 and 6: A story featuring The Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and Mister Freeze (either George Sanders or Eli Wallach). They team up, only to get busted by the dynamic duo!

Episodes 7 and 8: Introducing Signalman to the world of Batman '66! Signalman uses his gimmicks to try and trap Batman and Robin, while stealing as many symbols of good fortune as he possibly can.

Episode 9: A Batgirl solo episode, focusing on her and her new partner (who she meets in this episode): Jason Bard. Together, her and Jason end up investigating the appearance of a new catwoman on the scene (Eartha Kitt). Together, Batgirl and her private detective partner manage to learn that this new Catwoman is an old friend of the first Catwoman, and they're friendly rivals who compete for the thrill of the chase.

Episodes 10 and 11: Batman and Robin are preparing to leave for London on Vacation, but they're held up by The Bookworm and his criminal gang, who planned to rob Gotham City of a priceless manuscript stored deep within Gotham City Hall. Only the dynamic duo can stop this marvelous mastermind before it's too late!

Episodes 12, 13 and 14: Batman and Robin end up in London on vacation, and they end up needing to bust up two different capers in England; one involving The Mad Hatter (David Wayne) and the other involving The Clock King (Walter Slezak). It turns out these two villians have some negative history together, but it's unclear just what this history entails…

Episode 15: While Batman and Robin are off in Europe, Batgirl and Jason Bard run into Cluemaster, a strange new villian who seems to have an odd vendetta against The Riddler. Although The Riddler doesn't actually show up in this episode, we learn that Cluemaster is a minor villain who's always held a grudge. He wants to take the title of world's biggest riddle/clue/puzzle themed supervillian away from The Riddler! Only Batgirl can stop him now!

Episodes 16 and 17: Batman and Robin end up on a cruise heading back to Gotham, but the cruise ends up being held up by Penguin, who's decided to take to high seas felony after being constantly foiled on land. But he didn't count on finding Batman and Robin on one of his captive vessels…

Episodes 18 and 19: Batman and Robin return to Gotham, just in time for a late september scheme hatched by Egghead, that diabolical master of eggs-pert larceny! Batman and Robin need to enlist the end of Batgirl and Jason Bard just to get him to be defeated before he commits the greatest crime of our time and era!

Episodes 20 and 21: In the brisk early October air, False Face steals a new chemical designed to make a human being shapeshift. But one of his men steals it away from him! Matt Hagen (Rich Little), a greedy henchmen of the dastardly False Face, uses the machine and turns himself into a hideous being made of Clay! Remembering the case of an old villian Batman tangled with named Clayface, Matt Hagen decides to embrace his evil side and become Clayface the second!

Episodes 22 and 23: Batman, Robin and Batgirl all end up tangling with The Scarecrow (Anthony Perkins) on Halloween Night! A washed up former psychology teacher with a love for fear, Jonathan Crane has come to haunt Gotham as the one and only Scarecrow!

Episodes 24 and 25: Batman and Robin tangle with Blockbuster, a menace who's too mindless to actually mean any harm to anyone or anything. He's being used by his mad scientist brother Roland, but the dynamic duo don't figure that out until it's nearly too late…

Episodes 25 and 26: While hosting a Gotham City Beauty Contest to mark the beginning of November and the subsequent colder season, Batman and Robin tangle with Poison Ivy (Ann Margret), that powerful sorceress of seduction! Using her brilliant botanical wisdom, she snares Batman and Robin inside of a horrible death trap. But they escape, and successfully bring her to Justice.

Episodes 27 and 28: Batman and Robin deal with the Polka Dot Man, a bizarre new criminal capable of using polka dots as tools for committing new crimes to bedevil and beguile the people of Gotham City!

Episodes 29 and 30: Batman and Batgirl have to work together to fight off a mad team up of The Penguin and The Riddler. Robin is sick with the flu, so he's unable to help them. So it's up to Batman and Batgirl to save the day this time around!

Episodes 31 and 32: A Christmas Special, featuring a mall santa who gets victimized by The Joker and Clayface, a bizarre new duo of cookery! Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Jason Bard all have to team up to defeat the foe this time. And in the end, it's rather unclear if the mall santa was just a mall santa, or if they were the real santa all along…

Episodes 33, 34 and 35: Batman is challenged by his most dastardly foes yet; a terrible trio of crooks from Gotham's distant past! The Eraser, The Getaway Genius and Killer Moth! Batman hasn't tangled with them in years, not since the days of… Batwoman. Back when Robin was younger (a few years before the show started), Kathy Kane was a rich socialite who teamed up with Batman to fight crime. But she retired after an awful case involving Killer Moth. Yet now, she may be Gotham's only hope for surviving the Triumvirate's terror!

Episodes 36 and 37: Batman was set on edge by the Triumvirate (and by Batwoman's return), so he's gone on vacation. While he's off on vacation, two different teams have to protect Gotham from ill will. Robin and Catwoman are who we're gonna focus on first. While Batman's away, they end up having to deal with Doctor Double-X, a horrible foe from years past, capable of creating duplicates of himself to fight his battles for him!

Episodes 38 and 39: While Batman is off on vacation, Batgirl and Jason Bard end up having to call a truce with Catwoman II (Eartha Kitt), as she's being pursued by an old rival. Catman, a big game hunter who prowled the jungles of africa. He feels that Catwoman gives the noble beauty of the jungle cat a bad name, and so he's out for revenge. Batgirl, Catwoman and Jason Bard have to save Gotham from the deranged anger of Catman, before it's too late!

Episodes 40 and 41: Batman was on vacation in Europe, exploring the beautiful balkans. But he accidentally stumbles upon a plot by Olga, Queen of the Cossacks, and he has to come back out of temporary retirement to stop her.

Episodes 42 and 43: Robin and Batwoman team up to fight against Shane and his wife Calamity Jan.

Episodes 44 and 45: Batgirl and Jason Bard team up to fight off Louie the Lilac and The Siren, a strange duo who've teamed up to try and take down Poison Ivy (for "stealing their gimmicks"). At the end of this two parter, batman finally returns from his vacation.

Episodes 46 and 47: Batman's first case after coming back from vacation involves dealing with The Sandman, Gotham's strange sultan of the sands, a man capable of putting people to sleep (and now even capable of messing with them as they sleep and dream)!

Episodes 48 and 49: Batman's newest case leads him to have to fight against Mister Freeze yet again, who's sprung himself from jail, all to work on an elaborate scheme involving freezing gotham in with perpetual winter!

Episodes 50, 51 and 52: Batman has to go up against The Riddler, Cluemaster and The Puzzler, all of whom have gone on the attack against each other. There can only be one king of puzzles/riddles/clues, and they won't stop until one of them has successfully defeated the other!

Episodes 53 and 54: While Batman deals with the three puzzling champions, Batgirl and Robin end up fighting against The Bookworm and Scarecrow, both of whom have teamed up to try and steal some rare manuscripts for old time classic horror novels. It might be in this story that we get the first hints that robin is beginning to feel stifled by batman's authority. He wants to fly somewhat independently. To prove himself to Batman.

Episodes 55 and 56: Batman and Robin have to defeat The Joker, when he decides to challenge them to a game of wits. He commits crimes using the gimmicks of other criminals, and thusly tries to lure them off his trail. It almost works, until Batman and Robin finally get wise to the scheme.

Episodes 57 and 58: Batman and Robin team up to fight against The Minstrel, their old musically inclined foe. He's come to Gotham to commit more musical thefts, and only the dynamic duo is capable of stopping him.

Episodes 59 and 60: Batman and Robin have to deal with King Tut, who's once again relapsed into his horrible criminal ways.

After this, Season Four ends. Then we'd have the two animated movies (The Return of the Caped Crusaders and Batman vs Two-Face), and we'd also have the third movie which we were promised but which Adam West died before he could film (we were promised a film project with Harley Quinn, according to the Batman vs Two Face wikipedia page). So we'd have the Harley Quinn story (which might also feature Hugo Strange), and then we'd have Robin leave Batman to go do his own thing, the same way he did in the mainstream comics. And that would be the lead in for Season Five, which is all about Batman on his own.

[celaenaeiln]

I saw in a panel one time that when Dick revealed his identity to the other Fab Five, Batman happened to catch him right in the middle of it and confronted him about it

Though of course Dick stood his ground verbally, stating his trust in them after what they’ve been through.

You think that might’ve played into the long arc of Bruce and Dick having differences between them emerge as Dick grew older and more distant from being that chipper partner Bruce could have by his side?

The Titans (1999) Issue #42

The Titans love Dick's independence but Bruce hates it.

I think you're mostly right but I think it's not so much of differences as it is freedom and self-governing.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #134

The thing about Dick's robin, Dick has always been a little too good to just be Batman's sidekick. Too good at fighting, too good at detectiving, too good at being an equal, a partner.

Batman/Scarecrow Issue #1

He can read Bruce's mind like he's eating candy. He's used to Bruce letting him do whatever he wants, but now all of a sudden, Bruce is telling him what to do and what he can't do. It's getting on Dick's nerves that one second he had all the freedom in the world and now Bruce thinks he can't do what he's so used to.

Dick think Bruce's sudden distrust in him is because he thinks Dick can't keep up or that he's doubting his skills somehow. So he starts acting out. What he doesn't understand is Bruce isn't doubting his competence, he's being protective. After a decade Bruce has finally realized that it's too dangerous for a child to be going around doing the things he has been doing, so it's not a reflection of Dick's abilities, but increased self-awareness and responsibility that Bruce has gained.

And this is what causes the friction.

The resolution of Dick's earlier conflict is this-

Nightwing (1996) Issue #135

Dick is fully capable of holding his own, of solving his own mysteries, and fighting his own cases. But Bruce believes that because he's too young to be at that level. So Dick sets an ultimatum. While Dick was looking forward to it like a kid waiting for his 18th birthday, Bruce was counting down the days like Doomsday Clock, dreading the moment. At finally when it was time, he made his move first because it's easier to fault the other person always.

It's not their differences really that caused them to fall apart. Their difference is what caused Bruce to love him. He loved that Dick was such a joyful, energetic, and eager child. It fear that turned into protectiveness that turned into control which soured their later relationships.

While Dick may have been excited and ready about becoming his own hero, Bruce ruined the moment because he didn't want to let go. That's partly why I think their later years were so tumultuous. They both knew what was coming, they just had different ideas of it.

He was mad that Dick ran away the first time, so how do you think he's going to react with the knowledge that Dick is going to officially leave him? Hence the firing.

You know in hindsight, this is probably another reason why Bruce will forever hate the Titans. He probably thinks they're the reason Dick's turned away from him and he hates that.

[acapelladitty]

You’ve probably answered this before but I’m new here, how do you think the rogues feel about The Joker? I’m specifically curious about Scarecrow, Black Mask, Penguin, and Two-Face.

Harley and Ivy hate him obviously, and I think Riddler canonically does too? But the others mentioned, do you think they also hate him? Do they fear him? Would any be willing to work with him?

I also really wonder what the other rogues think of Black Mask, cause he’s not as crazy as Joker but he is almost as sadistic. I think he’s one of the most terrifying Batman villains tbh but suffers from being underutilized.

Scarecrow: Has enough wits to know that the Joker is far too unpredictable to be a true ally or partner but is also clouded by his own hubris that he could somehow control him. A fact which often results in him getting his entire arse handed to him as Joker runs circles around his attempted manipulations.

Black Mask: Sees the Joker as a potential tool to be used and hired where necessary. Doesn't like him in the slightest but will pretend to cater to him to use him to solve problems. Well, at least he tried a few times until he realised that Joker sort of created more problems than he solved and now he keeps his distance.

Penguin: Probably the smartest man in the room when it comes to Joker because he keeps him very sweet while also keeping him at arms length. Can't really stand him but can appreciate how much of a force of power he truly is and will work with and around him to keep him out of his path of destruction. Will never bet against the Joker but will never really openly align himself with him.

Two Face: Fucking haaaaaates Joker. Fucking hated him when he was DA and has kept that hatred across his shift into Two Face. Joker knows and loves to wind him up about it. He'll let Harvey speak to him with as much disrespect as he wants and he'll just laugh in his face cause he finds Harvey's descent into his own brand of madness very funny.

[dcoraclestan]

Untitled Batfam/Squid Game cross over fan fic

Summary: a sad fan fic where the batfam are in a squid games-esc game playing dodgeball and it comes down to Jason and Tim as the last players on each side but Tim is too scared to say anything so it’s up to Jason to decide whether his team lives or dies and I gave the surviving Robin crippling survivors guilt as they refuse to open their eyes and witness their brother dead on the floor.

Background info: This is chapter 3 of a WIP a few people asked me to post. Basically Bat fam in a squid games situation were forced to split up into two to play dodgeball. They didn’t get to choose the teams and they get one minute to strategize before the game started. The transparent wall kills anyone who crosses it. All of which is explained in chapter one that I haven’t written yet lol. Not important but the teams are Alfred, Tim, Stephanie, Damian, Roxy Rocket, Harley Quinn, Deathstroke, Penguin, and Two Face. The others are Bruce, Selina, Jason, Tiffany, Lucius, Kate, Riddler, Killer Croc, and Scarecrow. If there are any grammar mistakes, just know I’m illiterate. Enjoy!

Ever since they broke off into teams, Alfred had not taken his eyes off Bruce. And while Bruce had done an excellent job at hiding his grief for Dick and Luke, Alfred knew better. Bruce may have been putting on a Batman exterior, but his eyes held the same look as the recently orphaned eight year old latching onto his petticoat, unsure of how to answer Officer Gordon’s questions about his parents’ murder.

Unsure.

Seeing his younger master unsure was what terrified him the most. If it wasn’t for the transparent wall having split the court, Alfred would have been over with his adopted son helping him plan, but instead he was standing with his grandkids attempting to figure out what to do while those that terrorized their nightmares were trying to convince them to win instead of throwing the game.

“Oh please! Like they aren’t over there talking the same shit!” Penguin squawked. “They’re going to kill us all the second they get and be thrilled we’re dead!”

Stephanie clinched her hands, “we need to delay the game! As long as possible at least!”

Roxy laughed, “I’m with this one. Make it exciting!”

“Don’t be stupid,” Deathstroke snapped.

“Aw come on, Willy,” Harley pouted. “Don’t be mean. The poor girl just wants her fake family to rescue them! There’s no chance they will in time, but these hero types always have a hope in them that’s hard to shake.”

“Quinn,” Damian ordered, “please stop talking. We have less than a minute to plan.”

“Planning our own deaths,” Mad Hatter shot. “You hero types never pass up an opportunity to sacrifice yourselves for the greater good. No, we gotta throw all of them in the front lines and make sure they get out fast.”

“You want to throw the three most physically fit members of our team under the bus?” Deathstroke pointed out sarcastically. “Great idea.”

“Fuck you!” Stephanie snapped, raising a fist. “You had no problem pushing Dick down! If it wasn’t for you, he’d be alive!”

Deathstroke rolled his eye. “I told you, I slipped.”

Stephanie threw the first punch which lead to a loud argument of people holding each other back, screaming over each other, and otherwise preforming a mockery of teamwork. Alfred almost joined the fray before turning and noticing Tim was not in the circle. He was standing close to the barrier and staring ahead at the other team.

Alfred approached him, wincing from his now relocated shoulder. “Master Drake, is everything okay?”

Tim shook his head vaguely. “We’re going to die. All of us here. We’re all going to die.”

Alfred’s heart sunk into his stomach, but he kept a gentle expression. “Why do you say that?”

Tim gestured to Bruce in their much more cooperative group huddle. “Batman doesn’t know what to do. I’ve been watching him, Alfred. He hasn’t said a word in their meeting. He also hasn’t let any of us move far away from him. He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. He’s trying to spend what little time he has left with us. I’ve seen him be less protective when Darksied nearly wiped all of humanity, but… he’s completely given up now.”

The lump in Alfred’s throat grew bigger. He placed his good hand on his shoulder and felt Tim shaking under his palm. “That doesn’t mean there’s no hope, Master Timothy.”

Tim shook his head. “Alfred, don’t try to pretend. We both know we’re not making it out of this school alive.”

Alfred didn’t know what to say as he secretly agreed. Fortunately, the whistle blew so he never had to come up with the words. “Planning period over. The game is about to begin. I repeat. Planning period over. The game is about to begin.”

Everyone got into a vague position to start. All of the inmates were at the front with the bat family further away from the center. Five balls dropped from the ceiling as a new ten minute timer started ticking down. The villains all ran for the balls and started throwing. Alfred and Lucius were not nearly young or healthy enough, and unsurprisingly were benched quickly. All the vigilantes were moving on instinct and muscle memory rather than a desire to live. Each time a ball got caught, someone else was called back in, but that was the only time the bat family spoke. Other than that, they were dodging as best as they could. The only two who were having any resemblance of fun was Harley Quinn and Roxy Rocket who couldn’t help but taunt and jeer at every person who got out. Once both were knocked out by a well aimed throw from Kate, the court was silent because of rule #3. It was obvious those on the bench wanted to say something, but none of them were willing to be shot just to make fun of someone being hit.

Reguardless of where they stood morally, both teams were all were nervous to be playing. All kept subconsciously glancing to Batman every few seconds for a way to get out of the situation entirely. Unfortunately, Batman was not playing the game. No matter how hard he tried, Bruce was the one on the court. Bruce found it impossible to ignore their glances at him for answers.

Similar to red light/green light, after each person was eliminated a whistle blew from no where and their name was called, except this time it wasn’t followed by a gunshot. That didn’t mean Bruce’s heart rate didn’t go up with each blow of the whistle. He kept seeing Dick’s face blown apart by a sniper rifle at too close range, hearing Luke’s chest ripped open by the same gun and Tiffany screaming in fear. Even Clayface and Bane perishing in an equally hideous display crossed his mind. He didn’t want anyone else to die, not even the Arkham inmates. It was senseless violence. All of it. Even then, as Two Face hurled a ball at Riddler’s bad leg with the intention of hurting him more, there wasn’t a reason for it.

Bruce kept trying to rationalize the scene. He was playing dodgeball in an elementary school with his family and enemies. That was the extent he could go. When he managed to get a ball in his hands, all he could think to do was roll it on the ground so no one got out. It was completely pointless. If that timer hit 0 everyone would be dead. Someone was going to have to decide who lives.

Bruce only became aware of his movements when he allowed himself to be hit by a disbelieving Tim who stood alone on the opposite side. Bruce didn't say anything and selfishly walked back to the stands. The ball that bounced off Bruce had rolled back to Tim’s side of the court, hitting his shoe.

“I-I thought he was gonna catch it,” Tim stuttered to the sole member of the other team.

Jason laughed humorlessly. “Bats not sacrificing himself for the greater good? You’re kidding yourself.”

Tim unsteadily picked up the ball at his feet, an unwilling passenger in his own body. He held the ball in his hand shaking violently but felt as though it was ten feet away. He could hear the countdown on the timer. He only had 42 seconds left on the clock. It wasn’t enough time. Less than a minute for half of his family to live. But which half? How does he choose? How could he? He was a teenager, a kid really. One side had more people, more members of his family. But he couldn’t let Damian, Alfred, or Steph die. But if he did let himself live with the others, the rogues had already declared their promise to kill them the moment Batman was dead. The inmates had a numbers advantage on them. They could easily overpower an elderly injured man and three kids who wouldn’t be able to defend themselves without Batman’s help. Tim felt everyone staring at him wanting to shout out their opinions and what he should do. He almost wished they could as it might have blocked out the sound of his beating heart.

“Jay… I can’t do this,” Tim whimpered, shaking where he stood.

Jason searched his mind for a sarcastic comment to shoot back at his brother to make him laugh, but he couldn’t come up with anything. “Tim… man, it’s gonna be alright,” Jason consoled.

“I… I can’t do it. I can’t. We’re all gonna die and it’s gonna be my fault but I can’t choose…”

“Don’t then,” Jason blurted out trying to give him some solace. “Throw it easy. I’ll either catch it or not. It won’t be your fault then, just mine.”

Tim shook his head, “no. We…. Jay it makes more sense for your side to live. Sacrificing yourself I get, but… the only way you have any chance to get out is Bruce and Lucius. We’re just kids over here, and they’re gonna kill us the second Bruce die-“ he stopped himself from finishing his sentence, having to take a deep breath to keep himself from completely breaking down. “But… I don’t want Damian to not grow up. I don’t want Steph to not see Cass again, I don’t want… I don’t want to-“ It was all he could say before sobbing.

“Tim,” Jason’s voice cracked. “There’s not enough time left…” Jason didn’t even realize he was talking, his lips moved without thinking. “E-either way one of us is dead. You don’t even have to choose anything! All of the balls are in your…are in your court, so no matter what… it’s me who has to decide…”

The gravity of it caught up to Jason in that moment. It really was up to him no matter what. Tim could throw whatever he wanted, but he had to either fight for his life or die for his brothers’. Tim was right. Unfortunately, there were more rational adults with more skills on his side. If there was any chance of getting out before the games ended it was with Lucius and Tiffany’s tech skills to override the locks, Selina’s stealth to steal a weapon, Kate’s martial arts skill, and Bruce’s planning. But that would mean…

Jason looked up and saw Steph smiling comfortingly and tears streaming down her face, Alfred standing dignified with Damian uncharacteristically vulnerable leaning up against his leg, refusing to look at the court. Tim was hugging the ball to his chest tightly, the only thing he could do at the moment, trying his best to keep from crying.

The clock was ticking down, now at ten seconds. Jason had to make up his mind quickly. He found Bruce’s eyes and quietly asked what to do. Bruce looked away and down at his hand in his lap clutching onto his wife’s. A small gesture that told Jason what he would do if the roles were reversed.

Jason turned to Tim and gave him a single nod. He had made his decision. Tim threw the ball up in the air and time seemed to freeze. All eyes were on the second Robin, watching his every moment. They saw his feet move to become more center with the ball, directly in its path.

There was the sound of the ball making impact. Jason closed his eyes and waited, the familiar feeling creeping up in him that death was about to come. Jason hated that the last image Tim would ever have of him would be of him shaking and terrified, but no matter what he did he could not manage to muster up a smile onto his face.

“It’s gonna be okay-“

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

BANG

No final words were granted. No goodbyes were given. One by one, the sound of bodies dropping to the floor echoed in the tiny gym. The former Robin’s eyes had shut tight with the first gun shot, not wanting to see his brother mutilated before him. He could feel his brother’s brain matter coating his hands and the blood soaking into his shirt but as long as his eyes were shut, everything was fine. As long as his eyes were closed his family was alive. As long as he didn’t look, almost all of his siblings were still standing.

He didn’t cry as he stood there. He couldn’t if he tried as his grip of reality started to pull away from him. This was his nightmare, his absolute nightmare. The former Robin couldn’t think of a worse scenario for him to be in. It was just up to him and his brother to choose the fates of his family. There was no way this was happening. Kidnapping almost his whole family to play children’s games to the death?! That’s completely insane. It may have been Gotham but-

Scarecrow.

It had to of been. He had to be under the influence of fear toxin. There’s no other way. It was the only thing that made any sense. It was all of his worst fears wrapped up into one. A high dose of fear toxin.

“This isn’t real,” he said out loud. “This isn’t real. This isn’t happening. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.” He repeated this over and over and over again, each time somehow shutting his eyes tighter and tighter, refusing to open them. He knew this couldn’t have been true, the timeline of events was too coherent to be a hallucination, but he could manifest it into being fake if he tried hard enough. He could make it true. He could make it so his brothers were alive. If he just repeated this, it would-

“It’s going to be alright,” a man’s voice said, clasping a firm hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to be alright.”

Jason snapped out of his trance to see the rubber ball still in his hands. There was the clear sign of skull and brain coating the outside of it, the last remainder he had of Tim. The transparent do-not-cross wall was already dividing the court, but Jason could not bring himself to look through it and instead stared down at the ball in his hand.

“I-I caught it…” Jason stated, holding it up to Bruce beside him. “I caught it.”

Bruce nodded, jaw tensed, swallowing a lump in his throat. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Jason looked right through Bruce. “I caught it…” he breathed out and lowered his arms. “I caught it…”

Bruce didn’t say anything, but instead wrapped his arms around his son and pulled him in tight. Jason did not hug him back. He didn’t seem to have noticed at all that he had moved. The ball in his hands was the only thing grounding him to reality as it was a fact that he caught the ball. He saved Bruce, Selena, Tiffany, Kate, and Lucius.

He caught the ball.

“I caught it,” Jason was still repeating over and over as Bruce gripped him tighter. “I caught it.”

“Thank God you did!” Ed Nigma scoffed, limping down the stands. “I was worried you were about to do something stupid.”

Jason didn’t hear him. His chin was resting on his adopted dad’s shoulder. The ball was pressing in under Bruce’s ribcage but similar to the last living Robin, he didn’t notice anything other than Jason’s grip on this world slipping away as he kept stating how he saved his life. Bruce was already numb from the moment he turned around and saw his oldest son had been shot in the head. His daughter, father, and other two sons shared the same fate.

Jason still hadn’t cried nor stopped repeating himself. It might have been better if he did either. Bruce didn’t know what to do or how best to comfort him. It was Bruce’s fault he was like this. Bruce purposefully tagged himself out, not so Tim would have a chance, but so he didn’t have to make the final decision.

“I… I caught the ball,” Jason finally differed slightly from his script. “I caught the ball.”

“It’s going to be okay, Jason,” Bruce comforted. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Bruce wished his voice wasn’t so monotone. It might have helped if he has some emotion, angry or sad, or anything. But Bruce pushed down all of his pain, all of his feelings. He didn’t allow himself to grieve, not yet. Not only was it unproductive, but he knew once he started crying he would never be able to stop. He had to focus on what he had, and all he had was four people outside this game presumably trying to break them out, a wife who he loved deeply, his one living cousin, one of his oldest friends and his loyal daughter, and one surviving son right in front of him who was unable to cope with the decision he made and would haunt him forever.

“You did nothing wrong,” Bruce repeated. “It’s going to be okay. You did nothing wrong.”

Bruce didn’t know how long they stood there repeating themselves over and over, each one not interrupting the other.

Eventually, a gentle hand was placed on Bruce’s back. “Sweetheart,” Selina consoled, “we should probably go before they kick us out.”

Bruce did not make a conscious effort to let go of Jason, but he found himself walking towards the gym door all the same, one arm wrapped around his son to guide him.

Jason was still clutching the rubber ball in his hand when the voice announcement came on overhead. “No taking game items outside of the playing field. I repeat. No taking game items outside the playing field.”

Selina unwrapped herself from Bruce’s side, stopping Bruce from taking a step out the door. “Jason,” Selina cautioned gently.

Jason looked through her and held up the rubber ball just like he did minutes earlier to Bruce. “I caught it.”

Selina smiled as warmly as she could. “I know. I know you did. We have to leave it behind now. Is that alright?”

Jason’s eyes went to the ball where a fragment of Tim’s skull was practically glued to it with now dried blood. “I…caught the ball…”

Selina reached out carefully and placed her hands as best as she could so she didn’t touch any gore on it. “I’m going to take this from you. Can I do that?”

Jason watched his own hands unwrap themselves from the ball and have it settle in Selina’s hands.

“Thank you, Jason,” Selina thanked before going back to the stands and gently placing it down on the bleachers so it didn’t make a sound.

“Y-yeah…” Jason mumbled, still holding his hands out as though nothing had been taken from him.

Bruce rubbed Jason’s arm for comfort and continued walking down the hallway once Selina was next to him again. The only sound down the hallway was Jason’s mutters of catching a ball getting quieter and quieter.

“B-B-Bruce?” Jason asked as they neared the corridor to the kindergarten classroom.

“Yes?” Bruce responded.

“I…I think I’m done,” Jason admitted. “Yeah, I don’t want to play any more games. I’m gonna… I just want to go home.”

Bruce stopped in the hallway and turned to be in front of him with Selina stopping a step behind Bruce. Bruce suddenly did not see a 19 year old Jason Todd standing in front of him, but rather the 12 year old Boy Wonder who just wanted to do good in the world. He didn’t know what else to do other than kneeling down to his knee and grabbing Jason’s arms. Bruce couldn’t think of what to say, but somehow the words came out of him. “You made a hard choice back there, Jay. No one would deny that. There was no right or wrong decision, only one that-.”

“They probably felt how I did…” Jason muttered.

Bruce felt his heart shatter as Jason’s eyes finally focused on him. “I…I made them watch the clock tick down to their deaths. They didn’t deserve that.” Bruce froze, finally understanding what Jason had been trying to tell him. He watched as Jason’s eyes shifted away from reality once more and stared off into the abyss. “I caught the ball…” Jason began repeating again.

The first tear fell out of Bruce’s eyes without him knowing. They were silently streaming down his face, knowing for a fact that this was his fault. He left the decision up to Jason. This was Bruce’s doing. And he would have to live with that for the rest of his life.

[cuephrase]

Of the DC comics you've read so far, what would be your top recommendations for people to check out/what have you enjoyed the most?

when i tell you i have been thinking about this all day- i have been thinking about this. all. day.

so disclaimer, as of writing this, i have only read 31 runs from start to finish and 18 arcs/events outside of those runs. on top of, everything i've read so far has been strictly robin-centric, so dick, jason, tim, and damian. (i have read all of steph's robin appearances lol, but i haven't gotten to reading material for her, like say batgirl 2009, yet.) i've also decided not to rec from any run i'm currently reading, so for example, you won't see any batman: gotham knights recs here. because i'm most well-read on the robins, i'm only going to rec for them.

also, i'm going to operate under the following assumption: you've got a basic knowledge of the robins. none of these are where i would necessarily recommend anyone start reading about the boys, but i do think they'd be pretty interesting if you're already somewhat familiar with them and don't want to commit to reading whole character backlogs. does that make sense? i hope that makes sense.

alright, let's do this!

DICK GRAYSON

oh god. this one is actually so hard because he has so much great stuff, but then also i have like a love/frustrate relationship with so much of it. like for instance, i really enjoyed The New Teen Titans, but also lowkey can't stand space adventures so whenever that went down i was like 😀👍. but okay. hmmmm.

i have two preboot recs, with explanations + caveats.

devin grayson's mob!dick arc, so Nightwing 1996 #99-100, 107-117. caveats: it doesn't really get to finish playing out/wraps up weird because of editorial changes/infinite crisis. but!! it's a super interesting look at how dick handles...failure. how he values himself in light of that failure.

tomasi's run, but specifically #147-153. (listen, i love the dick and tim moments in 'freefall' but the whole eternally pregnant lady thing was too weird.) this is classic, hyper-competent dick, okay? he's such a bad-ass. and an idiot- bro literally flops his severely injured ass over the bars of his glider and rides it UNCONSCIOUS back to the batcave. i can't with him. poor alfred. anyways, he deals with two-face, always a good time. and then at the end, as a treat, he cries because bruce is dead. so fun!! what was my caveat here? oh yeah, he has a girlfriend. i don't remember her name, she serves like...very little purpose, the whole relationship is very minor/background okay, but like it was so unnecessary. he can be single, dc, it's okay.

for post re-boot, just read tom taylor's run!! it's the best thing ever!! zero complaints!!

HA. yeah, just kidding. that run is very like/frustrate for me lol. oh man i'm struggling here. it's not all bad okay, i'm just really picky, and i haven't re-read any nightwing n52 and onwards since my first foray into comics (8 months ago) so my memories of these are the foggiest and i'm not sure how i feel about all of it in light of what i've read now. yk what, i'm just going to...not rec anything. sorry!!

JASON TODD

his comics either go so hard or they're absolute ass, why is there no in between. istg, i can't figure out why writers struggle with him so much?? well. i mean, i do have theories. but you didn't ask for those!

pre-boot:

detective comics #569-574. robin!jason in the hands of writers who like him is so much fun. which, don't get me wrong, i don't flat-out hate how starlin writes him, but i think you get a more well-rounded view of jason as robin when you also see him in 'tec. jason and bruce tangle with the joker, scarecrow, + mad hatter, and all of those adventures are...idk if they were intentional foreshadowing okay, but reading those and knowing where the story goes? oof. especialllllly #574. caveat: #572 is pretty light on jason, but he is great when he's on panel!

reboot:

probably a very basic answer but rhato rebirth (2016) #1-13, annual #1. i abhorred n52 rhato so i almost skipped rhato rebirth since it was still written by lobdell, but i'm really glad i didn't. i really enjoy jason's relationship with bizarro + artemis, but especially with bizarro because i think jason struggles a lot with feeling like a doomed creation, so yk, parallels. i want to say more but i know i'll get too wrapped up in discussing jason so i'm just going to stop myself.

i actually really enjoyed task force z, too. i think about tfz #8 so much, jason is such a manipulative little shit and i love it. he's so- i can't. i can't get into this rn, it deserves its own post(s).

overall for jay, i need people to read something other than utrh/lost days/b:ul 1-6. i love those, i do, but they aren't the only good pieces of jason content!!

TIM DRAKE

MY BELOVED!!!!!!!!!! in my heart of hearts, i just want to rec his whole robin run lmao. dick was my intro, okay, he is why i decided to start reading comics, but tim, specifically his robin solo is why i'm still reading comics. hooked me fr. and young justice 1998, ugh love. but it has been a minute since i read these as well, so hmm. okay okay okay

pre-boot:

batman: prodigal. short version, tim is robin to dick's batman. super fun. there's a solid amount of dick and bruce angsting too, which, love. tim is honestly just thrilled that jpv is out of the batsuit and even happier to working with dick. very cute.

robin #46. listen. they're all superheroes okay, they all feel pressure to save people. but tim...losses get to him. the amount of times that he gets shoved to a breaking point and then...gets back up. keeps going. *screams*. anyways!! this is not tim getting back up, okay? this is him being shoved way, way down. it's so good.

teen titans 2003 #20. tim's dad has died. he shows up for his weekend at the tower anyways. he is not okay. that's it, that's the pitch. i did not like...mmm at least 80% of this run okay, but a few of the issues HIT and this was one imo.

reboot:

*deep sigh*. look. tim is not tim for like basically all of n52, although there are moments here and there were he feels like himself. i did not like his 2023 solo, the best parts of young justice 2019 imo are the character designs, (except for his drake costume, what was that omg), and i haven't read any rebirth batman/'tec yet. except for zdarsky's run. which. tim is good there! but yeah, not really a whole lot of material to work with + very limited reading experience atm.

DAMIAN WAYNE

god, i love this kid. nature vs. nurture fascinates me, and so much of his story digs into that on top of trying to figure out who he is apart from all of that. i will say, i'm not a huge talia fan and by that i mean, i have no idea who she is "supposed" to be, like i have no frame of reference for that atm, so if you are a huge talia fan these recs might not hit for you because from what i've observed from her fans she is not well portrayed a whole lot since becoming his mother? i think one of the things that is normal is dick absolutely disliking her though, which cracks me up. there's this older batman story (batman #322-335) where bruce works with talia and dick goes running to selina and i was so entertained. what were we talking about? oh! damian!

preboot:

batman and robin 2009 #10-12. damian is struggling, with a lot of things. the fact that bruce might be alive, what that means for him and dick, and his mother's puppeteering. there's this line that kills me: "can't you just love me for who i am? not what you want me to be?" and the thing that gets me, is the use of who vs. what. because he could have said, "not who you want me to be", but he doesn't

reboot:

batman: shadow war. this is post-alfred's death, and honestly, most damian stuff post city of bane is pretty juicy, but there's this specific moment in shadow war: alpha #1 that had me speechless. just like 😧 i love bruce, but that man has some of the most chronic foot-in-mouth disease. oh but fair warning, for whatever reason they don't draw dami's mask connecting?? it's so- it drives me nuts.

JUST FOR FUN

these are just two issues that i enjoy for the brother content!

nightwing 1996 #25. dick and tim's relationship makes me ILL. *ahem*. this issue is mostly just super cute and fun, (there's like 0.2 seconds of angst when tim asks dick if he ever thinks about jason 😭) and i adore it sm. fun fact, it's actually one of the first comics i ever bought!

batman 2016 #16. unfortunately, tim is not here for this, but duke is! jason and damian's interactions in the background of bruce's Very Serious Speech are excellent. bruce is so dramatic and his kids are so unserious.

what i've most enjoyed

i've enjoyed the majority of what i've read, even titles/events i wasn't particularly looking forward to but had on my tbr for whichever character. i'm going to break down most enjoyed into two catergories, arcs that i loved top to bottom and then the guilty pleasures. this is not an exhaustive list, just what immediately came to mind.

top to bottom

bruce wayne: murderer?/fugitive. shocker, ik. but it's just, it's just so frickin good. i've said before, and i'll say it again, gotham war could NEVER. this right here is peak batfamily drama. the tension? the mystery? the angst? i knew nothing going into this okay, and truth be told, when i started it i was like "oh joy. another event." because i was just trying to read the 1996 nightwing run, but i'd committed to reading in full all the events it crossed over with. but i was invested so quickly. and like, i loved how the narrative supported the possibility that bruce was the murderer, because like, you know there's no way, but the more that comes out the more damning it is, and so you're like really dying to know what actually happened and i feel like the reveal was satisfying.

batman: city of bane. i'm going to cautiously put this here, because there might have been something i didn't like but i cannot recall it for the life of me right now. something about me is i love when the heroes lose. infinity war, empire strikes back? love. and ik bruce takes back gotham, but they lose alfred, okay, they lost. i also didn't expect to like this arc, i decided to read it because i wanted to know how alfred died. and first of all, i was shocked, even though i knew it was coming because i expected it to like happen towards the end. but nope. just *snap*. and then later when bruce is back in the manor and is confronted with alfred's body and his good-bye message? oh. my. god. i was bawling. despite my penchant for sad narratives, i don't tend to cry that much, but this got to me so bad. like i had to pause because i couldn't see. amazing.

red robin. his cowl is so ugly, but i really do love the run. i see a lot of discourse about it and also a lot of...interesting fanfic takes, so i don't really talk about it a lot here because it feels like most people are kind of tired of hearing about this run, which fair. i really enjoyed it as a sequel to his solo robin run. tbh, i almost put this in the guilty pleasure catergory, because there are a couple things i don't totally love, but like if the others are 10/10, this is 9/10.

young justice 1998. i love this comic so, so much. i don't even know what to say, i get so overwhelmed with joy when i think about this comic. nothing has hit the same way with this group since either, which is a crime. i need a title with this team so badly.

guilty pleasures

these are all runs/events i know some/most? people cannot stand and i totally get why, and i have problems with them, so i'm probably never going to rec them in good conscience but also like i can't lie and say i don't like them. these are not recs, okay? okay.

robin war. is it a hot mess? yes. but there is not a whole lot of canon content out there with all the boys working together, okay? so much of that event had me banging my head into a wall, but for me, there were a handful of pearls in there. i mean honestly, if i listed out pros and cons the cons list would be way longer but those pros are very precious to me.

batman and robin: eternal. very similar reasoning overall to robin war. plus cass finally came back!! i missed her. i love robin!dick and batman content, and the kids working together. this is probably my least favorite guilty pleasure though, okay, it's on thin ice.

grayson. listen, i love janin's art sm. i'm pretty neutral about spy stuff, so like i don't engage with it a whole lot. meaning, although i've heard it's tropey af in regards to the genre, i'm not familiar enough with the genre to be like trying to dig my eyeballs out with blunt spoons at the cliche of it all. the constant sexualization of dick got old super fast, and her name may have been helena but she wasn't- my list of dislikes is lengthy. but idk, i had fun with it. and imo it does have some genuinely great moments, i love dick in the desert with the baby, the ache i felt when dick wanted to come home and couldn't get a hold of bruce, issue #12 stabs me in the heart- the dick and dami reunion? stoppppp. i feel like this run and the ric grayson era are dick's most out there lmao

so yeah!! thank you so much for this ask, i had sm fun answering it. if you have any recs for me, feel free to drop them :)

[like-rain-or-confetti]

“How the hell did you get that?"

“I just grabbed it on the way out.” Henchwoman twirled around, showcasing the black fabric down her back.

“You grabbed Batman's cape?”

“Looks nice, right?”

Top 5

Swishy swishy

"Vroooooom..." (Y/N) rushed past with the cape on their shoulders. "Vrooooooooom..."

Scarecrow: He actually cracks a smile that one of his goons actually successfully stole batman's cape. It may have been a little petty but he loved it. He didn't mind a bit of petty behaviour here and there. He didn't even stop them from having their fun. Sure they failed but they actually escaped the Bat. That had to mean something.

The Riddler: He is amused until he realised how it looks and pulled himself together. "Wait, stop no, we need to be professional about this." He said. "And then what?" Another henchman asked. "Then we gloat, of course. We stole the dark knights cape." (Y/N) replied. "No I did." "My dear, all your accomplishments are my accomplishments. They're under my name and resources after all." The Riddler replied and (Y/N) groaned.

Two-Face: "How old are you?" He frowned as he watched you run back and forth with the cape. "I'm genuinely concerned for your maturity right now...or lack of maturity." After a sigh he spoke again. "What if there's a tracker on that thing?" You paused. "On a cape? Really? The part that could go flying off is where he'd put a tracker?" He digested that. "Fair enough." He was too worn out to even argue.

Black Mask: "No, you're not keeping it!" He huffed. "We're sending a message and destroying that thing!" he wants to burn it whilst you want to keep it. "Do not be mad because black is also my colour." You retorted, clutching it to your chest. "That's bit what this is about! This is about territory! This is my city! Mine!" "Finders keepers, losers weepers! It's my cape now!"

Mad Hatter: So now that you had done it, it was very much a '...now what?' scenario. Which was fair enough. No one really knew what to do with it now that they had it. Jervis contemplated as he eyed the cape. "Could use it as a nice table cloth." You tilted your head. "I see your vision. I don't see it matching your aesthetic though." Jervis sighed. "That's true."

[caffeinatedattorney]

Okay so there are two tapes in game where Harvey speaks.

The first tape Harvey appears in is (#10) where Harleen and Harvey appear. She complains to him about Crane's experiments, implying Harvey's partly responsible for his presence there? and that Harvey trusts him. Apparently Crane is there to help Harvey in court and evaluate inmates. He says it's a necessary evil and he tells her to kick rocks.

The second one, tape #13, is interesting. It's found in the ship where you find out Harvey is the rat king near the console. The tape starts with Harvey asking Crane for help. But then...

HARVEY: I just... I-I lost it. You shoulda seen the police photos. This bastard didn't just beat his kid, he starved him! Kept him locked in a closet for six months. Eight years old, fighting with this- with the rats over scraps of food. When the cops finally freed him, his kidneys had failed and his heart was scarred by infection.

Foreshadowing. And guess this confirms for me that Harvey becomes retraumatized by his job and knows it but won't quit.

CRANE: My goodness. Harrowing stuff.

HARVEY: And his dad has the nerve to take the stand and tell the court his kid deserved it? Piece of shit's lucky I only took a couple of swings at him. Besides, I might've just torched my whole career.

CRANE: Oh, I doubt that. You're a hero in the papers. "Two-Fisted DA Decks Deadbeat Dad." The public's behind you on this.

HARVEY: My own dad's to blame for my short fuse. But I can't lose my temper like that again.

CRANE: Your father? I'd like to hear more about him.

So Harvey had been having issues waaay before Batman was in the picture? (Also Harvey sounds so sinister saying "Piece of shit's lucky I only took a couple of swings at him." Love Troy Baker's performance and how Elijah Wood gives this impression that he's just letting Harvey talk to examine him like another one of his tests subjects-- i mean patients.)

And it's BTAA scarecrow and Harvey again, but Bruce isn't there to help

HARVEY: You really think this stuff will help?

CRANE: Early trials are quite promising. Now, hold this, hold it- There you go. And take three deep breaths. Good.

HARVEY: *Inhales loudly*

CRANE: I want you to consider that your recent outbursts may be stress -induced. Building a case agaisnt Carmine Falcone clearly had you burning the candle at both ends.

HARVEY: Well, tell that to the press. All i hear about is how "the batman brought down the Roman Empire." We worked together, y'know. Me, him, Gordon, too. [laughs] Ah, I'm starting to lose my cool again.

Harvey's voice is way way lower. Okay, Harvey is mad about someone else taking credit. Guess that explains his reaction to seeing batman again. More ppl taking advantage of him.

CRANE: No, no-no-no, that's good. Good. We've already touched on how much you've been repressing. Themore you try to contain your shadow, the more that aspect of your psyche starnates and festers. We need to bring it to the light.

HARVEY: [almost a whisper?] Drag if out of the darkness? That's what I've been trying to do with this whole city. Too many trials. Too many appeals. Better let fate judge. Fifty-fifty, like flippin' a coin. Better odds than my old man gave me.

HARVEY: No, it's um, getting worse. The headaches mostly.

CRANE: That's only a function of your conscious mind giving way to your shadow self. As it rises to the surface, your awareness becomes fuzzy in a neurological sense as you grapple with the--

HARVEY: [as a whisper? / hiss?] That's not it. It's never been this bad. Gilda is scared. And I am too.

OKAY so, Gilda must have left at some point because Crane is making him worse. He already believes in the coin. This Crane is so interesting thinking talk therapy is universally effective with dissociation and trauma. He seems to genuinely believe in what he's doing.

CRANE: you fear becoming your father. You fear you'll assume his worst traits as you get older.Please: sit. Have a sip of water. Good, good, good. Listen thins always feel more intense just before the real healing begins. You are making remarkable progress.

HARVEY: We.

CRANE: Hm?

HARVEY: 'We' are making remarkable progress

CRANE: Of course, Mr. Dent. This is good for both of us.

So, safe to say, Crane caused this lmao.

Also, In the tape between Arnold and Harley (#3), Arnold has the same symptoms as Harvey but he doesn't seem to have the puppet yet until she encourages her to do so? so unless i'm missing something, it kinda seems like Crane's treatment is the one causing DID like symptoms.

Okay, I heard the tape between Joe and Thompkins (tape #8) and it seems everyone gets headaches so it's not DID per se. (also Leslie used to have a free clinic in park row and a crisis center for kids. idk if at the same time or the same place, tho)

LESLIE: Any other complaints?

JOE: Just some reactions to Dr. Crane's treatment. Headaches. Can't remember some stuff.

Okay, next part.

HARVEY: Doctor, I wanna stop the treatments.

CRANE: But why?

HARVEY: Why? What the hell happened to your lab rat this morning?

CRANE: it's the unfortunate reality of medical testing that on occasion we have to put an animal through a measure of discomfort in order to-

HARVEY: The shit you got me breathing melted its fur off! Melted its skin.

CRANE: Mr Dent, the individual chemicals in this solution are heavily corrosive but, when properly diluted they are intert and stable.

HARVEY: Inert and stable? I-I-I don't know-

CRANE: Harvey, Harvey. I've been reviewing our recorded sessions and i'm confident you're on the cusp of a major breakthrough. Trust the process. If not for yourself, then do it for Gilda. Doesn't she deserve a healthier, happier husband?

HARVEY: [basically a growl] Crane, if my symptoms don't resolve soon, I'm out.

CRANE: I understood. You're making the right choice. I'll prepare the dose.

This is insane. There's... so much here. Crane manipulates Harvey into using the treatment bc Harvey loves Gilda so much. Harvey was aware of what that thing could do (adding humiliation to having his own face burnt off by some malone?) This must have implanted the idea in his head about being a lab rat and staying one forever bc of his self doubt and letting it get this far.

I wonder if Crane's treatment actually fucked him up the way something like, idk, joker gas would, rather than that darkness coming solely from Harvey? but then again, Harvey beat up a man in court in front of everyone so it wasn't that big of a step.

TLDR; Everything is kinda Crane's fault.

[scaryscarecrows]

“You should sleep–”

“No.” Antoine doesn’t so much as look up from his laptop. “No. M’not–” There’s a shudder, almost imperceptible, an old mask sliding into place. “M’not gonna sleep anyway, after that.” He spares an easy grin Mark’s way, the one Mark knows has gotten him freebies before. “M’fine.”

“Put that away, it doesn’t work on me,” he says bluntly. “Fine. Just keep your ass outta my way or I’ll throw you out myself.”

“Mm-hm.” And just like that, the grin’s gone and he’s settled back into the chair he’s been in since this morning. “Patrol found some of Crane’s notes. Jimmy’s uploading them now, says he’ll be done in about an hour.”

Good. It’s been a hell of a night, nobody’s been sleeping much to begin with–always the pre-op excitement, last-minute preparations, you know–, and that last, frantic retreat to base…the boss’s notes on Scarecrow’s bullshit are pretty thorough, but Mark wants as much as he can anyway, to avoid…interactions. Or at least try to.

Honestly, he should force the issue of sleep. He really should. They all need the rest. But Antoine’s a stubborn little shit and Mark knows, even if he doesn’t know every last nitty-gritty bit, that this whole fiasco has triggered something bad. So he lets him be in favor of reaching over to adjust the oxygen mask and take the boss’s pulse (machines lie, his training doesn’t) and triple-check the IV. 

“I’m gonna grab a snack. Want something?”

“Nah, I’m good.” The easy grin comes back. “Don’t trust you not to drug me.”

Mark rolls his eyes.

“Don’t tempt me.”

* * *

Have you slept at all? Jimmy types out. For several minutes, there’s no answer and he thinks that maybe that’s done it, gotten Antoine to realize what time it is and go, ‘shit, bedtime’.

Have you?

Oh. Fuck him, then. He wasn’t supposed to flip this back around, that’s not how life works!

A little. I have the Green.

Don’t nag or I’ll tell Mark.

That motherfucker. He’ll do it, too, Jimmy knows he will. He doesn’t fight fair. Probably comes with being the Little Brother, but still.

I’ll sic Frank on you, he warns. 

Fuck off. I’m fine. There’s still an invasion to run, y’know.

Jimmy can’t help it. He does The Office stare. There is an invasion, true, and now they have a mad Bat to track, but really. Literally anybody else can manage this for a few hours. Antoine stubbornly refusing to budge from that crappy-ass IKEA chair is not going to make Batman materialize.

Whatever, he finally types. It’s your ass.

Get me the Dragon drone footage for Arkham, comes the quick reply. You redeploy a Cobra out there yet?

Oh my God. 

YES. It’s not there yet. 

Christ.

* * *

“Dude, have you moved at all?”

Antoine looks like hot death. Trent’s thinking he should maybe just pick him up and put him to bed like a toddler.

“Yes.”

“Lecturing the troops does not count.”

“Sure it does.” Taptaptaptap. “You asked if I moved. You didn’t say it had to be preapproved.”

Screw picking him up. He could bitchslap him into unconsciousness. It would work. It would be in his best interest, even. It wouldn’t even have to be a full bitchslap, probably; those dark circles say that a good, hard flick to the side of the head would put him down, but Mark’s such a nag about head trauma…

“Two hours of sleep is not gonna make or break it.”

“M’fine.” TAP. TAP. TAP. “S’what coffee’s for.”

Trent sighs. He’s not surprised. Honestly, the Knight had been equally annoying when Antoine went down from what turned out to be a helluva flu. Mark had banned him from medical because of contagion risk–none of them had been allowed in for the first two days, actually–but he hadn’t exactly taken it well, either.

Fucking dumpster fire.

“Whatever, dumbass. Want me to bring you anything?”

“The report from the last Miagani patrol and a bag of Zapp’s?” 

Well. At least it’s not a request for fucking Adderall.

“Fine.”

* * *

Riley doesn’t even bother nagging, asking, or suggesting. He just drops his old Souls flask into Antoine’s lap with a curt, May as well.

“What’s in it?”

Spiced rum. Not drugged.

It’s really not. Riley had considered it, honestly, but that trick will only work once and really, it’s not to that point yet. If he wants to be stiff in that stupid chair, that’s his problem.

“Thanks.” He doesn’t open it, but there. Riley’s done his bit.

The boss hasn’t woken up at all, but Mark did take him off of oxygen yesterday, so that’s something. The fear toxin’s out of his system, too, but he’s still, well, hella fucked up. Tends to happen when a whole-ass building comes down on you. The fact that he walked outta there is…well…it’s great and all, but Jesus Christ, how stubborn can you be?

It’ll help, he says, and taps the flask. Drink it.

“I will, I will,” comes the absent reply. Then, “I want access to GCPD’s interior cameras. Think you can help Jimmy get it for me?”

Riley would almost be offended at the question, if the circumstances were different.

One hour, he says. Maybe take a power nap or something.

“M’good. Have fun.”

Drugs are too nice. Riley votes for a chokehold. He’ll check with Mark when he gets back. A little tiny bit of damage isn’t that bad, surely. He’ll even apologize, if it helps.

* * *

Frank intends to lay down the law, really he does, but when he comes in, Antoine’s asleep. Like, out cold asleep; his laptop’s hanging on like grim death and he’s wadded into his flannel and definitely heading for a cricked neck, but he’s asleep.

Fucking finally.

He takes the laptop first, closes it up and sets it aside, before stepping out for a blanket.

“Any luck?” Mark asks. Frank shrugs.

“He’s out, I’m not gonna wake him.”

“Out?”

“Yep.”

“I’ll take it. Fucking family dumbasses, I swear to God–”

“Shh.” Frank flicks out the ratty old squishy blanket Mark keeps in his main office. “It’s your own fault if you wake him up now.”

He heads back in, tucks the blanket around Antoine as best he can without disturbing him, and sighs. This is not ideal. Not even a little bit. But it’s better than nothing.

“Mm–” Antoine shifts a bit, hand coming up to clutch at the blanket around his shoulders. “Da…”

“Shh,” he whispers. “Go back to sleep.”

“Hrm…”

He jogs back out before anything else can happen. Mark frowns.

“Fuckin’ idiot,” he grumbles. “Just go to bed.”

“He’s a grown-ass man,” Frank points out. Mark rolls his eyes.

“You sure?”

“Pretty sure.”

[kourtniwritesagain]

Say it with Me Now...Sleep!

A/N: I wrote a similar story years ago, but I seriously can’t find it ANYWHERE. This is my attempt at not exactly rewriting it but doing something equally as fun. So, enjoy sleep-deprived Timmy Drake-Wayne. 

Listen, Tim is well aware that he is not exactly the most forthcoming when it comes to information about his general well-being. He knows that he's technically lying. However, everyone lies, right? Like, Dick lies about having free time so he can help whoever needs it when his shoulders can't possibly hold any more weight. Jason lies about hating everyone when he loves the hardest. Damian lies about never caring about feelings when he feels the most. Duke lies about not feeling like an outsider even though everyone knows he still hasn't accepted his position in the family. Cass lies about… okay, well, Cass doesn't lie. But Bruce! Bruce lies about freaking everything. So…Tim lying about sicknesses, injuries, and sleep isn't like…out of the ordinary in Tim's family. So he doesn't really feel bad about lying to Alfred about getting a full night's sleep the previous night. 

Well, he doesn't feel too bad. 

Tim had, at one point in his life, gotten a full night's sleep. It just wasn't last night. Or the night before that…and so on and so forth. Now that Tim was thinking about it, he'd been up for a full three days. Not his longest record, but the longest in at least six months. Tim is currently working on three cases for Batman Inc., multiple marketing packages for Wayne Enterprises, and two school reports. The cases are what's taking most of his time. 

The first case has to do with Scarecrow. Tim believes Crane is working with a new supplier, someone outside of Gotham. He hasn't been able to find out who it is, but he's at least narrowed it down to either Star City or Metropolis. The second case concerns Ivy, which really sucks because she's been relatively quiet ever since she and Harley got together. Honestly, Tim isn't really sure it is Ivy, but it's got to do with these weird plants popping up around the city that shoot some kind of ichor at anyone who gets near. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if it weren't for the fact that the ichor causes blindness for up to two weeks. Tim's been working on a cure, but so far, he hasn't had much luck. Hence, he really needs to talk to Ivy. The third case deals with Victor Zsasz…or, at least, Tim thinks it does. There's been a string of near murders of sex workers in Crime Alley. Jason has been working on it for two weeks, but he's never caught anyone in the action. Jason came to Tim four nights ago to ask for help, which is very usual for Jason. Usually, he sends files and assumes Tim will help. Jason's case is Tim's number one priority. Zsasz is toying with people at the moment. It's only a matter of time before it turns into actual murder. 

So, that is why he's currently working on his third night of no sleep. The importance of these cases, Jason's in particular, is also why Tim just lied (again) to Alfred and Bruce about his overall well-being. Again, Tim's not stupid. He knows Alfred and Bruce can see the bags under his eyes, the slump in his shoulders, and the copious amounts of empty energy drink cans and coffee mugs that littered his room. They didn't call him out on it, so they must believe it's not as bad as it really is. Alfred and Bruce leave the Cave, and Tim continues his work on the Batcomputer. 

"Hey, any news on my case?" 

Tim looks up and sees Jason sauntering in, his hood under his arm. 

"Not much. I have some hunches," says Tim. "But nothing concrete yet." 

Jason sighs. 

"I'm trying, Jay." Tim mutters, feeling guilty.  

Jason rolls his eyes. "I'm not mad at you, Timberly. The sigh is in general of the fucking suckiness of the situation, not directed at you." 

"Still…I can't seem to crack this the way I want." 

"Welcome to my world. Why do you think I asked for your help? You look like shit by the way." 

Tim flips him off and then yawns, large and long. 

"The fuck was that?" Jason asks. 

Tim rolls his eyes. "A yawn, Jason. Surely you've experienced one." 

Jason walks to Tim and smacks the back of his head. "Ass."  

"You're the ass…ass." Tim replies. 

"Now I know you're outta sorts. That was the lamest comeback." Jason says. "When's the last time you slept?" 

"Yesterday." Tim lies. 

Jason squints at him. "Yeah…and Alfred is the Queen of England." 

"I'm fine." 

Jason snorts and places his hand on Tim's forehead. 

"I don't have a fever, Jason." says Tim, swatting at Jason's hands. Jason reaches down and tweaks Tim's left side. Tim immediately folds inward with a laugh. 

"Too easy." Jason smirks as he continues scribbling his fingers along Tim's ribs and sides.  

"Screw youhu!" Tim laughs, trying to catch Jason's hands as he squirms in the seat. 

"I dunno, this seems like a good way to tire you out." 

"Plehehease!" Tim is defenseless when it comes to tickling. It's like his brain decides to stop working, and all he can do is curl up and beg for mercy.

Jason spends a few more seconds poking and prodding along Tim's ribcage before he finally ceases his attack. 

"I swear, you're the most ticklish person on the fuckin' planet." Jason is grinning smugly. 

Tim knows he's got a goofy grin on his face, but he musters up a scowl regardless. "And I swear you're the biggest prick on the planet." 

"Go to sleep, Tim. I know you're on at least day two of no sleep." 

"As soon as I get some solid info on your case and finish my crap from WE, I will." 

Jason squints at him. Tim thinks for a moment that his older brother is going to argue with him more. However, Jason shrugs his shoulders, waves a dismissive hand toward Tim, and then walks out of the Cave. Tim sighs in relief and turns back to the computer. He knows he's close to proving it's Zsasz behind the attacks. He'll definitely sleep once he proves it.

^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

Tim proves it's Zsasz, but he does not sleep. There's no time. Bruce will be the one to help Jason with the takedown of Zsasz because he's a Tier-One Villain, and Batman isn't going to allow Red Hood to do it on his own nor allow Red Robin to be Hood's only backup. Tim put up a fight, arguing that he could at least help, especially considering it was Tim that figured it all out. He’s overruled by a simple ‘Hn’ from Bruce and a smirk from Jason. Tim spends the next day tracking down Ivy. Turns out, she was working the case as well. Tim corners her at a greenhouse in downtown Gotham. 

"Of course, you're the one working this." Pamela says without taking her eyes off the plant, she's currently cultivating. 

"Should I be offended by that statement?" Tim asks. Tim thinks that, although he's had a direct hand in a few of her arrests, they've at least worked together a few times in the past year to develop a good rapport. 

Pam turns to look at him and rolls her eyes. "No. I was just hoping that perhaps the Bat would be here instead." 

"He's finishing up with that Zsasz situation." Tim tells her. "So, you're stuck with me." 

"Any leads?" She asks. 

That's confirmation for Tim that Ivy isn't behind the plants. 

"None." Tim replies. 

Ivy hums in response. 

"It's not any plant I've seen. I don't think it's even from Earth." 

"Fan-freaking-tastic…" Tim sighs. This is just what he needs, a freaking alien plant. "Should probably get the Justice League on this if you think it's extraterrestrial." 

Ivy doesn't look convinced. "Must we?" 

"I think it's best, Dr. Isley. They're better equipped to find its origin and an antidote. I've been trying to make one myself, but it hasn't been as effective as I want." 

Ivy sighs. "Fine. Can I ask you to keep me posted on how this shakes up? I've had a few too many dirty looks in my direction." 

Tim nods. "Of course."

"Thanks, Little Bird." 

Tom rolls his eyes. "I'm 17 now, you know."

Pam smiles at him with a bit of fondness in her eyes and walks away. "Yes, but you'll always be a Little Bird to me." 

"Dr. Isley!" Tim calls. Pam halts and turns to look at him. "Don't let anyone look down on you, okay? Gothamites don't have the moral high ground most of the time." 

Ivy simply smiles softly at him and leaves. 

"Time to get a sample to JL." Tim mutters to himself as he harvests a few of the plants. 

^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

It's day six of less than four hours of sleep total, and it's actually starting to bother Tim. He's still so busy, though. The Justice League is taking care of the plant situation, Zsasz is in Arkham (with Jason nursing three broken ribs and a sprained wrist), and two of the three WE marketing packages are complete. However, not a single one of Tim's assignments is done, and Tim has two more cases to add to his workload. He's slumping over the desk in Bruce's office. He was kicked out of the Cave about an hour ago by Bruce, who apparently needed to have a meeting with Superman and Flash. Tim hopes it's about the plants, but he's unable to spy as he really needs to finish his schoolwork so he can start writing the reports from his previous cases. He's still trying to find the supplier for Cane, too. He’s minutes away from a full-blown migraine and typing mindlessly on the computer when he hears a knock on the door. 

"Tim? You in there?" Dick's voice comes from the other side of the door. 

Tim grunts in response. 

Dick opens the door. "What're you doing in Bruce's office?" 

"M'workin'." Tim winces at how slurred his speech is. 

"On what?" Dick asks; he's behind Tim now, leaning over him and staring at the computer Tim's working on.

"School crap, some WE stuff, and a case or two."

"How’s it going?"

Tim shrugs. 

"So, I’ve heard from a few birds you’re not sleeping much." 

Tim lets his head fall to the desk as he groans. "Tell Jason to mind his own business." 

Tim can hear the soft smile on Dick’s face. "It wasn’t just Jason." 

Tim looks up at his older brother. "M’fine. I’ve gotten a few hours here and there." 

Dick smiles that sad smile of his, which makes Tim feel like absolute shit. 

"I’m fine Dick; I promise." 

"I wish I could believe you," says Dick. "But you’ve got the worst truth-telling record in this family." 

"What?! No way! Bruce holds that title, c’mon!" Tim practically shouts. 

Dick seems to consider what Tim says. "Okay, second worst." 

Tim scowls at him. 

"Grayson, I--oh." Damian is suddenly in the room, scowling at Tim immediately. "Drake, you look terrible." 

"No one asked for your opinion, Demon Brat." Tim responds, barely stopping himself from sticking his tongue out. 

"Tt. Drake, this isn’t an insult. I do truly mean that you look terrible. When was the last time you slept? Also, are you ill?"

"You’re sick?" Dick’s voice is even more full of concern now. 

"I’m not sick! I’m just a little tired." Tim sighs, rubbing his temples. The headache he’s been trying to stave off the last three days is significantly closer than just a few minutes ago. 

"Headache, too?" Dick asks kindly. 

"Yes, because you and the Baby Assassin are bothering me." Tim mumbles. There’s no real heat behind it.

"I loathe that name." Damian says. 

Dick ruffles his hair, garnering a squawk from Damian. "It’s a term of endearment Dee. It means Timmy loves you." 

Both Tim and Damian snort at the same time. 

"Can I please finish my work?" Tim asks tiredly. He can feel a full-blown migraine coming on, and he thinks that he may be overdoing it somewhat. 

"Uh…Tim? You’re not exactly making sense with your…work." Dick winces as he shows Tim the computer screen.

"Oh."

On the screen are just a bunch of letters and numbers all over the place. 

Okay…maybe he really has pushed it too far. 

"Will you please go to sleep?" Dick asks. He bends down in front of Tim, making himself eye level. Dick places a hand on Tim’s forehead, checking for a fever. 

"I will as soon as I finish my school assignments." Tim semi-promises. Sleep doesn’t come as easy to Tim as it does to most people, especially once he’s this far gone. 

Dick sighs, but stands and motions for Damian to follow him out. 

"Drake…honestly." Damian sighs as he takes a look at Tim. 

"Damian, I’m okay." 

"Tt."

The door closes and Tim grabs another energy drink from the minifridge and downs it. With a shake of his aching head, Tim focuses on the work in front of him. 

Three hours later, Tim’s completely engrossed on the last page of his paper for his English class when Bruce comes in. He looks surprised to see Tim. 

"Oh, hey Tim. I didn’t know you were in here." Bruce says. 

"You kicked me outta the Cave," Tim replies. "And I wanted to use your two monitors. I can leave if you need me to." Tim is rising as he says this, he stumbles a bit and Bruce is by his side with Tim’s elbow in his hand. 

"Easy there, kiddo." Bruce soothes, helping Tim to sit back down. "I don’t mind you using my office. It’s free for you to use when you want. However, I do mind you almost falling for simply standing up. Are you injured?" 

"No…I-I’m fine. Just been up a little longer than I should’ve, probably." 

"He’s been up for six days." A, quite frankly, livid, voice says from the doorway. Tim’s head whips up and he sees Damian standing there, hands clenched into tight fists, and one of the angriest expressions Tim has ever seen gracing his face. Dick is behind him, and so is Jason, both looking angry and sad and exasperated all at the same time. Bruce looks shocked, which is saying something. He turns to look down at Tim. 

"Is this true?"

Tim gulps, but isn’t able to say anything because Damian cuts across him. "Do not even attempt to lie. I looked at the security footage. You haven’t spent more than two hours at a time in any one room in this house, excluding the Cave. However, you haven’t slept there either because the Cave security footage hasn’t shown you sleeping at any point!" 

"Damian…I-"

Damian raises a hand to stop Tim. "I don’t want to hear it. You may have no forethought to your health and wellbeing, but others do. And if you are going to insist on attempting to take yourself away from us earlier than what is the normal lifespan of an adult male in America, then you’re going to do so fighting me. And with the current state you’re in, it’d be an even more pathetic fight than when you’re in full form." 

Jason places a hand on Damian’s shoulder, which Tim expects him to throw off. However, Damian doesn’t. In fact, it looks like it anchors their youngest sibling. 

"Honestly Tim, six days? Even for you that’s excessive." Jason says. 

"Bed." Bruce demands. It’s not his Batman voice. It’s not even his angry voice. It’s the voice he uses when he won’t budge. It’s the voice he uses when he’s in meetings and flexing his full CEO authority. It’s the voice he learned from Alfred. It’s the voice he uses when there’s no room for argument. 

Tim tries anyway, though, because he has no sense of self-preservation. "Bruce I  need to finish my homework, I--"

"You have a death wish, Timmy." Dick sighs. 

"You can go to sleep on your own, or I can administer something to help. That is the only choice you’re going to receive for the next several days." Bruce states. Now he sounds (and looks) angry. Tim knows he’s pushing it…has pushed it. He does. He just…there’s so much he needs to do. And Bruce can’t seriously be trying to ground him. 

"You can’t ground me, Bruce, I’m 17-"

"You can go to sleep on your own or I can administer something to help." Bruce says it quietly, but Tim hears and sees the fury simmering there. 

Tim swallows again; he looks to his two older siblings and knows there will be no help. Jason looks exasperated beyond all reason. Dick looks like Tim just kicked his dog and then set his house on fire. He doesn’t have to look at Damian to know he looks exactly like Bruce. 

He’s lost. He knows he’s lost. 

"I…I may need some help." Tim admits quietly, feeling his face heat up extensively. 

Bruce’s fury melts a bit at that. "I’ll have Alfred make the tea." 

"He’s got a headache, too. Add some acetaminophen. We’ll get him to bed, Bruce." Dick says. He reaches for Tim and helps steer him out of the room and to the stairs. Jason and Damian follow. 

"You don’t have to follow me; I’m seriously going to go to my room." Tim tells them. 

"Tt. Your word on this matter means very little." 

"Sorry, Baby Bird. I agree with Baby Bat." Jason tells Tim. "You’ve seriously crossed the line this time." 

Tim hangs his head in shame.

"Not now guys." Dick retorts rather sharply. Tim doesn’t deserve Dick’s kindness. 

"M’sorry." Tim tells them as they reach his room. "I didn’t mean for it to go on this long. Honestly." 

Dick shushes him as he looks for some pajamas. 

"No. Seriously. I didn’t…I don’t mean to…" Tim can feel the tears welling in his eyes. It’s frustrating beyond reason. 

"Get dressed, and get in bed, Timmers." Dick presses a kiss to the top of his head as he and the others walk out. 

Tim does as he’s told. The tears spill onto his cheeks. He knows he’s truly screwed everything up. Everyone is furious with him. He can only imagine the lecture he’s going to get from Alfred. He’s not just going to be grounded; he’s going to be benched permanently. If he can’t be trusted to sleep like a normal human being, he definitely can’t be trusted out in the field. His head starts pounding even harder, and he stumbles into his bed with his knees curled into his stomach. 

"Tim?" Bruce is walking in, but Tim is trying really hard to get air into his lungs. He feels Bruce grab his shoulders and set him into a sitting position. One of Bruce’s hands grabs his and places it on the older man’s chest, right over his heart. The other hand grabs the back of Tim’s neck, resting there lightly. 

"Breathe with me, kiddo." 

Tim tries his hardest to focus on the beating of Bruce’s heart, of the movement of his chest rising and falling. Bruce squeezes his hand very exhale, trying to anchor him, Tim assumes. It takes some time, but eventually Tim’s breathing slows and returns to normal. It has been almost a year since Tim last had a panic attack. He forgot how much they suck. 

"Whatever you’re thinking," says Bruce. "I promise isn’t true. No one is going to kick you out, no one is going to fire you, and no one hates you or is mad at you." 

"Damian is both of those last things. And you’re all mad. I get it." Tim replies. 

Bruce hands him the steaming mug of drugged tea. If Tim knows Alfred as well as he thinks he does, there’s definitely a high dose of sleeping aid in the tea. Tim sips it at first, but downs it quickly, feeling it burn his throat. 

"Slow down there, Tim." Bruce chastises. "You don’t need to punish yourself." 

"I just wanna go to bed." Tim tells his adopted father. Bruce looks at him with those sad eyes of his, making Tim feel a million times worse, which is really saying something because he feels like dog shit. 

"Sweetheart, c’mere." Bruce climbs into the bed and lifts up his arm, offering Tim to snuggle in, which the boy does. "We’re mad, yes. We’re mad that you seem to be unable to take care of yourself properly. We’re mad that you always push yourself too far. We’re mad that we don’t catch it quick enough to help. But we’re not mad at you in the sense that is going through your head. We all love you."

Tim wants to believe it. 

"Not even Damian doesn’t hate you." 

Tim snorts. 

"He doesn’t." Bruce insists, digging his fingers into Tim’s ribs. Tim gasps and laughs as Bruce doesn’t let up. 

"Stahap!" Tim begs. Tim is seriously ticklish on his ribs; it’s one of his worst spots, and Bruce knows it. 

Bruce chuckles fondly as he brings both hands to Tim’s ribcage. Tim is letting out some serious giggles now. He’s trying to fight against Bruce, but the tea is setting in, and Tim’s not the most coordinated person when tickled. 

"Promise to sleep and not stay up for six days straight ever again?" Bruce asks, not ceasing his tickle attack. He digs his fingers in between the bones of Tim’s ribs. 

"Yehehes! I-I prohohomise!" Tim gets out, squirming madly. It tickles so damn much!

Bruce finally stops tickling. Tim sags into Bruce’s side while he rubs his ribs to get rid of the residual tickly feelings. 

"You’re too good at that." Tim tells him. 

Bruce kisses the top of his head. "You’re too easy. I think you may be more ticklish than Damian." 

Now that was interesting information. 

"Damian is ticklish?!" 

Bruce winces. "I don’t think I was supposed to mention that." 

"Oh th-thaaaat--" Tim cuts himself off with a loud yawn. 

"Bed." Bruce says, pressing another kiss against the top of Tim’s head. "No worrying either, we can talk tomorrow about better ways to keep yourself healthy." 

"G’night, dad." Tim whispers, already falling asleep. 

"Good night, son." 

^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

When Tim wakes up, he’s dazed and confused. The sun is gone and his clock tells him it’s nine at night. 

"It’s been 18 hours, Drake."

Tim whips his head and sees Damian sketching in the armchair next to his bed. 

"What?" 

"You slept for 18 hours," Damian repeats, sounding thoroughly annoyed. "Pennyworth has a plate of dinner waiting for you when you are ready to eat." 

Tim scrubs a hand down his face. "Eighteen hours, huh?" 

"With the amount of stress you put on your body, I am shocked you didn’t sleep longer." 

"Yeah…wasn’t my best plan I guess."

"Tt. Consider it your worst. That is saying something, too, as you usually have terrible plans." There’s no real heat behind Damian’s words. The two of them have grown a lot since Damian first came. They respect one another now. They work pretty well together, too. Their form of communication may look especially harsh to an outsider, but to them, it’s brotherly banter. 

Tim rolls his eyes. "Pretty sure I was the one who took down Zsasz earlier this week."

Damian looks at him. "Father and Todd took him down."

"Physically, maybe. But it was me who found out everything. So, if you think about it, it was all of my plans that took him down." 

"Tt. In your dreams, Drake."

Tim moves to sit on the side of his bed. "Hey." 

Damian looks at him once more. "What?"

"I’m sorry for scaring you," Tim apologizes. "I didn’t mean to." 

Damian replies stiffly, "I was not scared. I was mad at your stupidity."

"I’m sorry for making you mad, then." 

Damian scowls deeply at him. "Do you realize the stress you put on others when you pull these types of stunts? We have enough stress without others adding to it with idiotic decisions. You need to better care for yourself. You aren’t a machine, Drake, and you’re not alone. There are others in this family that could’ve taken a case or two. Furthermore, you hate school, so I do not understand your need to finish assignments you don’t care about." 

Tim feels really bad. 

"I didn’t do it on purpose, if that helps." Tim tells his little brother. "I get…focused, I guess. I know you guys can help me, I just…I dunno. I feel like I can do it better, I suppose. That’s really narcissistic of me, I know." 

Damian only scowls further. "You aren’t a narcissist; you’re an idiot. There’s a difference."

"How many more times are you going to call me an idiot?" Tim asks, a wry smile on his face. 

"As many times as it takes." Damian smirks.

Tim rolls his eyes this time. He stands and squats in front of the chair so he’s eye level with Damian. "I won’t do it again."

"Tt." 

Tim places a hand on Damian’s shoulder. "I promise, Damian." 

Damian looks at Tim now. "You…you are important to this family."

"Does that include you?" Tim teases. 

Damian shoves Tim’s hand off his shoulders. "Ugh. I’m finished with this sappy moment. I’m leaving."

Domain tries to stand to leave, but Tim is feeling much better after his sleep, and he’s in a mischievous mood, so he grabs Damian around the waist and pulls him into a hug. 

"Drake! Unhand me!"

"We have to hug, Demon," says Tim. "Dickie will be upset if we don’t." 

Damian is squirming furiously as he attempts to free himself from Tim’s grip. "Grayson isn’t even here!" 

"He could walk in any minute, though. I wanna make sure we do him proud!" Tim squeezes tighter, causing Damian to yelp. It reminds Tim of what Bruce told him before he fell asleep. 

Tim smiles deviously. "I heard some interesting information about you from Bruce." Tim places his hands on Damian’s sides with his fingers curled in, an evil grin growing as he feels Damian instantly still. 

"Drake…" It’s a warning, but Tim isn’t concerned. 

"Damian." 

"Whatever Father told you, h-he was clearly lying!" Damian still doesn’t move, and Tim knows it’s because every movement would tickle with the way Tim’s hands are positioned. 

"Bruce lies at times," Tim concedes. "But I don’t think he was lying about this. Tell me, Dee, are you ticklish?"

Damian’s eyes go wide. "N-No! Of c-course not!"

"Bruce said you were." 

"He lied!"

Tim shrugs his shoulders, pretending to give up. However, the moment Damian relaxes, Tim tosses the smaller boy on the bed and pounces, immediately tickling Damian’s stomach. 

"DRAKE!" Damian absolutely screeches. Tim knows he’s going to die after this, but he’s okay with it. Damian succumbs to laughter rather quickly. He has such a cute laugh, sounding and looking like the 12-year-old he is. 

"Bruce was right!" Tim crows. He scrabbles all 10 of his fingers all around Damian’s belly. The closer he gets to Damian’s sides and ribs, the louder his laughter gets, and the more he squirms. Damian seems to be like Tim, though, and super uncoordinated when tickled because Tim is still alive and breathing. Damian is swearing like a sailor at him, but that’s about it. 

"What the fuck is going on in--oh…now this is good." 

Tim looks at the doorway, not pausing his tickly assault on Damian’s torso, and sees Jason with the biggest grin on his face that Tim’s ever seen. 

"T-Tohohodd! I r-require assISTANCE!" Damian squeals out the last part of the word as Tim shoots his arms to Damian’s underarms. 

"I think Timmy requires my assistance," Jason’s grin turns more shark-like. "How did I not know you were ticklish, Baby Bat?"

Damian doesn’t answer. He’s too busy holding his middle as best he can, laughter pouring out of his mouth. His heels are drumming against the bed, and Tim is grinning widely himself. He’s never heard Damian laugh like this before. 

"Are you guys killing Damian?" Dick enters the room next. "Oh…you’re just tickling him. Try his neck next, Timmy. That’s his death spot." 

"GRAYHAYSON!" Damian shrieks as Tim lightly pinches at the back of Damian’s neck. Damian’s laughter goes high pitched. "T-TIM, pleheHEASE!" 

It went on for two more minutes before Dick rescues Damian by telling Tim to stop. Tim moves off Damian and grins down at the panting boy. "You called me by my name." 

Damian pants for another few seconds, a silly grin on his face. It doesn’t last long, though, because he soon scowls fiercer than Tim’s ever seen and then jumps at Tim. Dick catches him around the middle and holds Damian away from Tim.

"Let me go, Grayson! I will have my revenge!" 

"Sorry Dames, but Tim needs to eat. He needs to sleep after that, again--don’t look at me like that, Tim--and you need to get ready for patrol." 

Damian flips Tim off but stops struggling against Dick’s hold. Dick sets him down and grins. "Everyone’s ticklish, Damian. If you can imagine it, Tim’s probably more ticklish than you." 

"Dick!" Tim throws his oldest brother a betrayed look. 

"Oh definitely. The kid’s ribs are like a 10 on the Richter scale," Jason adds. "One poke to his ribs has him swearing his first born to you. He’s deathly ticklish on his ribs." 

"Jason!" Tim throws the same betrayed look to his immediate older brother.

"Sorry, little brother. It’s true." Dick laughs. 

Tim looks at Damian and gulps. Damian looks smug. No, he looks worse than smug. He looks like he’s plotting. 

"Damian…I-I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again!" Tim has his hands up. 

"Oh, I know it won’t. I’ll ensure the lesson you learn will keep you from making that mistake ever again." 

"Oh! Are we going to tickle Tim next?" Dick asks. "It’s been a while!" 

"You asshats are gonna leave me alone!" Tim warns. "Remember, I have lots of pictures that I can release on the internet at a moment’s notice." 

"He’s bluffing." Jason snorts. "He won’t post them on the internet, Bruce would kill him." 

Damian’s smirk grows. 

"I’m totally in on this plan, though," Jason continues. "Tickling Tim till he forgets his own damn name sounds like fun." 

Tim feels his stomach flip flop with excitement and trepidation. He’s never been teamed up against like that and has no clue what it’ll feel like, but he has a feeling he’s about to find out. 

"What about you, Grayon? Will you join in my revenge?" Damian asks. 

Tim sends a pleading look to Dick. 

"Well…he really needs to eat." Dick says. Tim sighs in relief. "But I suppose he can wait another half hour or so."

"Half hour?! The fu-NO! Nohoho!" 

Tim doesn’t do much more than laugh for quite some time.

[spookshollow]

Secrets

Jonathan crane x reader

Warning: angst but fluffy at the end

Masterlist

Jonathan crane was late again going back home, for the two weeks he had been coming home late whenever you are sleep and then goes off to work before you even wake up, you do understand the importance of his work at Arkham Asylum but this was getting ridiculous.

I decided to woke up a little early to talk to Jonathan, when you went to the kitchen he was surprised by you awake, "my dear? Why are you early up?" He then offer you coffee which you accepted "well apparently this is the only time to see you" I stated drinking the coffee that was quite too bitter for me, I heard him sigh for a bit as I went to add some sugar into my coffee.

"My dear you know how it is like working at a place like arkham, you would expect days I be gone for a long time at work" he began to explain his reasons but stopped talking when he see me upset by the lack of time we spent together, "look Jon.. I know this job takes a lot of time from us to be together I understand, but...I just like to see my boyfriend, from time to time" I replied placing my cup down on the kitchen counter and talking to him directly "but I have patients I have-"

"to work with and need you're upmost attention but don't you think you're girlfriend need just a small bit of attention too" I felt tears stinging my eyes as I try to hold them back.

I don't want to be like that's girls that are desperate for attention but now I started to act like them, Jonathan then held my hand in his and his other hand held my cheek as I look into my lovers eyes, "I'm so sorry, I made you feel this way, I try to be back home early as I can" he kiss me softly on my forehead as I relish in the feeling I had missed for so long, but it ended all too soon as he had to get to work, let's hope he kept his promise.

Timeskip

(Jonathan Crane Pov)

I promise (Y/N) that I be back early this time around but I don't think I won't be able to keep my promise if this Batman give ups, But is just wishes that will never come through.

But maybe my wish did came true as I had the chance to give him some of the fear gas, which in turn worked as it startedto take effect on him, and it was my chance to get away and run back to my home, I just hope (Y/N) isn't too mad.

The house was dark I check down on my watch and seen it was 11:35, weird she would be awake at this time, she must be tired, I unlocked the door and slowly got in and close the door behind me, I only realised I still have my scarecrow mask on so I need to get to the bathroom and remove my mask and hid my briefcase before she would find it in the morning.

I care for her too much to lose her now, "Jonathan you were late again" I suddenly heard for the living room 'shit!' I mentally said to myself  "I'm sorry my love I was late, I am just going to the bathroo-"

"No! Jonathan, you are going to explain to me what have you been doing that you are always late home?" She said and I can see in the dark, tears in her eyes and it hurt me seeing her like this.

"Are you cheating on me Jonathan?" My eyes widened as I look over to where she was in the living room "My darling would never, ever do that to you," I softy said to her hoping it will calm her, "then let me see your face so I know it's not true" she went over a switch the light on as I think of how do I explain this.

((Y/N) pov)

I turn the light on and saw my boyfriend with some sort of mask that would resemble some sort of scarecrow, I stood there confused as my boyfriend hung his head low, "Jonathan why do you have a scarecrow mask on? Are you- Uh.. you" I stumble over my words as I slowly go over to him as I lift the mask from his face, he didn’t had his glasses on as he looked sad 'is this what he was hiding from me? That he is the scarecrow?' I place my hand on his cheek and he nuzzled into my touch.

"Well at least I can say one thing...is that you didn't cheated" I softly spoke as he smiled very softly as he finally looked into my eyes "but this is a lot to take in" I said as I see the sadness in his eyes, I walked over to him and caress his cheek softly smiling to him

"but I am willing to accept for who you are and what you do and would stay by your side" his eyes brighten with happiness as he held my hands "thank you, and you should know I would never hurt you, your too precious to me" he said kissing my hands.

My heart began to rapidly beat and butterfly's appeared again inside me like the first time me and Jonathan met and I feel in love with my man even more "oh! Jonathan I know you wouldn't hurt me. I trust you very much" he then finally kissed me as he held me close, with this kiss it was feel with love and care for me, as I melted into the kiss leaving all the worries for another day.