#specifically tim when jack was alive

[ikiprian]

if there’s a superhero out there who is maintaining a secret identity, please know i WILL be trans allegory-ing you in my head. this goes double if you’re a teenager with at least one living parent (or parent-adjacent), triple if the parent doesnt quite “get it.” if you havent been transed yet i promise i havent skipped you, you’re in the queue, just wait your turn

[clownzaf]

DC x Epic But it’s Tim Drake like everything I do

Ok but what if in one of the expeditions of Janet and Jack Drake they brought home a Wind Bag, only leaving Tim with the order of not opening it ever bc it will anger the gods.

Tim, obviously, never opened it. But his parents never counted on the silly creatures that would plague Tim the rest of his life until he opened that bag.

It’s ok tho, they may be annoying sometimes but they offered him company during the nights alone in a big cold house and they were really silly so he allowed it.

Aeolus also visit sometimes, the first few times it was to try to convince him to open the bag, but Tim was born and raised within Gotham’s high society AND Janet Drake. He knows when he is being manipulated and he knows when they’re trying to send him the wrong way.

Aeolus gave up eventually, but they make sure to drop by at least once a year to see if Tim’s still alive and if maybe there’s a chance he wanted to open the bag.

He doesn’t.

Later, when he became Robin, the Winions started to follow him around, hiding themselves from Batman and the rest but playing pranks on them almost every night.

Until one day there’s a fight between the JL and some gods (thanks Wonder Woman! Bc they’re SO EASY to fight for us mere humans!) and who’s one of the gods fighting? AEOLUS.

The Batfam is shocked when Red Robin enters the fight and the winions that were fighting (they seem to silly to fight but those things have CLAWS and bite like a motherfucker) just. Stop. And go to hug Tim.

Sometime after all those years Tim was considered between the Winions like “The Winion Prince” because he would feed every winion that came his way and would also play with them as if they were cats. They love him.

Aeolus also stops fighting for a bit just to hug Tim quickly and then keeps fighting.

Tim goes to fight Aeolus and they just, stop the fight, smiles at Tim direction and says “Yep, mine!”

And that’s how Aeolus became Tim’s patron god, and Tim became known in the Greek community as “The winion prince” (He wanted something cool like “The wind warrior” or the “soldier of the wind” but names fly in Olympus and the next time he encountered a deity (for a mission to Aeolus) they looked at him dead in the eye and say “Welcome, Winion Prince”.

Tim died inside a little that day.

The Batfam is shocked but they eventually started to ask Tim to make their grapple swings more fun, and Damian started to demand seeing his Winions (Which were officially his, he had an army of Winions) and once he tried to steal one, saying that “Drake had enough” and that “he wasn’t gonna miss specifically this one” (which, wrong, 1- That was winion Ctimene and she loved the princess of Ithaca, and 2- All his Winions had collars and silly hats so Tim knew which is which and he does head count every night)

Batman doesn’t like Aeolus at all.

[dairy-farmer]

Omegas can get pretty stupid if they’re subjected to too many alpha pheromones. Specifically, the ones produced by alpha come.

It takes a lot of pheromones from a lot of alphas to affect an omega like this. Normally, an omega with an alpha or two, or even three, that has a healthy sex life would barely be affected. If all three alphas were involved in a a short time, the omega would get a little come-drunk and submissive, and it would wear off.

But if a bunch of alphas made a determined effort for long enough, they could turn an omega into little more than a chirping, submissive breeder.

So I had 2 thoughts on this:

The first one: Bruce is lost in time. Tim is the only omega in the pack, and starts talking about running off to find Bruce. Dick panics, thinking Bruce is dead. Tim refuses to listen to reason. Dick is stressed, his instincts are screaming about his fracturing pack, Damian (who’s old enough to be an alpha here) is whispering in his ear about how his father controls unruly omegas, Jason isn’t dealing with the pack changes, and Tim is packing.

Dick gathers Damian and Jason to talk about Tim. Damian suggests getting Tim come drunk and Dick, to his shock, agrees. Alfred, who subscribes to the old school way of thinking, has never really approved of an omega in combat but didn’t speak up against it, suggests starting by doctoring Tim’s food.

So Dick pretends to believe Tim and convinces him to start researching from home. Tim’s food gets come from his three alpha pack mates mixed in every dish. He doesn’t notice. It makes him listen to them more, but he’s still talking about Bruce being alive.

So they have to escalate. They feed him more. They come on him when he’s sleeping. Dick and then Jason, and a little bit later Damian, all get Tim to let them fuck him. It helps some but Tim is still making plans and talking. Tim’s teetering on the edge, getting fed come all the time and getting fucked multiple times a day. They need more to break him.

They call in help. Wally doesn’t mind stopping by, or Roy. Dick even gets a hand from deathstroke, when he’s in town. And Tim breaks.

Bruce gets rescued from time by the league and returns to find his Robin turned into a loving, chirping, mindless little omega. Tim doesn’t argue or push back anymore. He’ll snuggle up to his alphas, purr sweetly when he gets pet, and smells so sweet since he was bred. He doesn’t need as intensive a treatment once he was broken, just a steady diet of alpha come. Bruce isn’t thrilled at first, but Tim is so soft and easy and relaxed that he can’t deny that Dick made the best choice for the pack. Maybe not for Tim, but the pack and Gotham are still standing and that’s all he can ask for.

My other thought is this:

Omegas are still, unfortunately, legally treated a bit like chattel. It’s looked down upon and it’s very rare for an alpha parent to sell their omega child, but it can happen. There’s laws about it to prevent trafficking, but if a parent wants to make a match the omega can’t contest it until they’re an adult.

Jack finds out that Tim is an omega and that he’s sneaking out at night to fight crime in one fell swoop. He’s incensed. He wants to wash his hands of Tim, but doesn’t want the embarrassment of society finding out about Tim. He starts putting out feelers amongst his less than savory business partners. Bruce and Tim still aren’t all that close yet, so Bruce doesn’t notice at first that anything is wrong.

Hood hears that his Replacement’s dad is going to mate him off. Hood could use this to legally get control of him for at least the next 15 months before he’s 18. He needs to get this done quick before Bruce finds out.

He puts in an offer and Jack accepts. Tim is much cuter in person and smells great without the bat-grade blockers. Jason picks Tim up, ties him up in the trunk and shoves a knotting dildo into him to keep him pliant and takes him to a safe house.

He knows that Tim will fight him to get free and run to Bruce or Dick. He’s only got one chance to keep him. He starts drugging him with come. He knots him often. He keeps Tim hanging off his knots during meetings and lets his lieutenants use Tim’s mouth or jerk off on his body.

Tim’s mind is broken before the Bats even realize he’s gone.

Eventually, after enough time has passed, Jason can ease up on Tim and let him get some of his mind back, but it’s too late to be completely reversed. Tim will always be a submissive little omega, eager to please his alpha and be bred. It works out perfectly for Jason, since this Tim has no desire to leave and even helps Hood’s operation on the logistics side. When he has the time, that is, since he’s already been pupped once and has another on the way.

tim getting mindbroken in omegaverse is so especially good because he just reverts back to his most core omegan instincts- focused only on making the whole manor soft and warm, nuzzling all his pack members, and cooing for attention until someone fucks him. omega tim rendered stupid from alpha cum in his system becoming just this sweet little pet that visitors to the manor 'aww' over and maybe even fuck occasionally because tim is just so cute and eager and friendly and so after hanging out with dick or jason they'll bury a knot in the tight little cunt of a sweet and pretty little omega that hums so nicely.

[rewrittenwrongs]

Kiind of jumping off this post; the idea of any of the batkids being biologically related is interesting (esp if they don’t know), but I’m specifically thinking about Tim and Dick. About the Drakes having an open marriage and meeting the Flying Graysons on a dig, or an earlier performance in Gotham, and they have some fun together and Janet tests pregnant shortly after. They tell John and Mary abt it, and do a DNA test and turns out Tim is John’s child. They kind of keep in touch with the Graysons through letters, and when it’s announced Haly’s Circus is performing in Gotham they jump at the chance to hang out and introduce their sons. Tim and Dick were aware they had brothers but they didn’t know much about each other but their names, and when they meet for the first time they click instantly. Dick is ecstatic to have a little brother and Tim is literally bouncing from joy, and Dick promises to do a quadruple backflip just for him and someday teach him how to do one, but then everything goes wrong and you can guess how.

From here there’s two ways this can go.

A) Jack and Janet adopt Dick. They foster him as soon as possible—maybe his parents left custody to them in their wills—adopt him only once he’s ready, stay home more to take care of him and Tim while they all grieve, and try to keep the memory of the flying Graysons alive and help Dick (and Tim) stay in touch with his Romani roots. But Dick knows that wire snapping was foul play. He’s determined to go out there and bring his parent’s murderer to justice. He’s already strong and quick from his performing, and the Drakes enrolled him in self defence classes anyway since this is Gotham. He’s got what it takes. But Batman refuses to see that, he just sees a little boy in too-bright colours carrying too much weight on his shoulders, so he does his best to make Dick step back and bring in his parent’s murderer for him. But he never unmasks him or finds out his identity, even if he has suspicions.

Maybe in this AU Dick and Tim are closer in age and roam the streets as a duo of birds. Either Jason is still taken in by Bruce and joins Dick (and Tim(?)) in causing chaos and grey hairs, or Dick is the one to catch him jacking the Batmobile’s tires and gains his trust through months of sharing food and resources like he’s befriending a stray cat, until he agrees to go home to Drake Manor.

B) Bruce is still in the crowd that night, Jack and Janet aren’t legible to be foster guardians for whatever reason, and Dick is still adopted by Bruce and becomes his sidekick as Robin. Dick and Tim only meet a few times in Galas, and while Dick remembers he has a half-brother his brain trying to shield him from the trauma of that day makes his memories very fuzzy. He can’t even remember his brother’s name, just his age and that Dick promised to teach him the quadruple flip someday. Jack and Janet do their fanon usual neglect as a way to grieve and distance themselves from that trauma. Maybe they bring Tim with them for the first year or so. Either way, Tim still has the photo(s) from the day at the circus, so he gives one to Dick (maybe leaves it on his windowsill since they share backyards) in the hopes that he’ll remember Tim and reach out. Dick is eternally grateful for the photo but only because it’s of his parents, he doesn’t recognise Tim (he’s too young to visibly share any features with John except skin tone) and just thinks he’s a kind fan. The Drakes do share unusual fondness for Dick but assume that he remembers them and has chosen not to reach out, and are respecting his boundaries. So Dick grows, becomes Nightwing yada yada Jason becomes Robin (part of Dick hates that the other person to wear that mantle isn’t his real brother), Jason dies, everyone angsts and Tim steps in. Tim becomes Robin, maybe realises Dick doesn’t know they’re related but chooses not to tell him because he doesn’t want them to feel obligated; he wants to earn Robin. So he does. And yeah, a lot of it really sucks, but he doesn’t regret it one bit. A year or two in Dick goes on some mission at Haly’s circus (or searches through the rubble after Blockbuster burns it down), and finds a bunch of old letters and photos belonging to his parents. The letters are from the Drakes. The photos are of them and Tim.

Maybe Blockbuster found the letters too and targets Tim. Maybe Dick finds out they’re related when Tim is in the medbay. Maybe in a mess of being very young + traumatised + no one speaking abt it Tim separates the facts of ‘I have a half-brother’ and ‘I watched the Flying Graysons die’, and only suspects the two are connected. Maybe Bruce always had a suspicion because of their similar features. Maybe he did a DNA test and either chose not to or forgot to tell anyone the results. Maybe Cass thought it was common knowledge because of how Tim acts just a little bit different around Dick, so she makes some comment years down the line when Damian is bragging about being the only blood son, and is more than a little startled when everyone other than Tim including Dick looks at her like she started speaking in tongues.

Either way, Dick eventually makes good on his promise and teaches Tim that flip.

[wannab-urs]

Outtakes - Monsterfucking

AO3 | Kofi | Main Masterlist | The Spreadsheet Masterlist

Howdy folks!

Here's a list of fics I've read where either the Pedro boy, the reader, or everyone involved is a monster of some sort.

Summaries and tags are, in most cases, provided by the author - please be sure to read them as some of these fics may have content you do not wish to read.

Pedro boys currently included are: Joel Miller, Ezra, Din Djarin, Dave York, Marcus Pike, Dieter Bravo, Jack Daniels, Frankie Morales, Oberyn Martell, Max Phillips, and Tim Rockford.

updated 5/24/2024

Demon

Met the Devil Last Night

Joel one shot by @pedgito

I made a joke about wanting to screw dirt-covered Joel even if he was deep in the trenches of hell and...well, yeah. This is pure filth and nothing else. Porn with minuscule plot, if you will

fem!reader, demon!joel, no specific age gap since dude is a literal demon, but reader is early 20s and I picture Joel to be his younger self (around 36), mentions of su*cidal ideations, this all a completely made up concept pls don't come for me about rituals, ect i will cry. virgin!reader, reader's father is a priest and horrible (just a total douche)/mother isn't alive, spitting, oral, unprotected piv, blood drinking, competency kink, innocence kink, mutual masturbation

In Every Lifetime

Ezra series by @xdaddysprincessxx

It’s fall of 1974 in your quiet small town of Chesterfield when everything falls apart. Or is it the beginning?

Reader is mid to late 20s, witchcraft, tarot, yes the witchy things depicted in this is real witchcraft things, use of Latin

Common Courtesies

Din one shot by @juletheghoul

Pride and Prejudice vibes but Mr. Darcy is a sex demon

**pussy-eating** language, age-gap (legal, reader is of age) dirty talk, supernatural elements, sexist society, sexist comments from readers father

Solum

Dave York one shot by @ezrasbirdie

Are you lost?" Your heart seizes with fear at the deep rumbling voice, head jerking to look in the direction it came from. It’s too dark. You can’t see anything. "Who’s—who’s there?" You ask, hoping you sound braver than you feel. "You didn’t answer my question,” it said. “Are you lost?' You swallow. You shouldn’t be here. You’ve never stepped foot in this building before today. You have no business here. But lost? No. You’re exactly where you set out to be.

SMUT, dubious consent [reader wants to be with him, but he's a demon so you know—it's a little influenced]—dead dove, this is horror and Dave York is an actual demon who kills people, graphic violence, body horror, a dash of blood kink, oral sex

Sell My Soul For You

Marcus P one shot by @absurdthirst

During girls night out, you accidentally dial your boyfriend, Marcus Pike. He hears you complain about how vanilla your sex life is and that you need to him to be more dominant. Marcus proves he’s willing to do anything to please you, even if the cost is his soul.

Angst, hurt feelings, demon possession, dominant!Marcus, oral (male and female receiving), face fucking, spanking, pussy slapping, spitting, fingering, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, bondage/handcuffs, anal play, double penetration (fingers and cock), soft aftercare.

Incubus

Crawling Back to You

Dieter one shot by @prolix-yuy

Have you no idea that you're in deep?

religious corruption kink, bastardizing prayers, brief drug use, mentions of alcohol consumption, grinding, oral sex (f receiving), fingering, breaking a hymen, descriptions of blood, biting and drawing blood, pheromone incubus anatomy, size difference/kink like whoa, monster transformation, monster fucking, PiV sex, wildly unrealistic sex, kind of dubious consent in the way that she has no idea what she's getting into so Dieter checks in A LOT, consent is sexy and monsters especially should ask for it, Reader has no idea what she's doing when it comes to summoning an incubus.

Dream Within a Dream

Ezra one shot by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

Your dreams have become the escape from your draining life. When you discover you are not alone in your dreamworld, will all the aspects lacking in your waking life be fulfilled by your handsome companion?

dream fucking, loss of virginity, depictions and deviations of supernatural lore, erotic gore

Cryptid

Mothman Fever

Joel one shot by @beskarandblasters

You and your friends head to Point Pleasant, West Virginia in late September for the Mothman Festival. And that’s where you meet Joel Miller, a fellow Mothman enthusiast. But once you spend some time alone with him you realize that he’s not who he says he is.

Smut, canon divergence, semi-public sex, alcohol, no outbreak, pet names (luna), oral sex (female receiving), vaginal fingering, PiV sex, sex pollen, dubcon, monsterfucking

Oh, Honey

Joel series by @lincolndjarin

you’ve been given a gift. a fresh start in a brand new place, the sleepy little town of Honey, WV. a distant aunt has passed away and left you a little plot of land and her camper, the stars must be aligning for you because the local mortician is looking for an assistant and you’re desperate for the work experience. your new employer even offers to set you up with her brother-in-law! things are looking up, you’ve got a brand new home, a new town, a hot date, (and thanks to a series of bear attacks that started immediately after your arrival) you have more than enough work to keep you busy!

Soulmates AU, eventual smut, teratophilia, graphic descriptions of violence, explicit descriptions of menstruation, graphic descriptions of the mortuary process, horror, depictions of extreme fear, body horror, graphic depictions of death, eldritch horror. this is a monster fucker fic, proceed accordingly

Sanguine

ˆEzra one shot by marisferasiop

since being turned as a boy into- whatever liminal state of cryptid he is now- Ezra has walked this earth ageless and alone, never finding his place or a partner for long. He interrupts your meal in the city one evening, and brings you home to strike up a deal; feed from him, alone, and keep one another safe from discovery. The fact that he finds his purpose under the soft graze of your teeth and home between your thighs is a nice side effect.

lots of blood, smut, soft yearning sweet boy Ezra, mapuche mythology and monsters, schmoop. Ezra is a subby little sap in this.

Tentacles

MDKT Sex Pollen

Joel one shot by @theywhowriteandknowthings

Your patrol with Joel goes a little sideways

Dead Dove Do Not Eat/DDDNI, noncon/heavy dubcon, body horror, tentacles, mouth r*pe, double/triple penetration, bondage, non-consensual bondage, choking, deep throating, pheromones, sex pollen, tentacles, mind fuck/mind break, brainwashing, guilt, trauma, trauma bonding. Let me know if I missed anything.

Taungsdays, am I right?

Din one shot by @theywhowriteandknowthings

You awaken to find yourself and Din in an alien position.

Smut, dubcon/noncon, pheromones, tentacle sex, bondage, mind-fuck, alien sex, unprotected PiV, anal sex, double penetration, dirty talk

The Stranger the Better

Dieter one shot by @seventeenpins

Dieter gets tentacles. That's the fic.

uhhhh this one has a whole lot: importantly--TENTACLES!, lots of viscous body fluids, slight dubcon due to tentacles with a mind of their own??, buckets of cum, piv, tiv 👀, dieter is a switch, sex parasite, anal, masturbation, body horror, idk they're freaks and it's great, reader has a vulva but gendered language is not used

Dragon

Promise

Ezra one shot by @criticallyacclaimedstranger

You are taken from you village by a dragon, and he has an obscene proposition for you.

Human/Monster Romance, Monsterfucking, initial dubcon (sort of a damned if you do damned if you don't deal), dragon fucks reader, Breeding, Oviposition, Stomach Bulge, PIV Sex, Loss of Virginity, Painful Sex, Cunnilingus, Fellatio, dragon!ezra is really good with his tongue, Squirting, All's well that ends well though, seriously I don't know how to warn for this fic guys, dragon biology is weird, DON'T LOOK AT ME! Light Bondage, drugging, pet names

Werewolf

Bad Moon Rising

Jack series by @wardenparker

When a handsome stranger called Jack shows up on your struggling ranch looking for work, you’re more than happy to take him in - and into your bed, as well.Death of a parent, loss of a spouse, general family drama.

Vaginal sex, oral sex, rough sex, Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy is basically a life motto here, Gunshot wound, first aid things, blood mention, raw meat mention. Vaginal sex, oral sex, rough sex, so much cum, size kink, squirting, anal play/ass eating, monster fucking.

Shifter

SNAFU

Frankie series by @theywhowriteandknowthings

You’ve done this thousands of times, brought new teams to heel, be it in Britain, Japan, Korea, yet the States are always the hardest to wrangle, the mixture of over-hyped masculinity, the general military bravado, whatever it was, you always ran into trouble. But nothing has ever come close to the new Shifter Charlie Team, and boy, are you in for the biggest challenge of your life.

Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Shifter AU, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, eventual Frankie x reader, former Jason x Reader, Smut, Fluff and Smut, Military, Porn With Plot, Slow Burn, Pack Dynamics, Pack Cuddles, Pack Building, Strong Female Characters, strong female lead

Alien

Kudzu

Ezra one shot by @beskarberry

a familiar stranger shows up at the doorstep of your infirmary with unfamiliar wounds. You're no doctor, but masquerading as one makes you the only one in the position to save his life. Can you win out against his extraterrestrial illness, or will his new abilities stake a claim in you as well?

NON-CON/DUB-CON, human/alien hybridization, forced breeding/impregnation/birth, rough/feral sex, sex pollen, body worship, cervix penetration, cum inflation, knotting, a wisp of a/b/o. Nonsexual: wound care and dressing, hurt/comfort, a little whumpish, shootouts, blood, dumb jokes, cheesy ending

Jizz Fingers

various boys series by @gasolinerainbowpuddles

An intergalactic creampie love story.

Smut, alternate universe, aliens, crack fic, penetrative vaginal sex, creampie

Mermaid

Rises the Moon

Joel one shot by @psychedelic-ink

As the man responsible for operating the lighthouse, Joel lives a solitary life on the isolated coast. He has no complaints, enjoying the hauntingly beautiful songs that echo from the sea at night. One stormy night, he rescues a mysterious mermaid tangled in a fishing net. As you recover in the lighthouse, the two form an unlikely bond and find comfort in each other's company.

mention of joel from time to time visiting a brothel, loneliness, mermaid anatomy things, oral (fem receiving), piv, touch starved!joel and reader, mild breeding kink, squirting

Swamp Creature

Beneath the Mire

Ezra one shot by @bonezone44

You're a human-turned-swamp monster and a man crashes into your corner of the bayou.

DDDNE, Non-con somnophilia. Blowjob. Unprotected p-in-v.

Vampire

Sated

Joel one shot by @softlyspector

Joel just wants you to eat well

love as being consumed, blood drinking, smut from start to finish (piv, f!receiving oral, fingering), Joel's praise kink, talk of eating, consuming, drinking, hunger, etc, vampires you get it.

Attraction Spell

Joel one shot by @jksprincess10

Vampire Joel finds witchy reader in her shop asks her for a love spell

DDDNE, noncon/dubcon, stalking, blood play, using blood as lube, ambiguous ending, unprotected p in v, fingering, praise kink, choking, pain kink, rough sex, minimal editing.

Bleed for me

Din series by @saradika

When it's revealed that the Mand'alor is seeking a companion, you find yourself among those hoping to be chosen. A life of luxury in exchange for your blood seems a fair trade - even if you're hiding a closely-kept secret. One that would certainly put your life in danger.

vampires, alternate universe, canon divergence, blood/drinking blood, shared memories, angst, death/violence, biting, body worship, possessive!pleasure!dom!din, implied aphrodisiacs, mind meld, praise kink, oral, piv, marking

The Special One

Joel one shot by @toxicanonymity

You meet a handsome stranger on a night out with friends. The last thing you're expecting is to be chained up in his basement.

Smut, age gap, alcohol, drugging and kidnapping, chains/restraints, blood and its consumption, oral sex (female receiving), period cunnilingus, dubcon, held in captivity, reader can menstruate, male masturbation, vampire!Joel, alternate universe, dark!Joel

Vampire!Dieter

Dieter one shot by @chronically-ghosted

Interview with a vampire, gatsby style

flirting, a bit of blood, maybe dubcon due to The Thrall but i think it's safe to say we all want It from vampire!dieter, unbeta-ed because i needed to write something or someone was going to die

vamp but it's you

Everyone at this party's a vampire

Dieter one shot by @idolatrybarbie

"you look so pretty like this."

briefly discussed necrophilia, innuendo, heavy petting

Sanguine

Ezra one shot by @marisferasiop

since being turned as a boy into- whatever liminal state of cryptid he is now- Ezra has walked this earth ageless and alone, never finding his place or a partner for long. He interrupts your meal in the city one evening, and brings you home to strike up a deal; feed from him, alone, and keep one another safe from discovery. The fact that he finds his purpose under the soft graze of your teeth and home between your thighs is a nice side effect.

lots of blood, smut, soft yearning sweet boy Ezra, mapuche mythology and monsters, schmoop. Ezra is a subby little sap in this.

vamp but it's everyone

a court of fangs and foxgloves

Oberyn/Max P one shot @psychedelic-ink

After you left the court and hence Oberyn, no one is eager to forgive you for your betrayal. Especially those closest to you.

Smut, MMF threesome/orgy, voyeurism, mlm dynamics, Dom/sub dynamics, sub!Max, switch!reader, dom!Oberyn, rimming, ass play, anal sex, penetrative vaginal sex, biting, mentions of blood, vampirism

I Bite Back

One shot by me

Max Phillips is seemingly always in command, always domineering, always on top… except when he’s with you.

Dom!Reader, Bratty Sub!Max, pegging… duh. This is technically monsterfucking also lmao. Aftercare is implied because I'm implying it here, I didn't write that in. Oh also vamp!reader if you want but I don't really make that explicit

Red Right Hand

one shot by me

You and Max have dinner and then you get freaky. It’s almost too much for poor little Maxxie to handle.

Pure porn, pwp, Blood drinking (they’re both vampires), minor character death (your victim lol), murder… obviously. sub!Max, Dom!reader, unprotected PiV (they’re vampires, you are not), uhhh blasphemy probably, face riding, cum eating, Max’s vamp face, oral m! and f!receiving, overstimulation m!receiving, multiple male orgasms, refractory period nonexistent due to vampire fuckery, ass play m!receiving, praise kink, use of pet names/titles (Mistress for reader/ baby boy, pet, Maxxie, and one surprise for Max), aftercare, no use of y/n.

Only Lovers Left Alive

Joel Series by @atinylittlepain

He offers her another option between life and death. How could she refuse?

Smut, dubcon, gore, blood and bloodplay, dark themes, cowboy!vampire!Joel, set in the past, alternate universe

vamp but it's max phillips

With Cherries on Top

series by @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa

After countless late nights and giving up important things in your life for a job and a man that refuses to promote you, your family begs you to quit when you break it to them that you have to miss your grandmother’s 85th birthday. Max Phillips may have left the country an American citizen but he came back an undead vampire, meaning his status in the States is no longer valid. In order to not get deported to Romania, he tells immigration that the two of you are getting married and he strikes a deal to make it worth your while.

Smut, language, adult themes, sexual innuendos, workplace harassment, family issues, angst, hurt/comfort, manipulation

A Little Lipstick Never Hurts

Reader/Max/Dieter series by @max--phillips

Max tries to skip his morning inspection, but gets caught breaking one of the rules you set for him anyway. A punishment is in order. / Max realizes a fantasy, and you enlist Dieter Bravo to help you deliver. / You receive a very hot video from your boyfriends while you are at work. The making of said video requires Max to break some rules you'd previously set out for him. He and Dieter make it up to you very easily.

Forced Feminization, but it's consensual, Femdom, Chastity Device 24/7, D/s dynamic, Sex Toys, BDSM, reader referred to as Mistress and Ma'am, Impact Play, Riding Crop, Bondage, Anal Fingering, Pegging, Butt Plugs, Degradation, Deepthroating, face fucking, gagging, spit, ruined orgasm, Nipple Clamps, Cum Play, Cum Eating, Oral Sex, Aftercare, there is NO misgendering, Max's ass does get referred to as his pussy and his dick his clit, but that's as far as that goes, MMF, threesome, PIV, double penetration, cock cages, ball gag, choking, max is a vampire, blow jobs, sex tapes, cum swapping, rule negotiations, fluff

Reflective

series by @prolix-yuy

His management style is effective AND refreshing. And as his executive assistant, you’re partially to thank. But as your professional relationship blurs, are you getting too close to the middle manager monster of nightmares?

horror elements and themes, graphic descriptions of blood including drinking, background character un-death, violence, fingering (f-receiving), vomiting (not descriptive), descriptions of a panic attack, a dabble of sleazy coworkers, playing fast and loose with vampire lore. mirror shenanigans, fingering (f-receiving), oral sex (f-receiving), PiV sex (don’t be a fool wrap your tool), playing fast and loose with vampire lore.

Lust for a vampire

one shot by @idolatrybarbie

A lot of oddballs and strange characters visit a vampire strip club in a tourist town on the border. Max Phillips is unlike any of them.

Smut, mentioned drug use, background sex work, dubcon, supernatural stalking, blood, pussy slapping, orgasm denial, spit, physical altercation, vaginal fingering, pet names (sweet thing, honey, sweetheart)

The Impaler

Tim Rockford/Max/Reader one shot by @kiwisbell

Chief Detective Tim Rockford makes a breakthrough in New York City’s latest serial killer case. The mysterious culprit is in the mood to share more than information.

vampires, gothic architecture, slightly dubious consent, implied mind alteration/control, murder, death, blood, threesome, lots of biting, spanking, spitroasting, masturbation, DVP, fingering, unprotected PIV (wrap ur vampire dicks pls), wife sharing, free use kink, oral sex (f and m receiving), exchanging fluids, spitting, disgusting and filthy, max using cringey nicknames for reader’s pussy but it’s charming bc it’s max, handcuffs, light bondage, hair pulling

I cannot get you close enough

one shot by @leslie-lyman

“You have to invite me in, sweetheart.” Oh. Right. Vampire. “Come in, please,” you say demurely, and Max’s smile widens as he steps over the threshold into your apartment. He reaches for you again immediately, kicking your door closed and pulling you close. “Good girl,” he murmurs. “Such a polite little Omega.”

A/B/O dynamics; one small scene of men being creepy and threatening towards reader (but, perhaps surprisingly, one of those men is not Max); extremely self-indulgent Halloween costumes on the part of your author; a bit of angst; fEeLiNgS; absolutely way too much plot and character backstory for what was supposed to just be porn; Alpha!Max is his own warning; heat sex; biting; blood-drinking; breeding kink; many, many creampies; Max has an absolutely filthy mouth; look, it’s heat sex with Max, it probably (hopefully?) entails exactly what you think it does

All Mouth

one shot by @idolatrybarbie

max phillips and prompt no. nine— "you look so pretty like this." with a twist!

reader is not American/not an "American vampire", porn with mild plot, pet names (honey, baby, sweetie, Maxxie), all the usual vampire genre warnings, including but not limited to - graphic blood and gore, cannibalism, mention of scars, horror themes, love as consumption, smut - mommy kink, degradation (max gets called a slut), cock slapping, dacryphilia, orgasm denial, handjob, alcohol mention, fluff.

It Will Come Back

Max Phillips one shot by @beskarandblasters

Against your better judgment, you let Max drink your blood.

reader is able-bodied, blood sucking, unhealthy dynamic between Max and reader, fingering, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, creampie, pet names (baby), dark ending kinda???, idk maybe a little out of character for him but fuck it we ball, no use of y/n

Crawl

one shot by @proxima-writes

Gym owner Max Phillips offers to let you use the sauna. In return, he uses your mouth.

explicit sexual content (18+ MDNI), no use of y/n, able bodied reader, dirty talk, crawling, oral (m receiving), no aftercare, semi-public sex.

Happy Reading!

[crushedsweets]

i was listening to twin size mattress by the front bottoms and was like. hmm this is the most toby song ever

SO i was wondering do u have any songs that remind you of specific creeps? could be from lyrics or just general vibes yk yk

- 🌙 anon (im new here hi)

HII welcome. ok ok. so i listen to music in a very boring way and never analyze lyrics/artists/albums/etc. but for you i will try to change.

also these lryics with toby oh wow.. wow. ok. wowwww. wow. ok. wow. STUFF UNDER THE CUT BUT KNOW IM DEEPLY WARPING THE ACTUAL MEANING BEHIND A LOT OF THESE SONGS LOL. i religiously listen to love songs so its hard

toby and honey by coastal club. (my fave song rn..)

whether its from his perspective or not.. it doesnt even have to be romantic either. just his friendships with everyone around him, both from people like tim and brian seeing this SEVERELY TROUBLED kid. . . 'wide eyed..dying to get outside' feels very :((( yk. he was a kid trapped in a fucking horrifying situation all his life. or him looking at his friendship with nina. "youve got a way with me... alive and so full of life, i'm mesmerized by your love" etc. maybe jack or clockwork with the "i started laughing at the words you spoke, i kinda like you and your stupid jokes"... AGAIN I KNOW ITS A LOVE SONG but i see it applying in so many different forms of love. and i love love. also a ton of like, car and driving references which is um. lyra reference sorry

nina x clockwork and "a big brown dog named bagel" by nep

ok this doesnt apply so much to my au(nobody is canon in mine but yk)... buttttttt... yeah. ugh. this is so nina @ nat. sorry guys ive been changed. one ask always diverts my attention at the speed of light. "I like the way she bites, the way she talks, the way she looks when I smile" is just SO FUCKING NINA ADORING NAT. nina just wants to be in the most fairytale coming of age movie ya novel lovestory and she says that her biggest dream in life is to get married. she wants to take care of her lover and give and give and give so fucking much and "I'll buy you a big old house on a big old hill And I'll grow old with my baby, 'til she's dead" is so very her. of course i chose clockwork cuz 'she's tall in the knees' and 'some green in her eyes' plus im a lesbian and havent fawned over sapphic relationships in months since i began my creepypasta return. LOL

eyeless jack and "downhill" by lincoln

there r few words to describe the amount of guilt, horror, and devastation that jack feels after what he's done, all he's lost, and what he has to do to survive. he has a year of his life that he was literally possessed by a demon and went around fucking tearing humans apart and eating their remains. even as he's """recovering""" and settling into a cabin, his friendships with the creeps, trying to just feel okay. he's on his last leg, he can tell that people know he's a shell of what he was but they'll never know how warm, kind, inviting he used to be. "i went downhill at such a steep inline" ... yea he did his life changed immeasurably in a single night and it's never coming back. the lyrics "'Cause I was born into the world on a silken cloud / And I got bored of the world before I hit the ground" ... while he had a ton of pressure. he loved his life, loved his family, was the type to constantly express how grateful he was for everything that got him where he was. and then he hit rock fucking bottom because he wanted to chase a little excitement with the pretty girl inviting him to join a 'club.' poor guy

liu and "i'm not angry anymore" by paramore

i dont think i need to explain this because um..... lols... liu just wants to fucking move on. he just wants to escape everything. he wants his family back, including the little brother he'd play catch with in the front yard for so many years. but he has his moments where it all comes barreling back, and he makes real fucking brash decisions - he lost his marriage because he spiraled trying to find jeff and moved to fucking alabama. so you know.

jane and "everest" by beabadoobee

again, i dont think i need to explain this. maybe this could be mary(jane's wife) singing to jane, cuz she was one of janes main supports after her parents death. jane can only act strong for so long but she is so so so fucking sad and mourning and she was always so soft and gentle and sweet and she lost everything in a single night. she spent a short period of time filled with rage, as she would be, but her story eventually evolves into her just wanting to help others with their cases, be happy with her wife, take care of sally, grow old, make her parents proud. she's climbed mountains and is probably in the best place of all the creeps. holds her. i dont touch her character too often because i just want her to settle happily lolz..

ok thats all i got guys :3.. thank youuuuu thank youuu. sorry if my music taste is bad guys. LOL.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 3 replay, Citadel post coup:

-Notably, the C-Sec officers on the human embassy level are all turian.

On the presidium, the C-Sec officers are human.

Was this intentional of Bioware? Maybe the idea is to minimize potential conflict of interest on the investigation into Udina by assigning non-human officers to it and assigning the human officers to public spaces?

-Why do the C-Sec officers forbid Solik from filming the refugees on the docks?

They claim it’s because he’d be “disruptive”.

I suspect they’re actually trying to avoid a potential PR disaster if people see the conditions on the docks.

-Cerberus specifically looked for Kelly.

A bit flattering, in a sense – she’s more important to them than she thought!

Also a bit terrifying. TIM is really pissed at everyone who left Cerberus and is determined to clean up loose ends. There’s no other reason to go after Kelly; she’s no threat to Cerberus.

-Conrad is one of the best parts of ME3. All that busywork in ME1 finally pays off!

I know he’s supposed to be a joke about all the side quests, but I wish more or ME3 relied on past decisions like Conrad’s.

Maybe not to the extent that you lose content if you did not do so something, but so outcomes were at least influenced by them.

There are parts of ME3 influenced by past games – is Wrex alive? Kirrahe? Legion? Etc. – but there are a lot of past decisions that make no difference at all, like the turian insignia or if you got Lorik to testify against Anoleis.

Even if they just added flavor, I’d appreciate their inclusion.

-If you go renegade with Jack, you learn that her students helped get civilians off Palaven.

Interesting – turians usually don’t regard adult turians as civilians, since everyone has military training. The term is normally reserved for children or client races. So is Jack using the term in the human sense of non-combatants or the turian sense?

I’m probably thinking about this more than Bioware did.

-If you flirt with Joker, he just about panics. He does not think of Shepard that way.

-Joker won’t consider Shepard because they’re both in uniform and there are regulations against that.

There are no regulations against dating the ship AI, however, so that’s okay.

That’s cutting it awfully thin, Joker. I’m sure if the Alliance had ever considered the possibility of a ship having an AI they’d have regulations against it.

-Paragon or renegade, the fact Edi’s body is made of metal and Joker has brittle bones is brought up.

To go completely off script: Is this really relevant? They don’t have to have sex. Or they could get very creative. This is not what I would consider a deal breaker.

-If you go renegade with Edi, she brings up the lifespan difference between her and Joker.

Apparently she spoke to Liara about it and Liara was no help at all.

Interesting – Liara’s the obvious choice, since she’s an asari. However, her own relationship experience is very lacking so it’s logical she would have little to offer Edi. Very much a case of the blind leading the blind.

-As Thane dies, if you go paragon the last prayer is for you.

If you go renegade, the last prayer is for Thane.

-Shepard to Thane after he passes: Goodbye, Thane. You won’t be along for long.

Yeah, Shepard does not expect to make it through the Reaper war.

-The volus bank teller is skeptical of Sanctuary. How can it promise more safety than the Citadel? Second time a NPC’s called bullshit on Sanctuary and it’s another volus. I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked that the merchant race recognizes a scam when they see one.

Now we just need to set them up with an official broadcast so they can inform everyone else instead of one person at a time.

-Captain Sommers wants to kill a C-Sec officer who assisted Cerberus during the coup. He killed other officers and is now bargaining for a better deal by offering intel. He’s former Alliance and Sommers feels that the Alliance should deal with him.

Paragon, you tell Sommers to stand down because the intel may save lives. Renegade, you use spectre authority to let Sommers kill him legally.

It’s a nice touch to have another sidequest where paragon/renegade feels very different.*

In most of ME3 it feels like renegade has had the teeth removed; it just feels “softer” than in ME1 and ME2. This is a good instance of the two differing more.

*In main missions they differ more, although there the renegade dialogue still “feels” softer.

-Ghorek is the only time Shepard has to really deal with the consequences of destroying a colony in Arrival, and it’s disappointing.

He’s a terrorist, so you’re already predisposed to dislike him. You only exchange a few lines, and there’s no opportunity for investigate or a real back and forth.

I’m glad Bioware included it, but it feels very surface level with little depth. I wish there was more to it to really show the harm Shepard did and how they’re dealing (or possibly not dealing) with it.

Also, there should be choices between letting him die and calling over the nurse. Is there a reason I can’t call over the nurse AND inform C-Sec he’s a terrorist?

-Officer Noles is an excellent reminder on the importance of CyberSecurity. Balak’s using codes from when the batarians had an embassy on the Citadel.

That was what, 20 years ago? Those codes should have been decommissioned as soon as the embassy closed.

But they were not, and there are dead humans for it.

This is why it’s important to have standard operating procedures and regular asset reviews, people.

(How did Balak even get the codes?)

-Balak continues to be compelling.

He’s an evil bastard that’s been killing humans out of misplaced revenge, but paragon or renegade you can appeal to his desire to save his people and he’ll give you his support. You can see how much it costs him to do so, but he’ll set aside his personal desires to serve the batarian people.

In another timeline, Balak could easily have been hero. He has more than enough courage, intelligence, and drive.

In this one, however, he’ll just have to settle for being the lesser evil.

(Also, Balak can see that working with Shepard is the batarians’ best bet, but you expect me to believe that Udina thought Cerberus was a better option?)

-Also, nice of the C-Sec officer standing right there to ignore Balak holding a gun to head. Great job, sir.

-The callback to the Levaithan of Dis first mentioned in ME1 is also well done. The reveal it was a Reaper corpse, that the batarians who studied it all became indoctrinated and that’s why the Hegemony fell so easily – harsh and completely in line with lore.

-Kaidan: Knowing that you acted with integrity – then it matters.

Ah, Kaidan. Paragon of paragons, integrity carved into your bones. Regardless of who took the shot, you handle Udina’s betrayal poorly.

It wasn’t your fault.

-If you refuse to let Kaidan on board, he handles it very well. He doesn’t argue; just takes the polite rejection well and leaves.

Normandy

-When you speak with Traynor to receive the mission about the Cerberus scientists that have quit, Shepard mentions that many who worked for Cerberus believed they were doing the right thing. Shepard did.

And of course the game doubles down that Shepard did do the right thing by working for Cerberus in ME2 and that the Cerberus was working to stop the Collectors while the Alliance did nothing.

Did I hallucinate the Virmire Survivor on Horizon during all my playthroughs? And has the game forgotten that spectres have leave way to choose their own missions – so Shepard could have pursued the Collectors as an agent of the Council rather than a terrorist?

-If you let Traynor take a shower but don’t join her, Shepard comes off as the most oblivious lady in the world. It’s actually rather funny. Traynor left the door open and Shepard registers nothing.

-James’ meeting is very touching. He opens up and is vulnerable – last time he was in command he lost everyone. He’s afraid it will happen again.

For all the bravado he puts on, there’s a lot going on behind that facade. He’d probably make a great officer and N7.

-There was a Cerberus spy working with the Collectors. How much you want to bet he was sanctioned by TIM?

Yet the game still insists Shepard was right to work with Cerberus in ME2.

Ugh.

-The game keeps talking up Kai Leng, especially Andeson, but when he doesn’t have plot armor he’s a wimp.

He’d have died in the attack on the salarian Councilor if a single character in that scene had had any sense.

Citadel

-And once again Cerberus leaned on the “we saved colonies from the Collectors” angle to get an in with someone, this time the Din Korlack.

Apparently it can even excuse fighting with the Alliance.

And surprise, surprise the terrorist organization turns around uses the aide you provided them to blackmail you. It’s almost like they always had their own reasons for what they did.

-Din, it’s bad enough you helped Cerberus at all. Refusing to turn over the name of the colony you sold out unless Shepard is charismatic enough? Be better.

-The game’s refusal to explain Zaeed’s beef with Cerberus pisses me off to this day.

Once again, a Codex entry would easily have solved this problem. Or a few more lines from Zaeed. But no, keep guessing.

-James, stop shrugging while you’re getting a tattoo!

And getting a N7 tattoo before you’ve completed the program is a terrible idea.

-James panics even more than Joker when Shepard makes a pass. Lol, Kaidan’s the only human man that can keep up with femShep. The rest all run away.

-Kelly: I heard about the terrible things Cerberus did during the coup. That’s not the organization I joined.

Yes, Kelly, it is. Here’s a list of terrible things Cerberus did during ME1. Ask Jack if you want some more items that predate it.

Cerberus has always been terrible. The apparently just have the best PR department in the galaxy since everyone is shocked every time some new terrible thing they did comes to light.

-Liara still won’t speak to me on the Citadel, although everyone else will.

Well, except Garrus but that’s because he’s not there. Liara’s the only one both hanging around and not initiating a dialogue.

-Kaidan also takes it well if you reject him on the Presidium, although his hurt shows through more.

He does stick you with the bill, however.

[cantsayidont]

March 1985. Whatever else one may say about the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was a triumph for truth in advertising: Worlds lived, worlds died, and the DC Universe was never the same. A cynic might add, "And nothing ever made sense again," since the event kicked off almost 40 years of retcons, revisions, and successive reboots, which DC used to internally describe as "white events," after the cataclysmic moment in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #10 where the original multiverse was shattered and recreated:

Even before the Crisis event was ever conceived, DC had a long history of fairly dramatic editorial and creative shifts, some of which hung on specific story events (like the de-powering of Wonder Woman in 1968) and some of which did not (like the inauguration of Batman's "New Look" in 1964). With the benefit of hindsight, it's possible to make some general observations about editorial revisionism and efforts to tear down and rebuild internal continuity:

It's ultimately easier (and more effective) to ignore than to change. When Julius Schwartz became Batman editor in 1964, he dispensed with many characters and concepts that had been staples under his predecessor, Jack Schiff, such as Batwoman and Bat-Mite. With one exception, there was no story explanation of where they'd gone — they just stopped showing up and were soon forgotten. The exception was Alfred the butler, who was killed off dramatically in DETECTIVE COMICS #328. When the producers of the 1966 Batman TV show decided to incorporate Alfred into that series, Schwartz was obliged to resurrect him, in a singularly preposterous way, after which he was regarded as indispensable. By contrast, while most of the characters who'd simply been ignored also returned, it was much later and generally in quite minor ways; their long absence reduced them to marginalia that could be incorporated or not, as seemed most useful.

Crossovers are the most serious and persistent enemy of change. The nature of company-owned comics is that the characters will inevitably show up in crossovers, team-ups, and events of various kinds, often written, drawn, and edited by people who aren't familiar with the finer points of the characters' history, inevitably resulting in troublesome contradictions, up to and including characters who were previously supposed to be dead inexplicably popping up alive. The more convoluted a change to a character or their history, the more likely that it will misrepresented, accidentally undone, or just ignored the next time the character shows up in a series other than their own.

A true line-wide reboot is commercially infeasible. A publisher like DC or Marvel has many different titles at once, and at any given time, some of them are selling better than others. If a title isn't selling well, there may be nothing to lose by rebooting it or making drastic changes to its characters and direction, but doing that to a series that's currently a hot seller is foolhardy. So, the bestsellers will generally stroll through a "white event" with only minor cosmetic adjustments, while weaker titles may undergo a whole series of radical reinventions. If the former bestseller goes into a slump and one of those radical reinventions transforms an underdog into a hit, the situation will be reversed. Surely this won't backfire later …

Timing is everything. A lot of the confusion that resulted at DC in the wake of the Crisis stemmed from the fact that different revisions happened at different times. For instance, the headaches surrounding Hawkman began in large part because of the editorial decision in 1990 not to treat the Tim Truman HAWKWORLD series as a kind of "Hawkman: Year One" (which is how it was conceived), but rather as a reboot, even though that threatened to retroactively remove the Hawks from books like JUSTICE LEAGUE, which had become very popular following its most recent revamp. This kind of thing creates situations where creative teams have to come up with desperate contrivances to explain retroactive changes to very recent stories. Having Hawkman and Hawkwoman stop showing for Justice League adventures for a while wouldn't have been a big deal, but trying to assert that the Hawkman and Hawkwoman who'd previously appeared were either never really there or were actually somebody else was another matter, and the problems this created were never fully resolved.

Continuity-tidying for its own sake is almost always a creative dead end. This is a lesson that Nelson Bridwell and Roy Thomas demonstrated over and over throughout the Bronze Age: It's one thing to have some flashbacks, if it serves the story, or maybe to retell a character's origin with a few nips and tucks, but if your main purpose is to explain, e.g., why Namor once wore the wrong shorts, the results are likely to be either silly or tedious. This hasn't stopped DC and Marvel from wasting a lot of ink and paper on specials and miniseries that exist to retell earlier stories in an updated, continuity-compliant manner, usually to no good end. The fundamental problem with such things is that their main object is to regurgitate familiar older stories (if they weren't familiar, there would be no point in retelling them) while urging readers who have read the original version (who are the most likely audience) to ignore their lying eyes. This is, with very, very few exceptions, a dismal exercise that routinely defeats even usually reliable creators like John Ostrander (see for example the tiresome 2001–2002 JLA: INCARNATIONS), and frequently results in yet more contradictions to explain or ignore.

The bottom line is that while you can blow things up all you want, the likelihood that they can be reassembled in a clearer, more cohesive way is really quite low, and diminishes the more frequently you try.

I want to be clear here that this isn't a criticism of the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS series (which has many virtues, along with some significant flaws), or even any of the individual revisions and retcons that have followed, some of which are, in their own right, perfectly fine. The dilemma is that the project that an event like this represents is ultimately a doomed one. It might spark some commercial interest, at least briefly (which is of course at least half the point), but simplification and unity are just not in the cards and probably never will be.

[scarabjewels]

Jack and the Cuckoo-clock heart: I Truly Think The Movie “Fixed” The Book

I was around 13 to 15 when I first came across a 360p movie on a pirated DVD filled with random animated movies the vendors could download, and it was this goth punk aesthetic 3d movie entitled "Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart". It was the most visually bizarre media I watched in a long time. It was hauntingly beautiful, it reminded me of Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland", specifically the White Queen's kingdom. I loved it so much that I fell into a research phase all about it. Matthias is a fucking lucky author, literally a vocalist of a band then they get to make a movie out of it and make music. I still rewatch it and love to consume video reactions and essays about in YouTube, such as BionicPig and RosMo.

I originally intended to write this movie about its similarity to classic but tragic love stories like "Romeo and Juliet" and "Cyrano". But then I decided to read the book and the stark contrast of it should be WRITTEN.

I will be writing 3 parts: 1) The differences of the book and the movie, 2) what they kept and made better, and 3) things I observed that aren't talked about enough

I just finished the book in one sitting right as I am writing this. I have to say, I was not prepared how adult it was.

PART 1: THE DIFFERENCES

Let's start with major observations and comparisons.

Book: Jack mentioning Acacia’s name leading into a lost of temper with a fight with Joe makes sense

Movie: Jack and Joe’s fight starting from a postcard doesn't make sense

Coincidentally, they apparently have the same birthday in the movie and Miss Acacia send Joe a postcard. Jack stumbled across it one day, and gets into a petty fit before ultimately getting into a fight with Joe. It is exactly what I see 14 year olds doing honestly, but ultimately it did not make sense

In the book, Joe (movie as well) warns Jack to not mention as so.much utter Miss Acacia’s name. After years of pent up anger, Jack decides to mention her name then a brawl starts. Now that’s a fight that makes sense and you can still see teenagers doing exactly that.

Book: Joe and Acacia were past lovers. Joe replaces Jack's job as a Frightener at the Ghost Train, and Joe uses their past to taunt Jack.

Movie: Joe and Acacia are seemingly old friends. While Joe sets out to destroy Jack's image, he unkowingly serves as a messenger of vital information.

Joe's intention in both media are the same, to destroy Jack's reputation and win Miss Acacia’s heart. In the book, he tells her about the injury (just that) and she confront Jack about this. In the book, Jack stumbles on his words first before dumping everything that happened. They get into an argument, with Acacia falling silent as he explains everything. They said their I-love-yous before separating. Acacia is clearly confused at the truth, which is why she fell silent as she left, on the contrary to her very fiery personality (it's ×10 in the books, added with extreme stubbornness too). Joe told him the next morning about how she came to him crying and that they hugged and kissed like they once did before, provoking Jack to charge at him. Believing his lies that Acacia in fact had some sort of little affair with Joe, his jealousy continues to sever his and Acacia’s relationship after another confronting argument about Joe's supposed truth.

In the movie, this issue was fixed, well I found it an issue. Instead of taunting with lies, Joe manipulates the truth a little differently, with a suprisingly huge amount of truth too. He told her that Jack’s handicap, his heart, it dangerous to detriment of others and himself, as he is capable of injuring anyone when he goes out of control. He points at his eye patched eye as proof. He tells her about the three rules that Jack must follow in order to stay alive. This makes Acacia’s argument actually have substance instead of just an act of violence. She couldn't bear the thought of him dying, so she pushes him away, telling him not to love her. The injury also came up in the argument, which Jack replies quickly, as opposed in the book. He explains it concisely, saying that it was an accident and that he did not want that to happen, all the while rebutting each of Acacia’s accusatory questions. That's what really solved the issue in the book. There was actual stakes as to why the argument is happening and Jack is standing up for himself, even at the person he loves. He apologizes more in the movie than in the books, and Acacia is a lot more kinder.

I was really losing it when I read the chapters of them arguing in the book. No one was apologizing. Literally none. Acacia didn't exactly listen to Jack, she was trapped with him believing his “lies” and had a hard time seeing what the actual truth was, which leads me to the next difference.

Book: Acacia truly believed that his clock heart was a joke, even when Jack showed her how it worked (and it lead to them …doing it), until the very end

Movie: Acacia was sold the moment he let her explore his clock heart and he trusted his key to her.

As I said, she found it hard to believe him, with what Joe told him. But, in the movies, she did actually hear him out, keenly at that, and it hurt her that she couldn't be with him because it might potentially kill him. At least in the movie, her yells of telling him to stop that actually accounts to something, as in telling him to stop getting angry or else he'll hurt himself more.

Book: (Maybe it more of an opinion?) I don't think Jack and Acacia were in love. It was too heavily sexual and secretive, and the things they share about themselves just lead to more sexual escapades than actual bonding. They strive on heated moments too fast and too often. Acacia had commitment issues from the start to the end.

Movie: They really feel like two teens falling in love. They share sweeter moments, emotionally sharing, have trouble with setting boundaries and communicating like any teenager, and actually ENJOY EACH OTHERS COMPANY.

Book Jack and Acacia were just incompatible. As far as I could see, it was not the kind of love Jack wanted. He liked the bare minimum because it would mean that he could keep seeing the girl he pursued and dreamt of so long that he was so blinded to who she is and how she treated him. She loved him, but she really failed to really be in an actual relationship with him. I understand that some people value their privacy, but when you are kept secret and essentially treated like a convenience, that's not a suitable relationship of love, much less respect. She did not respect his beliefs. She was volatile in reaction, and I personally believe that Joe did not lie about her having a little affair with him. She never really claimed that it did not happen, only telling Jack “you really think I'd go back to him”. In the end, she really did. So, I don't think Joe was lying. Yep, Jack put her too high of a pedestal. He essentially worshipped her. She was basically not human to him. It was already such a failure that I think their ending in the book made sense. He also admits this near the epilogue, that he wanted it to work out so much, that it just didn’t. Acacia wanted to supposedly "keep away from gossip," but that changed when she married Joe in the book, whom she is openly affectionate even when she admittedly was still in love with Jack. The minute Jack came back, despite her feelings, she also left him without saying anything, as well as Joe. She...was a red flag, it was clear she found commitments hard, leading Jack (unaware of his identity) on when he came, even when she was married and was also in love with another man. She might have her reasons, but she also left Joe in the end, so YEAH NOPE.

In the movie, Acacia was significantly a better character, with some flaws from her book counterpart. She was honest about her feelings toward Jack, yet chose to honor her feeling for her first love. She was clear with him, up front. Jack confessed eventually, and answers her question with honesty. They have chemistry and as soon as he confessed, she started to open up to him and he did as well. Their exchange is really good, and very plausible as two teens in love. A good definition of young love, if anything they were simultaneously more mature but impulsive than in the book, ironically the reason why they are compatible in the movie. Their argument had an element of out of love (for their selves and each other). Their ending was that their love was really meant to be their best one yet. Jack's life was worthwhile, despite it being short. A beautiful illustration of “it's better to have loved and lost, than not have loved at all”. But he loved and won in my opinion.

Book: Jack's clock heart was a placebo, representing Madeleine's attachment to him, wanting to protect him even when she knew he was strong enough to live without her or the clock.

Movie: Jack's clock heart was an actual device that kept him alive and more than just Madeleine's attachment to him.

This was so disappointing in the book. I was upset. I wasn't upset that Acacia and Jack didn't end up together, I was upset that what she was telling him the whole time was TRUE. I was at Jack's side until the nurse told him everything. I felt so betrayed. His family betrayed him basically. It hurt me that Madeleine had that unhealthy attachment to him, she could've let him live a normal life. That was painful.

That's why the movie was better. Jack actually couldn't live normally at all, he was a genuine handicapped person. The stakes were REAL. The ending was sad, but it had the perfect build up, that it was worthwhile. Madeleine didn't betray him, and she died trying to protect him.

(Yeah, I realize that I wrote too long of a review but I will be posting the other 2 parts very soon)

[mangoisms]

Yeah there’s no ck chapter coming out today/this week HOWEVER. as a small offering. i was thinking about wally and tim again and remembered that in identity crisis, right before jack dies and bruce and tim are trying to get back to him, bruce whips out the big guns and asks babs to call on wally (specifically wally)

and this is sooooooo. when i was thinking about it i thought bruce had asked her to call clark and wally but when i actually dropped in to the issue. no. no. it was just wally. and isn’t that SOOOOOO insane. obviously in canon tim and wally have fuck all to do with each other and who is to say tim even gave wally a second thought after jack died (i’ve yet to see any indication) which i’m sure is canon like it was just never revisited and that’s fine

BUT. in my beautiful glorious inner mind (aka ck) tim and wally Do have quite a lot to do with each other. and i’m not SAYING tim is going to be rehashing this issue — it’s already been over five years since it happened — but he’d probably think about it.. maybe just a little after his argument with wally in the hospital when he’s really bitter… maybe thinking of how he felt in the aftermath of jack’s death right… normal and rational tim would recognize that you just can’t save everyone and it’s not wally’s fault but what about the sixteen year old tim who has just lost his dad. at a time when it could’ve maybe been prevented. the one time… the One Time they needed the fastest man alive and one of the few ppl in the world that could’ve prevented his dads death…. nothing…. but then he’d get rational about it and realize that even if wally pisses him off it’s not fair to blame it on him. (but it did bring forth just a little seed of bitterness that he never quite realized he’d held onto.)

but wally? yep. he’s thinking about it. it’s unfortunate i didn’t have this realization before chapter 10 and that way i could’ve laid out some breadcrumbs for it but i guess even now it can still potentially read that way. especially because if wally is aware of bruce’s influence on tim then he’s aware that tim was shoved into bruce’s care following the death of his father and they tried to ask him to intervene but he could not. i don’t even know what he could’ve been doing. the events of identity crisis were going on so i suppose he could’ve been busy with that. or patrolling. or he could’ve just been taking the night off. either way…. it kills him. it haunts him. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa

anyway. this is the offering for no chapter this week. but that’ll probably be how things shape up for the final chapters—they’ll come out every other week because i have an insane amount of work due in these upcoming weeks. unfortunately

also as a bonus: this final panel of jack talking to tim that devestates me every time i think about it

Jack: Tim, if something happens… Tim: Nothing’s gonna happen! Jack: Tim, I need you to focus… Tim: Nothing’s gonna happen! Jack: Tim! Tim: … Jack: You listening, Tim? Good. Then understand one thing: if you don’t get here, it’s not your fault. Tim: Dad— Jack: I need you to know this, Tim—it’s not your fault, okay? You didn’t do this. Tim: But I— Jack: I love you, Tim. I love you just like your mother loves you. Tim: Dad, please… Jack: What do you… for all those people… it’s worth it, Tim. Never question it. It’s worth it. Tim: Dad, we’re almost there… Jack: Tell Bruce to take care of you… — Identity Crisis #5

i love you just like your mother loves you is absolutely sick and twisted. also after this last reblog? it’s just so. pain

[soleminisanction]

I'm currently reading through tim's history chronologically and haven't gotten super far yet, but there's a question knocking around inside my head, so: how do you think tim views his own masculinity? from previous unorganized readings, I got a bit of a impression that both jack and tim can somewhat old fashioned and conservative in some of the ways they think and yet, tim is both pretty boyish but doesn't always appreciate what jack values as masculine interests and view points... so, how do you think tim views himself in that regard? how do you view him in that regard? does him being queer now change some of those interpretations?

Just to put my cards on the table here, my take on this is very much colored by the fact that I read Jack Drake as a direct parallel for Chuck Dixon.

Chuck is, notoriously at this point, a reactionary conservative, specifically of the racist, sexist and homophobic variety who thinks "I was fired for being a homophobe" is a relatable sob story and who's spent the last ten years of his professional career writing literal Q-anon propaganda and self-published Turner Diaries fan fiction. And his politics often got involved in his stories, especially in the form of throwing female love interests at young men like Tim and Connor Hawke to discourage the reading that they might be gay.

So while Jack is never (to my knowledge) shown to be openly homophobic in the comics, his tendency for conservative opinions and a heavy-handed, sometimes borderline abusive or neglectful parenting style makes me think that it makes sense for him to be a source of similar influence in-universe. I like this reading because it partially recontextualizes the conflict between Tim and his father into a metaphorical conflict between Dixon as a writer and the character he only thinks he has total control over.

As for how that affects Tim's views on masculinity... I guess the simplest way to put it is, it's complicated? A part of me is always tempted to filter out the moments when he's clearly being used as a mouthpiece for Dixon's Opinions; which, TBF, I do with other characters as well, even Steph. So I mostly tend to skim over his more Conservative moments as just Dixon Being Dixon.

My general perception is that Tim's natural personality gravitates towards the center of the sliding scale of gender, in that space where queerness intermingles with the punk, nerd and goth subcultures. Like he's fully a man (cis in the comics, trans in my heart) but he's also comfortable painting his nails and isn't really bothered by people considering him pretty rather than handsome. But, while his father was alive, Tim felt pressured to live up to Jack's expectations of masculinity, so he'd somewhat overcompensate by posturing with the positive aspects of masculinity he approved of: being a protector and a provider, especially of women, being brave in the face of opposition, being disciplined enough to choose celibacy until he's older, that sort of thing.

And then after Jack died, he was more free to just... let that go and be himself, because for as much as Bruce (and Jason, and many other adult male superheroes) is a Towering Symbol of Masculinity, none of them expect Tim to be that way if he doesn't want to be, and he's got plenty of other role models like Dick, Alfred and Ted Kord who clearly show that there are other ways of being a man that are just fine.

That this roughly corresponds with Dixon leaving the company and Tim fully changing hands to various writers, many of whom -- as we now know according to various testimonies since he came out -- always thought of him as some variety of queer, is simply narrative synergy.

Him coming out hasn't really changed my perception in that regard. I always read him as queer. That DC let him actually come out was just a pleasant surprise.

[flesh-into--gear]

@rozecrest this was just easier but im so glad you liked it!

honestly you can't go wrong with any of his albums.

Purgatory is hilariously strong from start to finish and has these tracks which i love (i love the whole album but, in order)

I Swear (To God)

Feathered Indians

Tattoos

Purgatory

Universal Sound

Lady May

Live at Red Barn Radio I & II in absolute entirety tbh but the usual standouts are here

Shake the Frost

Deadman's Curve

Charleston Girl

Rock Salt and Nails

Follow You To Virgie (oof, about his mom, its a hard listen some days but FUCK its good.)

Bottles and Bibles

Country Squire was a mild style change-up, a little more honky-tonk. it's got some great tracks on it but it was also a mild writing departure for him as well, focusing a little more on country tropes and a LOT more tongue in cheek (the song Ever Lovin' Hand is a masturbation joke wrapped in a song about missing the person you love a lot). probably his weakest album? but:

Creeker

House Fire

Peace of Mind

All Your'n

Long Violent History is a kinda cool album, it's all instrumentals, old school holler jams and stuff. kinda hard to get into unless you're from that kinda thing i would assume? just reminds me of when i was a kid at thanksgiving and christmas back when we still spoke to my dad's side, and he and my uncles and one of my aunts would all get together and jam on some old gospel and bluegrass tunes. everybody brought instruments.... ah well. but i digress. you can take me out of the country but ill always be a big tomboy butch who gets a little too excited around jacked up trucks of a specific set of years, or the smell of gas and oil in the morning.

Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven i admittedly completely checked out on because i was deep in covid depression throes so i can't and won't comment because it won't be an accurate representation so.

Rustin' In The Rain I still haven't taken time to fully check out, as im working through a music backlog, but.

In Your Love is an incredible song and go watch the video because it cut me deep as fuck. i know a lot of people still stuck in those mines and i have friends with family members dying today because of coal companies. and im a trans woman from backwoods VA with all my roots in Appalachia from both sides (we had a handful of bootleggers in the family, explains a lot tbh). song hit me hard, in a good way.

anyway! im sorry! thank you for listening to me ramble about an artist i really enjoy! one of these days i should really just start a podcast called "Nobody Asked" and it's just me screaming into a microphone about stuff like this!

like dave matthews! like yeah i get it "ha ha dad rock" but come on!

Live at Radio City with Tim Reynolds is a fucking MONSTER album! and dave is a good guy! or at minimum is actually worthy of supporting because the dude has been doing activist things quietly and loudly for longer than ive been alive! and their music spans so many genres!

Eh Hee

Bartender

Still Water / Don't Drink The Water (back to back! they must be listened to together! please listen to this and Bartender off Live at Radio City)

#41

Two Step

Satellite

Some Devil

Grace Is Gone

and thats not even touching a fraction of this man's catalogue, he's been making music for forty something years

ahain im sorry i just really really love music and GAH theres so many artists from my chilhood and teen years and stuff that get so undeservedly swept under a rug because... i really don't know why. i feel like a lot of artists immediately get written off because of styles or genres or whatever and thats just so unfair and upsets ke geeatly.

that's not directed at you whatsoever rozecrest to be clear lmao sorry it may have come off that way

also anyone who has an interest in bluegrass/gospel go listen to The Seldom Scene's "Old Train" and "Live at the Cellar Door" in their entirety

[psychologeek]

you, I got fic recs for you!

The Threads That Bind by SpaceWall (complete, Words: 5,921)

In which Jack and Janet Drake accidentally give seven-year-old Tim a pair of grimoires. -- Letting the knife go, Jason aimed a fist at the center of the Replacement’s chest. It bounced off like punching a yoga ball. The Replacement shuddered. “What the fuck is the Scarecrow Braid?” Demanded Jason, heart full of visceral hate.

Gotham Caves and Reality Aberrations by IzzyMRDB

Gotham was built on a cave system. Batman has referenced a Bat Cave before. Tim is currently in the cave system. He is in the cave system that he entered from Drake Manor. Drake Manor is right next door to where Batman- The Bruce Wayne- lives. Holy Cavern, Batman! Tim had just accidentally wandered into the Bat Cave’s cave system. OR Tim, having found a weird hole after a storm, decides to go exploring ignoring the fact that This Is Gotham and They Probably Have Cursed Stuff Down There. Luckily, it was just a cave system that spans the entire Gotham underground. Unluckily, Tim is a very curious child.

Hoarding Robin by ConfusedShades

Tim was cursed as a kid by a magical necklace his parents brought home. He's a dragon now. Or well, sort of. He can't breathe fire or fly, but he does have an obsession with Robin. Specifically Jason Todd. --- Or when Jason's attack on Titans Tower goes awry because he didn't account for a dragon.

not REALLY what you asked for, but OMG READ:

Gotham Knockoff by raven_of_hydecastle

Stalking Batman is hard as a starving orphan in Crime Alley. Tim would know; that’s his life. Luckily, Tim is excellent at his self-appointed calling, and once he cracks Batman’s secret identity, he discovers an empty mansion next door to the Wayne estate. Some would consider squatting uncouth; Tim calls it free real estate. Anyway, the Drakes won't mind. They'd have to be in the country for that. Besides, a little identity theft never hurt anybody.

I'm Not Convinced, Alfred by njw

The magician is beginning to tremble, and his left eye is twitching repetitively. “Okay, what the ever-loving FUCK. How is this even fair? THAT is even scarier than your vigilante form! How the HELL do you guys keep doing this. Each of you is somehow more terrifying than the last!” He rounds on Robin, pointing a shaking finger at him. “And what is YOUR name going to turn out to be, huh, CTHULHU?!”

Rise Above It (Spread Your Wings) by clarakent (mintaejin), njw, Silver_Snow_77 for vellaphoria

The dark fire twists and rises, orienting on the Gotham walls. It seems to be aimed for a point right in front of the battlements where Bruce and Damian stand, defenseless while casting their own spell. The black flames blast forward, closing in on the closest thing to a family Tim has left. Like hell. Tim knows exactly what he needs to do. Just as the black, corrupt hellfire approaches the village walls, he drops into a dive, closing his wings tightly around his body to plummet faster. He’s got this—he’s so close— As he falls, what sounds strangely like grief-stricken cries of denial in his father’s and brother’s voices reach his ears, but that’s not possible. He must be mistaken. As the burning, excruciating balefire surrounds him, burning the very tears from his eyes, Tim’s heart twists in painful satisfaction. Now the others will be able to save Gotham and defeat Ra’s. I did it, Bruce. Even if you never really wanted me to be part of your family, I hope… I made you proud.

The Warmth of Pandora's Box by faithms

How does a child grow into becoming part of The People without being told the stories They are supposed to share by word of mouth and word on paper. Sometimes he wonders if They were told the warnings of being alive from Their parents. If you don’t watch, your child will be taken by a fairy. If you don’t pay attention, a changeling will switch with your child. If you don’t love your child, a beldam will steal them away with attention and obsession. He wonders if They cared at all. As Tim sits criss cross on the JL meeting table while everyone converses heatedly and worriedly about the mysterious magical creature they’ve noticed in the forest near where children have gone missing, he can't help but absently mourn the children in the photos as he thinks of memories from long ago. Warnings are often only given too late after all.

Of Rings and Reptiles by kieran_granola for chibi_nightowl 

When is a gift not a gift? When it's an accidental wedding proposal, of course! (Or why homeless teens should know better than to keep the rings clueless magical boys gifted them as thanks for helping them back home.)

Home Alone: Christmas at Titans Tower by Miss_Lazy_Tuesday

Tim is nine. Well, apparently he’s supposed to be fourteen and Robin (so cool!) but he’s nine right now because of a wizard. Batman left him alone in Titan’s Tower because he needs Tim out of the way while he deals with some new crime boss in Gotham. And now a mysterious bad guy in a red helmet has locked down the Tower from all outside communication and is trying to get in. Tim doesn’t remember being Robin, but he’s going to have to get Robin-y in order to defeat this enemy on his own. Luckily, the Tower is full of so many interesting toys…. Inspired by the Christmas masterpiece Home Alone.

i need a homo-magi tim drake au.

like, i find it very hard to believe that in that mausoleum of a mansion filled to the brim with ancient artifacts jack and janet drake collected throughout their travels, that not a single one of them was cursed —

— and that a nine year old tim didn’t use an ancient aztec macuahuitl as a baseball bat and now knows several dead languages with weird cursed powers from some ancient meso-american demon that camps out in his body.

but like tim has no clue that whatever is going on with him is not normal because he was never told it wasn’t not normal,

and then imagine other people’s reactions to this, especially other magic users like zatanna and constantine —

zatanna: i don’t understand why i can’t seem to get these runes right..

13 year old tim drake: because you’re working on them backwards, it’s supposed to be [fast paced nahuatl]

zatanna: how…?

tim (blissfully unaware of his abilities, smiling sweetly): the voices :D

and then i just imagine his shadow is some looming creature or something idk, kinda how in yj comics his shadow is batman’s silhouette 😭

[forestlingincorporated]

I wanna talk about Janet Drake

I’m not against exaggeratedly evil versions of Tim’s parents, tbh. It’s fanfiction, if we can depict an Exaggeratedly Good version of Bruce (which we can, and I do, and I love) then we can depict the Drakes as Exaggeratedly Bad. As someone who personally identifies with Tim, and his brand of complicated parental abuse in particular, I find it cathartic to uncomplicate that abuse and rescue him from the Obviously Evil Bad People. 

That said, since much of comics lore is passed down word of mouth, the oral tradition surrounding Tim has developed this idea of Janet as The Worse Parent between her and Jack that was never really present in the comics. We see much LESS of Janet, and we have 20 years worth of comics depicting Jack as a neglectful hotheaded idiot who ultimate does love his son. More importantly, Jack isn’t very much LIKE Tim, so there is a habit to attribute Tim’s traits to his mother... and, as someone who really really identifies with Tim, Tim has... some negative traits. Tim can be a bitch sometimes. He’s fiercely intelligent and sweet and kind, with a strong sense of justice, but he can be cold and judgmental and unthinking - he fights those traits, but he does have them. 

And it is perfectly fine to depict Janet that way. I’ve enjoyed depictions of Cold Calculating Janet Drake, but it’s not the ONLY option, and I want to challenge fans to consider different avenues. Tim could pick up these traits from anywhere: a nanny, Mrs. Mc Ilvaine (”Mrs. Mac”), a teacher, tv, Sherlock Holmes novels, Bruce Wayne himself. Tim is capable of not being like EITHER parent. 

So, what do we KNOW about Janet? (I’ll also touch on Jack, but only in scenes he appears with Janet.) 

When Janet was first introduced she was depicted as a gentle but “modern” woman. This was written in 1989, told by a 13 year old Tim, so this theoretically was meant to take place in 1979. I’m not here to give a lecture on the history of sex discrimination in the united states, but much of the legislation protecting women in the workforce or surrounding women’s bodily autonomy would have been very very new in this initial depiction. 

Here, Janet is shown to be encouraging, emotional, maternal, and projects her own feelings onto Tim. Jack is shown to be slightly sexist, possibly discouraging, but not overbearing. And the artist is shown not to know how to draw children. 

To insert some speculation, I think it’s important to note all the Drakes witnessed a terrible murder/accident that day. I point this out, because this is the last time Jack and Janet are depicted this way. It’s possible they changed as a result of this event specifically. 

However, this is also a story being told by Tim. It’s also possible these events aren’t really “real” at all, and Tim is misremembering what his parents were like as a three-year-old, possibly projecting a more palatable version of his parents into the narrative. This is entirely up to personal interpretation. 

In fact, the Drakes are shown in Legend of the Dark Knight attending Haly’s Circus, and the artist knows what a toddler looks like and they’re depicted as already having a slightly strained relationship. Jack is clearly on the defensive, and Janet seems to be passive-aggressive, though she could just be attempting to explain the situation to her toddler honestly. The intended tone isn’t especially clear. 

I do want to point out, in this depiction, Tim isn’t being carried like he was in the previous one. He’s walking ahead of his parents, which isn’t a terrible horrible crime, but could be dangerous in a crowded place like the circus. Might be a subtle hint to his parents overall neglect. 

Back to A Lonely Place of Dying, in Tim’s memories of the night he discovered Robin and Dick Grayson were the same person at nine-years-old, his parents are home, and watching TV together while Tim played... trucks, idk, in the living room with them. (This is semi-interesting, because you could say “oh, Tim liked vehicle toys as a kid” or you could extrapolate that this is another subtle indication of Jack’s sexism, providing Tim with appropriately “boy toys.” Either interpretation is valid. If Tim was assigned female at birth, would they have been given “girl toys,” or allowed to play with whatever they wanted?) 

This is, to my knowledge, the only panel of the Drakes when Tim is between ages 3 and 13. They’re all together, which might indicate that the Drakes were home more often when Tim was 9, only later going on business trips when Tim was “old enough” but... 

This is Tim’s boarding school when he’s 13. While most boarding schools in the US are for grades 9-12, Tim is clearly not a freshman at age 13; look how much younger the other kids in this panel are. In the US, the youngest you can attend most boarding schools is 7. 

That means Tim could have begun going to boarding school anytime between 7 and 13. He most likely spent all of middle school in boarding school, at least. There are an almost infinite number of possible ways the Drakes handled having a business that required lots of international travel, an archeology hobby, AND a very young child. Janet staying home until Tim was 7, 11, 13, is equally possible as the Drakes having a nanny until 7, 11, 13. Tim just doesn’t talk about that period of his life very much.

(”What about Mrs. Mac?” - it is unclear when Mrs. Mac begins working for the Drakes. We only see her when Jack comes out of his coma. She could either be a long standing staff member, or a recent hire.) 

Note: I’ve seen it said that it’s canon that “According to Tim, when his parents were home, they made a point to try and include him in their activities, bringing him along to events that were normally adults only.” I have never seen this panel, or I don’t remember it, so I cannot confirm, but I also cannot debunk this because... comics. 

By the time Tim is 13, Jack and Janet are away on business trips a lot, with limited communication, and no firm return date. If I’m feeling generous, I’d say it was harder to communicate internationally in 1990 than it is today. If I’m not feeling generous, I’d say the Drakes are extremely wealthy, and international communication was easier than ever before in the 80s and 90s. They’re not even going home to see Tim in a week or two, they’re going home and calling Tim at boarding school in a week or two. 

Even Bruce thinks its weird, though he doesn’t say so to Tim’s face. It’s written almost as if Tim’s parents’ neglect was meant to be a plot point that just got forgotten about. 

Tim’s parents are fighting at this point (their poor assistant), but Janet still goes with Jack on these business trips. And she’s clearly involved in the business, somehow, but the comics never SAY what Janet’s JOB is. We’re told Jack is the exec, but Janet is ONLY ever referred to as Jack’s wife, though they’re later described as the “heads” of the company, plural. 

Just to be clear, this is Jack’s business. There’s a perception that Jack is a bad business man because he and Janet fight over company decisions, and Jack looses the business after Janet dies, but Jack looses the company YEARS after Janet dies, and maintains it for about a year after No Man’s Land at that. We’re not told how Jack looses the business, but he’s got to be doing something right. Janet isn’t necessarily the “real brains” of Drake Industries. 

And I’m not... gonna... touch the... exploitation and racism because... I’m not qualified to do that. But, here’s the panel. The Drakes sure seem exploitative and racist in their business decisions. Someone else can... analyze that with more nuance. 

Regardless how how long they’ve been fighting, when their lives are in danger, the Drakes fall back into a loving husband and wife. Their marriage may be falling apart, but they do care about each other. 

I want to show these panels because it shows that Tim and Jack do have things in common. They’re both level headed in a crisis and can be somewhat cold in their practicality. Janet meanwhile and silent. Jack is later willing rant and rave at their captors, but Janet remains silent. 

That is, until they’re alone, and she finally lets herself fall apart. 

God, Jack can be obnoxious. Janet just looks miserable and resigned. I actually think Tim takes after his parents in this respect in equal measure. Tim can have a temper, but he can also be fairly melancholy and defeatist. 

Jack keeps reminding Janet to be strong and in control, which could be period typical sexism? But Jack seems so practiced and ready with the words of encouragement, and with Tim’s history with depression, I wonder if Janet has an inclination towards it as well. 

As the end approaches, when Jack brings up Tim, Janet seems to have a lot of regret. She talks about “wasting” the good things, and I don’t think it’s too big of a stretch to assume she’s talking about time spent with her only child. 

From this point on, Janet is at times spoken of, but not seen. Like here, when Jack says Janet wouldn’t approve of him and Tim being so “far apart.” He says this after he tells him he takes back his threat to send him back to boarding school, which might imply Janet was against the idea of boarding school? Though she obviously lost that argument when she was alive. 

Jack will of course renege on this later, but that’s Jack Drake for you. 

Or here in Tim’s illness induced dream, where he gets everything he wants. Though, since this is a fantasy of Tim’s, where his father and girlfriend are both more accepting and understanding than they are in real life, I would take this depiction of Janet with a grain of salt. 

After loosing Drake Industries, Jack thinks about Janet (though, they call her Catherine/Cathy for some fucking reason) during his depressive episode. And... uh... 

Hallucinates a Valkyrie???? Is this symbolic of suicidal thoughts, or is she... real? Or is he seriously hallucinating? 

Anyway, we’re not here to discuss Jack’s mental state, the fact that he forgot Tim’s birthday, or that concerning “I was going to knock some sense into you but you’re still bigger than me” statement from Tim, we’re here to talk about Janet. And even though this entire arc is about Jack mourning his first wife, they don’t SAY anything about Janet herself at all. I mean, they don’t even get her name right, so I guess what was I expecting. 

Then there’s Origins and Omens, which also doesn’t say anything about Janet, except that Tim’s memory of her is faulty - Janet was poisoned, her assistant Jeremy’s throat was slit on television, but Tim seems to have conflated the death he did see with the death he didn’t. 

The only piece of canon to suggest that Janet might be cold, is Tim compares her to Thalia. And even then, he’s really just saying Janet was protective of him. It’s kind of a scary look to make at your kid, but Bruce does the same thing, so. 

I do want to say... it’s not 100% clear if Tim is even talking about Janet. He could be talking about Dana. Dana was observably protective of Tim, though I don’t think he’s ever called her mom. He PROBABLY means Janet. 

And finally we have Tim visiting his mother’s grave (in a duel Christian/Jewish cemetery, make of that what you will), where Tim says she was “a little religious.”

And that’s it! That is all we know about Janet Drake in New Earth. Hardly the Mom From Hell, but she isn’t perfect. I’d be interested in seeing some alternate depictions of her within the fandom. 

I’m still gonna eat up Terrible Parents From Hell like a starving puppy dog, though. Just some food for creative thought. 

[impyssadobsessions]

“Jazz says the vultures should keep him busy for a bit.” Tim said, after he finished relaying what had happened. “Man, I really wish I could have seen Vlad's face!” Danny groaned, knowing it must have been funny. “We'll wait on Danny and Jaybird to catch up then. Keep us posted.” Dick responded.

Jazz made her way over to the pods, to get a better look at them while Tim was talking. Her parents were suspended in a clear liquid that bubbled. She pressed her hand on the glass while depressing thoughts of the situation was seeping in. Tim walked over to the computers, glancing them over. It looked like Plasmius was collecting data. They knew he was going to try to clone their mother. But why would he need DNA from their father?

One thought came to mind, as it recalled the clone Dick, Danny, and Jason found. Tim shivered in disgust at how creepy that was. Tim shook it off while Damian stared at him questionably. He ignored Damian's stare and started working on opening the pods by shutting down the systems. “How comfortable are you handling the.. ca..bles...?” Tim trailed off his question as he noticed the look on Jazz's face. “I grew up in a lab-around a lab... They had one in the basement before I was born! ..Is.. what I'm getting at.” Jazz quickly clarified as she realized how bad that sounded. Tim nodded as he turned back to the machine. “Okay then, start with the large cables to the right of the pods, feeding into the display there. Wait for the display to shut down.” Jazz nodded as she glued her eyes to the screen. She didn't hesitate to unlatch the thick cables from the machinery when it turned black. The anxiety rising. They might be alive, but that didn't mean that they weren't injured. What if the pods were keeping them alive, what if. She bit her lip, shaking off the thoughts. She saw their vitals. They were fine. It was fine. Damian noticed Jazz was stumbling around and her body was shaking, despite her saying she was fine with handling the cables. She would end up shocking herself if she didn't get a handle of her emotions. Damian didn't understand how Jasmine could be so pathetic one moment, then... resourceful the next. Damian pushed off the wall he was leaned against, and went to help her with the wires. Not to help her specifically. He just didn't want to waste his time saving Jazz for her to needlessly shock herself. Jazz sent a soft smile towards Damian, calming down a bit as he went to help. Damian just clicked his tongue in response. They worked quickly, managing to get the machines ready to pop open. “The pods are draining. They should open up soon, so you might want to stand back.” Tim said, specifically was gesturing to Damian, who was standing in front of the pod with their father. He was pretty sure the demon might either get hurt if the man fell on him.. or worse try to stab Jack instead. Damian stood back with Jazz, as they waited for the pods to open. Jazz couldn't help placing her hands on Damian's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. It was a comforting gesture she normally gave to Danny, but it gave her just as much comfort. Damian froze and stiffened at the contact, but didn't fight it. He could tell by her eyes being glued towards the pods, it wasn't intentional. He would let it slid, this one time. Just as Tim predicted, the large man in orange fell out of the pod once it was open with a loud thud. Jazz and Tim flinched at the sound, and watched him cautiously. As the smoke cleared, the man pushed himself up with a groan. Hand on his head. “Ugh. That sneaky slimy spook! When I get my hands on that ectoplasmic scum-” “Dad?” Jazz called out, trying to get his attention. “Jazzirincess!” His eyes widened as he scrambled to his feet with a giant grin on his face. Jack scooped all three of them in his arms, giving them a bone crushing bear hug while nuzzling his cheek against them. “Too tight..” Jazz whined, even though she was more prepared for her Dad's hugs. They still squeezed the air out of her lungs. Tim thought he was going to pass out, as he was seeing spots in his vision. Damian was squirming, trying to fight out of the man's arms. He was was hitting his fist, against Jack's arms and was very tempted to gnaw his way out. “We were looking everywhere for you kids! We thought that-.........When did we have two Dannys?” Jack squinted looking down at the two dark hair children in his arms. “I don't believe either of them is Danny, dear.” Maddie stumbled out of the pod, hand on her head, but smiling amused at her husband. “They're not?” Jack questioning getting a good look at them. Damian was trying to gnaw on Jack's arm to free himself, but was finding out the man's arm was just thick solid muscle. Tim couldn't keep his head up as he counted the stars to keep from blacking out. Jazz was

squirming a little to find a more comfortable position to breath in. She very envious of Danny's abilities at the moment. “Dad.. can you.. put us.. down? Please?” Jazz squeezed out. Jack put them down with an 'oh', a smile still on his face as he scratched his head with his hand. Trying to figure out who the boys were if they weren't Danny. Tim almost fell over after being put down, as he gasped for air. Damian immediately ran once free, jumpingg behind the computers to block him from the Fentons. Peaking around it, he glared at them. Jazz let out a sigh of relief, hand over her abdomen. Maddie walked over to her daughter, gently placing her hands under Jazz's jaws. Maddie was trying to get a good look over of her daughter to make sure she was alright, before placing a kiss on Jazz's cheek. She pulled Jazz into an embrace that was snug, but not restricting at all. “My baby girl, I was so worried!” She rocked Jazz in her arms, making Jazz blush. “Moooomm.. I'm 18.” She was embarrassed, but melted into the hug. “Doesn't matter if your 8, 18, or 92 you will always be my baby.” Maddie petting Jazz's hair. “And you will always be my little princess!” Jack chimed, “So who are these two kids?” “And where's Danny?” Maddie asked pulling away, concern in her voice. “Oh, these are vigilantes from Gotham. Danny's with the others.” Jazz pointed out. “That's Red Robin and he's Robin.” Tim shook off his dizziness and helped explained, “Nightwing and Orphan are waiting on Danny and Red Hood to catch up. They're going to meet us here.” “But you can't be much older than Dannorino! Are your parents okay with you running around in Halloween costumes?” Jack asked confused. Tim and Damian frowning deeply. Damian was disliking this man, more and more. “Dad, you eat, sleep, and bath in a hazmat suit.” Jazz said with a frown. “That's different Jazzy pants! Ghosts can get you whenever your most vulnerable, plus its comfy.” Jack exclaimed with a proud grin. “Now Jack, I'm certain their costumes are made from specialized fibers.. or I at least hope so. Its already irresponsible of an adult to allow their children to fight criminals without supervision.” Maddie walking over noticing the mark on Tim's cheek. “Especially against ghosts!” “Our guardian is here.” Damian muttered with clenched teeth, "Not that we need one. Well, not that I need one." “Hmm, that's a nasty hit to the cheek. Looks like an ectoplasmic charged punch. Does it still hurt?” Maddie recoiling her hand back as Tim leaned away. She put hand on her chin, in thought. “Not any worse than a regular slug to the face.” Tim feeling awkward. Maddie frowned, pursing her lips. “Well, I sure hope that doesn't happen often. Now where did I put that ecto-salve.” “Your stuff is over there. Plasmius-Wisconsin Ghost stripped you.” Jazz pointing towards the weaponry and stash of items that Damian had opened prior. “Ah! Let's see then.” Maddie rummaged through the items, listing stuff off in a hum. Damian getting odd sensations of deja vu. “Here, now let's put it on the wound before it can cause an ecto-fection.” Maddie returning to Tim. “Ecto... fection?” Tim blinked confused and deeply concerned. He side glance to Jazz as if she could help clear up if it was something to be worried about or not. Jazz just shrugged in response. Not helpful at all. “Its a thing... kind of?” Danny stated over the comms. “Don't worry about it.” “Yes, like an infection but ectofied!” Jack loudly explained. “Don't worry, dear. It'll feel just like aloe vera gel. Cool to the touch though it might tingle.” Maddie applying it on her finger before reaching to rub it gently into Tim's cheek. Tim just flinched at the cold touch, deciding it be best to let them take care of it. Though he wasn't sure which was more awkward.. the fact he learned ecto-infection was a possibility, that these two were concerned about Bruce's parenting, or that Maddie was showing him motherly affection. Damian snickering was not helping. “There! That should do it, sweetie.” Maddie chimed. Tim had to admit, the

salve did help with the pain considerably. He wonder if that would work on Jason's shoulder. It should work on Cass, but all this ecto stuff seem to act differently to Jason. “Thanks. Um, does that work on ecto-blasts too?” “Sure does! We use the heck out of it! Don't know how we use it up so fast. Guess those spooks hit us more than I thought.” Tim and Damian glanced at Jazz, who was turned away from them whistling. “Did you get hit anywhere else? What about you, dear?” Maddie asked concerned, looking over at Damian. Damian kept the computer between them, hissing out. “I'm fine.” “Mom, Dad, we probably should get going. Plasmius is still flying around.” Jazz interrupted to get her parents attention off of Damian, before they would force their help. Plus, it was true. The quicker they all got out of there safely, the better off they be. “Oh, you're right!” Maddie put the salve into Tim's hand, patting his hand gently. Then she turned towards the weaponry, tossing items to Jack as she equipped herself. “We got some ectoplasmic scum to erase from existence!” Jack happily patting the large blaster. “No, we need to get out of here! He's after you-” “Exactly why we need to rip that ghost apart molecule by molecule!” “Jazz, I know your worried about your father and I.” Maddie assembling a large gun, that resemble the bazooka Jason had. “But this is our profession. We have to make sure this ghost doesn't harm anyone else.” “Besides, he made this personal! No spook messes with the Fentons and gets away with it!” Jack handing the Fenton peeler to Jazz. “Here, Jazzy. You kids evacuate while me and your mom handle this.” Jazz frowned as she took the device. Stress forming lines in her forehead. “Jack, I got signal.” “Great Mads! Let's go get that spook!” Jack ran out the door, after giving Jazz a pat on the head. “Wait Jack! The ghost is-” Maddie reached out towards her husband despite him being far out of reach. “Having a family reunion, are we?!” Plasmius floated from the ground, growling as he charged his fist. His clothes were tattered and his hair was ruffled. “Feel the heat of charged ectoplasmic blasts, you interdimensional scum!” Maddie aimed her giant gun at Plasmius who looked at her un-amused. “Normally I gush over how beautiful you look even when angry, however.. I found out love is a fickle thing, and just like my patience. It has died.” Plasmius dodged the blast without much effort sending one straight back at Maddie. “Mom!” --owob-- “They're being ambushed.” Dick stated as Jason and Danny caught up to them. Danny knelt over panting, trying to regain his strength as quick as he could. He still was far from well, but he couldn't let it stop him. His family was in danger. He pushed back onto his feet, giving a nod to them that he's ready to keep running. They ran towards the others, Dick and Cass far ahead of Jason and Danny. Jason was sticking behind Danny to make sure the boy didn't kill over or disappear again. A tight grip latched around Danny's ankle. “Woah-”

“Not on my watch!” Jason reached out grabbing onto Danny's shirt as they both fell through the floor.

[ragingbookdragon]

I'm Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 5

Batfamily x Batsis Story!

Word Count: 2.5K Warnings: Explicit Language, ALL THE ANGST. AND MORE TO COME! Tags!: @itsnottilly @cloudyskylines @starflyer-104 @iwillstaywiththemforever @justine-en @weirdgirlfromtx @notsostraightweeb @candlestudy @edlothia-baby @soul-end @willieoo @willowoo @peterxwade24 @the-atlantic-french-fry @bad-bouquet-of-emotions @vvipgot7be @pure-princess-97 @atomicsoulhumanspy

Author's Note: I have nothing to say for any of the emotions y'all are about to get from this. Enjoy!-Thorne

She wasn’t sure what she expected when she sat down, but the stretching silence growing between her and her estranged family wasn’t it. She tried to look anywhere but them, not because she was ashamed—far from it. But it was more than awkward sitting across from three brothers and a father she’d not spoken to in three years, let alone tell them she was even alive.

Her eyes found Wally’s as he sat down beside her eldest brother and if looks could’ve killed, he’d been dead and buried.

“Glare at me all you want, but I’m not going to apologize,” he shrugged.

Scowling, she turned her attention to the skyline. “Fuck you,” she spat, crossing her arms.

“At least talk to them, (Y/N).”

“And why should I, Wally?” she questioned, glaring at him. “I don’t have anything to say. If I did, I wouldn’t be here in Central.”

“You’re not leaving until you talk to them,” he finalized with a firm look and she growled low in her throat and resigned herself to her fate.

Her eyes darted to her father’s and she couldn’t for the life of her decipher what was in them. “I’ll talk for an hour,” she told him. “I’m not talking about what I’ve been doing in Central City, so don’t ask. I’m not talking about the life I’ve been living, so don’t ask. You’re only allowed to ask me about my departure and that’s it. But after one hour is up, I’m leaving.”

“Who said you get to leave,” Wally questioned, and she shot him the darkest glower she could muster.

“So help me God, Wally West you’ll either take me home or you’ll fix that fucking elevator and I’ll walk myself home. Because if you don’t, I’ll tell the world who every vigilante is at this table.”

For once she managed to stump him because his eyes went wide—so did her family’s but she didn’t care—and he finally nodded.

“Alright. One hour.”

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she turned back to her family, more specifically her father. “Why are you here? What do you want from me?”

“Maybe for you to come home, (Y/N),” Jason answered, and she glanced to him.

“Not a chance. Next?”

“(Y/N), you don’t have to be hostile. We’re not going to force you here,” Dick said, and she looked at him now, eyes narrowing.

“The manipulation tactic isn’t going to work on me, Dick. I’m not here for to be tricked into coming back. I’m never coming back.” She cocked her leg over the side of the table and reclined, biting out, “Give me your anger. I’d prefer that instead of whatever this pitiful bullshit you’ve got going on.”

In the eighteen years they’d known their sister they’d never heard her say such a callous thing, but her words had practically slapped Dick across the face because hurt etched onto his expression, then immediately turned into anger.

“You want my anger? Fine.” He stood and pointed at her. “What the hell is wrong with you! Why would just up and disappear like you did! Do you have any idea how scared we were for you! How distraught!”

(Y/N) blinked at him. “Knowing how you like to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders because you can’t help but be a hero? Probably a lot.” She made a dramatic show of looking at her watch. “You’ve got forty minutes. Keep it up.”

Her eyes shifted to Bruce’s. “Did you let them read the letter? Or did you just throw it away after you read it?”

Dick, Jason, and Tim all turned to Bruce at that.

“Letter?” Tim repeated. “What letter?”

(Y/N)’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape and then she smiled knowingly. “Oh, you never showed them the letter, did you?” She looked to her brothers. “I wrote dad a letter the night I left to explain why I was leaving. It’s sugarcoated bullshit but it is the truth.”

Dick’s face contorted in anger. “(Y/N) left a reason behind and you didn’t tell us about it? Three years and not a single word?”

Bruce merely stared at her as he pulled the letter out of his coat pocket. “I was going to burn it when I found her again. Talk to her before anyone else could.”

Jason snatched the letter from his hands. It had faded a bit, softened around the hard edges, like someone had opened it and read it every day for three years.

His eyes scanned the paper, and he met her gaze, voice chock-full of hurt and she had to fight tooth and nail to keep herself from externally reacting. “You left because you thought we didn’t care about you?”

Dick reached over and took the letter. With furrowed brows and a frown, he started to read aloud, and Bruce gazed at (Y/N) as the memory came back to him.

***

Mornings at the manor were unusually quiet in comparison with the evenings. Everyone was typically too tired to argue so it accounted for a peaceful breakfast of soft words and chewing. Everyone had an assigned seat and every child had learned early on not to take the seat that belonged to another brother or their sister because there would be a fight about it.

Dick and Jason sat next to each other and (Y/N) took the seat at the end of that side; Tim and Damian took the other side—oldest to youngest, just the neat and even way Bruce liked it.

It was rare for any of the boys to be awake before him or Alfred and (Y/N) was usually the first kid to the table, the boys wandering in just minutes after her. Oddly enough, that morning she hadn’t come down for breakfast—which she always came to.

Bruce looked at Alfred. “Is (Y/N) coming down?”

Alfred hummed and gently maneuvered Tim’s arm to the side to he could set down the plate. “When I went to her door, it was locked, and I received no conversation from inside.”

Jason snorted and sipped his coffee. “Probably had a long night with her friends and is still out. I know I would be.”

“How would you know?” Tim interrupted. “You died before you got to the eleventh grade.”

“You’re one to talk, dropout,” Dick countered, and Damian sighed.

“Richard, you dropped out of college. The only son of Batman who has actually completed an entire bout of schooling is me.”

The three boys turned on him with scowls and retorted, “No one asked you, pipsqueak.” Damian glared back at them.

Bruce rolled his eyes, using the side of his fork to cut into his omelet. “Let’s try not to start a free-for-all here in the breakfast room, please.” He glanced at Alfred. “She’s probably tired from all the ceremonies. Let her sleep.”

Alfred nodded. “Of course, Master Bruce. She should be well rested this evening.”

But when the evening came, Alfred still hadn’t been able to get (Y/N) to unlock her bedroom nor speak to him. He certainly wasn’t worried, but it was off for her to be so reclusive. When Bruce and the boys came back from patrol, he mentioned it to him.

“Miss (Y/N) hasn’t come out from her bedroom, Master Bruce. Nor has she said a single word all day.”

Bruce’s brows furrowed and he tugged the cowl off, rising from the seat at the Batcomputer. “I’ll go check on her,” he replied. “You deal with…” his steel eyes drifted to Dick who had Tim in a headlock and Jason who was giving Damian a noogie. “Them,” he finalized, leaving the poor butler behind.

He knocked on the door to her room and pressed his ear to it. “(Y/N)? You haven’t come out all day. Is everything alright?”

Nothing. Not even a breath.

“(Y/N), are you in there?” he asked again and when he didn’t receive a confirmation, he raised his arm, running his fingers along the doorframe until he touched a small metal piece. He pulled it down and stuck it in the door, wiggling the knob for a second before it clicked, and he opened the door.

“Sweetheart, we’ve been trying to—” Bruce went silent when he saw the kempt room. Bed neatly made, everything organized and put away. Even her clothes hamper was empty.

He blinked and walked into the room, quickly heading to the bathroom to check for her there. It was empty as well, and just as clean, leaving him stunned as he exited the bath.

Wandering over to her desk, he saw an elegant envelope sitting on top of her laptop, his name written in beautiful penmanship. He picked it up and unfolded it, pulling out the multi-page letter. He drew his eyes along the golden lines, reading her words.

Dad,

I don’t really know how to start this letter. Truth be told I’ve written at least six before this one, and even then, I’m not entirely happy with it. But if you’re reading this, I’m not here anymore. I haven’t hurt myself in anyway, you don’t need to worry about Vicki Vale or Jack Ryder reporting the discovery of my body. I mean it in a literal sense—I’m not in Gotham anymore. Neither am I ever coming back.

Don’t think this is your fault. You’re a good father, the best I could’ve been given, and my brothers are good siblings. But the truth is that I’m not fit for this family of heroes. And I never have been. My best when trying to be what all of you are, was never good enough and I’ve spent eighteen years staring at your backs, waiting for you all to realize that I’m still here, that I still matter even if I’m not like you. And I don’t want to feel like a stranger in my own home any longer.

I don’t want you to look for me. I know you will, but I wish you wouldn’t. This isn’t some spur of the moment thing I decided to do the night after graduation. If you look at my bank records, I’ve been withdrawing cash from my savings since freshman year—this is four years of planning, so please understand that I’m doing this because I don’t want to be found—ever.

I’ll leave the story for the media up for you, though I doubt that they’ll care long enough to make a deal of it. It’ll pass like winter does spring and they’ll move on to the next bigger story.

Thank you for everything dad, and good luck with Gotham—keep it safe like you always have. And I hope that one day when you think of me, you won’t feel disappointment. I’ve only ever tried to be something that when you looked down on me, you’d only be proud, and I hope one day I’ll achieve what I always dreamed about. Eighteen is young to be on your own and I’m scared. But I’ll be okay—I always have been.

So do me a favor and don’t spend too much time over this. There are plenty more younger kids that need a parent’s hand on their backs to steady them like you once did for me. Find one and fill my spot. Let them shine brighter than I ever could. Let them be the one worthy to be a Wayne—I know I never was.

-(Y/N)

Bruce barely had time to grasp the back of her chair to keep himself from falling to his knees in shock. The letter was clenched in his hand and his lungs wouldn’t take in air like he wanted them to, his heart aching with each palpitation. He looked around the room to her dresser drawers, willing the strength into his legs to moved over to it. He opened every drawer and to his astonishment, they were empty. Hurrying to the bathroom, he noticed the drawers in there were empty as well. She was really gone. And he had no idea what to do.

***

Tears were in Dick’s eyes when he finished the letter and he looked up at her. “How could you ever think we didn’t care about you, (Y/N)?”

She didn’t want to have this conversation. She didn’t want to sit there and explain every time she asked her brothers if they wanted to do something with her and they conveniently had something else to do. Didn’t want to explain every school and extracurricular performance that went unattended and left a little girl standing in front of a crowd barely managing to stave off the tears as she bowed and thanked them for coming. She didn’t want to remember all the memories that chipped away at her heart with every disappointment that occurred. All she wanted to do was leave.

(Y/N) had earlier returned to her original position, hands in her lap and she clenched her fists until her nails bit into the skin of her palms, eyes directed anywhere but Dick’s.

“I think it’s time we call this little reunion done,” she said, standing to her feet. “We’re not going to get anywhere.”

“Not if you run again,” Jason muttered, unconsciously wiping a tear from his eye.

She pointed at him, hissing, “I didn’t run the first time, Jason. I left. On my own accord.”

“You ran instead of coming to us, (Y/N),” Tim said, and she threw her hands above her head in disbelief.

“What the fuck did you want me to do! Wander down into the cave and beg at your feet for someone to pay attention to me! To at least pretend like I was a sister! I did! Every day!”

(Y/N) picked up her purse and yanked it up her arm. “Cassandra seems to be fitting in better than I did. So go and dote on her as the younger sibling. I’m not interested in the position anymore.”

“It’s not a competition,” Dick explained. “We love you just as much as we love Cass.”

She paused and gazed at him, voice laced with disappointment as she disagreed, “Then you should make sure she’s content in the manor, because if you love her with any semblance of how you loved me? It’s not at all.”

Her eyes shifted to Wally’s. “Fix the elevator. Now.”

He stayed seated for a moment, the two of them staring each other down, then he nodded wordlessly and moved to the elevator, starting it again. Her family stayed seated, and she gave them one final look before she followed Wally, silently waiting for the doors to open.

When they did, she stepped inside and turned around, hitting the button. Just before the doors closed, Wally stopped them and murmured, “You’re making a mistake.”

“My worst mistake was becoming friends with you.” (Y/N) blinked at him, then reached up and shoved his hand away from the door and as it closed, she remarked coldly, “And you can go to hell for all I care.”