#so hes like well its GOING to happen and i know this bc alfred tried to stop Me and that was. unsuccessful 🧍‍���️

[rainydaygotham]

DRIED ROSES [part 1]

Dick Grayson x civilian!reader gn || wc 1590

summary: Your boyfriend is missing! What the fuck happened to him? And why are you the only one who’s worried about this?

a/n: splitting this into two bc its giving me so much trouble. next up: dick has to fucking explain himself lmao

Your boyfriend gives you a new bouquet every time he goes back to Blüdhaven, promising to be back before the roses die.

And he is, without fail, every time. Just when the roses begin to wilt, there he is, with his smile wide and beautiful. You don’t expect anything less anymore. Your boyfriend will always be back soon.

You’ve started a vase collection. One of your favorite dates is when Dick lets you drag him around an antique mall, hunting for the latest edition for his next goodbye bouquet.

Whenever you were lonely, you’d come home and just admire the roses on your coffee table, staring into them as you daydream about when he’ll be home again. How he’ll scoop you up and take you to bed. It’s not even sexual, he just likes to fall asleep with you in his arms. Claims he never sleeps as well back in Blüdhaven. You’ll spend the next morning lazily watching things on your laptop, still cuddled up in bed with Dick wrapped around you like a blanket. And once he finally joins the land of the living, he’ll nuzzle and kiss your neck until you agree to go take a shower with him.

Sometimes, when you’re having a particularly bad moment of yearning, you’ll scoop a few of the blooms up and hold them. You keep his promise dear, replaying it in your head, holding the proof to your chest. It’s nice to have proof like this. Dick was such a dream that you were afraid he actually was a dream at times. But no, he was here. You haven’t made him up. And if you rub a couple of the velvety petals between your fingers, you’re reminded of the velvety softness of the feeling of his skin under fingertips. You press your lips to the rose, imagining it to be his cheek.

You start associating him with the scent of the roses. Ironic, as he smells like anything but, considering he’s a gym rat. You start wearing a rose-scented perfume, trying to bring Dick with you anywhere you go.

But then the roses die.

Not unexpectedly. No, you watched your beloved blooms slowly wilt and turn brown just as the anxiety bloomed in your chest.

He didn’t answer your calls or texts or dms. He wasn’t even home when you called in sick just to go catch a train to Blüdhaven to see what was going on.

You went to the police station, but they hadn’t seen him in days either. Weirdly, they were more angry he was skipping work than worried he was a missing person’s case. You left with even more questions than answers.

You went back to his apartment, using the spare key he had given you to let yourself in. There was no signs of struggle, no big mess or damaged furniture. His dog wasn’t even in the apartment.

You tried not to panic. Blüdhaven’s crime rate was just as high as Gotham’s. What if he went out one night to walk the dog and got jumped? What if he bled out on the street and no one even bothered to look as they stepped over his body?

What if. And this one made your gut turn in a worse way, if that was even possible. What if he very calmly packed up a car with some personal items and his dog and decided to drive off until he found something new? A new town, a new job, a new partner…

Oh. Gross. Now you’re puking into his kitchen sink.

You called Jason, and Roy was with him too. Both said “I don’t know. He’ll turn up eventually,”

At the end of the day, there was nothing you could do. His coworkers already knew and they didn’t care. His brother knew and didn’t care. You could go home, maybe try the GCPD. They took these things more seriously. Dick may not be a Gothamite anymore, but he was still an important person—

Oh! Wayne manor. You need to call the manor. Maybe they’ve seen him.

Heading back to the train station, you tried not to look too panicked as you rang Alfred. You were maybe walking a bit faster than necessary but you were pretty nervous and the movement was helping.

“Good evening, Miss/Master Y/n—“

“Alfred! Dickie’s gone, he wasn’t at home or at work and he won’t answer his phone and I don’t know where he could be and what if he’s in trouble, what if he’s hurt, I don’t know what I would do,“ you tumble out in a rush.

“Do not worry any longer. He is safe here at the Manor,”

“Oh thank fuck!”

“Language, Miss/Master Y/n”

“Sorry, sorry,” people glanced at you as you walked by, “I’m just so happy he’s safe…”

Wait.

You froze in your tracks. That means he’s purposely ignoring your calls. The big relief you had just felt slipped right out of your grasp.

“Uh. Do you know why he would be ignoring me then?” you asked with a voice so small it could’ve belonged to a mouse.

“Master Dick is injured. He has been on strict bed-rest all week. I am unsure as to whether he even has his phone at the moment. Has Master Tim not contacted you?”

You let out a lungful of air you hadn’t realized you were holding, “No, he hasn’t,” time to be mad at Tim now, you knew you should’ve called him instead of Jason, “Thank you, Alfred. I’ll be on the next train back to Gotham,”

“I’ll wake up Master Dick so he will await your arrival,”

“Thank you. See you soon,” you hung up and looked at the sky. The clouds were oddly shaped, but it wasn’t the signature Gotham overcast you were used to. The sky was so very blue.

Fuckin’ Tim. Sure, he’s always sleep deprived and busy with work but come on. How could he just forget to tell you something like this. He’s usually so responsible.

You have half a mind to call him and cuss him out but you’re sure all the other people on the train don’t want to listen to you screech, so you’ll refrain. Once you get back to Gotham though, it’s on sight, he’s getting put on blast.

The train ride was a bit tense for you. Thankfully no one batted an eye as you gnashed your teeth in agitation the whole way there.

He better be okay. You feel kinda guilty for almost thinking he ran off, but that’s a suitcase to unpack another day. Right now all you care about is whether he’s gonna be okay. You should have Alfred asked more questions. You know, like ‘what kind of injury’ ‘what happened’ and ‘how bad is it’. You’ll be there soon enough, and you don’t want to hound the poor aging butler, so you aren’t going to call again. But sitting in silence with your thoughts to yourself is kinda psyching you out. Can’t this train go any faster?

Once the train rolls into the station you head straight for a taxi to take you to the manor. The man who drives you squints a little as you tell him your destination but if you’re a crazy fan who wants to go hang outside the Waynes’ gates who is he to care. He is a little surprised when said gates actually open for him to drop you off. But again. Ain’t none’a his business. You appreciate that, as the partner of a minor celebrity.

You all but run to the door, and Alfred has it open before you can even knock.

“Alfred, what happened?” you can’t help but ask as soon as the door is shut and he’s leading you through the maze of the manor to Dick’s room. Normally you’d be looking all over the place in curiosity, but tonight all you care about is what the butler in front of you is saying and if you two can walk any faster.

“I’m afraid Master Dick has had a small accident,”

“Yeah, but, what’s wrong with him?”

You wave at Duke when he passes by on the way to the kitchen, and he lets you go without any further greeting. He knows where Alfred’s leading you.

“A few broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, many contusions and abrasions, a concussion—“

“That’s a small accident?!”

“In this house, it is, unfortunately,”

“What, did he roll a car or something?”

“Something like that, yes,”

You had finally arrived at Dick’s bedroom, Alfred opening the door for you. You hastily thanked him before practically running to Dick’s bedside.

Your poor sweetheart was asleep again, gently snoring as he laid propped up on a few pillows. Alfred wasn’t lying, Dick had bandages on his bandages. Strands of his black hair hung around his face, fluttering with the exhales of his breath. At least he was breathing, you found comfort in that.

You pulled the chair from the desk in the corner of the room to the side of the bed. It was comfy. Good, since you got the feeling you were going to spend a lot of time in it.

You slipped your hand in his, and he unconsciously curled his fingers around yours.

It’s been a long day, and now that you know Dick is Safe? You feel nothing but warm. The gentle pull of sleep tugged you under as you laid your head at his side…

When he wakes up, you’re gonna rip him a new one, that’s for sure.

[gautierprotectionsquad]

My live reactions while listening to Batman: Unburied

Listening to Batman Unburied. It’s SO good. Bruce Wayne is a forensic pathologist and his parents are alive and he’s trying to catch a cannibal called the Harvester except it’s all in his head. Back in the real world Bruce Wayne is “dead” and Barbara is the real main character other than Bruce. Batman is not batdad in this, which is fine, but it’s weird that Barbara is a character but Dick is not.

WAIT FUCKING WAIT IS THAT JUSTIN MCELROY? THE MCELROYS ARE IN BATMAN UNBURIED?? WHAT???

I’m loving DC deciding to put Riddler in more stuff instead of the Joker. Joker’s overused.

Why did riddler saying “it’s mr.nigma” sound like he introduced himself as Mr.Ligma lol.

“Ace has mostly stayed by the window waiting for master bruce.” Awww Ace.

LOVING riddler in this. He’s so funny. Also loving that this is Barbara focused. And they got a diverse cast. 

So Bruce was actually getting better and healing from his parents death only to feel super guilty when he realized it and decided to push everyone away. Unburied has been reminding me of BTAS. Bits and pieces of things happening here have happened in BTAS before. The forgetting he’s batman, the psych evaluation with a lightshow,referencing gray ghost, living in an alt reality in his head where his parents were still alive, and now Batman feeling guilty he’s moving on from his parent’s murder while dating vicki.

There’s griffin and travis on Ep 4!

The conversation between bruce and his parents at the beginning of ep 5 OH MY GOD! YAY! I love this; it’s SOOOO good!

So Hugo Strange is the real villain! Now Bruce gets to beat up the Mcelboys.

Ep 6 riddler. dude. He’s so silly. “Ah hoy hoy! You need me on the fairway. You need me for luck. But once you have me, you’re well and truly fucked.” Silly man! I love the riddler in this! “The improbable jawline beneath the cowl.” this man truly did play riddler gay (and we wouldn’t have it any other way.) i love riddler in this SO MUCH.

WHOA TWIST! RIDDLER DIDN’T STAB GORDON! 

“This city and its cartoon bullshit”.

Strange is DEAD? Did his own guy kill him?! The cannibal dude? No, not that? Strange isn’t behind everything?

WOAH batman’s doing the thing his subconscious Brucie does. HOLY…REALLY?! Is that new or has this batman always done that?

So it’s MadHatter? No, not him either.

Something about batman villains cursing is so funny.

BATMAN APOLOGIZED? Like it was nothing!

Dude! Connecting cannibalism with eating the body of christ. 

Wow they’re bringing in all the villains except joker here. There’s ivy!

He doesn’t know ivy’s name?

This is a new backstory for her i think. Her dad makes bioweapons? And he fucking tested them on her! That’s so fucked up! Wow this guy sucks so bad, he even killed his wife bc she cared about her daughter.

She had a girlfriend named Alex in college in this! neat. (i think this ivy and stiefvater’s swamp thing would get along) uh oh i think something bad is going to happen to Alex. Ok she’s fine she just didn’t like Ivy killed a guy. Ivy can’t kiss anyone in this universe. Huh.

So bc bruce tried to protect this tree, that’s what led to ivy and strange working together.

Obv he chooses vicki. He can always catch the bad-people later.

AH fuck! Batman is compromised! AH what a cliffhanger right before the last episode.

“Leaping lords, gray ghost!” GRAY GHOST HAS HIS OWN ROBIN??? NAMES POLTERGEIST!!??!? AAAHH!

“You chose a world where we were disappointed in you” OOF

OUGH there’s Bruce feeling guilty he’s moving on from his parent’s death! In his own words! “It’s not just about you anymore. I LIKE it.” YES YES YES YES. “we don’t have to be the first thing you think about when you wake up” T_T

NOO ALFRED’S BEEN COMPROMISED! 

“I have something you don’t. I have a dog.” LOL

YOU CAN’T KILL OFF ISLEY!

Bruce apologizes AND TELLS ALFRED HE LOVED HIM!!!!!

The final message of unburied: ACAB.

Looks like ivy’s still alive. And she got back together with her ex.

Why does bruce interrupting riddler’s dinner sound like a date and flirting?!

overall review: 10/10

[woahajimes]

So I have this little headcanon (well,,,, not really a headcanon but more of a nice-to-think-about headcanon because it would never happen but it’s- like the title- nice to think about so im sharing it here) in which they’re all going to the beach in this sorta mini-van that bruce rented. And take in mind that this is the wayne family, but at the same time most people that wear a bat on their chest,,,, so they had to whack some things up.

BUT ANYWAYS, it was Bruce’s dumbass idea to buy a van and call it a road-trip, and honestly? no one was ready. That usually happens with big families, even with one that has most kids over 18. And how everyone was on board with the idea doesn’t matter because this is my headcanon and they are all now squished in a minivan and there are bags in the back and towels in the seats and there’s a cooler on top because it didn’t fit. 

and just for reference the van was like SMALL. it was sort of like the school buses but way smaller, so they’re like buses in which there are three seats in front, driver, and then like two others (the middle one doesn’t really count because that’s where you put waterbottles and stuff). There’s a sort of space in the back, where you usually put the backpacks (these are like elementary school buses and every single kid has those backpacks with wheels and it’s a pain in the ass-) and then there is another set of four seats (that’s more like a sofa but no armrest- god please have patience there is literally not a single image on google im trying to be specific- and those are facing the back of the bus (so the backrest (?) is facing the place with the bags).

THEN we have another seat that’s close to this one but facing the opposite way but it’s only THREE seats so there’s a space for the next row of three seats and then there’s the back one that’s four again.

In conclusion, you can fit 18-ish people, driver counted. 

and continuing with my story, it’s Bruce driving, Alfred as shotgun, a water-bottle or two in the middle, the bags in their respective places... and then... 

disaster. 

Babs is the only one sitting in the four-seat closer to the bags, harper is in the three-seat, Dick is there as well. 

and then there’s the rest. Steph, Cass, Duke, Jason, Tim, Damian, they’re all screaming in the back and they’re throwing towels around and there’s an “OW! THAT WAS MY HAIR YOU DICKHEAD!” and a “THAT’S MINE!” and so many other things because. the back of the bus, it’s cURSED. And Bruce is just driving with a strained smile because he wants so badly to turn around and throw a waterbottle at each of their heads to get them to shut up (of course, it wouldn’t work because not even god can calm down the back of the bus)

Tim and Jason somehow get into this argument of how tim ‘has no friends’ and Tim shoots back that in fact he DOES, that he’s calling them right this instant. And bruce doesn’t even have a chance to yell at them, because now there’s a speedster and a cloned kryptonian right beside the moving minivan and Bruce is lowkey freaking out because none of them (the ones in the van and the ones out) are wearing their superhero costumes, and then Tim is just with his hands pressed on the window and he’s like practically banging the glass and waving and they can’t hear him but he’s like “HEY! HEY HYE HEY YOU GUYS MADE IT!!!” and then dick is just telling them to cut it out and slow down because you know, identities, and Steph is like HOLY SHIT THEY DID MAKE IT and Damian is just sitting upside down with his legs in the backrest off the seat and Duke is in the same position, making fun of Damian because his feet don’t reach. 

Kon and Bart seem to get the hint because they slow down, but not before bart has literally jumped towards the MOVING VAN and vibrated through (i’m like 99% sure he is able to do that so-) and then he literally landed on Tim (tim actually softened his fall, because Tim’s back literally made a ~crack~ sound by hitting somebody’s knee) and stood up real quick and then started waving and laughing at kon, who was now running normal-speed beside the van. 

And then bruce went FASTER and kon was like WHAT THE HECK OLD MAN and he can’t use his powers so he’s literally running behind the van and bart is laughing his ass off and then tim is like “BRUCE STOP THE VAN!” and then Bart is already calling cassie and telling her what happened and you can hear cassie laughing from over the phone and then Tim is just yelling at bruce in the background. Bruce eventually DOES stop, and Tim opens the door for him and Kon crawls in and Bart’s still laughing, and he’s practically leaning onto Dick and Harper, and they’re squished together and bart’s just laughing on the phone while Kon sits on the really far end of the opposite seat (practically on the door) so he’s the furthest from babs as possible because he’s actually terrified of her. Tim is just sorta awkward because he now realizes that he was a bit TOO excited to see kon, and then the back of the bus/van is staring at them and like what the hell and then Tim goes “who doesn’t have friends, huh?”, and Jason goes ‘pfft’ and he calls roy but he’s spending time with lian; he calls artemis and she goes, “but wasn’t this a family trip? what do you need me for?”, SO jaosn calls bizarro and then he barely answers the phone when bizarro goes “RED HER SAID NO. BYE” so Jason slumps and it’s quiet for a second when steph goes “is that GUM IN MY HAIR”. And then jason laughs and its chaos all over again. (i might make a ‘things that were heard from the back of the road trip bus post bc i have so many ideas oh my god)

and then they are at the beach, the bus barely stops and there’s a few bags thrown out the window, and people yelling at Kon to open the door, and Kon not being able to work under pressure so tim opens it and everyone’s pushing each other and Steph has an uneven strand of hair, because Damian went to ‘extreme measures’ and cut it so now steph’s hair is uneven and they were going to keep cutting it “to make it even” but then Alfred was like “you’re all going to clean the van afterwards so think carefully” and then nobody did anything and there’s literally a ziploc bag with steph’s strand of hair (damian didn’t even cut to where the gum was, he cut even FURTHER but yes, the gum is in the bag). 

As I was saying, they get out of the van, and the bags are out and Bruce has NO IDEA what to do. none. It’s alfred that rents a tent and then Damian’s chasing duke into a random restaurant’s changeroom and showers and then cass is dragging harper that’s dragging steph that’s dragging jason and tim is getting the bags with Kon and bart and bart realizes that he doesn’t  have a swimsuit and then he stops walking and Kon seems to realize too and it’s like OH MAN and they can’t run back (because no powers, rule set by bruce when two super-powered bros came in the bus) and They’ recarrying the bags to this tent (do you guys know what im talking about? i feel like we’re imagining completely different things- it’s this but much more people and there’s a bunch of people selling stuff like sunglasses and doign hair, piercings, tattoos even - for the tattoos thing it’s just promo for an actual shop they don’t tattoo you in the actual beach - ) and It’s literally Kon, tim and bart carrying the bags (which they CAN carry between the three, it’s not like they packed up half the manor) and then a minute later or so Steph is sprinting towards Tim and she’s yelling something Tim can’t understand and then Steph points at her bag (that tim’s carrying) and she screams something like “SAND! HOT!” and then she’s like high-knee-ing/sprinting even faster and Cass is just walking barefoot in the sand, super calm, but she’s got Harper on her back. Damian and Duke are racing towards the shadow (because the sand is cooler there), and next thing you know Jason’s aready in the tent with a coconut. 

And if you haven’t thougth about how the Batfam would be in the beach then let me tell you, you don’t have enough spare time because i know for a FAT FACT that: 

It was Jason that insisted on Bruce buying sand toys (a whole bag, i swear)

Damian tried coconut water, didn’t like it all that much (altho he loves the inside- idk what it’s called but it’s edible i swear)

Bruce put on an excessive amount of sunscreen

Duke has swimming trunks with the robin logo just to piss damian off (also Damian has matching ones but with the batman one)

Steph, Cass and Harper rented a banana boat (here’s a picture) and they dragged Jason and Tim along, just to toss them off in the end 

Jason 1000% got stung by a jellyfish 

Bruce bought like seven friendship bracelets from this guy that made them because they looked deadass cool 

They played beach volleyball and let me tell you Damian can throw a really mean overhand serve (actually, i don’t think you THROW a serve, but like,,, serve one-)

dick got buried in the sand, courtesy of Jason

bart was pissy because he couldn’t go in the water, so he and Kon sprinted with normal speed (they both had water-proof anklets that sucked their powers, so it was REALLY  a no-powers vacation, courtesy of Bruce, again.)

the only ones in stock were neon, and they settled real quick so now theyre sprinting back and cardying a bag of keychains they thought looked rad as hell and now tim caught up to them and all three are practically skipping towards the water

,,,,they forgot to put sunscreen on.... all of them,,, they forgot....

tim made a sand castle

in teams of two (kon/bart, tim/cass, duke/harper, steph/jason, dick/damian) got on each other shoulders and basically spent five minutes trying to see who would be the last team standing, splashing water everywhere and stuff

first team to go down was Dick and damian, because steph pushed damian and by trying to keep himself on Dick's shoulders, damian accidentally poked dick's eye (sort of CLAWED in so you know what i mean).

second team to go down was steph and jason, because damian doesnt play fair and so he swam down and literally just scratched Jason's ankle, knowing damn well that the jellyfish sting was there. Jaosn shrieked and steph lost her balance. so much for vigilantes at night with stealth and talent, huh.

third team to go down was tim and bart because kon insisted on being on bart’s shoulders and that’s easy peasy because i mean, bart’s not WEAK, but he’s not TALL either and it’s not like Kon weighs a feather and they’re on the deeper side,,,,, you can imagine the rest

Now there’s two teams, and they call it a tie because otherwise someone’s gonna end up injured (altho tim likes to say that he and cass won)

There’s music playing in the background, with really vulgar lyrics that alfred disapproves of, but you know. It’s not his beach. 

THIS IS REALLY JUST A SCREAM POST SORRY IT’S NOT WHAT YOU GUYS SIGNED UP FOR BUT TAGLIST ANYWAYS: @red-hood-redemption @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @catxsnow @thesporklecat @thesesickfics-justmakemesick @hauntingsonofrobin anddd i think i forgot someone sorry 

[superbabetotherescue]

Thanks, Brucie-Bruce Wayne x Reader

Word Count: 1840

Summary: You reminisce on your childhood with your best friend

Warnings: some violence, none really described in detail except reader getting punched in the face (as an alternative to getting teeth pulled), do teeth need their own warning bc they might, probably swearing but idk, kinda sad but don’t worry it’s fluffy, Bruce is a lil bitch but isn’t that kinda par for the course?

A/N: Once again this is just an old oneshot I have that I like a weird amount for no reason. You can read it as platonic or romantic it’s up to you idk but I’m lowkey thinking of making it into a series as platonic best friends so idk. I mean you’re reading it if you want it to be romantic that’s fine lmao I don’t care

Growing up one of Gotham’s elite may be a charmed life, but that didn’t mean that it was without its faults. You had spent your time being ignored by your parents, and your best friend, Bruce Wayne, became an orphan during a back alley robbery when the two of you were kids.

Or at least, former best friend.

In truth, you hadn’t seen Bruce in a while.

Well, you saw him constantly on the news and in the papers and just existing in Gotham in general, but you never got to see him face to face anymore.

Not for lack of trying, either. You sat down one night, the fifth time that Bruce had blown you off to meet for dinner in the past month, and pulled out your old photo album.

There was your fifth birthday party, a year or two after you had met Bruce in mega rich kid preschool, and there the two of you were, sharing a chair and staring at your huge birthday cake.

And the next picture, your favorite, the two of you covered in said birthday cake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Brucie,” You had cried,  whispering to him frantically, “Brucie, I got frosting on my dress!”

You were wearing a frilly pink dress that your mother had forced upon you, and in a moment of excitement you had leaned forward a little too far, and now the pale buttercream frosting covered your bodice.

“Uh oh,” Bruce breathed out slowly, adjusting his tie, pink to match your dress, and looking down at his own tiny three piece suit.

You were panicking, breathing heavily, “My mom is gonna be so mad!”

With a quick tug to your pigtails, Bruce shook his head, “I got this, Y/N.”

He reached forward and scooped a large chunk of the cake out, turning to you and smashing it against your chest quickly.

“Ah!” You jumped backwards, “Bruce!”

“Come on, hit me back,” Bruce hissed, grabbing another handful of cake and smushing it into your face.

As his plan dawned on you, you nodded, getting your own chunk of cake and throwing it at him, laughing delightedly as it landed in his hair.

“Bruce!” Mrs. Wayne scolded, running forward and crouching next to her son, who was currently trying to wrestle you, “You’re such a mess. Ms. Y/L/N, I’m so sorry for my son’s behavior!”

Your mother merely shook her head, smiling pleasantly, “Oh please, don’t worry about it, Martha. Those two are always getting into trouble.”

Victory!

You leaned over to your best friend with a wide grin, wrapping him in a tight hug, “Thanks, Brucie!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flipping a few pages, you chuckled at what you saw.

Your face and Bruce’s fist matching in bloodiness, and a huge gap where your teeth were missing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were twelve years old, and you had five loose teeth. Your last five baby teeth. All in a row next to each other.

And, like most twelve year olds, you had a healthy fear of the dentist.

“They want me to go to the dentist tomorrow to get the teeth pulled!” You complained to Bruce, the two of you laying in his living room under the guise of studying.

He shrugged, “You just have to get them out before the dentist, right? Just keep wiggling.”

“I’ve been wiggling!” You sat up, shaking your head, “It’s not working. I need a new approach.  Maybe Alfred can make something sticky for me to eat and the teeth will get stuck in it. Like that toffee your-”

You froze, not looking at Bruce anymore.

His hand touched yours gently, and you turned to see a small, sad smile on his face, “Like the toffee my father used to make at Christmas? That would be good. But Alfred’s working on something, I think.”

Nodding, you hmm’d quietly to yourself for a moment, “I just don’t know what to do. I can’t let the dentist pull my teeth. I just can’t do it, Brucie.”

“Don’t call me Brucie,” He scowled, but you knew he didn’t really care.

You sat in comfortable silence for a while, pushing your teeth back and forth with your tongue as the two of you thought.

“I have an idea,” Bruce stood, extending his hand out to you, “But it’s a little unorthodox.”

If he hadn’t been offering to help you, you would’ve rolled your eyes at the way he spoke.

You rose next to him, nodding, “Anything! Anything that keeps me out of the dentist’s chair.”

He took a breath, deep, slow, thoughtful. His hand reached out towards your face, thumb stroking your lips, palm cupping your jaw and cheek.

What was he doing?

And then he reared his fist back, and punched you in the face.

It hurt, that was for certain, but it was well concentrated in one place, and you coughed as you choked on the teeth, spitting them into your hand.

“There’s only four,” You frowned, counting them quickly.

“Sorry about that, Y/N,” He held his fist back out, and you saw the fifth tooth embedded in his knuckle, “You can have it back.”

With a chuckle you plucked the tooth out and pulled him into a hug, “Thanks, Brucie!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alfred had a field day with that one, you remembered, but it was still better than going to the dentist.

With a few more flicks of pages, you felt your heart catch in your throat.

Prom night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5:30.

Your date was supposed to come meet you at Wayne Manor at 5:30 so that you could go out with Bruce and his pretty blonde arm candy.

And now it was 6:45, and he still wasn’t there.

You’d been pacing the parlor of the Manor for two hours. Bruce and his date kept disappearing to make out in various rooms, and Alfred had stopped standing at the front door and had instead begun to busy himself in the kitchen.

And you were crying.

“Shit,” You hissed, wiping a tiny smear of eyeliner out from under your eye.

You weren’t going to cry over him. Especially not after you’d spent three hours on your makeup. You couldn’t do it.

“I don’t understand why we can’t just leave her,” You heard The Blonde complain to Bruce in the next room over, “She’s totally bringing down the mood.”

“Hey, back off,” Bruce sighed, “She’s my best friend. I’m not leaving her all alone on prom night. Maybe she can just come out with us.“

“I’m not spending my prom night with some loser who got stood up by her own date.”

You bit your lip, swallowing back a sob and then speaking loudly enough for them to know they were meant to hear you, “Hey, Bruce? I think I’m just gonna go, okay? Sorry for holding you guys up.”

“Wait,” Bruce opened the door to the closet he and his date were in, running a hand through his hair, “Y/N, don’t go.”

The Blonde gasped indignantly, and you shook your head, “No, seriously Bruce, don’t worry about it. I’m just-”

“Don’t leave, Y/N,” He said again, and the solidness of his words, the complete authority in how he said it, was enough to freeze you, “I’m taking you to prom. You can’t leave me.”

What?

“What?” The Blonde shrieked, stomping her heel on the ground, “You’re not taking her, you’re taking me!”

Bruce gave her a rather pleasant smile, “Actually, I’m not. I think you’re a stone cold bitch and if I look at you for any longer than fifteen more seconds, I think I’ll vomit. Now get out of my house,” And with that, waving a dismissive hand at her, he turned to you and grinned, “Now, Miss Y/N Y/L/N, would you do me the honor of being my date to prom?”

A burst of energy running through you, you sprang forward and wrapped him up in a hug, “Absolutely. Thanks, Brucie.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Closing your photo album, you sighed.

It felt like just yesterday in so many ways, and yet a million years ago.

What had happened between you two? What had you done to drive him away? Maybe a walk would clear your head.

You grabbed your keys and left, walking the streets of Gotham and thinking of your younger days.

There was a playground where you and Bruce would sometimes sneak off to play, halfway between both of your houses. It was where you had taught him how to throw a punch when you were six, where he had taught you how to cartwheel when you were eight, and where you two had shared your first kiss when you were ten.

You laughed at that memory too, wishing you had a picture in your album of that day, when the two of you had decided to be each other’s first kiss just so you’d know what you were getting yourselves into.

You’d sat on top of the monkey bars, staring into each other’s eyes as you came to your solemn decision, and leaned forward to give each other the briefest of pecks on the lips. And then you’d both fallen off the monkey bars, wiping your mouths and gagging dramatically.

Standing by those monkey bars, you ran your hands down the side with a smile.

And then you felt the cold barrel of a gun press into the back of your neck.

“Give me all your money, and get on your knees,” A dark voice growled.

Crap.

How could you let yourself be taken completely by surprise, in Gotham of all places?

Shaking, you tried to speak, your voice catching in your throat, “I… I don’t…”

“Hey!” A familiar voice sounded through the air, cutting you off, “Back off!”

You felt the  rounded metal leave your skin and let out a sigh of relief.

Spinning on your heel, you watched as your attacker, a large man with a ski mask pulled over his face, so cliche, got the crap beaten out of him by…

“Batman?” You gasped.

Of course!

Batman wrapped an arm around you, scoffing at the thug on the ground, and shot a grappling hook into the air.

As you felt yourself fly your head spun, trying to wrap your mind around everything.

So this was why he kept standing you up. Why he always came up with some flimsy excuse. He couldn’t just tell you he was the Batman, and besides, the mystery of it all was surely an ego thing for him.

You landed outside your house a moment later, the dark suit encompassing Batman just intimidating enough for you to almost take a step back as he rumbled, “You should be more careful. Especially at night.”

But you couldn’t take his warning seriously.

Your best friend wasn’t avoiding you, he didn’t hate you, he just had a secret!

You were too ecstatic to pay his advice any mind.

And so you simply wrapped him in a hug, your arms erupting into goosebumps against the cold armor that he wore, “Thanks, Brucie.”

[biohazardousbunny]

spoilers for "resident evil: welcome to raccoon city"

finally posting bc it is going to be/ or already is on demand, so is my very late in depth review of this movie.

these are all my opinions and you do not have to agree with me, i just wanted to share them with the void, that is all thank you.

so im gonna start with everything wrong with the movie in terms of canon, stort telling, and characters portrayals. then im going to do everything i liked, and end with what they should of done.

everything wrong

so starting with canon compliance. where? canon where? they looked at what the story was and said thats a mere suggestion. which yes ik resident evil looks at its canon and thinks its just a suggestion but in this case it was just not it.

what is it with adaptions not sticking with the source material? like its literally a free pass to copy and paste but in a different medium, you just make good decisions which they never fucking do and most definitely did not do here.

pacing was really fast, it was one thing after another, rapid fire with no moment of rest or time to process what just happened, which can work but it just didnt here, especially when there were moments it was just dragging.

they tried to combine resident evil 1 and 2 together but it was poorly done and full of half baked stories and shoe horned sub plots. like dont get me wrong it sounds like a good idea and i could forgive the sins agaisnt the source material if it was just well executed and it simply wasnt.

everything i liked

the characters, i dont care about the casting, but the characters were awfully written. i think the actors did a good job with what they were given but holy shit were given shit writing. jill wasnt jill, where the fuck is barry, i dont even know who that blonde guy was bc he sure a fuck wasnt wesker, chris was eh, claire gave me anti-vaxxer vibes, and leon was the only decent one. ada wong only appeared at the very end of the movie, had one line and still managed to be a disappointing character portrayal.

i liked the lisa trever sub plot even if it was poorly done, i like that they made her claires friend and protector, as well as gave her an ounce of humanity seeing as she was a little girl when she was kidnapped and experimented on. the biggest flaw about having her in the movie tho is at no point do they go into detail about who she is.

i liked that they gave more significance to the orphanage by placing chris and claire there (this is one of those not sticking to canon things i could forgive if it was better executed, which it was not)

it was camp, the entire movie was camp in the over exaggerated zombie movie way, and i love that.

my favorite part was when the trucker crashed during his transformation and the truck exploded setting him on fire. then he strutted into the rpd on fire while leon was listening to music over a pop tune from the 90s, it was a second long bc irons shot it but omfg was it the best second in this entire shit show.

loved the corny exchange that happened when leon when he killed birkin with a rocket launcher, it was perfect imo. very resident evil.

i think thats it, i really did enjoy the movie but from a critical standpoint i cant give it a lot of praise bc there was very little to actually praise and a lot of it is subjective.

what they should've done

so its obvious by the ending theyre expecting to do more movies, so idk why they couldn't just plan to do the first 3 games as movies or do the first game, 2+3 and then do code veronica or operation umbrella (only bc 4 has nothing to do with the umbrella story line, and why code veronica? bc they put that scene of the ashford twins were alfred is tearing the wings off of the dragon fly so it seems like if they do a sequel its going to probably be about code veronica)

like that would make more sense, they wouldnt be trying to do too much like they did with this movie and they would still get a trilogy. 1 can stand alone, 2+3 happen at the same time in canon like they could of mashed those together like they tried to do with 1 and 2 but this time it could work and we could still get nemesis maybe. yeah nemesis wasnt in this movie nor was mr. X

i wish they would actually consult people who like the franchise for live action remakes instead of hiring people who dont care. there are very rarely good adaptations bc they keep recruiting people who know nothing.

and if the people who worked on this were fans of the franchise, yikes.

overall it was okay, i still think its so bad its good and to stay away if you're a purist. it was absolute garbage and i cant wait to watch it again now that its on demand.

imagine being worse than the first set of live action movies for resident evil, imo (i love those also), embarrassing.

and if they end up doing a sequel, i will watch it

[yes-feratu]

I've been so wiped out bc of school that I havent had time to be creative but recently I've been wanting to think abt the logistics of Ame and Eng's first time aleeping together 🤔 I'm of multiple minds when it comes to this (like I am w everything bc I am incapable of decision making), but since I'm a huuuge sucker for accidental, unintended spur of the moment acts of desperation, I've recently been toying w the idea that after Alfred officially becane involved in WWII, there was a moment where the stresses that both him and Arthur were feeling came to a head and what started out as bickering bw them ended up as a desperate, eager quickie that by the end of it theyre both like. What. What the fuck just happened.

Afterwards they become kind of...avoidant w one another. Which is weird to outsiders bc it was like, over the course of the war these years of bitter personal feelings seemingly started to melt away at long last, especially thru the efforts of Roosevelt and Churchill and stuff so higher ranking officials were watching them finally start to get along and its like! Hey! Nice! But I feel like tensions started to get really high bc well, the war ofc, but also on personal levels its like...Alfred knows his feelings for Arthur that hes had for him since he was young never truly went away, and Arthur started gaining feelings for Al during WWI that he has no intention of sorting through and dealing w, so idk...I can see some scenarios where Arthur tries to treat Alfred as tho he's incapable and young compared to Arthur's wordliness that starts to aggravate Al again bc he's been proving that he isn't just some kid and, he's been doing that since all the years of his establishment as his own nation, and juuuust when he was thinking that maybe he has a chance at being more to Arthur than some childish idiot Arthur 'proves' him wrong. But he isn't wrong, Arthur has seen him as a force to be reckoned w since the Great War, he's just having a hard time with realizing and accepting that perhaps the great glory of the British empire is truly coming to an end and the world is making way for a new era of big players.

Anyways, they go from becoming friendly to being stuck together constantly and going crazy from such constant contact after years and years of distance that they start fighting again, and everyone notices, and then...well, one day an argument like seemingly any other theyve had ends up w them fucking, and after that they just become so painfully awkward and avoidant around each other bc neither of them are ready to confront all the emotions that led to them fucking in the first place.

And its ROUGH. I like to think abt Alfred's perspective a lot (bc hes my fave and my baby) and I feel like initially he's running away from the situation w his tail between his legs, but he's also had it bad for Arthur for basically as long as he can remember so he's the first one to really want to push to talk about it w Arthur after the war. Its Arthur who's the scared one, who doesn't even wanna breach the subject and all its implications bc maybe it'd force him to stop and realize that he's harboring feelings for the person that represents the nation that his own nation's power is threatened by. Bc of this I feel like it'd take them quite awhile after the war to actually sit down and talk about it, but once they do, they fall really fast into being in an exclusive relationship w one another

[gothamdad]

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART ONE: CINEMATIC WRONGS AND ANALYSIS COMMENTARY

DO NOT REBLOG.

This is going to be a bullet point list of incidents that occur in the movie, and will either have my general commentary or an analysis of what makes the scene terrible (or in some rare cases, good). TRIGGERS FOR SUICIDE, MENTAL HEALTH, AND DYSMORPHIA 

-bruce trying to kill himself in the beginning of the movie. 

Hes reckless, and willing to risk his life, but not suicidal. But he just purposefully gets into a wreck at 2 minutes into the movie?? for no reason??? theres literally no reason for it other than it being angsty bc they COULDVE started the movie with the mutants doing crime, as the next scene cuts right into it and the following news reports 

-"This reporter hopes that wherever he is, hes enjoying a toast with good friends" said when its the anniversary of batman’s disappearance 

this is stupid I hate this movie. You're telling me Gotham forgives Batman for just disappearing on them? DID THAT NOT HAPPEN IN NML AND EVERYONE GOT PISSED??? Like everyone in this movie seems to have forgot he abandoned the city. Not to mention, and I'm gonna go off on a tangent here, bruce will be batman for as long as he lives. He calls himself batman in his mind even when hes retired. He believes that Bruce wayne is the mask. His whole identity is batman. Saying that hed quit because of jason is not only stupid because it implies Jason's death isnt just as important as his parents, but shows that any tragedy is enough to permanently knock him down. And as if the league, or the family, would have let him give up. Anyway the whole reason the retirement in batman beyond works is because it shows bruce was going to fight until he literally died on the spot, but instead he pointed a gun, didn't even use it, just pointed it, and he realized he wasnt fit to HONOR batman anymore. He broke the rule. And he doesnt deserve to wear the mantle. This is so good because 1) bruce still wants to be batman and 2) it doesnt imply that he gave up at all, and at this point with his decreasing wellness his family WOULD be telling him to stop

-Gordon toasts with Bruce on the anniversary

FBKSBSOANSISSB OH MY GOD IT JUST SHOWED HIM SHARING A TOAST WITH GORDON. this is the anniversary of the last time batman is sighted and gordon. JIM FUCKING GORDON. Is celebrating. When they were literally partners and hed shine the batsignal each night TELL ME WHERE THE LOGIC IS!!! I CANT FIND THE LOGIC!!!!! I'm literally 3 minutes into this movie..... and already this is how its going...

-Gordon and Bruce talk

"You're not worried about me, are you?" Asked when hes in clear danger of being attacked by mutants "noT MorE tHAn i aM tHe ReST oF tHis CItY" ah yes. I forgot that Bruce hated gotham and jim Gordon. My mistake. Common misconception.

-the mutants are introduced

Ugh and it's the worst kind of villains too, jim just described the mutants as "the worst kind of criminals. They are only after violence, with no humanity at all" GIVE! VILLAINS! REASONING! I hate these joker wannabes Joker was already enough we dont need a million more "lol I'm just evil deal with it" villains

"Talk to Dick lately?"asks Gordon "You know I havent" Bruce responds

THIS CONVERSATION IS GETTING W O R S E BC I KNOW HOW THIS MOVIE GOES AND HE JUST INSTANTLY HAS CARRIE BE THE NEW ROBIN- WHICH, IS N O T BRUCE'S TO GIVE. ITS ALWAYS BEEN DICK'S MANTLE TO PASS DOWN- WHEN HE HASNT BEEN SPEAKING TO DICK????

-tangent on how it’s overlooked that Dick Grayson was the one to make Robin, not Batman

This is a sin that not just the movie, but the batman franchise in general seems to always make. Robin was made as a tribute to the flying graysons, and is meant to be colorful and aerodynamic for acrobatic tricks. it should always be dick’s to pass down, or the next robin after. 

-Bruce begins having trouble with holding back his urge to be Batman

His whole wanting to be batman again thing started because of a newspaper with a family's death and pearls being sold. On the same front cover. I'm. THATS WHEN HE REMEMBERS HIS PARENTS? NOT EVERY FUCKING TIME HE HEARS A GUNSHOT? OR CLOSES HIS EYES? OR SEES BLOOD? HE READS A NEWSPAPER THATS FLOATING IN THE WIND??????NOT EVERY TIME HE LOOKS AT JASONS COSTUME? OR THE OTHER CRIMES COMMITTED??????LOGIC!!!!!!!!!! I NEED !!!! TO KNOW!!!!! WHERE IT IS!!!!!!!! ARE U KIDDING ME NOW THE MARK OF ZORRO, WHICH IS WHO THE FUCK KNOWS HOW OLD NOW, IS ON TV??????????? AND HE JUST HAPPENS TO FLIP TO THE CHANNEL.. Batman telling bruce "you've tried to hold me back. But you're weak. Ypu know it in your soul. You're nothing but a hollow shell." Is so STUPID!! WHY HAS HE BEEN FIGHTING BEING BATMAN!!!!!!!!!! BRUCE SHOULD WANT TO BE BATMAN!!!! AND HATE HAVING TO NOT BE!!!! AND A BAT FLYING INTO HIS WINDOW AGAIN???? STOP THE FUCKING CLICHES IM SICK OF THIS . UR NOT BEING NEXT LEVEL, MOVIE. ITS JUST DUMB. ITS DUMB!!!

-Carrie Kelly

her first ??? Appearance??? Is her going into KNOWN MUTANT GANG TERRITORY instead of going through the rain. And scolding her friend for not having backbone WHEN THEY COULD LITERALLY DIE and saying, and I quote, "its better than out there." then when interviewed about the incident her friend says  "It was a flying monster! With wings and fangs!" and she replies with "Reality check, Michelle, it was definitely a man, but he had to be like 12 feet tall" OH YEAH THATS VERY REALISTIC CARRIE. Shes an asshole to her friend and we're supposed to like her.  Oh and Carrie's reason for wanting to be robin? She saw the bat signal while her parents were talking about public marches. That's it. That's her reason. Not because she was attacked by mutants and almost died.

-Giving the movie credit

Okay but if theres another thing I'll give credit for, and I'm sure its unintentional, is that Harvey is the first criminal he wants to take down. Because Harvey is always going to be Bruce's priority. He didnt go after the mutants, but Two-Face. And the way that confrontation goes when it’s revealed harvey thinks both sides of his face are scarred. the Arkham staff fixed his scars before he was ready for treatment, and his mental health wasn’t priority. he was going to have dysmorphia either way, but not treating mental illness worsened it.  kinda? good writing? But I think it was unintentional to have the idea that Arkham didnt know what they were doing and the belief that scars are important before trauma, and how trauma has to be helped first. I dont believe for an instant that's what's meant. 

-Carrie Kelly part two

She gets a Robin costume and goes out onto the roof and is like.... almost dies. THEN THE NEXT SCENE WE SEE HER SHES LIKE COMPLETELY ACROBATIC? WHY IS SHE SO ACROBATIC NOW!!! THIS TAKES PRACTICE!!!

-Batman confronting the man who supplied the mutant gang with guns

Oh, this scene...He hands a guy a gun, knowing full well that he was depressed because his wife was dying and he had to make more money to save her by supplying the mutants with weapons, and just walks away as he kills himself. (input from a friend which i like:  think about everything bruce did to help mr freeze and his wife now think about this scene )

Batman vs Mutants 

oh, and the "batmobile". Aka his tank. Rubber bullets. Ok fine, whatever, but RUNNING THEM OVER AND SHOOTING MISSCLES ISNT LETHAL? AND HOW IS CARRIE KELLY GOOD AT FIGHTING ALL OF THEM WHEN SHE COULDNT HANDLE HERSELF WITH ONE LIKE A WEEK AGO.  hate that the mutant leader is just a ripoff of bane with long pointed nipples I hate this. I hate that batman cant take him down, but carrie kelly can. AND THE MUTANT LEADRER TOTALLY DIED WHEN BRUCE THREW ADHESIVE ON HIS FACE AND HE WAS SUFFOCATED BUT LATER ON IT SHOWS HE LIVES ??

Bruce talks to Carrie 

"What is this thing?" -carrie "Dick called it the batmobile" -bruce "SIR!!" -alfred over the radio There are no words. Then she pops his arm into place and creates a makeshift cast And he says "where'd you learn to do that?” and because she’s a mary sue she says nothing, because miller doesnt know why she should, so he cuts to "what's your name?" and she says "Carrie. Carrie Kelly. robin" and HE FUCKING GOES "MINES BRUCE." and then immediately tells Alfred hes bringing "robin" to the cave. I hate it here I hate that he forgets what happened to Jason aFTER ITS HIS LITERAL REASON FOR QUITTING. WHAT IS THE POINT IF HE’S GOING TO ACCEPT THIS GIRL HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW AS ROBIN?

-Bruce talks about Jason

OH BRUCE'S FUCKING LINE. HIS LINE. IM FURIOUS Alfred asks "have you forgotten what happened to Jason?" And he says "I'll never forget. he was a good soldier. He honored me" I AM !!!! SHAKING!!!! WITH HOW MAD !!!! I AM!!! Bruce would NOT say that shit. Implying that jason wasnt his son, or that jason was only a casualty in a war, or that HE FUCKING HONORED HIM AND NOT THE CITY, OR THE TITLE OF ROBIN "He honored me" shut the fuck up I hate this and dont even get me started on the misconceptions of Robin in the first place. i dont want to go into the debate on whether or not they’re soldiers, which I personally don’t believe. but its just stupid because Jason considered being Robin the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and he was THE BEST. it wasnt his fault he was killed, either. 

-The ending

So the mutant escapes his cell by going through a VENT. A . V E N T. AND ENDS UP IN THE SEWER. I hate that these mutants are just an army of evil people and have no motivation and the leader is just a brute I fucking hate Bruce calling him "son" And the mutants become the sons of batman who fight crime......??? because their leader is gone?? werent they supposed to be evil criminals with no humanity in them?

-Joker

Okay but Joker being absent the entire first part , only to show up in the end hearing news reports about batman, and then smiling as he stands up and just fucking creepily says "darling" holy shit that gave me goosebumps. another credit i have to give. 

[coolgirl]

Hey what's Jason's relationship with nocturna? It's the first time I've heard of her😣 and nothing on her wikia mentioned anything about Jason. She seems interesting character and I would like to know more about her.

okay I went. A little insane. Here's a retelling of her pre crisis arc, long as hell  

(this part covers Batman #529 / Detective Comics #363 / Batman #530) ok for some context: it’s pre crisis, meaning this Jason was also a circus boy. He has recently lost his parents, and was taken by Bruce, but isn’t dealing with the loss well, finding himself missing his past life. PLUS Bruce isn’t allowing him to be his partner, and that has him sad as well. 

SO he wants to go back to the circus, since hes lonely and directionless etc.

NOW. ENTER NATALIA KNIGHT! Shes a villain, think.. Catwoman meets Poison Ivy? She’s a thief, but seduces men to do the stealing mostly. 

Her backstory is basically that she was an orphan living in the streets, and met who will then become his adoptive parent Charles Knight when she was 12. When she’s already an adult, Charles gets killed, and she finds out he had big money bags bc he was a criminal. and she said. awn man i like being rich. well. time to do crimes.

she’s rlly into the night and the stars (she was the head of the observatory, which Bruce was funding through his company or w/e)

anyways. she gets away, Jason helps bruce find her (but! bruce wouldnt le him help which rlly hurt jason), and as her and her partner anton are getting away (again) batman catches up to them, but only manages to bring anton to justice, while Nocturna escapes in like. one of those giant balloons idk whats the name

the issue ends with Nocturna/Natalia sending Bruce money for the maintenance of the observatory and with Jason deciding to leave

NOW onto the next part. So in this issue we have Jason escaping home, Bruce going to court against Natalia’s partner Anton, and Natalia just vibing around, and she happens to find Jason running away from home, and they have a conversation in which she tries to convince him to go back home.

but Jason. well.

So Bruce gets back home and Alfred tells him about Jason running away, and bruce, in real bruce fashion, is all like ughg i shouldve listened to him.. well lets go get him. and alfred is like. sir. do i have to remind u u arent his legal guardian yet. u have no right to decide where he stays.

so bruce is like ugh fine. i’ll go patrol then. which he does, and turns out Nocturna was trying to help Anton escape, and well it fails, and she gets captured too. 

and that’s that for Natalia… for now ;)

NOW. this isn’t relevant for Natalia & Jason but again some context. Covers um  covers fuck a bunch of issues. SO. what happens in this time

jason goes back to the circus but is deeply unhappy

he’s still doing detective work. hasnt seen bruce or alfred in a while

alfred visits

case stuff case stuff case stuff it was the clown all along

Jason ends up helping Bruce, since they were both working the same case separately, and they make up

NOW. a lot of shit happens not relevant to nocturna. Jason isnt robin for a while, then he uses Dicks costume, then bruce gets mad at him for that bc its not his costume, so jason uses his own costume, then dick gives him the robin costume, so jason becomes robin. um stuff stuff happens and all it matters is the panel below.

NOW! BACK TO NOCTURNA! 

her comeback arc kinda starts in batman #374, where this lady is like hold on.. bruce wayne isnt jasons legal guardian wtf, is he even fit to have a kid?

so she starts digging around, asking questions 

and shes like yea this is real fishy, give me that kid

so bruce and jason try to behave like uh yes no robin and batman business. let that kid be a kid.

but welp.

and so.. Jason is taken away :( and both of them are heartbroken :( 

but u know what! bruce wayne is one stubborn fucker! and he will fight to have the legal guardianship!

and even if they’re not living together anyomre they’re still the dynamic duo in a way, which like. lol. this lady took this kid away bc she was worried about him but he still ran away.. tch tch tch.

they’re both rlly depressed about the situation

AND THATS WHAT U MISSED ON GLEE!!

NOW. SHES BACK. look at this epic cover

shes now parterning w a dude named nightshade or smth, and he like. rlly wants to hit that, but shes like um pause ⏸️✋my love is the night. the dude, like every other man, is like so im not getting anything from this? fuck u, and leaves. shes like whatevers, ugh how annoying i dont have a partner again & anton is still in prison… &  while shes again chilling she finds out about Bruce trying to legally adopt jason & recognizes jason from the time they talked

& goes to visit him

and theres also this dude, whos not rlly relevant for now, will try to stop bruce from adopting jason which will be relevant later hehe (there's a whole subplot with him and bullock but like it's not rlly relevant to Jason n Natalia) (shrug emoji)

and so. Bruce finds out..

and so the cover becomes a reality, Bruce and Natalia WILL fight in a chuck n cheese parking lot to become Jason’s parent.. and Natalia may try to pull a reverse card on Bruce

and well. Bruce rlly has no chance now does he? and turns out Jason wants this to happen since hes convinced he can unreveal Natalia’s secrets from the inside

and a lil sweet moment between father & son

and then a moment with Amanda, who, in my opinion, did nothing wrong ever

meanwhile Anton comes back, tells Nocturna he killed the dude that was bothering her, and she gets PISSSSEDD OFF shes like u TARNISHED the night by SPILLING BLOOD, u absolute BEAST, Bruce gets there, some weird stuff happens that aged rlly poorly, then Nocturna stabs Anton to save Bruce, turns out she knows hes batman, again shes like marry me to have our son (Jason) and hes like no! and leaves. While Bruce tries to find Anton, Jason is like ive HAD IT i wanna go out, but Natalia stops him

then the next morning Amanda gets her head straight and talks to Jason

but well Jason is hellbent on exposing Natalia from the inside or w/e, and eventually she gets the custody, even if Amanda tries to convince him and the judge Bruce is a better choice (since she noticed Jason clearly favors him and was in pain when he wasnt at the wayne manor)

and everyone is coddling Bruce which im adding bc its cute and i miss this relationship Bruce had with Vicki and Julia 

MEANWHILE, at the knight house. mad hatter is a a weird creepy rat bastard n tries to get control of Natalia & get the information of her brain or smth. Batman gets there & we get a Batman vs Controlled nocturna fight and then Robin also arrives and its Batman & Robin vs Nocturna, but B tells Jason to focus on getting Mad Hatter, which he does and then gets Nocturna back to normal whatever, and she again asks Bruce to marry her, which hes again like no thank u! the issue ends with this page which is rlly sweet imo

next up Anton is back but it doesnt matter rlly. a woman is tending to him, n because shes blind hes like. im batman. yeah. and she believes it. 

AND then Jason is formally adopted by Natalia

Jason is still trying to find proof that shes evil, and they share a moment. 

but jason is like. gotta fight crime! and so Natalia is like well i tried. wanna go be robin a bit?

Batman & Robin go after mad hatter, and then Nocturna joins them bc shes epic

and takes jay home bc its a school night smh

Natalia & Jason spend some time together but Jason still doesn’t warm up to Natalia which like. makes sense since shes a villain and all that, but she tries nevertheless

and then everyones most hated bitch comes back (Yes, anton) n he attacks Natalia, and then Jason when he hears the ruckus and goes to help

but gets a chop

but! Bruce was just on his way to visit them so 

fight fight bruce gets shot in the head n gets amnesia and thinks the dude anton shot & killed was him

Anton swaps their costumes n makes Bruce believe that Anton is batman not him? or smth

afterwards Jason blames himself

and him & Natalia team up to find Bruce which includes.. carrying a corpse around

for three days (well. nights) anton just runs around stealing n shit dressed as batman, n bruce is. literally chilling on a rooftop. alfred is losing his mind bc !? jason hasnt contacted him!? about what happened!? but Julia comes home and comforts him

gotham is a lil in chaos with gordon vicki vale n bullock being suspicious, and the girl who was helping anton finds the stuff he stole and realizes hes not batman.

on the fourth night Jason n Natalia find Anton

n they fight him

but Anton gets the upper hand w Nocturna so Jason jumps in to defend her

and then Nocturna defends Jason bc thats his baby

but Anton doesnt get like. killed w that ofc, and hes like fuck u i’ll kill u one day but when the kid isnt here and after batman has fallen, bye (throws jason from building)

and Natalia reagroup n well.. some things are said

bc like even if Nocturna is helping shes a villain.. right? (thinking emoji)

meanwhile Bruce finally got his mind back. not important. who cares. the lady who was helping Anton goes to the police to tell them about Anton/fake batman dun dun dun. but Anton finds out and knocks out the policeman who went w the girl (Tina!) to check for proof n shit.

and guess whos back! amanda!

back to new dynamic duo

so Jason the little rascal (can i say hes a rascal when hes doing the hero thing n trying to expose a criminal?) goes looking for proof that Natalia is Nocturna n stuff, and finds some stolen things

1. singsonging.. hes such a little shit lmaoo, 2. she was worried… pause…

anyways. they have a confrontation 

in which Natalia swears shes reformed, but Jason doesnt buy it, and is like. im gonna get gordon! and Natalia is like.. do what u think is best

but. he can’t do it..

n hes like. well shes not bad anymore.. i wish i could go back to bruce without sending her to prison which… please development..  n natalia DOES want his love..

AND THEN! BRUCE IS BACK! and he teams up with Nocturna to find Anton, but its just their luck Amanda sees them

they do sm stuff not relevant and then Bruce is like go back to ur son now, and Natalia is like.. OUR son :)

well whatever whatever they get Anton, Bruce goes back to being Batman, they clear his reputation, Jason goes back to the manor since Amanda saw Natalia, etc

(he munches he crunches) also im gonna add this that isnt relevant bc its just so funny, buenos dias alfred

anyways stuff hapens, like idk 14 issues without nocturna, the most important bit that happened is that selina is back. which she was gone. yeah. but shes back and around.

ANYWAYS! 15 issues later! shes back! some dudes entered her old observatory n were vandalizing and she was like hold up

meanwhile we have Jason calling amanda bc he well.. misses his mom and as much as he loves bruce and hes his dad its not the same for some reason

jason in every universe: i miss my mom i want my mom :(

at school Jason overheards some kids talking about Natalia in the observatory

Jason goes looking for Natalia n turns out Bullock was also trying to see what was happening in the observatory, so they kinda team up for two whole panels to find her

but Jason is like im not telling u shit.. n goes w Natalia on his own

google always taking pics

n they share a moment ;_____;

n theyre reunited.. now ur gonna have to excuse me bc i didnt download the high quality of the next tec issues n all the download links are sadly broken

but… what about natalia?

then bullock finds them

well bullock lets her go n while retelling the stuff to gordon he has.. a theory

meanwhile Nocturna.. well Nocturna is back at it again, taking charge of a band of thieves.. sigh. 

anyways, they talk, theres something weird happening w the sky that may mean the world is ending or smth, and they make up AND make out

n they have a talk thats basically like. what now? should we be together? well depends if ur still gonna steal. i need funds to get the observatory back in track (HELLO BRUCE IS RICH HE COULD PAY IT..) and hes like oh so ur gonna be a thief again.. and shes like well havent u noticed im only stealing from corrupt rich politicians!? (QUEEN) n theres this gorgeous shot

n then they go their separate ways bc its fucking batman

anyways. Selina was also investigating the group of thieves (that were like black masks old gang but he was sent to prison so Nocturna took over etc) and she sees Nocturna leaving and follows her to the Observatory but.. Jason is there too

Selina wants her GOOOONE she needs to clear her name but Jason is like. over my dead body

n well ……. the girls are fightinggggggggggggggggggggggggg

but Bruce intercepts

n now Batman n Catwoman fight and its like the girls are fightingggggg… 2! but doesnt matter look at them

and then Selina gets struck by lightning

n then theres a earthquake bc god what a damn comic, and the observatory collapses, and Natalia is trapped inside

anyways Selina is in the hospital, Anton is still killing people and knows where she is and is trying to get to her, and this little scene happens with Jason n B

n while Bruce stays with Selina Jason goes to find Natalia which is so funny like. she went to Natalia, his mom, when Bruce told him to go home and well– we al know that story.

n now its a race to get to Natalia before Anton gets to her

n its rlly sad bc like Natalia is ready to die

n 

but both Bruce n Jason are trying to reach her

and here comes Jason!

AND LIKE. the fact she wants to live after all bc of Jason rlly makes me emotional not gonna lie! not gonna lie!

and no offense but a mother’s love………………………………….. no thoughts head empty

first of all i hate anton so fucking much. secondly here comes batdad..

n Jason tries to help Natalia escape and then get back to Bruce who is getting his ass kinda kicked

guess whos coming in that helicopter.. selina freaking kyle.. the legend.. and she helps Bruce with Anton. 

I REALLY DONT GET THIS TBH LIKE. he puts her into the giant balloon so she can get away but like shes hurt buddy shes gonna die up there.. 

and. shes gone.

n Jason is absolutely devastated

n like. Bruce. as always. is like ok champ i see u got it in control, lmk when u wanna go home

LIKE HES SO SAD.. OF COURSE HES SAD THAT WAS HIS MOM....

And thats. pretty much it. Natalia is gone. 

However Jason still grieves her, and when Bruce and Selina are trying to get back together and... hes not a big fan of their relationship.. at all. But bruce tries to pair them up so they can become at least friends, since he loves them both and doesnt want to like. pick between his son and his lover

and they make a fine team, even if Jason grieving Natalia and how Selina doesnt want to take her place is brought up a couple times :(

and it gives it a bittersweet ending to the arc

and well. thats it. thats the Jason and Natalia dynamic.

Natalia reappers later post crisis but well w/o her connection to Jason.. and i really dont wanna talk about the version of her that appears in batwoman comics LOL.  

conclusion: natalia was a bad lady, who at first wanted to use jason to get money from bruce, but then she had a change of heart, and development and became a kind of anti hero? well not antihero just.. she was trying her best man. i wish she hadnt disappeared like she couldve stayed relevant to jasons story without having to be romantically with bruce? bc if u read her comics u can see that she was killed off/voided for batcat to comeback which... typical batcat! anyways. i think she genuinely loved and cared for jason and that jason loved her and cared for her right back :( 

[monkeebratz]

Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne - Summer Part 2

Initial idea | How it Happened | Addition by iggy-of-fans | Reply to iggy’s Addition | Summer Begins | Summer Part 2 (you are here)

Okay guys, remember how I said the Miraculous Super Squad was going to show up in Gotham? Adrien, Kagami, and Chloe all buy the first ticket out of Paris for themselves and Luka and pack asap. Luka and Kagami are the only two suggesting maybe this isn’t a good idea? Yes, they want to see their illustrious leader too after such a nerve wracking experience but maybe they should get her okay first? Maybe? Guys? Oh, we’re already at the airport, guess we’re doing this. 

Meanwhile, the Wayne’s are bonding. They’re like, sitting in the living room talking about their hobbies. Marinette is glad she has at least one thing in comment with each of them and is determined to bond! Y’know, now that its clear Damien had no idea what he was shoving his hand into while he was snooping around her room, and such. The Wayne’s are just under the impression that its a set of important heirlooms from her old ‘master’ that are pretty delicate. 

Anyways. BONDING. Bonding and then everyone goes to ‘bed.’ Which is code for the batfam going out to patrol. And Marinette sneaking out after a few hours since she’s just. Restless. She’s used to paroling Paris almost every night and Gotham isn’t Paris but she just can’t sit here and do nothing! So she sneaks out and transforms into Multimouse in a random alleyway. She does some jumping around using her jump rope, running across rooftops, keeping an eye out for crime. She doesn’t plan on intervening with anything more than petty crime, she doesn’t know Gotham’s villains as well as she does Paris’ and she won’t endanger lives so recklessly. She does, however, not find any crime. Just the batfam. Specifically, Jason as Red Hood. There’s much panic bc Marinette has HEARD of his reputation. And the man has guns. Fuck. HER SUIT MAY B E MAGIC BUT THOSE ARE STILL BULLETS

Jason chases after her while Marinette splits up when its clear that the other Robin’s are also chasing her. Only for main!multimouse to get caught by batman and you just have a squirmy, palm sized Marinette in Batman’s hands. Everyone’s confused bc what kind of super power is this? Who even IS this? And why can’t they seem to pinpoint what she looks like? This is BULLSHIT

Bruce, on the other hand, is holding Multimouse very, very gently. Because she is clearly a child, still. Going on about how there’s no meta’s allowed in his city, and if she’s going to be here, she can’t cause trouble like this. The Batman and Robins are the hero’s of Gotham and he will not stand for untrained children testing boundaries in his city. The rest of the batfam ends up with this tiny mouse in their hands or running around their ankles and this is. Possibly the weirdest thing they’ve ever dealt with. Damn. Do they give her a thing of cheddar? What’s the protocol for this? They have lots of animal based villains but this is just blowing their minds.

Marinette panicking bc her time is running out and she’s going to transform and Batman and the Robin’s will see her, and she’s defeated Hawkmoth but what if they kick her out of the city! What will she tell Bruce!!! THEY DON’T KNOW THAT MULTIMOUES IS LADYBUG BUT WHAT IF THEY PUT IT TOGETHER? WHAT IF SHE HAS TO LEAVE? WHAT IF HER FAMILY BLAMES HER FOR GETTING THROWN OUT BY BATMAN!! BATMAN HIMSELF! WHAT IS SHE GOING TO DO

(there’s a lot of high pitched squeaking noises. The Robins refuse to admit that its adorable as hell) 

Marinette tries to get away only to detransform right at the edge of a building. Damien catches her by the jacket and there’s a lot of yelling. Marinette’s kinda crying tho bc she’s been in the city only a week and she’s already blown her identity? Batman thinks she’s some kind of troublemaker? She’s only been a full fledged Guardian for a few months and she’s already messing up! 

Damien doesn’t know what to do. Because his little sister is a fucking mouse theme’d hero with a damn magical girl transformation? And she’s going on about ‘miracles’ and ‘kwami’ and he doesn’t know what to do other than gently pat her. Console her with awkward pats while looking at his Father and Brothers like WHAT DO I DO?!

Batman reassuring her that they will have to tell Bruce Wayne about this, but that she isn’t in trouble. They were mostly concerned about meta villains in Gotham, but he’s sure than any child of Bruce Wayne’s isn’t going to go about causing unnecessary mischief. 

The batfam escorts Marinette back to Wayne Manor and disappear, telling her they’re off to talk to the Wayne’s. And meanwhile Marinette is still panicking. Sends off a quite message to the Super Squad about what happened (who can’t respond bc they’re currently on an overnight flight to Gotham, what an unpleasant surprise this will be). Long explanation about how she’s going to tell them most everything since the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, and they ARE her family. Bruce supports the Justice League, so it should be fine. Right? Right??? 

Meanwhile the Wayne’s are freaking out. There’s many jokes tho bc OF COURSE YOUR YOUNGEST, CAVITY INDUCING, BABY GIRL, IS A SUPERHERO. OF COURSE SHE IS. ITS GENETIC ISN’T IT. HOLY SHIT. AND SHE’S ADORABLE. A FUCKING MOUSE. DAMN. DID ANYBODY KNOW ABOUT THIS? 

And then everybody’s going up to Marinette’s room and Alfred is screaming internally bc he was right? Tho he wish he wasn’t. 

And Marinette’s full blown panic mode rambling, in French, so Damien, Bruce and Alfred are really the only one’s who know what she’s saying and trying to translate for Tim, Dick, and Jason. But gives them the whole talks about how Multimouse is a reserve hero for Paris, as she’s the Guardian of the Miraculous, and supports Paris’ hero’s, and she’s so sorry for not telling them, but Hawkmoth was only just defeated and Gotham was supposed to be an escape from her duty’s and she couldn’t tell them secrets like this, she’s so sorry!

Alfred wants to cry. Because he can’t believe his grand daughter is the Guardian. Sits down next to her and comforts her and reveals how he lost the Peacock Miraculous during the French Occupation and how he’s partially to blame for her troubles. 

The Wayne’s are fucking thrown bc two of them are magic users? What? ALSO THERE WAS A VILLAIN IN PARIS? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL THEM? OR THE JUSTICE LEAGUE? 

Marinette: We did! I contacted them multiple times, as myself, and as Multimouse. Nobody ever responded after the first message not to play such pranks...

Bruce: Oh really. -eye twitch- I think I need to have a conversation with them, then. 

SO YEAH A ONE SIDED REVEAL ALSO BRUCE IS GONNA KICK THE COLLECTIVE JL’S ASS BC THAT’S? HIS? DAUGHTER? WTF GUYS

also cutting this off before the intro of Paris’ Super Squad bc this is getting... long

Tag List! And hey guys, if you want to be added, please send me an ask! (They’re a little easier to keep track of then comments for me) 

@mystery-5-5 @mariae2900 @vgirl-10123 @iglowinggemma28

[flamingo-strikes]

Talia Week: Day 1

For Day 1 of Taliaalghulweek, I chose the prompt “green.”

Now I just want to emphasize that this is all in an AU, every fic I write for this event. It’s my own personal universe bc canon sucks. In this AU, Bruce, Selina, and Talia (OT3) are together and raise their kids. Jason never died, and he goes to Princeton. Talia cut ties with her father a loooooong time ago, and she works at WE. She doesn’t really do capes anymore, but instead focuses on her family. 

ALSO this fic mentions Dev, who is an OC owned by @audreycritter!!!! Her fics are literally amazing, and I love Dev so much. He’s a part of this lil universe too.

Talia and characters besides Dev: owned by DC comics

Hope you enjoy!

.

.

.

Green.

A color that forever haunted Talia in her dreams, her thoughts, and even the most mundane of actions she did. It made her wake up in the middle of the night, panting and breathing like she’d just run twenty miles in a minute. It made her pause for a moment, body going rigid, completely frozen before she went back to what she was doing, a forced smile on her lips. A color she could never escape, in her dreams and her nightmares.

Green was the color of insanity, in her opinion.

When she tried to think back to her past, it came in fragments. Losing her mother was something she remembered quite vividly. Everything between that event and the moment she made up her mind to leave her father, it was all a blur. She could only vaguely recall the studying, learning, speaking new languages, meeting new teachers her father would hire, and then killing said teachers. Other moments, she couldn’t remember so well. The times her father would hug her genuinely, or when she was sure he loved her.

The times before she became a tool to him, where all that mattered about her was her ability to produce a worthy heir.

The training, however, is something that lingered in her mind. She remembered every moment of it, the brutality she endured for so many years. Fighting until her body felt like it was about to break under pressure, her lungs burning in exhaustion. The metallic taste of blood in her mouth, and all over her body. The blows to her body that she took, before returning them ten times harder. It was like a cycle, spit, rinse, and repeat. Every second of everyday.

There were times where she wasn’t successful though. The times where she buckled under the weight atop her, and succumbed to her ending. The times where she wasn’t quick enough to block a hit, one that would fatally strike an artery. The times where a well-fought battle would end with her body laying limply, devoid of life. Where her world spun until everything went black.

Dying, as her kids would put it, sucked.

Then, everything was blank…and then it was not. Her eyes would flash open in terror, as her body was submerged in the Pit, surrounded by its infectious water. She felt like she was on fire, while simultaneously freezing. Her mind would be a haze of memories and incoherence, struggling to remember why she was there, what the hell had happened. Then when it hit her, and her heart shattered. Every time.

She had been killed, and now she was forced to come back to life.

Talia could recall the panic, the screams, and the endless pain of feeling her body put itself back together. She would watch in horror as open gashes would stitch themselves together until only faint scars remained. She would cry as she felt her bones gradually attaching themselves back together, from where they were broken.

And through it all, Talia could only see the disgusting shade of bright, neon green that enveloped her world. As she sat back up in panic, her body still in the water, all she could think was how much she hated the color. Every time she died, and was mercilessly resurrected in the horrid green pit, she realized how much she hated it. She hated green, she hated her father, and she hated her life. More than anything, she hated the shattered remains of her mind and sanity, she hated feeling broken.

It’s been a decade, and she is still broken. But not shattered. No, her scars are still there, but her heart has healed a bit. Her mind is in a better place, and she finds that she loves life more than anything now. 

She loves waking up early while her beloveds are still snoring, safe after another rough night. She loves holding baby Helena close, and planting kisses atop her little head. She loves when Damian proudly shows her his drawings, and then having to stop fights that ensue between him and Tim. She loves when Cass and Steph invite her to waffle feasts. She loves that finally after almost a decade, she can now have amicable conversations with Richard. 

She loves drinking wine and venting about life with Kate at the redhead’s apartment. She loves going window shopping and strolling through the city with Barbara, on the rare occasions the two have time. She loves helping Dev organize his supplies in the medbay while having deep talks, and helping him keep her husband in check, since God knows he needs it sometimes. 

She loves helping Alfred clean the house, finding the normalcy and the older man’s company relaxing and nice. She loves helping Kitrina with her homework and listening to her complain about school, but knowing that the young girl loves it regardless. 

She loves going out with Tim and trying new coffee shops in Gotham with him. She loves hearing about how college is going for Jason, despite him being so far away. And she loves when Duke introduces her to his video games, often times with Damian interrupting. 

She loves having to reach up and tie her Bruce’s necktie before they leave for work. She loves leaning on her Selina’s shoulder as they watch a movie on the rare nights they have for themselves.

Now, when she sees the color green, she smiles. Not out of happiness, but satisfaction of what her world has become. She loves life now, and she supposes she can try and learn to love green, too.

[nopeferatu]

Made-up fic title: We Were Once Like Magnets

Anon knows how to play to my angsty heart 😭😭 So I'm gonna write this for USUK (bc you're crazy if you follow me for anything but), but basically the story would go like this: Alfred and Arthur met early on in college. Arthur's a sophomore/junior and Al's a freshman with junior credits due to him being generally a really bright kid and having done high school + some college at the same time. When they first set eyes on one another they're at a college party; Al uses college (and moreso college parties) as a means to shed his "child genius" title and thus expectations that had been forced onto him basically all his life, and Arthur's there to genuinely learn and soak up as much info pertaining to the fields he wants to go into as possible. So like I was saying, when they first lay eyes on one another theres no denying that theres attraction there, but whereas Alfred kinda embraces it and lets it take him wherever he feels it guiding him towards (which at first is really sexual) Arthur's just kinda like "NOPE I'm not gonna do the whole 'relationship while in college' thing. I need to get my priorities set. First comes job then comes love.' And it just stays like that; they see eachother at dorm parties and stuff. After awhile of bumping into eachother at parties and making loaded eye contact Al gets interested in MORE than just sex w/ Arthur, so through lots of bugging he worms his way into Arthur's heart and they become completely inseperable. Tbh they both knew it from the beginning, there was just this instant attraction to one another that may have started as physical but just became so much deeper bc despite their differences, they had many little things in common (like their shared love for English lit and McDonalds), so it was only natural that they clicked. Well, they stay together through school (Arthur going on to pursue his Masters in English and Alfred dropping out in favor of learning a trade), but things kinda start to go sour bc Al doesn't wanna get serious with his life and Arthur nags at him a lot for it. Lots of fights happen, yadda yadda, but Arthur knows he does it bc he loves Al and he knows it's just a phase. Then Al starts talking about getting back in touch with an old friend from college. And like, at first its of no concern to Arthur bc he's glad Al's got friends and maybe they can influence him to grow up? But then Al starts coming home later and later, and he'd be in a really chipper mood and just genuinely be...different. Its jarring for Arthur because while he loves seeing Al happy he knew that before, he wasnt as smiley and itd generally be kinda tense between them. Instead of Arthur speaking up though, he just stays quiet and tries not to stir anything up. They're basically just living in the same space but not interracting anymore. Then one day, Al just leaves completely with no explanation or anything. He's just...gone and Arthur's left to contemplate how something that had been so...so strong at one point ended up fizzling out so eerily quiet, so emotionless, so...cold.

[sceawere]

visits | alfie solomons

fits into the twin!reader verse, i love this ridiculous, dysfunctional couple and i’m so glad to have them home

props if you catch the hiram reference in here bc the kids might not exist yet in this fic but my sweet children

“Alright sweetheart. Could you do something about this?”

That was how you’d answered the door to find Alfie with blood trailing down his arm.

“Oh, for fucks sake” you moaned, dragging him out of the hallway and into the flat.

Your hand stayed gripped in the front of his shirt, dragging him behind as you navigated the way to the kitchen. A glare told him to damn well stay put where you’d left him against the cabinet, and he obliged, moving only to take his coat from over his clean arm and throw it onto one of the chairs.

“What the hell happened?” you questioned, grabbing a clean cloth and wrapping it snug to the wound.

“I had a disagreement with a car window”

You stepped back, wiping your hands off.

“Is that…all?”

“Yeah, no that’s it. That’s all” he replied, holding the cloth secure.

You scowled, confused at the mundaneness of it. Alfie had just…had an accident. No-one had shot him. No-one had tried to set the bakery on fire again. No-one was likely skulking around the corner, waiting to catch him on the way out. He’d just had an accident.

You moved over to the sink, fetching the kettle, and filling it to the brim. Once the gas was lit, which took three tries and a lot of tutting, you made for a chair.

“Wait, did you punch through it, or…?”

“No…” he looked around “Honestly, what happened was, I got locked out. And it’s icy, you see, out there. So, I was having a disagreement with the window, trying to get the bastard to let me into my own damn car”

He enunciated the last three words as though the window was somehow firstly present, and secondly sentient.

“And I slipped on the ice, and in trying not to go arse over tit, I put my hand through the window”

“How hard were you falling, and in what direction? I can’t picture the logistics of this”

“Well, bloody hell, darlin’. I’d draw you a diagram, but you have yet to staunch the bleeding so my arms a bit out of commission”

You rolled your eyes, before jumping up and fetching a clean towel. You threw it at him, grabbing the soiled one, and introducing it to its new home in the fireplace. The kit you needed was in the bathroom, but you hovered in the archway.

“What?” Alfie questioned, eyeing you.

“Nothing”

“You’re staring” he informed you, and you shrugged. The hovering continued.

“Is it unpleasant?” you questioned, head tilting as you squinted back at him.

“The…arm? Yes, greatly. I have glass in it and blood out of it” he raised it where he was cradling it awkwardly at his chest.

“No, the me looking at you”

He stared back, lip rolling under the other as he joined you in the squinting. He leaned forward just a little, as though trying to hear the words you weren’t speaking, and then adjusted on the cabinet edge. He huffed. He opened his mouth to speak. He didn’t.

At some point, you simply walked away. The kit you needed was in the bathroom, and once retrieved, you set to sterilising everything.

“We’re not pretending anymore, Alfie, you don’t have to keep turning up” you reminded him, dipping the tweezers into the roiling water.

“But I was finally enjoying myself” he replied, and you laughed “Honestly, sweetheart, my arm was hanging off”

“Your arm was not hanging off! Sit down!” you pointed to the chair, and he shuffled over.

You took your place, trying to work out a way to do this that wasn’t going to be awkward. You finally settled for whispering a quick ‘fuck it’ under your breath, and half straddled his knee. Your leg stood between his, and your knee on the chair next to his thigh. You needed to bend right over to identify where the tiny flecks of glass had lodged, the window apparently having shattered under his hand. This meant his palm was easy to clean, the area further up less so.

Each fragment clinked as it was dropped into a dish, the only sound apart from Alfie’s measured breathing. Once it was done, and you could escape the hot breath that was trailing against your collar bone, you stepped back. An offer of whisky was made, and half went over his arm before it went into his throat.

“You wanna go out tomorrow?” he asked, after a long period of silence. The tools had been cleaned and returned to their home, the sink flushed out, the arm thoroughly bandaged.

“Out? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. A real date. Not a fake one. Not that I didn’t have fun nor nothing, but you know, I am a gentleman”

“We fucked in the backroom of a crowded restaurant having known each other like a month, and only then because we were pretending to be already together for a crime boss meeting thing I’m not sure how that is…” you trailed off, gripping the edge of the counter.

“I treated you like a lady, did I not?” he argued, with absolutely no force behind it, and you couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of this entire conversation.

“Well…” you broke out laughing again, and he frowned “No, sorry. Yes. What?”

“You. Me. Tomorrow. An establishment of your choice. Dinner may be eaten, I don’t know, what do you like to do? What will endear me to your fine nature?”

“Botanical gardens”

“Botanical gardens?” he questioned, and you nodded.

“I like looking at weird plants sometimes. They amuse me and confuse me”

“You like to peruse the things that amuse and confuse?”

“I do, Alfred. You know, I jolly well do”

“Well, then. Botanical gardens. Set and sorted” he cleared his throat, a heaving huff of a noise, and laid his head back on the wooden chair.

“Alfred?”

“Yeah, darlin’?” he mumbled.

“You are not going to sleep on my kitchen chair”

“Well, here’s the thing. I don’t know if I can stand up”

You paused, staring at his probably already sleeping form as he fell silent.

“You’re fucking kidding”

“I’m extraordinarily lightheaded, as it goes”

“Oh, shit”

You rushed forward, feeling his skin.

“You’re not clammy, or particularly pale. How much blood had you lost by the time you got to me?”

“Well…a bit” he replied, sounding far away.

You huffed, blowing your cheeks out as you hovered over him. Your eyes ran over the room, and then back to him.

“No date”

“What? No! You agreed, you- “he lifted his head to argue, blinking a few times as he try to flush away the dizziness.

“Not until I’m sure you won’t keel over into a bloody poisonous bush on me, for crying out loud”

You stepped around the chair, gripping the slats, and began dragging him across the tiles. He lurched at the movement, spinning his head round.

“Fucking hell, I thought that was it”

“The bottom has yet to drop out of your world, my dear”

“Oh, that’s nice. You know the first time we met, you called me sweetheart. Right off the bat” he leant his head back, looking up at you.

“It was pretty far in, and I was being sarcastic because you kept calling me ‘darlin’, you complete brick” you argued.

“I’m a brick?”

“Well you lug about like one!” you shouted giving another yank to the chair “No, fuck it. Get up”

He pushed up slowly, cradling his arm. You made sure to stand in front of him, hands pressed at his chest just in case he did lose his footing. His good arm came around your shoulders, and you guided him to the bedroom.

“Well, we’ve done this walk before” he looked up and around the hallway “Why you living in a safehouse?”

“I like the solitude” you replied, lowering him onto the bed “And I had an argument with Tommy at the big house”

“Ah, there it is” he flopped back onto the bed, and you smiled.

“You going to be alright?” you questioned quietly, moving to close the curtains tight. He hummed lightly in response. You helped his toe his shoes off, pushing them under the bed, and grabbed his good arm.

“Come on, get these off”

He groaned as you pulled him up to sitting slowly, carefully removing the shirt off around his bandaged arm. You threw his trousers over towards the general direction of the chair, then thought twice about it and moved to fold them up. He chuckled behind you, the rustle of the sheets letting you know he’d got himself into bed safely.

“You’re getting all domestic on me, aren’t you?” he teased, his good arm perched behind his head when you turned. You cocked a hip, and a brow, and tried to ignore the widening grin.

“Come to bed” he nodded to the empty space beside him.

“Come to bed” he repeated when you didn’t move.

You sighed, licking away the grin you were forming yourself, and grabbed the hem of your jumper.

“And once again, you get me into bed before we go on a real date. Mr Solomons, what would your mother say?” you teased, pulling your stockings off and throwing them off to the side. You moved over and climbed in next to him.

“She’d say ‘goodness, Alfred, don’t I look good for a woman whose been dead for ten years?’ Or something like that. Probably what the fuck is that on your hand, too” he tapped the crown lightly.

“I like it” you traced over the ink with your own thumb, and he folded your hand into his. You rested your head onto his shoulder, and he nuzzled into your hair.

“I know a man with a steady hand if you get the feeling like you want one of your own”

“Oh, thanks” you laughed back.

“Ain’t exactly on the books though is it” he turned his hand, so the ink was front and centre again. You frowned, rolling your neck to meet his eyes.

“Now, I’m not a scholar nor nothing” you mocked his choice of words back to him “but neither’s murder?”

“Oh, I’m not sure about that”

“No?”

“Nah” he shook his head, and you laughed again. He smiled back at you, and you rolled your eyes.

“God, what is it with you, Solomons?”

“I’m just magic, ain’t I?” he shrugged and then flicked his eyes to your joined hands “I think you should get that”

“So do I” you agreed, and he seemed startled that you’d agreed “No, really. I like it”

“Oh, right. Well”

“You should probably marry me first, though. Or something. Be a bit awkward if we’re all matchy otherwise wouldn’t it?”

You turned in the bed, dragging his body with yours as you settled down. You reached with your free hand and pulled the cord above the bed. It went dark, silent as you shuffled into the pillow.

“Was that…are you joking…or?”

“No, not entirely” you decided, and he hummed.

“Because I am in love with you, that’s established, right?”

“Pretty sure I’m meeting you on that”

“You’re- what?”

“I’m in love with you. Probably. Yeah, no, I am”

This was a ridiculous conversation to be having, especially the way you were having it, especially in the dark. But it felt like peak you and Alfie, and somehow that was comforting, even if your heart was starting to leap against your ribs.

The two of you laid in silence for a long time, and you sighed in relief, hoping he wouldn’t remember this when he woke up. You almost jumped out the bed when he spoke again after a solid ten minutes.

“Polly is going to murder me” he murmured, and you turned over your shoulder.

“For what?”

“Roping you in”

“You did what to me?” you questioned, and he huffed a laugh. He lay back and you propped yourself up on an elbow, squinting down at him in what little light there was.

“Yeeeeeaaaaahhhh we’re fucked” he was still grinning.

“Be honest, when did you know?” you asked in a whisper, and he sighed.

“Uhh, when you got drunk at the bakery, and you told me that story about the hedgehog”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, up until then I just assumed you were fun and I wanted to, forgive me, sleep with you. But once I got that out my system- “

“You’re truly charming”

“Well, after that, I assumed right, done. Sorted. This’ll go away, and you’ll be your own damn self again but no, there you were, in my every fucking thought”

You rolled your eyes at the way he’d framed that as an accusation, dropping off your elbow, snuggling into his chest.

“And then somewhere in the middle of a drunken babble about you rescuing some poor fucking hedgehog I realised I’d quite like you to stick around and that I sort of…cared about you a little bit”

“Just a bit” you breathed.

“Just a bit. When did you love me, then?”

“When you sent flowers”

He exhaled, scratching his forehead.

“Well, that was it?”

“Yeah”

“Oh, right”

“Got all warm and fuzzy”

“Yeah. That was my intention. Glad that petered out how it did”

You patted his chest, closing your eyes.

“Go to sleep, Alfie”

“Yes, dear”

It was quiet outside, no wind, no rain, no cars. No drunk people stuttering about the street. There was a dog barking off somewhere in the distance, but nothing much else. Alfie’s heart beat steady under your ear, his breath rasping softly.

“Do you have to buy a ticket or something for the botanicals?” he mumbled into the dark.

“I would assume there’s some kind of admission process, yes”

“No, like in advance?” he replied.

You lay there, determined to convince your body it needed to be asleep right now.

“Probably not”

“We can just turn up when we want?”

“Probably yes”

“Right, well. Tomorrow then”

“Not tomorrow. Blood replenishing more important than dating”

“Well, we’ve got to get a certain number in before the big day, don’t we? You can’t just go about marrying people”

“Jesus, fuck, Alfie!” you complained, tired and having confronted some emotionally heavy subjects in a haphazard manner “Sleep. Sleep, please”

“Two of those things, lose the other. I’m not an audience kind of man. Though I suppose if your lot are right, he’s knocking about the place anyway isn’t he?”

You groaned as you rolled away from him, huffing into the pillow when he rolled right over with you.

“That’s not how it works” you whispered.

“I’m not a scholar nor nothing- “

“I will punch you unconscious” you insisted, gripping the pillow tighter.

“Can’t be having that. We’re supposed to cherish each other, isn’t that how it goes?”

[susandsnell]

it's been bugging me for a while now, but five worst parts of the dark Knight and one good part. bc I know you hate the movie 😂😂

boh. oh my gosh. b please don’t hate me.  😂😂

Five worst parts of the Dark Knight: 

5. The Filmmaking. More specfically: LONG AND WASHED OUT PALETTE. IT’S SO FUCKING LONG. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE OVER TWO AND A HALF HOURS WITH TEN PLOTS TO WRAP UP AND HAVE NO FUCKING COLOURS IN IT. WE GET IT, NOLAN, A MAN DRESSED UP AS A BAT BRINGS YOU NO JOY AND SO NOW WE HAVE TO NOT HAVE ANY JOY IN OUR HEARTS EITHER, THANKS A LOT. HERE I THOUGHT I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE FUN AT A MOVIE ABOUT BATMAN, BUT YOU SURE PROVED ME WRONG. 

4.  The Writing. Holy pretentious dialogue Batman! Where do I begin?Harvey Dent’s “I will state the theme of my arc in the most lazy and blatant foreshadowing speech until Emma Stone literally says she’s gonna die in the opening of The Amazing Spiderman 2″ gets quoted all the time and yes, superhero movies aren’t known for their subtlety, and not all great movies need to be subtle, but the “die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” is egregious not only for the reasons I stated, but is a nauseating indicator of the film’s cynicism (despite what the boat climax purports to be proving!). Alfred’s “some men just want to watch the world burn” speech is similar albeit less facepalmy and Theme Stating. It’s blunt and heavy-handed, overly expositional, and very hit-you-over-the-head with regard to commentary. 

And here’s the thing! It could work in the context of the type of movie it is - The Shape of Water pretty much opens with a statement of the “who the real monster is” idea, but it works because the film is a fairy tale and presents itself as such, whereas this movie wants to have its cake and eat it too as a “super adult DEEP subtle COMPLEX movie” with incredibly clear and simple shit like this. Beyond that,  Nolan really has a dialogue issue in a lot of his works where nobody just has a fucking conversation. Everything has to be the most serious issue in the world or a ten thousand word treatise on the fundamental dichotomies of human nature or some shit you’d hear in a freshman philosophy 101 course from that guy nobody can tolerate who thinks he’s G-d’s gift because he wears glasses or some shit, I don’t know. Even the Joker, an agent of chaos, gets wrapped up into it! Like he is a showman, but the yammering and rambles of shit that isn’t even that deep but pretends to be gets on my damn nerves. And the worst part is that it comes at the expense of the characters. 

They don’t really…develop emotional bonds (even with Rachel, the token woman And Therefore the Object At Which Emotions are Thrown). I’m not invested because none of these characters are real or relatable or have human interactions. The script shouldn’t be an anchor that drowns the actors and suffocates the characters to the point that there’s no chemistry, no connection, no believable core. Alfred is practically Bruce’s father and I get no love out of them! Harvey and Bruce don’t connect at all! Lucius Fox, the only POC in the entire movie, is literally reduced to a plot device despite having moral concerns! 

3. That damn third act. This one takes special mention because it just pisses me off. It’s just too much! The chase with the Joker would be fine, but that’s not the end. His plot already extends way beyond where it would logically end (hence the bullshit runtime), but on top of that, on top of the drama with the escape ferries hammering you over the head with the point they’re trying to make about humanity and the obnoxious moralizing, and then you have Harvey’s fall to the dark side which I’m sorry, needed a lot more time than just getting crammed in to the back end of the movie. His descent into evil happened way too quickly. Two-Face is a great villain! But take Batman the Animated series (to me, the best adaptation of Batman there is, while not perfect) as an example: he’s established as a character and his descent into Two-Face receives the full focus of entire episodes and impacts the characters later on! Having him play sideshow to the Joker is a huge mistake, especially with something as huge at play as threatening Gordon’s family; it completely disrupts the focus of the plot and unnecessarily prolongs the film as a whole, but he goes down pretty easily in one of the movie’s shitty-ass fight sequences that I’d make their own point if there weren’t worse things because I can’t tell who’s punching who. And if you’re gonna rush Dent into villainy only to kill him, that makes his whole plot kinda a waste.

And The Dark Knight Rises was a lot more criticized than the Dark Knight, so how’s this for a fix for the entire trilogy? Don’t kill Two-Face. Keep Joker getting carted away gloating about having corrupted him, but then have Two-Face get away too.  Don’t make whitewashed lamely written Bane the villain of the next movie - instead, let the tail end of this movie build Two-Face up as the main villain for the final part! That way, you have more time for development, cohesiveness, consequences, exploration of themes, and you don’t waste characters. 

2.  Batman / Bruce Wayne’s entire character. Okay, so whenever I fawn over the Lego Batman movie and how it confronts the issue with modern portrayals of Bats and rightfully points out it’s not deep, he’s just a humongous dick, this feels like the source material of that popular portrayal. Of course, it pre-dates it in the comics - Miller and company are to blame for Grimdark Asshat who Batmansplains, but I feel like Dark Knight especially, for its success and greater accessibility as a film, is what widely propagated this portrayal. 

Secret identity or cape and cowl, there is a serious issue in your Batman movie if your Batman is terrible. He’s the protagonist, the titular character, and he’s fucking terrible! At best, Bruce Wayne is like…completely deadpan and not even there (I don’t give Bale shit because I think a lot of the fault lies with the writing/direction, Ledger was pretty much the only lively performance in the movie), placeholder of a protagonist. At worst, he comes off as deeply self-centered, self-aggrandizing, entitled, and violently unstable. I don’t care how bad the Joker is, when in custody, he still had legal rights, and Batman fucking tortured him. Even brutal criminals should not ever be tortured for information! And the film never engages with Bats reaching the point of beating people to a pulp as means of interrogation; he just feels conflicted about who’s worse and broods over it after the fact instead of, I don’t know, maybe thinking twice about torturing someone. The darker Marvel Netflix shows have their characters doing a lot of grim things, but the narrative or other characters almost always holds them accountable for it in ways beyond “aww, I feel kinda sad that I beat mentally ill people to a bloody pulp” – it challenges them often, or has other characters call them out. Batman just does this shit and people are like “oh you shouldn’t do that” and he’s like “AHHH I’M A MONSTER” and it borders into uncomfortable real-life implications with regard to authority and violence. There’s something to be said for introducing grey morality into superhero media, and I get the anti-hero thing, but Dark Knight codified the “white guy grimdark antihero being actually just a terrible fucking person who is the good guy in name only” deal we see in a lot of our media today.

It’s one thing to have a complex and flawed protagonist, but you have to balance that out with redeeming qualities, otherwise, he’s not even a fucking superhero! Again, I refer back to the 90s animated series: Batman has his moments of ruthlessness, but it’s balanced out with the philanthropy work we see in Bruce Wayne, and moments of genuine compassion that he shows many of his enemies – he apologizes genuinely to Two-Face, often tries to give them an out, and is frequently super kind to Harley Quinn, bringing her the dress she was accused of stealing when she was sent back to Arkham in the episode where she tried to redeem herself, and frequently trying to get her to acknowledge that the Joker is abusive towards her, as well as convince her she can still start over and be a good person. On top of which, Batdad is super popular in both the show and the comics. He’s frequently shown as having an especial soft spot for children; addition to all his adopted kids, you also have a lot of his interactions with children, whether as Bruce or as Batman, marked by gentleness, care, and compassion, largely based on what he went through as a child. 

You get no such moment in the Dark Knight. I cannot for the life of me think of kids who would go to see this as a Batman movie and leave looking up to Batman and wanting to be like him except on the surface level of wearing a cool costume and punching bad guys. There is nothing heroic or admirable about this Bruce. He fights crime as a vigilante - brutally, I might add -and this time, it comes off more as a desire for vengeance than a desire for justice, a point which the film raises, but ultimately doesn’t resolve or engage with in a satisfying character arc. 

The closest thing we get to humanizing this character is his relationship with Rachel, and even then, his interactions with her have heavy shades of Friendzoned Nice Guy which is especially bullshit because he won’t pursue a relationship with her yet is bitter about any decisions she might make about her own love life. He doesn’t even care about her that much as anything more than a conquest! He really doesn’t, and Alfred tearing up the letter proves that – with regards to how he behaves towards her, it really feels like it’s not so much that the letter would break his heart as it is that he’d resent her beyond the grave! 

Worse yet, he gives no shits about anyone else. This has a lot to do with Nolan’s scripts having a toxic masculinity problem where it’s not cool for guys to sympathize with or have emotional bonds amongst themselves, but like… he’s allies in a shared venture with the other characters, and nothing more. Alfred is practically his dad but you wouldn’t know that. Gordon, as revealed in TDKR, was kind to him after his parents’ deaths, but they’re just partners. Harvey is a rival for claiming a woman!  In other adaptations, Bruce and Harvey’s friendship is fleshed out a lot so the guilt and shock of his transformation into Two-Face is really impactful! Here, Bruce doesn’t really give a shit beyond it just being another thing to do. 

And that’s what heroism and motivations are to Batman in this - just a thing to do. I don’t want to watch a hero who’d rather bitch about doing good than actually just fucking do good, this is the safety of your city, not a school essay! He doesn’t really seem to want to help people, he wants to complain about people, but then thinks he’s so fucking special and such a snowflake martyr for still helping them regardless! It’s such a deeply childish and yes, toxically male mentality. I know it’s become a meme, but the ”I’m not the hero Gotham needs, but the hero that it deserves” line pisses me off so much for this reason, as well as the fact that he thinks that Gotham’s flaws justify the fact that he beats the fuck out of people and roars in their face to get answers; I think the perfect refutation to both that line and how a superhero protagonist that explores what heroism means can actually be found in Wonder Woman – “It’s not about deserve, it’s about what you believe.” In fact, that’s what made Wonder Woman so good (and feminist!) – it’s rejection of toxic masculine ideals and emphasis on love, compassion and vulnerability being one’s strength, and that people are inherently deserving of being saved if you believe in the good of the world - a much better treatise on good and evil than “see, people sometimes don’t explode boats but they still suck so it’s okay for a billionaire in furry cosplay to beat the shit out of mentally ill people because that’s what this city deserves, a guy who’s more into violence than saving people.” He just doesn’t care, so why the hell should we?

And there’s just no arc. He just reacts to shit and that’s it, which makes him boring when he’s not being a fucking maniac. Despite the script not allowing him to have feelings for other human beings, having him break his no-kill rule with Harvey at the end would have been impactful….had he not already broken it in Batman Begins by leaving White Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson I love you but there is no reason to have whitewashed him or Talia the way Nolan did in the series - same as he did with Bane and arguably Catwoman since she’s been portrayed as a WOC many times before, actually come to think of it, there is a LOT of whitewashing in this trilogy) to his death. 

The film comes up with no real way to challenge it’s hero, have him grow, or change, or even show consequences for his failure to change, making him come off as stunted, unlikeable, and yeah, not much of a hero.

1. The sexism. (You knew this was coming, and yes, it is the worst part). I already mentioned how the men in this movie all fall prey to toxic masculinity as is common with Nolan characters, then even more characteristic of a Nolan movie is The Dead Girlfriend, Wife, or Daughter (you know, the only three things women could ever be!) of Sad White Guy(s). Rachel is the only female character (strike one) and she is handled nothing short of atrociously. Her entire job as a lawyer, intelligence, and hard work established in Batman Begins (which is also too grimdark but actually doesn’t piss me off half as much!) is hardly even mentioned and takes a backseat to her being a prize for the men (including her boss!) to throw feelings at and squabble over. While the male characters have no personality except for one characteristic and a goal because this script was written by an edgy thirteen year old boy, Rachel has no personality except to be a living emotional crutch/plot device. She does not exist as an autonomous individual outside her relationships to the men in the movie. Shit, she’s barely autonomous within these relationships! Bruce is a bitter little shit about her not wanting him back and we’re supposed to feel for him despite him literally offering her nothing relationship-wise for two movies and actively pushing her away at times! He feels he can’t be with her, but the framing is such that she shouldn’t have the right to be with anyone else, either! What the hell? I would even go so far as to say that her choosing Harvey just as she gets blown up, as well as how both of them got to that point, almost feel like the narrative punishing her for not wanting Bruce. More male entitlement bullshit. 

 And her fate…well, I mean. There’s a damn reason The Dark Knight is my go-to example when I want to explain what Fridging/Stuffed in the Fridge means. After having every possible stereotypical pigeonholed white girl trope tossed at her, Rachel is killed off callously for the character development and man angst of not one, but two self-obsessed stubbled white guys who make it about themselves and their right to act like phenomenal turds. She’s Helen of Troy – a woman blamed for people’s reactions to her (Harvey becoming Two-Face, Batsy or Bruce being saaaaaad, etc). She’s the Lost Lenore; a person reduced to how their death impacts their romantic interests.  We have reached peak Nolan here, and frankly, peak Batman too, because the franchise (comics, movies, etc) has always had this same problem with its treatment of women. Her fucking death isn’t even about her! It’s Harvey’s fucking villain origin and Bruce’s sad ending and Alfred’s resentment and note-burning and would she have waited, oh boo hoo, how about, did she have a fucking family, what would have happened if she hadn’t been murdered young, et fucking cetera. 

The thing that really gets me is that Rachel is by no means the worst treated woman in speculative fiction (especially not those that make a claim to some degree of intellectualism); she’s white, so her death is beautifully tragic and she’s put on a pedestal rather than being subjected to racialized misogynistic tropes (being treated more roughly by the narrative, having her suffering ignored or erased altogether, her death being callously ignored except for a throwaway line of dialogue, etc), she’s not unnecessarily and gratuitously sexually brutalized for shock value (that looks uncomfortably like fetishism at times) like the women on Game of Thrones or in nu!Bond movies, or, if we’re still in the Batman universe, Barbara Gordon in any iteration of the Killing Joke (which is another tentpole of misogyny in the Batman universe and I fucking hate it and it clearly influenced the Dark Knight, so, chicken, egg). She isn’t forcibly sterilized and her inability to get pregnant treated as making her a freak like AOU Black Widow. She has no pointless and insulting fanservice scenes like Carol Marcus in her underwear in Star Trek: Into Darkness. Her suffering is not treated as empowerment like any number of women written by Joss Whedon, she isn’t used to be chewed up and spat out and destroyed in a romance with either a guy who terrifies her and in whom she’s shown no prior romantic interest or an outright villain who has caused her nothing but pain in some stupid half-assed not-redemption arc where she has to sublimate herself and be stupidly forgiving beyond the willing suspension of disbelief so some horrible man can evolve.

But why this sexism sticks out to me is that it’s so insidious; if it were more on the nose like the examples I listed above, it’d almost be less jarringly offensive, but it masquerades as her being an empowered yet tragic character and weaves into an overall narrative that validates all the tropes I mentioned, and legitimizes itself in a way that feels fundamentally dishonest about how sexist it’s being. Worse yet, there’s the fact that The Dark Knight is more than just self-contained; its influence on not just comic book movies, but all kinds of media as we know it, is undeniable. And as far as setting the example goes? This hugely well-regarded, influential film is almost entirely white, and tells us that women exist as distractions, tragedies, and extensions of men’s storylines, and this bullshit has been echoing in similar media works since. 

AND NOW, THE ONE (or multiple!) NICE THING(S): 

All this being said, I admit there actually are a lot of things I like about this movie if I can separate them enough from the main issues! 😂For one thing, Hans Zimmer’s work on the score is top-notch; I listen to Like a Dog Chasing Cars and Harvey Two-Face all the time and the music alone provokes stronger emotions for the characters than anything in the movie actually did. The opening heist is just fantastically entertaining, and up until the messy third act, the pacing and plot is pretty tight and engaging! Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is of course fantastic; although he’s not my favourite Joker, he really gave it his all, and is by and large the highlight of the film. Nolan is really good with visual appeal (with the exception of that damn colour palette) and the shots are fantastic. I really love the chase scene with the Joker and wish the rest of the movie held my excitement like that.  

Finally, it’s odd to say this, but I really like the world of the movie once I ignore the characters and plot. The Gotham that was built in Nolan’s trilogy, the contrast between the classes with the lavish receptions and dinners versus the underbelly, the corruption versus the goodness, how these disparate elements work in a terrible symbiosis, the architecture and technology reflecting this character – it’s incredibly vivid, both grounded in reality and yet sufficiently speculative fiction-y enough to be intriguing. I just wish that the people in it matched the quality of the setting. 😂😂😂

[sweetwriting]

Tim Drake Positivity Week -Day 4: Funny or Serious

Category: Gen

Genre: Humor/Fluff/Angst/Family

Fandoms: DC Comics, Batverse, Superverse

Continuity : Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint referenced. Rebirth

Summary: Family is a tricky matter in those parts and it's especially true for people who were gone from the world for so long. (featuring Jon, Clark and Conner)

Word Count: 4 979

AN: I'm very late because while this piece has been finished for like a month, I didn't have time to write it on my computer so its posting has been delayed and I apologize (I was already late because it got away from me and started getting long. I had to cut some parts).  

This is part of my own version of Tim Drake's come back in the DC Rebirth Plot which I've been working on and planning for, for about a year and a half now. Since I kind of loath Tynion's take on his character...I mean people talk about Lobdell but Tynion worsened everything like 100 times and at least Lobdell admitted to his fault when he created his first Origin Story by saying it wasn't Tim Drake... they literally had everything on a silver platter and they decided to throw it out. It's ridiculous I'm telling you. I still haven't read A Lonely Place of Living, I'm waiting until next Thursday to read it all at once partially because Tynion's writing feels so bland -mostly bc his notion of character development is using timeskips and because he's told a fan he considered Rebirth!Tim to be the same as preboot!Tim and it scared me more than anything because he's exactly the same as N52!Tim- partially because I didn't want to have to wait for a story I had 99% chances of disliking because of the issues I mentioned in the tags and here (or as Shawn Spencer said in Psych, "Just 'cause you put syrup on somethin', don't make it pancakes").

ANYWAY, this happens during my AU which I promise I will start posting some time in November. It kind of gives away a part of it but at the same time, it's something that's so obvious it's not really given away (especially if you've read some of my Tumblr posts). The point of the other fic being "how does it get to this point?".

To read it on AO3

Finally! It was time. Jon had been waiting for this for months (well three months). Which was when Kon-El/Conner had come back to the land of livings...or Earth. True he hadn’t been thrilled to learn about Jon’s existence at first -more the opposite actually- apparently because he and his dad had had issues? And Jon being the new Superboy or something. On top of which there had been the Tim Drake and Bart Allen cases to deal with which prevent any of the older Super’s issues to be solved. But Conner had warmed up to him and now Jon was allowed to spend his Week-End at his place. In Ca.li.for.nia!

Now Jon had gotten used to Metropolis (his self from three months ago would have killed him for it) but the sun of Metropolis wasn’t as agreeable as the one of their old town? And definitely not as nice as the one in California!

He was also finally going to really meet Damian’s “lost” brother whom he had nicknamed the “real” Tim Drake (not to be mean to the other Tim but Witness Protection program and all that Jazz made it his fake name).

So Jon was really excited. His dad was coming down the stairs now, so he could fly him over (Jon still had trouble controlling his power of flight). Jon had just kissed his mom goodbye and was literally jumping to the ceiling in excitement.

“Conner, if you keep pacing like this you’re going to leave a trail on the ground.” Conner stopped. He turned to his right to look at Tim who was reading something on his tablet, comfortably settled on the couch, lounging in jeans and T-shirt, a look Conner was still trying to get used to. Not that Tim had never worn those before, it simply hadn’t been a common sight. He tried to glare at him but the panicked look in his eyes and seemingly emanating from every pore of his skin made him look more like a scared puppy than anything else.

“You don’t get it Tim. You didn’t completely mess up with your younger brother!”

Tim looked up from his Tablet, stared at Conner for a few seconds while raising his eyebrows. It was quite obviously meant to be taken as a “seriously?” and When had Tim learned to do that? And from who? Okay, that question was easily answered. It was probably Alfred.

“I meant as a first meeting! You tried to welcome Damian while I basically just had a small fit like a spoiled brat.”

Great. He was pouting now. Tim sighed and put his tablet on the coffee table next to him. Conner sighed as well and went to sit on it so he could face Tim.

“Look I understand you’re stressed out but it’s quite clear that the kid is ready to forgive you…Plus you had extenuating circumstances…you know with the “mixed memories” and the “having just woken up in a tube” things. And you’re great with kids. Remember Traya, she could make you do anything just by looking at you? You’ll be awkward at first and then you two will be planning my doom”. He paused, seemingly deep in thoughts. “Now that I think about it, I should probably be the one to worry. I mean your little brother or nephew or cousin or whatever is friends with Damian.”

Conner snorted and looked at Tim, now a lot calmer.

“Please. I’m pretty sure you’d be able to tell if he was planning something, he’s not very sneaky”. He paused, breathing deeply. ”Okay, I’m feeling a little better now. Thanks, Wonder Boy.”

He clapped him on the knee as Tim started to smile at him. Both started when the doorbell rang and Tim saw Conner stiffen. Seeing as the meta was starting to panic again, Tim got up first, quickly followed by Conner, and answered the door. He couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face as he saw the new Superboy bouncing on the ball of his feet. He would have smiled anyway (he wasn’t the social butterfly of the Batfam for no reason after all) but at least now it was completely genuine.

“Hey, Clark, Jon, welcome.”

Jon beamed up at him and bit his lower lip as Clark had settled his hands on his shoulders, probably to prevent his son from accidentally showing his powers to their neighbors. Tim moved to his right so they could come in, closed the door and turned to see Conner awkwardly trying to start a conversation. Jon looked at them, in boredom or disbelief, Tim wasn’t sure. So he walked toward him, leaving both “older” Kryptonians (and damn, Conner was younger than his younger brother) trying to avoid the elephant in the room as he addressed Jon.

“Hey, do you want me to show you your room while these two shuffle awkwardly?”

Jon looked at him with pure relief in his eyes and replied with said relief seeping through his words.

“Yes please” He paused “Wait.” He looked between Conner and Tim “I get my own room?”

Conner, who had been glaring at Tim along with Clark, nodded at slowly, taken aback by the kid’s excitement but a smile started to grow because of it. He was definitely a cute kid. Now the point of this Week-End was to find the personality hidden underneath all the cuteness and see if they had a chance of getting along even outside of the vigilante field. Tim had been right when he had told him, a few days after being back, that Conner needed a family outside of the Teen Titans. Something more stable that didn’t rely on a roster and Tim himself was looking for his own place within the Bats or…How had he said it again? “I’d help you by lending you mine but I’m not sure what it entails right now”. And of course they had each other but Conner was sure Tim meant “aside from each other”. He used to have Ma (and Pa for a short time) but he was barely starting acclimating to them when he died and he had finally (relatively) gotten used to it, having a stable family life when those world-changing event happened. There had been that first year in Hawaï with Roxy, Tana, Dubbilex and Rex but “stable” wasn’t the word he’d use to describe that time (still the closest he had for about two years)…And well he did miss Clark and Steel (and Kara and Matrix but…). And Okay, he had never really thought about having siblings. He already had Roxy and Bart and the kids from Cadmus but the idea was appealing even if, technically, Jon would be his nephew? What did you call the child of your cousin? Now that he thought about it was his cover still that of Clark’s cousin? Or was he his brother now? His son? No. He was brought back to that first time of awareness in this new world and shuddered so briefly that only Clark had noticed it. The fact that Tim had apparently lead Jon to his room and left them to their own devices while Conner was daydreaming might have helped in that. Clark who was now lifting an eyebrow, demanding an explanation for Conner’s mind’s wandering. Nice to know Clark was still the king of righteousness. Conner sighed and replied to Clark’s silent probing.

“It’s nothing, something just reminded me of the tube I woke up in. Which got me thinking, are we gonna use the same “I’m your cousin" I.D?”

Clark cleared his throat having been clearly hoping he’d be able to avoid the topic or maybe he was just that awkward with him.

“Actually, Lois and I were thinking that since, uh, you’re not 21 yet, and Ma’s not here anymore”, he paused. Both Kents feeling the weight of her loss in their heart, she was much better at dealing with these family matters than either of them. Conner should have stayed with her. He wanted nothing more than to have stayed with her –with Tim while he sorted through his own family matters of course. But she was gone. And he had to get used to that fact. Apparently, all his parental figures had died while he was “asleep” or whatever had happened to him. Clark’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “We thought we could be your legal guardians with me being your big brother. It’d be a little hard to explain your existence any other way without making up a whole different family tree.” He paused again. He had started to gain a good rhythm but it seemed like it wasn't easy. Clark was more used to forcing his will on Conner (even if he had gotten better at talking to him over time…Clark still wasn’t Ma Kent and the thought almost had him panicking. He tried to control his breath again -his meeting with Parallax and Sinestro not yet forgotten- and continued. Conner’s little frown didn’t help). “I meant that we would have to create a new mother and where you’d have lived before coming to Smallville -you know how thorough Batman can be when he wants to- and I just thought that me becoming my younger brother’s legal guardian after the death of our Mother made more sense. It allows you to stay here and continue your studies, if you want to. But if you need anything you know my home is yours.” Clark stopped. He was starting to mumble. This situation, with Conner, had never been easy. He had barely started to hit his 30’s when Kon had first appeared. He was too young to have a teenage son (it didn’t help that the child in question was born because a creep stole his DNA to experiment on). Now he was hitting his 40’s and Conner had lost so many years, first with his own death then with the last world-altering nonsense (if only it was only those) and he hadn’t caught up, Conner was barely out of his teens and while Clark could now be a father. Their history got in the way and Conner had a confusing enough track record and putting a little “normalcy” and “stability” in his life had been one of his main reasons to have him live with Ma in the first place. And yet, things had gotten so messed up. He looked at the young man in front of him (because at virtually 19 that’s what he was now and if it that didn’t send a wave of regret…-for Conner’s missed childhood? For not helping him like he should have been helped in his first few years? For everything Conner missed while he was forced to not grow up (and there were too many times it had happened in his life)?- then what could?). Conner seemed startled. Clark didn’t know what exactly had startled him but then he grinned and held out his hand for Clark to shake and said:

“Deal.”

Of course, Clark wasn’t naïve enough to think Conner was perfectly okay with this but being given a chance was all he could ask for. And they smiled awkwardly at each other. Damn.

“Hey Tim, what’s the matter with dad and Conner?”

Jon had just finished putting his clothes in the dresser of his room under Tim’s watchful eyes –he felt lucky he had had to deal with Bart for years and learned to watch out for hyperactive-like kids. The question, while expected was not one Tim was keen on answering.

“It’s not really my place to say at this point. Maybe you try asking him tomorrow morning?”

That pout. Damn. Tim could definitely see the family traits. Though Conner’s always seemed a lot less innocent (to be fair he never looked like an 11 years old and he almost always had terrible ideas fueling them). On a side note, what were the chances Jon had listened in on the other two? Tim didn’t know him enough to actually utter a guess.

“Anyway, due to various time issues we weren’t sure what kids your age like but we thought Video Games was kind of a timeless thing and we’ve got tons of them. Cass has been filling our living room with books if it’s more your thing but Conner and I are more comic books people…There’s also my own training gear in my version of the “Batcave” if you want.”

Apparently, those were the right things to say to divert the child’s attention because he seemed ready to start jumping again (it was probably the mention of video games).

“You’ve got video games? Are they old? ‘Cause you’re old, you’re even older than Conner and you guys haven’t had a lot of time to adjust right?”

Tim felt the urge to cry in protest but had to remind himself of the kid’s age and managed to avoid snapping at him.

“We’ve got all kinds, remember one of us is a speedster so even if Conner and I hadn’t yet, he’s had the time to catch up”

“Cool! By the way, did you mean it when you said I could train in your…what did you call it again? Nest?”

Once again Tim was glad he had had to deal with Bart for a long while otherwise, he’s not sure he could have followed Jon’s babbling. He wondered vaguely if Conner would have acted in a similar way had he been given a chance to be 11. And the bad jokes…Was Superman as bad? He seemed to be from the little times they had interacted and from what Conner had told him (though that one seemed more like unreliable narration).

“I don’t call it anything other than HQ. Conner calls it a nest too though so you can do it.” He paused. “Just please don’t use it outside of this apartment”.

Jon tried to hold in a laugh (and quite obviously failed) before Tim ushered him back downstairs.

“C’mon let’s save those two from an awkwardness overload.”

As Conner closed the door behind his cousin. Wait. Brother. It felt weird. He turned to his best friend and to the kid who apparently was his nephew now.

“So…This is finally over.”

He felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket and he felt his cheeks heat up as he read the message he had just received: “I heard that you know.” Tim and Jon looked at each other questioningly but seemed to decide not to pry (if only because they had already guessed what had happened, Jon himself having been on the receiving hand of his father’s hearing quite a few times). Conner tried to ignore them as he started walking to the kitchen.

“Alright, it’s time to eat!”

Tim’s deadpan voice came from where he and Jon and stayed, making him stop in his track:

“Conner it’s barely 6. How about we spend some downtime together”

Conner’s cheeks turned pink. in his hurry to forget what had happened with Clark he had forgotten pretty much everything else that was going on. He took a sudden turn to the right, toward the living room as he exclaimed:

“Video Games it is.”

Tim sighed and mumbled something about how it was lucky Jon was part of a video games generation and they had already decided it was going to be their next activity or the night would have started badly.

“Right, turn on the Switch, we still have the last sonic game to play and it’s ideal when we have guests”.

Tim snorted as he approached his best friend who had paused in the doorway, patting him on the back as he took his wrist to lead him toward the various video game stations they had. He turned to John.

“C’mon, want to help me destroy his sorry ass?”

“Tim! Don’t talk like that! Clark’s never gonna forgive me if we talk that way in front of his kid!”

Conner was starting to panic, and Tim felt sorry for him. That he was so stressed out about something as simple as…What was wrong exactly with what he had said? He looked at Conner Questioningly.

“You realize you’re not supposed to use words like “ass” in front of a kid, right?”

Tim’s eyes turned slightly vacant. He had, in fact, not known that.

“Oh.”

He turned toward Jon who, annoyed, was grumbling about not being a kid.

“Sorry Jon, I had no idea Conner had become a proper adult. You shall now only refer to him for adult matters. He’s the responsible one”.

Tim had left Conner’s side to set up the console with Jon while his friend was still shell-shocked. Conner was fuming, and he started to raise his arms in frustration.

“It’s not funny Tim! You know how much is riding on this!”

Tim stopped for a second and signed for Jon to keep taking out the console. He got up and walked toward Conner setting his hands gently on his right shoulder and forearm so Conner would drop his arms. He did, forcing Tim to drop his hands and turned to face Tim whose left hand had replaced his right one on Conner’s right shoulder as the other settled on the left side of his neck, hoping he could get his best friend to look him in the eye so he could try to ground him and avoid what he knew was going to turn into a sour mood.

“Hey, it’s okay Conner. Jon’s 11 so I doubt he’s never heard the word before that and he probably knows not to use this kind of language in front of his parents. And you’re stressing yourself too much this is just a mise-en-bouche.”

He stopped for a second, making sure Conner was looking into his eyes “But I promise I’ll make an effort” He patted his friend’s neck and put his hands back to his side and started to walk back toward the consoles. “C’mon let’s get defeated by your brother…Nephew...whichever.”

Conner caught up to him in a few tranquil strokes (being taller than Tim had its advantages and reminding him of the fact was one of them).

“Apparently, it’s Nephew, I’m Clark’s little brother now. Also you might get defeated but that’s because you su- I mean you’re awful at those kinds of Video Games.”

Tim was smiling. He knew it. He may not have been able to see it but he could feel Tim’s wry smile. It was there. Because not two minutes ago he had been pani- no he had been lecturing Tim about his language and he almost had a slip up himself. But Tim seemed to feel magnanimous enough not to mention it…yet.

They had been playing for about an hour and Jon had, in fact, kicked their asses. Conner would probably feel less sulky if Tim hadn’t gotten the best of him too.

He was starting to pout (glare. He was glaring at them) when Tim interrupted the game to say they should prepare their snacks-dinner and to join him once he was done taking the ingredients out. Conner wondered what it could be since they didn’t have much more than pasta ingredients and it wasn’t really “snack-dinner” worthy…Unless…Nah Tim wouldn’t show this side of them to a new guest…Would he?

Anyway, Tim had been in the middle of the couch, between the two Supers and feeling him slip away had Conner almost latching onto his arm and beg him to stay with them when the older teen threw him a look that meant “He’s here so you guys could bond, I’ve been playing the mediator for the past hour and a half, it’s time to deal with your shit”. Okay, so maybe Conner was reading a little more into this and the look just meant “grow a pair”, or “grow up”. The point of the message was still the same.

And damn, it was probably gonna be awkward. What if it was as awkward as when he talked to Clark but this time he would be in Clark’s shoes? This is a terrible ending. What if…

“Tim’s really cool! You’re lucky he was your Robin. I have to deal with Damian. I mean, we get along better (way better) than we did months ago but he’s still a pain. Tim was probably a thousand time more fun to deal with! I mean he’s already much more fun to deal with than most of the other bats even if he’s old.”

Conner looked at the new Superboy, mouth slightly open at having been interrupted in his internal freakout. He couldn’t help but laugh, both at Jon’s conclusion and in relief, startling the kid.

“Oh, Believe me, Tim wasn’t fun or even funny back then. Well…He still isn’t funny. His jokes are awful. He was our leader you know, so he felt responsible for our lives. Plus back then there was the secret identity issue. It frustrated me a lot. Back then we…We didn’t get along actually. In a different way from you and Damian because we wanted to be friends but the circumstances got in the way and pushed us apart. It was quite complicated if I’m being honest. Way more than I realized back then”.

He paused looking at his hands. He had loved that time; when they were all pretty innocent even if some of the most tragic moments of their lives happened during that very period of time : Tana’s death, Guardian’s, Gotham turning into a No Man’s Land, Bruce being accused of murder and going awry, the first time the gap between Tim and Steph really made itself known, Cissie almost killing someone, one of Bart’s clones dying…Apokolips in general…, among others. He really missed the innocence they had before all those events started accumulating. On the other hand, and he knew it was selfish of him considering all the hurt that was needed to get there and how much it caused afterwards, he wouldn’t give up the depth it had given to his and Tim’s friendship for anything in the world, with maybe the exception of Tim having a happy life. He looked up at the kid beside him, hoping he wouldn’t have to go through half as much as he did (but he had Clark and Lois and there was a better support system for young Heroes so he was already off to a better start than Kon had been, and he’d make sure to help keep it that way). He had to take a deep breath as nostalgia took hold of his heart. Because despite everything he had just thought, he wished the evolution of his and Tim’s relationship hadn’t happened at the expense of their innocence and he felt terrible at being responsible for such a big part of Tim’s own. Whether during the war or when he died. He was brought back to reality by Jon hovering next to his arm, looking slightly worried. Conner tried to recompose himself as he continued:

“What I mean is that we had to go through many trials for Tim –and the rest of us really- to learn, and re-learn to have fun and stop being so serious all the time. Now that Tim’s not needed in Gotham, he’s free to be more…at ease I guess…That and he’s trying to make us more...content I guess, so we would have less of a chance to end up like his family.”

He watched Jon grimace and mutter a small “yeah no kidding” and he winked at the kid. He was starting to truly like him. But he felt it was time to join Tim, after all –and despite what Tim himself might think- he needed to bond with Jon almost as much as Conner did.

They both got up as Conner ushered the young hero toward the kitchen which they found filled with recipients and when Conner started smelling it, all he could do was stop abruptly and say:

“Wait a second. Cheese? Potatoes. More cheese?” He paused, his voice going lower as if he had found the answer to the universe because he realized Tim had actually decided on what he had hoped they would be eating. “A deep fryer.”

He shared a look with Tim who smiled at him and they both exclaimed at the same time:

“Cuatro Quesos Dos Fritos!”

Jon started, surprised at their exclamation, staring at them as if they were aliens. Okay, wrong choice of word. Not alien, but something he hadn’t expected. Wondering if they weren’t lunatics –or if they really were adults. He asked in a small voice:

“What’s Quatro Quesos Dos Fritos?”

Tim seemed to remember they had a novice in the delicious art of cheesy food with them and started explaining as he got close to the oven.

“Only the most delicious snack of all time. It’s potatoes filled with a cheese mixture. And when they’re finished, they look a little something like this.”

While he had been distracting both Supers with his little explanation, Tim had taken a plate from within the oven and showed it to them. Conner looked at him, half amazed, half laughing.

“Dude, how did you just fabricate Cuatro Quesos Dos Fritos out of thin air?”

Tim smiled as Jon looked like a fish out of water. Luckily Conner had decided to humor him in his little game.

“C’mon Conner this is how all successful TV chefs do it.” He turned to Jon, his smile threatening to break his face as he took in Jon’s amazed look. “Try one of those, kid, because here’s the best part, they’re very healthy for us."

Jon snorted as he tried one of the Cuatro Quesos dos Fritos then stopped as he was hit by the amazing flavor of the treat, ready to complain to his father for hiding such marvelous food from him all his life. Conner, for his part, rolled his eyes and chose to focus on the delicious taste of the potatoes as he replied:

“I don’t even care that’s not true”

Tim looked affronted as if Conner had said the worse possible thing.

“Are you kidding? All major cheese groups are represented, you’ve got yellow, orange and white!”

Jon grinned as the two almost adults started arguing on the benefits of cheese.

They spent their night making Cuatro Quesos Dos Fritos and playing video Games. Jon complained about Damian (fully supported by Tim) and talked about his adventures in Super Hero-ing while Conner traded him for some of his own. Mostly those back in Hawai (no need for the kid to know about those times he was left to his own device or his Luthor Paranoia) with Roxy, Tana, Dubbilex, Rex and Sam. And while his heart squeezed when he thought about them (Dubbilex was dead and there was nothing he could do about it), they remained at the back of his thoughts. He was starting to truly move on from that part of his life and the various circumstances that had caused him so much grief. He was happy. His relationship with Jon was merely in its early stages, they were merely acquaintances at this point, but he could actually say “early” and believe there would be a follow-up.

He was happily settled against Tim, sharing his family with him because that’s how far they had gotten and he now had a nephew who looked up to him and it both scared him and left him elated (it almost reminded him of Bart when he was Impulse but he had known Kon’s issues better than Jon did and was much less star struck by him).

The best part though was that they were here making jokes and smiling and being happy without thinking about what could go wrong and, really, he couldn’t think of anything he would want more at this point (except having Bart and even Cassie with them).

Bonus:

“Can you believe it Robin? They had so many video games it was amazing! And Cuatro Quesos Dos Fritos had to be made in heaven, it’s hard to believe they exist!”

It was Sunday night and Jon and Damian had gone out for “Patrol” as Damian called it, and Jon had started rambling about his week-end in California the second Damian showed up. He snorted. His relationship with this Drake was more vitriolic than with the other one. Some details were confusing. The merging of the worlds meant that some things didn’t make complete sense as their different sets of memories adjusted to each other and some were just lost. In any case, it didn’t mean he had to be happy to hear about Drake’s “amazingness”.

“I’ve got to say though, I didn’t know what to expect when I got there but they’re so cool. Conner’s so lucky to have a boyfriend as cool as Tim!” He paused. “Wait, does that mean that we’re…kinda officially a family and…”

“They’re not dating”.

The voice cut right through Jon’s monologue like a cold shower would a heat streak gotten on a beach near Ajaccio. Jon was dumbstruck.

“What?”

Damian tried to level his eyes with Jon.

“I said that they’re not dating. As in they’re not together, not in a relationship”

Jon froze and Damian started waving his right hand in front of the younger boy’s eyes until he started blinking again. It was as if his stress levels had risen all at once and so had the pitch of his voice.

“How the hell is that possible ! ? “

Jon was now reviewing his whole Week-End, completely lost and looked at Damian when the boy, coming out of his own shock at Jon’s vocabulary, cleared his throat, trying to regain his snark.

“Now do you understand why I call Drake an idiot?”

AEN: First thing firsts, Conner actually knows what happened to him he just doesn’t want to think about it more than he has to. It was also a fairly important plot point in the real fic so when I thought about it later on I was fairly relieved :p

2nd, in my mind, Tim is about 6-10 months older than Conner. Because Conner was 16 for like a year and a half but when he started aging Tim was 15. So he died when he was 17 and Tim had turned 16 like 3 months before (Tim’s 16th Birthday issue happened around the beginning of Teen Titans). Then Kon was dead for a year and a half going on two years, Tim was 17 almost 18 at the end of Red Robin (we know that if N52 hadn’t happened we would have an issue about Tim’s 18th Birthday fairly soon after) so he was about 17 and a half (probably a little more) when Conner came back to life. Hence Tim being between 6 and 10 months older than Conner.

3. they need hugs. They all do.

4.  the Cuatro Quesos Dos Fritos was shamelessly stolen from the Psych Slumber Party bit on USA today for a Psych Marathon a few years ago. Because Half the time I see Shawn and Gus I can't help but think of Tim and Kon (except I reverse the roles often). I just slightly modified it to fit the story. (but seriously if you haven't, go watch the first four seasons of Psych).

[lasiiurus-archived]

thank you !

^^ dis gif isn't mine. but that's totally my face.

Here it is! This is my big dumb 'thank-you' post that I've been meaning to write. So if you weren't aware, I've actually closed this blog (aside from some random posts about Logan and a Batman Podcast - you should listen to it) due to some major, major problems with the DC fandom that I find toxic and quite frankly disgusting. But das stuff that sadly I can't change so I'm doing what's best for me and getting my ass outta here before my love for Batman is forever ruined by blind and immature fanboys.

i started writing bryce around about 2015. My first blog was called surgitisms but I changed it because someone made some burnbook callout about me copying someones url (I had no idea that blog existed rofl - surgit is latin for 'rise'). I then moved to rageinyourbones (shoutouts to joseph gordon levitt) where i spent most of my time, developing this character that wasn't even my idea - it was just a passing remark from a lovely actress by the name of Natalie Dormer. now as you're aware (and as i continually apologize for) i fucked up on that blog, and i've done my best to reach out and make amends with the people i offended (and they were super gracious and accepted my apology). but that negative bollocks aside, i grew up so much on that blog. i learned some amazing things about myself, i learned some bad things about myself, and most importantly i created a character that i personally believe is different to bruce wayne. i ended up headcannoning late at night, thinking about how she would act differently to bruce, about how she would interact with certain characters etc etc etc.

but what really made all the difference was the people i met.

you guys are fucking amazing. i mean lets be real - the tumblr rp community can be fucked sometimes. we've all seen it, but what i love is that we tend to (80% of the time) treat each other as real human beings and see that what we're really here for is just the love of these dumb fictional characters. they give us a break from the savagery of life and its endless woes. i am so, so so grateful and so so so blessed to have known the people i have on here. people whom i met on rageinyourbones and followed me across to here, and people whom i met here. holy bollocks im rambling - im just gonna tag some specific people who really really made my life on here so enjoyable. the rest i'll just lump into one big post because i'm lazy like that.

@fracturedportrait - harmony. i remember meeting you the first time. i remember it so clearly. you were so chill, so spunky (god i feel old using that word), and you had such a passion for your oc. i remember the first plot we had, the inspiration we shared... who knew that it was the beginning of my greatest friendship and my #1 OTP for bryce. you were the first person whom i ever actually spoke to off tumblr (remember when i called you?? and you heard my dumb aussie accent??). i remember legitimately getting teary over memes, i remember smiling so much during our threads, i remember (and still do) laugh about us talking about how our sin is like a lovely vintage of wine. your writing consistently, unimaginably, pushes and has pushed me to better mine. with every post you made, you helped improve my writing. you are such a blessing to me and i am not going to just let this stay as some dumb tumblr friendship. we'll face time, and i'll be sure to credit you when i'm on the red carpet with natalie dormer being like 'so what made you want to write this film about a female batman?'. i'll just be like 'yo there was this really cool chick who wrote a vampire and she told me to just write this film'.

@halysborn - SWAN. ho man. do you remember when i wrote that giant meta about how dick literally changed not just bryce's life, but bruce's? i firmly believe that dick is the most important character in bruce's life. and i mean i'm talking on the same level as alfred - even more. he's the TRUE son. the son whom saved him. like i just cry about how bruce says that line - 'sometimes i think i've never done any good in my life. then i look at dick and realize i'm wrong' or whatever that actual phrase is. i PHYSICALLY VOM WHEN PEOPLE SHIP THEM. but yo that's other stuff. what's important is that you have supported me selflessly and without strings. you've supported me here, you've supported me over on deshibcsara, you've just been a consistent rock, an unyielding foundation of encouragement. i still, and will NEVER delete that voice recording where you talk about me and my love for batman. it gives me such hope and reminds me that, yeah i fuck up, but i've at least affected someone else's life and how they see batman. my only regret is that i was so goddamn slow with replying to our stuff. and that was literally because i felt like you deserved nothing but my absolute best. you are incredible, and from one aussie to another, i love you brocookie!

@femmekill - could u pls stop spamming my facebook wall with memes?? SIKE I LIED. I FUCKING LOVE IT. my mum literally asked me the other night 'who is -insert your real name-?' and i was like 'oh thats my wife' and she was like '???' and i just said 'dont even BOTHER trying to understand'. you have been nothing but optimistic about me. you consistently, relentlessly see the good in me. i dont think there's ever been a time where like i've felt wronged by you? or at the very least felt like i was a burden to you? you never fail to spread positivity. even when you were feeling like shit and i tried to cheer you up, it's like you turned it on me and were like 'nah gus you're not cheering me up IM CHEERING YOU UP - thats how it works'. im so fucking whipped by you, because you're just such a blessing to my life. the day we shared FB's was like the day i realized 'WELP IM IN THIS MARRIAGE FOR LIFE NOW'. when it comes to your writing - i'm just breathless. the tumblr rp fandom does not deserve you. keep doing your thing man - don't ever let douchebag anons change that.

@marblebelow - I SINCERELY HOPE YOU STILL HAVE THE RECORDING OF ME SINGING 'THE CONFRONTATION'. especially with the 'DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUN'. that shit is lit. yo but mikel really. the days of us writing together - writing fisk/bryce and then writing jim/bryce... i value it so much. you've taught me to pursue every little nuance in bryce's character. and i mean that - you ask me tiny little questions, and holy crap i end up going into a massive internal investigation. and worst of all (or best??) you jsut lavish me with genuine, kind words. i regret that we didnt get to write much more (both of us having major stress/overwhelmed issues), but dude, like, never stop being you - you have such overwhelming, unimaginable depths of creativity. even if you don't realize it, or feel like you don't, believe me - you do. it sounds like -- errr.... arrogant? but ive spent the last six years studying writing/fiction/film and just immersing myself in it so i feel like i have SOME credibility - you really really do have a gift.

@ivyworn - 'yes hello i'd like to report a murder? the victim is ME' aka this is what happens whenever we talk. so we never actually got to do much writing, but honestly? i literally feel like we did writing in the SPIRIT with all of our tumblr IMs and just the amount of shit talking we did. PUMA. LEST WE FORGET. PUMA. no but real talk, i was supposed to send you a birthday gift aka im still gonna get my ass onto paypal and do that SO DONT YOU LEAVE YOUR BLOG. AND YOU CANNOT SAY NO. i've never met anyone whom has such an in-depth love and understanding for ivy. i remember chatting about Cast Shadows with you and the level of complexitity between Batman and Ivy. i mentioned this but Batman/Ivy is literally my OTP for Bruce. i just think it is such an interesting avenue that no writer (post Cast Shadows) has explored. whenever we spoke, i had such a smile on my face, i cannot even begin to desribe it. i really really hope life goes well for you and treats you with the care and respect you DESERVE.

@psyclownsis @scarestress tags both blogs bc i have no idea where you are these days. so i already recorded that voice meme thing talking about you piri - but i literally just want to further express my admiration and gratitude for you. you've stuck by me, you've pulled me aside and been like 'oi gus you're being a douche stop it', and you've just supported me and taken such an interest in this dumb character i write that literally just blows me away. the fact that we barely write but i still feel so close to you and so valued by you is just a testament to the power of tumblr rp friendships. we don't NEED to write together to be friends and to respect and admire each other. AND LORD KNOWS i admire you. i admire your dedication, i admire your 'idgaf' attitude. and honestly i just admire your unrelenting loyalty to people.

because i've literally written an essay - the rest of these tags are people that i admire and love, even if we haven't had much chance to interact.

@agoodluthor | @gunkanjiima | @grincarved | @terrifiesthem | @tcmbraider | @truthpiety | @influencedbyfear | @inexactexpiration | @aftcrshocks | @fallencomrade | @geniusfuturist | @mangledgrin | @shewolveriine | @tragicloss | @unleashedjustice | @volchista | @widowscars 

[renaroo]

The Directive

Disclaimer: Batman and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics. Warnings: Canon-typical violence & language Pairings: BabsDinah, CassBrenda Rating: T Prompt: ( @shobogan​ ) Answered! Though if I want to get more specific, @renaroo pls write me an epic cross-generational adventure featuring at least four Batgirls in which Dinah and Babs are married, Cass saves Brenda through time travel shenanigans, and Steph mentors Nell.

A/N: This one TOTALLY got ahead of me but I now adore this universe and would love to expand upon it more someday bc SAGE YOU HAVE SUCH GOOD IDEAS and I’m here to serve. 

Bruce’s death struck something in her that Barbara was not aware could be shook anymore. 

Not after she had been in the line of work she was for so long. 

The dismantled Birds of Prey, the death of the Batman, the flight of so many new and impressive Bats in Gotham that she barely knew what to make of it all. 

She was, loathed as she was to admit it, loathed as she was to allow it to hurt her any further, emotionally compromised. 

Barbara needed to pull in rank. She needed help. 

She needed to protect her legacy. Because legacy -- Bruce was right in that regard -- legacy was all they truly left behind. 

Dinah opened the door. She was at least ten minutes earlier than Barbara had assumed she would have been, even using the JLA transporters. Barbara should have known she would have been -- should have known Dinah. 

“I’m so sorry,” Dinah said, coming to Barbara’s side. “I know I’m part of the Network, I know that I’m supposed to be out there helping the chaos, but... But I had to make sure you were okay first. God, Babs, I remembered the gang wars and what happened to you and the watchtower and--”

Barbara wrapped her arms around Dinah’s neck, breathed in her hair. It had been too long -- they had let themselves be apart too long. 

“I need help, will you help me?” she asked Dinah without warning.

“You know I will, Barbara,” Dinah responded without hesitation, her own arms wrapping around Barbara’s shoulders. “You don’t even have to ask.”

“I need you,” Babs said, tears streaming down her face. She pulled back enough to look Dinah in the face, to cup Dinah’s chin in her hands. “I’ve made more mistakes in my life than I would ever admit, Dinah. But the biggest was letting you walk away -- not from the team. From me. From us. And I need you. God, I need you.”

Dinah’s hands tenderly found Barbara’s face, thumbs brushing away the tears. “You have me. You’ve always had me.”

It was mourning, it was emotionally compromised, it was human, and it was one of the people in her life who made her the most human that Barbara kissed that night, that she proposed a new life with that night. 

Of course, there was her other proposal as well. 

She was surprised when she learned that Cassandra was building her own Network, almost a rival to what Barbara had already established. Perhaps, more surprised than she should have been. 

Cassandra had earned her stubborn streak from Barbara herself. 

Alfred walked down to the cave alongside Barbara for most of the way, but he had many things to attend to -- official Wayne family business, dealing with Tim’s injuries, coaxing Dick, managing that Damian child that Barbara only knew in passing. 

If there was anyone in the world Barbara may have trusted Cassandra’s well being with after she lost the one man she saw as a father after what Cain had done to her, it was Alfred. 

But it wasn’t about what other people could do for Cass.

It was about what Barbara should have been doing from the beginning. 

“Cass,” Barbara announced herself, though she knew Cass had heard her come in and made a point of not turning away from the multiple computer screens before her. 

That was most certainly a pointed gesture. Just as it was a pointed gesture that Cass was refusing to remove her full face mask. 

“Helena wants to send her thanks for helping at the harbor,” Barbara continued. 

“Okay,” Cass answered, using the cursor to click on the Huntress’ file on the screen. 

Barbara stared at Batgirl’s back and wondered why she had let things get to that point to begin with. 

“That’s not the only reason I came,” Barbara continued lowly. “I came to check on you. Because I’m worried about you. You were... fairly ruthless out there tonight. That’s not like you.”

Cassandra might have been one of the most powerful fighters Barbara had ever met, but she was marked by her gentleness, by never taking things a step too far. 

That was not the Batgirl who had been on the streets that night. 

“Have you let yourself cry yet?” Barbara asked. “Have you let yourself... Are you taking care of yourself?”

At that, Cassandra quickly spun her chair to face Barbara. She was still using the full facemask as a shield, a barrier between them. 

That had never been its purpose before, but Cass had grown to hide behind it. She must have gotten that from Bruce. 

“Why do you care?” she demanded bluntly. “Why are you... here!?”

There were many answers that Barbara could have given, but she was only interested in giving the truth. She pushed her chair forward, closer to her former protege, to her friend, to her... 

“I’m here for you,” Barbara said, her own tears welling. “I’m here because I love you, and I’ve not done enough to show the people I love that I love them. And now one of them is gone and he’ll never hear directly from me what he meant to me. And I regret it. I regret that I have to trust that he could see it in the woman I grew up to become thanks to him. I hate that I drove you away so that you don’t even have that from me.”

There was silence, and then, reluctantly, Cassandra reached up and pulled off her mask.

Her hair was a mess -- sweaty and sticking up at all ends. Choppy, like she had cut it herself recently to fit better in her mask. It was something that Barbara used to do for her back in the day. Her face was wet, which was a testament to the flow of her tears since the mask was at least partially absorbent. 

But the real testament to Cassandra’s pain was in her eyes. The red rimmed, the bloodshot, the sniffing nose. 

“He was my... my dad,” Cass said, reaching into one of the front pouches of her belt and producing a crumpled sheet of paper despite the shaking of her whole body. “He... This says it. My-my copy.” She then buried her face in her hands. “Still can’t-can’t read all-all words. St-still so... so du--”

“Shh,” Barbara cut her off, moving fast to rush forward and catch the crumbling girl, let Cassandra become a puddle in her lap. Barbara rested her chin on Cass’ head and slowly rubbed circles on her back. “Shh, never say that. Never say that.” She squeezed her own eyes shut. “I’m so sorry, Cass. I’m so, so sorry, Cass. I can’t go on without us being okay again. I can’t let yo go on not knowing how much I love you. Do you hear me? I love you, and I’m sorry you didn’t know.”

“I love you, too, B-Barbara,” Cass hiccuped into Barbara’s shoulder. “Love you, too. C-Can’t make... can’t make Network -- can’t make legacy without you.”

“Neither can I, Cass,” Barbara assured her in soothing whispers. “We’ll do it together. Just like we always should have.”

Helena stood in the Cave. It was the first time she had been there, aware of what home it rested beneath, given the so-called honor of being a guest in its halls. 

“Is this a guilt thing?” she asked Barbara and Dick as they walked her from the carport toward what seemed to be a hall of encased costumes. “Because I don’t really feel like honoring someone’s complex today.”

She would have much rather spent her Saturday sleeping in. She had spent every night and almost every day working on keeping Gotham safe in the aftermath of-- well...

There was a look that passed between Dick and Babs, the kind that read volumes between friends who had known each other a long time.

“Wouldn’t know,” Dick finally answered with a shrug. “It’s part of his will.”

Helena didn’t have to ask whose. Didn’t want to even if she hadn’t known. 

“Here we go,” Barbara explained, waving to the case she had stopped in front of. 

For a moment, Helena didn’t get it, but then her eyes drifted to the suit. The emblem. The shape of the mannequin which wore it. Her look hardened and then she glanced from side to side -- they were in a lane of Batman suits. Those worn by Bruce over the years, some that were worn by his temporary replacements. 

And in the middle was the one she had made herself what felt like so many years ago. 

Not the one repurposed for Batgirl. 

Hers. 

The one she wore when Batman disappeared at the beginning of Gotham’s No Man’s Land asylum. When she was the only Batman to be found. 

Without thinking it through, her hand came up and she touched the glass. She wasn’t sure what the feeling was in her chest -- but it was pride and it was hurt. 

Turning back, Helena looked directly to Barbara first and foremost. “What is this?”

“Rebuilding a legacy,” Barbara answered. “And making sure all the right people are honored for it -- are still a part of it if they choose to be.”

Helena remained unmoving, waiting for more to be revealed. 

“Bruce left in his will that he didn’t want me to be Batman, that it could die with him,” Dick explained, arms crossed. “But those of us who have taken up for him in his absence before know that can’t be true. Batman and Robin can never die. So I’m ready to bear that responsibility... but to do it my own way. And to ask, respectfully, of all the previous mantle holders before me if I can have their permission to do so.”

Taking a breath, Helena tried to keep her head on straight. “I... Well, I think the record shows that I was always about defying Bruce when it came to style points,” she replied. She then looked to Barbara. Looked to her friend. Because there was more to the puzzle, still. “What are we doing here?” she asked, figuring her response was more than enough to give Dick whatever permission he was looking for. 

“Dick’s methods are going to put him in the city more, he wants to utilize the resources Bruce had stockpiled there,” Barbara answered, folding her arms before her chin. “It’d be a waste for something as technologically lavish and as important to all of our histories as the Batcave itself to go to waste.”

Helena’s smile grew. “You’re going to give me more toys from this collection, aren’t you?”

“You do like toys,” Babs replied wryly. “Also... I’d like to take the opportunity to let you know that Dinah and I are engaged.”

“That,” Helena responded with a wave of her hand,”is by far the least surprising news of this night.”

The wedding was not a wedding. It was a union.

Barbara’s dad, Helena, Cassandra, Charlie, Sin, Lian, and Roy were there. Dick texted them congratulations near immediately, but what with the move, the cowl, and the newly orphaned Wayne, he had difficulties of his own getting to the courthouse. 

It took a lot of tough upper lip for Barbara to not take it personally that Tim didn’t come. But she knew he was suffering in ways the rest of them could only imagine. 

Their honeymoon was not a honeymoon, it was a recruitment drive with Zinda at the proverbial and literal wheel. 

She handed her assignments to Helena, Cass, and Charlie as they left. Dinah put them in charge of watching Sin. And then behind their backs made sure that Sin understood she was in charge of watching the three of them. 

“I saw your list,” Dinah said in the middle of kissing every inch of Barbara. “You know that Cassandra is going to go against it and invite who she wanted all along.”

“I trust Cassandra, even when we don’t see eye to eye,” Barbara replied, entwining fingers with her wife. “Helena’s responsible.”

“Helena also will do what she wants and invite who she wants,” Dinah argued, finally getting to the line of Barbara’s jaw. 

“You’re right,” Babs smiled. “But that’s the Legacy more than anything, isn’t it? Doing what your gut says is right no matter who’s in charge and disagrees with you?”

“As long as you’re self-aware,” Dinah laughed warmly into Barbara’s ear before locking their lips. 

It was the best night of her life, with her high strung anxieties for once melted away by the trust she felt for each and every person around her. 

It was a Legacy, not a Network. But it was a network of trust.

The least surprising person to be picked up while they were gone was Stephanie Brown.

She had been Spoiler then Robin then Spoiler again. 

At the moment, she was standing off to the side in Barbara’s Batcave with her full mask still on and Cassandra standing firmly by her side. As if Cass’ presence was needed to show the act as one of defiance. 

“We’ve never gotten off on the right foot, have we, Spoiler?” Barbara asked as Dinah went and had her reunion with Sin. 

“I get that a lot from people who wear funny ears on their costumes,” Stephanie replied. “I’ve been training with Huntress and Batgirl for a whole week. I trained with Robin and Batman before...”

Before was a difficult but necessary place to leave that sentence. 

Cassandra was unmoving, eyes set on Barbara intensely. 

Barbara did not miss the very deliberate way that she was not wearing her costume. 

“You’re serious then,” Barbara said, folding her fingers together on her lap. “What was Helena’s opinion?”

“Yes,” Cass said without hesitation. “Before we even... started. It was yes.”

Of course it was, Barbara should have gotten Cassandra and Helena to work together sooner. They were almost a hivemind when it came to instinctive readings on people, fighting Barbara back when she needed to be fought back, and giving her migraines in the process. 

But it wasn’t about them. It was bigger than that. It was even bigger than Stephanie Brown. 

Steph tilted her head and looked questioningly at Cass. “Wait, yes to what? I thought we were doing this whole Birds of Prey outreach thing, right? Same as what Huntress is doing right now with Misfit and Catwoman and Question--”

“You’re more important,” Cass said without hesitation.

Stephanie looked back to Barbara, apparently not pleased with Cass’ penchant for being cryptic. 

“Stephanie Brown, we’re not simply working with the Birds of Prey,” Barbara informed her. “If you would like to do only that, you will continue working with Huntress and Black Canary, Misfit and the rest. You can do so as Spoiler or any identity you determine suits you best now that we’re in a time of everything about Gotham being Reborn.” Barbara dipped her chin down, looking steadily at Stephanie from over the rim of her glasses. “But, if you’re willing, Cassandra has chosen you for a deeper level entirely. For being a part of all of our legacy. To be a part of something more intimate.”

Folding her arms, Stephanie tried to seem nonchalant but she was almost shaking with nerves. “Do I have to be adopted by someone? That seems to be everyone’s MO lately.”

“You just have to answer a question Cassandra has for you,” Barbara replied, nodding to her daughter.

Cass looked at Stephanie with such meaning, such emotion, it prompted Spoiler to pull back her hood and mask. 

“Cass?” 

“Stephanie,” Cass began, “will you be... the new Batgirl?” 

Shocked, Stephanie dropped her mask. 

There was a tense silence, and then the girl let out a whooping scream before leaping at Cassandra and giving her a bear hug, lifting her off the floor and twirling around with her. 

“Only a thousand times yes!” she cried out. 

Barbara and Cass exchanged soft smiles. 

It was Phase One. Their legacy was moving forward. 

It had been too long since Barbara had sparred with Cassandra. 

She was fast she was good, but she went easy on Barbara. And that was her downfall. That was when she had Dinah bring Sin in and them both take her on. 

“Girls, girls, we’re family,” Barbara reminded her adopted daughters as she pulled out her eskrima. She smirked at them both as they got into stance. “That means we never hold back.”

Sin made the mistake of leaning too much on Cassandra’s lead. Cassandra made the mistake of being too soft toward the woman she saw as her mother. 

Barbara knew all too well that she wanted her girls to live with even the toughest fighter on the streets agains them. They both hit the mats at the same time. 

“Wow,” Sin managed, rubbing her jaw. 

Cass got to her feet in one motion and narrowed her eyes. She was mad because she had lost. 

Barbara couldn’t help but smile. 

Good. 

“Stay back,” Cassandra warned Sin before lunging forward toward Barbara.

“Okay?” Sin asked while Cass and Babs erupted into a flurry of attacks and motion. 

Cassandra had no weapons. Barbara was in her chair. They fought dirty to make up for the things they lacked, and that was exactly what Barbara wanted. 

Her Legacy was going to be stronger than her. Better than her. And her family was going to be thrice that.

“I want you to sign up for ballet,” Babs managed to grunt out in between hits. 

Cassandra pivoted and moved into her next attack. “I don’t want--”

“It’s not what you want, Cassie,” Barbara admonished. “It’s about what’s best for you. You may be mine and Dinah’s daughter, but you’re also one of the Wayne heirs. You’ll be expected to have a more public persona, and I also want you to do something that’ll make you happy.”

For a moment, just a moment, Cassandra left an opening. “You did... ballet.”

The next thing Cassandra knew, she was on her back on the mats again with Barbara leaning over her. 

“And we’ll do it again together,” Barbara said to her happily. “Because you need to be a civilian, Cassandra Wayne Gordon-Lance. And you also need a new costume and name now that Stephanie’s almost through bootcamp. And unfortunately, Batwoman seems to be taken.”

“Didn’t want to be anyway,” Cass said, sitting up and hugging her knees. Her brows knit together as she rested her chin against her knees. There were tears welling up in her eyes. “Was... was supposed to be Batman.”

Barbara felt her heart break. “Oh, Cass... you... there could be two, if you want to--” she stopped as Cassandra made a point of shaking her head. 

When she looked up, Barbara realized that Sin had been silently moving toward them all that time, her own eyes filled with tears. “Sisters,” she said, also getting Cass’ attention. “I am to be Black Canary. But I love you more. Please take my new name instead if it make you happy, Sisters. Please. You can take it and not cry, that would be enough for me.”

Cass’ mouth hung open in shock at the selflessness of the action before she reached over and pulled Sin into a giant bear hug, rolling with her on the mats. “You make me not cry. You make me happy, Sister,” Cass said over Sin’s giggling. 

Babs watched them with a soft smile before Cass came to a stop and looked up at Barbara meaningfully. “Ask Huntress,” she said. “I want to be... The Bat.”

With a small huff and a smile, Barbara shook her head. “No, Cass. You can ask her. When you go to tutoring tomorrow.”

Stephanie came back to the cave with a hollow look to her face and a noticeable tremor in her arms. She carried herself toward the lockers all the same and slumped onto the bench in front of her locker. 

But whatever energy she had used to get herself to that point seemed completely gone by the time she made it that far and she couldn’t manage to even pull more than her cowl off. 

If Barbara had needed the evidence that the new Batgirl was crying, she got it. 

Barbara, in truth, had been waiting for one of these nights, and she hated with everything in her that it was only Stephanie’s third night without Cassandra at her back.

“Oh, Steph,” she soothed, coming to her side. “We can’t save everyone.”

“I know that,” Stephanie said, rubbing at her face to get rid of the gross sobbing. “I know that. But I always... I hope... if I’m good enough--”

Not letting even a single other word out of her, Barbara pulled Stephanie into a tight embrace. “You are good enough, you’re Batgirl,” she reminded the young woman fiercely. “And when you wear that costume you are bigger than yourself, not just because of the women who came before you, but because of the person you have forged yourself to be. And we all believe in you.”

“Babs...” Stephanie sniffed. 

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine,” she assured Stephanie. “I’m trying to run too many systems, too many people at once. The world needs Oracle, but so does the League and the Titans and Birds. But my family, my Batgirls, deserve Oracle most of all.”

“You can’t be everywhere,” Steph attempted to argue.

“I can,” Babs assured her. “But I make things a mess, get overstretched.” She looked up to Stephanie meaningfully. “How’re you doing in classes?” 

“I don’t see how that’s--”

“Because if you’re paying attention in the you may have noticed a new classmate of yours came in later in the semester than usual. Her name is Wendy Harris,” Barbara explained. “It’s going to be your new job to bring her in.”

Wendy took to cipher like a fish to water, and it wasn’t long before she joined Stephanie and Cassandra in joking around on the job. More Stephanie than Cassandra, of course, but it wasn’t long before Wendy was able to monitor both of them from patrols on opposite sides of town at the same time.

All with Sin sitting patiently in her lap and asking a thousand questions per night about her sister’s progress. 

“Sorry if she’s annoying while you’re working,” Dinah attempted to apologize as she sent Sin off to bed. “She’s taken a real shine to Cassandra, both being adopted super badasses and all.”

“Are you kidding?” Wendy had answered, rubbing tears from the corners of her eyes. “Speaking sister-to-sister is one of the things I look forward to the most with this job.”

Barbara was taking a break from her own servers to drink what was left of her most recent cup of coffee and watch the scene unfold from a distance. A distance she shared with Leslie Thompkins. 

“You know that Cassandra has tendencies to be more like Bruce, God bless his soul, than almost anyone I have had the pleasure of meeting,” Leslie said. “And I’ve had more than a hand in raising and evaluating the Boys over the years.”

“I do,” Barbara said, raising her mug to her lips again. 

“And you’re aware that closing people off, punishing herself -- that comes as part of that package,” Leslie pressed.

“I’m aware,” Barbara said. “No one fought with Bruce harder than you, except maybe me, Leslie. I know what my daughter needs.” She looked to Leslie with a knowing smile. “She needs what I learned to need when I was just the same -- a team, a family. And that’s what we’ve built here out of the Legacy. Everywhere she turns, even when Bruce is not there, even when I’m not there, she knows there are a dozen more people who are. They need her, and more importantly she needs them.”

Leslie nodded. “Thank you for helping with Wendy Harris.”

“Thank you for everything, Leslie,” Barbara replied. “And I mean that.”

It’s after ballet that Cassandra insisted that they get some tea and relax together. It was something that Barbara couldn’t refuse, considering that getting Cassandra to start ballet to begin with had been like pulling teeth. It was the least she could have done to humor her.

Dinah was holding Sin’s right hand, Cass holding Sin’s left, and Charlie bouncing around and talking about, or rather complaining about, the lack of capes on recent new superheroes in the magazine rags. Stephanie argued about the lack of Bats despite the magazine’s supposed Gotham base. 

It was downright domestic in downtown Gotham, and something that Barbara never thought she’d be a part of. 

“Oh, here’s the place -- it opened up in that store I was considering getting to start up my floral business again,” Dinah announced, pointing to the cafe. 

“Alright, let’s hurry in, get something to warm us up,” Barbara said, trying to motion for the girls to usher forward. 

“Just wants to get back to work,” Cass sniggered, picking Sin up to carry her once Dinah released Sin’s other hand. 

“Someone has to work around here,” Barbara defended, leading the way into the cafe. 

“Welcome to Brenda’s Cafe! The special today is--” the woman behind the counter looked up and dropped the handful of mugs that were in her hands, breaking them against the counter. “Cassandra!?”

Everyone stopped at the cafe’s entrance and looked in surprise at the woman. 

Some of them got used to being recognized around the city -- Barbara’s face was known by every cop in Gotham county, as was Dinah’s thanks to her own father. Stephanie had various friends from high school and college. 

When Cass was recognized, it was always Miss Wayne. And it never carried the familiarity that the cafe worker was giving Cassandra.

Fortunately, Cassandra did not drop Sin, but her shock was shared all the same.

“Brenda?” she asked. “But... Blüdhaven--”

“I thought you...” this so-called Brenda continued, walking around the counter, eyes widening. “My god, it’s really you!?”

Cass put Sin down and immediately the two collided into an embrace, tearful and emotional beyond anything Barbara had seen from Cass in years. 

Sin moved to Dinah’s side and tugged on her coat. “Sister is happy?”

“Very,” Dinah replied before looking smugly toward Barbara. “But Babs isn’t. What’s the deal?”

Barbara couldn’t help her frown. “Not that I’m turning into my father--”

“Which you totally are,” Dinah snickered.

“But she has tattoos,” Babs pointed out to the roarous laughter of her family around her.

It had been years. Years since Barbara took the step to grow her personal Legacy, her personal family, and nurture it the way it had always deserved.

The way she had always deserved and never allowed herself to feel that way. 

Cassandra had not looked as nervous on her wedding day as she had then right then. Meanwhile Sin was trying out designs for a new Black Canary outfit. 

Stephanie, according to the monitors, was pulling in through the third cave system. She liked taking the long routes as Nightwing those days, it seemed. Scenic and showy for the new recruit. 

“Never knew,” Cass said, chewing on her knuckle. “Never knew he... had a daughter.”

“I put the dots together,” Barbara said sympathetically, reaching a mug of tea Brenda had made for them toward Cass. “John Robinson’s daughter, like her mother, goes by her mother’s maiden name. Little. And she has been a Batgirl fan her whole life -- since the moment she heard stories of the heroic young woman who fought to the ends of the world to save her father’s life.”

“Failed,” Cass said, not accepting the tea. 

“Not how I see it,” Barbara pointed out. “As for your pick...?”

“Tiffany,” Cass said, looking to the other monitor as Charlie and Dinah came through the Manor -- to Damian’s eternal chagrin. The young Fox girl was curious and full of energy. “Smart. To have more than one at the same time.”

“Being Batgirl isn’t just about independence or worth,” Barbara said calmly. “Our directive -- the Legacy’s directive -- is to ensure that young women who make the selfless choice to put on our emblem, to better our city, to avenge the innocents who are harmed, receive the vital support and training they need to do so.” She looked proudly at the woman her daughter had become. “That’s what the Birds of Prey is. That’s what the Legacy is.”

Cass smiled proudly back. “We’re Batgirl.”