#which is why hes most like tim to me because jason and dick fall in love slowly

[sophiethewitch1]

i genuinely love writing for damian he is such a piece of shit <3 <3

[dcxdpdabbles]

DC x DP Fanfic: Family bonding.

The Waynes, for all of their proclamation of being some of the best detectives in the world, missed the signs that one of their own was dating. Usually, that wouldn't have been so shocking, except that the person who dating made a point to tell the group he was dating.

He also somehow always stayed friends with his exes. Which was a superpower of its own, if they are honest, because not a single one of them was bitter about the relationship ending with Dick.

Another thing unusual about Dick having a lover was that he never brought them around or was seen in public with them. If anything, it felt like Dick was trying to keep the relationship a secret.

Which went against everything he cared about when dating someone.

That's why Bruce fully believed that the secret was being enforced by his partner. So it was up to the Waynes to find out who this mysterious lover was and evaluate if they were good enough for Dick.

So on a Friday night, when Dick was allegedly tutoring underprivileged kids but was actually meeting up with his lover, the Waynes piled into a shabby-looking minivan and followed.

It was cramped. It was dented, and it had tinted windows. Most importantly, the minivan belonged to John Constantine, who hadn't used it in over twenty years after learning to portal from one place to another.

Dick would never realize it was them.

"I think this is a terrible idea," Jason grunts from the back seat. He crosses his arms, refusing to pick up the binoculars Tim had passed around earlier. "Dick is a fully grown man. He knows how to properly talk to his partner about what he wants in a relationship."

"Shut up, virgin," Damian hisses from the passenger seat. He won the right to sit there after breaking Steph's skin with his teeth. Bruce had allowed them to brawl for a few minutes until Damian emerged victorious. He also let her use his phone to schedule a rabies shot, keeping eye contact with Damian in the rearview mirror. "Just because you never had a girlfriend-"

"-or a boyfriend. You fail to seducing both." Cass cut in from around her binoculars. She fist-bumped Tim as Jason threw her an offended look.

"Thank you, Cassandra. Ultimately, you have no experience and thus can not comment on what to do in relationships." Damian concluded.

"Neither do you!"

"Yes, but I am a child." Damian waves his hand in Jason's general direction. "It's expected of me to not have any romantic experience. You, on the other hand, are a loser."

"Unless you are Asexual or Aromantic," Bruce pipes in, leaning a little against the steering wheel, attempting to get a better view of the apartment building that Dick had walked into. He wasn't going up to any of the actual units; he remained in the lobby. "Then you are the are not a loser. But rather the closest thing to godhood."

"B, we know gods."

"That's why I said closest."

Thankfully, the lobby had huge windows. Dick was speaking to the receptionist, leaning on the counter with a little smile, and the man was grinning back.

However, Dick hasn't touched his hair even once. This was not the secret lover. This was a fool falling for Dick's charms, probably someone involved with a crime.

Ugh, so dull.

Jason crossed his arms stubbornly "I can get a date. I'm just busy."

"Doing what? Reading romance novels?" Steph laughs. Jason opens his mouth to yell at her, but the receptionist hands Dick a golden key that the eldest Wayne pockets. He strides out of the apartment complex, hands in his pocket and whistling joyfully.

The Wayns put away their binoculars, and Bruce carefully peels out of their parking spot. They keep a nice distance away from Dick as he scrolls around the stores, stopping every once in a while to admire a display before he sits on a bench, hand still inside the pocket with the key.

A person wearing a trench coat and thick sunglasses approaches the bench, sitting on the far end of it and not looking in Dick's direction. The van collectively gasps.

Despite the disguise, they can tell just who it is.

"Tatior," Jason hisses between clenched teeth as Duke slides a sealed brown package across the bench towards Dick. In return, the eldest places the key on the bench, back top, and strives away from the bench. Duke waits a few minutes before he stands, walking in the opposite direction of Dick, hand sliding out to grab the key nearly undetectable.

"Why does Duke need an apartment key? And one that was snuck to him," Tim asks, watching the two siblings walk away from each other as though they were strangers. "What's he up to?"

" We only have time for one family mystery today," Bruce answers, turning the wheel to the left and continuing to follow Dick. "I have dinner plans with Selina later."

Duke pulls out a red wig and slides off his coat. Underneath is a punk rock outfit, complete with spikes, the coat he throws into the trash and clicks his boots. Four-inch heels pop out from his shoes, and Duke struts out of sight.

Tim leans against the windows, face and palms against the glass, eyes wide. "Wait. Wait. I have so many questions. B, turn around!"

"Dinner plans, Tim!"

"But B!"

Damian points. "Look! Richard is twirling his hair! The harlot draws near."

Steph laughs, patting Tim's back, who is straining hard to open the door. Thankfully, Bruce was quick enough to press the child lock. "I love the way you talk, Dames. It's like a period piece villain escaped the TV."

"Thank you, Brown. I enjoy your existence as well." Damian smiles, pressing the binoculars against his face. "Oh."

Bruce's grip on the wheel tightens. He had chosen to stay really far behind Dick once the man had walked into a narrow street, making it harder to blend into the traffic. "What is Damian?"

"You will not like it, Father," Damian says lowly. Behind him, Steph and Tim also reach for their spying gear. Jason and Cass were grimacing from the back seat, one taking pictures and the other working on getting the listening device's antenna out the crack of the window to aim at Dick.

Bruce's knuckles turn white as he steeled his resolve. "Go on. I can take it. What do you see?"

"It's Danny Fenton." Tim, Steph, and Damian all say at the same time. "The person he is dating in secret is Danny Fenton."

Bruce felt his heart stop. "The man who makes bread in the shape of hero logos?"

"Yeah. Otherwise known as "The Happy Baker," Steph says gravely. "The only Gothamite who is unreasonably happy without drugs or Joker venom."

"I once saw him making up songs while setting out a display of animal-shaped bread. He rhymed Gotham with awesome." Tim practically spits. "I should have known. All those animals were circus-themed. The elephants were incredibly tasty."

"You bought some!?"

"Excuse me for being hungry B!"

Damian slaps Bruce's arm aggressively. "Father! Father! Richard is getting on one knee."

"WHAT?!"

Jason pressed one hand over his headphones and attempted to listen closer before his eyes widened. "Wait! It's not a real marriage. Dick's investigating a possible trafficking ring, who been using Gotham baking supplies as a cover. He wants Danny to help him infiltrate the front by pretending to be baking husbands!"

"He just asked him to get married," Jason reported, much to the horror of the general van. Cass' camera starts clicking aggressively, either to capture the moment or have something to hang over Dick's head and force him to call off his marriage.

It's hard to tell with her perfectly impassive expression.

"Oh, thank the gods." Bruce breathes, only to have Steph ruin the moment.

"They're frenching right now."

"Oh, come on!"

"This is fun," Cass says over Bruce, swearing under his breath. "We should spy on each other as a group more often."

"Can we find out what Duke is up to next? The heels will haunt me until I know everything." Tim pipes up.

Damian, Tim, and Steph do not lower their binoculars even though they are close enough that they become a nuisance rather than helpful. He hasn't seen them so engaged in a family outing in a long time. "Yeah, we can spy on Duke next."

There is a moment of silence as Bruce considers the request before he merges lanes. In doing so, they drive by the kissing couple, too caught up in each other to notice the people staring at them through spying gear.

"You're the best adoptive dad ever!" Tim cheers as the rest of the kids let out whoops. Fenton's ears twitch, breaking the kiss with Dick to look right at them over their eldest shoulder.

Bruce slams a foot on the pedal the second Cass starts yelling, "Go go go! He saw us!". They peel away, screaming while Dick throws them a finger, and Fenton laughs silently.

The happy little freak.

[luludeluluramblings]

Smalltown!Neglected!Meta!Reader x Yandere!Batfam ☁️ Part Two

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

Part One ☁️ Part Three ☁️ Part Four ☁️ Part Five ☁️ Part Six ☁️ Part Seven ☁️ Part Eight

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

A/N: Still establishing some more lore and feelings. Currently, the Batfamily has two yanderes. With more yandere’s being revealed outside of Gotham and some in Gotham about to start falling into obsession. Also, my favorite Reader is one who is manipulated into thinking the collar around their neck is a necklace. Will be working on Part Three, but it might take longer because we have obsessions starting and Reader starting to get to a breaking point.

Warning(s): Yandere themes, Obsessive behavior

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

Poor Reader has it rough. Not too rough, but still life kinda sucks and they wanna go home now, please and thank you.

But, as always, things start to brighten up a notch or two.

Reader is thriving at school, sure they can’t hang out with their friends, but their friends understand (which honestly kinda odd, but they’ll roll with it)

There is a small issue.

Reader is a metahuman. (I know, shocking. So unique.)

Reader controls the weather, at will or with extreme emotions (oooooo interesting)

Back in their hometown, Reader didn’t have to hide said abilities that much. (Hell, more than a few people knew about it. Such an understanding community.)

Here in Gotham, in a practical stranger’s house, they’re not gonna to that.

Which is fine. Fine fine fine

Okay, so Reader is tense. Doesn’t have a healthy outlet, and is bottling things up. So that storms brewing. Gonna be fun when that comes back to bite Reader in the ass.

But, things are looking up. (I swear this time!)

Duke and Cass are hanging out with Reader more. They’re sorta becoming a trio of amigos.

Though, they do disappear often. For long periods of time.

Reader is pretty sure Bruce is Batman, at this point.

They’re not stupid, it’s in their damn genetics to be somewhat intelligent, so to speak.

But, no one actually tells reader. It’s lead to some awkward situations of them going silent when Reader enters the room, or the manor being unusually empty after everyone went to the ‘library’.

(Smalltown doesn’t mean stupid, bunch of jerks.)

It just makes reader feel even less like they’re part of the family. Even Alfred disappears for a time, leaving Reader completely alone with nothing, but portraits and old wood furniture.

No one says anything. No one mentions a single thing. (Am I not worthy of the secret? Why did you drag me here only to ignore me?)

Bruce continue to bounce between ignoring and coddling. Yet gets upset if Reader does the same. (Making them anxious.)

Dick pops back in, immediately showering Reader and excessive amounts of affection before shooing them off cause he’s gotta take care of somethings. (It makes reader feel like a pet in a degrading way.)

Jason gets caught harassing Reader by Alfred. Which leads to a screaming match between Jason and Bruce. It’s a violent one, but Alfred drags Reader out of the room before they can see. (But they hear things breaking and It’s terrifying.)

After that, Reader is extremely cautious around Jason. Which for some reason makes him angry and more violent. (Why does he hate me? This is scary.)

Stephanie starts to come around. Slowly. They’re getting there. (Stephanie still prefers to hangout with Tim and Tim…)

Tim ignores Reader the most. Will not talk to Reader at all. Which sucks because Teader thinks they would total get along. (But, nope. All they get is the cold shoulder.)

Reader just avoids Damian like the plague.

Reader talks more often to her other half-brother living miles away than the one she’s currently living with. (That’s gonna piss Damian off later)

While Barbara remains cordial.

Life is moving on. We’re good. Everything’s good.

Wait? Gotham Academy is having its own student Gala? That sounds amazing! Getting dolled up, having a night with friends. Maybe…. Having a date escort them….

And the best part is, Bruce says Reader can go.

Now, Cass and Duke and Damian won’t be going. Which is a bummer, but Reader understands.

Bruce even buys reader something to wear.

An obnoxious designer outfit. (A couture ruffle monstrosity that’s all the rage on the runway.)

It’s so terrible you have to laugh. (Just to hide how upsetting it is that no one actually knows what you like here or bothers to ask.)

Reader even shows Stephanie and they share a laugh. (It’s great. Reader needed that laugh.)

But, there’s no way Reader is going to wear this. So, Reader calls their childhood friend and favorite fashion designer.

Commissioning a more mature outfit. (Reader is almost grown, time to take a break from the ruffles and embrace the sexy.)

BFF comes through and then a week later someone shows up at Wayne Manor. (Damn that was fast.)

Someone from Reader’s hometown, and this starts to set things in motion.

BFF’s older brother, Reader’s childhood crush, shows up holding a dress and driving Daddy’s old truck. Which he hands Reader the keys too.

Nana and Grand Daddy, the Step Grandparents, wanted to surprise reader with a gift from home. (Remind Reader how much better living in a smalltown is compared to somewhere like Gotham. How much their town adores them and misses them.)

Poor oblivious Reader. Not realizing their smalltown is so desperate to have them back. (Reader was their’s first, they know Reader best.)

Nor how desperate Gotham is going to be to make force reader to stay.

[alilobsessive]

The Terrible Crow

All your life you desired recognition from your father, well you got it! But not from your bio dad, things only grow worse from there. For the Bats, not for you.

All your life you have longed for one thing, you’re Father’s recognition. At first it was simple things, like getting good grades, school awards. Anything for him to tell you how good of a job you’re doing. When he brought in Dick that changed, the escalation was quick. If he could be Robin, if he could fight with your Father why couldn’t you? Eventually after years of begging he agreed, then not even a week later he took in Jason and he became the new Robin. Your Father told you it was because he was older then you, already making it safer for him to go then you. When you brought up the fact that you’re the same age as Dick when he started, your father countered that Dick already had years more training with his parents than you.

After that you reluctantly didn’t argue, scared of seeming like nothing more than a spoiled kid. Jason in you began training together, although the two of you grew a bond it never felt right. Everyone called you close and although you liked him a part of you was resentful. You’re Father was always tougher on your training then Dick or Jason, always finding a flaw no matter how long you practice. In a way it helped you perfect your skills to the last detail. But he never told you “good job” not like Dick or Jason, it was always moving right on to the next thing. After Jason’s death the training got worse, he was somehow harder and stricter than before. You went to bed sore with aching bones and bruises from training, if you went to bed at all that is. Sometimes your sleep schedule was what was being trained, he would make you stay up for days at I time, rarely doing anything more than a nap. He told you this was similar to the training he went through, that it would make you stronger.

You never got the chance to prove it though, not even a half a year since Jason died a new boy was brought in. Tim’s the same age as you, highly intelligent and good at stealth but completely untrained. “SO WHY IS HE ROBIN!” You screeched at the man you call Father, Tim stands there glaring at you. He has a red mark on his cheek from where you slapped him when you were told he would be Robin. You were instantly yelled at and reprimanded by your Father for this, which started this argument in the first place. “I HAVE TRAINED FOR MOST OF MY LIFE FOR THIS, I HAVE DONE ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU WANTED ME TO! I FOLLOWED YOUR ORDERS I DEDICATED MY LIFE TO THIS” You scream at him, tears filling your eyes and falling down your cheeks. He just stares at you, expression blank and unchanging “what made you think I’d ever make you Robin?” Is all he says. Freezing you just stare at him crushed. “You’re dismissed” you feel like he spits it out, he doesn’t but it feels like he does “don’t ever train here again, nor even think about being a vigilante” you’ve never felt so much rage and sorrow before. You turn around to leave pushing Tim to the ground as you do “you’re grounded!” He calls out. Without even looking back you flip him off “fuck you Bruce!”.

After that things were never the same, you never wanted to try at anything anymore. What was the point in constantly studying if it meant nothing? So you did whatever you wanted, there were barely any consequences. Bruce didn’t give a shit about you, he never truly did. Alfred always sided with Bruce, sure he called him out when he was in the wrong, but that rarely changed anything with you. Dick was as absent in your life as ever. Finally you and Tim’s relationship was shit, it would never recover, at least you didn’t care if it did or not.

Eventually though you stumbled across a niche that peaked your interest. It started small, quick one minute videos about animal biology you finished the nearly 10 year old channel's entire library of content in 2 days. Then it evolved into animal psychology and finally to humans, what made them tick. It was fascinating every last detail interested you, from the mating habits of raccoons to the study that showed most humans could pick out snakes in extremely pixelated and blurry images. Even the more questionable experiments that would never pass today, like the wire and cloth mothers, and the monster study. Things that would have been difficult to prove or research if it wasn’t for the unethicalness of it all. Hell, even the bullshit study with gorillas learning sign language was interesting, even if the whole thing was completely pointless and awfully mismanaged. It was just so interesting to learn about.

Then you stumbled across it, a familiar name, Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. All his published studies were almost 2 decades old, but that didn’t stop how interesting they were. Both as a glimpse into the mind of a madman who long had his license revoked and as a study in how the mind understood fear in general. Sure you were made to memorize his habits, his usual schemes, hell you even helped reverse engineer and make a cure for several of his fear toxin strands. But you never learned about his studies, never learned about the person behind the mask. But now you wanted to, desperately, of course you couldn’t just go to Arkham. Bruce would learn about it and who knows what he would do once he learns of your little…. curiosity.

No, you didn’t want that, so you lied in wait for the perfect time. But while you did so you studied, falling back into old habits. Day and night you obsessively researched human psychology, several studies both bullshit and true. You memorized everything, dates, names, places, what effects they had, any changes or new revelations in the study, what they were studying and in some cases what they ended up actually studying. You even ended up dabbing deeper into chemistry. All of this to impress someone, but you enjoyed learning these things. All of this was fun, unlike dealing with Bruce.

Then finally the day came, Scarecrow broke out of Arkham. Using the skills Bruce ground into your brain you found him. It was pretty easy, you're shocked he didn’t find Scarecrow sooner. Of course you ended up captured, tied to a chair in one of his labs. Oh also a gun pointed at your head, neat! “What are you doing here?” Scarecrow says suspiciously, a wide grin forms on your face as you happily say “I want you to teach me!” The man just looked at you strangely. Then he laughed, “this isn’t a very funny joke kid” the man sneered at you. “But I’m not! I’ve read your work Mr. Crane! It’s absolutely fascinating! I want to learn more, especially about your newer unpublished stuff!” He just stares at you, “really?” He asks, pointing the gun down. Although he doesn’t look like he believes you, “then prove it” before you can even react the gun is back at your head and he shoots.

The bullet barely misses but you don’t move, don’t even flinch, you just smile. You know how manic you look, but you don’t care. Scarecrow just stares at you surprised, he completely lowered the gun and put it away. “Well..” he mumbles, “I guess I can give you a test” that made you feel nothing but pure glee.

The costume you were put in started out simple, a almost completely black suit with blue gloves and a mask vaguely resembling a plague doctor. You thought you looked like a rip off emperor's coven member but that’s not that important. As Crow as his apprentice you were first given grunt work, helping and leading his henchman in getting supplies for whatever project he was working on. That was when you weren’t doing homework, taking notes, organizing documents. The Bat’s were completely unaware of what you were doing, sure they knew you had something after school. The one time they asked you told them you got an internship. They didn’t even bother to verify if that was true or not. Alfred was the only one who even slightly cared and even then he was just proud that you finally found a calling away from the vigilante life. Boy was he only slightly correct.

Things started ramping up after you defeated Tim, Robin in combat. The pure smug joy you felt at that moment is indescribable. The rejected Robin, who's rusty, proving that they're stronger, faster, smarter, better than the current? You were so excited you almost went into hysterics, and the fear on his face as you brutally kicked his ass? Priceless! They didn’t even realize it was you, but Scarecrow did, he recognized how similar your fighting style are instantly. At first you were worried, scared even about what he’d do now that he knew. Truthfully he was suspicious at first, but once you told him your story, how you were rejected from being Robin in favor of the second and third. How cruel they were to you before and after, even said you would tell him the secret identities of the bat’s and everyone you know is affiliated with them. Both publicly and privately, although he rejected your offer he saw your desperation. How much you want, no needed to stay, to keep this. Scarecrow accepted your loyalty and at that moment you truly became Crow.

To commemorate this occasion you got an outfit change. It became more padded, the mask looking more like a helmet then anything, and boots that increase your height by several inches. You were also made to train in a different combat style with both the added height and change of vision it was a necessity. But also to help cover your tracks as Crow from the Bat’s. So you grow, you changed, you trained and trained and they never noticed. Not when you came back injured from work, with new bruises and scars. Not when you came home with gifts, or when you brought your assignments back with you. They were completely ignorant as Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane, he became your family, your father.

Eventually though Bruce got suspicious, he never figured out who you were, not until much later. But he realized you're doing something shady, the man never put in the effort to figure out what exactly. So he sent you off to a college far from the city, of course he let you pick the field you wanted. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what to do, psychology was already your passion after all and you were being trained by the best. The only issue was Crow, how to excuse there absence. So faking an extreme injury a week before you left easily fixed that. Afterwards you packed up and went to school, a school you would never return from, not to the manor at least.

There you continued your studies, your training in all forms and your contacts with Scarecrow. The only real difficult thing was not getting caught in your less ethical studies. You spent from the age of 18 to 24 studying as much as possible in your field getting both a bachelor’s and master’s. The plan was to go for a PHD too, but sadly things were interrupted and you quickly returned home. Your dad, Scarecrow was extremely injured during a fight and was in the hospital. Someone needed to step up, that person was you.

This time your outfit changed once more, it made you look even bigger and bulkier then you were. A cloak with a feathered collar, iron gloves with clawed ends, the faceless bird helmet looking even more imposing. Everything in your power to make you look as menacing as possible, large and imposing, a night to rival the knight. As you were making your return known you discovered something interesting, a new Robin, a baby brother. Dispute your issue with your family something about this was exciting. You felt so happy and you didn’t know why, but the fact he’s a Robin? Well, the kid needed to be taught a very important lesson before he learned it the hard way.

It wasn’t hard leading him to Wayne tower by himself. Kid had the skills but no discipline, reckless and willing to do anything to prove himself worthy. You can relate, which is way it has to be you who dose this. You approach the 10 year old boy from the shadows “you came alone hatchling?” You say in a soft voice. He jumps away and wipes his head around to face you eyes wide, he pulls out his sword and points it at you. “How-“ “a magician never reveals there secrets” you say playfully “now put the sword down baby bird” he doesn’t just glares at you. He then lunges forward aiming for your throat, but it wasn’t hard to grab the blade and rip it from his hand. He stares at you wide eyed as you throw it to the other side of the building, he quickly reorganize himself and throw a punch. But you dodge it, each kick and punch he sent was easily avoided.

As he moved to kick your head you grabbed his leg, and pulled him away. “You know” you begin walking to the edge tone not changing, “in nature Crows and Robins have an interest relationship. Crows are an omnivorous creature, they don’t just eat seeds and nuts like some people will have you believe. They’ve even been reported to peck out the eyes and tongues of lambs. Robins are no exception,” you hold him over the edge and watch as his eyes widen. He squirms and yells, “Crows will actually protect the nests of Robins, for a fee of course.” Batman should appear any minute now. “There young, they take and feast on the eggs and hatchlings. They basically farm them, it’s fascinating really. Crows are one of the smartest birds, about as intelligent as a 7 year old human. We’re watching the first signs of the evolution of a society!” You say almost giddy, “little mafias! It’s adorable and fascinating!” “We’re are you going with this” you just stare down at him, your mask making it nothing more then a dark void. You can practically feel his presence close to you, “it’s simple really! I’ve never been payed my dues! And you’re just a hatchling that doesn’t know better” and you drop him.

Batman catches him of course, but by the time he does and gets back up the tower you’re already long gone.

——————

Sorry if it takes a while for me to post things! I haven’t been feeling great both physically and mentally lately.

[gaywineauntsstuff]

the reason I hate the "Tim doesn't trust Dick after Damian/spyral/ric" is because they are besties your honour.

Like there's a post going around that I cannot for the life of me find that says Dick is Tims trusted adult and they are so right fr ong.

Because despite what Fanon believes Dick is a pretty chill guy and people take one look at him and go "let me unload my emotional baggage on you"

There's like a very famous panel (that im too lazy to find or remember the name of the run its in okay don't yell at me) where Tim basically goes "soooo my girlfriends pregnant" and Dick nearly falls off the roof.

Tim is calling Dick for the dumbest shit imaginable to the world ending and so are the rest of the batkids.

so I have taken the Canon that Dick knows if not all but most and generalised it to hell.

-------------------------

Jason has been on a team with like 80% of OG titan members

they're having gossip session

Jason in a war zone dodging bullets with his bat travel mug in his hand: And THEN! Kori and Roy shared this look and you know the look they give you when they're judging you for bat reasons and you're like tell me why you're mad I was raised by a crazy person my normal levels are skewed.

Dick in NYC with a blueberry bagel In one hand, his Turkish coffee in another, just finished meeting up with Donna who gave him THAT exact look: No REALLLLL why are they like that, just tell me which one of the creepy traits I internalised as a child is bothering you.

Jason: omg you get it anyway so I grab the bomb and start playing soccer with it because its round and im bored and starfire takes it away like idk what im doing? bro ive been bombed I know how to work with a bomb..

Dick: hmmm and then what happened

Jason: and then.....

--------------------------

Tim: Dickkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Dick: yea Tim

Tim: Kon is being a dick

Dick: oh?

Tim: yeah and its really starting to bother me man

Dick who knows Kon is dead and Tim is either hallucinating or drugged to be more susceptible to manipulation and is already on his way: hmm tell me more babybird whys he upsetting my lil brother

Tim about to tell Dick what is a fever dream bc he contracted pneumonia and is loopy off his ass on painkillers:

---------------------------

steph does this more with babs in the hero scene but its just... so easy and totally gets into the habit of it after Dick is her Batman for a bit and now she uses him as her civilian life therapist

Steph on her way back from campus: and then this bitch looks me up and down and pours her coffee cup down my shirt!

Dick on his way back to blud after decking bruce in the face: hold on hold on hold on she did what??

Steph nodding vigorously even though he can't see her: pulls my whole ass sweater away from my body and pours her peats coffee down my goddamn shirt Dick.

Dick: omg she didnt

Steph still nodding: she DID and then I found out from Jonny who found out from Vivian that someone told her I made out with her boyfriend at Leos house party

Dick who has no idea who any of these people are: wait but you were at Leos for like an hour max last week. we has smoothies after.

StepH: exactly so I had proof that I wasn't there and confronted her and went like. I don't want your crusty ass alt white boy whose favourite 'indie' band is the neighbourhood. I dated Tim fucking Drake the OG crusty ass white boy and I don't do repeats

Dick choking on his coffee:

Steph: anyway we are besties now and planning on getting her boyfriend back because apparently he cheated on her with this drop dead gorgeous girl and im high key a lil complimented she thought we were the same person.

Dick who initially called for casework and is actually so happy one of the people he calls siblings is actually like living a life outside of vigilantism: tell me more

Steph: you sound a little teary

dick: don't worry about it

-------------------------

Damian: Richard

Dick: Damian

Damian: so I might be skipping patrol with father

Dick:? what you love patrol??

Damian: and school

Dick: Dames? what's going on:? is everything okay? you can talk to me

Damian: I am volunteering at a hospital

Dick: kid

Damian: Listen before you sAY anything I know what we do is important but I think I can help in another way and -

Dick had brown parents and was training for the olympics at 8, totally knows what its like to have insane expectations and rebel with a day job: kid kid calm down okay? you wanna be a doctor? is that it?

Damian: well? I dont really know but I just? there has to be another way to help people. besides what we do I mean-

Dick: Alfred left me Thomas waynes journals I initially thought they were to bash your fathers head in when he was being stupid but it seems the old man was looking out for us. Wanna take a stab at your other grandpas legacy when you come over next weekend. I'll tell Bruce we patrolled so you get a few more days off.

Damian: you're the best

[gay-dorito-dust]

can I request batboys with an s/o who shows affection with biting?

it’s kinda stupid, but it could be cute, or they’re weirded out.

I don’t know, whatever you think ❤️

Idk why but I like the idea of Tim absolutely reading people to filth, this might just be me but I like it.

Dick would yelp when you first bit him on the neck, instinctively pressing a hand there and look at you with a pout.

‘I know I’m an absolute snack but I didn’t think I’d see the day where you’d try and take a bite out of me.’ He whined as he rubbed his neck, feeling exactly where you bit him from the teeth marks and wetness you left behind.

He loves it when you bite him but he can’t help in being dramatic when your bite marks are left in the most visible places where anybody could see them and speculate.

‘What if people ask if I like being bit?’ Dick would gasp, looking at the marks through the mirror, whimpering slightly when lightly grazing them. ‘What if they think I like being marked?’

‘Well you obviously do because not once had you stopped me once from biting you. Not once.’ You replied from your place on the bed, looking up from your phone to stare at him through the reflective surface. ‘If anything I think I heard you whimper a few times whenever I bite your neck.’ You add, smirking upon seeing Dick’s face grow flustered.

Dick wouldn’t admit it but he did like it when you bit him, probably more then he should, but he loved the fact that whenever you bit him you were only reassuring him that he was yours and you were his, albeit in your own unique way of affection.

Jason would bite you back purely out of retaliation but it’s mainly on your cheek or shoulders that he bites.

He lives for the little yelps you give when he does bite down on your shoulder lightly, smirking like the cheeky shit he could be at times.

He’ll proudly display the bite marks to anyone who was getting too comfortable with him for his own liking, by pulling down the collar of his shirt and showing off your bite marks across his collar bone and says with his whole chest ‘I’m taken.’

Once you both were lying on bed and were just about ready to fall asleep, but your eyes honed in on his bare upper body, more specifically his big tiddies. Jason -who had just put down his book after finishing a chapter- gave you a look and said ‘don’t you fucking dare-‘ but it was already too late as you opened your mouth and bite down on his left tiddy, staying there for a good deal of time.

Jason only sighs and pets your head, pressing a kiss there and whispers. ‘What am I going to do with you?’ To which you respond cheekily with. ‘Love me?’

Jason couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘I can think of a few ways to do that.’ But before you could ask what he meant with that, he then proceeded to bite down your neck, causing you to squeak.

However when Jason bites you, it looks at though you’ve been bites by a fucking vampire, mainly because he’s got four distinctly sharp dentures and you had developed somewhat a love/hate relationship with it, much to Jason’s amusement.

‘Hey! You do it to me so why shouldn’t I do it to you?’ He’d say with his hands raised but a smile on his face and mischievous glint in his eyes. He loves it more than he lets on, he just likes to meet you on equal footing.

He calls you his little piranha.

Tim would look at you as if to say ‘are you done?’

He’s perpetually tired from everything, so you biting him to show affection doesn’t phase him in the slightest.

You could bite his bicep and he’d be like ‘love you too you menace.’ Before taking a sip from his mug as he went about the rest of his day, uncaring of the bite mark already forming on his bicep.

However whenever Tim feels as though he’s missing you, he’d just brush his fingers over the bite mark and remind himself that you were waiting for him to come back…and probably bite him as a way to show him that you missed him also, but he really didn’t mind.

If anything his only request is that you don’t bite him anywhere his brothers could see them, they’ve already teased him enough about being with you that seeing a single bite mark would send them into utter insanity. They’d would never him live it down and would forever tease him into hell and back for it, especially Damian and Jason.

Even if you did accidentally leave a bite mark on a viable part of him and someone teases him for it, all he has for do is look them in the eye and say ‘at least I got someone who makes me really happy, and who isn’t afraid of showing me that they love me just as equally without feeling ashamed.’ He stops and looks them over with a look. ‘Which is more than I can say for you, the only real relationship you have is with a box of tissues, lube and a shitty computer system that’s on the verge of collapse.’ He adds before stalking off, leaving the person to wonder how Tim knew about the shitty computer, a shitty computer that was currently being held together by duck tape of all things.

All in all, Tim doesn’t mind you biting him in a display of affection, just don’t do so in areas where his family will take notice of and start asking really uncomfortable questions…

[anothertimdrakestan]

Batboys Toxic Traits Headcanons

because no one is perfect, i wanted to get a little dirty with it and imagine what the boys are like when they're a little... too obsessed with you.

tw for romanticizing possessive, obsessive, jealous, aggressive actions haha xoxo

Jason Todd

- scary dog privileges wherever you go with jace, but he is ALL bite with one and only one warning bark.

- when a hand that isn't his brushes your thigh in a club, fingers get broken. when a cat caller thinks his compliment just has to be said to you, he most likely won't be able to speak again for weeks. And god forbid any villain try to use you as bait for jason, they've all learned if they value their life to never touch you. He's all for justice not vengeance until anyone tries to mess with you, then those words always get mixed up in his head.

- sometimes you cant even complain about people, they end up getting randomly harassed by a certain someone until they just move town

- jason is adamant as long as he's alive there won't be a problem of yours he can't solve with a little violence

- your biggest problem is that he struggles to let you have guy friends, obviously the ones he knows especially fellow heroes are more than fine, but he's been known to burst blood vessels when he sees you close and person with men he's never met

- he's proud of it too: "let another man try and touch y/n, it's been a slow night for me." or "i just don't get why you need him as a friend when you have me, myself, and i"

Tim Drake

- tim gets... obsessive.

- he tends to fall hard but with you he brought the house down with him

- before you were officially his he had hacked every security camera in the city to have eyes on you at any given moment

- both for your safety and his own maniacal flirting strategy: you admire shoes but frown at the price tag? tim's buying you the matching bag to go with the shoes he bought the second you looked at them.

- before you knew how insanely in love with you he was, you truly thought he was a mind reader

- well he kind of was, seeing as he scrolled through your search history every night to know which talking points to bring up with you

- once you finally fell for him and set some stronger boundaries he still occasionally found himself double checking your location when you weren't by his side, or lazily purchasing every item on your pinterest boards, he just can't help but dote on you

Damian Wayne

- damian doesn't really get close to people, but as always you were his exception

- however, this means his list of people to hang out with is extremely short, and he saw no problem in wanting to be around you wherever you went whenever he could

- like a kind of tall, dark, and brooding puppy, he quietly followed you everywhere, and when you strictly told him he couldn't follow along, you always noticed a perched shadow just a few building away

- eventually you got used to rolling over to damian coolly watching you sleep or patiently waiting to pick you up from your classes/job, happy just to walk you to your car

- just like jason, damian had a brutal and heartless style of problem-solving when it came to anyone giving you trouble

- too often you found yourself standing in between his rage a massive mistake whether it was nearly assaulting a friend of yours who tried to ask you out or threatening to buy out your entire workplace when you didn't get the promotion you wanted

- forever cooling his rage was worth having his adoration though, and you were happy to have your overbearing shadow follow you throughout your days

Dick Grayson

- for such a bubbly leader, dick often struggled with communication

- always used to bearing his problems alone youd spent too many nights tracking down your own boyfriend only to beg him to tell you what's wrong

- he never understood that you didn't always want to solve his problems, but hold his sadness or hurt with him

- it was the worst when he was upset with you, whether it was jealously or insecurity that crept into his mind

- he'd take off in a rush hoping you wouldn't notice but you always did, either hunting him down or simply waiting with open arms for him to come home

- it would take years to teach your traveling-circus-raised boyfriend that you weren't going anywhere, ever.

- but, this made for many heartfelt nights where he held you and promised you the world, as if you'd opened him up in a way no one else could, pulling forward the most magical and loving side of your sweet boy

[thesulkycroissant]

So there's this saying that the only time you see the middle of the road is when you're going from ditch to ditch, and that most of the time is how I feel about the canon v fanon debate.

Genuinely, I feel like people get so stagnanted in this idea that something isn't canon - which, what is comic canon anyway? I strain to unravel the mystery of which comics get to "count" and which do not - and focus on it so much that they miss any aspect of nuance.

Tim's parents are a great example. Tim's parents exist in the way they do for a simple out-of-universe reason: the writers wanted to avoid the mistakes they made with Jason by both differentiating him from Dick (making him not an orphan) and giving him a "buy-in" with Dick (something to connect them -> the circus). (Their logic was that Dick was the key to getting readers to like Tim, and that neglecting his buy-in was their misstep with Jason.) At the same time, Tim having parents is a problem because what parent is not going to notice their kid being gone all the time playing midnight vigilante? Solution: absentee parents. But now the shift to in-universe happens. Tim's parents are gone all the time, but it's not malicious; they're just kind of clueless. They love Tim. Tim loves them. But they are not around. And this out-of-universe choice, once you enter into the universe, logically can - maybe even should, if you're taking the characters seriously - effect how a character reads.

Tim's parents are gone all the time. There's every probability that would cause trauma. Unintentional, but fun to explore! The comics do a very little. I think fandoms can often make the mistake of believing subtle abuse (like neglect) is not sufficient, so it gets elevated to something physical. But your parents loving you and also causing you trauma is a relatable experience, I think. Even your parents doing their best and still causing you trauma is.

Jason being the angry Robin is another rough one. Because yeah, I agree, Scott Lobdell did some wacky and unkind things to Jason's backstory. But Jason, even going back to his original (not original, but his original non-just-Dick-but-blond) backstory, is a traumatized orphan willing to take the risk and steal tires from the Batmobile as a means of survival (in Gotham! In Crime Alley!). Why can't Jason be angry? In the throes of adolescence, at a time when he feels safe with Bruce, doesn't it make sense for his trauma to find its way out in anger? Can't he both believe Robin is magic and be angry? Can't he be sweet and angry both?

Dickie and anger. Yeah, anger plays a role in certain story arcs of his. In NTT, and in the first 80s Nightwing run, the stories take pains to show that the anger is triggered by something and channeled into brutal focus. And that it does not serve him. Dick's relationship with Kory in NTT nearly falls apart because of his anger. He treats her very poorly. I see a lot of people saying they want Dick to be angry, but not allowing Dick to learn how to control his anger is not giving the character his dues either.

And Damian. Shoot. Reading the One Bad Day comic for Ra's al Ghul kinda ruined me a bit because of how much Ra's obviously loves and respects animals, and how can you not see the echo of that in Damian's love of animals? Damian's League trauma is such a thing worth exploring, and I think the value of exploring it only goes up when you add in the complicated factor of the fact that Talia and Ra's do love him, and he does see them when he looks in the mirror, and every day Damian has to decide which parts of his family - his whole family - are good to keep and which are not.

Anyway. There's probably more, but this post is already pretty long lol. Nuance is cool, that's all.

[gffa]

You would think, after a month of voracious reading of BATFAMILY fic, that I would at least begin to slow down, because I still primarily read I’m Having Dick Grayson Feelings And I’m Making That Everyone Else’s Problem, but I have also discovered that I have Jason feelings, I have Tim feelings, and I have Damian feelings. Which of course I knew before, but what I really learned is that other people have made this my problem now, too. And by that I mean that there’s amazing fic on all of the Bat babies and I am not immune. So, you may still have to scroll a bit, but if there’s an idiot badass with black hair and blue eyes, you’ll hopefully find something here to cry about with me, because what are any of us even in this fandom for, if not for the Feelings Hell About Vigilantes With Emotional Problems? BATFAM FIC RECS - BABY DICK IS THE CUTEST FERAL ROBIN I’M NOT HEARING ANY ARGUMENTS: ✦ it is with my whole life by dustorange, dick & bruce, 2.2k      Nine-year-old Dick’s been kidnapped. Bruce tries not to fall apart. ✦ World’s Finest: Lake Weekend by WingFeathers, dick & bruce & clark (& clark/bruce), 10.3k      Bruce and Dick invite Clark to the lakehouse for a long weekend around Rosh Hashanah, but Dick has trouble sleeping outside the Manor, and Bruce isn’t as available as he should be. And all of this brings up a question: what exactly are the three of them, a bat-vigilante and his ward and his superhero boyfriend? Could they be something like a family? (And how will they eat with Alfred not taking care of them?) ✦ Revision by takadainmate, dick & bruce, 3.8k      New to Bruce Wayne, new to being Robin, new to being alone, Dick didn’t believe there would ever be anyone there for him again. ✦ count the stars by emavee, dick & bruce, 3.7k      He doesn’t know what to do. It’s not like he can stop the storm. If he could wave a magic wand and make the sky clear—or even if he could call up someone from his large contact list full of metas who could control the weather—he would. He would honestly disrupt Gotham’s weather patterns if it meant Dick would stop crying. Or: Dick doesn’t like thunderstorms, so Bruce takes him somewhere where they can’t touch him. ✦ cautionary tale by drakefeathers, dick & bruce & young justice, 11.4k      Q: “Why did Queen Bee want Robin taken in alive in Bereft?” A: “Think of Speedy as a cautionary tale.” ✦ batman & robin by chickenmuffinsoup55555, dick & bruce, 4.8k      The Batman has a shadow. A shadow clad in reds and greens with a smile like sunshine. Bruce is adjusting. ✦ five times someone told Bruce he was a good dad… by emavee, dick & bruce & clark & selina & cast, 10.3k      …and one time it mattered ✦ Phobias by RascalJoy (DarkQuill), dick & bruce & alfred, 18.4k wip      It was stupid. It was irrational. Dick knew that. There was no good reason for him to be afraid; he had been doing this for most of his young life. And yet… Five times Dick fell, and the one time Robin didn’t. ✦ I Hate Dick by JeanjacketCarf, dick & bruce & talia, 3.7k      “Robin wrapped his legs around the Bats’ neck and rested his head on top of the cowl. Then he stuck his tongue out at Talia. Talia felt her face growing hot with anger. She tried to restrain it. The Bat loved this child for some unholy reason.” ✦ shades of blue by thatsveryambitiousofyou, dick & bruce, 2.4k      Dick Grayson has blue eyes. Or the one where Bruce tries harder BATFAM FIC RECS - ADULT BATSON AND BATDAD ARE MY KRYPTONITE, I FOLD LIKE WET CARDBOARD FOR THEM: ✦ Withdrawal by Sohotthateveryonedied, dick & bruce & cast, 1.8k      It’s been six hours since he got dosed. The green ring around his eyes has been faded since dawn. It won’t be long before the withdrawal hits him in full force. ✦ The Post-Mission Ponderings of Brucerman and NightBunny by Ptelea, dick & bruce, 4.8k      This is just sheer (metaphorical) fluff to follow up on the (somewhat more literal) fluff of Wayne Family Adventures, season 2, episode 54, S'tel ees a cigam wohs! Heavy on the puns, even heavier on Bruce being struck by amazement at how much he loves his oldest son. ✦ gotta make a stand (but I am just a man) by CaptainOzone, dick & bruce & alfred, 2.3k      Bruce makes it back to the Cave, injured and exhausted, but remarkably alive. He expects Alfred to meet him. He meets someone else. Or: a third credit scene in which Nightwing makes an appearance. ✦ The Hand in My Hand by audreycritter, dick & bruce, 4.4k      Dick offers himself in exchange for some hostages and it does not go as planned. ✦ Yesterday by I_Have_To_Get_Off_This_Planet, dick & bruce, 1.5k      Dick was pretty sure this was what dying felt like. He was curled up, almost in fetal position, on his bed in the Manor. He was there for the holidays, and he had been looking forward to their entire family being together for once. Even Jason had agreed to come. And now he was gonna die before Christmas even arrived. ✦ I Bet On Losing Dogs by Anonymous, dick & bruce, 2.5k      (Or; Bruce’s relationship with his oldest and how it slowly starts to mend, with only a little push from his friends.) ✦ You can pick your battles but you can’t pick your poison by woodenwashbucket, dick & bruce, 1.8k      “Hey, am I bleeding a lot somewhere?” Nightwing asked. Batman gave him an unimpressed look, but Nightwing shook his head. “Seriously. I feel off.” Nightwing wobbled. Batman grabbed him by the shoulders before they could find out if he would have fallen, and Nightwing met his eyes with undisguised alarm. “Ok, maybe worse than off,” he said. BATFAM FIC RECS - EVERYBODY LOVES DICK: ✦ what’s past is prologue by Icestorm238, dick & bruce & jason & damian, time travel, 18.1k      Dick Grayson, bestowed with the memories of an alternate life, decides that things are going to go better this time. Priority number one: preventing Jason’s death. ✦ exactly how this grace thing works by irnan, dick & bruce & barbara & jason & cast, de-aged!dick, 22.7k      Dick gets de-aged. You’d think this would be a routine thing. ✦ sick day by daringyounggrayson, dick & roy & titans, 1.2k      Dick tries to power through a cold and lead a training session with the Teen Titans. It doesn’t exactly work out. ✦ The Gravity of Tempered Grace by CamsthiSky, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & selina, 10k      He’s sick, he finally catches on, and at that moment, a cough builds up in his chest, and he barely has enough energy to sit up enough to let his lungs work properly. A coughing fit later, and Dick’s breaths are making a horrible wheezing sound that makes him sound like one of Titus’ chew toys. That’s bad. He’s pretty sure that’s bad. ✦ you swallowing matches by torielle, roy/dick & bruce, NSFW, 8.2k      A month after being fired as Robin, Dick is forced to attend a Wayne gala, and is grateful for a particular friendly face. ✦ The Shape Of You (Was Jagged And Weak) by WinterSky101, dick & bruce & slade & jason & tim & damian & batfam, 40.6k      Six months ago, Nightwing died. They never found the body. Last week, Deathstroke arrived in Gotham. He brought a partner with him. ✦ You say you wanna stay by my side (Darling, your head’s not right) by wlwintersoldier, roy/dick & lian & donna, 2.5k      Dick is stupid and reckless on a mission, whats new, and Roy deals with the fallout ✦ Laundry Mishaps by JeanjacketCarf, dick/babs & jason & tim & damian & cass & steph & duke, 3.5k      Dick’s siblings often show up unannounced and take his stuff without asking. It’s how they show their love. Or Dick’s washing machine is commandeered for Steph’s laundry, his clothes disappear, he goes to girl’s night, has brunch, gets a little shot, and picks his baby brother up from school in about a week and a half while the secret group chat has a grand old time. BATFAM FIC RECS - JASON TODD IS AN ASSHOLE CAT, I’M GONNA THROW HIM AT DICK BECAUSE IT’S FUNNY (AND MAYBE SOME OF HIS OTHER SIBLINGS TOO): ✦ Two Dead Birds by InsaneTrollLogic, jason & dick & tim, time travel, 29k      There’s some lunatic in a red helmet running through Jason’s territory. He wants to think it’s a copycat. He’s wrong. BATFAM FIC RECS - DICK AND DAMIAN WERE THE BEST BATMAN & ROBIN, I’M NOT HEARING ARGUMENTS ABOUT THAT EITHER: ✦ Won’t You Stay A While? by fishfingersandjellybabies, dick & damian & cast, 2.8k      Ric did not expect to find a child sitting on the hood of his cab. Damian did expect to get his brother back. ✦ birdgrief by windupclock, dick & bruce & damian, 1.5k      How could you? Dick doesn’t say. Get out of my sight, Dick doesn’t say. What the hell is wrong with you? Dick doesn’t say. Tim storms out. Dick is left to deal with Damian. ✦ we’re like long lost brothers who found each other (and love each other like family) by drakefeathers, dick & damian, 9.3k      ongoing collection of scenes set when Dick is Batman and Damian is his Robin, ranging from cute to sad (hopefully not too sad). not chronological. ✦ I’ll Carry You by BrickSheep, dick & damian & bruce & tim, 2.1k      Dick Grayson will take every opportunity he can just to carry Damian in his arms. ✦ in my own imperfect way by notquiteaghost, dick & damian & bruce, 1.8k      Dick jokes, a lot, about being the only reason Bruce still remembers how to talk to people. About breaking him in for everyone else. He was Robin first, and he was Robin longest, and he’s why Bruce took in the others, he’s why Bruce isn’t dead in a ditch somewhere. And the jokes are funny! He’s never trying to be passive aggressive, or guilt trip, or whatever else. He and Bruce have spent enough time, now, pointedly not actually looking at each other, pulling words out in painful fits and starts. Dick knows where they stand. They’re good. But. ✦ (Un)Fortunate Son by Syl, dick & damian & bruce & cast, 26.1k wip      Bruce reaches a decision about Damian. Dick disagrees and decides to do something about it. BATFAM FIC RECS - BATKIDS ALL HAVE MANY SIBLINGS AND THEY’RE ALL PETTY ASSHOLES AND/OR WONDERFUL BABIES AND I LOVE THEM WITH MY WHOLE BEING: ✦ Overcoming Our Antecedents by Batbirdies, jason & bruce & dick, 31.4k      Bruce swallows, closing his eyes for a brief moment before he takes another, steadying breath and presses both hands to his face. He just needs a moment. Needs to remember where he is, what year it is, that Jason is not actually fifteen, he only looks like he is. This is temporary. This is just a temporary problem that needs to be contained until they can change Jason back. This is not a repeat of events already passed. This is not a second chance. ✦ what’s past is prologue by Icestorm238, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & barbara & steph & cast, time travel, 84.9k      Dick Grayson, bestowed with the memories of an alternate life, decides that things are going to go better this time. Things take a few unintended turns, and the consequences of his actions ripple through his family. ✦ And the Scene Slips Away (To the Evenness I Fake) by Kirazalea, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & cass & duke & alfred & cast, rape aftermath/read the tags, 37k      One mistake is all it took to force Jason back into the wonderful world of the Wayne family. Now publicly and legally alive once more, he’s forced to spend the next two weeks of his life stuck in the Manor with the whole family. This leads to several strengthened relationships and the realization that maybe he’s missed a few things over the years. Things that he’s now determined to get to the bottom of. ✦ now the clock is melting (so’s my mouth and so’s my mind) by SilverSkiesAtMidnight, tim & bruce & dick & cast, 4.1k      The League’s base is not built to welcome strangers. Bruce is not a stranger. ✦ what catches and who holds by victoria_p (musesfool), dick & cass, 3k      Dick never wanted to be Batman. Cass always did. ✦ Bet on it by Lysical, jason & damian & jon, 2.4k      Even Damian could admit that his older siblings occasionally had their uses. “I need your assistance,” Damian said, voice low and tense. “No,” Jason replied, and hung up. ✦ a soft place to land by unchosenone, dick & tim, 3k      Tim rubs the back of his head, trying to affect a joking tone. “I knew I should’ve just gone for the new escrima sticks.” Dick is ready to be a good big brother to his grieving little bro. Tim flips the script. ✦ Consanguineous Ministrations by Briarwitched, bruce & kon-el & clark & dick, 23.9k      “Who gave you a baby?” Dick demanded, the instant Bruce opened the front door, eyes drawn immediately to the sobbing infant on Bruce’s hip that he gently bounced to no avail. At the same time, Bruce muttered, “I told you, it’s fine, you didn’t have to come.” Alternatively titled, “Let’s give Batfleck alien baby problems”. ✦ The League of Extraordinary Bowling Bats by chibi_nightowl, dick & jason & tim & damian & bruce & alfred & cassandra & stephanie, 5k      “What did Dickiebird do? Steal all your other shirts?” The shirt is bright green with wide yellow stripes pretending to be a pin stripe running vertically across it. On the back, in bright red letters, “Timmy” is spelled out. “You’re next,” he spits out, shooting Jason the worst glare he could muster. “He’s got one for you too.” ✦ a cheese raspberry flavored void (except not really) by dottie_dc (dottie_wan_kenobi), Marzue, SilverSkiesAtMidnight, Squintyfist (ErzasCake), dick & jason & tim & damian & bruce & alfred & cast, 3k      “Jason.” Dick walks up to the desk, suspiciously peering around. Jason jerks and attempts to get in his way, but Dick is quick and fully willing to vault over his brother. Only, Jason immediately latches onto him, and the momentum sends them stumbling back, knocking into the desk. It’s a good thing Jason stopped him, for right behind the desk, where Dick would’ve landed, is a swirling void. ✦ The Talk by InsaneTrollLogic, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian, 2k      Bruce never gave Dick the Talk. Dick was grateful for that right up until the time Damian sat through his first health class and started asking questions. ✦ Brothers in War by IaMcHrIsSi, jason & dick & cast, 3.2k      Jason, Cass and Damian ran from the League. In Bludhaven, they run into Dick. Literally. Dick just wanted to get breakfast. ✦ Baby I’m Bi Bi Bi by Sohotthateveryonedied, dick & steph, 1.5k      Dick catches her staring. “Oh, yeah. Forgot I had that. I bought it for when Wally, Donna and I were planning to go to Gotham Pride last year but a Joker thing came up and I didn’t get to go. You can just toss it. I have a ton of other bi merch and I only bought that one because Donna pressured me into it, anyway.” Steph looks down at the t-shirt and bites her lip. “Actually…I think I’ll keep it, if you don’t mind.” ✦ two attempted robberies too many by tsuchann, dick & bruce & jason, 2.2k      Dick could have knocked out the man before he had the chance to blink let alone pull the trigger, but he wasn’t dumb, and he worried his reaction would have caused the other robbers to shoot, because in the bank, at the middle of it all, with a gun pressed to his head, was Dick’s little brother. ✦ That the Ripest Might Fall by Ellegrine, TheFightingBull, dick & jason & tim & damian & bruce, reverse robins, 2.4k      Jason stared at the fallen chandelier. The priceless, fallen chandelier. They were dead. They were so, so dead! ✦ the butler’s neighbor by deargalileo, tim & alfred & bruce, 16.6k      it starts with a baseball, thrown onto the wayne’s property. it’s alfred’s job to deal with such happenings, of course. but over tea and galas, it turns into so much more. after all, why should bruce be the only one allowed to adopt any child that he finds? ✦ the straw drawer by deargalileo, dick & bruce & jason & tim & alfred, 7.4k      sometimes, love is stored in the straws. a story about family, traditions, and gifts, through the medium of crazy straws. (a companion piece to the butler’s neighbor, so i would suggest reading that first) ✦ you gotta push all the doubt to the side of your mouth by danishsweethearts, dick & stephanie & cast, 1.7k      Steph practices mindfulness. BATFAM FIC RECS - DICK/BABS FOREVER AND YOU CAN SHUT IT IF YOU DISAGREE, THEY’RE ADORABLE TOGETHER: ✦ Crime and… by Ladymercury_10, dick/babs, 1.7k      “Are you punishing me with glitter? That’s not a very good punishment, Babs.” ✦ the dickbabs baby au. by thychesters, dick/babs & batfam, 49.1k wip      Telling Dick she’s pregnant is much more stressful than she was hoping it would be. Them telling the rest of their families and friends? Yeah, easier said than done. BATFAM FIC RECS - I WILL DIE ON THE HILL THAT TIM DRAKE’S TRUE LOVE INTEREST IS CONNER KENT AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME, NOT EVEN GOD: ✦ buy back the secrets by sundiscus, tim/kon & bruce & clark & jason & cast, 48.1k wip      He takes a long, slow breath. Ignores the glares from the other students. “Superboy,” he murmurs. “It’s me. If you’re listening, I could use some help.” Or: 5 times Superboy saves Tim Drake, and one time Tim Drake saves Superboy. ✦ Grevious Misuse of TTK (or, Alternate Uses for TTK) by Cfae8, tim/kon, NSFW, 1.4k      Tim wakes up to someone touching him. But Kon’s hands haven’t moved. ✦ The Lost Art of Minding Your Goddamn Business by JpegDotJpeg, tim/kon & jason, 2k      Tim just sputtered, looking thoroughly scandalized for someone standing in the middle of the irrefutable evidence of his own fornication. If the furniture looked this bad, Jason couldn’t imagine that little Timmy had escaped Superboy’s super cock completely unscathed. “It’s not that bad,” Tim said, gesturing to the carnage, but he didn’t even sound convinced of his own words. “It looks like the fucking honeymoon scene from Twilight in here.” ✦ Practice Makes Perfect by rotasha, tim/kon & jason, NSFW, 18.3k      Kon is trying to seduce someone – he won’t tell Tim who – and he enlists Tim’s help to try to hone his flirtation skills. This surely won’t end in disaster for Tim, who’s had a thing for Kon practically since they met. BATFAM FIC RECS - TAKE THE ANGST DIAL, TURN IT UP TO ELEVEN, AND BREAK THE KNOB OFF, THAT’S WHAT I’M HERE FOR: ✦ Wait, What? by PandasandDucks13, dick & bruce & titans, 2.4k      Dick Grayson finds something interesting while applying for college. On a side note: He should really evaluate how many felonies he commits on a regular basis ✦ Dawn Breaks Through the Window by sElkieNight60, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian, depression/read the tags, 14.7k      Without realizing it, Dick has fallen into a listless apathy, but when an incident cuts a little too close, Bruce and his brothers are there to remind him just how loved he is. ✦ Wisdom Always Chooses These Black Eyes and These Bruises by audreycritter, dick & bruce, 3.2k      After a severe, life-changing injury, Dick and Bruce have an epic fight and then fall back together. Sometimes, family hurts you the most, but that doesn’t stop how much you need them. ✦ your continental divides by isawet, reisling, dick & bruce & damian & barbara & cassandra & stephanie & donna & roy & wally & artemis & cast, rape aftermath/read the tags, 26.7k      When running doesn’t work and working doesn’t work, home is the place you go where they have to take you in. Dick’s home has never been Gotham; it’s always been the people.

[babyshoesnerdshit]

batkids high headcanons

CW: weed (duh), characters being high (also duh), slightly platonic yandere, and infantilization

Dick: absolute cuddle monster, he will grab which ever sibling is closest and hold on like an octopus, if the need to get something from the other room he will simply carry them there so they can get it. need to go to the bathroom? it will take 15 minuets minimum to convince him to let you go. some siblings will hit him for clinging but it doesn't stop him at all. he just loves you guys so much, and he will tell you this constantly. super affectionate, will kiss the top of your head, you cheeks, your forehead ect. some of the others with try and stab him for this others will give up and let him. will be the one to buy all of the snacks before the sesh. makes sure to get all the ones he know you like best.

Jason: anger issues? what anger issues? super chill and the most relaxed you've seen him. he will find you and will carry you around on his hip, he talks to you like your a child (only you not any of the other siblings) he has a firm hold on you so the only way you're getting down is if one of the other siblings manages to convince him. however he is super comfy and you might fall asleep. if this happens you will be cooed at and many pics will be taken (however that would happen no matter what you did so). tries super hard to make you laugh but keeps cutting himself off by laughing at his own jokes. totally makes his own edibles. will go along with almost any silly antic you get up to, the best at playing along with the bit.

Tim: becomes super quiet and doesn't make many expressions, observes the others for the most part. then out of nowhere he will say the most philosophical shit that makes no sense to anyone but him and he refuses to elaborate. one of the only times he will fall asleep willingly. he will also hug like an octopus but only to you, you can push him off much easier but less than half of a minuet later he's hugging you again. will randomly start petting your hair when hugging you. takes lots of pics of you, if you ask why he just says he's documenting important things. he will use the particularly good/cute ones as ransom to the other siblings (ex. "if you do [insert thing] for me ill give you this pic of (y/n) high [doing cute thing]" and it always works)

Steph: becomes an absolute comedian, constantly cracking jokes and finds the funniest videos to watch. smiles and laughs at everything. tends to fall asleep before everyone else tho (except Duke but more on that later) finds the most random things funny, one time you found her laughing her ass off at an egg just sitting on the counter in the kitchen. will bat at things like a cat, like hoodie strings or someone's hair (most likely belonging to Tim or Cass). defo the biggest stoner out of the whole group (followed by probably Jason). always has a bag of chips on her, no one knows where she keeps them she just pulls them out of nowhere to start snacking.

Cass: Cass has never been drunk or high or any form of intoxicated, and she plans to keep it that way. she likes being in total control of herself all of the time. she does however like to hangout with you guys while you are high, she thinks its very funny and she takes photos and records things to use as blackmail or to trade. stays silent in the corner the whole time just watching you guys be idiots, if she sees you're starting to get stressed/have a bad time she will instantly be by your side and knows exactly how to comfort you. she makes sure you guys always have enough water, before you even ask there's a water bottle right next to you. (depending on just how high you are it ranges from a glass of water to straight up a sippy cup)

Duke: doesn't really get high often but will hang out with you like Cass, he however talks to you guys more than just observing. the few times he gets high it always a really small edible because he has a super low tolerance and smoking intimidates him, and he usually only uses it to help him sleep. dude is knocked out almost as soon as it hits. if he does manage to stay up he just laughs at everything and smiles without saying much. he's just happy to be there :]

Damian: is too young to do anything so no weed for him. he claims he doesn't care and that he is superior for keeping his mind clear but will then go pout in his room because he feels left out. will hang out sometimes but not often because he is a common target for dicks octopus hugs/overbearing affection. when he is old enough I get the feeling he would still not partake out of spite and so he can say he's better than you.

Bonus: Alfred makes the best food for munchies, any requests will be made no matter how strange. Bruce knows but he lets it slide (only after doing several hours of research on it to make sure you guys weren't doing anything too harmful) because he's just happy to see all of his kids getting along and bonding. Bruce did give you all an hour long lecture about making sure what you had was gotten from a safe and regulated dispensary and how to get high in the safest way possible. I personally think he transformed one of the lounge rooms into a specific high room, it has no sharp objects and nothing that you could accidentally get hurt on, there's pillows and blankets everywhere. he will also make sure you guys properly clean any pipes/bongs. much like many of your siblings he will use this as an opportunity to baby you (he would tell you to hold his hand because you might be a bit wobbly or carry you to bed ect.)

[blu3-ja3]

So I kinda rewrote a bunch of my cursed Gotham stuff! But it's here now so enjoy!

Cursed Gotham Masterpost

Leave the City (Our Lady Gotham)

Tim's POV

Gotham has been quiet which has been a godsend because Wayne Manor hasn't. School had started for everyone, Alfred helped keep everything together as Bruce scrambled to get everything settled. But even before the chaos of multiple kids going to school there was chaos.

It was a shock to everyone when Talia Al Ghul arrived on the doorstep of the manor that rainy spring night. Even more so when Bruce noticed the body of Jason Todd in her arms and the small form of Damian standing behind his mother ready to defend her from those chasing them.

Bruce immediately had the trio enter the house, Alfred took the unconscious body of Jason. I'd never seen the man cry but I will never forget watching that singular tear roll down his cheek. Bruce asked Selina to help Talia with any injuries as Bruce disappeared after Alfred.

Cass never said a thing to Damian but for whatever reason he attached himself to her side. She was the only one who was able to get the boy's injuries wrapped and cleaned while Selina helped Talia. Duke and Steph were so confused and we all just stood around useless until Bruce reappeared. Everyone was sent to the sitting room while Selina, Talia, Bruce and Alfred had a serious discussion.

None of us really know what was talked about in Bruce's office that night but we do know that Talia was in trouble. That she no longer felt safe keeping Damian around her father, that Bruce was the only person Talia trusted to keep their son safe from the LoA and Ras himself.

Jason's revival was still a mystery to everyone including himself. He says one moment he remembers heat and blistering pain, the next he's waking up in the dark buried alive. Talia doesn't know either she found him while running, she recognized Jason rather quickly and knew something was wrong. She took it as a sign to go to Bruce, it took them three days to get across Gotham without being caught by Talia's father.

To say it was easy would be a lie, whatever brought Jason back had left him with cracks. Bruce ran as many tests as he could before allowing Dick to call in Raven for help. She told Bruce that errant magic seemed to bound itself to Jason, Raven doesn't know why or where it came from but that was all she could glean.

Jason was upset at Bruce once he realized Joker was still around, he got even more furious when he learned what happened to Barbara and eventually me when I felt comfortable enough to talk about it. But Dick was quick to act and calm Jason by showing him the archived footage of Bruce's rampage being stopped by Superman.

It took us months to help Damian settle into life as a normal kid, Cassandra helped Damian the most. The two understood each other better than most, it made plenty of sense and Cass though typically mute was better than most of us when communicating with Damian.

Summer break wasn't as chaotic for the Wayne's but Gotham had some issues, it started with a sudden earthquake. It was a massive one that caused a part of Arkham to collapse, we spent a great deal of time trying to catch everyone who did escape. Thankfully no big names from the rogues gallery only a few.

Then the fall semester started and somehow Bruce learned that Kon was staying at Titans Towers. There were a lot of people upset with Superman the days following, no one knew that Supes had abandoned his half clone. Lois was especially upset because Kon was Jon's half brother and she'd like to know about him.

Kara became even more upset when she learned about Kon's name, Supes claims naming Conner 'abomination' in Kryptonian wasn't on purpose. That didn't seem to help the man's case at all, as it was an insult to to name a Kryptonian child a name not thoroughly thought out. Clark had a bit of a break down and everyone became privileged to the information of Lex being the other half of Kon DNA.

It took some time to figure out but for now Kon-El is a resident at Wayne manor. It was a surreal experience explaining to Bruce that me and Kon were dating but he knew, of course he knew. You can't keep anything hidden for long from Batman.

Steph and Cass started dating at the start of the fall semester so Steph has been staying in her claimed room at the manor more often. That's part of the reason Steph has attended more Galas and events with us as of late, more than before. She claims it's because she gets to be with Cass but at this point I think it's because of the hors d'oeuvres. Steph has always loved the fancy finger foods served at those events.

So yes the Wayne house has been incredibly busy! Everything from introducing Damian to the public eye, forging the proper paper trail to prove that Jason was under witness protection, and on top of all of this chaos Selina has become a permanent stay at the manor after Bruce invited her to move in.

I'm currently out following a lead on a case Bruce gave to me. A series of disappearances of young girls all throughout Gotham, the only common thread between them is their ages are in ascending order. The first girl was 5 years old, the next was 6 years old and so on. Totaling eleven girls missing all from different backgrounds and areas of Gotham.

Each girl disappeared from their homes, all within a week of the last one disappearing. I've investigated every lead Commissioner Gordon has given Batman, the only reason Gordon thinks they're related is because of the consistency of the disappearances. And all of them vanish from their homes with no signs of forced entry.

The latest disappearance hit closer to home then I would've liked, one of mine and my siblings classmates. A 15 year old girl named Jillian, she's a quiet girl who I shared a few core classes with. It took three days for anyone to notice she was missing, everyone at school thought she was sick. Her guardian wasn't even in town and still isn't, hence me breaking into the apartment.

I slip open the window and crawl into a very small and baron living space. There's only a TV, couch and dining table in the living room, the kitchen looks empty also but I sweep through looking at everything. There isn't much of anything in this apartment to indicate someone living here let alone the house being broken into.

I walk slowly through the hall to the first door, opening it reveals a bathroom. Slightly more personal this time, there's soaps and a loofa sitting on a small shelf in the bathroom. An assortment of makeup, hair care and face care on the counter next to the sink. A toothbrush and paste sitting in a cup near the edge of the sink.

I close the bathroom and move to the next door to find what looks to be the bare bones of a master bedroom. There's only a bed, dresser and mirror in here. A layer of dust covers the room, a clear sign no one inhabits the room. If they do they haven't been here in a long time.

I open the door across the hall to reveal an actual lived in room. Before I can get a clearer picture of the room something darts between my legs quickly. Moving to follow I watch the shape push open the door across from the bathroom. I opened it to find a small laundry room and the small shape, an extremely fluffy black cat with a little purple collar & ball and dark yellow eyes staring longingly at me.

"Hey there friend, let me see what I can do for you yeah?" I turn to look around and find a note on the wall.

Stepping over to the paper it reads: 'Grace, if you're reading this it means something happened to me. Please just feed Queenie, her foods in the kitchen. One part wet and one part dry, make sure her pill is crushed and mixed in. Please just take care of Queenie for me...~ Jill'

"Okay this might be something, a lead possib-" I'm interrupted by a soft meow from behind me.

I grabbed the shallow ceramic bowl from the elevated table it was on. As I moved into the kitchen the cat, Queenie followed, she quickly moved to sit in front of a lower cabinet door and chirped softly.

I opened it to find a container with dry cat food, a half a shelf full of canned cat food, and attached the door of the cabinet; a little basket with a blue pill bottle. I follow the instructions and place the bowl back in the laundry room, Queenie goes straight away to eating.

I move back to my original reason for being here, I step into the inhabited room. The walls are covered in posters, pictures, shadow boxes with bugs, and art. Shelves line most of the walls filled with books, small sculptures, candles and other such knick knacks.

There's a shelf sitting in front of the only window, on it are various plants. There's another shelf, filled with all sorts of strange things; skulls of varying sizes and animals, crystals and rocks, a jar with what looks to be a preserved salamander-like creature.

A canopy bed covered in plushies of various animals & bugs and at the foot of it a dresser. On the left side of the bed is a small bedside table, a small picture frame sits on it next to a lamp and clock. To the right near the window is a desk covered in papers and books.

Moving closer the papers are drawing of a person, a woman but her features are hard to make out. One of the books is a journal that is opened, from what I can tell Jillian was still writing in it before she stopped.

"Hey Oracle? Can you patch me through to Batman... And Robin?" I ask as I pull out my small camera and begin taking pictures of the room.

"Give me one second Red." I move back to where I began and take a wide shot of the entire room.

"Red Robin, what is it?" I step over to the desk and take multiple pictures of the desk and the items on it.

"I've got what I think could be a lead and would like your help if you're not busy... I also need Robin's help with a... Furry friend, think you could come to me?" I step back and take pictures of the room from various angles getting every possible angle I can.

It takes Bruce and Damian about ten minutes to arrive at the same window I entered in. The younger boy looks a bit bored and disgruntled when first entering through the window. But that quickly changes when Queenie trots over to him and rubs up against his leg. He crouches down and begins softly petting the cat as I guild B towards Jillian's room, showing him the note first.

With careful hands he takes the note and places it in a plastic bag, ones we commonly use to store evidence in. We continue toward our destination when I spot something I hadn't before. It was a few things actually, just before Jillian's room there's a small amount of discoloration (most likely blood) on the floor close to the door. And caught on a nail that seems to be working its out is a scrap of fabric. Batman and I collect the evidence and take pictures.

While I'm closer to the floor I can see deep groves on the floor, I follow them towards the door and find more scratches. It looks like someone was holding onto the door frame and was forcefully removed, inside Jillian's room near where the claw marks start, underneath a shelf is Jillian's phone charm. It's a cluster of blue and purple beads of different shapes and sizes with different charms scattered all throughout. At the very end is a little black flocked cat holding a fish in its mouth.

As I move to pick up the charm it's heavier than it should be, as I pull more of the familiar case of Jillian's phone slid out from under the shelf. The phone case was covered in teals, pinks and oranges from different stickers and pieces of paper sealed behind the clear phone case. Like everything Jillian owned it was colorful and covered. I pick up the phone and see the screen is cracked, as I try to turn it on the screen lights up with a battery icon that has a small sliver of red in it.

I place the phone in a spare pouch on my hip before moving towards the desk. As I pass the bed post at the end of the bed closest to the window Batman points to something. I look down and see a large gash taken out of the wooden post, B squats down to get a closer look. He reaches between the dresser and end of the bed before standing up to reveal he's holding a knife.

It's a simple switch blade knife, a chip in the sharpened blade but fine none the less. Batman reaches out a hand and I place my small camera into his hand before I leave to comb over the desk and its contents.

All of the drawings are done on the same style of paper, with pencil and charcoal being the main medium but there are a few done in pen and one at the very bottom done in water colors. All of the drawings are of three different people; one of a woman with a scar on her face, a man with glasses, and a figure with androgynous features. I've seen Jillian drawing this figure before in class, when I asked she just called them 'The Lady'.

I'm mentally kicking myself for not asking her more. Jillian had been drawing the figure relentlessly over the span of the kidnappings and was getting more and more... Frantic feels like the right word. I shake myself out of my thoughts and sort the drawings into separate piles, one for each of the different muses. As I sort a paper slip from the scared woman's stack and drift to the ground, there's writing on the back of the drawings. Flipping over the drawing I'm currently holding I'm greeted with more text.

"This girl seems to be the lead you were looking for Red," Batman's naturally low timber fills the air. I nod before gathering the piles into folders, the thickest one being 'The Lady's' stack.

I hand the three folders to B and turn to the journal. At the top is a date and time scrawled in the top, I quickly flip through the previous pages to find much of the same for each one. I place the ribbon place holder to mark the half finished page, I close the journal and hand it back to B.

Opening the desk drawers I found a teal note book with pink flowers and black branches, in neat cursive hand writing on the bottom is the word 'Diary'. I hesitate to grab it, feeling extremely guilty and a bit perverted for rummaging through my classmate's desk.

"You don't have to continue this case, I know you went to school with the most recent girl." I turn to look at Batman as he speaks, with his cowl on it's hard to discern what he's thinking.

My fist ball up at my sides as I take a deep breath, holding it, then releasing it as I relax my shoulders and fists. Do I want to hand this case back to Bruce? No, not really. I wasn't friends with Jillian, no one really was. She's a bit of an odd ball, constantly wearing gloves and avoiding contact with people. She's quiet in class, constantly drawing... But the few times I've interacted with her she was kind, soft spoken.

"No, I want to continue. I just feel weird for going through her personal space... Do you think we could call one of the girls to come help?" I ask, fidgeting with my glove. A soft smile curls across Batman's face before reaching up and calling over Spoiler and Black Bat.

It takes the two girls less time than Batman and Robin to show. Once they arrive Batman gives me the rest of his evidence bags and calls Robin to inform him that they're leaving to head back to the cave. Robin appears holding a carrier cage with a small grocery sack with what I can only assume is the cat's food and medicine. B doesn't say anything but we can all feel the questioning look.

"No one is here to take care of Queenie Father. And from what Red Robin has informed me of the guardian of Queenie's owner no one will be coming back for her. I will take on the burden of caring for Queenie while her owner is gone, that is my responsibility as Robin. To help those in trouble," Robin's speech doesn't leave much room for argument. We all watch as an eyebrow lifts under Batman's cowl before he makes a low grumble and turns towards the window to step out.

Robin turns back towards us beaming before scampering towards the window, he gingerly places the carrier with the cat outside of the window onto the fire escape before climbing out himself with the bag. Batman takes the bag from Robin before the two descend down the fire escape. A few minutes later the sound of the Batmobile starting can be heard. I show Black Bat and Spoiler to the room, the two girls enter looking around curiously.

"She's got amazing vibes going on in this room," Black Bat nods her head in agreement with Spoilers statement, I clear my throat to catch their attention.

"I need you two to go through her drawers, please... I feel like a pervert doing it but we've got to find anything that could help me with this case. Spoiler if you could go through her desk and Black Bat if you could go through her closet, you both know what B considers useful for investigations," I quickly blurt out what I need their help with before I crouch back down near the door trying to see if I can figure out how Jillian's phone got underneath the shelf.

I breathe a sigh of relief as both girls move to their respective area in the room. It takes a little over an hour of them looking through different drawers in the room while I scoured the room and hallway. I found more scratch marks on the laundry room door and on the floor in the living room. There was more blood on the floor and I noticed that a large carpet was missing from the living room judging by the clear discoloration in the living room.

I finished taking the necessary pictures of the evidence before I stood up to greet the two girls both have a bag with something inside. I collect them both and place them into the small messenger bag I have slung over my shoulder.

"What do you've got RR?" Spoiler asks as she rocks back and forth on her heels, Black Bat nods in agreement humming softly as she does.

"Okay, so far not much I don't even know what her journals and drawing will tell me. But Jillian put up a fight, there was an altercation in her room that caused the cut in the bed post as well as the loss of the switch blade," I say as I walk towards Jillian's room.

"Somehow in the altercation Jillian's phone slid under the shelf next to the door. Jillian was conscious when she was dragged out, indicated by the scratch marks on the door frame, the floors and the laundry room door." I point out the different areas to the other two as we walk back into the living room.

"They dragged her into the living room before knocking her unconscious, they then took the carpet and wrapped her in it. There were no signs of forced entry anywhere so they had to be let in." I step up to the front door and open it. I step into the hall and spot a small camera at the end of the hall above the elevator doors. I was expecting to step out into the hall to get a clear look at the various entry points, but there was a note stuck to the wall next to the door that caused me to pause.

The note read: 'Jillian sweetie, I let the bug exterminators your sister hired into your apartment. They left with your carpet all rolled up, said they had to take it back to their shop. I do hope no one else has to deal with whatever pest you've got. Hope to see you soon, Ms. Sullivan'

"You're good," Spoiler says after whisting, I mumbled a response about not expecting this and what my plan actually was. I take a quick picture before taking the note and closing the door. I slip the paper into a protective sleeve like we have been doing all night before tapping my com link to speak with Oracle.

"Hey O, can you or our friend at the cave get us the camera footage of the building we're currently in? And if there's any clear street footage, that as well. I need the footage from three days ago," I ask as I maneuver out of the window, stepping aside to let the others out before closing it.

"Sure thing, everything I find will be sent over to J and the Bat-Computer. You calling it for patrol tonight?" I confirm Barbara's question before quickly making my way via grapple back to the cave.

It takes me some time to return to the cave but I'm no less focused on my task at hand. Once inside the cave I quickly found an empty area and meticulously laid out all the evidence that we gathered. Jason stands up from the computer and stands beside me. I tap away at the small computer system on my wrist and start printing out the pictures me and B took while at the apartment. Jason moves to collect the pictures before I can even speak a word. I thank him when he sets them down next to me.

"Babs is getting everything she can from the footage but I'm here to help you with whatever you need, Little Bird." Jason places his hands into his pockets as I finish setting out everything. Jason is smart, we all are, and having an extra set of eyes on this case would be helpful.

"I'm going to get out of my suit, shower and make myself something to drink... If you could get this charging and start on trying to open it that would be appreciated, Jay," I say as I hand Jason Jillian's phone, he quickly slips on a pair of gloves before grabbing the phone. I remove my gauntlets and the main armor pieces of my suit, leaving me in a tank top and my black padded tights.

I walk towards the exit that leads upstairs to the manor, as soon as the grandfather clock moves out of the way I'm greeted by Kon. He's standing in a simple black shirt and is wearing baggy blue gym shorts with socks on. I smile at him as I move to walk towards the stairs leading upstairs. Kon followed me the whole time, holding my hand as we went.

Once in my own room I strip down to my boxer. I move towards my bathroom entering the small room and starting a hot shower, while waiting for the water to heat i turn towards the mirror. I breathe in deeply before peeling away my mask, having to go slowly as to not rip out the few eyebrow hairs stuck in the spirit gum. I breathe a sigh of relief once my mask is off and I quickly get into the hot shower after removing the last layer.

I groan when the hot water cascades over my sore body, I stand there for a bit with my full body under the stream of water. I let my eyes fall close as I focus on the feeling of my muscles relaxing. There's the faint sound of the bathroom door opening then closing followed by a slight shuffle of fabrics and the sound of Kon quietly humming to himself.

"Kon?" My mouth moves before I can really think. I can hear Kon hum in response, a quiet acknowledgement that he heard me.

"Would you... Come join me please?" I don't get a verbal response but I do hear the sounds of fabric moving and the glass door to the shower open. There's the delicate touch of Kon's hands on my back.

This isn't the first time I've asked Kon to join me in the shower, it won't be the last either. He starts our normal routine immediately, one hand gently rubbing circles into my lower back. The other gently squeezes my hip as it moves up and down. I open my eyes and meet his eyes, my breath catches as I get lost in the myrtle green. A ring of gold always surrounds his pupils even when they dilate, I think it's a Kryptonian thing... I don't know for sure I don't make a habit of staring deeply into others' eyes.

"You have such pretty blue eyes Tim, they're like clouds," Kon whispers to me, I can't help the small smile that spreads across my face. I bring my arms up and wrap them around Kon's neck, the contrast between my pale skin and his warm bronze always pulls at something in my chest.

I lean up and gently kiss Kon, our lips falling into a steady rhythm even as he steps closer to me. We stay like that for a bit my hands running over his shoulders and up into his curly black hair. His hands glide across my hips and up my back, gently working out any tension still there. Eventually though I have to pull away slightly taking in deep breaths to help soothe the ache in my chest. Kon steps away for a moment, reaching for my shampoo.

I turn my back to him and tilt my head back slightly so my longer hair falls back. I usually keep my hair at about chin to middle neck length but it's getting to the point that I need a hair cut soon. I feel warm hands curl into hair and begin to massage my scalp. I feel my shoulders slump and all remaining tension ease out of my body as Kon pampers me.

"Thank you babe, you don't have to do this you know?" I ask letting my eyes slip close and my head tilt down as Kon's hands move lower on my scalp.

"Mhm, I know but I like too. I like watching all the tension leave you because of my doing. It makes me feel good," He says as I feel the tinge of Kon's TTK reaching out to caress me, I hum at the slight static feeling washing over me.

I feel Kon step forward until his chest is flush against my back, with gentle hands Kon guides my head to be fully under the spray of the shower. He runs his hands through my hair before guiding me back to where I was before, then he comb his fingers through as he conditions my hair. I let out a slight squeak when I feel Kon shifting us so he's under the spray and I'm not. If it weren't for the fact that Kon's body constantly radiates heat I think I'd be shivering.

I feel a wash cloth begin to run over my body as both of Kon's hands leave me. I let my head fall back against his chest as he rinses his own hair. Once he's done one of his hand wraps around my waist and the other rinses the conditioner from my hair. I turn myself around and bury my face in Kon's neck, finding comfort in the smell on Kon's skin. He smells like warmth; sunlight, a strange citrus note to him, and like rain.

I'm being moved again as Kon backs up so I'm in the stream of water. The rag is gently pushed into my hand as Kon mumbles about washing my sensitive bits. I look up and flash a wolfish grin at Kon as he blushes, I let the smile loose its edge as I finish cleaning myself. I deposit the rag onto a hook to dry before dragging Kon back into a hug as I bury my face back into Kon's neck.

We stay like that for a few more minutes before Kon uses his TTK to turn off the water. We both get dried off and I walk into my room to change into comfortable clothes while Kon finishes his curly hair routine, as well as cleaning all of his piercings and replacing some with fresh jewelry. He's currently wearing all black and silver jewelry that makes his freckles stand out gorgeously.

I get dressed, eat something light while waiting for water to boil and make myself and Jason a cup of coffee that is poured into cups with lids. I move back down to the cave, Kon hovering behind me the whole time following. I quickly moved towards the table where Jason was currently sitting and handed him the lidded cup of coffee.

"Thanks Timmers, I've got the phone charging and Oracle is running through a script to get past the phone password, Jason says gesturing towards the colorful device sitting next to him.

"Thank you for your help, I'm going to start reading through everything and see what I can find. I'm going to set everything I've read through to the side, if you're feeling up to being my second set of eyes that would be appreciated Jay," I say as I pick up the folder of drawings with the scared woman. Jason nods and sips his coffee while he chats with Kon, I take that as my que to start.

[eyesthecolorofarson]

Best Man

Dick didn’t know what to expect when he arrived at the Manor, but it certainly wasn’t a flustered, obviously swooning Damian.

He’d came to check on him after another one of his balls with other royal families. This one being the first to be held in a place called the Infinite Realms with family’s from other dimensions and universes.

It was stressful for everyone, letting the packs youngest omega leave and go to other countries–and now other dimensions–to mingle and chat up princes and princesses like himself.

Unfortunately he would be the only one besides Alfred to talk with Damian when he first gets back. Tim and Bruce were stuck head first into a bombing, Jason was tracking down the guy who killed three of his workers, and the girls were away for a well-deserved vacation.

That left him to walk in and immediately be hit with the scent of maple syrup, sweet and earthy in a way Damian’s scent had never been before. Damian made a beeline for him from where he was sitting, obviously waiting. “Richard!” Damian smiled, “We must speak! At once!”

He let himself be pulled to Damian’s room, his mind turning. What could have happened to make Damian Al Ghul-Wayne smile, let alone flustered? Why was he so happy, because he was obviously, very openly, happy?

Damian pulled him into his room, locked the door, then pushed him onto the bed and began pacing. “I will first explain to you the way I, and by proxy every other heir in attendance of this ball, communicate.” Dick let him speak, knowing he wouldn’t appreciate being interrupted.

“First and foremost, every little thing matters. From the way you position your hands to the tilt of you head, where you look, and even the position of your feet, every little thing means a completely different thing. This means that there are over a million–billion, really–things that you can say and express without a word.”

Damian looked to him for confirmation that he understood, then continued. “Not only that, but in the ballroom setting the order of which you introduce oneself to those in attendance is equally, if not more, important. As one could expect you go from those you deem most important to least. The shape of which you do these introductions also showcases this, moving past one party to another of higher standing.”

Here he paused, flushed again, and began fanning himself. “So, as you can imagine, a straight line means that you are the most important person in the room to this man.” “‘This man’?” He asked, some prices falling into place.

“Yes!” Damian said, turning towards him with a love struck, dazed expression, cupping his face and swooning. “Oh Richard, I met an alpha! The most wonderful, handsome, benevolent alpha in the world!” Dick couldn’t help himself; he squealed and hugged Damian, squeezing tight before setting him down next to him. “That’s amazing, Dami! Tell me everything—start from the beginning.” His little brother found someone! Someone who made him this happy—It was a miracle! Damian seemed very pleased with his reaction and grabbed his pillow as he began again.

“As I said, a straight line means you are the most important person. But what you do while you cross the room matters as well. Where you look, where you stop, how quickly you go, understand?” At his nod Damian flushed again, squeezing the pillow. “So, a straight line, with no stops, never looking away, and coming to me from the other side of the ballroom in less than a minute?”

“That means your very important to him.” Dick couldn’t help his high tone, Damian’s happiness seemed to be affecting him. Not like he minded; this was the first time one of his sibling came to him practically bursting with excitement about a potential relationship. This was a moment he would cherish forever.

“Yes!” Damian said, his tone matching Dicks own. “But that’s not all! The first meeting is also incredibly important, for so many reasons I don’t have time to name them all. But the first handshake can say a million things just like everything else. And since he was the first person I talked to–and in accordance to his standing-I gave a half bow to show I respected him but that I was also of high standing as an Al Ghul, dipped my head since he is a king and I am a prince and held out my hand waist high as an invitation.”

“And what he did in return?” Damian’s voice dipped into an excited whisper as he clutched the pillow and leaned in. “He did a full bow, bent his right knee and put his right foot behind his left with the heel raised, his left arm behind his back, took my hand with his right and kissed it long and deeply, all while maintaining eye contact!”

Damian pushed his face into the pillow for a second, then looked up. “And the meaning of that? The kiss? The eye contact?” Dick leaned forward, “What dose it mean?” Damian flushed again, his scent growing sweeter. “All of that combined means ‘there are no words in the languages we speak to describe your beauty’.” “Oh. My. God!”

“I know!” Damian voice was muffled as he screamed into his pillow. “And that was only the introduction, Richard! The introduction! Oh, and everything after was a dream.” He raised his head and grinned—a real, genuine smile. It warmed Dicks heart to see his usually stoic brother so happy.

“All while we were talking he wanted to know me. Not the Al Ghul heir, not the son of the bat, me! He asked about my interests, my favorite things—Richard, he called me Damian! You almost always refer to a heir by their last name because that’s what’s important to you. But he called me only Damian! I was important to him!”

Dick couldn’t help but laugh as he asked, “You called him by his name, right? Oh! His name! What’s his name? And you said he was a king, what’s he the king of?” Damian blushed–blushed!–and nodded. “Yes, it was only appropriate. His name is Daniel Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms, the afterlife dimension. Simply put, every afterlife that exists is located in this dimension.”

“Oooo, do you think there’s a queen? If the seats open~” Damian blushed at the implication, pushing his face into his pillow again and taking slow breaths. He was a little concerned about the whole ‘king of the afterlife’ thing–and wait, wasn’t the ball held in the Infinite Realms? Does that mean Damian was in the afterlife?–but if the Percy Jackson books have taught him anything it’s that the specifics matter. King of the afterlife is different from king of the dead or death itself.

“No, there is no queen. Daniel was only recently crowned after defeating Pariah Dark, the previous king and tyrant. Oh, I almost forgot to mention! You remember how the JLD marked Amity Park, Illinois an area of concern and in less that 72 hours lifted the warning without doing anything?” “Yeah, drove B crazy cus’ they wouldn’t say why or how or what happened.” “It was Daniel and Pariah Dark fighting for the throne!”

“What? Back up a bit,” Dick asked, confused. “What do you mean ‘it was him’?” Damian’s eyes shined as he explained. “Apparently, the entirety of Amity Park–Daniels home town–was dragged into the Infinite Realms due to Pariah Dark waking up and attacking! Daniel had to fight Pariah Dark to stop him from continuing his assault of this earth and the surrounding dimensions and universes, which is why he was trapped in the forever sleep.”

Damian swooned again, hugging his pillow as he sighed, “He saved not only earth but the surrounding multiverse, and confined in me that he didn’t even know he would become king! He said that the only thing that mattered to him was keeping everybody safe! Isn’t it heroic?” Dick expressed his agreement, making a mental note to tell all this to Bruce. He’d want to know about a kid Damian’s age who’s saved the multiverse seemingly all by himself.

Which reminded him, “How old is he?” Didn’t want another Midnighter situation. Damian’s advances on his first crush were hell to handle. “He’s one year my elder, and oh Grayson I was not exaggerating when I said he is gorgeous. He—well, hm.”

Damian paused and then pulled out his phone. “Please allow me a moment to acquire the correct knowledge of the colors blue, white, green and black so I can accurately portray to you just how otherworldly beautiful Daniel is.” Dick let him pursue the internet for a while, mentally filling out the start of a report form for Bruce. He returned his attention to Damian when he was ready.

“Now fully educated I can describe him in the detail he deserves. His skin is colored light blue grey and his face, possibly his whole body, is covered in freckles that take the shape of constellations colored passport blue. His hair is a dancing flame pulled back into a ponytail colored Mint cream, a greenish shade of white. His eyes are Lazarus colored, as is his tongue and blood. His teeth are sharp canines, piercing skin easily.”

A little worried how he knew that, but Dick would ask later. “His crown, the Crown of Fire, is a halo of Vantablack ice. The other piece showcasing his status is the Ring of Rage, colored same shade of black with a gemstone colored Carmine red.”

Damian sighed dreamily. “He was dressed elegantly, a Lazarus green suit vest over a vantablack button up and tie. His cape was clasped around his shoulders with a gold chain, pure white on the outside but a galaxy on the inside. It moved, Richard. He told me it changed galaxies and that at the moment it was showing the galaxy of dimension 62V-K.”

“Richard,” Damian said softly, his face flushed and eyes shining. “When he took my hand….I shivered. At first I thought nothing of it, but the longer I stood by his side it became harder and harder to deny it. His scent was….attractive. Like hickory and rain, maple and lightning. He smelled like a rolling thunderstorm, a summer morning.”

“I wanted to be closer, to drown in his scent. But it wasn’t just me.” Dick was certain he was about to die. It wasn’t just him? Oh no. “Were there others?” Dick asked worryingly. Damian blushed more, shaking his head then pushing his face into his pillow. When he raised his head he looked dazed. “It wasn’t just me, Richard. He...My scent…we were in the garden when he brought it up.”

“He’d wanted to show me the animals in the sanctuary, star seals and pomerantulas. We were sitting under a wysteria tree watching them roam. We were….I guess you would call it ‘cuddling’. Just…leaning against and holding each other. His arm was wrapped around my waist while his other held my hand.”

Damian blushed again and pushed his face back into the pillow as Dick ‘aww’ed. He raised his head once more and continued. “He turned to me and told me he couldn’t contain his desire any longer. When I asked what he meant…..” Damian took deep breath.

“He asked to smell my scent gland.” Dick blue screened for a moment. “He WHAT!?” He leaned forward, thinking he had misheard. Asking to smell a scent gland was more than a big deal. It was practically a mini proposal! “Did–what did you say?” Damian smiled again. “I said yes. He pulled my hand and put his lips to my wrist gland. He inhaled deeply and shivered. Richard, he growled.”

“He kissed my gland and told me it was taking all his strength and willpower not to mark me as his mate right that second. I…I didn’t know how to respond, and without thinking I told him he could scent me if I could scent him.” Dick gaped at him. Damian was very particular about physical contact, even more so about scenting. For him to ask an alpha to scent him, to ask if he could scent him—Damian was more than interested.

“He immediately agreed, and then….” Damian paused and Dick thought his head was going to explode from how red it was. “Theeeen??” Dick inquired. “Oh Richard, he pulled me onto his lap and against his chest.” Damian fell back into the bed, still clutching his pillow. “He began scenting and kissing my neck, telling me he wanted me in ways he didn’t know how to describe.”

Damian sighed dreamily. “He told me he wanted to court me, to make me feel like the most special and important person in the multiverse because that’s was I was to him. That he wanted to spread every waking and resting moment with me. Richard, he asked my opinion on children.”

“Oh and scenting him was heaven,” Damian swooned again, “to claim him as my alpha, even in the smallest ways, made my head spin. Richard….I began kissing his neck.” Dicks jaw was so open it was practically in the batcave. “You kissed him?? His scent gland?? Did he like it? What did you say to him???”

Damian nodded, eyes blown wide with a smile on his face. “I told him I accept his advances and that I wanted to mate as soon as possible. I told him I’d never wanted anyone–anything–more than I wanted to be his omega. That I wanted him to be my alpha. And then…. Oh it was so foolish and irresponsible of me to do, but I couldn’t wait any longer.” Damian put a hand over his heart.

“I kissed him.” Dick gasped. “Wh–did he kiss back?” “Yes!” Damian said, sitting up. “He kissed me back! It was so….soft at first, but then—oh it’s embarrassing to say.” Dick clasped his hands together. “ please please pleaseeeeee tell meeeee. You can’t leave me on a cliffhanger!” Damian laughed a little, laughing louder when Dick pulled him into a hug, still pleading.

“Ok, ok, I will tell you!” He giggled, allowing Dick to keep hugging him, which said a lot about how happy he was. “We–well, I don’t really know how, but one moment we were sitting up and the next he had me pinned to the ground.” Dick choked. Damian only laughed again. “Yes, I was surprised as well. He—we were…” Damian cleared his throat.

“….I believe it’s called ‘French kissing.’” Damian his his face in his hands at Dicks scandalized gasp. “It…was so warm. He tasted wonderful, and I wanted it to continue forever. I….I’ve never been more impulsive than I was in that moment. I put my hands in his hair–and I’m surprised it didn’t burn me–but anyways, I pulled him closer to me. But it wasn’t enough.”

Damian laughed a little, peeking through his fingers. “I…ha…I flipped us. So I was–dear lord Richard, I was sitting on his lap! I was straddling him!” Dick gasped again. “My baby brother, straddling someone? Oh pinch me, I think I’m dreaming!” He teased, smiling as Damian pinched him. “It certainly felt like a dream.” Damian sighed.

“Did he like it?” Damian hid his face again. “Yes, very much. I could smell and….feel him, if you understand.” Oh my god. Dick ‘ooo’ed and Damian laughed airily. “He obviously liked it, but did you?” Dick laughed as Damian squeaked, gasping again at his small nod. “Ooohhhh my little brother is growing uuupp,” he cried, hugging him again. “He has a boyfriend, he’s being courted, pretty soon you’ll be mated; it’s too much! Just yesterday you were eight!”

Damian didn’t try to push him away, leaning into him instead. “You are ok with this?” He asked hopefully, “You will allow him to court me?” Dick pulled back so he could look at Damian fully. “Damian, I’ve never seen you more happy than you are now. If this alpha can make you smile and laugh like this just after the first meeting, he has more than my blessing. He should be more worried about what I’ll do to him if he doesn’t court you.”

Damian laughed happily, hugging him. “I am very glad. I was worried you’d be against it, for I know Father will be.” He had a good point. Bruce went over-protectively ballistic when he found out Roy and Kori were courting Jason. When he finds out Daniel is the fucking King of the afterlife? It’ll take every super to hold him back from going to the Infinite Realms and interrogating it’s king.

“After a few minutes of, um….kissing, he pulled back rather quickly, so quickly in fact that I believed I’d done something wrong. Thankfully that was not the case.” Damian said, continuing after a moment. “I’d asked him and he quickly told me that I’d done nothing wrong, and that—that I was perfect. He said that he was having trouble controlling himself, and that if we continued…”

“Oh my god.” Dick whispered. “Damian, show me your neck right now.” Damian gasped and almost shrieked a scandalized ‘RICHARD!’ as Dick pulled at his shirt. Thankfully, there were no marks, some light bruises, but that was normal with kissing. He allowed Damian to smack his arm after. “How irresponsible do you believe me to be?! I tell you I do something without thinking once and suddenly you treat me like a harlot!?” Dick laughed as he apologized, conceding that it had been a little rude. Damian took a moment to collect himself before continuing.

“It is embarrassing to say, but while we were, ahem….busy, his sister appeared to inform us the ball would soon be over and Daniel had to give his closing speech as the host.” Dick laughed at Damian’s expression. He knew the mortifying feeling of a sibling walking in while you were making out with someone, and was glad Damian got to experience it.

“Her name is Jasmine, and I do hope you do not meet. I know your history with tall redheads.” He laughed again at Damians expression. “But more importantly, after Daniels speech he gave me a courting gift.” Dick gasped and watched as Damian quickly went to his dresser and dug under everything to bring out a small black box.

Damian came back and sat down next to him, opening it to reveal a ring. It was a green gemstone with a black band. The band was carved into a blooming flower with the gem in the center with leafs coming out the sides slightly. The gemstone wasn’t one of this world, or dimension most likely. The color changed shades of green depending on the light, the cut changing with it. To the left it was zigzags, to the rights it was a jagged bismuth, and when Damian pulled it back Dick saw it change to liquid.

Damian pulled it out and put it on his left ring finger, and Dick watched as it changed shape to fit his finger. Damian sighed dreamily as he turned his hand this way and that, tracing the gem with his other thumb. “He told me this was his mothers wedding ring, and that she had given her engagement ring to his sister and her wedding ring to him. Apparently his father created this jewel for his mother and carved the band, and he said he’d do the same for my wedding band.”

“Man, Daniel knows how to make a move!” Dick whistled as he took Damian’s hand to see the ring better. “I’ve seen some amazing courting gifts in my day, but his mothers wedding ring as the first gift? You said his dad made this gem for his mom? Does that mean he’s going to make the same gem for you?” Damian blushed as Dick admired the ring.

“I believe so, since according to Daniel this gem is currently the only one in existence, making my wedding ring the second.” Damian stopped for a second, making Dick pause too. Damian was still and silent for about thirty seconds before he exclaimed “My god, it’s a tradition!” Dick blinked. “..what?” “It’s a family tradition! It’s something his father did, he’ll do, and our children will do as well! It’s generational!”

Damian was fanning himself and blushing again, and Dick couldn’t help but laugh. Of course thats what does it. A tradition. And probably also the fact that Daniel was already talking about their wedding. Damian was also going on and on about the wedding, who would be there and what type of flowers and what he would wear.

“Father and Mother will walk me down the aisle, of course, and Jon will be groomsman as well as Colin, Jason, Tim, and Duke.” Dick raised an eyebrow. “What about me?” Damian smiled at him. “You’ll be my best man, of course.”

[multiverseworm]

Why I think Tim Drake finds himself identified with the plot of The Breakfast Club.

(This is a follow up on my previous post about the Batfamily Letterboxd reviews)

I do believe Tim would not only find the film to be boring at first when Steph suggests that the family should watch it during their famous family nights, but he would also find himself unable to accept the emotional wreckage he would just have experienced after finishing it.

Let me explain.

It could be argued that the Batfamily dynamics, most specifically, the siblings ones could be represented by the characters in the movie, as well as their personalities and experiences.

However, I would like to take this a step further and say that each member of The Breakfast Club, the struggles, masks, and both personal and interpersonal relationships represent a stage of what Tim has got to go through in his life. Let’s go through each:

• Claire Standish (The Princess):

Claire comes from a wealthy family and is part of the popular crowd. She is used to being admired but also feels isolated because of the pressures that come with her social status. Underneath, she is insecure and deeply unhappy. She also feels like she is only valued for her looks and status.

Stage> Tim’s pre-Robin life.

Tim came from a wealthy family, but he wasn’t spoiled or arrogant. His parents were often away on business, which left him feeling emotionally neglected. He had money, but not much real connection with others. Making him feel unhappy and unfulfilled.

• Allison Reynolds (The Basket Case):

Allison is an outsider who has no real friends and is used to being ignored. She suffers from extreme loneliness and neglect since her parents completely ignore her. She has no sense of identity and feels invisible. She doesn’t actually have a reason to be in detention, she just showed up because she had nothing better to do. Throughout the movie, Allison opens up to the others and shows a more vulnerable side. Claire gives her a makeover, which symbolizes her desire to be noticed.

Stage> Tim decides to be Robin.

Tim had always been a very intelligent and observant child, regardless of his lack of interaction with others, he could study them quite well. When this trait helps him find who Batman and Nightwing are, and uses that same skill to find them and make himself heard despite this being something he is not used to doing. The mantle of Robin becomes his makeover.

• Brian Johnson (The Brain):

Brian is a top student, likely in advanced classes. He’s an overachiever who is socially awkward and desperate for approval. He wants to fit in but doesn’t know how. His self-worth is entirely tied to his grades and academic success. His parents pressure him to be perfect, and he feels like a failure when he falls short. He was given detention for bringing a flare gun to school after failing shop class, his first real academic failure. This hints at unaliving thoughts, as he implies he considered using the gun on himself. Over the course of the movie, Brian opens up about the intense pressure he faces.

Stage> Tim faces the pressure of being Robin after Jason.

Tim quickly realized the importance and heaviness of the mantle he had been passed down. All of this, mixed with the constant struggle of having to pull Bruce out of the shadows that grief was causing on him, made him feel the need of having to live up to the image of someone he knew the bat had chosen himself. This led him to have an immense lack of self confidence, now needing to prove to Bruce, Dick, and everyone else involved that he was not Jason, nor he wanted to be. He wanted to be better, but into the eyes of a grieving man, he always fell short.

• Andrew Clark (The Athlete):

Andrew’s father pushes him to be the best, and he feels obligated to live up to that expectation. He is confident and friendly but deeply insecure. His biggest fear is disappointing his father, who only values him for his athletic success. Throughout the movie, Andrew realizes that his self-worth shouldn’t come from his father’s approval.

Stage> Being valued for who he is by Batman.

By this point, Tim had faced many challenges as both himself and as Robin. He was not accepted as Robin at first by Bruce, but eventually, he earned his trust with determination and skills. Batman had to push him, in ways that were completely different from the previous Robins. The detective potential, the strategic nature, the methodical approach. Tim was a natural that Bruce was ultimately proud had found his way to him. And Tim learned not to depend on whatever he was similar or not with the past people who’ve had held the mantle before.

• John Bender (The Criminal):

Sarcastic, rebellious, and aggressive on the outside, but vulnerable and deeply hurt underneath. He uses his tough-guy persona as a shield to protect himself.

He hates authority figures because they remind him of his father. He believes he is destined to fail, as he has never been given a chance to succeed. Over the course of the movie, Bender goes from being hostile and defensive to showing his vulnerability. He shares a heartbreaking story about his father burning him with a cigar, which helps the others understand why he acts the way he does. At the end, as he walks across the football field and raises his fist in the air, it symbolizes his defiance but also his newfound sense of hope.

Stage> Red-Robin era, post-Bruce’s alleged death.

After Bruce was presumed dead and Dick had to assume the mantle of Batman for a while, it began one of the most difficult times for Tim. He not only was disregarded by his own family when he firmly believed that Bruce was still alive, but he was left with a sense of betrayal once Dick decided to take Damian Wayne under his wing as his Robin, removing a mantle he had earned through sweat and tears. He rebelled and went solo, beating people to near death in hopes of finding the truth about what he believed has been a lie, and that Bruce would be found.

Tim doesn’t stay in that dark state of mind permanently, but he struggles with it on and off depending on the circumstances. And just like Bender, once he has been able to let himself show vulnerability despite his family’s troubled relationship, he finds himself receiving support from a new found family in the teams he’s led: Young Justice and the Teen Titans.

[butwhyduh]

Guy from the Window

Batboy x reader

This is ambiguous as to which of the boys (Dick, Jason, or Tim) because a name is never mentioned. So kinda a pick-your-fav to imagine story. It’s sexy but just a kiss.

“Of course, Mr Wayne, I’ll leave these in your office. You can sign them when you get back. The deadline is next Thursday so no rush. I’ll be sure to remind you then-“ you said as you carried a filing folder into Mr Wayne’s office. The words fell silent on your tongue and the folder slid to the floor from your hands.

There was a man standing behind the desk in the darkened room. He appeared shirtless and holding something white like thick paper. The curtains were drawn closed and the only light was the pale blue of the electric wall clock.

The man turned. Mr Wayne was saying something over the phone but you paid him no mind. The man stared at you. He was imposing and fit and more importantly injured. The paper was a bandage he pressed against his side.

“I have to go,” you said numbly on the phone before hanging up. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said quietly. You tried to ignore the way his shoulder muscles rippled as he turned to grab another bandage. Part of you was terrified. This was Gotham. He could be a killer. But the other part saw possibly the most attractive man you’ve ever seen needing help because he was hurt.

He tried to wrap gauze around the injury on his side below his ribs. You could see the set in his sharp jawline as it clearly hurt to twist.

“What are you doing here?” You asked. He hummed, clearly amused at your question.

“This office is closed. Why are you here?” He countered. He set his teeth as he twisted for another round of gauze. You grabbed the roll and moved closer to give to him.

“I’m working late. You-you don’t even work here,” you replied. He looked at you and nodded. He smelled like gunpowder and mint gum. Even in the dark room, you could feel his intelligent eyes assessing you.

“The tape,” he muttered softly. His deep voice was calm, even, and certainly not scared of being caught. You reached across him and grabbed the tape. Rather than giving him the roll, you pulled off a piece and taped the end of the bandage he was holding.

“What happened?” You asked with more curiosity than you should have. He hummed again before sitting down painfully in Mr Wayne’s office chair.

“Gotham.”

“That’s not really an answer. Why are you here?” You pressed. He seemed amused at your questions. Even while injured and caught trespassing, he clearly saw you as no threat.

“Let’s say, I know the owner,” he finally said. You sat back on the desk. Your feet hurt after working all day in heels. His eyes looked down at the hem of the pencil skirt you wore and down your bare legs. He looked at the clock on the wall. “No offense, but you’re too pretty to be in an office this late at night alone in Gotham.”

“Why? Someone might break in?” You quipped. He laughed before stopping with a little frown in eyebrows. His side clearly hurt more than he let on.

“Something like that. You don’t have to but can you get me a drink? Water preferably,” he said. His voice was soft and probably trying to hide the pain he was in.

You didn’t bother replying but instead reached over him to the mini fridge beneath the desk. He stared at you. You pushed past energy drinks and a can of coffee to give him a bottle of water. You also grabbed an ice pack.

“You don’t have to-“ he started before you touched the soft ice pack to the bruise forming on his bottom lip. The words failed him and he said nothing as you pressed the water bottle into his hand. At this close you could see the blue of his eyes and the scattering of freckles and scars on his nose.

His hand grasped your side. Fuck, why were you practically in the lap of a stranger? He was hot but this was Gotham. He could be a killer.

His other hand reached up and slid around your wrist and gently pulled the ice pack away and you let it fall to the plush carpet as you steadied yourself with an arm pressed back on the desk. You were still sitting on the desk but now his leg was basically between yours almost touching.

“What’s your name, doll?” He breathed. His voice was breathy and his eyes lingered on your lips. Your voice was softer as you told him your name.

“What’s your name,” you asked back. He chuckled with a shake of his head.

“Can’t really say,” he replied with a smile on his voice. It was infectious. You grinned despite yourself.

“And why not?” You said while leaning forwards. It was all a game where hopefully you both would win. “You can whisper it if you need.”

His hand on your side slid up your back pulling you closer. “You’ll keep my secret?” He asked. You felt goosebumps on your flesh as his other hand grasped your mid thigh. Your heart beat out of your chest.

“Why don't you tell me it?” You suggested. He grinned before shaking his head. The hand on your back slid up to the back of your neck. Other than your ass on the desk, you were basically in his lap.

“Not quite,” he answered. His hand on your thigh slid up the thin fabric of your skirt to your hip and ther other hand on the back of your neck moved to cup your jaw. You inhaled quickly and your hands jumped out to press on his thighs as your balance tipped towards him.

“You’re alright,” he muttered. His eyes were on your lips. His thumb reached up and gently swiped over the pad surface of your bottom lip. The hand that was on your hip pressed on your lower back with just enough firmness to bend you even closer to him. Your hand reached up to hold onto his shoulder.

“May I?” He asked softly. His eyes were on your lips and hand cupped your jaw.

You softly replied “yeah.”

He pressed his lips against yours. The kiss was soft and slow but deep. Your mind was reeling as you made out with this stranger. You didn’t even know his name for fuck sake. His tongue swiped against your bottom lip like a question. You opened your mouth and the kiss deepened. His hand on the small of your back pulled gently and you slipped into his lap. You ignored the way your skirt slid up your thighs.

Your hands skirted along the muscles in his arms. Fuck, who was this fit? He was so fucking muscular. His hands reached down to your ass and pulled you flush to his body. But in doing so, he brushed your knee against his injured side.

He hissed out a “fuck.” You pulled back immediately. He was panting. His eyes showed lust mixed with pain.

“Sorry,” you said. You still sat in his lap but your knee was far from the injury.

“It’s fine,” he insisted.

The phone rang on the desk. You turned in his lap to grab it. He sighed a little annoyed while looking down at his side.

“Hello?” You answered. It showed Mr Wayne’s personal phone. “Oh, so sorry to hang up on you.….No, no. Everything is okay…. No need to come to the office.”

The man you sat on looked at you concerned.

“No no, Mr Wayne. I already ordered a cab. I’m leaving now. I’ll close up shop,” you replied. “Yes sir, have a good night. Thanks.”

You hung up the phone.

“I should probably go,” he said to you. You turned to look at him after hanging up.

“How can I contact you?” You said as you slid off his lap. He pulled your skirt straight before groaning as he stood up.

“I’ll be in touch,” he answered before pulling you into a mind numbing heart racing kiss. When he let you go, you sat on the desk looking dazed. “A cab is on the way. And sweetheart? Keep this between us, okay?” He said with a wink.

“Sure,” you replied as he grabbed his shirt and climbed out on the fire escape. He jumped off and disappeared into the night before you could get to the window. It was only a few minutes later as you closed everything down that a cab showed up just as he had planned.

A few weeks later you found a rose on your desk with a little piece of paper wrapped tightly around it. You carefully unwrapped the paper and read a little note.

I’ll see you this weekend Sweetheart -guy from the window

“Who sent you that?” Asked your coworker with a grin.

“Nobody,” you replied and she laughed.

“Sure.”

[bigskydreaming]

#all those parallels are killing me#the lost potential in this...#the way he words things for dick vs cass tho#there's something about it#i can't put my finger on it via @farshootergotme (from this post here)

I had a similar sentiment when reading it, so if I could take a stab at what it might be about the wording....

I've always felt that there are a lot of parallels and connections when it comes to Bruce and most of his kids - unsurprising given that they are all to at least some degree initally created as derivatives of his (note: this does not mean they have less depth or nuance than he does, just that in terms of character creation, they usually debut as members of his supporting cast before branching out from there and establishing supporting casts of their own).

But that said, I think of all the Batkids, Dick and Cass are the ones that Bruce personally sees himself in most - which sometimes leads to them being perceived by everyone around them as them being his 'favorites' - though I'd argue it tends to be more that he just defaults to viewing them as the ones he understands best, or at least thinks he does.

However, for all that this has been to Dick and Cassandra's benefit at times, and has led them to having relationships with Bruce that their siblings often view enviously.....this can be a double-edged sword in a couple of ways.

First, there's the fact that there are various ways in which Dick and Cass are SUPERFICIALLY similar to Bruce, in the sense that they're likely to respond to certain circumstances or take certain actions that match what Bruce would do there....but in Cass and Dick's case, this might be for totally different reasons than what motivates Bruce. So while looking at the end result, Bruce sees the parallels between them and comes to the conclusion that he has a more accurate grasp of Cass and Dick's mindset and motivations than he actually does....which can lead to miscommunication and assumptions.

Secondly, however, I think the same tendencies that lead Bruce to see himself more fully in Dick and Cass than he does in his other children means that Bruce can more easily fall into the trap of PROJECTING onto them. And this can be a big problem when you consider that Bruce is not always, umm, the biggest fan of himself?

And I'd argue there's an angle to be explored here, that this leads to a lot of the heightened expectations he has for Dick and Cass at times, how he's more critical of the "how" and "why" Dick and Cass go about doing certain things whereas with the others he tends to get more hung up on just the "what" of it.

None of the Batkids have a monopoly on dealing with Bruce's disappointment, but a lot of the conflicts Bruce has with Jason or Damian stem from Bruce coming at them from an angle of "this is something I would never do" whereas with Dick and Cass its more an angle of "this is not how I would have done this." Tim is a bit trickier and I think he falls somewhere in between the two pairs, and Duke doesn't have an extensive enough history of conflict with Bruce in the vein of a parent/child dynamic to weigh in on definitively here. While Steph is not someone I consider a Batkid in the same sense as the other six due to the fact that I don't think her and Bruce's dynamic has ever been born of either of them seeing each other as their parent or child respectively, so its not quite applicable here.....same thing with Babs, though to a different degree.

But the point is, because Bruce sees Dick and Cass as the two most likely to act in ways he expects or can map according to his own reasoning, the two who are usually closest to his own responses in how they respond to things.....he tends to be MORE thrown on the occasions they deviate from his expectations/his approach to doing things, and Bruce is not at his best when things do not happen according to his carefully crafted plans and predictions. Especially not when he's got projection issues in the mix.

Thus the intensity of his reactions when Dick and Cass do things he doesn't expect or agree with....tend to be disproportionate to what it is they actually did that upset him....at least compared to how he reacts to specific things the others do or what kinds of things the others do that end up inciting a similar degree of conflict with him.

Because he's not only primed in these instances to be caught offguard and feeling like he doesn't understand the two kids he usually counts as the two most relatable....because of those projection issues, born of how seeing himself reflected in Dick and Cass is the very BASIS of the birth of his dynamic with each of them.....I think Bruce unintentionally tends to react to them doing shit he doesn't expect or approve of as though.....he's reacting to HIMSELF doing something he doesn't approve of in hindsight, or feels guilty or critical of. And if there's another element of his behavior Bruce is not the best at, its handling his sense of guilt.

And just as a reference, when I emphasize that I think Bruce was initially drawn to Dick and Cass because he saw elements of himself in them and their situations, that's not to say I don't think those exist between Bruce and his other kids, just that directly relating to them himself isn't the most obvious parallel in his eyes. For all that Bruce says Jason reminded him of himself, I've always felt its more likely that a young Jason reminded him of Dick, who Bruce was missing at the time but feeling like he couldn't reach out to, so he was sort of drawn to this possibility of a second chance with the son he'd estranged.

In Tim's case, I think Tim eventually grew INTO someone that Bruce sees a lot of himself in, and vice versa, but that Tim didn't start OUT this way, and when Bruce and Tim first met, there was much less overlap between the former and Tim as he was when originally approaching Bruce in the wake of Jason's death and his early days as Robin.

Damian I think Bruce was so busy defining himself by his biological connection - and subsequent feelings of responsibility - to Damian, and the added complications of how his history with Talia and Ra's and their impact on Damian's life before Bruce ever had a chance to make an impact on him....like I think all of that added up to make Bruce initially resistant to seeing anything of himself in Damian. As in Damian as he was when Bruce first met him was so distinct from how Bruce wanted to believe he'd be if he'd had a chance to raise him, Bruce didn't want to see parallels of himself in Damian's pre-existing behaviors and choices.

Duke I think Bruce was drawn to because he was so distinct from the rest of the Batfam and Bruce himself....the fact that Duke naturally gravitated towards becoming the Daylight Defender of Gotham as opposed to the rest of them as nocturnal defenders....this wasn't so much something unanticipated as it was a feature of Bruce extending a connection between the two of them. If it were less annoying trying to cram the various continuities together, I'd WANT to say Bruce was initially drawn to Duke because he saw parallels between him and (pre-Flashpoint) Cass much in the same way he was drawn to Jason for how he reminded him of Dick, but given that the Cass whose dynamic with Bruce is most vivid in my head functionally didn't exist at the time Duke joined the Batfam, that doesn't quite work, but eh. DC's just like that. What're you gonna do.

But anyway. All that said, to loop this back around to Dick and Cass, and the parallels in those panels but slight divergences in how Bruce addresses them....

I do think that Dick and Cass are alike in that their dynamics with Bruce are so largely born of Bruce seeing himself in them and projecting on them in various ways....

But they're distinct from each other in that I think initially, Bruce saw elements of Bruce Wayne and the trauma that shaped him in Dick and his circumstances, while Bruce saw elements of Batman and the training that shaped him in Cassandra.

And this makes a big but subtle difference. To be clear, I'm not someone who subscribes to the whole idea of "Batman and Bruce Wayne are two different people, essentially" and definitely don't agree with the "Batman is the real person, Bruce Wayne is the mask" theories. To me, Bruce and Batman are very much one and the same, and they can't be delineated from each other in any particularly productive way. Bruce Wayne became - and shaped what Batman became - with intent. Intent that can not be divorced from what shaped and drove him as Bruce Wayne. They are intrinsically intertwined, at least when it comes to Bruce-as-Batman rather than just Batman as a mantle that can be worn by others and interpreted in different ways.

But that said....I do think that Bruce makes a distinction in his mind as to when he's trying to operate as Bruce Wayne vs Batman. Its more like....he knows they're one and the same, but he has two different "modes" that he slips in and out of with intent: when he feels the Batman's more hyper-aware, primed for action, logistical and deductive-emphasizing perspective and skillset would be more useful for a given situation vs when he feels his perspective and skills as Bruce Wayne are the better choice to lean into.

Its less about seeing either Bruce or Batman as the mask that's not really "him" and more about him viewing Bruce and Batman as two sides of him that he deliberately cultivated in specific ways in order to be the most effective set of traits/tools for different sorts of situations. Both his Brucie persona and Batman are larger than life by DESIGN....Bruce's intentional design. But they're designed and engineered with very different behaviors and end goals in mind. He can afford to be Bruce in ways and areas that he can't afford to be Batman, and vice versa. Both are still him, just his attempt at optimizing himself for different situations.

So there's not a straight bifurcation in how he views the two sides of him, but given that they were intentionally designed to evolve and be added on to in very distinct ways and in different directions as he grew....upon being drawn to Dick and Cass, and relating to them in different ways, he defaulted to seeing more of himself-as-Bruce-Wayne in Dick and his initial circumstances, while seeing more of himself-as-Batman in Cassandra and who Cain had attempted to shape her to be and how she had pushed back or defied this.

And THAT'S the distinction I see in how Bruce words things in those panels of him expressing similar but slightly different sentiments to Dick and Cass.

When he accidentally projects onto Dick and this leads to conflict between them....as well as him expressing disappointment in Dick's choices or seemingly in his capabilities.....Bruce is caught in the mindset of seeing Dick as a younger Bruce Wayne, and a target for Bruce's own disappointment or lack of faith in himself.

"You're fired Dick," and "anything less than total devotion to this cause is a waste of my time" as though Dick/young Bruce was the one who wasn't cut out for the mission and all it demanded. That if Dick weren't willing to do what needed to be done, he'd be better off just quitting and not going any further down the path he'd first gone down as a young Bruce Wayne, determined to become something like Batman.

"You disobeyed me," and "Gordon was right, you're just a boy," as though its clear Dick wasn't cut out for this, that maybe it had always been a mistake to think a younger Bruce was cut out for this life.

"You're better off this way"...or maybe it would have been kinder if someone had convinced a younger Bruce that he wasn't cut out for this life if only to spare him from this path and all it demanded.

In contrast, the way Bruce words things to Cassandra IMO could stem from Bruce projecting onto her as a parallel to who Bruce was in the very early days of Batman, the finishing stages of his training when he was poised on the cusp of what that was starting to shape him into and what he wanted Batman to become instead.

He speaks to her as though speaking to a version of himself who had already acquired the tools needed to be Batman, it wasn't in question but more a matter of how those tools should be applied, or even SHOULD they be.

"I'm ordering you to stand down as Batgirl" - there's a deliberate distance between person giving the order and person receiving it, in how this is delivered. The kind of distance that speaks to a teacher/trainee relationship, the kind that he would have been more likely to respond to at a time in his life when he was still open to taking orders from those he respected as instructors, whereas he would not be open to being outright diverted from his course entirely.

"I can't allow anyone to jeopardize the mission, Cassandra, even you" - he's not attempting to appeal to her emotional responses to the situation or how she's feeling at the moment, but instead relying on her training and mindset, cultivated in pursuit OF the mission, to recognize what's best for it, as this is what would've been more effective in making a young Batman stand down, rather than tangling with the emotions of a young Bruce Wayne who was better described as having landed upon and focused on the mission as an outlet for grief, who NEEDED the mission, versus someone who believed the mission needed HIM/Cassandra.

"I don't care if this is some delayed adolescence or teenage rebellion" - ie you're meant to be passed this sort of thing by now, if there was a time and place in your/my life for prioritizing a typical teenage response over a Batman-in-training's response, that time was before we ever reached this point.

"Maybe being Batgirl is doing her more harm than good" - a similar sentiment to expressing that Dick is better off without Robin, with concern for Cassandra's overall well-being here....but again filtered through a lens that by default views them from different points along the path.

Dick is told you're better off this way, because Bruce is projecting on him as a younger Bruce Wayne still more characterized by his grief for his parents than his actionable responses to that as Batman....so he speaks to Dick as though he's someone who as of this point in time could still be diverted away from the path of becoming Batman or someone like him, spared from that fate and burden entirely. Even though this overlooks that by this point in DICK'S life, contrary to the parallel point in Bruce's life, Dick had already actionably done plenty that was more akin to Batman than anything a young Bruce had done by then. It was already past the point of no return for Dick, so to speak, but because Bruce got caught up in seeing him as a younger version of himself, he's not fully cognizant of that and still sees the point of Dick-becoming-like-him-as-BATMAN as something that's still a future that can be avoided.

Cassandra in contrast is spoken of as though a younger Batman regretting his courses of action and the ways they've changed him or things they've demanded of him. Its taken for granted that she's already crossed whatever threshold marks the boundary line of life-before-Batman and life-as-Batman in Bruce's mind. BUT as seen from Bruce's vantage point as an older mentoring figure that he didn't have an equivalent for in his life when he was at that stage of things (as Alfred was there of course, but occupied a very different sphere and he was 'past' having tutors and trainers he was willing to allow direct his course). A Bruce who to some degree regrets what life as Batman demanded and cost him might occasionally wish there had been someone in his life earlier on who COULD have said to him that maybe he'd be better off without Batman, in a way he might have accepted or agreed with.....thus leading him to see this as still a viable possibility he can exercise to 'spare' Cassandra from going any further down the same road.

And then of course, the ultimate tragedy here is that Cass and Dick both remain more alike each other than Bruce himself in the sense that they are their own distinct individuals, no matter how closely they parallel who Bruce has been at earlier points in his life. And for all that those parallels do exist, and have been to their benefit at times, and are the genesis of their entire relationships with Bruce....they will never match up to Bruce and his experiences or motivations perfectly. And thus at some key moments and situations, Bruce's occasional failure to fully center his awareness that they aren't just younger versions of himself or his second chance to do things differently....is the driving force of these particular conflicts between them.

In ways that run parallel to each other, but just like their respective parallels to Bruce....don't quite line up perfectly, even if they are mostly aligned.

[starwarsmum]

Day 3 of Meet-cutes 14 Days of Valentines 😂😘

@maribatserver

“Can you just go straight to the bar and make sure she's okay?” Dick said nervously. “You know what Gotham is like, I don't want her getting into trouble.”

“Yeah yeah, alright already,” Jason grumbled, annoyed that their guys night was being co-opted by some French chick. It wasn't that he liked hanging with his brothers, but Tim had promised to foot the bill and he was planning on taking advantage of that.

But he entered the club and glanced around, trying to find the ‘adorable girl with dark hair and a sweet smile’. Sometimes he wanted to smack Dick for never being able to just give decent descriptions of people. Fortunately, he heard a stream of French curses in a feminine voice so he made a beeline for it.

“...just waiting for someone, so please, just leave me alone,” the woman was saying. Jason wasn't sure if this was the girl Dick had sent him to check on because ‘cute’ was not the word he would've used. With a short red and black dress, a leather jacket slung over the top and black combat boots, sexy was most definitely the word that sprang to mind.

“Hey babe, sorry I'm late,” Jason said, forcing his way in-between the two. Which was easier said than done because a, he was a pretty broad guy and b, the creep was leaning way too close to the woman. “My brother was being such a Dick.”

“De rien, mon amour,” she said, immediately relaxing at his coded reference to Dick. She slid her arm firmly around his waist and leaned up to peck him on the cheek. The guy behind him made an indignant noise and he turned to scowl at him.

“You got a problem, buddy?” He asked menacingly, throwing an arm over the woman's shoulders as he glared down at him.

“You could've just said you had a boyfriend instead of wasting my time, bitch,” he said, pouting at her and ignoring Jason. 

“Maybe if you had just left her alone, like she asked, you wouldn't have ‘wasted your time’,” Jason growled, getting ready to brawl. But she placed a hand on his arm to rein him in and - god knows why - he acquiesced.

“Enjoy your evening, monsieur,” she said, a strained smile on her red painted lips. Jason relaxed slightly when the guy huffed and walked away, only to tense again when she pulled her arm back from around his waist. “Thanks for that, he just was not listening to me.”

“Yeah, no problem,” he replied easily, letting his own arm fall away. “Sorry for getting in your space like that, I figured he needed a show.”

“No need to apologise,” she said, smiling more naturally up at him. His heart jumped in his chest because he was right, she wasn't cute, she was absolutely gorgeous. She turned and flagged down the bartender. “But I'm pretty sure I owe you a drink for the save. What'll it be?”

“Oh, you don't have to-” he started, cutting off at her look of ‘just order a damned drink’. “Uh, vodka and coke.”

She beamed again and ordered it for him, and another drink for herself. As soon as they had the drinks, she took hold of his arm and pulled him across the dancefloor to a table in a quiet corner. His eyebrows shot up when she pushed him onto a stool before hopping onto the one next to it and turning back to him.

“So, which brother are you? I think I know which one, but I'd rather hear about you from you,” she said, propping her chin on her fist and leaning towards him. The music was loud and her voice was low enough that he had to lean closer to hear her clearly. 

“I'm Jason,” he said, trying hard not to look down at her cleavage that he could see in his peripherals. He propped his arm on the table as well, keeping his hand in her line of sight and away from her drink. He wasn't trying to make her nervous, or think that he was up to something. “But I'm afraid Dick didn't give me your name, beautiful.”

“Well isn't that a shame,” she said coyly, a mischievous smile appearing on her face. In the flashing lights of the club, she looked more fairy-like than human and he had to take a sip from his drink to save his dry mouth. “Maybe you should try to guess it.”

“Maybe I'll just give you a new name,” he countered. She grinned delightedly, shifting in her seat and changing the way her legs were crossed. The movement brought her foot closer and he was fairly sure she deliberately pressed it against his own leg. But there was no way he could be lucky enough that this little pixie was flirting with him. 

“Well now I'm definitely keeping it to myself,” she said with a giggle, leaning back to take a sip from her drink. He tried not to stare at the way her lips puckered around the tiny straw that came with it but it was difficult. “So, tell me about yourself. Other than being a rescuer of damsels who are about to commit homicide, I mean.”

Jason laughed, draining his drink and standing up. Her eyebrows pinched slightly, probably confused, and he held a hand out to her. “How about we save the conversation for when we can hear ourselves think? Wanna dance?”

He was rewarded by another grin as she knocked her own drink back before jumping down to join him.

_ _ _

“How is this taking so long?” Dick said, agitated. Tim scowled at him and he shot an apologetic grimace. “Sorry, I'm just worried. Wally asked that we make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble and I can't do that if I'm not there.”

“Didn't you send Jason ahead of us?” Tim asked pointedly. He barked out a laugh when Dick nodded. “It's a bit late to be worried about trouble then. But he won't let her get hurt if that's what you're worried about.”

“She's just so cute when I look at the pictures Wally sent!” He said with a pout. He turned his phone around for Tim to look at and felt vindicated when Tim hummed thoughtfully. “And in Gotham, being cute is a recipe for disaster. I'm just glad Jason only likes trouble, otherwise I'd have a whole host of other problems. I cannot outrun a speedster and if he thinks I set the two up, there'll be nowhere I can hide fast enough.”

“I'd have been more worried that she's definitely adoption bait,” Tim laughed, before whooping and closing his laptop victoriously. “Got it! Okay, let's get in there.”

Dick was relieved to finally cross the threshold to the club, eyes moving directly to the bar. He frowned when he didn't catch sight of Jason's hulking form, and he didn't immediately pick out the tiny form of Marinette either. That might have been because she was too small to see past the wall of people, so he started scanning the rest of the room for Jason, starting on the outer edges.

“Yo, found him,” Tim shouted, pointing over to the dance floor. There was an exasperated tone to his voice and Dick saw why immediately. He had clearly ditched Marinette to pick up a girl that looked like just as much trouble as he did. They were dancing closely, his hands on her hips as she writhed and wriggled to the beat. 

Unable to contain his annoyance, Dick strode over to the pair and thumped Jason on the shoulder. His younger brother sighed in annoyance and said, without turning around, “No, you can't cut in.”

“Jay, would you stop screwing around,” Dick said loudly, glaring up at him when he spun around guiltily. Good, at least he knew he was in trouble for ditching Marinette. “Dude, I asked you to look out for Marinette, not find-”

“Dick! You made it,” the woman in the criminally short dress said brightly. He did a double take and his jaw dropped open as he realised that Jason hadn't ditched her. “We were beginning to think this was a set up. You're so past fashionably late.”

“Marinette?” 

“Um, yeah?” She cocked her head, lips pursing in confusion. “Did you hit your head or something? Is that why you're so late?”

“You just look- different,” he said, wondering when it would be too soon to start running from Wally. Marinette looked even more confused for a second.

“Dick, I was hardly going to wear my volunteer clothes on a night out,” she said, glancing back up at Jason and rolling her eyes. “Is he always this dim, or do we actually need to call an ambulance or something?”

“Nah, he's always like that, Pix,” Jason said, looking down at her with a look Dick could only describe as lovestruck. “You volunteer? I thought you said you designed clothes for a living?”

“Guess I'm just full of mysteries,” she said impishly. Dick made a distressed noise and Tim took pity on him.

“Jason, shall we go get started on those drinks I promised you,” he said, taking hold of Jason's arm and pulling him away. The pair were out of sight after a moment and Dick turned back to Marinette.

“You know I'm an adult, right?” She said with a sigh. “And that you were over forty minutes late? You can't send a cute guy to keep me company and expect us not to hit it off.”

Dick mentally started crafting an apology to Wally for everything.