#what happened to being the better batman??

[zealouswitchwerewolf]

Tim didn't know what had made him decide to give Damian another chance. If he had to guess, he'd say it was a collection of small moments instead of one big life-changing one. The way Damian was gentle with the animals at the farm, taking care of them in any way they needed without waiting to be asked or caring about dirtying his clothes. It was about the secret smiles Damian got when he thought no one was watching. How he helped the Kents around the house with excitement, delighted to learn new skills instead of annoyed at being put to work. He saw his need to be of use even when no one required it. He was so small. He had seen him struggle to reach things all around the kitchen while trying to help, too shy to ask for a stool, too stubborn to give up.

He was just a kid. A kid with assassin training and a lifetime of trauma but a kid nonetheless. Looking back to his early days at the manor, he could see the insecurity in his actions against Tim. The way he had acted out of fear instead of real aggression. Bruce hadn't helped. Too busy with Jason and the league and Batman to raise a child, or the last 4 for that matter. Damian had received no reassurances of his place in the family. No way to know if he would be allowed to stay without carving a place for himself. Tim understood it better now that he had seen the inner workings of the league. The realization had come gradually but it had stayed on the back of his mind, making him feel like he was missing something. It had gotten him to pay more attention to the kid.

That was how he had finally seen what was bothering him. It was in the small gestures. The minute flinches he displayed every time he was shown affection, the way he seemed to lean towards any kind of friendly touch for the first few seconds only to step away from it as soon as he realized what he was doing. Tim could see his walls were up almost all the time, even while knowing he was in a safe space. At first he had thought it was because of him. Eventually he realized it was another part of his training. That's when he realized Damian still felt like every single moment was a test of some kind. The uncertainty around his undefined position in the family still preventing him from relaxing, even now that he had Robin.

The kid was desperate for affection and clearly touch starved but couldn't let himself lower his guard enough to get what he needed. Hugs didn't help either. It opened him to too many attacks and he could not relax while knowing he was vulnerable in more ways than one. He could see the kid's anxiety skyrocket whenever the Kents initiated one. He hoped it was different with Dick, the two of them had formed a deep connection. Either way, it wasn't enough.

It got worse when the Waynes had their falling out. Tim knew the hero community had decided to shield him but it didn't stop him from keeping informed. He was well aware of the moment things blew up on their face after they realized Bruce's words were just that. Hollow and not backed by Bruce's beliefs. His love was very much conditional and his affection given sparsely.

It was something that wouldn't change unless Bruce put some serious effort into maturing his emotional intelligence and realigning his priorities. Tim didn't see it happening any time soon. He had finally accepted there was not much he could do about it. Not really. He had been trying for years at the expense of his health and sanity and the best he had accomplished was giving him a superficially happy family with such a fragile foundation that it had taken just one small blow to tear the illusion apart. He couldn't fix someone that didn't think there was anything wrong with his current way of life. Leaving was one of the hardest things he had done but he didn't regret it.

That said, he still felt partially responsible. He knew Bruce's mess was his own and Tim shouldn't have to be there to clean it. Dick and Jason were all grown up and perfectly capable of making their own choices. Cass, Steph, Barbara and Duke had all moved on and found communities where they fit in with people they cared about out of the family. They were thriving. Damian, however, was still a child. He didn't have as many options or enough experience in interpersonal relationships to know anything was wrong to begin with or how to go about changing it. Tim couldn't let his little brother suffer without at least trying to help. He had decided to intervene.

It had taken him a few days to determine the best approach. He wanted Damian to know he had options and to show him how healthy relationships worked. He wanted him to be able to relax and let down his walls when he was around people he trusted, even if Tim was not included in that list. He did not want to interact with the rest of the Waynes. With that in mind, he had settled on a plan and gotten to work.

He had started small. He had talked to the Kents. At first it was just Martha and Jonathan present. He had explained the situation and his theories on what would help Damian. He had told them to find a balance to provide affection to Damian through touch without making him feel vulnerable or exposed to an attack. He had then asked Jon, with Ma and Pa's blessing, to start inviting Damian to the farm more often and for shorter trips. He had then started working on his own relationship with Damian.

He approached it slowly, being nearby without being perceived as a threat. Sitting close enough to count as company but not to touch if either of them extended their arms. Working on his homework or his projects without putting on headphones or making himself unapproachable. Keeping his body language open and inviting. Letting Damian be the one to decide if he wanted to interact and do so on his terms. Eventually, the kid took him up on it. It started with small gestures, Damian sitting closer and working on his drawings while Tim kept doing homework. Bringing him snacks or drinks if he got up to get his own.

After a while, they started talking as well. Damian was hesitant at first. Tim had seen him try and talk and had decided it counted as the first move and asked about his pets. It was easier from then. They talked about the farm, the Kents, Tim's independent projects, his major, Damian's drawings, his upcoming events. Damian had told him Bruce demanded his attendance at a gala later that week and Tim had given him tips and tricks to survive Gotham's elite. They still tiptoed around the topic of their family. Damian didn't talk about them, even if he mentioned their name every once in a while. Tim didn't push.

Eventually, Damian had gathered the courage to apologize about his early interactions with Tim. Tim had accepted the apology and taken it as an invitation to start a bigger conversation about healthy relationships and family dynamics. Damian looked thoughtful and sad. Tim had taken it a step further and made him promise to come to him if he ever felt unsafe in his current situation. Damian had looked perplexed and ready to snap his walls back up. Tim had given him enough examples and details to show that he was being earnest and had managed to extract the promise.

Now, Damian was at his door with too many bags to only be visiting but too little to contain everything he owned. Tim couldn't say he didn't see it coming. He had still hoped to be wrong.

The next few months went by quickly. They settled into a routine and Tim made sure to establish clear expectations and well defined boundaries around their arrangement. He started looking for houses, taking Damian to see the more promising ones. He knew his little brother would want to have his animals back with him and they needed more space than the apartment could provide. He bought enough psychology books to fill up a small library. He showed most to Damian. Some he kept to himself. He talked to Ma constantly, trying to make sure he was giving Damian everything he needed to thrive and grow knowing that he was loved. That he mattered. It was nerve wracking. It was worth it when Damian led him to his room, proudly showing his decorations and waiting for Tim's approval. The trust in his eyes was the best compliment Tim had gotten in a long time.

As they got used to living together and relying on each other, Tim kept adding new things to their routine that he thought would benefit Damian. He bought him materials for his art, clothes meant for comfort more than usefulness, things for his pets. He offered to teach him photography, Damian agreed and offered to teach him different drawing techniques. He started introducing Damian to new people, partly to ensure he had more people in his corner if Tim wasn't available but also to expand his bubble of trust and work on de-isolating him after all the years he had spent mostly alone in the manor. He started with people Damian already knew and trusted. Cass, then Steph and Duke, then Kon and Bart, then J'onn, Diana, and Clark, then Zatanna, then some of his university friends, and so on.

He took note of who Damian seemed to click with and arranged more outings with them. He wasn't expecting Damian to connect with everyone but he wanted to give him the option to do so and enough people for Damian to interact without any expectations outside of getting to know them for a bit. Only a select few were allowed inside their house. Tim's priority was for it to be Damian's safe space and he wasn't going to jeopardize that for anything. Only people that had earned Damian's full trust got to visit them in their sanctuary. Everyone else met them outside. It was a good system.

He also enrolled Damian into school, silently transferring legal guardianship of the boy to himself after he had gotten his permission to do so. He didn't think the bats had noticed yet. Bruce was still trying to get to Tim in any way possible (Tim saw his repeated attempts on his security systems and kept an eye on the times he tried to get people to give away his information). Dick had gone back to Bludhaven after the latest screaming match and wasn't aware there was anything out of the ordinary happening. Alfred had contacted Ma Kent to inquire about Damian's safety (his words, not Tim's) then had continued with his duties as Bruce's butler without doing anything else. He cared in his own way, just not enough to take a stand against his ward.

Life kept going. Damian's 13th birthday came and went, they spent it with the Kents and visiting Damian's animals. They moved to a bigger house and Tim started looking at blueprints to build something to house Damian's pets closer to the boy. As they moved in, they decided to turn the living room into a shared study for them both. On one side Damian's painting materials and all his drawings, on the other a sturdy table with comfy seats and enough space for Tim to work on his latest project. They included a couch and a few other places to sit and spend time together. They turned a smaller room into a game room with a big TV, board games and different consoles. They turned the rest of the rooms that weren't their own into guest rooms for the Kents and the few others allowed to visit. Slowly they started filling the walls with their own decorations. Damian's drawings of Titus and Alfred, Tim's pictures of the city and Damian's pets, a few of the ones they had taken together on their excursions. Damian lamented leaving all his old art projects behind but when Tim offered to get them he decided to just start new ones.

Damian's first big drawing in the new house had been a surprise to Tim. He had insisted on covering it whenever he wasn't working on it, making Tim promise not to take a peek and being careful not to show it to him whenever he added to it. Tim was curious but he wanted to respect his little brother's privacy and let him do things on his own terms. It took almost a month to complete. Damian had finished it while Tim was out of the house. By the time he had come back, Damian had been waiting impatiently at the door and had led him to their study as soon as he was within reach. Once they were there, Damian had started fidgeting before hesitantly turning his finished painting so that Tim could finally see it.

Tim felt his heart fill with warmth. It was a painting of him and Damian standing at the Kent's farm. It was breathtaking. Damian had managed to capture the welcoming essence of the Kent's while keeping the focus on him and Tim and their closeness. It felt more like a candid picture of them than a portrait. Full of life and love. Tim felt a few tears escape his eyes as he pulled Damian close and hugged him. Later that day, he got it framed in a design both him and Damian approved of and hung it up in the center of their living room. Even as Damian's collection grew and the walls started filling with art from both of them depicting their adventures, it remained his favorite.

Bruce comes back from the dead and wants to make things better. Bruce comes back from the dead and Tim was the one who brought him back, so it's obviously Tim who'll know best how to help him reconnect with everyone.

It's Tim who should give him advice on how to bond with Dick. Dick has always been his idol, after all. Tim would know best how to bring him back, and he does. He gives good advice and the two of them begin to get closer.

So Bruce asks about Jason, too. Asks about how to bring his son back into the fold and Tim wished for a brief and brutal moment that it weren't so obvious who the favorite was.

Tim told Bruce to give Jason his space, to loosen his rules, and make it clear that no matter what the Red Hood did, no matter what the Batman believed in, Jason was always welcome. Bruce would always want him.

It worked. Bruce wasn't surprised. Tim was a special sort of bitter.

Bruce asked again for Damian and Tim had to push down his anger. "That boy tried to kill me," Tim wanted to say. "I hate him and I want you to hate him too so that I can remember a time when we had something in common," Tim didn't say, but he got close.

He instead told Bruce how Damian liked art and animals and loved hearing stories of the wonders of Batman.

He told Bruce just how much Damian loved being Robin. Told Bruce to tell Damian what a good Robin he was.

God bless or maybe damn him, but he did and it worked and Tim wanted to start screaming and clawing at something because that would have never worked if Tim tried it and it wouldn't have stopped Damian from cutting his line--something Bruce did not and would never know about.

Bruce asked about Babs. How should he make sure she knew that she was a part of the family? They they loved her and not just for the work she did?

He asked about Steph. How should he make sure she knew that she was more important than his rules and that, if something else should go wrong, she didn't need to run away?

He asked about Duke. He never got the chance to get to know him before leaving--not as well as he wanted to, at least. How should he let him know that he was just as much a son as everyone else? That, whether or not his parents woke up, he'd always be welcome?

He asked about Cass. How should he show her that he loves her even though he has nothing to teach her? How can he convey how much he cares about her, his first daughter?

Bruce gets brought back from time and he makes things better. He brings his family back together by following Tim's advice.

And Tim?

Tim brings his dad back from the dead and Bruce changes, becomes a better father.

Bruce changes, but not everything can.

That, Tim thinks, is why Bruce never calls Tim his son.

[colossrat]

Marvel is old. Like, not just bcs he is a entity of zillions of years old Billy was born and imprisoned for several years in a relatively conservative time full of prejudices.

When the time bubble pops and the League finds out about it, they expect Captain Marvel to be some kind of very close-minded, militaristic guy who will find the new generation full of sins (They don't know that in Fawcett there is so much magic, different species and queer entities that it is impossible to really be a socially backward place. They also don't know that the captain is a guy who doesn't like the police very much and his favorite sport is beating up nazis)

And well, finding out that the guy you thought would give you headaches in the modern age is actually super happy about it is kind of shocking Batman already had several slides ready to give the captain a lecture about respect

Marvel: Oh my gods, I found some pamphlets about these pride parades. Mr Batman, can I take this weekend off? I would love to go with my brother there!

Batman: Your... brother?

Marvel: Yes! Well, my whole family. We were part of some protests for the queer community in my time, but we were not part of any since the bubble. He liked the idea, but he's too shy to go alone, so me, my brothers and sisters wanna go with him to support him!

Batman: ... Of course, I will arrange for someone to take over your monitor duties

And next week there are several news about how the new-old heroes appeared on pride parade.

They help with things like free water and snacks distribution, first aid for minor injuries, they ensure that no homophobes try to start a fight, they don't let it turn into a mess and in general they also participate. They are practically all painted in colorful colors, their capes are personalized, some of them are dancing, others are further away taking care of the environment. Marvel does some magic tricks, makes rainbows appear in the sky and all that And they absolutely shower the green-suited superhero, aka they bro, with support and love. Vicki Vale and Cat Grant are dying to know why

And things like this just keep happening. Is there a protest in Asia about feminism? The Shazam family will be there, Mary and Darla protesting while their brothers stand around staring at anyone who wants to intervene. Community centers for homeless charities? captain will appear to call the public, ask for support and do some tricks to please the rich Donations to hospitals? They are all out there distributing news, asking anyone who can help, to help. A movement for teacher salary justice in Brazil? They are already there to help Or are movements taking place to preserve Brazilian flora? because of the criminal fires happening in the Amazon? They are there again, using their magic to heal what was hurt, put out what burned and protest, demanding more attention from the government. Do they want to take away land from indigenous tribes? They're going to have to go over the captain first. News broke about high levels of trash in the ocean. But Aquaman barely has time to deal with it himself, he sees his co-worker there with his family gathering pieces of trash and separating them for their own disposal, using spells to separate chemicals and water pollution. Is Gotham suffering from polluted air? The captain will gather a bunch of clouds and sprinkle them with some magic, and his raindrops will gradually purify the air for the people Is a police officer being cleared after attacking a teenager? no no no, marvel will be in front of the police station in the morning along with a bunch of civilians wanting justice Does a police car, or any car in general, have a sticker that supports some kind of tyrannical movement? apology for the Nazis? to an oppressive government? a prejudiced joke? Oh man, you better be ready for dawn with every part of this car missing, probably being sold illegally and having the proceeds sent to charity The fact that the captain calls the police bastard pigs was a shock, some got defensive and such, others thought it was great. It was a slight headache for the Justice League when it came to the media, but it's not like the government liked them before The movements in Brazil are there because im brazilian, raised by a teacher, there was no way to avoid it. Billy come to brasil <3

[holycowboytiger]

Poly!141 x Hacker!Reader (Part 2)

GN!Reader

(It is heavily implied that the reader is autistic)

CW: Blackmail, implied murder, religious trauma, religious imagery, reader is slowly losing it- or they lost it a while back

(A/N: this is not the best chapter, I'm actually iffy about this one and the pacing, but i really wanted to show a little bit more behind the curtain, and some more about the reader- so !! tada!!)

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fuckfuckfuckfuck,,, what the fuck do you do?! Peter has the laptop,, he will see.. fuck he'll se everything,, they'll be ruined, kiss their jobs goodbye- you need to do something-

Wait... Why do you care? This man had cursed your eyes, and his fuckass boyfriends had been harassing you at work for the better part of two weeks, who cares if Peter finds those videos- who cares if the taskforce's secret is revealed, and their careers are torn into shambles?

who gives to shits if all they live and stand for will be ripped away from them?

......It's you, you care, strangely enough you might be the only one who does, this office adores some drama, and 141 being revealed would cause such a stir people would be talking about it for years on end, but you knew what else would come of it.

At the same time- do you want to put yourself on the line? Do you want to be shady and blackmail your fellow techies to protect these men? You could just leave it... It has nothing to do with you, and to take time out of your own day to help these guys out? Are you really that charitable?

Who are you kidding... now is not the time to have a morality check, you know what's right,, and what is wrong, and - maybe you care a little bit, these men don't deserve to be revealed in such a way, and you can save them from the shame the contents of the laptop would bring.....

It would ruin the taskforce's lives, all four men would be disgracefully discharged, and their names would be dragged through the dirt for years to come, and as heartless as you were, you just couldn't let it happen, maybe you could be like an office vigilante?

Batman would be proud.....

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Holy shit you're actually doing this aren't you? You're such a good person, maybe it will make up- and cleanse you of your previous sins, wash the blood off your hands of the people you laid to rest.. For good reason

those people deserved to die, you know this, as desperate and gut wrenching as their screams were, they deserved the punishment you laid upon them... Maybe this- this kind gesture will ease your mind, maybe this action will help you sleep easier

Fuck it... time to go keep 141's secret, hopefully without their knowledge.

The cogs turned in your head as you slowly worked out a plan, was it a morally correct plan? no, absolutely fucking not! but you've skinned someone alive so how bad could this be ?

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Your eyes narrowed at Peter as he took the laptop from Soap, his own eyes lighting up as Soap slapped his shoulder and thanked him,, calling him a life saver- yeah right.. If only Soap knew that Peter had a habit of straying a bit too far from home, to girls that are a bit too young for him.

Would Soap care? Surely he would right? That's something he cant turn a blind eye to right? He was a good person, You're a good person.. right? Of course you are, you're helping him out... But is it really a good deed if you're doing it for selfish reasons?

To calm the sinful thoughts in your head? Are you a good person? surely...Surely not? You've killed people, tortured people because in your eyes they're bad...

What would the big man in the sky say? He would tell you to forgive,,, wouldn't he,, what you have done,,, the people you have hurt,, there is no prayer great or long enough that would grant you passage to the pearly gates...Maybe.. Or maybe you were sent down here to do the dirty work, to do the actions your forgiving God could not bare....

You're a good person.. you are a good person...right?

you don't have time for this.. get it together, you need to get that laptop..

Rising from you desk you approach Peter, slapping on the best smile you can without looking deranged you stand infront of him.. looking like a predator whose spotted easy prey

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''Peter! Hey there...'

''Uhh,, hello?'' his eyes narrowed at you

''Hows your wife hm?'' you are great at social interaction! no really you're doing great, this is a normal structured conversation..

''She's... she's good! Do you need something?''

''Yes actually''

strike one, revealing that you're here for selfish reasons and don't give a fuck about how his wife is doing..shit

''Okay? What is it?''

''That laptop''

strike two, you're too forward

''What?''

''The laptop.''

''I-Im, not too sure I can give it to you- Johnny.. Soap asked me to take care of it''

HAH look at this loser, using Soaps name like they're friends, the guy probably doesn't give a fuck about him, he's only a tech drone, only here to take care of his technical troubles

''oh- yeah.. sure- but- but you have alot on your plate right? You're close to a promotion right? You wouldn't want to direct your attention somewhere else, especially when you're sooo close? Right?''

Ok ok- we're getting somewhere, stroke his ego-

''Yeah but- I'm sure its nothing big-''

''Peter. You seem- weary to give this laptop away.. I know you look up to the guy but- its just a device''

''You seem a bit too eager to get this laptop.''

Strike three, he's onto you, switch tactics, you need that fucking laptop.

''If you don't give me the laptop, your wife will find out who Cierra is.''

''wh-what?!''

''You heard me.''

''What,, what the fuck?!''

his eyes widened, you've got it, secured the bag,, by- strange means, but you're a strange person, it isn't ideal to let him know this early into the plan that you know of his adultery, but you don't have alot of ammo in your arsenal.

''The laptop.''

''I don't know what you're talking about.''

''Yes you do. Black hair, green eyes, freckles? How strange, I thought your wife was blonde and blue eyed Peter. And.. Isn't, Cierra a bit young for you?''

''You- You're fucking insane, I would never-''

Denial- he thinks your bluffing. Show him you aren't

''You also frequent a motel on the west side of the city- what would your wife think when she finds out that you actually did get your Christmas bonus this year? but you spent it on that little side piece of your's..hm?''

''finefine! fuck...Just - just don't''

''I wont. Just do as i say and your secret is safe with me'' for now..

Ahhhhh the sweet taste of blackmail and victory in the morning, truly a breakfast to die for... except its not morning,, its early afternoon.

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You return to your desk, trophy in hand, and you get to work quickly, afraid Soap might return too soon and see you working on his problem.

Just wipe the search history, take care of the virus, and DO NOT TOUCH THE FILE. You know what's in there and you are not curious enough to check if its been updated.

or are you?

NO YOU ARENT- BRO STOP???

anyway..

The wipe only took about five minutes, that's great! in and out, Soap wont suspect a thing! ...

You should reward yourself with a coffee! Even if you hate it, you haven't slept in days, keep yourself awake.

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Sauntering into the office kitchen, you come across someone you weren't the happiest with coming face to face with, and by the scowl you received, he wasn't happy either-

He's the taskforce's pretty boy, Gaz- or Kyle? Garrick? Wasn't his callsign because someone spelt his name wrong? Hah, loser-

Ok stop that's mean....

Forcing your gaze to the floor you approached the counter, opening one of the cupboard to reach for a mug, you were going to offer Gaz one before you stopped yourself, this guy does NOT like you- make your coffee and get out.

Would it be weird if you just left now? Took the mug with you? ..

Yes that would be so weird, but you really don't feel like making coffee whilst a member of special forces watches you like you're defusing a bomb.

You reach for the coffee tin before feeling how ...empty it was.. oh for fucks sake- Sandra that bitch, she definitely finished it- Ugh, fucking- such an inconsiderate asshole..

Now you have to put the mug back like a weirdo and leave-

''None left hm?'' Pretty boy spoke up

''Uh.... no.'' you answered

''Shame that.''

you swore, you fucking swore you saw a smirk cross his lips- that prick- he knew- he knew it was empty, and just didn't tell you, letting you embarrass yourself infront of him,

''Yeah'' fucking shame he didn't die from that fall from a helicopter

you sigh and put the mug back. Guess you'll just have to fight off sleep with pure will power, which never worked.

Turning to leave, you avoided Gaz's heavy gaze and dragged yourself from the kitchen, ignoring the urge to bash his head onto the counter.

Maybe you should leak the videos...

No- no you should not, shake your head, hes an ass, but he does good work,,, and he takes it up the as-

ok enough.

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You walked back to your desk and picked up Soap's laptop, preparing to take it back to Peter- only,, he wasn't at his desk.. Where the fuck did he go?

Is he on lunch??

No its only 2:30...

Your eyes scan the room until they land on your target, pointing at your workspace,, talking to.. Soap...oh fuck....

Peter looked flushed, as Soap glared at your desk, then his eyes landed on you, holding his laptop.. fuck...fuck... caught red handed, with your hand in the cookie jar... do you think this is the time that you unlock your secret invisibility powers? Or teleportation! anything to get you out of here

Maybe you should flee the country, change your name to something ridiculous- and oh fuck he's coming over, and he looked pissed, brace yourself! this is the day you're gonna get knocked out! in work! infront of a bunch of people, not your proudest moment but hell, it was for a good cause-

''You. With me.''

Don't fight it, just, let him take you away, maybe he'll be nice and shoot you out back, maybe he'll bury you too!

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Following him felt like you were being led to the guillotine, walking through the empty halls until you find an area that you now realise is the barracks, this is not your territory, you are out of your element, lets just hope his teammates aren't here, lets hope he doesn't jump you with his boyfriends, as much as they would enjoy it-

Soap stops suddenly, and you almost walk right into his back, he whips around with an unreadable expression, he looked you up in down, before his eyes zeroed onto his laptop, still firmly in your grasp

''Can ye explain to me why I gave Peter my laptop to fix, and why it is now in yer hands hm?''

shit.

[chemicalcindercat]

Tim follows Bruce's rules perfectly. In this way, perhaps, he can be better than his predecessors. He knows from observation that Jason liked to ignore the rules and argue with Bruce, and he can guess from what he knows about Dick that he was the same. Tim can’t afford to ask questions, or argue with Bruce, or break the rules. He has to be perfect. Too much is riding on it. If he messes this up and gets Robin taken away from him, he doesn’t know what will happen to Bruce. If he’ll slip back into his old ways and walk along the edge between life and death.

Because the thing is, Bruce is getting better. He’s not the same Batman he used to be; he buried a piece of himself six feet under with Jason’s body, and Tim doesn’t think he’ll ever get it back. Still, Bruce’s decisions in the field become more logical, and he can recognize when to go home and tend to his wounds now. He even invites Tim to stay for dinner after patrol once, but Tim knows a courtesy invite when he sees one, and politely declines. 

Outside of the suit, Bruce keeps himself at a distance at all times, and Tim is grateful for it. It certainly makes it easier to remember that this is nothing more than a business partnership. 

Dick is a little harder to keep away from. The older boy has a way of making Tim feel relaxed and safe around him that he’s never experienced before. Dick’s smiles make him feel warm inside, and Tim knows that the laid-back personality and dad jokes are a front that he puts on, yet he still can’t help but look forward to Dick’s visits to Gotham. He almost feels like an older brother, but Tim scratches that thought out of his brain the second it crosses his mind.

He realizes abruptly that he’s gotten too comfortable with Dick, and forces himself to withdraw. He keeps an eye out for the little things that tell what Dick is really feeling, like the flash of sadness in his gaze that he quickly hides whenever Tim does something that reminds him a little too much of his lost baby brother, or the way he freezes up any time he has physical contact with Tim while he’s in the Robin suit, or how he holds his breath for a fracture of a second whenever Tim is even slightly in danger. Tim learns to look for these signs, and holds them like barbs around his heart to prevent himself from overstepping.

Surprisingly, Tim finds it the hardest to keep himself from growing attached to Alfred. The butler is more compassionate than Tim ever could have expected, and it gets increasingly harder to keep him at a distance. He’s kind, and caring, and says exactly what’s on his mind (it’s very amusing to witness him put Bruce in his place and stay perfectly polite while doing so).

Tim pretends not to notice the way Alfred checks him for injuries after every patrol (with a med-kit waiting just in case), and sneaks extra protein bars into the various pockets of his suit whenever Tim gets low, and always has a steaming mug of the best hot cocoa in the world waiting after the particularly grueling patrols. Tim knows better than to accept Bruce’s pity-invites to dinner, but he’d never waste a mug of Alfred’s hot cocoa. (As long as he drinks it quickly he’s not overstaying his welcome, he justifies it to himself.) He ignores the sad looks Alfred gives him when Tim makes excuses to rush home straight after patrol rather than hanging out, or when he easily brushes off the older man’s concerns regarding his dark eye-bags and alarming coffee intake.

He keeps them at a distance at all times. They don’t want you, he tells himself, they need you. And that’s enough. It has to be. He can’t get attached to them because he doesn’t deserve to have a relationship with any of them; he hasn’t earned it. And if (when) being Robin gets him killed, they won’t be hindered by the inconvenience. 

Tim knows he isn’t the best option for Robin, and some days that fact looms over his head more than others. He isn’t even a good Robin, anyone would have been better than Tim. He’s still actively fighting against brain fog every day, and he has to write things down constantly so that he won’t forget them, and sometimes at 3:00AM when he’s trying to finish his case notes and on his fourth coffee the sleep deprivation and migraines just feel like too much.

When it gets really bad, he reminds himself that nobody else stepped up. 

He might not be a good Robin, but he’s the only Robin that Gotham has right now.

So he sucks it up and finishes his case notes. He ignores the headaches and exhaustion and goes to school the next day anyways. He doesn’t bother Bruce or Alfred with the minor injuries that come from patrol. He stitches himself up at home and tries not to get blood on his mother’s expensive rugs. 

When it feels like too much, he keeps going, because there is no other option.

[Excerpt from chapter two of Blue Pills and Scattered Dreams, which will be posted soon...]

[annah-kitathryne]

@dchuntress this is for you.

My Extreamly Biased Review Of Detective Comics [2016] #1090 - 1093

These are my notes taken as I was reading, and I sum up some of my thoughts at the very end. I said I would only review Scarlett, but I want to wait for the story arc to finish before I do so. So here's my unfiltered notes on these four issues

I don't provide a lot of context to my thoughts, so please either read the issues or remain out of the know.

1090

Morality plot that might be interesting interesting

Saving the life of an abuser, the girl is seventeen, so a child abuser who made a teenager pregnant.

Martha is able to help a new mother, who is seventeen, if that needs to be stated again. This mother is a child herself.

Martha having what appears to be contrasting morals to her husband. Cool.

Bruce needs therapy to deal with his childhood trauma (nothing new). He has the money to afford one and pay them off.

Bruce punches a child who is already apologizing and calling for an ambulance. He could have used his words first instead of assaulting a child.

He put on a tracker to the child who might have surrendered without the need to punch and frighten the child.

The kid Bruce beat up was murdered. I don't want to blame him, but Bruce, you have been a vigilante for at least two decades at this point. You should know better! Eh he has a habit of that.

Perfume = white musk. I know nothing of perfumes, but this reads very much like a play on the white privilege that comes from a system where children being murdered is considered the norm.

Acknowledging, he hit the child. You're doing better than you were in the 90s. Still an apology without change and action means nothing.

Scarlett Martha Scott is pretty, I love her hair color.

They [Bruce and Scarlett] appear to have some history that is nice for a character to have.

Disturbingly cool science that causes a person to decrease age reminds me of that rich guy who gets blood transfusions from his son. Also vampirism.

She has beliefs that contradict those in which Bruce's dad passes to Bruce. Cool point of contention.

"Youth is wasted on the young." She's connected to the murders. We love morally and financially corrupt female characters, though. However, that statement reads very much like what an old politician would say to his buddies behind closed doors.

Plot point reminds me a bit of Batman Beyond Lazarus pit youth plot.

Love that Bruce pointed out that he did not take the Oath because I have words about how he handles things.

Bruce really went: With this purely medical enhancement, I could reverse some aging and ergo help more people.

Thomas releasing Joe Chill. Irony.

1091

Batman is having a nightmare about the kids being Robin and shooting Joker, Batman slaps the kid and that slap kills the kid.

The children's deaths are definitely related to the Holy Grail.

Targeting disenfranchised children who the media and populace are not going to miss.

Bullock assuming Batman is human.

The artwork for the truck scene was beautiful.

I like the colors

Bruce is envious of Damian's ability to fight. [Sidenote: we need to have a discussion on the different abilities and ages all the different Robins experienced as Batman's sidekick. Dick would have been sidekick to a young Batman who was still early into being Batman vs. Damian who is dealing with an older Batman but one who has got the procedure down.]

Bruce having very real knee pain.

Not me forgetting Alfred is dead. Good he's dead.

Is the world truly safer with Batman in it? It's the chicken and egg question. The hero rising to the challenge of the villain vs. The villain is rising to challenge the hero.

Superman being positive.

More than one motive? Scarlett that is suspicious as all hell.

Do the wrong thing for the right reason. Scarlett wants to force the rich to recognize they have to preserve the planet in order to live longer on it, but that won't ever happen. It isn't in the nature of the rich.

Doctor Forster has been blunt. Pfff. Bruce is playing self-consious.

'Biologically younger than your age.' What does that even mean? And with the amount of stress and damage done to Bruce's body? How?

Take some pills and use these creams. Reminds me of those commercials.

I like that Scarlett is smart. We love smart morally corrupt women.

Damian really went: Father, it's 2 a.m., and you have been asleep for 11 hours.

Bruce handing Damian his blood? Bruce, stop being creepy. What is he supposed to do with that?

Bruce immediately tests it after a day. You know. Like an idiot.

Bruce, you care about if there are lives lost but not the medical bills they can't pay.

Yeah, that villain is Forster, Scarlett, or someone who works for them.

1092

Okay, 1. He is a child. How is Kai harming you. 2. [Jump up kick that whip around and spin, now jump back do it again. . .]

So not only is it repairing the damages of you know fighting crime and the natural process of aging but it also enhances the brain. I can't possibly imagine how that goes wrong.

Yep, they are stealing the children's blood. Black market organ harvesting is back in business. Rebranded and even more deadly.

[Full disclosure took a moment to stop and browse Ebay for Red Robin comics. Found some and bought them. The top part of my page of notes is covered in marked numbers.]

Another weird organization is not allowing the GCPD to investigate? Honestly, tracks for Gotham. And because the police are good guys to Batman comics, this group will be bad guys.

I was right they are stealing the blood of children. Bruce is now directly benefitting from the murder of children just like every other rich person.

Vampires!

Bruce 'my son, is hurting, and I will punch these guys to get an ID out of them.'

The I.D. card looking like the grail is 'how to get caught 101'. Should have had that I.D. card be something else.

Okay so she's possibly being threatened. Possibly.

I love her hair and clothes style. We don't see enough morally corrupt people wear pink.

Okay, they [Bruce and Scarlett] do look kinda cute together.

What do you mean there is nothing you can do about your mother?

Aww they beat up muggers together. That's cute. But now you both look suspicious.

Bruce what are you doing?

Omg Bruce!

Barbara calling the grail connection a coincidence? What have they done to you, babs? Have they downgraded your smarts.

Babs, you would be able to crack those encryptions given enough time.

Damian doesn't look enough like Talia. Child, where is your mother's genetics?

His attitude is kinda funny.

1093

Jason shows up and traumatizes another child.

Oh all of them are hunting down the seven missing children.

Babsgirl. . .ehhhh.

Batman sounding accusatory about a child who committed a crime.

Bruce is calling a guy who is head taller than him a 'small, small, man.'

'You don't know what I've done.' Damian and Jason: I've done worse.

Damian was a child, though.

All these Bats are in a room together, and no one is fighting or being snarky at each other? Damn.

Tim and Damian are nearly the same height.

Okay, so that was perspextive. But they should be closer in height than what is being shown.

Casually calling your girlfriend while running down a security guard? Bruce . . .

Never mind he was a merc.

Penguin back again.

The murderer is protected by a secret power? Probably the elites paying money to be medically de-aged.

Asema- quick Google search has the name connected to the Fan word Azema, which means vampire or the Ojibwe word asemaa, which means 'to make'. They are fitting because they are in a way making vampires.

Asema believes that people don't deserve more than one chance. Asema, these are children.

Children who must I mention are being spat back out into a world where they were put into circumstances where they committed crimes? You can't just throw someone, especially children, back into the same situation and expect complete change!

That criminal is a CHILD.

Asema obviously has a lot of trauma that has her targeting the individuals who cause the pain instead of the system that creates the situations that shape individuals. Killing children will NOT solve the problem. It only makes things worse.

Is another kid dead?

Yeah.

You also allowed them to collect your blood idiot.

Can Cass come in and beat this lady up and go all 'No one dies tonight' on her.

And they have your identity. Good going Bruce.

Final thoughts? [So far.]

I'll hold off on character judgment until the storyline finishes, but here are some of my basic thoughts I might expand later. Maybe.

Vampirism as an allegory for the rich and powerful ducking the life out of the people. Shown through the taking of blood from children who have already been victims of the prison industrial complex in order to keep the elite young.

Bruce is actually feeling the natural effects of aging and using his body as a weapon. I fear this is just a plot device that will not continue forward. [Correct me if I'm wrong.]

I actually like Scarlett. Whether she turns out to be the ultimate villain of this arc or villain by being complicit in the continued and growing divide between the elite and the people. I think she is an interesting character. I just hope they don't declaw her potential and present villainy. We see that too much with female characters.

Kinda wanna know if the LoA would have any interest in Grail tech, and how it would interact with Lazarus.

I love the artwork, but Damian looks like a Bruce clone and not a child. Where is your mother's genetics child.

This story gave me a lot of flashbacks to the Lazarus Pit story from Batman Beyond.

The interesting probably unintended undertones with Bruce failing to save several children can be read a lot like Bruce, ultimately being part of the problem. Bruce is still a privileged man who is benefiting from the systems put in place to only ever lift the rich up higher, and because of this, he ultimately ends up hurting those who will always be hurt by the system designed to always harm them. Batman's presence ultimately seems to both inspire those who want to help and hurt. It gives blanket permission to and, in consequence, new villains will always rise to the challenge.

[fierceawakening]

Huh. I wouldn’t have said just having a white man protagonist is expressing conservative values, personally. I’d say more representation would be good, but to me expressing values is more than that. I’d say a storyline expresses values if the game seems to have a message. Do your enemies have a politics? What begins to happen socially within the game’s story as you advance?

Like, I’m thinking right now of half life 2, just because that was the last time I really invested myself in a game with a set plot to the point I remember that plot. And… if playing as a white man who’s pretty heavily implied to be straight is ITSELF “conservative,” we’re done. And maybe we should be. Games that make the choice to give you a look and a name you can’t customize are making a choice.

And if individualism is “conservative values,” I guess HL2 could be expressing them. The enemies are a collective of aliens who’ve taken over, presumably a hive mind, who are pretty much treating humans like slaves. They’re also pretty clearly interested in blunting human emotions and instincts, as shown by the main enemy giving speeches about how it’s good to abandon urges like sexuality and the aliens are here to help, and if we think of conservatives as the people who tend to see themselves as “red blooded men,” that aspect could also be trying to convert people politically.

But I’m not sure American individualism, or any commentary on it that’s positive, is necessarily selling conservative values. What’s more individualist than “hey, if there’s something living in MY womb, I get to kick it out? It’s MY womb!” Or “why SHOULDN’T I be legally permitted to marry everyone in my polycule? The decision should be ours alone.”

So I’d say that to think of HL2 as designed to express conservative values, I’d need some more than just “individuals being able to live their own lives is good, so fuck tyranny.”

What I would say would really make it an effort to convert people to conservative values would be… well. That’s kind of hard to say, as I’ve never found the right particularly internally consistent (ti be fair I’m sure they notice our inconsistencies too!), but things like:

Meritocracy. The best rise to the top. The least try to stop them, but being inferior, only manage it for so long, or only manage it through strength in numbers. When the least do this, they make society worse, and so they must be overthrown. Sometimes even for their own good.

Reject modernity. Embrace tradition.

Families and communities should look a particular way. New ideas of a utopia where people take on new social roles are suspect, and probably a way to trick people into some kind of oppression.

Corporate/subset: Happiness is discovering your true, natural gender. (And your true, natural straightness to match.) It might be understandable you’d doubt it at first, but over the course of the story you begin to notice your doubts were stirred up by people with agendas. The traditional social roles of men and women are designed as they are because they are the best fit for each.

It’s better to die free than to accept government aid.

If you ever do accept government aid, a plot twist is required where you’re doing it explicitly so you can survive long enough to bite the hand that fed you.

Empathy is toxic.

Everyone, even aliens and elves and wizards, needs The Gods.

These things aren’t usually in games (or in sf/f in general), but they could be if creators wanted to put them in. (And they sometimes are in them. Not sure if you’re one of m6 regula5 readers but if you are I mentioned Atlas Shrugged as explicitly politically conservative science fiction. Nolan’s Batman is often given as another example that was very popular more recently. I didn’t see all of those films but I do remember, in one of the ones I did see, Batman using surveillance that was pretty clearly analogous to the Patriot Act, and shown as heroic for doing so, though it was shown as a tough decision rather than an easy one.)

Sf/f is, as some reblogs have pointed out, most often made by people who are at least nominally leftish.

I think there’s a reason for this.

Sf/f is very often about progress. What if society looked different than it does. What if people could easily do this, or suddenly stopped being able to do that? What if a culture was based on this attribute or heavily relied on people doing that job? What if?

What if? is an inherently progressive question. It’s people wanting to know what’s beyond Chesterton’s fence.

If what if is about progress, it’s not surprising most people who ask it lean progressIVE.

The people who think the fence is protecting them are less likely to write novels or make game plots about what happens when it’s broken.

Which is why I think conservative nerds are most likely, most of the time, to find that less people are creating for them.

So maybe it’s a bit mean, but… I think they need to get used to progressive messages in the stuff they love, and learn how to look past it or ignore it. If they like what ifs but also love tradition there’s a tension there.

It’s one they can and I’d say they should use to fuel their own creations, as from conflict stems all stories, but it’s not one they can compel people who ask what if because they think we can do better to wrestle with for them.

So I’ve seen a couple of fashy types post on socmed recently that they really want a game that portrays conservative values positively so they don’t have to wade through all this woke dei bs, etc.

And I’m just… intrigued, shall we say? Because you’d think that if these guys love games so much, they’d have tried to make a game with conservative messaging and values, and would’ve noticed that it didn’t get much uptake, and be thinking about why that might be.

But I don’t see that kind of reflection! How odd. I wonder why this could be.

I’d almost think it might be because they only got recruited into Only I Matter, The Cult yesterday and it never bothered them until Stefan Molyneux told them to get mad, but surely that couldn’t be it.

[sang-i-fetge]

If your Jason doesn't believe that what he's doing is righteous then idc about him

[martyrbat]

[ID: Bruce Wayne and Minhkhoa Khan breaking up in the rain. Bruce is in normal civilian clothes while Khoa has a white cloak on and a mask that hides his eyes. Khoa persuades, “We'll start in a small city in Southeast Asia, and systematically dismantle its criminal underworld. Out all the corrupt politicians. And then we'll go to the next, and the next. We'll build a high-tech base of operations that moves with us. We'll live well off the coffers of the gangs we dismantle. We'll expand from there. In time, maybe we could even tackle a city like Gotham. Not like boys, but like men at the peak of our skills.” Bruce simply tells him, “No.” Minhkhoa points an accusatory finger at him as his angry response has been edited to be a post by @/egirlbutternubs that reads, “But babe you love being gaslit.” END ID]

[th3-c0ll3ct3r]

My Tumblr followers. If and when you see this. Just don't look at twitter man

This year is cooked

Sorry for the vent but omg this year man THIS YEAR UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (read tags for context)

[yangxiaolongstan]

Steph is actually probably the only bat I could actually buy taking Cass in a straight fight (let me explain, I promise I'm not crazy)

the vast majority of the time Cass one shots Steph, along with every other member of the batfamily (with the possible exception of Bruce who takes 2 hits to go down). but Steph has trained with Cass enough to at least have some understanding of how she fights, get pretty good herself, and learn every one of Cass' buttons.

in my mind I imagine a fight between them after Steph comes back to life from her death in War Games. they're chasing down some villain in this arc (maybe Riddler for the similarity to Cluemaster?), constantly tracking, finding, and losing him over and over throughout the story. and about half the time, they lose him because Cass is so busy worrying about and coddling Steph that she doesn't chase after him and actively slows Steph down with her bullshit. Cass has a lot of unresolved guilt about what happened to Steph and is expressing it by basically treating Steph like glass, showing she learned the exact wrong lesson from War Games. Stephanie notices from the start and gets more and more annoyed throughout the arc, until finally things boil over. Cass responds completely disproportionately to a bunch of goons running in to slow them down and tackles Stephanie through a window to get her out of the fight. Stephanie finally blows up at her and the argument escalates until Steph tries to punch Cass. Cass effortlessly dodges obviously but Stephanie keeps coming while railing at her "ooh look at miss untouchable over here!" "you're better than all of us aren't you!?" "it's a shame your skill couldn't stop you from getting me killed!" and Cass is so shocked that she completely forgets to dodge. after that it's completely one sided in Stephanie's favor. Cass gets in one line, something like "my fault. have to protect you now." and Steph completely LOSES IT. "I never needed your protection!" "I never needed Batman's!" "and I definitely don't need your pity!" "I!" *punch* "NEEDED!" *kick* "YOUR!" *tackle* "RESPECT!" and Cass completely gives up. she just lays there silently in the rain as Steph leaves to chase down the badguy.

obviously they make up at the end but that's how I think a real fight between Cass and Steph should go. at the point that they're willing to fight eachother Cass has to have done something so stupid and egregious through being completely emotionally constipated that Steph kinda can't help but win by playing on Cass's insecurities and failures.

the thing with steph is she isn't the best!! she isn't the best fighter or detective or vigilante! she's sloppy sometimes and messes up! that's the point!! she's the least technically talented but she's fucking stubborn and manages on pure grit when she isn't strong or talented enough!! and that's what makes her so compelling!!!!

[navree]

This is his dad in there, the first man he ever called Dad, at any rate, and even after everything, booze and jail and Bruce and death and then death again, there's never going to be a part of Jason that isn't gutted that he's dead. One night, a wraith in a red helmet slips onto the grounds of Blackgate Penitentiary to steal one specific thing.

Fandom: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics) Pairing(s): Jason Todd & Willis Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Words: 2,822 Chapters: 1/1

[ideas-ideasideasideas]

Batman gives each of his Robins a different code to use when they’re in trouble and need immediate extraction. He promises that when they call, he’ll drop everything just to get to them, come hell or high water.

Jason, during his time with the League, shares his code with Damian, to be used “only in the direst of circumstances, when you have exhausted all other options.” He doesn’t know if Bruce will answer, given how fractured their relationship was before he died, but it is better than nothing. Every tool counts when they live such dangerous lives.

Damian uses it exactly once, and Bruce, who still feels the loss of his son like a yawning chasm in his chest, responds to it even though he knows it can’t be Jason because Jason’s dead. What he finds, instead of Jason, is a boy in League garbs, drenched in blood from the tips of his midnight-black hair to his too-small feet, with a face that Bruce sees himself and Talia in, requesting asylum from a grandfather who wishes to possess his body. Bruce doesn’t question how this boy who is so clearly his son knew the code. Talia al Ghul is resourceful and places family above all; the code is not beyond her abilities to discover, and she is not above using Bruce’s desperate love for his dead son to ensure that hers does not meet the same fate.

Bruce takes Damian in, because of course he does, and since Jason is dead he allows Damian to keep using the code. After all, it’s not like Jason is alive to use it, right? If someone uses the code, there’s no one it could be but Damian, right?

The next time the code is used, Bruce traces the location to Gotham even though Damian was supposed to be in Bludhaven visiting Dick. But whatever happened that resulted in Damian being in Gotham can wait, because he has already failed one son and he will not fail another, his son is in trouble and he needs to get to him, he needs to—

What he finds, instead of Damian, is a boy (just eighteen, too young, but also too old, but also he will always be a boy to him) in League garbs, drenched in blood from the tips of his midnight-black hair to his too-large feet (when had he gotten so big), wearing the face of his dead son.

(Who, maybe, just maybe, may no longer be so dead.)

[erinwantstowrite]

while im here im going to try and convince you guys to write more "Tim Drake joining the Batfam late" aus because it's underrepresented

like, i love the fics where he joins early. that's cute! but a fic where he joins late for whatever reason??? i eat it up like a cat starved for attention. i want Tim Drake being the "perfect" heir to Drake Industries and being known as the polite, well adjusted young man that everyone knows. and then turn around and find out that Tim has not only been stalking the Bats under their radar since he was, what, 9 years old? but on top of that, he's started solving cases that they can't get to. Tim who stalked so hard he learned where they learned their martial arts and went "backpacking across europe" only to have actually been learning from Shiva. Tim who has become an urban legend to the Batfam because they can't tell if this vigilante exists or not, since they never catch him, they don't have footage on him, etc. Or if they DO know him, they don't even think to put Tim Drake in the suspect pool because Tim Drake whined for an hour when he broke a nail at a charity event once. the kid is smart, sure, but he's not going out at night fighting crime and solving cases that Batman didn't know about yet.

even better if Tim named his vigilante persona an adjacent name to the Robin mantle. him knowing he can't BE Robin (perhaps Jason hadn't died in this au) but he could be a hero that helps them from the shadows

and obviously he makes a mistake of some kind... maybe he saves someone at an event as Tim Drake and Bruce sees how little hesitation he had. or maybe he gets injured and can't get up himself, and that's when a Bat or a Robin or someone finds this vigilante they almost thought was a myth: bloody, broken, and needing help. pick him up and take him home and then there are endless possibilities to what happens next but the ending BETTER be Tim finding his home with his people

[improbably-luminescent]

Danny has made a tactical error.

In his defense, he hasn’t interacted enough yet with Bruce “challenge accepted” Wayne to know better.

He’ll find out.

Batman: I would like to adopt you.

Danny: no. No way. Absolutely not. I already have 3 ancient godlike beings, one rich asshole, and a few random people who are currently vying for custody I don’t need to add a hero into the mix as well.

Batfam:

[queeniewithabeanie]

The Weatherman

Dpxdc Prompt #22

There's a new weatherman in Gotham, only he seems to report on everything except for the weather.

—————————————————

"And for today's forecast we've got an Arkham breakout on our hands. Not to worry though! It's only Harley and Two-Face this time. Harley's currently dating Ivy so there may be some cuddle pollen spread around, but no psycho killer episodes!"

"If you live in Two-Face territory you may, as always, want to carry a rigged coin with you, but his escape seemed rather low-key. It's unlikely he's going to be trying anything soon."

"Bats to look out for tonight are the Dynamic Duo, Red Hood, and Batgirl. Nightwing's currently hanging out in our sister city of Bludhaven, Black Bat is still who knows where, Red Robin is not allowed to be patrolling for too many sleepless nights, and there's not enough crime tonight to pull Signal onto the nightshift."

"Make sure to watch the roads, because it seems Batgirl is still trying to drive the Batmobile whenever Batman is distracted. Other that the weather will be full of smog, dust, and clouds as always. Stay sharp Gotham, signing off—Danny Fenton, your weatherman."

Tim is going to tear out his hair.

Wait no, Tim isn't going to do that because that means smiley-enigmatic-weatherman Danny Fenton will win.

The new addition to the Gotham news team has been both a blessing and a curse for the Bats.

He almost never reports about the weather, not that there is much to report with it staying practically the same, or being affected by villain attacks rather than natural causes.

Fenton has decided that means he should report on villain attacks of the day. Which on it's own wouldn't be a problem, awareness of attacks saves lives.

No, the problem is he somehow has access to information not even the Bats have and reports on attacks before they happen. He also seems to have an acute knowledge of what's going on with the Bats everyday as well and it's driving Tim crazy.

Is he prophetic? Does he have an informant? Is he just somehow a better detective than the World's Greatest?

Fenton always keeps up the most goofy grin as he spouts information that he should not have access to and Tim is going to crack this case if it's the last thing he does. Its almost as if the weatherman is taunting Tim on purpose.

—————————————————

When Danny got a job offer for the news station in Gotham he decided to bring a little bit of home with him. He's also trying to see how quickly he can make one of the Bats go gray—or bald he's not picky.

He bets its gonna be Red Robin, the guy can't stand not knowing everything.

[dcxdpdabbles]

DC x DP fanfic Idea: Gotham Gossip

Meta-human rights are a touchy topic in Gotham. While the city is known for Batman's view on them, it's also known for Bruce Wayne's viewpoint.

The Dark Knight did not welcome Metas, while the Light Knight worked tirelessly to employ charities and programs to support Metas. Both men- if Batman was a man- influenced Gotham so intensely that their viewpoints became the face of the public.

Even people outside of Gothman learned what "Are you a Dark pawn or a Light pawn?" meant when it was spoken about during national debates.

Really, it was no surprise that Batman and Wayne got caught up in a rather explosive public argument over the subject. Or rather, Wayne yelled at Batman during a hostage situation when his party boat got taken by a group of masked men.

Thankfully, Batman was able to save everyone on board, and although he didn't stick around to argue with Wayne, it was noted that Batman seemed intrigued by a few of Wayne's passionate rants. A few reporters were excited to point out there may be a chance of growth within the vigilante, but it was overshadowed by gossip rags that used this incident to make up a wild rumor of Wayne being a bitter ex with Batman.

This rumor runs for months, with various people posting online proof of a relationship. It sparks debate and anger, with other people responding by fact-checking and countering the "proof." Eventually, the argument moves away from Meta-human rights and falls into celebrity gossip, which has Wayne steaming.

People ignore his passionate activism to better the lives of Metas, only watching his speeches, marches, protests, and donations to various charities to gain new proof of his nonexistent romance that may or may have been in his early twenties when he mysteriously vanished to see the world.

That's when the video comes out.

A young teenager wrote a song parody of what was happening. A soft acoustic guitar accompanied his short words, accusing the masses of caring more about a wealthy man's pants being on or not than the lives of his people.

This young teenager is Danny Fenton, a known meta from a small town in Illinois. This quickly turned into people attacking the boy, who released another song using the hateful comments as new lyrics.

Wayne reposts one of his sons, claiming it a masterpiece, which is when one fan notices the similarities between the two. She makes a post talking about how Wayne and Fenton could be father and son as a joke, expecting people to take it seriously.

Overnight, the internet finds out that Fenton was, in fact, adopted into his current family after being surrendered at a fire station anonymously. More and more people started to notice the similar features between the rich man and the small-town singer until a video of Fenton using his powers was leaked.

Fenton's power is invisibility. This resembles another well-known Gotham dweller who can appear and disappear through the city's shadows. It's not long before Fenton is being called the love child of Batman and Wayne.

It leads to so much media attention and harassment aimed towards Fenton that Wayne steps in. He offers to take a paternity test to finally put the rumors to rest and let the young boy vanish from the limelight (should he stop writing songs).

The only problem?

The test is positive. Wayne is Fenton's biological son. The whole nation loses their minds when it's leaked by a very regrettable intern at the clinic where the test was done. (To be fair, the intern's email was hacked, so when she scanned the papers for herself, they were able to steal them)

Worse, Joker thinks it would be hilarious to kidnap Wayne's newly discovered son and, on live TV, give him another paternity test against Batman. The clown is laughing hysterically while his men prepare the results, only to become more gleeful when it's a match again.

Fenton is the son of both the Dark Knight and the Light Knight. It matters little that Batman's DNA is slightly messed up, as various people already suspected him of not being human.

This just proves Fenton is not a meta-human but rather half-human and whatever the hell Batman is. Joker is having a ball reading out the results, proclaiming he would help Fenton meet his biological grandparents with his one guarantee.

His words are cut off when Fetnon- unknown to the viewing public- escapes his bonds and swings an axe from the emergency fire station inside the aged wearhouse at Joker's neck. The clown collapses to the ground dead, the boy bathed in his blood, and the half-finished joke is cut off by the sound of choking blood etching across every screen in Gotham.

The remaining goons and Fenton stare at each other in stun silence while one is brave enough to rasp. "But Batman doesn't kill."

"Do I look like my absent father to you? Besides, Joker venom is a war crime. I'm within my rights, and if I'm not, I would have killed him again anyway."

Fenton quickly outshines his fathers in the public's eye because no matter where one stood on the Meta Rights, everyone stood on the "Kill the Joker" debate.