#which. why. Bruce you HAVE a therapist. (he just doesn't like them).

[faeriekit]

It's you and me, @arbrehoux

So, imagine, if you will:

Mr and Ms House-of-El don't have a child at the time the planet explodes. Inconvenient!

But cloning is, if something carefully undertaken, something extremely typical on Krypton. Most couples reproduce via cloning on the planet. It's very simple to arrange for a cloning device onboard an escape-pod size ship at a relatively reasonable cost (to a family whose planet is exploding)

So genetic matter goes into the tube, they plug in information meant to help their future offspring understand the planet they hail from, and they shoot the resulting embryo off into space! Whapau! 🚀

Cut to the Kent farm, where the Kents are a loving, if childless, couple, who desperately need a hobby. There's a boom outside the farmhouse. Ma grabs the shotgun, and Pa grabs the first aid kit. (It's probably just a car accident.)

And they find?? A spaceship?? In the dirt?? Like no way a spaceship landed in their corn field but ALSO look at that. That's a SPACESHIP.

Out tumbles the least adjusted, entirely nude form of a twelve year old boy. He's scared. He can't walk. He doesn't know English, and they don't know his language.

"Because he's an alien, Jonathan." "Be nice! He can understand your tone! Look, you're making him all worried! Listen, son, I hope you're not lactose intolerant, but let's get you a glass of milk and a cookie for now, alright...?"

"What if aliens can't have milk, Jon? C'mere, hun, we'll split the difference. I have some apple juice..." "What's wrong with milk?"

"It's mammalian, dear". "And what??"

Anyway, SUDDENLY there's a Kent boy mysteriously at the farm, and he's very gentle and very shy and super strong, but if any cops come sniffing around, then he's always been here and you never saw otherwise!! 'Kay??

Anyway, I think that this officially turns Superman's heroing career into a mostly after-school activity skdhhdjajsz. He can still be a reporter, it's just for his high school. Lois can be an out of state rival he competes with on an online blog or something. He and Batboy are best friends, because otherwise how can Batkid exploit his prowess for the sake of tackling so many problems no kid should even remotely tackle?? Clark gets paid regular babysitting rates by Alfred after hours of. Like. Trying to keep Bruce from fighting a full-grown Lady Shiva in Europe. He and Damian talk animal husbandry over the phone once a month.

Woe to Bruce, the Youngest One™️ 😔

Reverse Robins AU but instead of making Damien oldest and going down the line so on and so forth, it’s a bunch of assembled weird vigilante-crime men and their accidentally adopted autistic eight year old rich boy, Bruce, who calls himself “batkid” for reasons beyond their mutual understanding of expected kid behavior

[waynewifey]

aporia — b.w

part one : dear mr. wayne

part two: aftermath

part three: aporia

epilogue

sumary: aporia suggests “an impasse”, a knot or an inherent contradiction found in any text, an insuperable deadlock, or “double bind” of incompatible or contradictory meanings which are “undecidable”. [reference]

pairing: battinson/bruce wayne x reader

genre: drama & romance

warnings: mental health struggle, miscarriage, car crash, a lot of internal dialogue

word count: 2k

A/N: the more i write, the more i put myself in this story. i feel like this ‘you’ is so complex i can’t help but try to explain her further. part four will be bruce’s perspective on all of this + an epilogue. i’m so grateful for the amazing feedback given on the last two parts and for the new followers, thank you so so much. i hope you enjoy this. (also this gif??? HELLO???)

GOTHAM. USA.

— bargaining.

the uncomfortable silence makes you want to scream. she told you that was a normal reaction and they couldn't get rid of those moments, they were essential for your self reflection. the problem was being alone with your thoughts, even for just one minute. they keep deciding you won't recover any time soon. everyone keeps holding you like a cracked vase. even negligence was better than being put under the microscope.

"i don't know what you want me to say" you respond, your gaze anxiously shuffling between the objects in the room. the woman's eyes, however, don't ever leave your face. she holds that journal like a scientist analysing a mutation. like you're some weird thing.

"you should say whatever you feel like saying." that's what she always answers. dr. quinn was extremely stoic, even for a therapist. you still liked her, though, because her pragmatic approach helped you shift your point of view and see yourself from an outside perspective, which made you want to help yourself. after weeks of feeling extra irritable, still trying to forgive your husband for lying to you, you realised maybe everything was too much for you to handle by yourself. you wanted to go back to the real world but before that, you had to do this. a quick chat with your psychiatrist and he gave you the contact to harley quinn.

"i think i've been way too mean to bruce" your confession has her nodding, like that observation had been made sessions before and she was waiting for you to realise that. "he's been so supportive and helpful, but sometimes words just fly out of my mouth and i don't even mean them"

"do you think it's easier to blame him than to come to terms with what actually happened?" you can't answer, because this was all you've asked yourself lately. you were a coward, hiding behind his suffering to prevent confronting yours. it's easy to curse him, to reject him, but it's not what you want to do. lately it feels like you don't have any control over your emotions and actions. you thought maybe if you pushed away the last person that still cared for you, you could disappear in your loneliness and finally stop hurting. "y/n you've been through something terrible. the kind of thing we never think it's gonna happen to us. i know it doesn't feel real, but you have to face it that it is. the thing about trauma... you have to keep living with it. you have to keep going, because it doesn't go away. but this is your life and you don't get to stay on standby. you hurt the people you love because it's better than hurting yourself. you told me you feel bad about it, so why won't you change?"

why won't you? you don't even know where to start. it felt comfortable living in sorrow forever. horrible, but comfortable. again, it was in fact easier to blame him than to accept this was reality. but he's right outside, been waiting for you for two hours, as he has done twice a week for over a month. you weren't being fair to him. he didn't deserve this. dr. quinn sees the defeat in your eyes and sighs in a mission accomplished type of breath.

"think about this, okay? we'll talk on friday." you nod, as if you weren't already overthinking it.

bruce sees you before listening to you. he's created the habit to stay in the waiting room with headphones in, blasting loud music. he didn't want you to feel like he was prying on you. he also didn't want to listen anything you had to say about him. you had the right to be mad at him, given everything that had happened. he knew you didn't mean it when you bomb dropped the word 'divorce' every now and then. it would take you some time to get back to normal and he wouldn't rush you.

you walk to the car quietly and get into the driver's seat. he agreed to let you drive to and from therapy. the office was actually in dr. quinn's house, a little bit on the country side of the city, if you could call it that. it was a 50 minute drive with no traffic, roads empty enough for you to drift off in you thoughts. he watches you drive, eyes brightening up a little more everyday. he realised that trying to shield you from the world wasn't going to work out. you need to learn how to be on your own. he needs to learn how to care for you while away.

"i'm sorry," you caught him off guard, observing the curves of your face. he frowns at the unexplained sentence. you glance at him but look back at the road. "for the way i've been acting. for pushing you away. for being too complicated. i know you're trying to help… thank you for staying."

"darling, of course. for better or for worse, remember? i'm never leaving you. we're getting through this, together. and don't you worry about me, i'll be okay when you are too, alright? you're doing great, i can see how much you're working towards it." he holds out a hand for you and you take it, intertwining your fingers. his calloused palms are softer now, courtesy of the months without batman-ing. they still embrace yours entirely and warm the cold tips of your fingers.

"i love you" the sweetness of that feeling dominates your tastebuds and it's almost like the day you started dating. that innocent type of love that consist of the pure enjoyment of each others company. however, your attempt to savour the moment is ruined by a shape in your peripheral eyesight.

"i love you too" bruce's voice is muffled by the anxious thoughts taking over your mind. the panic starts to overflow. he notices your body getting stiff and the wheel looking loose on your hand. your breathing lost it's rhythm to creaking gasps. there's something wrong. your eyes are frozen in a vehicle. he's seen this van before. maybe not this one, but an identical one, in a security camera tape in court. it looks exactly like the one that took you. "baby, hey, hey. i'm right here." you don't pay any mind to the man beside you. you can't, not when your instincts are telling you to run. not when you can feel the gun getting knocked on your head over and over again. bruce is saying something. the tears are blurring your sight. this is too much.

he's calling you screaming at this point, tears are rolling down your cheeks and you still haven't looked away from the van. there's a bump coming up, the car is dangerously fast and you're not driving at all. he goes for the wheel but isn't quick enough. the tires wiggle, going in their own direction. the car changes lanes, getting in the wrong way of the street. another car is coming and the impact isn't light. your head is thrown forwards, the airbag covering your face. the windshield shatters and little pieces of glass get stuck in your hair. the crash isn't too bad, you're both still awake and only the front has been smashed. but you get out hyperventilating, falling onto the ground and weeping.

bruce gets out as well, only a scratch on the forehead. he has to kneel on the dirt to hold you up. for a while, he doesn't say anything. the other driver is standing, phone in the ear. he's also fine. the cars were the only damage. two other drivers stop by, offering help. you wish he could help you, but it seems as if there's something inherently wrong with you.

— depression.

the weeks following the accident were harsh. it took a while to get you believing in recovery again. you still weren't sure. somehow there was press at the site, so pictures of you crying next to a car crash made it to the papers. there's minor commentary online about you faking it for your husbands popularity. most of the netizens feel desperately sorry for you and have painted you to be their new princess diana, the comparison seems wild to you.

you only go online every three days or so, because you can't resist the urge to know what bruce hasn't been telling you. jokes on you, he's actually been a lot more transparent lately. you agreed that the batman would show up to the sentence of edward nashton, to pressure the jury with his presence. it worked and the criminal got life without parole. the lawyers said that your public presence impacted on his trial, as 20 years was the standard. you were just glad he wouldn't do that to anybody else ever again. the case got national and your family from outside the state, that you not-so-kindly kept in the dark, started making contact, victimising you all over again.

but things were getting better, gradually. it had been almost a year and it felt like that chapter of your life was finally being finished. you were trying to get your life back, including your driver's license. it was suspended for a while after the accident, so now you had to submit a bunch of medical records to prove that you were mentally fine to drive again. that's how you found yourself in bruce's home office, searching everywhere for your documents. you could've asked him where he put it, but he had just fallen asleep in the living room and you didn't want to disturb him.

in one of the desk's drawers, you find a folder with the local hospital logo on it. you open it, shuffling through the papers you've seen before. only one stands out, with "ob/gyn" on the top of the sheet. you wonder if there's anything helpful there. your eyes start reading the words one by one, listing the examinations they've done on you. the subject changes abruptly.

the ultrasound analysis reports the miscarriage of an unknown pregnancy to the patient's spouse.

you feel like you're about to throw up. the world starts spinning as you force yourself to continue to read.

the fetus was estimated to be in the development stage of the beginning of the second trimester. the miscarriage was most likely a result of several mechanical trauma. dilation and curettage was performed with the patient in a medically induced coma.

you try to remember to breathe in and breathe out just like dr. quinn taught you. you expect the tears but they don't come out. the panic doesn't come. it's suddenly so quiet. it's not like a hole has been punched through your chest, it's like you have no chest at all. it's like you don't even exist. you somehow sit down, your body does. you feel as if it's moving on it's own and you're just watching from afar. your thoughts sound so distant, so irrelevant. you can only think of the baby that had once been inside of you and you didn't even realised. you didn't have the time to love him. you've had him there, right there, the thing you wanted the most in the world and he was taken from you. everything was taken from you.

if a tree falls on a forest, and there's no one around to hear, does it still make a sound? it felt like your fall was silent.

[aesthetic-gamersnail]

What happened in the first family counseling session of the brothers (it contains a spoiler from Trolls 3 since it is based on the movie, so be warned)

Edit: Originates from the meme I made to this topic. Enjoy :)

Therapist: So, at the beginning I always like to begin with the question: why are you here?

The brothers are sitting on a couch in a nicely dimmed room which has green paint on the walls. The therapist sits across them in his armchair, between him and them a coffee table with a vase of fresh flowers, a cup full of pencils, a neat stack of papers and - what immediately catches Clay's eyes - a burning scented candle. (The order in which the brothers sit on the couch from left to right: Branch, Clay, Spruce, Floyd, John)

All: ...

John: Honestly, I think there is no reason for why we are here.

Bruce: And I think, that you are probably one of the main reasons why we are here. And you probably need it the most.

John: I'm sorry, but I think the real reason we are here is because our little brother's lady forced him to do it.

Branch: WHAT? *he whipped his head around* She didn't force me to do it, she recommended it to me and I took her advice because you know what? I actually CARE about our family and I think we could do a lot better.

John: Do you want to say that I don't care about this family?

Floyd: Guys, guys, please, calm down.

Branch: Geez, John, I don't know, did not really get the vibes when you said we would go our separate ways after we saved Floyd.

John: Are you still bent down on this? Look, I'm sorry that I said that but things are different now, right? We are together now, so why are still hung up on the past?

Branch: Just because something is in the past doesn't mean it doesn't have any effect on me anymore. And besides, it has been, what, two weeks ago? I wouldn't call it the past yet.

John: Potato, tomato. See, this is your problem: you take things way out of proportions and let your emotions control you.

Bruce: Well, at least he shows his emotions and talks about them, in contrast to someone else.

John: Excuse me?

Bruce: You heard me.

Clay, interrupting their talk since he also was not listening to them, asks the therapist: Is the candle not a fire hazard? Is this even allowed in such an establishment?

Floyd: Guys, please, calm down. We haven't even properly started and we are already fighting with each other. Let's all breathe for just a moment and then resume to talk.

...Silence for a few moments ...

Therapist:....So I see, there is a lot of pent up aggression going on he-

John: NOPE, no! You know what? It has been fun and all but I honestly don't want to be here anymore. So, I'll be taking my leave.

Floyd: John, plea-

John: Floyd, I'm sorry, but I really can't do it. I already know how this whole thing is going to go, therefore, why should I even stick around?

Bruce: Wait, what do you mean by tha-

Branch: Oh, because you know everything, don't you?

John slowly getting irritated with this situation, suddenly stands up and says: Listen he- *THUMP* *CRASH*

But he is interrupted by the sound of the coffee table falling to the ground. He stood up too fast and took the coffee table in his momentum with him, which made it rock back and forth, till it finally hit the ground facing the brothers. But with the coffee table, also the vase and the scented candle came to the ground. The vase bursts into many splinters which fly into the air in various directions. One splinter shoots into John's foot.

At the sight of the first drop of blood coming from his foot, John says: Oh my god, hahaha, look at that..

And passes out.

Floyd: OH MY GOD, JOHN, ARE YOU OK?

Bruce: Ohhhhhh, I remember now. He was always afraid of blood, ever since he was a kid. Did not think, it still bothered him.

Floyd: Didn't he live in the wilderness for 20 years? How did he survive?

Branch: oh my god, OH MY GOD!

Branch rolled off screaming from the couch.

While Bruce and Floyd were busy with John, the scented candle rolled it's way to the couch and ignited it.

Clay: AHA, I KNEW IT. *Clay laughs* I knew it would be a fire hazard. You have some explaining to do, mister. *he pointed his finger at the therapist, smiling*

His smile drops.

Clay:...Oh shit.

Branch: HOW DO WE PUT OUT THE FIRE? WHAT IS EVEN HERE TO PUT OUT A FIRE? *running around frantic, looking for something that would help against the fire*

Floyd: Ok, so we have an unconscious body and a fire going on. Just, d-don't FREAK out, Bruce, and stay calm!

Bruce:...I am calm.

Floyd: I SAID STAY CALM!

Clay:...Is not the first step to dealing with building fires 'Inform people in the immediate area to evacuate'? Well, *turns to the therapist* I think you should be the one to leave and warn people, AND also call 911, as we have a *stares at the unconscious John, the anxious Floyd, the confused Bruce and the frantic Branch running around* situation going on.

The therapist, staring at this whole situation in horror:...I honestly don't get paid enough for this. *flees the scene*

[ailithnight]

After this chapter, I will no longer be doing a taglist. Sorry folks, there's just too many of y'all and I'm on mobile. Please subscribe on AO3 for updates, or follow the tag A King in Arkham.

A King in Arkham

Chapter 4

AO3 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Danny. I understand you don't want to go with your godfather. Is there a reason for that?

Can't go with Vlad!

If you know something we don't about him, you need to tell us. Otherwise he will win custody.

It's.. He'll.. he'll make me.. turn me.. his fault!

What's his fault, Danny?

His fault. All his. All.. My.. no, my fault. It's all my fault...

Danny?

IT'S MY FAULT! I KILLED THEM! ALL DEAD! Because of me...

Now Danny, I'm sure that's not true. What happened at the Nasty Burger-

I made it happen.

Corporate negligence-

He knew. I knew. Dan knew what would happen. Dan made it happen. He knew the sauce was gonna blow. He knew Lancer would arrange the meeting there. He cheated. He lured them there. He bound them up so they couldn't escape and ran the time out until they exploded! Dan did that and Dan was me, so I did that.

Daniel...?

I murdered them. I murdered everyone. 

Da-

IT'S ALL MY FAU- *static*

.

Tim started talking after the audio cut to static.

"What you just heard is the last, partially recovered therapy session of Danny's in Chicago. The cameras were beyond salvaging. No one except Danny knows what happened after the audio cuts. What is known is that nearby witnesses heard what they claim sounded like a 'screaming moan' coming from the therapy room. When doctors and staff went to check; the therapist Mrs. Alders was slumped against the wall, appearing to have been forcefully pushed, with minor head trauma. Danny was curled up on the other side of the room, panicking and muttering about a Dan.

While Mrs. Alders mostly recovered from the incident, she does not know how she ended up slammed against the wall. Once this audio was recovered, it was turned over to the police. Given the severity of the... confession... in conjunction with the apparent assault, the courts decided to move Danny to an asylum for the criminally insane." Tim paused in the debrief, letting the information sink in. After a moment, Duke raised his hand. Jason scoffed at the action.

"This ain't kindergarten kid, say your bit."

"I just, that explains why an asylum in general. But why Arkham?" Tim nodded, pulling up a picture of a document.

"Kid's godfather, business tycoon and multimillionaire, Vlad Masters. Insisted that if his godson should have to go to an asylum, he'll go to the- and I quote- 'Best in the country.' Made a deal with the state that he'll foot the bill while he continues fighting for custody. Apparently didn't do his research enough to know that 'Best Known' and 'Best' are not the same." Bruce had the next question.

"So, Master's doesn't have custody yet?"

"Nope." Tim popped his 'p', pulling up more documents. Investigative reports. "Given Danny's reactions to him, CPS started investigating. Found a lot of shady shit. Narcissism, anger issues, control issues, coercion tactics. 

One agent said he tried to bribe her with a rather large sum of money, which she might have taken if she wasn't well enough off from a family inheritance and mostly doing this work for the kids. Of course, same agent also said he had 'Rancid vibes' and 'tried to posses' her, but her 'Grammy's necklace protected her' so her credibility was deemed iffy.

Still, there's enough there that it's unlikely Masters will be able to gain custody any time soon. So if Gotham's favorite serial adopter with a good track record for helping troubled kids, Brucie Wayne, were to step in..." Tim's smirk is infectious and makes its way around the table. Bruce's lips twitch ver briefly into a fond smile, before dropping back into a frown.

"What do you make of the... confession?" Jason doesn't even try to hold in his groan.

"Seriously, B? It was survivor's guilt or some kind of psychotic episode or something." Damian frowns.

"I would not discredit him so quickly, Hood. After all, his ghosts are real apparently."

"Hnn." Bruce gets that look on his face. The almost constipated frown that means he is going to have to do something unpleasant like host a gala or attend a business meeting or, "I will have to call Constantine to verify what the entity we are dealing with is." 

Jason lets out a gleeful snort. "Have fun with that one, B. In the mean time can I go break our kid out yet or what?"

"Actually, Hood," Jason turns a glare on Tim, who is once again holding his hands up placatingly. "That still leaves us with the issue of making him an escapee and you an accomplice."

"Well fuckin Brucie Wayne can't exactly just walk up to Arkham and ask if they've got any blue eyed black haired boys for him to adopt."

"Not exactly what I'm suggesting here."  Batman sighs.

"What are you suggesting." Tim pulls out a case he had tucked under the desk, a truly devious smirk painted across his face.

"Just a little temporary theft. Only long enough to put the kid's face on the news for Brucie to stumble across." He opens the case, sliding it over to Jason. Inside, a replica of a relic from Tim's own past; resized to fit his bigger, broader brother. "You remember Red X, don't you?" 

The green that had been tinting Jason's vision the whole meeting finally subsides, giving way to wicked mirth.

"Oh, hell yes." 

Batman sighs.

.

"You don't get it do you? I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me."

Another night, another nightmare of a memory jolting Danny back into the waking world. His chest is tight, a high whine suppressing itself in the back of his throat. Danny's eyes dart around his room, searching for the shadowy void of his most frequent visitor. But Spectra isn't there tonight. She hasn't come back since she was seen by Banana Bat. 

It's strange. Danny had gotten used to waking up with her there, towering over him, shadowy clawed hand resting somewhere on his body as she feasted on his misery. He didn't mind, really. He had plenty to give and she didn't even rough him up too bad. Just enough to keep the psyches concerned. The last 3 days without her presence had been... not lonely. Danny was already lonely. But emptier. Like the one good thing his continued existence was doing for someone had been ripped away.

Truly, Danny felt he had nothing left in this world. Nothing to give, nothing to gain. But he couldn't die. Couldn't unleash full ghost Phantom on the world again. That's what created Dan. No, this was what he had to give. All he had to give. To stay human so that Dan never becomes ghost.  To live, as the least burden he could be, so that Dan never died. 

Clockwork must have known what would happen if Danny fully died. That must be why he spared him. The Observants sentenced Danny to death. But Clockwork was smarter. He sentenced Danny to life. And really, it's such a small price to pay for the sins of his other self. 

Despite what the others say, Arkham isn't hell. The only issue Danny's had was the clown and that's not really anyone's fault. It's just, Danny looked at the Joker and he saw Freakshow. And he saw that stupid staff. And he heard that grating laugh. And all he could think about was how that was the only thing that could still turn him into Dan. If the clown took control again. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't! Not becoming a Dan, not becoming a problem; that's all he could do now! He couldn't he couldn't he couldn't...

Danny was broken out of his spiraling thoughts by the now familiar buzzing echoing clanging sound of another break out. He closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. Then, suddenly, he was lifted up, hoisted onto someone's shoulders in a fireman's carry. 

"Damn kid, do you weigh anything?" 

Danny's eyes flew open, his body subconsciously tensed for a fight Danny wouldn't actually fight. The voice, clearly modulated, sounded high and breezy. His head turned to look at the person now forcefully evicting him from his room. Black body suit. White mask. Red slashes in a stylized X. Built like his Dad... Danny had no idea who this was.

For a moment, Danny felt a twinge of fear. He had no idea who this was. They obviously weren't with Arkham. They had just stolen him from his room and, holy shit they were flying now. No. Not flying, grappling. And running. Moving very fast towards the exit. With Danny. For unknown reasons. 

Holy shit, someone was kidnapping a teenager from an insane asylum. That, probably wasn't good. Any normal or sane person would be scared for their health and wellbeing. But, well... Danny was hardly normal. And sane was becoming increasingly questionable. 

And this guy, well he didn't trigger Danny's ghost sense. No chilly breath escaping his mouth. So he was human, not a ghost. It's not like a human could kill Danny. Not with his ghostly healing factor. Sure, they could make his life a living hell. Beat him, violate him, enslave him. But a human couldn't turn him into Dan so... Danny doesn't think he really cares. 

"Um, why are you carrying me?"

"Taking you out of here." 

"Clearly, I meant why?"

"Owe someone a favor." That was mildly concerning. Danny could think of one person who would stoop to this.

"Did Vlad send you?"

"Master's? Nope. He couldn't afford my services."

"Oh. Okay." As long as it wasn't Vlad. They were almost to the main gate now. There was screaming behind them, now. Danny loomed behind them as the person grappled up the wall and vaulted them over. Danny caught the barest glimpse of the twink in a burlap sack mask striding out the door, leaving a noxious cloud in his wake.

Then they're gone, grappling to then moving across rooftops. It's not a bad feeling. Kinda fun even. Flying as a ghost was nice. Really nice. But different from this. Gravity literally didn't touch you if you didn't want it too. But this? Danny could feel the pull of the earth, the force of every swing. Gravity was still there, exerting its influence, but they were defying it. 

For a tiny moment, Danny felt the ghost of a smile on his lips. The good feeling was fleeting, like all his feelings these days. But it was there and it was enough to shock a small "Oh." from Danny.

"Oh what, runt?"

"Nothing, just. Never grappled before. S'nice."

"Oh." It was such a soft thing, Danny once more found himself pondering the intentions of his kidnapper. 

"Do I get to know where we're going?"

"Safe house for the night. I'm your baby sitter."

"And tomorrow?"

"We'll see."

"...Okay."

.

The next morning, Vicki Vale stumbles across the story of her career (so far) sitting dazed and confused in her office. A prepubescent boy in an oversized Arkham uniform? The day after a breakout where Scarecrow and only one other inmate escaped? Oh this is bound to sell.

Okay, I know the show pretty heavily implies that Teen Titans Robin us Dick.

But

What if it was Tim?

[yvtro]

tell us about one of your jason wips 👀

i will tell you about one of my wips that is a bit uncharacteristic for me. lots of my drafts are reworking canon, or post-canon stories focusing on healing, but this one is more of a legitimate AU that focuses on parent-child relationships, and wherein jay is mostly a stable person already, living outside of gotham, with bruce never learning that he came back. the working title is rewind.

for the background, it is quite similar to the setting from my black out days fanfic. i was mostly interested in clashing together 'son of the demon,' and 'lost days,' while also keeping damian's character (as a plot device more than anything else, because he was brought up very differently than in canon). so, tldr, talia planned to give up the child for adoption -> ra's found out about it and she had to stay in the league with the baby -> a couple years later jason enters the picture -> they live in nanda parbat together for a while -> they manage to move.

in rewind the action starts in metropolis. talia is working for lexcorp. jason is a university student and au damian is around 10. talia's absent a lot, and jay is mostly in charge of the household, which he doesn't mind, because after the all caste training he decided to focus on himself (he still engages in vigilantism sometimes, but he doesn't have any particular persona and it's not his priority.)

the whole conflict of the story arises from the fact that damian was used to talia being around all the time when they were in the league, and doesn't understand why she prioritises her work now. and i always thought it was extremely interesting how understanding and sympathetic jason was in canon towards his mother figures (which does not translate to his attitude towards bruce); so jay doesn't get at all what damian's problem is. talia is her own person after all, not just a parent, and she spent years in an actual cult. and it's them that kept her there. did she even want to have kids? this much he tells his therapist over the phone. and damian, unfortunately, overhears it.

next thing jason knows damian is gone and there's only a message left saying that well, since their mother clearly has other things to do and didn't ever want him, he's on his way to find his father.

which gives jay a very bad sense of deja vu. he was in a situation like that before and looking for his other (potential, bio) parent did not end well for him. and talia is on a business trip (less lexcorp-bussiness and more taking-down-big-oil-bussiness, undercover) so he's alone with this situation. he gets on his way to gotham, for the first time in years, but it turns out damian is not there. he needs help finding him anyway, so he will have to work with the bats (and reveal that he's alive. awkward).

the whole point of the story is that jason now has to confront that everything he wants damian to understand about talia is something he should understand about bruce. he can't really say "well your mom is a person and she has certain responsibilities that come with her dedication to making the world a better place, so it's unfair to hate her because of that, she still loves you very much even if she can't meet your every need" and then turn around and go: "fuck you, bruce. batman sucks, you're selfish and you didn't do this one very specific thing i imagined you should do if you actually loved me."

i have lots to work out when it comes to this wip though, for example i'm not sure if jay should first try to contact the bats undercover, or if he would be panicked enough to just knock on the manor's door in a MetU hoodie being like "where's the child. please tell me the child is here." but i'm hoping it will come together soon because it's been cooking for a long time.

[crowtwink]

Hi, sorry to disturb, but could you share a summary of how the Jason death/Red Hood plot goes in the Titans show? I heard a bit about it and I'm curious, but I'm now interested in watching the series (it's just not my thing, no judgment)

Absolutely!

Okay, so the thing about Titans is that if you asked me for a list of things not to do when writing Jason Todd, Titans hits almost every single one of them.

And yet! It still manages to be one of the most compelling and sympathetic takes on the character that I've seen. (I leave to you to consider what that says about most comics featuring Jason.)

Detailed (and slightly opinionated) plot summary below the cut:

So we start off with the cardinal sin of Jason Todd stories: making him angry and violent from the start. However, unlike most stories which do this, Titans makes it very clear that he has his reasons to be angry and that his violence is targeted towards people who use their societal power to oppress others (particularly cops) (as a side note- I could write a whole essay about Titans' mixed messaging regarding the police.) Titans also makes sure to give us just enough scenes of Jason being an absolute sweetheart to make it clear that he's a good kid at heart. (He's also heavily implied to have been a victim of both sexual and physical abuse, which definitely colors his characterization.)

Titans!Jason's main motivation is his determination to prove himself to both Bruce and Dick. This doesn't tend to be a major factor in pre-death comics!Jason's characterization, but it's not entirely out of thin air. Unsurprisingly, it tends to get him into trouble. Which leads us to the first major event in the Red Hood plot: Jason is kidnapped by Deathstroke and almost dies.

He's rescued last second by Superboy (because sure, why not), but ends up with a pretty classic case of PTSD and a very understandable fear of his own mortality. He tries to shake it off, but he's noticeably messed up, and Bruce insists he take some time off from being Robin and talk to a therapist. Jason resists at first, but eventually starts getting along with his therapist and making some progress. Which is of course the point where Bruce decides that actually he won't be letting Jason return to the role of Robin no matter how well his therapy goes, because Bruce worries that he messed up with Dick and can't risk making the same mistake with Jason.

Jason, naturally, takes this poorly.

There's also a subplot involving Jason's wlw bff from before Bruce adopted him

And this is where things start getting... weird.

Jason has convinced himself that Bruce's concern is actually a lack of trust, and becomes determined to prove himself able to overcome his own fear. His solution is to visit Scarecrow in jail and get chemistry lessons to create an anti-fear toxin.

Under the influence of said anti-fear toxin, he goes after the Joker with no backup. Jason's actual death at the hands of the Joker is disturbingly fast and almost anti-climactic. No bomb, no complicated plot involving Jason's mother. Just the Joker, and Jason, and a crowbar.

And then, with equal speed and lack of fanfare, Bruce kills the Joker and, disgraced by his failure to uphold his own code, leaves the city.

In Doylist terms, this is an excuse to get Batman out of Gotham and leave the Titans in charge. In Watsonian terms, this is probably the most shocking departure yet from Bruce's usual characterization.

Crane has his goons revive Jason via a Lazurus pit under Gotham. With Bruce having violently avenged him, Jason's anger is shifted to the Titans, and particularly Dick, for failing him during his first life. So he does a lot of fucked up shit to them as Red Hood.

Jason is also, at this point, addicted to Crane's anti-fear toxin and fully under his control. This is absolutely delightful if you like fucked up mentor-mentee relationships, but otherwise completely nonsensical and honestly not handled very well, as the show seems more determined to toy with the audience about whether or not Jason is really evil than to actually give Jason consistent motivations.

Crane has a whole thing where he tries to promote Red Hood as his new alternative superhero who (unlike those mean nasty titans) has the city's best interests at heart. Imagine the plot with the riddler from the batman but shittier.

Crane poisons the water supply, Gotham turns into a war zone, and Jason finally decides he's done with Crane and teams up with the Titans to save the city.

Dick makes it clear that Jason can never be a Titan again, but does reunite Jason and Bruce, who have clearly both been changed by what they've been through. Jason asks if Bruce killed the Joker for him, and Bruce confirms that he did. Jason thanks him, entirely sincerely, and then leaves the manor to find his own path.

And that's why I love Titans Jason while also sitting here screaming about how nothing they did with him makes sense...

[bitterrobin]

1,8,13 for the hate ask game 💃💃

a character everyone gets wrong -- The character I'd say that everyone truly gets wrong is Talia. With the exception of dedicated Talia fans and certain Damian or Bruce fans, pretty much everyone in wider fandom has some kind of negative view on her. If its not about Talia's relationship with Bruce, then its about her relationship with Damian. People will pop up with "Talia's a rapist!" Technically, yes, but that got retconned years ago and the writer admitted their own mistakes. Even then, why are you so adamant that Talia, historically one of few Arab/Asian characters in DC to be at least morally grey and portrayed positively romantically with a main hero, be immediately villainized based on the work of a single author? And then, there are also Damian fans who still swear by "Talia's an abusive mother!" when if her character wasn't so butchered, drawn and quartered by DC writers she would never treat Damian that badly? (Much less have a child raised in the League??) I've noticed some fans will stab at any flaw of the mother and dismiss the flaws of the father - it doesn't just happen w Talia it happens with almost every mother in Batman adjacent fandom. Talia, Janet --and then Bruce's clear flaws are ignored or explained away, Jack's actual present involvement in raising Tim is either dismissed or also turned up to eleven. I should stop here before this gets any longer lmao. There's more succinct and well-read Talia stans out there who carry the same complaints.

8. common fandom opinion everyone is wrong about -- A lot of misconceptions float around the fandom its hard to just choose one. But "Dick sent __ to Arkham!" and "Damian aggressively tries to kill Tim every chance he gets" are the worst contenders. No, SpongeBob, Dick didn't send Tim to Arkham, he was trying to get Tim to see a therapist. No, SpongeBob, Dick didn't sent Jason to Arkham, Jason got arrested by the GCPD and put there by them. No, SpongeBob, Damian doesn't feed Tim rat poison every day and try to slice his head off every hour, Damian's only seriously attacked Tim (in the Reborn 2009-2011 era) twice. Once, in his introduction where Damian was clearly set up as a nothing-character who wouldn't appear again until Morrison decided to project their "child of divorce" arc onto him. Again, the line cutting in Red Robin, when Damian was retaliating for something Tim did against him. Was it justified? No. But people really portray Damian as a child psychopath over these incidents. Some Tim-fan's genuine hatred seeps into their fics and become laughably awful to the point Tim doesn't seem like a sympathetic character anymore. And yes, Tim may be insecure and grieving but guess who also was??? Damian, who also lost his father and doesn't know where he fits into the family. Is it so hard to admit that Tim and Damian were equally bad to each other, and there is no side to take? Is it so hard to admit that Dick was also dealing with serious shit, also lost his father, and he couldn't make the "right decisions" for everyone? I feel like I have to get on a megaphone and yell "EVERYONE WAS GRIEVING AND TERRIBLE! THERE IS NO RIGHT OPINION OR OPTION THAT WOULD SAVE THEM!"

13. worst blorbofication -- *siiiigh* Objectively speaking, every character gets blorbofied, not even my fellow Damian fans are exempt from this. But the absolute worst offenders are of course, Tim and Jason and occasionally, Dick. They do get blorbofied for different reasons and in different ways though, which I'll admit does affect my opinions for each of them and their fans. Tim gets blorbofied to hell and back because its easy. Thats it. The longest running Robin has tons of fodder to explore, and I get it. Tim is easy to warp into whump mode, but that doesn't mean I'll turn a blind eye to how utterly fucked over everyone else has to get in order to get Tim to that state. You can explore Tim's terrible moments in life without making everyone the villain. Jason gets blorbofied in two ways: the struggles of his childhood and the ever-present specter of UTRH. Jason's fodder for whump is basically singular - its his death/resurrection and rarely anything else, maybe his parents if a fan's feeling bad about it. I get it, again, Jason's narrative is interesting to explore. Some fans just delve too deep into justifying all of Jason's feelings and actions and shoving Bruce into the "terrible dad/mourner" machine that I've grown apathetic to it. We get it, Jason's death was terrible and Bruce is terrible for moving on like a normal person would /s. Finally, Dick is a strange case. Ive seen more fans of other characters blorbofy Dick than actual Dick fans. I think this mostly because Dick's sources of trauma have been widely explored and agreed upon, or at least his history is so expansive that the fandom just doesn't get into it (cough the non-comic readers cough). Frankly I don't have major issues with Dick whump, just that it sometimes weirdly centers other character than actually around Dick. Tarantula/the multiple incidents of SA/Bludhaven getting nuked/Dick's subsequent mental breakdown always seems to get explored in terms of "how will these characters react to it?" rather than how does Dick feel about it? It bothers me when fics veer into "and Jason is a good brother/good arbiter of justice because he kills the rapist and everyone is fine with it and everyone clapped" when Dick canonically would just feel even worse about it if that happened. The scenario is set up to justify Jason's philosophy and history, and again, no one cares what Dick would really want. I actually think that's the only instance where Dick gets blorbofied in fics, correct me if i'm wrong, and its at his own detriment. I've read Dick being weirdly wrong or mean to other characters than fics where people are exaggeratedly mean to him.

(ask q's from here)

[crypto-jn]

I know it's old beans at this point but I can't help talking about the whole "batman punching mentally ill people", "he should just kill them" or "he could do more as a philanthropist than a superhero" and they're just stupid talking points from people that don't actually read the comics and it shows

Firstly Bruce IS a MASSIVE philanthropist. He's got three charities named after his father, mother, and Alfred, on top of the Wayne foundation. He also has a construction division that repairs damage to the city made from fights ALL free of charge paid for out of pocket by Bruce himself along with pay for homes and the rent of people displaced by said fights. "But he could be doing more" he's got four or five different charity foundations on top of being a world saving superhero what more could he do? A major part of the underside of Gotham is the court of owls a collection of all the oldest and wealthiest families in Gotham's history who will stop at nothing to preserve their wealth and control of the city. It's why so many super villains don't get put to death (besides being a comic and needing the characters to make stories) because those super villains are useful to the court of owls and so they buy off the courts and police and prisons and everything else in the city. All of Bruce's philanthropy would fix practically everything irl but he's being stopped at every point by an underground oligarchy, uber-capitalist, death cult.

As for the former yes their mental health issues are serious problems that need to be treated (just like they should be irl) IT DOESNT EXCUSE OR ABSOLVE THEM OF THEIR ACTIONS!!! "They need real therapeutic help, not punching and prison" yes that's why they get sent to arkham which yes in the past was a horrible place like many mental health facilities of the past both irl and in fiction but in recent years both in irl and in fiction these places have become legitimate mental health facilities. Arkham is state of the art with some of the greatest therapists, and psychologists in the world trying to help people like the joker, two face, and many others through their problems because yes they are mentally ill and need help BUT THEY'RE ALSO SUPER VILLAINS!!! they can't and won't be stopped with anything other than force! You think the joker is going to stop blowing shit up unless he gets the shit beat outta him? No! He also doesn't use anymore force than necessary especially for the goons because more often than not they're people who have no other choice!

"why doesn't he just kill them" because no one man should hold the power to make that decision! I agree some of them probably should die but it's not only stupid but unfair to expect that burden to be put on one person. And also the treatment they receive from Arkham and Bruce himself works! Harley has been rehabilitated and is now a hero and part of the batfam, orphan is now part of the batfam, Jason after he became red hood has now been rehabilitated, Ivy while she still has some extreme views is no longer an eco-facist and has been rehabilitated. Bane has been rehabilitated (in some runs but idk if he is in the current run) while yes these are horrible people many of them are victims of experimentation, the joker, or abuse and need help and need the opportunity to grow and change and become better people and when they're given that chance they do become better people

All of these complaints against batman are really just stupid, clearly wrong, and coke from people that in all likelihood have never touched a comic in their life.

TLDR: people are dumb and there's reasons he doesn't do those things or he already does

[wonderfultoweird]

I've seen some people upset about Bruce Wayne's portrayal in Harley Quinn Animated Series, specifically about S3 ep8 where Harley goes inside Bruce's mind and I just wanted to give my thoughts on it.

I actually really liked the idea about Batman just having to relive his parent's death every moment of his life, and that kind of being why the way he is. It does really paint kind of this awful picture though when it comes to him as a dad and the idea that like, none of the moments he had with his children were important enough to stand out or be his happiest moments. It also kind of seems like all of his love for his children didn't really matter because he just cares about his own parents. While I agree to some extent (like the fact that he didn't even think about resurrecting Jason?? tf is up with that) I also think it's a bit more complicated than that.

In the show he has shown obvious care for at least one son (arguably two since he did make effort for dick to get along with the batfam), as he has a bonding moment with damian after harley accidentally puts him in danger.

As we all know, Bruce's love language is mainly Acts of Service, protecting those he loves, providing for them, training and teaching them. But after this scene Damian is still upset and Bruce goes out of his way to comfort him.

[Because the captioning is awkward I've also put in the scipt here:

Bruce: Damian, I made your favorite.

Damian: You didn't make that. Alfred made that.

B: I made him make it. Are you mad because I had to save you from Joker?

D: No. I'm livid because everyone in Teen Titans is getting a nemesis, except me.

B: I'm gonna say something embarrassing here. I didn't have a nemesis until my late 20s.

D: Don't patronize me, Father. It's unbecoming.

B: It's true. I wasn't ready for one. You want your first nemesis to be special. Someone who you could see being your nemesis for the rest of your life.

D: I suppose you're right, Father.]

I think it isn't that he doesn't love his children or care about them, it's that his memories and his emotions are corrupted by that singular memory, and that when he tries to be happy, to run away, to move on there's that older Bruce who believes he doesn't deserve to be happy, he doesn't deserve to not look.

Like it's quite literally written out for us right there, he can't ever escape his parent's death. Also on top of that I also wanted to point out what Harley says here:

When I first saw this panel my immediate conclusion was that it was because Harley was there, but earlier in the episode it shows that she actually really can't change his memories that much, she can only change one small thing, which was that he didn't have to look.

In this I think that Harley being there has nothing to do with the shooter being there and tainting his memories and everything to do with the fact that bruce is inside another memory, where he isn't constantly rewatching his parents murder.

I believe this is why Bruce's happiest memory can't be with his children or any time after his parents died, because in his mind he is just a scared child rewatching his parent's death over and over. When he tries to live in a world without them the guilt pulls him back to that memory.

I just believe that he does love his children a lot but his own personal happiness with them is hard to think about without feeling guilty about his own parents. Hopefully, Harley will be able to knock some sense into him now that she's his official therapist :)

[bigfan-fanfic]

Okay, there's a lot I have to say but I am absolutely terrible at turning my thoughts into cohesive words so if anything that I'm about to say comes off as rude or doesn't make sense that's probably my brain just not working with me - so I apologise in advance. I also want to clarify that this is me just trying to initiate a friendly debate - not something born out of hostility or anything. I honestly love your blog and would hate if my thoughts and opinions upset or angered you in any way so if they do feel free to delete this - no harm done.

Anyway, while I'm not a huge Batman fan, since let's be honest hes got a lot of different problems that could definitely use a bit of therapy or perhaps some time away from Gotham, a lot of people seem to forget the good things about him. He's an incredibly grey character and often times it will seem that he leans more towards the black then the white side but that doesn't mean there's only, like, 5% white left.

For example, Bruce cares for Gotham A LOT. It was the place he was born, the place his parents were born, the place they died and the place he will most probably die. Not only does he put in the effort to take care of crime on the streets at night, but he also works hard at Wayne Enterprise during the day to help improve life on Earth one bit at a time. He understands that the world sucks and that he has the power, influence and money to make sure the GSP of the world (General Suckiness Percentage) decreases however he can. He (or his company in some cases) is known to donate to a bunch of charities and fundraisers! Two of the major ones are the Thomas Wayne Foundation and the Martha Wayne Foundation.

The Thomas Wayne Foundation mainly focuses on medicine and medical help and helps fund a bunch of clinics established in Gotham - in addition, although it's not explicitly mentioned so take this with a grain of salt, I feel like this foundation would work pretty closely with Wayne Biotech - which is a company apparently responsible for most of Gotham's healthcare system. The Martha Wayne Foundation is an advocate/supporter of the arts, families, education and tolerance (? Not sure what that means honestly). It helps fund a lot of the school and orphanages in Gotham and provides opportunities for artists to apply for grants to support and further their own art. Moreover, the foundation also works closely with Family Finders (a company that works to locate lost people and unite families) and a number of various soup kitchens in Gotham.

While, yes, one could argue that Bruce doesn't really care about them and only leaves them there for publicity or something - although I would like to dispute it, I can't say anything except I really doubt it. None of the pages I have been reading off of really state how Bruce feels about them besides mentioning that he regularly speaks about them to the public at, like, events and stuff but, again, he definitely could be faking it. However, Bruce wouldn't actively be risking his life every night just to beat up a few bank robbers. He wouldn't be taking knives to the side just to punish himself for not being able to save his parents or out of anger at the person who shot them. I feel like if a rich person like Bruce had a similar experience they would either pay for a really REALLY good therapist or just drown their sorrows in their illicit substance, alcohol or incredibly unhealthy hobby of choice. But he doesn't do that - he becomes a vigilante that is hellbent on getting rid of all these criminals, making bat-themed vehicles and gadgets and adopting bird-sidekicks. It's all so unnecessarily extra and he has so many reasons not to do it - but he does, and do you want to know why I think he does?

It's because he does care. He seriously cares about Gotham and the people in it. He goes to such extreme lengths just to try his best at preventing families to be split apart like his was when he was very young. After being raised by people like Thomas and Martha, which let's be honest they totally loved the city after literally making these incredible foundations, how could he have not adopted at least some of their love for Gotham. Also, Alfred! Let's not forget the loveable butler of Bruce's. He was a literal soldier in the war, you could not tell me he didn't teach Bruce how to be the nicest and most polite boy in the world without getting ranted at for 2 hours.

These are not all of my thoughts, of course. This was just me trying to say that Bruce cares for Gotham both as the bat and as the man. I would love to keep this discussion going with you although, again, I would completely understand if you don't feel up to it for one reason or another. I got most of my information from the wiki pages on Wayne Foundation, Wayne Enterprises and Wayne Tech, while other info came from my knowledge taken from an assortment of other DC works. Again, I love your blog and I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

DISCLAIMER: I don't actually support Enterprises and corporations. I just realised how much I sounded like I wanted to, idk, kiss Jeff Bezo's ass or something and trust me when I say - I think I would kick it and mug him before I ever kissed it. Just thought I should say that lol. #EatTheRich.

I absolutely love discussing and analyzing fandom narratives with people who are earnestly looking to talk and consider viewpoints, so I absolutely LOVEEEEE this ask, anon!

(Lol this got super long so I'm putting it under a cut, but this was so fun to think about and explain my own thoughts! Please let me know what you think, and everyone else, please feel free to put your own thoughts in to discuss!)

So, the first thing we need to discuss is that Bruce is a billionaire, and thus everything he does that's supposedly good should already be suspect. So often, charitable giving is a) a PR stunt and b) a way to reduce one's taxes by writing off their contributions. I don't pretend to understand a whole lot about economics, but one thing I do know is that in some cases, it's actually more profitable for rich people to give to charity. Now, we all know that this is the last thing on Bruce's mind, and he is actually giving to charity, and that he does care.

I don't believe that Bruce doesn't care. He does indeed care deeply about Gotham. But the thing here is, he's a man who's trapped by grief into maintaining certain beliefs about the world that a nine year old whose parents were killed in front of him by a bad man would. Bruce believes not only that all crime can be stopped, but that he himself can stop it. It's in this way that he copes with his grief, because he has an immense level of unacknowledged self-loathing and guilt. Grieving children often take the blame onto themselves for deaths they have no hand in ("Maybe if I had been a better kid, Daddy wouldn't have died") and that is a core part of Bruce's character. Every crime he stops is him preventing his own parents' murder.

Because let's also look at what exactly Bruce is doing to help people. Gotham is an objectively crappy place to live. But we all know that most crime doesn't just happen because people are bad. Gotham, with its slums, its upper class and masses of poor, is full of people who likely have no other option than to turn to crime. Whether to pay protection rackets, rent, or simply to feed themselves, the city is full of people who resort to crime. Most henchpeople out there aren't working for Two-Face because they want to wear the funny two-toned suit and masks. They need money to live, to support families, to try and get their kids or themselves out of this town. Batman never really thinks about this. Nope, it's just smack pow bop the henchmen on the way to the supervillain. Batman goes after everybody, from petty thieves to supervillains.

Bruce is in the privileged position of being very much able to change the landscape of Gotham. You know all the criticisms of Bezos and other billionaires? How they could house every homeless person in America and still have an obscene amount of wealth left over? Those also apply to Bruce. Crime is not something that just happens because people are bad. I read this news story once about how a millionaire guaranteed he'd pay college tuition for all the kids in a neighborhood and that caused the crime rate to drop drastically and the graduation rate to spike to 100%. Now look at Bruce. He's a billionaire - a multibillionaire. That's an impossibly vast amount of money, more than any person, real or fictional, should have. Say Bruce didn't do any vigilante-ing at all, but instead guaranteed the college tuition of every underprivileged kid in Gotham, or provided housing to every homeless person in Gotham. Imagine he spent his time making sure there was enough food to go around, that people weren't on the streets worrying about where their next paycheck was coming from. How much crime do you think he'd be able to stop from that?

You yourself point out that Bruce's method of showing his care for the city is so unnecessarily extra, and that's the point. He does care, but that doesn't mean that what he's doing is helpful, or even effective. Bruce has deluded himself into thinking that what's most helpful to Gotham is a masked man with fancy gadgets beating up criminals every night, because that's what helps him the most. It tends to depend on who's writing the story, but Bruce is very hands-off with Wayne Enterprises. Most of whatever's going on there is either without Bruce really doing anything or hiding some vigilante activity among supposedly helpful divisions of Wayne Ent. - Wayne Biotech (studying Poison Ivy or Ra's al Ghul's latest bioweapon, figuring out what Clayface is made of), Wayne Chem (identifying poisons and chemical markers), Wayne Tech (gadgets by Lucius Fox) - Wayne Enterprises might be doing good but it's still a business, and more than that, it's a front to keep Bruce's vigilante hustle going.

AND let's talk about the Robins. We don't like to think of them this way, but they're child soldiers, trained to be Bruce's private squad of crime-fighters. Dick was taken in at his most vulnerable, and instead of Bruce actually being a decent parent to him, allowed him to join him in crime fighting - at his oldest, a teenage boy - which is just wrong on so many levels. Jason was a poor orphan abducted off the street and pretty much given no other choice.

While I do think Bruce considers Alfred a father, I gotta say that obviously, Bruce becoming a vigilante is kind of a fail-state for a parent. Either Alfred wasn't able to find a proper therapist for Bruce to truly process his grief in a healthy way, or he wasn't able to be firm enough to stop Bruce traipsing around the world to train to fight crime. Not to mention, Bruce is often placed either in the single digits or early-double digits at the time of his parents' death. By the time he actually becomes Batman, he's lived longer without his parents than with them. I don't find it implausible that whatever path or ideas they had for their son could have become lost or corrupted over that time, not to mention childhood memories are notoriously faulty and selective.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

The Best Things ~ J.V. (part 12)

A/n: I would like to apologize for not marking warnings on each part like I should have been. I get too excited to post and skip over them on accident. I’ll do my best to add them from here on! Also, I was adding the warnings as I wrote but then they didn’t save so I tried to remember them as best I could. If I forgot anything, I sincerely apologize.

Warnings: Recounting past trauma (physical abuse, homophobia), explicit talk of death, badly handling others’ trauma, light smut (foreplay: slapping, choking, degradation, daddy kink, handcuff restraining, brat/dom dynamic, punishing, teasing, masterbation)

Word Count: 5200+

MASTERLIST

The air was so thick with tension that a knife could have cut through it. No matter how much Harley was fighting his instincts to lounge and be himself - the self Jeremiah was used to, at the very least - he felt like he had to be the self he used to be. The one Bruce was expecting. Jeremiah knew Harley was trying too hard, and Jeremiah was far too easy to read - which meant that Bruce knew too. So Harley sat there trying to behave and Bruce sat there brimming with suspicion and pain and hesitation and Jeremiah sat between the two boys, wishing this had never happened and he could just escape the two brothers who seemed seconds from either running or fighting.

Echo, as if sent from God, walked into the room with a pitcher of water. They were at Jeremiah's instead of Wayne manor as Harley had absolutely no intention of being back there or anywhere near Alfred. The butler was far too good at accepting change, which meant that the man might pick up on the fact that Harley was no longer Y/n and the whole thing would fall apart. Honestly, it seemed like so much work. Harley wasn't sure why this plan was so important but Jerome was feeding off of it so Harley did it anyway because he'd said he would. If this is where Jerome lead, Harley would follow.

"So," Echo cut into the silence as she walked around pouring drinks. "How is everyone this evening?"

Harley smiled at her, amused. She was poorly hiding a sort of awkward expression that was dashed with a little humor. She was mocking them in her head; Harley could almost hear what she was thinking. A bunch of dumb boys sitting around a table unable to swallow their pride. Idiots. "Oh you know," Harley mumbled casually, shrugging. "Indulging." He motioned to his food but his words were obviously directed at the ambiance.

"Having a good time?" Echo asked.

"Not at all," Harley immediately answered with the same casual, chipper tone. Jeremiah choked on his drink as he laughed at the exchange. The humor delivered saltiness in Harley's voice and the passive aggressive mocking in Echo's had always been an exchange that could make Jeremiah chuckle at least a little. Echo and Harley were very good at banter and it lightened the mood significantly every time they went at it. After all, it was just in good fun. Bruce seemed to relax as a smile curled everyone else's lips. "So... Harley." His lips seemed to want to reject the name.

Harley's smile dropped. Hearing Bruce call him that made him uncomfortable. Not just because he was nervous about Bruce not calling him Y/n as he had all up until this point but because he had cut Bruce out of this new life very purposefully and now... he was in it anyway. "Yes?"

Echo sighed and left the room as she sensed Harley jerk back, even with her attempt to loosen everyone up. Jeremiah focused on his food. Bruce looked at Harley but Harley did not look back, instead choosing to stare at the door Echo had gone through. "Why Harley?"

That was an easy question. "When I was in Arkham, a few of the guards used to beat the shit out of me every single day to try and convince me to be straight." Harley looked Bruce in the eye when he said this, completely calm. He had long since gotten over it. "They even put me in isolation to keep me away from people who might protect me or care about me."

"Jerome." Bruce didn't form it like a question.

Harley answered anyway. "Yes. But see this is a smaller world than everyone thought and my therapist, Harleen Quinzel, became my friend instead. She's like me, but for girls." Bruce nodded, accepting that. "They couldn't kill me without having to mark me as a loss. That and they'd have lost their punching bag. To teach me a lesson, they killed her. And then made sure the TV that was never supposed to be on the news would be on the news, on just the channel and at just the time that would allow me to see her bloody, bruised, cold, dead body strewn out for the public to see. And no one gave a single shit because no crimes in Gotham get solved unless someone important is involved. And even then- well, you know first hand."

Bruce's expression grew very dark. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," Harley purred, still eating as if he was talking about the weather.

Jeremiah has stopped eating. "People are really like that?" His voice was small and his eyes moved to Bruce, his hands tightening around his silverware as if picturing Bruce's face cold and dead and staring at him through a TV. Bruce felt his eyes and looked back to Jeremiah, but the red head averted his gaze to Harley instead. "I mean, people really act like that just because of... how someone loves?"

Harley nodded, swallowing the food in his mouth. It tasted like sand but he kept eating it. It made him feel powerful to while the others in the room had forgotten their food altogether. Although... Perhaps he hadn't chewed it as well as he thought because it felt as if it had gotten stuck somewhere along the way. A thick lump had lodged for a second and a sick feeling had settled in the bottom of his stomach. He hadn't thought about that image in so long... the daily bearings and the isolation and the one ray of light he'd gotten being extinguished and displayed because he had dared to be himself and therefore allowed her to do the same. Because they were different than how most people were.

"Do you know who did it?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah." That didn't seem to be the answer Bruce was expecting. "This isn't great table conversation," Harley eased, changing the subject. "But that is why I go by Harley. Do you like it?"

Bruce shrugged. "Do you still go by Wayne?"

Internally, Harley sighed. "Harley Quinn."

At that Bruce nodded. "You're not coming back are you?"

Harley laughed dryly. "You're not very good at casual, light conversation are you Brucey?"

"Don't call me that," Bruce snapped, body going stiff.

Rolling his eyes, Harley sat back in his seat. "Why not?" It came out harsher than Harley had meant it.

Meeting hostility with hostility, Bruce got angry as well. "Because that's what Jerome called me, and after how many times he tried to kill me it's not a name I like."

"Get over it," Harley sneered. "It's just a name and we're in Gotham. Trauma is kind of a part of life here. Adapt or get trampled."

Bruce jerked back. "Get over it? Since when are you...?" He trailed off, as if hesitating, before his face set and he finished his sentence with a much harder tone. "Like Jerome."

Harley felt his knuckles turn white. "Stop saying that like it's a bad thing." "It is!" Bruce hissed.

Harley shot to his feet, dropping his silverware on the table. Jeremiah flinched but Harley didn't notice. Bruce did. "Look, Jerome is fucked up and dark and broken. He doesn't have a grip on reality or know how to human because he wasn't fucking treated like one. He killed people. He was crazy and insane and unhinged and dangerous. Yeah! You know what else he was? He was understanding and accepting. He got why people lived their lives differently than he did and didn't really judge anyone, ever. He thought they were boring and chose to live differently, sure, but he lived to make people laugh and have fun. Maybe his sense of fun was fucked up, but he genuinely just wanted people to laugh along with him for once. He didn't hide who he really was. He wasn't ashamed. He didn't shun me and shove me in a corner and try to change me. He accepted who I was. He CELEBRATED me. I'd rather be with him than at this stupid fucking dinner or anywhere near you because I'm not some poor gay boy who needs saving. I'm strong and I matter and I FINALLY love myself, and you won't ever take that away from me because you see self respect and see Jerome because no one taught you that you are more important than everyone else. I refuse to sit here and let you try and turn me into some pathetic whiny brooding mess who's never happy because my priorities are fucked up. I won't be you. That isn't my goal anymore."

The room was dead quiet. For a long time, no one said anything. The brothers just stared each other down until Bruce shook his head. "Perhaps this was a bad idea."

Jeremiah pinched the bridge of his nose. "You guys are idiots." The other two in the room looked at the red head with shock. "My brother is dead, and honest to god it's a relief that he is. He's out of my life and I'm safe from him. I never had the chance to have a real relationship with him. I used to read the newspaper about your family and think that you guys were some kind of dream. Two brothers that loved each other despite everything and parents that were like... actually good people on any level." He sighed. "Obviously I was wrong. You're too busy trying to make him how he used to be." This he directed at Bruce. "And you're too busy hurting and bottling up your emotions and pushing everyone away to let anyone care about you or see the real you." This was for Harley. Jeremiah didn't stop when both other boys went to speak though. "Just shut up and make this work because you guys are the only true family you each have left. Harley, you grew up and I have to say you wear your changes very well. You're happier and sturdier and if someone isn't happy about that then they're insane. Right, Bruce?"

The Wayne boy hesitated before giving in. "Yeah. I am happy for you. I should have started with that. I just... I'm scared for you."

"Why?" Harley demanded, exasperated.

"Because I don't want you to become Jerome. I don't want you to end up like that. I don't want you to be some criminal, when you used to be the best person I knew. You said your life goal used to be being like me? No. I wanted so much to be like you. You couldn't speak about a huge part of you, but you accepted it with the knowledge no one else ever would. I refused to even look at the fact that I'm attracted to guys until you and Jerome got together and then..." his eyes shot to Jeremiah and then back. "Things happened and- and you were always so bright and happy and free. Like a bird in flight or- something." He shook his head. "You were inspiring, Y/n. Seeing you like this... it looks like you've been broken. And I just want to bring back that light you had before. When you seemed so much happier."

"I'm not broken." Harley looked at the boy who was supposed to be his brother. The boy who used to be his best friend before one lie after another had pulled them further and further apart until they were on completely opposite sides. Secrets had torn their relationship up into so many little bits it could never be repaired. They were just too different now. "I'm not lost or struggling. I'm just not... sitting there and pretending all the bad things aren't happening. The friends I have now actually like and respect me as a person, not just because I'm Y/n Wayne. I'm myself, proudly, and I wear my experiences as a reminder of what I can endure. Things hurt less. What you see isn't some poor boy waiting to be saved. It's darkness. And maybe that scares you, because you're used to hiding your darkness. But darkness, Bruce, isn't a bad thing. Darkness is what makes us who we are. Like everything it can be used as a weapon, but Darkness itself isn't dangerous. What you do with it is."

Bruce considered that for a long time. "That... is a good point."

Jeremiah released a breath. "So... truce?" The boys looked at each other before shrugging. Harley sat back down. Jeremiah seemed pleased. "Okay, now lets talk about something a little more pleasant."

"So you mean literally anything other than what any of us have been up to recently?" Harley sassed. Jeremiah shot him a look. "Okay fine whatever." He searched for some light conversation. "So you guys are like boyfriends now or what?"

That seemed to make Bruce and Jeremiah both blush and the air in the room cleared significantly. Harley pulled off being cheery and invested as he teased and prodded and asked questions and engaged. Things almost seemed like they used to be when Bruce and Y/n would sit with their parents and Bruce mentioned a girl and Y/n would go off about how he was going to be the best man or the world would surely end... but Harley wasn't Y/n and Jeremiah wasn't their parents. This wasn't Wayne Manor and as good of a server as Echo was, she wasn't a butler. She wasn't Alfred.

Under the light tone, Harley formed a plan. A plan he carried out as he and Bruce began to hang out more and more as time passed that night and stretched for a while. Jerome became nocturnal in favor of being awake when Harley finally returned at home. The boys would spend some time together and then sleep and then Harley would wake up and go out and spend time with Bruce and Jeremiah again. Slowly the time with the other boys began to cut into Harley's time with Jerome and both he and Harley were getting restless. They'd begun arguing about it.

"Stay in tonight," Jerome whined.

"Bruce wants me to come back to Wayne manor tonight." Harley sighed, an odd expression on his face. "I've finally earned his trust and am getting along with him - as much as it pains me. I think Jeremiah is talking to him when I'm not around, convincing him to behave and respect my boundaries. He calls me Harley and has stopped expecting me to be the person I used to be. I don't know, I think he'll be enough to convince Alfred though I might have to try a tad harder." He rubbed his forehead. "Soon I'm sure I'll be chummy with them again and that'll definitely lead to interacting with all of Bruce's friends - which will be a whole other adventure of its own."

Jerome huffed. "If you're going back to Wayne manor, won't Bruce want you to move back in?"

The thought had occurred to Harley if he was being honest. Where did he draw the line in being buddy buddy with his brother again? Where did he stop things? How far did Jerome want him to go? "Probably," Harley voiced, shrugging. There was a long pause. Jerome was more guarded than he usually was and it set Harley on edge. When the red head did speak, it was in a dangerously quiet tone. "Would you go?"

"W- would you want me to?" Harley was distracted by the way Jerome's Adam's Apple moved when he swallowed.

Jerome hummed. "So this is still about what I want?"

That made Harley defensive. "You think I'm dealing with my arrogant brother because I want to?" It had a biting edge to it.

"And what about my brother?" Jerome pushed.

Now Harley was confused. "Jerome I did all of this for you. To convince them you were dead so you'd be free to have some free time and then make your grand entrance whenever you wanted to. I did this because you asked me to." Jerome rolled his eyes. "You've been gone a lot. You come home... lighter. You enjoy your time with them."

"I'm sorry, you WANT me to come home miserable?" Harley sneered, his hands coiling into fists.

Jerome's eyes darkened. Harley realized what was happening. Before he could react, Jerome's hand shot out, fingers curling around Harley's throat. Jerome pressed his boyfriend against the closest wall, his face close and words sharp like knives. "You're getting angry again. Talking to me like that, as if I'm one of our dumb brothers or that blonde idiot Jeremiah carries around. You might have been gone for a while now, but SURELY not long enough to have forgotten to respect me."

Harley gasped, eyes fluttering closed. Jerome's grip wasn't dangerous but it could go that way if Harley wasn't careful. Jerome only ever got like this when he was frustrated. Usually when he was bored and wanted to do something other than sit around. To be fair, he was cooped up which was something he HATED to be. He hated feeling trapped. And on top of that Harley had been spending less and less time around the place. It was a miracle the redhead had behaved so long. Harley had spent more nights with Jeremiah, talking to Bruce so late into the night and fake catching up and playing nice that it was just easier for them both stay at Jeremiah's. Alfred had even gotten used to a simple text from Bruce letting the older man know where he was and that he was safe. If Bruce wasn't home by 10pm Alfred had come to expect that he wouldn't be back at all. It had become a sort of habit.

Perhaps Harley had been a tad neglectful.

He sighed, letting his guard down and releasing all the tension he'd gained from being around Bruce. Jerome didn't deserve this. "I'm sorry, you're right." Jerome didn't let up. "Oh so you shoot me puppy dog eyes and say sorry and that's supposed to be it?" Harley could feel his insides warming as Jerome grew closer, the air in the room slowly becoming infected with sexual tension. The sudden mood change was hard for Y/n to switch gears to, even though he was immediately eager. "You've forgotten who you belong to."

"I-"

Jerome's hand tightened on Harley's throat, cutting off any attempt to speak. "What was that?" Harley coughed a little as the initial shock took him off guard. His eyes fluttered but he could still breathe which is what mattered. "Come on, Harley. Come on, Y/n." Harley jerked at the name. "Is that what you want me to call you? Is that who you want to be?"

Harley wasn't dealing with that shit. His body jerked, arms wrapping around Jerome. He pulled hard, twisting to turn Jerome around so he'd have to let Harley go, or risk hurting his arm. As predicted, Jerome let go. Harley twisted their bodies with extreme force, pushing Jerome's face into the wall aggressively. "What the fuck did you call me?" He growled. The words were raw from his throat being a little sore. It made Jerome smile. "Answer me. Now." Harley let his free hand thread into Jerome's hair. He pulled, the red head squirming underneath him as it began to hurt. "I said, now."

"I called you Y/n," Jerome answered softly. His tone was half reluctance and half defiance. He didn't want to answer Harley like he'd been told to, but saying the name again did give him power.

Harley leaned back, pulling Jerome away from the wall just by his hair. He dragged him over to the bed. "Kneel. Now." Jerome was giggling as Y/n hurt him, getting off on the pain. "NOW, Valeska!" Jerome smirked, taking his precious time with following the order. When he was down, Y/n maneuvered his face into the bed. "Stay there. If you move, I will know and you will be punished. I will be back in a moment." He left Jerome there, ducking out of the bedroom to the trunk in the bathroom, shoved in the closet. He opened it, pushing around some things they'd collected in their time together. This was the stuff they used when things got more kinky. Handcuffs Jerome had gotten from cops even before he and Y/n were together. Rope from a construction sight. Some things were specifically from sex stores - stolen of course.

Ignoring most of it, Harley grabbed the handcuffs and went back into the room. He returned to see Jerome had indeed moved. In fact he was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his hands. He was smirking at Harley, a dare in his eyes. The red head seemed to be expecting Harley to lose his shit, but Harley didn't. Instead, he got very still, thinking. That seemed to actually make Jerome nervous.

Slipping the handcuffs into his back pocket, Harley slowly approached Jerome. His eyes cut into Jerome's soul, his jaw so tightly shut that Jerome shivered. "What, you think you're going to look at me and-?"

Jerome didn't get to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, unexpectedly, Harley backhanded Jerome, causing the sitting boy's head to snap to the side. The red head was shocked, but found his stomach twisting with the familiar sensation of arousal. This wasn't like when he was a kid. Harley was calm and controlled - even his hit was direct. There was a safety in the way that Harley controlled himself. Jerome didn't fear him. It left room to enjoy what was happening. Harley gripped Jerome's jaw, bringing the red head's brown eyes around to meet his. "What did I say when I left the room, Jerome?" Harley not using a pet name in a sexual situation made Jerome shift nervously. Was Harley actually mad? "You told me not to move."

Harley released a breath, smirking as he got turned on just by getting Jerome to answer his question without being pushed. When Jerome was being bratty, he refused Harley any amount of control. So when he let up even the smallest amount, it never failed to excite Harley. "And what did you do?" Unwilling to let Harley win twice in a row, Jerome shrugged. Harley slapped him again. The red head blinked, breathing sharply outward as he felt the stinging on his face. "I moved."

A hum came from Harley as he stood, crossing his arms. "You know I had to punish you for using the wrong name, but it was going to be pretty light. Now..." Jerome shivered under that look - like Harley was trying to figure just how to kill him. "I'm going to take your clothes off Jerome. If you fight me, you'll get immediate punishment do you understand?" Jerome nodded. Harley rose an eyebrow.

"Yes, Daddy."

That seemed to please Harley. He stopped glaring at least. First Harley removed Jerome's shirt. Then he gently nudged Jerome, and the redhead followed the flow and laid back on the bed. Harley then removed his pants, and his socks one at a time. Slowly. Jerome felt himself get antsy. "Do you want something, baby?" Harley asked evenly.

"I'm fine," Jerome responded.

Unfortunately for him, his erection gave him away. "You don't want me to do... anything?" Harley asked again, pausing to look at Jerome very carefully.

The redhead looked back for a long time, a battle happening between the two men. Jerome lost. "Jesus Christ Harley, touch me."

That got Harley to smile. "Ask nicely J, or I'm going to have to punish you." Jerome went to glare but Harley reached up, threading his fingers through Jerome's hair and pulling roughly. "Listen here bitch, I'm not here to mess around. You're going to listen to me or you're going to regret it, understand?" They had come a long way since having sex in a cell and trying to keep quiet. Back then, Harley had fumbled and blushed a lot and been overwhelmed very easily. Back then, Jerome would stretch out, getting comfortable as he bossed Harley around - a true power bottom. Or, he would top, and then he'd get very soft and quiet and affectionate... Well, compared to how he usually was when he was impossible to please and degrading to an extent that had driven Harley insane.

Now adays, things were different. There was a huge power play between the two men constantly, and endlessly pushing buttons. What would often happen was that Harley would be a bit of a brat but otherwise let Jerome blow off steam, unless it was a day that Jerome desperately wanted Harley to "take hold and ruin" him. A direct quote from the ginger. On those days, Jerome did what he did best: he kept talking. He said all the things he knew would piss off Harley the most, like calling him by his old name. He would make Harley snap and then Harley would retaliate exactly how he wanted.

Not today.

"Fuck, you're such a baby," Jerome grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I'm bored with you playing daddy, I already know all your moves and we both know that you're just going to give me what I want anyways. You're a soft top, Sweetheart." He was smirking, proudly flaunting the power he usually had over Harley.

Today though, Jerome had pushed him too much. After all the shit he'd gone through with Jeremiah and Bruce, hearing Jerome call him Y/n had pushed him in a way that had sent him over the edge. And if he was being honest, he had his own frustrations. He wanted to run free as much as Jerome did and break things and scream as loudly as he wanted and sock his stupid brother in his face any time he dare even mention Jerome's name in Harley's presence. He was tired of behaving. He was tired of feeling like some toy. He was tired of being used. He was really, REALLY fucking tired of being ignored, too.

Harley's smile was dangerous. Jerome looked at him, unsure of what was going through the other boy's head. "You know, you have a little too much attitude for someone who's currently desperate for me to touch him. You want something from me? You need to learn some respect." Harley reached over, grabbing Jerome's wrist and forcing it toward the top of the bed. It happened so fast that only when Harley had used one cuff to get Jerome's right hand, and then had threaded the second cuff through the bars at the head of the bed, did Jerome react.

"HEY!"

At the outburst, Harley didn't hesitate to slap Jerome again. The redhead gasped, body shivering. He would absolutely never admit it, but this kind of aggression had always turned him on, when he was comfortable with the person. He'd wanted someone to be like this with him for ages, but not many people were willing to go far enough to please Jerome Valeska. By the way Harley was looking at him right now, this time might be different.

"I didn't give you permission to speak. Granted, I didn't tell you to shut up either so I'll be forgiving, but if you shout at me one more time you will regret it." He gripped Jerome's other wrist, cuffing that as well. Now Jerome's hands were over his head, trapped by the cuffs and the bar. "If you want to say something, I want you to address me first. I will allow you to continue then. Or I will not." Jerome hesitated, then nodded, intrigued by this side of Harley even he had not the pleasure of exploring before.

What came next surprised Jerome. Harley didn't take him right there, rough and hot. He didn't move slowly around and tease until Jerome wa a desperate mess of begs and whimpers. Harley didn't touch him at all. In fact, he moved off of the bed completely. He left the room even, returning a moment with a chair. Only then did he undo his own clothes, only lowering his pants enough to allow himself access his erection. He didn't even pull his pants off all the way! Jerome felt completely exposed, tied up and naked for viewing pleasure, when Harley was so far away and completely dressed.

To Jerome's intense frustration, Harley sat down on the chair and began stroking himself, eyes on Jerome. Harley's eyes were wide and lust blown, his tongue flicking out every once in a while to wet his lips. After a while, his eyes fluttered shut and his head tilted back just a little as a small moan came from him.

Jerome shifted. He was getting uncomfortable with how long he'd been hard without being touched, and watching Harley be like this was not helping. Jerome really liked to be involved in sexual acts. He had gotten rather pouty anytime Harley was caught masterbating, and there had been an unspoken rule that Harley didn't really restrain Jerome for stuff like this. If Harley wanted to be touched, Jerome would touch him. They both preferred it that way. This was ridiculous, and frankly rude. Jerome wasn't going to give Harley the upper hand. This was a low blow and he wasn't going to let Harley get away with it.

As Harley continued though, getting more into it and completely ignoring Jerome, it was becoming increasingly hard to keep his mouth shut. Trying to play it off like he didn't care as much as he did, Jerome finally spoke up. It had seemed an eternity for him, but it had actually only been a few seconds and Harley had to swallow his smile to not give himself away. "Okay Harley, very funny. Let me touch you. I'm sorry I called you the other name. You know I can do this better than you can. Let me out." When Harley continued to ignore Jerome, the cuffed ginger raised his voice. "LET ME OUT!"

"Why?" Harley growled, eyes finally on Jerome again. "Because you told me to? Because you asked me to?" He stood, pulling his pants up again. "I'm not your little bitch Jerome, you're mine. You want to kill someone? Fine. You want to steal or break something? Fine! But you don't call me by that name. You don't mess with me, because I'm all you got. If you want me to leave, you ask like a big kid."

Jerome's lips twitched, slowly rising into a smile. "Are you actually mad at me?"

Harley grinned. "No, not really." They both cracked up, losing it for a few extended seconds. Then Harley cut off and Jerome faded into quiet, soft chuckles as Harley began to speak. "I respect you, J. My little joker." He moved towards the bed, caressing Jerome's cheek. The ginger leaned into the touch, his eyes closing. He fed off of the contact, as if it was a drug or he was starving and the gesture fed him. Harley smiled softly. "You gotta respect me too. You don't have to piss me off to get me to break you, joker. All you have to do is ask me nicely, like a good boy. Do all the bad things you want. But not to me."

A sigh escaped Jerome, and then he finally gave in. "If I behave will you let me out? I want you to touch me. Please."

That pleased Harley. "That's what I wanted to hear." He leaned back a little, eyes scanning Jerome's exposed body. "I will let you out. And then it's time to play for real." His eyes glinted with a darkness that made Jerome jerk in expectation. Needless to say, Harley didn't disappoint.

-

Story Tags: @wanna-plan-world-domination​

[f4nd0m-fun]

YES THEY/HE BRUCE 🤩

And yeah, Jason probably says it a lot. Although I did play with the idea he still doesn't have the exact package but hey it's close enough. He was also very happy that Bruce never forced him to go by she (which he got kicked out of some homes over when little).

I LOVE BI BRUCE TOO. Gay is okay too but I got too many lady ships for him to jump full in. 😅

Sometimes I debate making Tim full Enby but I dunno. For now he's Enby leaning masc.

Oh gods. Harley and Dinah, both I'm pretty sure have therapy related stuff going on in their background, like Harley knowing psychology and I think Dinah is a therapist? Anyway, yeah. I can just see them looking at Bruce and IMMEDIATELY recognizing the signs. He's definitely getting a care day, as long as he knows the kids are safe he'll be fine.

And, sure, he's not gonna be bloated or anything but he's gonna be moody and clingy and when something drags him away from his kids? If it's a rogue they probably need to be wearing brown or red. 😂😅

Yeah Vlad isn't letting Bruce out of his sight, even going as far as sending duplicates to watch him while he's out and about, or asking the ghosts he's hired before to do so. And he is NOT, like you said, going to address the big horrors in the room until he has no other choice.

Also, Alfred has weekly tea with Gotham. And slightly random but I feel like Gotham collects curses for two reasons. One, because it keeps them from latching to mortals and instead they get spread out. Two, because Thomas was fascinated with them and Pariah technically has a whole museum of curses he keeps locked up, if he's still out there then maybe things can be cleaned up! Also just the ridiculousness of a Bouquet of Curses instead of a Bouquet of Roses.

And yes those cookies are familiar, part of Vlad's redemption was getting dragged through a lot of shit by Clockwork, almost randomly, though Danny was still Clock's main focus., so yeah, both him and Danny have enjoyed the Time Master's cookies. And sure, Alfred could have gotten Bruce from the time stream himself but where's the fun in that? He knows he'll be fine, he just needs to keep the house intact. Also, he still is some ghost abilities, that's how he manages to sneak up on everyone despite their bat training. 😂

And yeah, the kids are enjoying it while also freaking out themselves.

So Gotham, finding out what happened, gathers up as many curses as she can carry so to speak and books it to the closest portal. Suddenly, the city vibes are just... they're different and no one can figure out how or why, except Alfred of course, he told her when and where to find the portal. Next thing everyone knows, cause what's a little time fuckery to reunite a lost family, the skies are a dark green and the smog is purple and the vibes are rancid not almost in a good way.

Vlad just started swearing but just... he very much can't fight the king so he's praying to whatever is out there that Pariah isn't going to cause problems again.

Meanwhile, Pariah is trying to shove himself back into a mortal form and dull his powers so the sky goes back to normal, all while doting over Gotham and asking about the children (probably been more like a week to a month in the Realms for the pair). Eventually they make it to Wayne Manor and Vlad is just sweating bullets. Meanwhile, Bruce and Thomas just break down. Also, Thomas can make Martha visible to the living again, before only ghosts could see her, even liminals had a hard time seeing her. So Bruce finally gets his parents back and it's the most heartbreaking thing. And then the kids get dragged in by they're shadows because why not?

Also, Pariah is like "wait, you're carrying the core of the kid who beat my ass for being insane, and dating the idiot who let me out in the first place?"

I wonder what Thomas would do if he found Flashpoint. Also, the tabloids. Not only is Bruce getting them over the core incident but now people are trying to figure out if that's really Thomas and Martha Wayne back from the deed.

And yeah, Constantine is gonna have an aneurysm. Oof.

Meme Prompt 2

Thinkin of feral halfa Jason again. No surprise there.

[mrthomasdoherty]

Yes, exactly! He said he wanted to get over Blaine desperately, however, to Adam. So Adam was going to attempt to help in any way he could. That includes in the bedroom, but Kurt wasn't interested and it never went anywhere with them. So there was still an attempt from Adam, but Kurt didn't reciprocate. Enter Bruce and TV to distract himself - added on top of work and school. And with Sexy Santa, being his first attempt at sexual contact with the first break-up, having it thrown back in his face. It's natural for the guy to put walls up if the guy isn't Blaine. So, sorry Adam. Wrong timing!

But as the second break-up took place after Kurt had been having sex on the norm, far more than he had in season 3 as he's an adult in his own apartment with his fiancé. The whole joke of Kurt being a "sex addict" holds something, so he wouldn't have necessarily wanted to wait with every other guy he went on a date with. I am sure his therapist even encouraged him to get out there and explore that part of himself. Because he needed to move on and explore himself (SAFELY THOUGH). He made his bed of breaking them up this time, so why should he hold out for feeling connected faster with someone if there's a spark and attraction? He did it once, and now they've broken up twice. Maybe he should try something else (which doesn't work, as we know as he marries the love of his life and they don't break-up again). So he goes on dates until realization hits before he runs out on his blind date. There's no need for him to start off with blind dates or speed dating. He definitely would've had a grindr starting off, and as all those guys tend to want is nothing but sex? He goes for other means, as he wants companionship not just a hook-up and deletes that app.

Like I said, Kurt isn't throwing himself around. but if I kept what my parent said in the back of my mind every time I got turned on and wanted something in the moment, it would've lead to never losing it. So Kurt definitely got intimate with other guys. Not a lot. Maybe he can count them all on one hand (including Blaine on the same hand). But with how much he enjoys sex? He wouldn't have waited until he's back with Blaine as he didn't know he was going to get back with Blaine while in New York. Not throwing himself around, obviously, like Burt told him. But he's also his own person, and Burt's sex speech wouldn't hold him back from achieving his ends because he's still a guy.

He wouldn't sleep with someone he didn't want to. He wouldn't sleep with someone just because they had a date. He wouldn't sleep with anyone who he didn't feel something with. And he wouldn't do it with a stranger he JUST met and had no connecting talk beforehand. There would have to be a date that lasted into the night. And Walter and him hit it off, they had multiple dates. It's probably the first time Kurt gets more than one date with a guy since the break-up! So clearly there's an attraction on some level. It probably happened after Sylvester interrupted their date, as Kurt was impressed and turned on by Walter slapping Sue's attempt to break them up away with such confidence that he gives the guy that SMIRK when they clink glasses.

Waiting six months when you're a virgin high schooler compared to waiting an extended period of time when you enjoy sexual contact and being touched (the club scene in season 5) or fawned over (the combat class) by strangers, there is going to be more of a pull to get that from somewhere. And Walter is there, willing and able. But still only happens once. As the klaine kisses happen after that and Kurt is once again back on the hope that he is going to get Blaine back (which happens! Because soulmates and all that gross fluffy talk, bleck). And then he's satisfied for life because Blaine is his person who still does it best - now he has no doubt that Blaine is the top tier of everything including sex (not saying he had doubt, but it's concreted in experience now).

Hello Robert, you are busy!! So in terms of Adam, do you think they had sex? I personally don't, because Kurt was still attached to Blaine, and only wanted that intimcay with Blaine. The only time we ever see Kadam touch is when Adam takes his hand in GaBoF. And Walter? People like to think in HC, that they did have sex - maybe because they want to think Kurt didn't just have sex with one guy? I just don't think he was at that stage of relationship with either. (ignoring the Santa now.)

Hey there!

Okay, short version is: Yes, I think Kurt Hummel was sexual with other men other than Blaine. He isn't a Disney Prince character, he's more than Blaine's bf/ex-bf/fiancé - he's a gay guy who is his own person and enjoys sex, not an animal who mates with one person and one person only.

Loger version:

Blaine was his first sexual experience. He is in love with Blaine. Blaine is the only person he has sex with multiple times. There's no denying that. But lets diminish the idea that in order for a character to only love their person they can only get sexual satisfaction from them only. Kurt Hummel is monogamous and he definitely treats sex to connect to another person, as he does not throw himself around like he doesn't matter. Blaine is the person that does it best, however!

Now that's out of the way!

With Adam? I think there was an attempt.

We see Adam knowing Kurt has feelings for Blaine that he can't get over. He suggests they find their own movie on the fly, in a manner of trying to help because he does like Kurt. He wants Kurt (who wouldn't?). And he wants to help Kurt explore the world because Kurt's only been with one person up until this point. So, I think there was an attempt for sexual connection! It probably included making out and trying to get it to the next level.

But Kurt couldn't get into it. Why? Because by the time Adam is trying, Kurt's already let himself attach back to Blaine (after Christmas or even the Wemma wedding episode). So he just can't get into it, and he stops the sexual petting before it can continue to something more intimate. It's probably why we don't see Adam or hear about him again. Kurt's checked out, so there was never any sexual satisfaction found there.

Now based off the Season 5 Christmas episode, it's clear Kurt has NO problems being sexually suggestive with other men if he's attracted to them. I know you said ignoring Sexy Santa, but it's important to show Kurt is very much into the idea of having sex with other men. He also denies this guy after making out, however, and I don't think it's because he didn't want to. I think it's because Santa was getting pushy for the bondage and even made an insulting remark about Kurt not having teeth (wtf). But also, Rachel and Santana were in the apartment and Kurt wanted to be considerate to them (even if they are passed out). Kurt got down to his underwear. Kurt was ready. If it was an HBO show, I am sure Kurt would've been full on naked. But then the red flags about Santa being creepy started to finally shine through more clearly for Kurt's tipsy brain to connect to, and Kurt lost his hard-on (even drunk, Kurt can think for himself thank you). And then we know what happens there! Which is probably another reason why Blaine's appearance at Christmas reminds Kurt that he loves and trust the guy, and overcomes the Santa incident with Blaine because Blaine is familiar and will go at his speed. Blaine's his person. So after the Santa incident? He doesn't seek out anyone else, as the Santa incident was another level of PTSD and he throws himself into Vogue and NYADA as a distraction.

Now with Walter! After the second break-up, Kurt is going out on dates. He's seeking companionship openly. He misses it. He's definitely having more casual sex during this time BEFORE he returns to Ohio. Because sex doesn't need to have feelings tied in, sometimes there's a spark and both parties give in. I'm sure Kurt talks about Blaine however, and that's why the guys don't call him back (like the psychic guy calling him out immediately on that). So he returns to Ohio, finds out Blaine's dating and decides to go on a date himself - enter Walter.

I do believe he and Walter had sex ONCE. Because Kurt needs to move on, right? He isn't going to put on a chastity belt and wait for someone who may never come (no pun intended). He does use sex to connect and be intimate, hell yes. And he is in no way throwing himself around either, but to think he can't explore and experience other areas that Blaine can't give him when they're broken up? Especially with his boyfriend at the time. Older man or someone of the same age, Kurt has needs that he'd like to experience with someone else. And Walter, who has just come out of the closet himself? This would be one of the first relationships he has where he's open and has no guilt. Their first and only time together is nice, and Kurt is into it but doesn't seek it out again, even if Walter may suggest or hint at wanting to do it again. And that's because Kurt isn't intimately attached to the guy. And with the elevator moment and Kurt subtly trying to spend more time with Blaine? Yeah, it's clear he's still on a mission to get Blaine back. And clearly Walter has that feeling as he's the one who encourages Kurt to go to Blaine in the first place.