#that is one heck of a ship name

[bird-in-a-fish-cage]

not his fault almost everybody he works with is incredibly attractive

[gravitcat]

millymeryl because I said so

[therantingsage]

Doodle of a scene from the kaiju chapter of my fic because I wanted to draw it. Itty bitty Pomni, big horse Ragatha. The sillies!

[palin-tropos]

just one more thing about dobreva/abadanaiz here. and it's the fucking. spa. falling to my knees wailing in horror

[davishater]

Mmh, ship so good, it's actually illegal! 😩👌

[misiahasahardname]

family comes in all shapes and sizes…

ignore how i drew brody here. i’m not proud of how he turned out.

original

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

No one:

Me: Okay, but what if their relationship has nothing to do with Sonic and Tails? What if Metal literatally just saw Eggman working on Tails Doll and assumed without proof that they were created for him? What if Metal quite literally attached to Tails Doll through this assumption and then their partnership progressed naturally? What if the inorganic creations fell in love as an unorthodox power couple and just so happened to resemble a famous partnership?

[total-toral]

S O . . .

Old man yaoi time?

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

one day I would dearly love to be on the Big Finish writer roster just for the sole purpose of writing canon stories that will taunt and tantalize and drive my friends insane

[ashtonisvibing]

eeeeeeeeeee 20 hits on my doctorbois fic [intense flappy hands]

i dunno why this one specifically is getting so popular

maybe it's cuz it's the first one i posted??

that or ao3 likes their doctorbois

[thejadecount]

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE

Lunella Lafayette (from Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur) x Rise! Donnie

(Photo for reference)

My Reasons:

Lunella’s 13 in the show, Donnie’s 14 in the show (and still in the movie if we’re going with the intent/headcanon the writers had of it taking place a few months after the show instead of a few years, or age Lunella up if you want to)

They’re both super nerds who would absolutely geek over each other’s technology. Lunella freaking out over the Turtle Tank and S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. and Donnie freaking out over her super suit, it would be pretty adorable

Lunella (for those who haven’t watched the show AND TOTALLY SHOULD) has a Jewish Puerto-Rican friend named Casey so not ONLY could Leo get a Spanish-speaking friend but he could also joke he knows THREE Caseys

Imagine the scenario: it’s your typical patrol. Both parties happen to get word of a crime happening at the edge of the Lower East Side. Maybe it’s one of Moon Girl’s villain-of-the-week or maybe it’s the Foot Clan or whatever. Both parties roll up, COMPLETELY not expecting the other. Maybe they accidentally mistake each other as the bad guy. Maybe Lunella’s have heard of urban myths of the TMNT and maybe Donnie’s a Moon Girl fan and they end up fangirling over each other only for the villain to completely get away. EITHER WAY it’s a great hilarious scenario.

For my fellow avid Moon Girl watchers, we all know that girl can SPIT BARS (that one symbiote episode if you know you know) and so not only would she be Donnie’s equal in intelligence but also in musically speaking

Look either way rather they start as rivals or fangirls or whatever they would work

They’re both proud parents and would TOTALLY set up a play date between Devil Dinosaur and S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.

MUST I KEEP LISTING REASONS I’M PRETTY SURE I MADE MY CASE but I WILL reblog this with even more if I must

I like how now that both leosagi and shellshocked are popular in rottmnt fandom so now people are trying to find a crossover pairing for both Donnie and Raph. Either reblog or reply with who you crossover ship them with and what theyre from, im curious!

[kathaynesart]

Firstly, love this moment here

Secondly, what the heck is a B01-02? 😅

It seems a little peek into Donnie's naming convention is in order.

B = Bomb The first two digits ("01") designate what TYPE of bomb it is. The second two digits ("02") describe the strength level.

So for example, the one below is a "B06-01." Different bomb type, but at maximum strength level.

Donnie has such a wide array of shields, bombs, and other ninpo built tools at his disposal that it actually became necessary for Leo to learn the codes. Otherwise his orders would go something like this:

"Donnie! We need a bomb!" "What kind of bomb?" "The big one that you used to take down the Krang ship last month!" "I took down multiple ships last month." "The one that looks like a big drill!" "Ah yes that one." "But like... smaller." "...Can you define that in killitons?" "NO. NO KILLITONS. NOTHING THAT BIG. Just... SMALLER!" "....HOW MUCH SMALLER?" "Like... twice as small??" "...You mean half as large." "You know what I mean--!"

And then Leo dies because it took too long for Donnie to figure out how big of a bomb to send. The end.

[wolfofansbach]

BEING A LIST OF THE THIRTEEN GREATEST RIVERDALE LINES, ON THE OCCASION OF THAT SHOW'S TERMINATION

As our much loved/hated show comes to an end, I feel compelled to record, for posterity, the greatest thirteen pieces of dialogue to spring from the pens of RAS and his henchmen. It was, of course, originally a top ten list, but I simply could not exclude a few of these treasures. Without further ado: 

13. 

“I dropped out in the 4th grade, to sell drugs, to support my nana.” 

“That means you haven't known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football.” 

Spoken by: an inmate of Leopold and Loeb Juvenile Detention Center, and Archie Andrews. 

In: 3 x 2 

Yeah, okay, this one had to be on the list. It’s funny, I’ll admit. It’s a great example of the overwrought semi-sincere melodrama that helped make this show so special. It’s low on the list largely because The Normies got their hands on it, so every time I hear someone make a reference I get all “do not cite the deep magic to me, witch.” 

12. 

“No! No! What are we supposed to do now? I’m horny as heck!”

Spoken by: Archie Andrews 

In: 7 x 16

Season 7 is undeniably dreadful, and yet there are diamonds in the rough. The occasion is the failure of a projector, just as Archie and Reggie prepare to watch a pornographic film. The utter desperation with which KJ Apa delivers this line is exquisite. One is made to feel they are witnessing a genuine tragedy. 

11. 

“Tonight, they’re making an exception and debuting a cover of the song my parents claim they were listening to the night Jason and I were conceived.” 

Spoken by: Cheryl Blossom. 

In: 1 x 1 

Really a fantastic line. A wonderful encapsulation of the casual absurdity of Cheryl’s character, and a foretaste of the lunacy we would plumb in later episodes and seasons. 

10. 

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m weird. I’m a weirdo. I don’t fit in and I don’t want to fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? That’s weird.” 

Spoken by: Jughead Jones

In: 1 x 10

A genuine classic. “High school football” before “high school football.” One is never entirely sure just how sincere the line is meant to be, both on a meta-level and in-universe. A perfect illumination of Jughead’s pretentiousness. It is made all the better by the occasional cuts to Lili Reinhard’s agonized face. 

9. 

“At the last dance, multiple students were murdered.” 

Spoken by: Principal Holden Honey. 

In: 4 x 2

Delivered as an explanation to Toni and Cheryl, as to why there would be no school dance this year. Principal Honey is in fact supremely rational in the cancellation of this dance. This being Riverdale, he is of course treated as an unreasonable tyrant. 

8. 

“Bro, I know all the secrets of this universe.” 

Spoken by: Archie Andrews (evil version)

In: 6 x 5 

Spoken as evil Archie reveals his evil plan to keep the parallel universes apart. KJ Apa’s delivery once again makes this line. He is comically sinister. Strangely, he sells it. 

7. 

“A Vughead kiss, right now, in the present might be precisely what it takes to save a future Bughead from imploding.” 

Spoken by: Jughead Jones. 

In: 2 x 14

One of those lines that both makes me laugh and makes me genuinely angry. This was a fairly early season, and this may have actually been the first line to get me asking, ‘did they genuinely write and deliver that?’ Extra points for use of the atrocious ‘Vughead’ portmanteau ship name rather than ‘Jeronica.’ 

6. 

“I’m the ultimate wild card. I am the daughter of The Black Hood. The nightmare from next door. I’m training with the FBI and I’m coming for you, you psycho bitch.” 

Spoken by: Betty Cooper

In: 4 x 14 

Just delicious. Another one of those lines that leaves you somewhat unsure whether or not the writers understood how genuinely hysterical it was. “The Nightmare from Next Door” sounds like an announcer hyping up a wrestler. Spoken with a raw sincerity by Lili Reinhart. Also points for the heavy homoeroticism between Betty and Donna. 

5. 

“For I am Cheryl Blossom, Queen of the Bees.” 

Spoken by: Cheryl Blossom.

In: 5 x 16. 

This one really doesn’t require any elaboration. 

4. 

“Elijah ascended…and I will, too.” 

Spoken by: Edgar Evernever.

In: 4 x 5. 

Admittedly, this one is only spectacular with context. But in context—the context being that Chad Michael Murray delivers this line while dressed like Evel Knievel and standing in a cartoon rocket right out of a Warner Bros cartoon—it becomes utterly magnificent. 

3. 

“It’s not queer baiting, it’s saving the world.” 

Spoken by: Veronica Lodge. 

In: 6 x 22. 

It’s actually hard for me to decide whether this one is funnier with or without context. Without context it’s wonderful, but it possibly becomes even funnier when you know that the context is that Veronica needs to kiss Cheryl to transfer superpowers into her body so she can turn into a Scarlet Witch knock-off and stop a magic comet summoned by Sephiroth an English wizard who is also the Devil. 

2. 

“If there’s no wedding reception, it means the Gargoyle King has won.” 

Spoken by: Kevin Keller. 

In: 3 x 12.

One of my personal favorites. This is a perfect line because like #3, it requires no real elaboration. There is absolutely no context in which it isn’t hysterical. 

1 .

“Word of my exploits serving Nick his comeuppance has seeped into the demimonde of mobsters and molls my father used to associate with, so the five families are sending their youngest and brightest, their ‘princes,’ as it were to, well, come court the rare Mafia Princess who can belly up to the bar with the big boys.

Spoken by: Veronica Lodge. 

In: 2 x 20. 

This is, in my opinion, the all-timer. Every word is perfect. The rapid-fire alliteration. The use of the word ‘demimonde.’ The entirely unnecessary addition of ‘as it were.’ This is borderline Dr. Seuss. The fact that Camila Mendes delivered it without cracking a smile should have won her an Emmy. No. An Oscar. This line is Riverdale. 

[fandom]

Top 23 of 2023

Have you been aching to get your hot little hands on 52 weeks of data around original posts, likes, reblogs, and searches, all weighted and ranked and tied up into categories with a nice little bow on top? Well, today’s your day! It should come as no surprise that Artists on Tumblr reign supreme: from stunning traditional art, jaw-dropping digital art, fanart, sculptures, textile art—you name it, basically—this year’s list shows that Tumblr truly is the home for art and artists. Thank you, Artists on Tumblr, for enriching our dashboards day after day. 

Rounding out the top three, we have two iconic shows: Good Omens is live-action, and The Owl House is animated, but both have a heck of a love story at their core. The second season of Good Omens blessed us with not one but two ineffably exquisite ships, while the final season of The Owl House broke and then healed fans’ hearts in equal measure. Thanks, @danaterrace! Actually, come to think of it, the Good Omens finale kinda did the same in reverse. Thanks to you, too, @neil-gaiman! We can’t wait for season 3. 

Speaking of heartbreak and healing, Our Flag Means Death’s second season offered both in droves. The entire cast gave stellar performances, and fans couldn’t have been happier to see the kinds of representation the show displayed. Last year’s #1 topic, Stranger Things, may have dropped a bit, but trust us, you wouldn’t know it from the amount of meta, fanart, and fics in the tag. And did you hear about the live-action adaptations of both The Last of Us and One Piece? They were a preeeetty big deal this year, too. Check ‘em out if you haven’t yet (lol, of course you have). And we’d be remiss not to mention the hugely dedicated fans, fanartists, and fic writers devoting their time to all things Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Y’all deserve a little pizza, as a treat.

2023 was also a year for blockbuster movies, which of course hasn’t escaped anybody’s notice here on Tumblr. Barbie smashed box offices worldwide and left us reeling with every re-watch. How can one describe Greta Gerwig’s pink-filled opus? It certainly is one of the movies of all time. Meanwhile, with its incredible animation and soundtrack, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse introduced us to a whole new multiverse of Spider-People, opening the portal to a veritable flood of incredible OCs. And then, of course, we got a fresh perspective on an old classic when cinephiles introduced Martin Scorscese’s cinematic masterpiece, Goncharov (1973), to a new generation of film aficionados who resoundingly agree that it is, in fact, the greatest mafia movie ever made. We’re so glad this underrated film finally got the acclaim it has long deserved.

In the realms of gaming and tech, the long-anticipated Baldur’s Gate 3 has basically become everyone’s new favorite D&D/dating sim combination. Of course, the Pokémon franchise, games, shows, and Hatsune Miku collabs remain perennial favorites. Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, sorry, we mean of course X, made waves across the internet. Similarly, the Reddit blackout drove Redditors to new venues, and Tumblr users welcomed the folks from r/196 with open arms—we’re huge fans of your memes, y’all, and you fit right in. Welcome, we’re glad you enjoy the chaos. Here’s a fun fact: if we included post metadata in Year in Review rankings, #polls, introduced in January of 2023, would have been the #5 topic on Tumblr this year. Phenomenal. 

And, oh right. Taylor Swift had kind of a big year, what with the albums, the epic global tour, and the movie and stuff. Fantastic work, @taylorswift, the Swifties on Tumblr thank you for everything.

This is Tumblr’s Year in Review.

Artists on Tumblr

Good Omens

The Owl House

Barbie

Pokémon

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Critical Role

Goncharov

Taylor Swift

Genshin Impact

Stranger Things

The Last of Us

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Elon Musk

196

Star Wars

Our Flag Means Death

Crowley | Good Omens

LGBTQ

Cottagecore

Baldur's Gate 3

One Piece

Aziraphale | Good Omens

[peppermintquartz]

Tommy must have been staring at his phone for far too long, because Donato pounces on him (metaphorically) in the dining area.

"I go on leave for a week and you flew a chopper into a hurricane?" Donato exclaims, punching him in the bicep.

"Ow," Tommy says out of habit. "The hurricane was mostly over by then, actually."

Donato huffs. "The things you get up to without my calming influence, Kinard."

Putting down his phone, Tommy levels a stare at his friend. "Last I remember, you're the one who scaled a cliff sans harness to get to a scared kid."

"And got chewed up for it after," Donato says brightly, holding up a finger. Her voice drops. "Seriously though. What's the brass gonna do about you guys?"

"Hopefully? Nothing. There's enough positive publicity that's got Simpson off our asses, so I'm hoping it'll blow over."

"Melton says you might be grounded for some time."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Tommy sighs and leans back in his chair. "As long as I'm not fired, I'm ok with the consequences." His lips twitch into a smile. "You'd have liked it though. I got to land the bird on an upside down cruise ship, in a storm."

"Oh fuck you, Kinard, you lucky bastard." Donato grins, her blonde bob bouncing as she jumps to her feet. "You're buying me lunch, by the way."

"Why?"

"Because you love me," she says, laughing as she jogs off to bother someone else. "Mentaiko bowl, you know the one!"

Tommy shakes his head fondly. He didn't know what about him had attracted Lucy Donato's friendship, but her effervescent energy always brightens up his day.

Which still doesn't help with Tommy's dilemma, which is one leggy firefighter named Evan Buckley. His sunny demeanor and inexplicably funny chatter in the middle of a helicopter heist and dangerous rescue had helped Tommy stay focused on the task. Afterwards, on the return journey, Tommy, Howie, Hen, Athena and Bobby caught up with one another, and both Eddie and Evan had been there, joining in the conversation whenever they can.

Tommy hopes no one actually saw him staring at Evan most of the time. It helped that they had sat opposite each other, and Evan's eyes had been so, so blue, the color of a clear summer sky, and his smile radiant. Of course it was easy to get numbers from everyone then - Tommy needed to update the ones for Athena and Bobby, and he added Eddie Diaz and Evan Buckley into his contacts.

Eddie texted him the very next day asking if Tommy's up for a quick visit to the Diaz household, because his son Christopher wanted to meet the pilot who helped save Captain Nash, and Tommy decided that, heck it, he could do with some new friends, and went.

And for the next hour or so, he listened to Christopher wax rhapsodic about "my friend Buck", how brave and funny and clever Buck is, how selfless, how he rescued Chris during the tsunami, how good a friend he was, how he loved taking Chris to the zoo and built him a structure so that Chris could skateboard, how the lightning strike gave him insane math powers, how good a cook he is...

And the photos Chris shared about Evan all show Evan grinning happily, as if there's nothing else he'd rather be doing than be with Christopher and Eddie.

For a moment Tommy had thought that Eddie and Evan were an item, until Marisol showed up at the house and kissed Eddie in the kitchen. The relief Tommy felt is disproportionate to how much he knew Evan. Which is ridiculous - Evan might have a partner already, or might not be into men, and Evan hasn't ever texted Tommy yet. Eddie's already sending dozens of messages about the upcoming reunification fight.

The phone in Tommy's hands suddenly rings and he almost drops it in shock. Cursing, he quickly swipes up to answer. "Hello, this is Kinard."

"Oh, uh, hi Tommy. It's Evan. Buckley. E-Evan Buckley."

Tommy swallows his surprise even as a huge smile blossoms on his face. "Hey. I wasn't, um, expecting you to call."

Evan chuckles. Is that nervousness in his voice? "Listen. Um, I was, uh, I was wondering if you gave, like, tours? Of the station?"

Tommy's heart skips a beat. Does this mean Evan wants to transfer to Harbor? Then he realizes it's been too long since the question so he hastily says, "Yeah, yes. I could show you around, if you want."

It's a good thing he's not hooked up to anything measuring his pulse. Tommy thinks his heart may jump out of his chest.

On the other end of the line, Evan says, "Great! Uh, you-you have my number so. Text me possible dates and times to go over?"

"Sure," Tommy replies, his mouth dry. He thinks about fawn-colored hair, blue eyes, red lips. He swallows again. "See you soon, Evan."

"See you soon, Tommy."

[noisilyscreechingsong]

Danny ran away.

The classic reveal didn’t go right/ the GIW is hunting to him/ everyone is dead. You pick.

He’s alone. In Gotham. With nothing.

Staying in the city makes sense, right? Except for the crazy rogues he doesn’t want to get involved in or the straight up normal humans dressing up to fight them. Danny wasn’t touching that with a 10 foot pole. So he travelled further to the outskirts where he hoped to find a cabin some rich family only stays in for the summer.

Instead he finds rich mansions hidden back in the trees with big tall gates keeping everyone out. Most had people living there (he checked), all except for this one.

He’s only seen a kid, maybe ten, go in and out for school and sneaking out late at night.

Danny thinks he’s smart, sneaking in to snag some food and rest a bit when he knows the kid is gone. He doesn’t account for if the boy comes back earlier than normal.

Wide, surprised eyes meet wide, panicked eyes. Danny doesn’t even shove the next bite of Mac and Cheese in his mouth before he’s booking it to the nearest window.

“Wait!” Danny doesn’t wait. “You don’t have to go!”

Danny slows to a stop. Um, what?

He turns to give the boy a look but he doesn’t cringe back. The kid steps forward, almost impulsively.

“You’re the one who’s been stealing food and sleeping in the guest bedroom in the west wing, right?”

How the heck did he know where Danny was taking a nap? He always made sure to fix the bed when he left.

The boy continues without any answer.

“You don’t have to keep hiding. You can stay. I’ll provide you food and clothes and you can pick whatever room you want to stay in.”

Danny doesn’t know what’s gotten into the kid, but he suddenly feels flat footed and so off balanced.

“Why?” He asks incredulously. Why do all that for him? Why trust a strange teenager in his home? Why bother with him? He’s obviously homeless and has been stealing from him.

The boy’s lips thin slightly like he doesn’t want to say. Like he’s embarrassed.

Instead he says, “You had dozens of chances to steal any of the priceless artifacts in this house, but instead you only steal enough food for yourself and to rest.”

Okay. Yea, that was technically true and he could see the boy is thinking he figured out Danny’s personality by just that (it reminds him of Jazz how confident the kid is), but that doesn’t mean he’s trustworthy!

He goes to tell the kid off for thinking he knows anything about some random teen that keeps breaking into his house, but then notices the way the boy is holding himself.

“You’re hurt.”

The boy jolts like he wasn’t expecting Danny to notice at all. He looks down and adjusts his weight a bit.

“Uh…”

“Did you twist your ankle?” Danny guesses.

The boy mutely nods, looking at him with wide eyes with too much emotion to decipher.

“Well come sit down, don’t keep standing on it, dummy.”

The boy quickly makes his way over to sit delicately on the edge of the couch cushion. Danny goes to the freezer where he knows he saw an ice pack once when he was going through it.

Danny helps the kid turn and lay back until he can elevate the foot under a pillow and set the cold ice pack over the sock. The boy is still staring at him with those wide, intense eyes.

“Ice it for a while and after you take a shower I’ll wrap it for you. Where’s your first aid kit?”

“The first floor bathroom.”

“Which one? You have three.”

“Four actually. You missed the one in the laundry room.”

Danny gives him a look.

“Kid.”

“Tim,” the boy corrects happily. “My name is Tim. Timothy Drake.”

Danny just looks back for a few moments at what is undoubtedly a flicker of hope in those blue eyes. He sighs.

“I’m Danny.”

And a weird friendship was born. Or more of a sibling-ship? Brotherhood? They teeter over the line of friend and family daily.

Danny did stay and Tim was thrilled to have someone else in the house, someone that wasn’t cold or professional towards him. They played games together and joked and taught each other things.

Danny was good at fixing anything that was broken and was the one to do any errands while Tim was at school. He was also the one who had to teach Tim how to be a brother.

Tim on the other hand seemed to be good at everything but letting himself relax. He was a hyper and intelligent kid whose mind was always active, so Danny had to accommodate and come up with crazy games and tasks for the boy in the disguise of requests, but he also made the boy sit down with him to watch crappy movies and just relax together.

They had fun, but they also had bumps and misunderstands. Danny nearly blew his top when Tim snuck out to spy on Batman and Robin without telling him (and wasn’t that a conversation to remember when the Danny found out what he was really doing at night). And Tim had a problem with lying to try and make Danny not worry, which ended up doing the opposite.

They got through those hiccups together though because they were both too possessive to let the other go that easily.

Tim created a fake identity for Danny saying they were cousins. The same black hair and blue eyes kinda sold it with a backstory of Danny’s mother being disowned by Janet’s parents. Jack and Janet weren’t home enough (or invested enough) to confirm or deny.

It was funny though watching Tim stare after Jason Todd-Wayne longingly for a while, but enough was enough. If Tim secretly wanted to befriend his idol, then Danny would make it happen. And he did of course. He made friends with the butler after ‘losing’ a frisbee in their yard and asked if they could get together for dinner one night so Tim and Jason could hang out outside of school. Alfred obviously knew Danny was pushing for Tim’s sake, but he still agreed easily enough.

So became a normal for the Wayne’s and the Drake’s to eat dinner together at least once a month. And after many meetings Danny mentally checked them off as ‘okay enough for vigilantes’ and stayed behind while the two younger boys ran off to go play a game before they headed home next door.

“Mr. Wayne?”

“Come now, you know you can call me Bruce, Danny,” the man smiles. It’s a little too wide, but Danny understands he’s still trying to put on the Brucie mask. He really wish he wouldn’t.

“Right, Bruce.” He fidgets for a second with his hoodie strings and he can feel Bruce’s attention zero in on the motion. “I need to ask you a favor.”

The air turns tense with the silence after that.

“What’s wrong, Danny? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine! Promise. I just- I just need you to promise me something. Please.”

Danny felt so awkward. He has never relied on an adult before, always doing everything himself or with other kids, something Tim and him have in common. So to turn to Bruce Wayne was out of character, but he wasn’t really. He was asking Batman, and him Danny could trust a little more.

“Promise you what?”

Danny could hear the barely covered suspicion in his voice.

“If- If something happens and I’m not around anymore, I need you to take Tim in,” he states, looking at the man full on to show how serious a matter this was.

The man stares back equally serious.

“What would happen to you? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Bruce asks.

Danny shakes his head hard.

“I’m not into drugs, Bruce. Or a gang or gambling or anything like that okay? I don’t owe any debt someone’s coming after me for. I just need insurance, some piece of mind that if something did happen that meant I couldn’t take care of Tim, there would be someone to look after him.”

Bruce stares back, thinking, for several moments.

“Tim has parents, Danny, I don’t know what you expect me to do. And what do you mean you take care of him? Don’t you boys have a caretaker?”

“Of course we don’t. We look after each other, but I’m the oldest. His parents are never home. I’m not exaggerating, they were in Gotham for only fifty-four days last year. They missed Tim’s birthday, holidays, everything. He’s still a kid, he needs someone to be there for him and if I’m suddenly gone then he has no one. Promise me that won’t happen. Promise me you’ll take him in, that you’ll figure out a way to keep him with you so he at least has Jason and you and Alfred.”

Bruce is silent for a while and Danny knows what he’s struggling with. He didn’t really want to use his trump card, but desperate measures.

“We already know who you are. You don’t have to worry about him finding out your secret.”

All traces of the Brucie mask drops at that confession and Batman analyzes him.

“How?”

“Tim is a really smart kid,” he just says with a fond smile. “He’s known for a while too, so you know he won’t go blabbing to the media or whatever.”

“What about you?”

“If I wanted to blackmail you, don’t you think I would have led with that? I don’t care what you do in your free time, but it’s not my business to tell.”

Danny shrugs and tries not to squirm under being scrutinized.

“Since you know who I am, if you are in trouble or ever need help, you can come to me.”

Danny blinks.

“Yea, that’s what I’m doing. So do you promise?”

Bruce nods once, very controlled.

“Yes. I promise you that I will take care of Tim Drake if anything happens to you,” the man vows solemnly.

Danny smiles back, shoulders sagging in relief.

“Thank you.”

When Danny somehow saves Jason from dying, and two months later goes missing, Bruce has to honor that promise while also tracking down the teenager to bring home to a very distraught Tim.