#yet bruce still picked him up and went 'youre robin now :)'

[dukeofthomas]

why is everyone so obsessed with absolving bruce of all responsibility and fault. like no actually he is not 100% innocent in the child vigilantes he did in fact literally just Yoink Jason and make him robin at the ripe age of 12. jason would Not have become a vigilante (or died!) if bruce hadn't made him that. like he is actually 100% responsible for picking up a kid and turning them into a soldier

[deadsetobsessions]

Your name is Tim Drake and you are nine years old.

Today, tomorrow, and soon, you're going to save Robin.

----

Tim stares at his reflection on the sink tap. It trembles, along with the plane, as he contemplates his situation.

His face is rounder, now, with unfamiliar baby-fat rounding out the sharp lines he'd come to expect. Even with the subpar reflection, Tim can tell that his dark eyebags are all but gone, replaced with youthful skin.

Magic. He's being quite literal, seeing as he's been tossed into the body of his younger self at the hands of a crazed magician.

He could find a way back... or he could create a completely different timeline by fixing everything that went wrong. It's not like he has anything to go back to, anyways. That crazed magician was actually competent and killed everyone he ever cared about. Tim barely got away with his life. He could go back to save that shell of a world- surrounded by people whose minds were broken beyond magical and medical repair- or stay here, fix his own personal troubles and cut off the magician before he could start with his world domination bullshit.

Well, Tim already has an idea of what he wants. So he begins a list, after having oriented himself.

Save Robin

There's no point trying to convince Bruce that he knows where Jason's being held. So, Tim finds himself on a plane to Ethiopia a day before Jason's meant to die. This was long before Barbara even thought of being Oracle, and the tech is ancient in his hands. In short order, nine year old Tim has a trust fund with millions in it, all siphoned from billionaires like Lex Luthor and his own parents.

Tim toddles back to his seat, after washing his hands because he still can't shake the extra bit of paranoia that came with a missing spleen. Oh. Tim blinks guilelessly at his seat neighbor, smiling like Timothy Drake, Angel of a Son as he reels from the realization that he still has his spleen.

Tim adds another box to his list:

Keep Ra's away from my spleen, creepy bastard.

What else...? Ah, the League of Assassins.

Damian

Tim pauses. Holy crap. Damian's only six right now. Tim moves Damian's box upwards in urgency. Tim might have a mildly antagonistic relationship with his younger brother back then, but he wants baby pictures of his siblings, dammit. He's gonna put that photography expertise to good use if it's the last thing he does.

Watch over Z, Owens, Pru

'They're alive!' His mind screams. Cold rationality slaps the sentimentality down with a quick 'But they won't be if I fail.'

His mind wanders to Dick Grayson. He scowls as something pops up in the back of his head.

Catalina Flores

Contact Nightwing- in space

He's gotta call Dick back from that Teen Titans mission, Jason's gonna need all of the support he's going to get.

Find Cass

Train Steph

Save Duke's family from Venom

Tim taps at that last point. He'll save them. But that might mean Duke might never join their family.

But he'll be happy and Tim... will deal with it. He'll be the only one mourning, anyways. To end on a lighter note, he adds something that he should have done ages ago.

Give Tam a raise.

Tim sighs as he gets out of the airport, the hired escort he found and vetted, delivering him to a predetermined hotel. They think his parents are already inside. He laughs and does not say anything to make them think otherwise. He has so many things to do, Tim laments as he settles down to track the Joker's movements. Here. That's where Jason's being held. Being tortured.

He can, however, knock two things off his list in one go. Tim picks up the burner phone he acquired. He doesn't have time, or else he would have done this sooner and saved them all the trouble.

[RR: Are you in Ethiopia yet?]

[Deathstroke: Payment confirmed. In Ethiopia.]

[RR: Third building by the docks.]

An hour.

[Deathstroke: Confirmed. Target spotted.]

Ten minutes.

[Deathstroke: Target eliminated. Bringing Robin to Safehouse.]

Twenty minutes.

[Deathstroke: Basic first aid applied. Leaving.]

[RR: Secondary payment sent. Confirm?]

[Deathstroke: Confirmed. Pleasure doing business with you.]

Tim sprawls on the king bed. He sighs a breath of relief. He'd check on Jason in person, if he weren't paranoid about leaving traces that would get back to him. Tim's pretty sure that Deathstroke's going to get hunted down in the near future, regardless, so he made sure to add a huge tip on top of the extra fees for burning one of Deathstroke's safe houses and the emergency first aid. He taps into the rudimentary camera Deathstroke had given him the access codes to, to stare at Jason's rising and falling chest. On a further table, the Joker's head laid in a preservation box.

He bypasses all of the security on the Teen Titan's tech to send Dick a message.

[Robin has been retrieved from the Joker. Contact Batman for details.]

Then, he sends Bruce the location of the safe house. Tim spends the rest of the day staring at Jason and watching his father in another timeline break as he huddles close to the broken body of Tim's Robin.

Timothy Drake destroys the burner phone.

[fanfic-writer-and-rambler]

Tim Drake paces the ground grumbling: He just- He's so- Frick!

Dick Grayson, looks up from his phone: You're mumbling a lot, what's the problem? Big bro is here to listen.

Tim: It's Jason, he such a jerk! I don't get it. I'm nothing but nice to him and he-

Dick Grayson: Says you bring joy when you leave the room. I... Overheard your argument with him.

Tim shakes angrily: That's not even true!

Dick Grayson: It's not, that's you don't let it get to you. He's always been a bit of a jaded jokester.Abrasiveness is usually how he talks to everyone. He doesn't mean any harm.

Tim, sits next Grayson.

Tim: How do you do it? How do you deal with him and get him to not be a massive prick to you... Most of the time?

Dick: It wasn't easy, he tried to kill me a few times. He never won a fight, let alone made a mark that could injure me horribly, but he tried. I love Jason either way, he's my brother.

Tim, scoffs: Not how he sees us and I do care about Jason. I do, I was sad when he died too. After all the progress he's made though he picks on us like we wronged him. I don't like it.

Tim crosses his arms angrily.

Dick: Hm.

Tim: What?

Dick: Nothing, just thinking... I was distant towards Jason when we first met. Not the same way, but cold at times. I went through my mad at Batman phase.

Tim: Mad at Batman phase? I could never be mad at him.

Dick: You have not gone through that phase yet... That's good. It's when we get incredibly enraged and resentful towards him and want to branch off. Now mine was to become Nightwing-

Tim: Is it true you got that name from a joke

Dick, denying angrily: Lies! It was my idea! Point is, my branching out was becoming Nightwing, Jason's idea was... uh how do I put this?

Tim: Murder all the criminals in Gotham no matter the severity and attempting to kill us because he lost his mind from waking up in a coffin and being tossed into the lazarus pit.

Dick: He only lost a little of his mind and got... better eventually. Although, it wasn't going crazy as much as, pissed off. He did discover he was being used as fertilizer to grow azaleas and then was thrown into a pit and found out Joker was still alive.

Tim: I heard it was roses.

Dick: Azaleas. We're getting off topic. My point is Jason isn't a remorseless villain, he's just who he is after being through a lot. It's not perfect, but he doesn't have to be.

Tim: Villain or not the Jason I stalk- saw on TV like a normal person wasn't like how he is today. That kid was brash, but cool. This version is brash and rude.

Dick, laughing: He's still brash at least. Cool wasn't the word I'd use, more cocky, assertive, a hot head. He's like that now, just the adult version. Oh and he's a good fighter and not too bad with the quips. Let's not forget he's an expert marksman.

Tim: Seriously, you're being nice about him and he isn't even here. After everything he's done... why are you so nice to him?

Dick: Because he deserves kindness. His life was difficult before he met Bruce and then when he became Robin, I could see how strong and confident he was. He was a fighter through and through. I wanted to spend more time with him, but... I was going through my own issues and not just the Batman-hate phase. Then the Joker kidnapped him, Bruce and I searched for him and then...

Dick pauses.

Dick: He died and stayed dead for a couple... years. It's crazy isn't it. He's back now, but for those few years he was... just gone. I wish I could've found him in time, you know?

Tim, pridefully: Then I became the next Robin.

Dick Grayson laughs.

Dick: Yes, then you arrived into the story and a few years later, BOOM, he's alive! Angry, but alive! I thought we could have those years back... Nope. It was a tough few years. He held a lot of resentment towards me. I lost his trust. Which was fair, I couldn't protect him in the worst way possible. He had true anger and distrust towards all of us and to be honest... I get it and I wish we swapped places that night. I was in the building, I got hit with the crowbar and I... died. He... Joker... damn it. I hate thinking about this!

Dick Grayson buries his head in his hands. 

Tim pats him on the back. He spots a figure peeking around the corner with a familiar white patch of hair.

Tim: I want to hear more. You said you wished you switched places, right? Why would you want that?

Dick: I spent eighteen years fighting the Joker, he was a kid. A good fighter and trained by Batman, but... Joker targeted him to take away what Bruce cared about: His family. And for those few years he succeeded. It's an overreaction to say it should've been me, but when he died I felt like these walls were closing in on me. That the little brother who wanted to get to know me, I pushed away most of time. He missed out on so much and when he got brought back he held hatred to us, to the world... I kind of get why. 

Tim: Yeah, but if you were the one who, you know, died Jason would've went through the same grief.

Dick Grayson, sniffles: No, I'm the oldest. I'm the first Robin, it- it should've been me that night-

Jason, leaves his hiding spot: Hey, you can't say that!

Dick: Oh no, how long was he around the corner?

Tim: A few minutes. 

Jason, walks over: Yeah, I heard enough! No, you can't say you'd take a bullet for me because you felt bad for me! I went through it, it sucked, but I would never want any of you to go through what I went through that night... or waking up in a coffin or being pushed into Lazarus pit... or those years of pent up rage and insanity. God no! I lo- lo- love you guys too much! There I said it!

Dick: He said the thing!

Dick cheers and hugs Jason, making the man groan.0

Dick: I never saw this day coming! Unless I actually died. I love you too!

Jason: I should've walked away. Why is this my life?

Tim: New life. Get used to it, you're dealing with the not angry at Batman Dick Grayson.

Jason: I'm aware.

Jason shoves Dick Grayson away. 

Jason: Let me make this super clear- I don't hate either of you. I'm just blunt most of the time, jaded the other times, and cope with jokes all the time and that's how I show I... care about people like you. It's okay. I don't blame any of you anymore, not even Bruce. I'll bring that stuff up to piss him off, but yeah no ill will. 

Dick Grayson cries and attempts to hug Jason again.

Jason, places his arm to push the man away.

Jason: I will punch you in the stomach. I'm not a hugger at times like these!

Tim: Aww, so that means we can do it eventually? Like a sneak attack!

Jason runs off.

Dick Grayson: Catch him!

Tim: On it!

Dick and Tim chase after Jason to hug him as Bruce watches from outside. 

Bruce: I'm happy to have them... they're neat.

[nerdofspades]

Danny is on the run (reveal gone wrong, Vlad went too far, or GIW gaining brain cells, take your pick) and he makes his way to Gotham, the only place he can reasonably hide.

He's injured, scared, and cut off from all his resources, so he's been squating in a rundown half abandoned apartment somewhere, waiting to be healed enough to start trying to figure out something more sustainable.

And it just so happens that this place is where Jason sets up his first safe house when he returns to Gotham to become Red Hood, kill the Joker, and beat Bruce over the head with his failures.

Obviously, because Danny was squating, no one was really able to warn either of them about the other.

So Jason literally walks into the apartment with bags of essentials (including many guns) and basic furniture on the way and the first thing he sees is a half feral teenager in filthy ragged clothes, bundled in thread bare (and just as dirty) blankets just. In the corner.

Now, dirty or not, the kid is obvious Wayne bait. (Sure Bruce had only taken in three at this point, but three is a patern.) And Jason might be pit mad, but he is not kicking out a starving kid that looks like he's waiting for Jason to literally kick him. Not when he knows what it's like on the streets. Not when he knows this kid could wind up in the manor.

So he just. Moves in around him. And makes sure there's enough food for both of them that night. And the next.

He isn't adopting the kid. Definitely not. He's got revenge plans to deal with but... he's not heartless either. Kid can come and go as he pleases, but if he can provide a safe place for him to sleep and some warm food he doesn't have to steal, then he's going to.

On Danny's end. He knows there's something sketchy about this guy. He smells like shit, and he got this crappy apartment, but he also clearly has money? All the furniture is pretty clean and new (though it's all generic and nothing fancy). And of course. All the guns. Hard to ignore that part.

Danny really shouldn't stay anywhere near him. Not safe. (Not for either of them if who ever he's running from catches up and this guy shows up on their radar.)

Hell. This guy should know better than to let a total stranger hang out when he's planning something that requires that many guns.

But all he does is tell Danny he can stay and to not touch the guns.

And then he feeds Danny.

And gives him a spare key.

Neither of them speak to each other for weeks.

Danny is well enough to move. But he doesn't want to.

So he doesn't.

He comes and he goes. But he doesn't leave.

(It's a bad idea. He should leave. But. Maybe there's safety in numbers.)

And then things start shaking up. Black Mask's lieutenant are dead. Someone is starting a gang war.

But no one can figure out who's leading it. No one knows what gang.

Danny sees his... live in acquaintance come back to the apartment injured.

He sees more guns and more ammunition.

He knows it's not a gang.

Not yet.

They still don't talk.

Not until Red Hood comes in through the window one night, and Danny grabs the first aid kit and patches him up without asking any questions.

He makes the first step and tells Hood his name. Only his first name. His last isn't useful anymore.

And they talk.

They share some stories.

Edited. Half true stories.

And they talk through some stupid shit.

But eventually. They stop hiding behind half truths too. It only takes so many times covering each other for the full story to spill.

In for a penny and all that.

Jason convinces Danny he should finish his schooling.

Danny convinces Jason that maybe the new Robin isn't a part of his problems.

Jason doesn't drop his plans for revenge. Or stop blaming Bruce.

Danny refuses to go to a public school, but allows for online schooling.

Jason gets Danny a new name. A new identity. He needs one for school.

Maybe he did adopt the kid after all.

Jason really hopes Bruce never finds out.

Of course Bruce finds out.

[dairy-farmer]

hi! i was going thru my notes and found this lil thing HAHAHA i vaguely remember writing this while going through your blog, but I don’t recall which string of posts inspired this burst. Sharing this here as a thank you for your wonderful blog and for all the equally wonderful anons ❤️🥰❤️🥰❤️

Before Tim leaves to search for Bruce, Dick somehow manages to knock him out and Tim loses his memories.

Dick keeps Tim locked up inside the manor while he goes out as Batman with Damian as Robin.

Damian doesn’t see anything wrong with what Dick was doing. He just thought Tim was deadweight to them.

Damian doesn’t really understand either why Dick tells everyone that Tim was off gallivanting elsewhere trying to find Bruce when he was definitely hiding Tim away in the manor.

Damian observes Dick’s frantic rush to build a completely lead-lined room once news of Superboy’s return slips past their ears.

Damian talks to Jon about Connor’s disbelief when Dick tells him that Tim went around the world to look for Bruce. “Kon said he couldn’t hear Tim’s heartbeat.” Jon tells Damian. “But Dick insisted that Tim was still alive.”

Three years after Bruce’s death, Dick asks Alfred to retire. The old, weary man reluctantly agrees with a promise to visit every other month or so.

Several years later, Damian knocks on Tim’s door.

“Damian!” Tim greets with a warm smile from his spot seated by the window. “How was school?”

Damian walks over, picking up a hairbrush along the way, and situates himself behind Tim. “I submitted the painting I showed you last week into an art competition.” He shares with Tim. He narrates the events of his day as he gently passes a brush over Tim’s now-waist length hair as per habit.

He never fails to marvel at the softness of Tim’s dark hair and how the man shivers when Damian’s hand accidentally brush his neck. The warm afternoon glow dancing on Tim’s face makes his hands itch to grab a paint rush and capture the moment forever, but he manages to resist with practiced ease. He has more than enough paintings of Tim and said man, while never complaining about being the subject of Damian’s numerous artworks and sculptures, was never really fond of staying still, trapped as he was in a single room.

As the sunset falls into night, Tim softly asks, “Will Dick come to visit me soon?”

As Damian had expected.

He sets down the hairbrush and clenches his fist behind Tim’s back. “I’m not sure.” He says as if reading from a script for the nth time. “He’s currently with the Tamaraenean woman so I wouldn’t know.”

Tim gives a noncommittal noise and gestures for Damian who grabs his waist and hand to help Tim stand up. In silence, Damian leads Tim towards the bed.

Tim lies down on the bed and whispers to Damian’s knuckles, “I hope he visits soon.”

Damian caresses the growing bump on Tim’s belly, emotions warring in him. “I‘ll see what I can do.”

!!!! thank you!!! i'm so happy you enjoy my work!! and i'm so happy you decided to share this!!!!

dick freaking out when tim tries to leave and just opting to kidnap him and lie to anyone who comes around is so good especially if he tries rationalizing it rather than admit he was wrong. but in his panic he hurts tim maybe worse than he intended so now there's no way he can let anyone know what he did sou he doubles down on everything. and damian is there and lucky for him he chooses to believe dick knows best and what he does really is for the best but then it's years later and tim is still this helpless, stupid little thing. he hadn't gone outside in years because dick thinks the best place for tim to be is inside especially since now that he's pregnant.

and damian, who has grown up with this, just...accepts it as it is even if some part of him has grown...uncomfortable at what's happening.

damian's league conditioning has slowly been taken apart and worn away with dick's help but part of damian still can't help but feel...something at dick having impregnated timothy yet he's still running around messing around with gordon, the alien, and other flings. timothy is about to be the mother of his child and it just...it feels deeply disrespectful especially since he and richard are timothy's WHOLE world. he interacts with no one else but them.

so damian starts taking up spending more time with tim, brushing his hair, bringing him his groceries, airing out his room for him when his belly gets too big.

damian is there when tim goes into labor.

he tries calling dick about it but gets sent to voicemail which means he must be...busy. dick's been a lot more busy lately- his interest in former lovers re sparked when they found out timothy was pregnant.

the more charitable part of damian says that the idea of parenthood just scared dick and that's why he was acting like this. but the less nice part of damian condemned him all the same.

timothy is in labor, about to give birth to his first child and dick. wasn't. there.

damian thinks he can handle it- getting towels, water, and medical supplies ready.

but as the hours pass tim grows..weaker. he's covered in sweat and practically white as a ghost.

tim hasn't seen a doctor in years. they'd been mostly depending on damian's medical and surgical knowledge to care for him but if damian had missed something about the pregnancy...

dick had never explicitly said tim wasn't allowed to leave but it was silently implied.

still, tim had never tried and damian had never encouraged him.

but then tim is struggling and so damian doesn't think twice about picking him up and passing through all the security measures guarding him.

damian leaves the lead lined and kryptonian soundproofed wing of the manor and makes his way to one of the cars.

half way to the hospital he hears a sonic boom and tightens his grip on the steering wheel.

he knows it must be timothy's clone friend. out of all the capes he'd been the hardest to convince to let timothy go.

but yet he doesn't descend and crash down in front of the car. but damian can tell they're being followed as he drives up to the loading bay of the hospital.

timothy's eyes are big and enchanted as he stares at their surroundings despite his labored breathing and damian is once again reminded timothy hasn't been outside in years.

its all a blur after that. damian sticks as close as he can to timothy, holding his weak hand even as doctors and nurses work around them.

distantly, damian notes his phone in his back pocket is vibrating with urgency.

grayson, if its him, will be furious.

damian can't quite bring himself to care.

grayson had nine months to show up and he didn't. he'd left the work to damian. so now damian was going to do what he thought was best for timothy.

even if it meant taking him outside.

[justanothervigalanty]

Jason and his girls

Age: y/n’s age (20) Jason’s age (21) Madeline’s age (5)

Characters:y/n m/n L/n , Jason Peter Todd and Madeleine/Maz Richard Todd 

info: you found out you were pregnant the day Jason died. You were so excited to tell him but then Bruce broke the news, Jason was dead only dick new about your and Jason’s little girl, Madeleine Richard Todd.

“Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home mama!” You heard your young 5 year old daughter say. “Maz honey we talked about this your father only comes for one week every other month, he was here last month baby” you said sitting up in bed. “No I promise I saw him come on!” She said dragging you out off bed with her two little hands. “Come on mama! Look it’s daddy!” She said pointing to the window. “Oh my god” you said seeing your boyfriend waving to you from the apartment opposite you. Maz opened the window and climbed out to the fire escape. “Madeline Todd you get back here right now!” You said as your daughter waved to her father. With that Jason used a grathaling hook and threw it to your fire escape and jumped over. “Hay mazie!” He said picking her up and bringing he back inside. “Jesus Christ maz don’t do that!” You said take in her in your arms. “Jace what’s wrong?” You said seeing the worried look on his face. “We need to go now” he said “pack all your things we need to leave!” He said grabbing some of maz’s things. “What jason what is going on!?” You said Jason’s hands were shaking as he grabbed his and some of maz’s things. “Maz hon go to your room and grab some clothes and your blanket.” She of course listens to her father which left you shocked she’s normally more stubborn than him! “Y/n were in danger we all are! The joker he’s targeted you, me and madeleine I need to get you both out of crime alley now!”  He said you just nodded and went to grab your bags. When you all finished packing you grabbed an old car seat and left your apartment, forever, your first home that you had raised your daughter in were you had marked her growing you would never see it again. “Babe? You ok?” You herd Jason say holding your hand. “I raised her in there. Since I was 16 we moved in on her first birthday dick helped pay and got some furniture for us and before you started visiting she would bang on the window every time see saw the red hood fighting some criminals and as she got more active she started running around hiding under tables holding her hands like a gun shouting boom at me.” You said trying to hold back tears by wiping your eyes “hay, hay don’t cry. I got you we all do. I know first homes are the hardest to leave behind.” Jason said hugging you “come on I called dick he’s driving us to the manor” 

you all went down stairs to see dick standing by his car. And helped you load it in before Jason and him got into a very quiet argument about who was driving (dick won). As you were on the road you whispered in Jason’s ear “you haven’t told Bruce yet have you?” 

“About what- oh yeah crap he has no idea.” He replied dick over herd and started laughing his butt off. “You mean Bruce has no idea you are a father to a freaking 5 year old!” He laughed “who is buse?” You herd your young daughter say “you haven’t even told her about him! God I question your parenting skills!” He said still laughing “can you shut up!” Jason said “no bad words Jason Todd!” Madeleine said giggling “hay is daddy or dad to you!” Jason said ruffling her hair “what? Mama called you that when she was shouting on the phone!” She said “she also said the b word” she added “no bad words miss Todd!” Dick said “not married!” You and Jason said at the same time. But then you arrived Wayne manor. You hadn’t been here in 6 years and god had it changed. But the worst thing was Bruce and Damian outside practicing hand to hand combat. Jason took a deep breath and when’t out to grab maz “umm nope we don’t need another robin no thank you!” Damian said seeing Jason and his niece (not that he knew). “She is not going to end up a robin! It’s stupid dangerous and dumb!” Jason said back “wait y/n?” Bruce said surprised to see you “god you look well different um when did I last see you?” 

“At Jason’s grave. I was 15. I told you I was leaving and not coming back.” You replied “well here she is!” Dick said closeting his door “Todd who is the child?” Damian asked unwrapping his hands. “Oh yeah Bruce there’s something I need to tell you. But can we go inside first?”jason said handing Madeline to dick. 

You and Jason were sat opposite Bruce. You were staring at the floor and Jason was figiting with his hands. “So what is this about? And who is the kid?” Bruce asked “That’s the thing, umm Bruce the girl is my daughter…” you said quietly but loud enough for Bruce to hear. “So you have been playing step-dad? Bruce laughed a bit to which Jason replied with a nervous chuckle. “No well she’s umm my kid like I am her dad and not like “oh yea I love her like my own kid” no as in half of her DNA is from me” Jason replied. “Ho wow umm ok well she looks a lot older than 2 or 3. That how long Jason had been coming over right?” Bruce said calmer then expected “well Bruce she’s kinda…5 years old…” the room fall silent. Bruce just covered his face in his hands. “So correct me if I’m wrong but if I am not mistaken y/n must off had her at-omg…”Bruce said realising “you got a girl pregnant at 16 and you got pregnant at 15…Jason .” Bruce said trying to stay calm. For the first time Jason actually looked kinda nervous. “Umm yeah Bruce?” “You where having sex at 16!” Bruce said through his teeth. “We were 14” you whispered after Jason put his hand over your mouth you stopped talking . “Ok what did you both call her?” Bruce asked “ho well I named her Madeline but Jason had always liked the name and plus he though up most her nicknames” you said not knowing how Bruce react to this. “Madeline or maz Richard Todd”

[brucewaynehater101]

I'm seeing a lot of asks about this and I want to give my two cents: I'm cool with Bruce being a bad father, but only if DC admits that he is a bad father.

You can't have him doing downright abusive shit only to never address it. The only character that consistently criticizes Bruce parenting is painted as entitled and vindictive. I genuinely think the reason why we can't have a decent Red Hood arc is because if you want Jason to make sense you're gonna have to admit Bruce is a fucked up father or rewrite canon.

Same reason for Tim "never aging", not so much physically but emotionally. Because to have the character establish itself like Nightwing did you would need to address at some point all the bullshit he went through. Even with Dick. Like sometimes it looks like they want to recognize how being raised by Batman fucked him up by they end up settling for "oh it's the pressure". Like that's the most DC will say "Batman puts his kids under a lot of pressure buuuuuut it's justified because they're fighting evil :)".

Not just the kids, I think Batman himself would be so much more interesting if DC was willing to let him confront these things. As a redemption arc or as a fatal flaw that keeps his family at arms length. But they want to have their cake (have Batman be edgy and give the Robins Character Development™ through good old child abuse) and eat it (have Batman be Dad of the year). And that's what doesn't work.

Batfam fandom is great because you have people making content for Good Father Bruce, Bad Dad Bruce (he's trying and it's a bit funny/tragic), Awful Father Bruce (with no intention of changing. Every option is way more interesting than DC's directionless mess. Like, we don't even need them to make Bruce Good™ we just want them to pick a side and stick to it.

Thank you. My gods that sums it up perfectly.

Like, I've got no problem consuming Good Dad Bruce content... if it's not the comics. The animated stuff is usually fine, and fanwork is also great. There's a ton to like about it.

Hell, I'm even chill if Bruce makes mistakes and errors and fucks up with his kids. That's realistic, as long as they address that he did, in fact, do that shit. They need to talk about how his actions have hurt his kids and his relationships with them. He can try to do better, or he can stay distant with his kids because of it (low to no contact). It's truly not that difficult to chat about.

Now, media that addresses all of the horrid stuff he's done and considers realistic reactions/solutions to it? Fantastic. I love that so much. It's so cathartic watching him get his ass handed to him.

It's not necessary, though. I'm chill with good dad Bruce.

Despite that, outright ignoring what he does or brushing it under the rug? That's horrific. That reads like a sickening cycle of abuse, and I can't stand it. It's the exact same shit an abuser pulls by harming their victim (psychologically, mentally, physically, etc.), apologizing (ish), finding a way to pin the blame back on the victim, and then love bombing. Like, my gods. Bruce will beat the shit out of Jason and say it's Jason's fault for killing someone... "I wouldn't harm you/take a machine to permanetly fuck up your brain if you didn't do that. It's not my fault that I decided to hurt you. It's your fault that I did."

I just fucking can't.

I think Tim, with his little statement of "I don't expect you to apologize" after Bruce caused him to have a nervous breakdown post 16th birthday, that's a close approximation to admitting that Bruce is a piece of shit that does tendencies like an abuser. No matter what someone's intentions are, they should still apologize if they've cause unjustified/unintentional harm. Only assholes who don't regret their actions or people who feel their actions are justified won't apologize. There's times when apologizing isn't necessary or desired. That's fine. I won't apologize if Comic!Bruce and I are in a room, and I "accidentally" set him on fire.

Yet, Bruce is out here fucking up his kids. At the very LEAST, they deserve a fucking apology. Maybe a restraining order.

I ranted a bit. My bad. Anyways, have DC acknowledge the shitty actions Bruce does or don't have him do them. It's simple.

[theodorecanaryhood]

Birdie

Arkham Knight/Red Hood/Jason Todd x Male! Reader

Commissioner Gordon had ordered a City wide evacuation, no civilian to be left - course the odd few stayed behind.

‘Sparrow, what’s your location?’ Batman ask through the comms.

He was roaring down the streets chasing down his next lead to this Arkham Knight, you stayed high up.

‘On top of Iceberg Lounge, Barbara called and needs help. I’m gonna head there now’ you said, grappling to the next building.

‘Robin is at GCPD, he will join the mission later, I need you to stay out of danger’ Batman said for the fourth time tonight.

You entered the clock tower which was used as Oracles base of operations, Barbara had been your friend for a few years now.

When she was Batgirl and you were protege to Selina Kyle, though you liked being good more and Bruce needed extra help since Dick left.

‘Y/n, that you?’ Barbara called out, you walked into the room. Not losing the cowl yet.

‘Yeah sweetness, it’s me’ you smiled, handing Barbara the Chinese food you picked up on the way.

‘Thank God, I forgot to eat’ Barbara chuckled as she took the food from you.

‘I noticed’ you chuckled too, looking at the screens.

The Arkham Knight was causing mayhem but no one knew who he was, you theorised it might be someone personal as he knows Bruce is Batman. But, there were no other details other than he’s military.

‘We ever consider Tim for this Knight character?’ You asked serious as Barbara looked at you.

‘My Tim? No way’ she laughed, picking up her chopsticks and beginning to eat.

‘I’m serious Babs, he could be, he’s never around whenever we go up against the Knight’ you spoke with reason.

Barbara shrugged a little as she looked back at the monitors, you heard a noise in the distance but couldn’t work out what it was.

Batman suddenly appeared on the screen with urgency, panic in his eyes as he called out to Barbara.

‘Oracle, get out of there, now’ Batman called through the speaker.

‘Relax B, no one knows I’m here’ suddenly the power was cut and before you knew it someone had hit you over the back of the head.

It went black for a good space of time, in which you had no recollection of what happened. You just knew you were waking up when your head started to thump.

‘Leave him, he won’t be trouble. If he knows what’s good for him’ you heard a voice, modulated and dark.

You felt a little fear but Bruce always told you to disregard your fears when around an enemy. They’ll sense it and prey on you.

‘Well, hello Birdie’ the Knight said as he pulled the sack off your head.

You weren’t wearing your cowl anymore so he could see your face clearly.

‘What have you done to Barbara?’ You demanded as the Knight laughed, kneeling in front of you.

‘She’s fine, in another room. So what’s your story Handsome?’ He asked as he touched your knee.

You jerked your leg away from his reach as he stood up, his voice being heard even when muttering under his breath.

‘I see how it is Birdie, well, I’ll leave you a little longer and come back later when you’re ready to cooperate’ the Knight said as he left the room.

You didn’t know how long it had been since the Knight last paid you a visit, but you were still alone in the room.

A few Militia members came into the room, you went to throw a punch but were tased and out in a second.

You woke up soon after in a different room, just you and the Knight. Who was now standing in front of you.

‘Hello again Birdie’ he chuckled as you stood up and found your wrist shackled to the wall.

‘Where the fuck am I? What do you want?’ You asked, face as threatening as you could make it.

‘Where’s Batman?’ The Knight asked you, completely ignoring your question.

‘Looking for you’ you looked to the door as you spotted a shadow walking passed.

You calculated in your head it would take roughly 30 seconds to make it to the door from where you were, yet, you would need to find a way to get out of the shackles and passed the Knight.

You suddenly lifted your arms up in front of your face as the Knight came toward you, his hand in front of him.

‘I’m not going to hurt you Birdie, I’m gonna undo your shackles. If you run, I’ll have to hold you down’ The Knight said as he revealed the key in his hand.

You obeyed orders and allowed the Knight to release you, he held your arm as he took you to another room.

This from was dimly lit as you saw four Militia members stand guard with their guns.

‘Hold him until I tell you, well let him go once Batman is dealt with’ Knight said as he left you in the room with the men.

You found yourself tied to the chair as they stood and looked on, readjusting their aims every time you looked like you were about to move.

It has been at least an hour by now, the Knight hadn’t come back yet and you were getting impatient.

Bruce has to be nearby surely, but you needed to find Barbara first. You watched the room and saw two of the men were further away from you, one with their back turned.

You could catch them off guard, but you would need to be quick. Though you were tired, adrenaline would need to take over.

‘I don’t like the way he’s looking at me’ one Militia member said, you didn’t let go of your eye contact.

‘Just ignore him, he doesn’t have any power’ another one responded.

You counted down in your head that you could potentially knock them down on 30 seconds or so, though it would need to be relying on speed and accuracy.

The biggest member got closer to you with his gun in your face, smiling devilishly.

‘Something you want to share?’ He asked trying to seem threatening.

You swing your leg up and kicked him in the thigh, knocking him off guard.

You rose to your feet and have a hard head butt, swinging your back, still being tied to the chair, knocking another member over.

You threw yourself on the ground and broke the chair, grabbing a gun and shooting all four Militia men in the arms, legs or shoulders.

You managed to get the door open, thankfully it wasn’t locked, going to the room you were sure Barbara was in. Seeing she isn’t there, you panicked.

‘Birdie?’ The Knight almost whispered as you saw he was standing. You couldn’t see, but for some reason you knew he was smiling under the mask.

‘Your men suck’ you mocked, lifting the stolen gun in your hand, pointing it at the Knight.

‘You’re outta Ammo’ he chuckled as you pulled the trigger, hearing a click.

The Knight came forward and hit you over the head, making it all go black.

Time seemed to stop for a while as you woke up to daylight, Dick and Tim sitting next to you as you found yourself in a hospital bed.

‘Where am I?’ You mumbled as the two rushed to your side.

‘Gotham General, don’t try and move too much’ Tim said softly, placing his hand on the top of your head.

Barbara?’ You asked, Tim smiled and nodded, answering with no words to let you know she’s fine.

‘Scarecrow?’

‘Arkham, he’ll be there a while. The Knight took off, no one can find him. But I’ll take that as a good thing’ Dick stood near your feet.

‘Where’s Bruce?’ You asked, Dick looked down as Tim teared up a little.

‘He was revealed as Batman, him and Alfred were in the Manor when they released the Knighfall Protocol’ Tim choked a little, you were stunned.

You’d heard of the Knightfall Protocol, but you’d hoped that Bruce would never have to use it.

After grieving and working as a solo act for a while, you’d found yourself coming across the plans of Black Mask.

You’d got to his source of latest crime, the location being not too difficult to find alone.

You walked around to find his men down, some shot or necks snapped. You saw the leftovers of the massacre, only to hear talking in the distance.

Going into a room where you found Black Mask being held up against the window by a man in a mask.

You gasped as you saw Black Mask get kicked out the window, falling to his death.

‘Say hi to Joker for me’ The masked man said, he turned and stood still when he saw you looking at the outcome.

‘Way to make a statement’ you said with a small smile.

The stranger said nothing as he picked up a bag, putting his guns back in the holsters.

‘Do you have a name?’ You asked, the new guy simply nodded.

‘Red Hood’

‘You need help? I’ve found myself working alone since the Bats left’ Red Hood shook his head, placing the bag on his shoulder.

‘I work alone, but thanks for the offer’

You stood deciding on what to do next now that Sionis is taken care of.

‘It’s good seeing you again, Birdie’ Red Hood said as you turned around to look at him.

The suit, the build, the violence and the tone of anger in his voice. It made sense.

‘Knight?’ Was all you got out before Red Hood grappled out of the building.

Gotham City lights were always beautiful to look upon from the rooftops, it had been weeks since the takedown of Black Mask.

‘You’re not an easy man to track down’ you announced yourself to Red Hood. He simply turned around to look at you, then continued on what he was doing.

‘I don’t need a partner Birdie’ he said lowly as you approached.

‘I know, but it would be nice to have friends. Batman is gone, Robin retired and Nightwing went back to Bludhaven. There aren’t many of us left now’ you revealed.

Red Hood scoffed, looking at you as he took off his mask.

‘Us Batboys have gotta stick together huh?’

‘Jason? Jason Todd?’ You asked in disbelief, Jason nodded.

‘In the flesh’

It was this moment that had you thinking that life was in a way, turning in the right direction. You’d only ever heard of Jason, and just that Bruce lost his second son.

Gotham City was under the control of the two of you, and you could both help clean the streets.

You both looked upon the city in a comfortable silence, as you both realised you had the city to yourselves.

[ladytauria]

💖 and 🧠 from the ask game <33

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

my writing voice! i used to hate re-reading my own writing but now i can do so comfortably, even when i pick up on mistakes i missed or things i would change <3

i'm also fairly proud of my imagery, lol. that was something i worked hard to develop, and while i DO forget to like... describe things still when im writing, when i do remember/go back to add that in i feel more confident in my results lol

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

i have SO MANY of these

okay. i counted up the ones i have fleshed out outlines for, since there's more to talk about, and then i rolled a die <3

so! it's a jaytim fic inspired by the lyric, "why do you make me want to leave the world behind?" from the song stardust by new politics. the rest of the song doesn't actually fit, & i'll probs end up not using that line as the title, lol.

my outline for it is almost more of a not-fic than an outline, so... i'll just paste that in here, ig. pls excuse my brackets <3

why do you make me want to leave the world behind?

Jason couldn’t tell you what the final straw was. Maybe it was the last argument he got into with Bruce. Maybe it was hearing Joker’s laugh, again, echoing through the streets of Gotham. Maybe it was the gunshot he took to the shoulder, a few weeks ago. It— The point is, it could have been any number of things. Whatever the final straw, one thing is clear: he can’t do this any more.

And it’s not that he wants to abandon Crime Alley, or his people, it’s just—

He’s tired. He’s been tearing himself apart for the mission since he was twelve. He died, even—only to come back and keep doing it. And now… He’s just… done. He wants to live, and he can’t do that when the mission controls his life. He needs out.

Thing is…

He can’t leave Tim.

Tim is… somewhere along the way, Tim has become his rock. They’ve moved in together. When Jason suits up, Tim is at his side. When Tim needs stitches, it’s Jason holding the needle. When Jason comes home, knuckles bruised and lip split, it’s Tim there with the ice pack. And when they’re finished tending each other’s wounds, large and small, they fall into bed together—sore but together.

Jason doesn’t want to give that up.

He knows Tim won’t leave Gotham. Knows that Tim views Robin/Red Robin as the most important thing he’s ever done, the thing that gives him purpose, makes him feel real. He can’t ask him to leave it. He can’t.

But he’s not sure he can stay, either.

It’s a big, tangled mess, and Jason is no closer to figuring out what to do when Tim approaches him one evening. He sits down with him, holding his tablet, looking like he’s got something on his mind. He doesn’t bother with much preamble.

“My parents bought a place in [idk, some nice coastal or country area] a long time ago. A small vacation home, I think. It was one of those things we didn’t lose when Dad went bankrupt. I think… It looks like a nice place to retire, don’t you think so?”

Jason can hardly believe what he’s hearing, even as he agrees with feeling. He has to pinch himself once or twice, as they start making plans. They’re as methodical about it as they are everything else, hashing out all the details. It doesn’t feel real; not even when they inform the others, not when they start packing. Not even when they finally make the move, or unpack, or settle into the house.

It’s not until the second morning that it starts to sink in. This is real. It’s happening.

They grow roots. Befriend the neighbors. Tim gets back into photography, dragging Jason out with him on long walks to capture the scenery. He gets a job, too, working on cars, and talks Jason into pursuing a degree, the way he always wanted.

They gets visits and calls from the bats, and their friends—some more than others—and they usually even remember to leave business out of it. It’s… everything Jason wanted, honestly—though it’s not always easy. There are still nightmares, restless nights, and times when neither of them can watch or read the news without the urge be out there. Especially when there’s a crisis.

The worst of it, though, is the itching, nagging feeling in Jason’s chest. The thing that tells him it’s too easy. Too simple. Eventually something has to break—and each nightmare, each restless night makes Jason more and more certain it’s going to be Tim. One day, he’s going to wake up and decide that a quiet life with Jason isn’t what he wants after all.

He’ll leave.

Jason keeps his worries to himself. Just—tries to bottle up the good days, tucking them close under his heart, to keep him warm when he’s alone.

Before he knows it, though, a year passes. Tim still hasn’t left. Jason wakes up first, like he always does, and puts on the coffee before starting breakfast. Tim stumbles out of their bedroom just after Jason finishes the pancake batter. Even with a regular sleep schedule, he’s still not a morning person.

He goes for Jason first; winding his arms around his waist and sneaking a kiss before he pours his coffee. He slips out of the way, leaning against the wall to sip his coffee and watch Jason. And somewhere between the first batch of pancakes and the fourth, he glances over, and—he sees it.

Tim is smiling at him over the rim of his cup, still a little hazy from sleep. His eyes are no longer laden with bags. His skin is clear, a little tan. He’s got freckles, just a few, dotting his face. There’s a light, a glow to him that once Jason only saw in glimpses.

He’s happy.

Here.

With Jason.

It knocks the breath from him. He doesn’t know what his face is doing—only that Tim is at his side in an instant, coffee forgotten on the counter. Wrapped in Tim’s arms, Jason finds himself spilling everything, every thought and fear that’s plagued him for the last year. When he’s done, Tim smiles sadly, his hold turning into something like a cradle, despite their size difference.

“Robin was the most important thing in my life for a long time. First because watching you both, knowing what I knew… made me feel part of something bigger. Something amazing. And then because it gave me purpose. I was doing something that mattered, and so that made me feel like I mattered. And being good at it… It made me feel like I belonged, like I was wanted.” He strokes Jason’s cheek. “But… It always felt like it could be taken away. There were times when I thought it had been. And then… us. Jason, I don’t need Robin anymore. You make me feel like I matter—and I don’t… I don’t have to… to be perfect, or prove myself. I can just be here, with you, and that’s enough. I’m enough. And that… It means everything, Jay.”

Jason is tearing up. Supposedly, he’s the one who’s good with words—and Tim has pages of love poetry and sweet letters tucked away that can attest to that—but right now? He has none. All he can do is kiss him, and hope that everything he wants to say comes through.

The gratitude. The awe. The agreement. Tim does matter, and he doesn’t have to do anything to earn it, because Jason loves him. And fuck—the reason Jason stayed, the reason he couldn’t just leave on his own was because with Tim…

Tim has always taken him as he is. He doesn’t ask Jason to be anything more than he is, and because of that… Jason wants to be. He feels like the best version of himself when they’re together, and to hear that he gives Tim that same feeling—

It’s everything.

Tim’s coffee grows cold. Breakfast burns.

Neither of them care.

[ fic writer ask game ]

[triscribeaucollection]

Hi! For the writing asks: ✨ and 🌷?

Hi Crystal! Your timing is perfect, and I'm gonna combine these to ramble about my topic of the evening: Justice League Unlimited plays Wolfen and Warlocks

✨ - newest wip / 🌷 - writing achievement you want to brag about

Some of the stone elementals charged forward to throw punches. Others cracked and split the ground, making it harder to approach them by foot. The biggest one, guarding the portal, created a ring of spikes to better protect it.

And Clark’s friends proved exactly why an RPG was the best choice for them to play, rather than a card or board game.

Wally annoyed different targets into following him into range of Diana’s fists. John pinned others in place for Shayera to strike and destroy. Clark and J’onn cast magical shields and restored health points, keeping everyone else moving, and when Bruce’s fairy reached the others to share what he’d learned about the portal’s crystal power source, the seven of them formed up seamlessly to go after it.

Even better, they all clearly had fun doing so.

And *I* had *immense* fun writing this nonsense, okay?

Picking out races, abilities, and stats for each of the seven, figuring out how to balance them against one another through the game encounter, picking the exact worst possible moment for Bruce roll a 1 and almost hit Wally's character instead of the final boss, which he is absolutely never going to live down, that's gonna become the running joke for however many chapters this thing goes:

Flash: "You missed! He was three feet in front of you, how could you miss-!"

Batman: "Shut. Up."

Flash: =D

But of course I've already determined how I'm going to have more fun with it, by bringing in Zatanna to play Storymaster so Clark isn't pulling double duty. And she gets invested, my dudes, full on spooky voice reading the intro blurbs, using magic to make a veil of mist around her spot at the table, bringing the map and character tokens to life for a bit of flair, so on and so forth

There will be other superheroes who get interested. Further interactions in twos and threes as the game spreads through the League. Robin hears about all this and pesters Batman to teach him to play, and between the two of them at home it basically turns into an extra training exercise, Bruce making use of the 'solve a mystery' aspect woven into most pre-made campaigns to teach Tim some more detective skills (this being the DCAU and not comics continuity)

I might even have Alfred insist on hosting one night, just so he gets to lay eyes on Bruce opening up his walls bit with friends- sorry, *cough*, colleagues. Tim will of course get to join in, and does NOT hesitate to grab the "You Missed!" joke and run with it like the little gremlin he deserves to be. Dick and Babs will be beyond delighted when he lets it slip to them as well >:D

And this is like. Full circle, for me. Rather emotional, when I think about it.

Few years back I was writing a scene for a story in a whole other fandom, and decided the kid main character and his best friend needed to be distracted from ongoing misfortune in the form of a new adult friend teaching them to play a D&D knockoff game. I didn't want to use *actual* Dungeons and Dragons, because where's the fun in that, but I felt I needed some actual Thing to use as reference rather than purely winging it. And thus, Wolfen and Warlocks was born.

Now, rather than making things up as I went along for that fic, I've got the Actual Game to reference, or at least all the materials meant for the first edition of it. Not put together or published, yet, but that's only because I'm still beta testing with the help of various friends - including @yogurtbear242, Player The First who gave the best reactions to unexpected developments and was an all around good sport despite not ever having played a tabletop rpg before, in-person or online:

(Everybody salute Bear for being a wonderful crash test dummy)

And now! I get to put the Justice League's founding members through the same shenanigans!!

Self-indulgence *and* self-promotion at it's finest x)

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Eyes and Ears

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: An AU where Barbara finds Jason instead of Bruce.

Chapters: 22/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Jim Gordon, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Sheila Haywood, Original Character(s)

Relationship(s): Jason Todd/Original Character(s), Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson

Additional Tags: Canon Divergent AU, Older SIbling Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd-centric, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Jason Todd is NOT Robin, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Has a Crush, Adopted Siblings

Chapter Twenty-Two: Firsts

"If that school doesn't open back up soon, I'm going to lose my mind," Barbara paced back and forth. Jim looked up from his desk work.

"I might take him up to Layton for a few days," Jim whispered, "Be patient with him... He's only been out of school one week." Jason knocked on the door. Jim got up and let him in, and Barbara said her goodbyes and left them to have lunch together.

"She's mad at me, isn't she?" Jason asked.

"No, she's frazzled... Listen, I think it's a good idea for me to take you camping for three days," Jim suggested. Jason lit up. "Just us two fellas. What do you think?"

Jason nodded slowly before smiling. "When?" Jason asked.

"If the weather permits, day after tomorrow. If it doesn't, we'll figure something out. Whatever it is, I'm gonna take off for three days, and we're gonna have some real father/son time," Jim promised. Jason sat down at Jim's desk, and they ate their lunch quietly for a long while.

"You're not sleeping, are you?" Jim asked. Jason didn't look up from his food. "Jason, can we talk about it?"

Jason picked over his food for a moment longer. "I'm having nightmares again. Pop," Jason whispered.

"Jason, you're not in trouble. I just—. Can you tell me why you didn't say anything?" Jim asked. Jason raised his shoulders. "Hey, no. I'm not mad at you. I'm just asking."

"You're busy at work," Jason whispered, "And you—."

"I'm a father first, Jason... I'm your father first," Jim whispered. Jason went back to eating. "What's eating at you?"

"My mom used to say something to me when I was younger, and I never thought much of it until now," Jason whispered. Jim pushed his food aside to give Jason his full attention. Jason still couldn't manage to look Jim in the eye. "She told me that there's no reason for me to explain myself to anyone. I don't know. I think it's because she knew I didn't have it all figured out... Pop, I still don't have it figured out, and it never bothered me before now," Jason mumbled.

Jim leaned forward and rested a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Whatever it is, you don't have to have it figured out right now. You've got time," Jim whispered. Jason pushed his food aside.

"Pop, I don't know what I am, but I know I'm not straight," Jason whispered. Jim stood up, and Jason shrank away for a moment in anticipation of anger or disappointment or complete dismissal. Jim crouched by his side and embraced him.

Jason tensed up for a moment before hugging Jim back. Jim stood up and went back to his seat, and neither of them said a word for several minutes. "Is there someone?" Jim asked. Jason smiled and shrugged.

"I dunno yet... Not for sure," Jason mumbled, "I did dance with this guy, though." Jim took a sip of his soda.

"At the masquerade ball? Do you know who he was?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, but I'm starting to think he doesn't know who I was. Either that or he's playing it off really well," Jason answered.

"But you don't want to bring it up to him?" Jim asked. Jason shook his head. "I think maybe you should at least try..."

"I wouldn't know what to say. Hey, this is the first time I've ever danced with someone, and I know it was you. Did you know it was me? That sounds weird," Jason sighed.

Jim put his fork down. "Wait, does Babs know?" Jim asked. Jason nodded. "She didn't have any advice?"

"No, she told me to wait for him to talk to me," Jason answered. Jim shook his head.

"Wrong. We're gonna ignore that advice. Ask your friend if he remembers seeing you at the dance, and see where that goes," Jim replied. Jason took a deep breath and nodded. "You don't have to do that now if you don't want to."

Jason called Reese and took a deep breath. "I won't do it if I don't do it now," Jason whispered as he held the phone to his ear.

"Jay, how's it going?" Reese answered.

"Hi... Are you by yourself right now?" Jason asked as he got up and started pacing.

"Um... Hold on," Reese whispered. Jason heard a chair drag against the floor. "Papa, I'm going upstairs!" Jason sat in silence on the phone as he listened to Reese run up the stairs. "Okay. I'm by myself. What's up?"

"Do you remember anything from the dance?" Jason asked.

He leaned against the wall as he waited for an answer. "What do you mean?" Reese asked. Jason pushed off of the wall and started pacing back and forth past Jim's desk.

"Do you remember seeing me at all?" Jason asked. Jason could hear Reese take a deep breath over the phone.

"I remember dancing with you... It's all I could think about and—. Please tell me you didn't think of it as a joke," Reese pleaded. Jason could hear the pain in Reese's voice, and it was the first time he'd ever heard Reese be upset about anything.

"It wasn't a joke to me. I promise," Jason whispered, "I just didn't know if—. I'm just wondering what that means for later on. You and me?"

"Yeah, I uh... I don't want you to feel bad because I like you a lot... I just can't let my dad find out," Reese whispered.

"Oh," Jason frowned as he stopped in his tracks.

"But I don't care if anyone else knows at school... If that's okay with you, I'd really like to go out with you," Reese explained.

The air left Jason's lungs for a moment, and he looked over at Jim and smiled. "Jay?" Reese asked innocently. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah... Yes, yes, I'm still here. Yeah, I'd like that a lot," Jason beamed, "Sorry, I was so excited I forgot to answer. Um, maybe next week you can come over, and we'll watch a movie or something?"

"Reese!" yelled a woman in the background.

"One more minute, Four!" Reese yelled.

"Stop calling me Four!" she yelled.

"Sorry, and yes. I'd like that... I gotta go," Reese whispered.

"I'll text you," Jason whispered back with a smile on his face, and he hung up. He stood still for a while, still smiling. "Pop, can I have a date at the apartment next weekend?"

"Sure. No rated R movies," Jim replied. Jason nodded enthusiastically. "Now, come and finish your lunch before it gets cold," Jim chuckled.

[nabtime]

Our Empty Graves V

Fandom: Danny Phantom / Batman: Under the Red Hood

Pairings: Danny Fenton/Jason Todd (Dead on Main)

Rating: Mature

Tags: batfamily, hazmat AU, Nobody Knows AU, Mute!Phantom, potential ghost king danny, slow burn?, DC means Disregard Canon, AU means AU nothing is exactly the same, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, more than canon typical violence, danny is a Halfa and also a Fetch, no beta we die like basically everyone

Summary: They say that Red Hood has a loyal mutt. The man rules his territory in Crime Alley with an iron fist and a guard dog at his side. They say that Hood calls him Fetch, sometimes Fetcher. No one's ever heard him speak. Anyone who's ever seen him says he looks like an experiment gone wrong, that Hood picked him up somewhere unspeakable. They say he'll do anything Red Hood asks of him and he'll do it well. That he's strong and fast and probably inhuman. The girls say he's sweet; quiet but charming in his own way. Rival gangs say he's vicious; that he'd sooner rip your throat out than let you go.

Jason just wants to help him.

Chapter 5: they call me devil (and you should be afraid)

Chapter Summary: Red Hood keeps running into Fetcher, who disappears on him each time, until he decides to take the matter into his own hands and hunts the other down.

Chapter Notes: title from Call Me Devil by Friends in Tokyo Links: AO3 // Chapter 1 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 6 // Spotify

There was a part of Jason that knew he wouldn’t find Fetcher in the safe house when he returned, but there was another (stupider) part of himself that had hoped to find the sassy little shit where he’d left him. He knew the first time had been a miracle and probably owing to the fact that Fetcher had been exhausted and recovering. He really hoped the kid had healed fully before he left. It looked like he already had a pretty fast healing rate, but Jason still worried. Like an idiot, really.

He wondered where Fetcher went. Jason didn’t believe for one second the kid actually had a place to go. But then again he literally glowed green and walked around in a Hazmat suit, which meant he was kind of hard to miss. So he had to have a place to go, to hide. Because Jason sure as shit hadn’t seen him since he left. And no, he had not looked. Well, maybe he looked a little. But it didn’t matter because he hadn’t found the fucker anywhere. There and gone again in a single night.

Jason should not be as preoccupied about it as he was. He had plans. He needed to focus. Didn’t matter that he’d felt almost calm for the first time since he resurrected around the kid (four long, long years of mindlessness and anger and a sort of helplessness and despair he hated). Fetcher was gone now and all he could do was sink back into his rage and learn to swim willingly within the haze all over again. He’d done it before and he’d do it again. Rage was useful. Anger was something he could mold and carve to his satisfaction. He would use it as a tool to strike down those that needed striking and avenge those that needed vengeance. Himself for one.

Tall, Dark, and Emotionally Repressed wouldn’t know what hit him. The Batman had failed him. Bruce had proven that while he may have loved Jason, he hadn’t loved him enough. And wasn’t that just the story of his life? Jason had never been enough. Would never be enough. Always second-rate. A good Robin, sure, but not near enough to live up to the first one. To Dick’s spark and skill and flamboyance. Dickie had set the standard for what a Robin should be and Jason had never been able to live up to it. His Replacement got closer than he ever could and it stung. Too arrogant, too forceful, too angry, too reckless. Too much, yet never enough. Jason was loved but it always came with conditions. Jason was mourned but his death had still not been enough to put a stop to the Joker. Just another page in his story instead of the catalyst to his end. He hadn’t cared that Bruce was too late to save him, he’d cared that Bruce had still not considered his death enough to put a permanent end to Joker’s murder sprees.

It pissed him off.

If the Batman, so-called protector of Gotham city, wouldn’t put an end to the festering blight on humanity at large that was the Clown Prince of Crime, then someone else would. Jason was not afraid to bloody his own hands if it meant more innocents could live. If it meant that people like Jason had been wouldn’t have to die anymore. Die broken and bleeding and scared. Thinking that Batman would save you, would pull you out of the wreckage and make sure everything was alright. Thinking that Batman would go to the ends of the earth to make sure you lived. Thinking that Batman would do anything to avenge you if you didn’t. He would not let anyone else live that lie. Die with that lie.

Because that’s all it was. A lie.

If Jason, a child he had brought in and personally trained, was not enough, then there weren’t many others that were. How many people would finally be too many? How many lives would end before the Joker’s? His hadn’t been worthy enough to count as the sacrificial lamb to end it all. Though, he supposed, he hadn’t been worth much anyway. Bruce could bluster all he wanted, pretend to be angry that someone had trespassed on Jason’s grave. But the fact of the matter was that nowhere on that headstone had he been given the name Wayne. Unclaimed and unwanted and unavenged. He wondered, sometimes, if it had been Dick that had died instead of him, if that would have been Bruce’s breaking point. But Dickie had never been stupid enough to get himself killed.

Not like reckless, angry, arrogant, Jason.

But, now, now he had a plan and he would put those traits to use.

He would continue to take over the Alley. Expand his territory and take over all trade from Black Mask and any other Kingpin trying to rule the underground. He would control the drugs, the arms, and any other goods. He would destroy what he couldn’t control and control what he couldn’t destroy. Drugs would sell no matter what he did, so he would make sure they were pure and out of the hands of minors. He would provide refuge for the weak and weary, clean spaces and warm places. He would do what Batman could not and rid the city of its more heinous strains of crime. And he would be as ruthless about it as he needed to be. He would not hold back because of some old moral code, not if it meant doing what needed to be done. He would not be so selfish as to put his conscious above the lives and well-being of others.

He would show the Bat what the city could become before he put Bruce’s morals to the test. Before he found out what Batman’s breaking point really was.

═════ ◈ ═════

Six months he’d been running everything. Killing off rival gang members, making sure everyone knew the rules and the consequences for not following them. Pissing off Black Mask and eating more and more of his territory, claiming the Alley for himself. Teasing Batman and dodging his attempts at a take-down. He wasn’t ready to give up the ghost just yet, Brucie needed more patience than that.

It was just another run-of-the-mill patrol of the area. Checking in with his lieutenants, keeping them in line and making sure no one was breaking the golden rule. Checking in on the Corner Workers, making sure they had everything they needed and that no one was trying to rough them up. Checking in on the camps, making sure everyone had food and water and shelter and anything else they needed. Keeping the pigs away from all of them.

So, imagine his surprise when he finds trouble. No, not that he just finds trouble, that was expected and the reason for the patrol in the first place, but that he finds trouble and Fetcher was in the middle of it. Trying to stop it? From the looks of it?

Taking in the scene, there were three figures. Fetcher, some guy in a black jacket and ski-mask (like you couldn’t get anymore cartoonishly criminal), and a girl all done up in high-heels and a short leather dress. Nadi if he had to take a guess. Looked like some bozo had been trying to mug one of the Ladies of the Night. Had been because Fetcher had the guy in a headlock and was- Giving the guy a noogie? The girl in question seemed to just be watching, hands on her hips and grinning, make-up and hair without a single smudge or ruffle. Fetcher must have intervened before Bozo could get very far then.

Jason joined her in watching the show. Bozo tried to pull a knife and Fetcher just kept one arm around his head and used the other to snatch it away without effort. Then he density-shifted it into his suit and gave the guy a finger wag. Like some naughty kid.

“That’s the third knife he’s done that with,” Nadi said, sounding on the brink of hysterical laughter.

Nadi, from what he had learned of the sex workers under his protection, was always one to deflect with humor when things went south. Served her well in this instance because it kept her calm and able to enjoy the show. She wasn’t new to the block either so this probably wasn’t the first time she’d had a knife pulled on her. Probably the first time a walking radiation hazard saved her though. Or, knowing Gotham, maybe not.

“He hurt you at all?” he asked her, just to make sure.

“Nah,” she said turning to him with a smile that didn’t falter at the sight of his helmet.

He was trying his best to keep his reputation good with the ones under his protection, so he was happy to see her without fear around him. The ones who should fear him were the ones that broke the rules, not the ones he made the rules to protect.

“Little man in the funky suit,” she said, pointing to Fetcher with an impeccably sharp nail, “jumped in the second I started yelling at that asshole.”

“Good,” Jason replied. “How long has this been going on?”

“Mm,” she started, brown eyes looking up in thought, “about ten minutes, I think. Glow-boy’s been keeping him down for a while.” Her eyes gleamed. “I just wanna see how many knives is gonna get involved.”

Fetcher had been keeping that man in a headlock for ten goddamn minutes. Amazing.

“Oi, Fetch,” he called, watching as the vicious little nightlight jumped at his voice and dropped the guy, who flopped to the ground, boneless, with a groan. “What are you-”

Jason watched, stunned, as Fetcher held his hands up in surrender and then disappeared. Just fucking vanished into thin air. He switched his helmet to night vision, heat vision, anything and everything. No readings. Nada. Nothing. What the fuck.

“Aw,” Nadi whined, disappointed, “you scared ‘im off.”

“I did not!” he protested. Because really, he hadn’t meant to spook him. He was just glad to see the kid up and about and apparently well enough to take on random muggers. At least Batman hadn’t gotten to him, from the looks of things.

“Big bad Red Hood,” she sang, “scaring off my savior!”

He sighed. At least someone was having a good time.

Bozo groaned, face still planted in ground of the dirty back alley. Oh, right. Assholes to punish. He moseyed over, making sure each boot thunked heavily against the asphalt. He watched Bozo grow tenser with every step he got closer.

“Talk,” he commanded. Fetcher wanted to play good cop (silly cop? ridiculous cop?) to Jason’s bad cop, so be it. He had a reputation. He could be a bit playful with the girls or soft with the kids, but trouble-makers got no mercy.

“I-I didn’t do nothin-,” Bozo started, stammering and struggling to move up onto his hands and knees.

Red Hood took care of that with a swift kick to the ribs.

“Try again.”

He wouldn’t stand for someone trying to shift the blame. Trying to get out of the consequences of their actions.

Bozo groaned and curled up on his side. Jason had no sympathy.

“Fine, fine,” Bozo said, face still one with the concrete. “Know the girls always carry a lotta cash from workin’. Figured it would be an easy grab. Wasn’t plannin’ on hurtin’ her.”

Nadi scoffed. “I worked hard for my money, asshole.” She loomed over him, hands on her hips, and Jason let her. “You thought you could just grab it off me?” She pressed a threatening heel against the guy’s bruised ribs. “I’da fought you off myself if little cujo hadn’t tackled you.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Bozo said miserably. “Just throw me to the cops already.”

Jason tsked. “No pigs in the Alley.” He paused, thinking it over for a moment. Guy looked young and scruffy. Desperate for money by the sounds of it, if he was willing to go for someone in Jason’s territory. Knew to keep more than one knife on him, so stupid- but with some street smarts. He could work with that. “You’re working for the girls now, as penance.”

“What?!” Bozo and Nadi shrieked at the same time.

Jason held up his hand for silence. He pointed at Bozo first. “Room and board and something better to do than trawl the streets for blood money.” Then pointed at Nadi, “Extra set of hands to do whatever you want.”

Nadi’s eyes gleamed again at that. “Whatever I want?”

Smart girl.

Bozo collapsed back down with another pitiful groan. Served him right. Jason crouched next to him, making sure he had the guy’s attention and letting a little murderous-intent bleed into his voice.

“Pull this shit again and there won’t be another second chance.”

He bared down on him, making sure it got through that thick skull just what would happen if he crossed the line again. He was lucky he’d gotten away without any maiming this time. Next time, Hood would have his head.

Bozo nodded, face pale and clammy. Jason stood up, satisfied, before turning to Nadi again.

“He tries to pull anything, let me or any of my crew know.”

And with that he grappled off, climbing back to the rooftops and running his route with a distracted air. Looking for a neon green glow he knew he wouldn’t find.

═════ ◈ ═════

The second time Jason caught sight of Fetcher out and about, it was a much bloodier encounter.

Some of Black Mask’s men had ambushed him mid-patrol, thinking they could catch him by surprise and bring him in to their increasingly irate boss. Too bad for them that Jason wasn’t a man so easily caught off guard. If there was one thing that Bats taught all the Robins that served them well- it was paranoia. If you think they’re always out to get you, you’ll be prepared for the many times they actually are.

Five against one, but Jason was packing all five of the Bennett sisters tonight and he had more tricks up his sleeves besides.

One shot to the jugular. One pistol whip to the face. One kick in the ribs and two shots to the kneecaps. Two men trying to grab at his arms at the same time, missing, and getting swept off their feet by one of Jason’s own.

One guy got an arm around his neck in the aftermath, pulling tight, and one of the two he’d knocked over popped back up and wrestled Lizzie out of his grip. Two were completely out of commission but that still left three stubborn bastards. The third one got in a shot to his thigh while he was throwing off the others.

He hissed, the bullet was unable to pierce his armor but still left a nasty bruise.

He pulled Mary out of her holster and took a rapid shot at that third guy’s hand, taking out his gun and leaving him out of the game for the rest of the fight- screaming and trying to staunch the blood pouring from his missing finger.

The other two had backed off, noticing that their odds were dwindling fast.

One guy pulled a knife, the blade glinting strangely in the light of the street lamp. Looked like it was coated in something. A paralytic, a poison? No matter what, it wasn’t likely to pierce his jacket or his armor. And the guy should know better than to bring a knife to a gun fight.

He took the shot but the guy dodged.

Idiot number two pulled a gun himself and fired off, three shots, all going large. One to the brick behind him, one to the pavement, and one to the dark of the night beyond them.

Idiot number one, being faster than Jason anticipated, made a lunge toward him and his knife skimmed the sleeve of his jacket on the left side, cutting a long and jagged stripe before just barely nicking his wrist where his jacket ended before his gloves.

His hand went numb. Fuck.

Whatever was on that knife, which shouldn’t be able to cut through his jacket, was potent. The edges of his jacket where it’d been split open began to sizzle. Double fuck. That one was his favorite.

He swung around and shot at idiot number one, being careful to dodge around the bullets being fired by idiot number two.

The tingling sensation of numbness was starting to crawl up his arm.

Idiot number one fell to a bullet in the shoulder, poison knife clattering to the ground while the guy screamed. Idiot number two was starting to look antsy, realizing he was the last man standing. Jason may be down an arm but he wasn’t about to let the guy go running. He shot- but the guy was squirrelly and dodged so that it only grazed his shoulder.

The numbness was reaching his chest. Would the paralytic kill him? Stop his heart? Or just leave him trapped? Either way he needed to end this, now. It’d already gone on too long. If he hadn’t been so fucking distracted… He hadn’t seen Fetcher in a week and a half now…

And then, well, think of the devil and he shall appear.

Last idiot standing was being held in a choke-hold by the glowing green halfling in question, which was a little funny from how short the kid was. Fetcher held him there until he passed out before dropping him and running towards Red Hood.

“Long time no see, Jellyfish,” he said, trying for a casual tone as his left leg started going out on him.

The kid gave him a flat stare before standing underneath him and swinging Jason’s left arm over his shoulder.

Fetcher was- cold to the touch. Like he’d been standing in a snowstorm and the chill had permanently sunk into his very being. He felt like static shock, like pinpricks of electricity were swirling around under the latex-like material of the suit. He felt completely unnatural and yet somehow familiar. Jason wondered, not for the first time, just what, exactly, a Fetch was.

Jason pointed to the dropped knife, sitting so innocently on the dirty pavement. “Gonna need that. Doc Thompkins’ll need to know what got me.”

Fetcher bobbed his head in a nod and scooped the knife up, being careful of the blade before shifting it into his suit like he had all those others.

“How many knives you even got in there?” Jason asked, trying to distract himself from the numbing sensation crawling further through his chest. His lungs were starting to stutter.

Fetcher held his free hand up in a gesture reminiscent of a shrug that didn’t move his occupied shoulder. So he didn’t know. That wasn’t concerning at all. The little glow-worm got them to the mouth of the alley before motioning to the street before them. Asking for directions.

Jason jabbed the thumb he could still move towards the left. Man he hoped Leslie would help him.

It was only after Leslie reluctantly let him go and he exited the clinic that he noticed Fetcher had disappeared again.

═════ ◈ ═════

Twice was a coincidence, three times was a pattern.

This time it was in the rain, heavy downpour obscuring everything in sight and the occasional flash of lightning spearing the dark in a thunderous roar.

Bruce had caught him on one of his runs.

They were on the edge of the roof, his boots slipping just the slightest against the slick concrete that bordered the ten story drop as Batman gripped the shirt that covered his chest armor in his fists, holding him up and being the only thing between him and the pavement below. One hand of Jason’s scrabbled against the slick armor on Batman’s arm and the other held a gun against the man’s head.

Red Hood laughed, bordering hysterical, the sound crackling and grating through the filter on his helmet. “Let me go, Batman,” he demanded, gun digging against the mask over Bruce’s temple.

“Who are you?” Batman growled, agony underpinning his words and it flooded Jason with a righteous glee that made him ache. Oh, Brucie, Brucie, Brucie he thought. You’re so close to figuring it out but you’re still not sure.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he said, trying not to cackle. The sweet, sweet fury painting his father’s ex-mentor’s face was delicious. He might not be ready to lead Batman to his pièce de résistance but he could still enjoy teasing in the meantime.

“Tell me,” Batman demanded, shaking Red Hood within his grasp, making Jason’s boots slide ever further toward the edge.

“Or what,” he snarled, “you’ll kill me?”

He nudged his gun to an angle beside Batman’s head and shot, the bullet flying into the air but the blast and the noise pushing Bruce away and startling his grip loose. Jason used the momentum to push up and arch in the air, feeling the rain and the wind against him as he flew. He flipped and felt the beautiful, intoxicating rush that came with free falling. Distantly he could hear Batman yelling, but all he wanted to concentrate on was feeling the pull of gravity before he landed.

He pulled out his grapple and aimed. It slipped and he cursed. The building was too short to sustain his fall for long and he didn’t have time for another grapple to hook and swing. He was meeting the pavement fast. Too fast. He wasn’t usually this sloppy. His landing would be messy and painful, but if he moved right, he’d live.

Cold hands caught him a single story from the ground and slowly lowered him down until his boots hit sidewalk. The glow around them told him he knew who his savior was.

When he was released he turned. The hands that had caught him were gone, and so was the rest of Fetcher. He tsked in annoyance. He’d need to hunt the kid down at this rate.

He looked up to see if Batman was still there. But if he was, he couldn’t see anything through the rain.

═════ ◈ ═════

Of course he was living in a graveyard. Because why not, right?

It was one of the last places Jason tried searching. Ever since Fetcher had risked Batman’s wrath again by catching him a few days ago, he’d doubled his determination to find him. He shouldn’t let himself get so distracted from his main goal, but keeping Fetcher within his sights and making sure the kid was safe was now part his master plan, apparently.

He could see a faint glow up in the branches of the single hickory tree planted in the cemetery Fetcher had originally been chased from. The one Jason was buried in. He tried not to have any particular feelings about that. He watched as the green shell of a hickory nut fell from the branches and bounced on the ground. Well, at least the kid was eating.

“Hey,” he called, watching the branches shake when Fetcher startled. “Get your radioactive ass down here.”

He backed up and watched in fascination as the other man swung down from a branch like a monkey before he dropped like a stone. If the forty foot drop did anything to his ankles when he landed directly on his feet, he didn’t let it show. What the fuck was this guy?

Fetcher walked closer, posture cautious but casual. Like there was at least some modicum of trust but he still knew to be wary. He tilted his head to the side, a question.

“How many crimes have you interfered with on my turf?” he asked, crossing his arms. He was genuinely curious though. He’d gotten reports from his lieutenants that mister nightlight had been spotted multiple times preventing a mugging or defending a Corner Girl. A little vigilante in the making, all he needed was the blue eyes and black hair and he’d be perfect Wayne Bait.

Fetcher scuffed his shoe against the grass and hid his hands behind his back before shrugging, trying to act innocent. Little shit.

“Listen,” he said, “if you’re gonna play vigilante here, it’s gonna be on my orders.”

Fetcher raised his head and tilted it to the side again. Another question. He sighed.

He walked closer, steps slow and careful so Fetch wouldn’t disappear on him. He didn’t want to spook the guy. “No more living in trees and popping in and out of nowhere,” he said firmly, close enough to see his curious glowing green eyes. “If you’re gonna work in my territory, then you’re gonna be on my payroll.”

The green glow narrowed and Fetcher crossed his arms. Defiant. Defensive.

Jason scoffed. “If you mess with things you don’t know about you’re going to get hurt. Or get someone else hurt.”

The arms dropped but stayed crossed, his head tilted to the side. Accepting but still questioning.

“I’m not going to stop you from saving people,” he said, “since that seems to be something you want to do.”

“But,” he lifted a finger, “you gotta listen to me. And you’re going to live in an actual goddamn house, you heathen. And eat actual food. I don’t care if you’re not human, no man under my protection is living like a monkey unless they are one.”

He paused. “You aren’t some type of monkey, are you?”

Fetcher seemed to double over. Shoulders shaking in silent laughter. Probably a no then. But, yeah, sure, laugh at him for not knowing what the fuck a Fetch was and trying not to make any assumptions.

“Alright, alright,” he grumbled as the other seemed to finally gather himself together. “You coming or not? I’m setting you up in a safe-house and then putting a fucking bell on you so I know where you are.”

He wiped a tear that wasn’t actually there from his tinted mask and mimed catching his breath before nodding and gesturing for Jason to lead the way. Then he paused and tilted his head. He lifted his arms and made a little paw motion beside his head and moved his head back and forth. Jason could almost see green ears and tail appear.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

Fetcher leaned forward, arms out in some sort of questioning shrug. Why not? he seemed to say, with some mocking edge. Little shit knew what he was doing.

God, Jason really hoped he wouldn’t regret this.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Seized

An addition to Approval. Do not read this until reading that first. 

Character: Bruce Wayne x Fem!Reader // Damian Wayne x Batmom

Summary: What happens when Talia Al Ghul learns that someone has stolen the affections of her past lover and her son?

Word Count: 3,000 [One Shot]

“Delinquents have been detained. I can hear the sirens,” Damian stated calmly in his comms.

“Good work, Robin. You know where to meet me. You have a minute,” Bruce responded as he whipped the bat mobile through Crime Alley to grab his son.

Just as Damian opened the door and hopped in, an alarm went off within the vehicle.

“The Manor,” Damian thought aloud as he read the screens with his father.

Bruce ignored his comment and was calling Alfred immediately.

“Master Wayne,” the butler instantly picked up. “I followed protocol, but they were already gone when I arrived.”

“Y/N…” Bruce immediately asked.

“They took her,” Alfred told him, distress clear in his tone.

Damian’s head whipped to his father to watch his reaction.

But Bruce’s jaw only tightened and he sped the batmobile even faster.

Returning faster to Wayne Manor than ever before, Bruce jumped out of the batmobile and up the secret entrance to get to the main house.

Damian was hot on his heels. He’d already sent an encrypted message to his brothers, informing them of the situation. It was only a matter of time before they were at the manor as well. Though Damian suspected Jason would not come, instead already starting to scour the streets of Gotham for Y/N and her captors.

Alfred was already waiting for them. “Master Wayne, I am so sorry.”

Bruce ignored him and walked to the master bedroom. Y/N would’ve been sleeping when the attack occurred. It wouldn’t have mattered if she had been awake, she had no training in self defense. She was merely an innocent civilian.

“Father,” Damian muttered quietly.

Bruce turned around to find his son ripping a shuriken out of the door frame.

They shared a look, both recognizing the particular shape and color.

“The League…” Damian muttered quietly, saying what they both were thinking.

——————

Y/N was barely awake.

They clearly had drugged her with something to make her more compliant. Everything was foggy and muffled.

Yet they still tied her hands and ankles together, as if her brain could even manage to get her body to move.

But Y/N could feel the effects of the drugs losing their strength, yet keeping their hold on her.

She squinted as she looked around. The air felt different. It was colder and dryer, making Y/N believe that she was no longer in Gotham. Little did she know, she wasn’t even in the country any longer.

“I do not know what he sees in you,” a woman hummed from somewhere in the room.

Y/N blinked as he listened, but her eyes could not adjust to the low lighting and she didn’t even have the strength to turn her head.

“You are weak. Ripped from your own bed without so much as a fight.”

Then she heard the grunts and clashing of metal.

The woman smiled. “Right as expected, my son.”

Y/N’s brow furrowed at ‘my son.’ Then she finally lifted her head and took in her surroundings. There were swords and other weapons stored everywhere, and there was armor hung from the walls.

“Talia?” She whispered.

The woman chuckled. “Weak, but not utterly foolish.”

Then the door of the room was thrown open.

Y/N looked to see Damian in his Robin uniform.

“My son, finally returned," Talia greeted with a smirk.

“Mother.” Then his gaze flickered to Y/N. Very subtly, he was scanning her body to access any possible injuries.

His gaze turned back to his mother. “What is the meaning of this?”

“You have forgotten where you come from, Damian. You are not just the heir to the Wayne family. Before anything else, you are my son and the heir to Ra's al Ghul’s throne.”

“She has nothing to do with this,” Damian said with a gesture to Y/N.

“She has everything to do with this,” Talia snapped. “She has made you weak.”

Damian said nothing.

“She has taken you both from me,” Talia growled.

“Father does not love you,” he growled.

“A small lapse in judgment on his part, but not something that cannot be remedied. Our love gave us you, and I fully believe he will return to me.”

“His heart belongs to someone else. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can give up your fantasy.” Then he hesitated to say the next part. “I never plan on returning to The League of Shadows. I wish to stay with father.”

Talia’s amusement vanished at her sons words.

The next second, she unsheathed her sword. “Perhaps I should just kill her and remind you of your place, my son.”

With that, Damian rushed forward and intercepted Talia’s attack with his own sword.

“Do not touch her,” Damian growled.

Their swords continued to clash as the mother and son fought each other. The fight raged on for what felt like forever. Too evenly matched, but also both too terrible at hiding that neither actually wanted to kill the other.

In the distance, Y/N could hear even more fighting. She could only assume it was Bruce fighting his way to her and his son.

Talia and Damian’s swords locked again, both of their stances shaking from the hold.

“Do you really think you and your father stand a chance against the entire League? Why do you think we lured you all the way here? You are outnumbered.” Talia hissed.

“You think us foolish enough to come alone?” Damian smirked right before there was a boom that shook the entire compound.

Talia’s focus slipped half a second, allowing Damian a window to go on the offense.

He flipped his mother’s sword out of her grip and held his own to her throat.

“Yield,” he growled down to her.

“You truly choose her over your own mother?” The hurt in her eyes was clear.

“You abandoned me, used me as a tool to disrupt father’s life. She taught me that there is more to life than killing and destroying. She loves me and care for me, even when I gave her no reason to do so.”

“And it will be the death of you,” Talia warned.

He glared at her. “Yield!”

But he knew she would never. So he whipped out a dart and blew it to her neck – a sedative.  It knocked her out within seconds.

Waiting until he was sure it had worked, Damian sheathed his sword once again and ran to Y/N’s side.

With a knife, he cut the ropes around her wrists and ankles.

“D-Damian,” her voice was still slurred from the drugs and she was weak. How long had she been here without food or water? “I don’t think I can walk."

Damian helped her to her feet. “Y/N, please try,” he begged as he wrapped her around around his shoulders. He was still just a boy, one that was shorter than her. But he wouldn’t give up that easily.

There was another explosion.

“What’s-What’s happening?” Y/N asked as she dragged her feet and held on tightly.

“That would be Todd, most likely taking his job of distracting to an unnecessary level.”

“You all came?” She asked in shock.

“Of course,” Damian scoffed.

Suddenly an object came flying at them and Y/N cried out in pain.

“No!” Damian bellowed as he looked up to see that another League member was attempting to stop their escape. And with it, they had thrown a shuriken that had landed in Y/N’s side.

She dropped to the ground.

Damian screamed as he unsheathed his sword once again and charged the assassin. It wouldn’t take him long. He knew that every minute spent fighting was a minute Y/N was bleeding out and edging closer to death.

He didn’t hold back like he had with his mother and quickly disarmed the enemy. Then thrusting his sword into a nonfatal area of his body, enough to neutralize him. 

Damian rushed back to Y/N’s side, where a pool of blood was forming from her wound.

He knew it was useless, but he still tried to lift Y/N into his arms to carry her. He cried out in both panic and frustration.

The building had now caught aflame due to Jason’s explosions. Damian would need to call for backup, hoping one of his older brothers could help.

Then a shadow was cast over him.

Damian tensed, believing it to be another attack.

But he looked up to find his father standing before them.

However, Bruce’s gaze was on his unconscious girlfriend.

With the arrival of his father, Damian’s cold and calculating disposition melted.

“She’s hurt,” his voice trembled and tears formed in his eyes. “Help her.”

Damian rarely cried. He cried less than grown men. He was raised that way. It didn’t help that his father was not a great example of healthy emotional expression.

But Bruce knew what his sons tears were for: Damian was frustrated, he felt weak, and he thought he had failed his mission. But most of all, Bruce knew his son was crying for fear of Y/N’s death. Because the boy had grown to love her.

As if there were a world when Bruce wouldn’t give his own life to save Y/N.

Bruce bent down and carefully brought Y/N into his arms.

Damian heard her mutter his father’s name, though still delirious from both the drugs he’s sure his mother pumped into her and the blood loss.

“Red Robin, get the jet to my coordinates immediately,” Bruce instructed through his comms.

Damian wondered how his father could be so calm when the woman he loved was bleeding out in his arms. This wasn’t bat business, this was personal. But Bruce spoke like it was just another night of patrol.

A few minuets later, Damian and Bruce had fought their way through the flames and burning compound.

Tim lowered the platform of the jet.

Damian made sure his father and Y/N got on before he followed. He turned and gave one last look at the burning compound that would no longer exist come morning. He did not fear for his mother’s life. He knew someone from the League would come for her – if she didn’t save herself first.

When he boarded the jet, his father already had Y/N on the surgical table that elevated from the jet floor.

Bruce had taken off his cowl, allowing Damian and his brothers to study his expressions.

Damian had been wrong about his father handling the situation like any other mission. For now he could see the terror and worry in his father’s eyes, despite him trying to control his emotions.

Damian looked to Jason, who still had his Red Hood helmet on.

“My grandfather?” He asked his brother.

“Escaped,” Jason muttered.  

Damian stepped forward to help Bruce with Y/N’s injuries.

“She’ll be OK,” he muttered to his father.

All of them had high-level medical training to know.

Thankfully the assassin’s aim was not great and didn’t land in lethal place on Y/N’s body. But she still lost a lot of blood and would need many stitches.

All the brother’s shared a look when Bruce ignored the statement. 

———

Y/N woke up to someone gripping her hand. She recognized from the smell and the feel of the bedding that she was in Bruce’s bed at the manor.

She winced as she opened her eyes to find Bruce was the one holding her hand as he sat in a chair only inches away from the side of the bed.

“Hi,” she whispered to him with a sad smile.

“Hi,” he said back with a smirk.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Two days.”

Then Y/N looked past Bruce to realize there was someone else in the room.

Damian passed out on the velvet chaise that was pushed against the windows.

“He hasn’t left your side,” Bruce told her. “Dick had to convince him just to take a shower for 5 minutes when we first got back.”

Y/N’s heart melted at the revelation.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

The sound of Bruce’s voice as he said it made Y/N’s gaze snap back to him. Had it shook? Or was she imagining it?

Y/N squeezed his hand that was still wrapped around hers. 

“I know,” she told him with a sympathetic look.

He hid it well, but Y/N knew Bruce. And she knew that her being kidnapped from his own home probably drove him mad with guilt. She wouldn’t be surprised if he’d already designed an entirely new security system to prevent something like that ever happening again.

Bruce took in a shaky breath and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

He wanted to say that he always feared her being with him would put her in danger like this. 

He wanted to say that maybe she should stay away from him. 

He wanted to say that him and the kids didn’t deserve her. 

He wanted to say that the only reason this happened is because Talia hated that she loved her son better than she ever did.

But Bruce had never been good at saying how he actually felt – or even acknowledging he had any feelings at all.

So Y/N brought his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. “Bruce, I know,” she said once again.

“I won’t let it happen again. I promise you,” he told her evenly.

“Bruce, I knew what I signed up for when you told me you were Batman. If I wasn’t willing to face the reality of it, I wouldn’t have stayed.”

“No one would’ve blamed you if you hadn’t.”

There was a knock at the door and then it opened a second later.

Damian jumped awake at the sound. But then he quickly brought his attention to Y/N. “You’re awake.”

But everyone’s attention was on Dick, who was standing at the open doorway.

“Hey,” he greeted Y/N, surprised to see that she was awake. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore. Tired. But I’ll be alright.”

He seemed to relax from her answer.

Then he winced when he looked at Bruce. “They put the signal up.”

Bruce’s jaw tightened.

He was about to open his mouth to ask them to handle it, not wanting to leave Y/N alone now that she had woken up.

“Go, Bruce. I’ll be OK.” Y/N told him, reading his mind.

“I think it’s the Joker,” Dick added with a serious frown.

“Bruce, go.” Y/N repeated.

And he saw the sincerity in her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her gently, deciding he didn’t care if his two sons were witnesses to the intimacy.

Then Bruce kissed her forward. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Alfred will be here if you need anything. Do not hesitate to call.”

Y/N nodded.

Bruce stood up and acknowledged Damian and Dick. “Let’s go.”

Once they were ways down the hall, Bruce heard Damian stop.

“Father?”

Bruce and Dick both turned to face Damian.

“I wish to stay with Y/N.”

Bruce and Dick shared a look, and then Dick decided to give the two a moment alone and muttered something about waiting in the cave.

Bruce walked back to his youngest son.

Damian’s gaze was glued on the floor. “Mother truly would’ve killed her?”

Bruce sighed. “Most likely, yes.” He saw no point in lying to his son.

“Because she knows that you and I love her?”

“Yes.”

Damian was quiet for a moment. But Bruce knew he had more to say.

“I used to think I had to earn it.”

Bruce frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Mother’s love. I had to earn it. Win in combat. Successfully execute a target. Outsmart a puzzle or challenge.” Damian looked up at his father with a broken expression. “Her love always came with a price.”

Bruce kneeled down to his son.

The boy shook his head. “But Y/N made me realize that I don’t have to earn anyone’s love. I don’t have to prove that I’m worthy of it.” He bit his lip. “She’s not my father or my brother. She didn’t have to love me. But she does…even when I did nothing to earn it.”

“Everyone is deserving of love, Damian.” Bruce gripped his son’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for not teaching you that myself.”

Damian nodded. “So, may I please stay with her tonight? I don’t want her to be alone.” But then he quickly corrected himself. “Unless of course, you require my assistance, father.”

Bruce smirked at him. “I think we will manage, Damian.” Then he squeezed his shoulder. “Look after her for me, alright?”

Damian relaxed and quickly nodded his head. “Of course, father.”

When Bruce returned hours later, Damian was cuddled next to Y/N in the bed. But clearly laying in a position to be mindful of her injuries. Both were fast asleep. The bright television was the only thing lighting the room, as it played a Pixar movie.

Bruce couldn’t help but grin at the sight.

“I got him,” Dick whispered to him before stepping into the room and carefully lifting the boy in his arms, clearing the space in the bed for Bruce to join Y/N.

Bruce moved about the room as he changed into cotton shorts and went without a shirt.

Y/N woke slightly as he joined her in bed.

“Everything OK?” She whispered sleepily.

“Everything’s fine. Did Damian keep you company?”

Y/N smiled and shifted her body so she was cuddle into him. “Yes…my little protector.”

Bruce smiled at that. “Don’t let him hear the ‘little’ part…”

She chuckled. “Good call.” 

And then she was fast asleep once again.

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

Please, please, please let me know what you think! 

[butwhyduh]

Sex pollen

Tim Drake x reader

Warning: smut. It’s on sex pollen so there is a dub con warning despite the fact that they are willing participants.

Summary: all of the batboys are dusted with Poison Ivy’s sex toxin and think they’ve taken an antidote. It didn’t quite work. This is the story about what happens to Tim.

Beginning Jason Dick Bruce

Tim swung to his bike and drove to the Wayne Enterprise building downtown before realizing that, duh, he was still dressed as Red Robin. He quickly hid behind a building and changed out of most of his stuff. He still wore leather boots and tacticle pants with a hoodie with his shirt, belt, cowl, and cape safely stowed away in a bag he carried on his shoulder. He ran his fingers through his hair before making his way to WE.

The building was almost completely dark. Only maniacs worked at this hour. He was probably going to be home alone.

Tim realized that something was up in the elevator. He pulled at the collar of his hoodie. Was it always this hot? Maybe the antidote took a minute to work. He’d be fine soon.

Tim went up to his office. The paperwork stared at him. A big business meeting to cosponsor a program was in the morning and Tim planned to finish his preparations tonight. He was putting finishing touches on a PowerPoint slide when he noticed his seat was uncomfortable. Has the Red Robin pants always been this tight? He adjusted and went back to work.

Tim’s mind wandered as he worked. The way your skirt clung to your ass that morning. Your ass jiggled as you slammed the copier closed. It got stuck all the time and Tim needed to replaced it soon. You had made coffee for him and added sugar to your own. Tim hadn’t missed the way you looked licking sugar off of your fingers. Fuck, what was he doing? Daydreaming about sex at work? When would that pill kick in?

Tim couldn’t handle it any more and stood up to make coffee. He quietly walked into the kitchen when he saw you pouring a cup. Were you working overnights? You turned to see him and almost dropped your coffee as you jumped.

“Mr Wayne! I didn’t see you there. Do you- do you need anything?” You asked. You held a hand to your chest and panted. Tim couldn’t help but look you over quickly. When did your shirt get that tight?

“Just coffee,” Tim said looking away. You poured him a cup and handed it to him. He could feel his skin burn where you touched him. He walked quickly to his office and locked the door.

He sat at his desk, feeling himself uncomfortably hard in his pants. He palmed himself a few times. Tim made sure that he didn’t hear you in the hall before unzipping his pants. He pulled out his cock and slowly started stroking himself. At first he only thought about how great it felt before he started thinking about you. The curve of your ass. What if he had you bent over your desk, your panties pushed to the side as he fingered you. Tim wondered what sounds you made.

He wasn’t going to last long but that was probably for the best. You could come knocking at any time and he didn’t want to explain that. Tim sighed quietly as his hand moved faster. What would you taste like? He imagined ducking under your skirt as you sat in your chair. Would you moan or whimper? Tim couldn’t help but make a few grunts as his hand moved furiously. He reached over and grabbed a few tissues before quietly cumming on his hand.

“Mr Wayne, can I come in?” You asked turning the knob. The door opened and Tim quickly pushed his seat in under the desk. Okay, he’s fixing that lock ASAP. You must not have seen anything because you just looked mildly confused.

“How,” he husked before clearing his throat. “How can I help you?”

“I just need your signature. I’m glad you’re here tonight. Saves time,” you laughed and he smiled. Tim noticed that his dick hadn’t gone soft yet. “Your bag fell on the floor. Here, I’ll put it in the chair,” you said grabbing the bag with his Red Robin outfit and putting it in the chair by the door. Tim’s legs shook as he watched your ass. Fuck he was hard. You walked over to his desk and handed him the papers. Tim quickly signed them. You smiled at him before grabbing them and walking out.

As you shut the door behind you, you sneezed. Tim could see the outline of your body in the fogged glass as you delicately rubbed your nose before walking back to your desk. He could wait no longer and began furiously masturbating. He pulled his hoodie off quickly and threw it across the room. It was way too fucking hot for that thing. Maybe if he rubbed another one out, this fucking pollen would quit.

Your fingers had grabbed a bag covered in sex pollen and when you sneezed, you had rubbed it into your nose. The delicate mucous membranes can absorb substances quite quickly. You adjusted the collar of your shirt and wondered why it was so warm in the building as you sat at your desk. You looked through the paperwork before noticing a place that he had forgotten to initial. You unbuttoned the highest button on your shirt. It was a little too risqué for the day like this with the topside of your breasts now visible but honestly it was Mr Wayne’s fault for not fixing the AC. You stood and walked back to his office. You didn’t bother knocking but walked in.

You froze. The last thing you expected was to see your extremely hot boss shirtless with his dick in hand, jerking off. He stared up at you without stopping and it was incredibly hot. You’d fantasized about him like this plenty. He was good looking, athletic, smart, funny, and nice. In the privacy of your apartment, you’d thought about him while touching yourself. But nothing compared to this sight.

“Please,” he said roughly and you didn’t know what he meant. “Sex pollen,” he forced out. That makes sense, you thought. He literally can’t stop. And despite the fact that your panties were absolutely flooded at the sight and sound of him, you quickly walked back out the door and shut it behind you. You leaned on the glass, breathing heavy. Quit being a horn dog and leave him alone. That shit sounds awful. You didn’t want anything to do with sex pollen. Poor guy.

You forced yourself to sit at your desk. There was no way you could work now. All you could think of was his abs contracting as his fist moved along his shaft. Little beads of precum on the reddened tip and the way his face moved in pleasure. The little grunts and sighs he made, that you could still hear him making. Fuck.

Tim was really hopeful that this would wash the stuff out of his system because all he could think about was getting up and bending you over your desk and fucking you senseless. His hands gripping your hips as he pushed deeper in your wet pussy. Had you unbuttoned your shirt because he swore he saw more tits than usual. It was less than a minute before he finished again. He barely grabbed the tissues in time to catch it. Okay, please stop now.

You rubbed your thighs together. It was normal to be turned on by seeing erotic images. Especially people that you already wanted to sleep with. But the way your pussy fucking fluttered as you heard what had to be Tim cumming, yeah, you needed to calm down. Poor guy was being tortured. You rubbed your hand on your bare knee before sliding higher to rub your thighs. Fuck. You might have to find a spot for some quiet time of your own soon.

Tim, in a moment of clarity, send a one phrase message to his former butler. “Sex pollen.” It was all he could get out in his haze. He was physically hurting by how hard he was. This must be what the post 4 hour boners felt like in the viagra commercials. He could barely prevent himself from going to you for help.

You couldn’t help but stand up. Your body was on fire. You paced the office but soon the feeling between your legs was a painful throb. You heard a frustrated groan from Tim’s office. His orgasm must not have fixed it. Don’t think about him cumming, you told yourself. Don’t think about him at all. But despite yourself, you walked directly to his office door and opened it again.

Tim’s hand was wrapped around his cock but not moving. He looked up at you like a hungry predator. Your pussy fluttered and your chest heaved. You walked over to him and straddled his thighs. Tim breathed raggedly. You took his cock in your hand and started stroking.

“You don’t,” he panted. “You don’t have to.” He said before fucking whining. You started kissing his neck and collarbone. “Fuck,” he breathed.

His hands found their way to the front of your white button down. He ripped the buttons off in his haste to undress you. Tim’s hands cupped your breasts through the fabric of your delicate bra. He groaned before squeezing.

You started jerking just a bit faster and Tim’s fingers grew more frantic in their need to remove your clothing. He quickly pushed up your skirt to your waist. He threw his head back as you swiped the tip of his dick with your thumb. The side of your delicate lace panties was quickly ripped and pulled down your legs and thrown off to the side. Tim’s fingers cupped your sex.

“Fuck baby, you’re wet as hell,” he whispered and you moaned. You never expected him to talk like that. He started to finger you slowly with one finger. Your hips moved to his slow rhythm.

“More,” you breathed and he slid in a second finger. You threw your head back and moaned. And for a minute you both just touched each other.

“Tim, more,” you said again.

“Another finger,” he asked.

“No you. Fuck me. Please fuck me,” you begged. Tim pulled his fingers away. He quickly picked you up by the waist and brought you down on his dick. You moaned embarrassingly loud. “Yes,” you hissed before starting to ride him. Tim kissed your chest and collarbone before bending to take a nipple in his mouth. You whimpered. His tongue ran across the bud before sucking. You held his head with your hand. You weren’t going to last long and you had no thoughts of his own impending orgasm.

“Fuck fuck fuck,” you moaned as you clenched around him. Thank good for birth control as he came as well. His mouth open in a little gasp. You trembled as you came down from your high.

“Feel better baby?” Tim asked with a little too much energy. His hands made circles on your hips and he was still hard. His hips made little circles. He wasn’t done but hadn’t realized that you had been dosed. A true dose. Not a sharing with partner dose. A true dose was much stronger. The partner dose lasted as long as you kept tasting each other. You were just as fucked as he was.

“No. I need you,” you said before starting your hips again. It wasn’t enough for Tim. He lifted you off of him and bent you over his desk. He didn’t care about the papers flying as he slid in. You circled your hips and pushed back into him. Tim’s hips roughly snapped against yours as he found a rhythm. He could feel that you were insanely wet. His fingers reached down to circle your clit. You moaned his name like a chant. Neither of you lasted very long this time either. Tim felt almost a pleasure pain as his 4th orgasm rolled through his body.

He pulled out and prayed that it was enough for him. But as he looked down to see him cum dripping out of your hole, yeah he wasn’t done. He slid a finger in and your thighs closed tighter and you gasped. He sat down and watched lazily as he finger fucked his cum back into your hole. He added a second finger and you started moaning.

“Oh fuck,” you whined as he slowly rubbed against your g spot. Tim’s cock twitched and he knew he needed to be back inside you soon or he’d be in pain but he was going to enjoy this sight. You were absolutely dripping. He’d always had a thing for you from the first day you started working for him. Tim leaned forward to lick at your pussy. It didn’t take long for his hands to be gripping your thighs as his tongue fucked your hole. You had one knee on the table for better access and you were practically seeing stars when you finally came. Tim’s face was shiny and wet as he wiped his lips with his hand. He stood up and held your bent leg with his hand before sliding in again.

There was a knock on the window of all places. Which is weird as fuck being on the 50th floor of a building. A bag was attached to a robot. Tim whined before pulling out to open the window. He grabbed the bag off the robot and it zoomed away.

“What the fuck,” you asked. Tim was palming himself even as he read the note in the bag. You turned to sit on the table before shameless fingered yourself while watching him. He was full on jerking himself as he walked over to you.

“Take one,” he said downing a vial of grey liquid. You look at it in disgust and shook your head.

“Not a chance. Fuck me instead,” you whined. He groaned and grabbed the table. Okay, new approach.

“Open,” he said, and you eagerly opened your mouth and legs. He poured the liquid down your throat and you grimaced. You grabbed his neck and pulled him back in for a kiss. Tim thrusted in and began moving. You were already close and it wasn’t long before you both finished.

Tim grimaced as he pulled out. He felt like he ran a marathon. But thankfully he was finally done. He rested his forehead against yours and you both panted.

“Fuck,” you said. “That was-“

“Yeah,” he agreed before stepping back. Tim slid his pants up and turned away. He was bright red. “Sorry about that. I accidentally infected you with sex pollen.”

“It’s okay,” you said pulling your skirt down. You grabbed some tissues to try and clean between your legs just a little. Had you really done all of that with your boss of all people?

“No it’s not,” Tim said. His voice sounded pained. “There was no way you could have consented and I took advantage of-“

“No you didn’t. You weren’t in your right mind either,” you said and he turned to look at you. Your shirt was open because of broken buttons but everything else was covered. “And we didn’t do anything I didn’t want to anyways,” you said shyly. Tim stared at you and your heart clenched a little.

“All that? No regrets?” He said shocked.

“I mean, no. Not all that. That was a lot and too much. But you get what I mean,” you said.

“Do I?” He said barely over a whisper sitting in his chair. His thighs were on fire.

“You’re really making me go out on a limb, hu? I like you. I’ve liked you for a while. I wanted to fuck you before the pollen. Do you get what I’m saying,” you said to the genius who was also an idiot.

“Wow. I’ve like you too. I just didn’t want to be a creepy predatory boss. You know?” He said rubbing the back of his neck. You tried to stand up but your legs felt like jello so you sat down.

“So this was the less predatory option,” you said with a smile. He frowned.

“I didn’t mean-“

“I know. But I’m okay if you are,” you said putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Now is when you ask me on a proper date and we act like that never happened.”

“Agreed. But first I insist that we go home,” he said and you raised a brow at him. “Separate, separate homes. Because I don’t know about you but I need to go to bed.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired,” you agreed. “I wonder why,” you muttered wryly. He turned beet red.

“I’ll call you a car,” Tim said before doing just that. It was less than 10 minutes later that a car showed up. How much had that cost? You both went downstairs.

“Look, I’m so sorry-“

“Not tonight. We’ll talk in the morning but it’s okay. Don’t feel bad,” you said holding his shoulder. “Just go to bed and enjoy the,” you said before whispering, “post sex glow you have. It’s cute.”

He nodded stiffly. “The uhh, the car is here for you.”

You smiled and waved before leaving. You’d talk to him about it later.

[liquid-luck-00]

Where There Is Change

Identities

@maribat-bdbwm

First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Once the crashes died down, Alfred returned with a pet carrier and a smug Jason.

"Not to say this revelation isn't important, but in this moment it is not." She spoke as she stood up. "What is urgent now is to return Damian to his original state. Do you know who was the person who caused the transformation?" She looked up at Dick, because of the call she heard he may have been there when it happened.

She specifically looked at Dick, directing her question. He on the other hand opened and closed his mouth, debating on how much he could tell her.

"I don’t know who they were, but I can remember some pieces of their appearance if that helps any." He started to speak. "One was definitely a girl, ashy blonde, brown curly hair and was wearing equestrian riding clothes in browns and white. And I’m sure she had ears and a tail. The other I can’t tell if they were male or female, so they wore dark grey shorts, black stockings, and an orange crop top. Their arms were stained black to their elbows, the most unsettling purple eyes. Ears and nine tails the same orange as their hair."

"So, in other words a horse girl and a human nine tailed fox. Who turned your, our brother, into a black panther cub." She repeated aloud. It’s not that it sounded impossible, the thing is it sounded familiar. Not just vaguely, but headache inducing familiar, unfortunately in more ways than one.

---

*Flash Back*

A silvery blue portal opened and out stepped a human Trixx and Kaalki.

"When did you two leave?" Tikki flew up to greet them.

She wasn’t paying them much attention. She noticed that they changed back and all three went back to the miracle box. Yet she did not think it was important to ask them on their exploits.

*End*

---

She stayed silent, lifting her hand, thumb under her chin, index on her lower lip. She was thinking. She closed her eyes and took a breath.

Trixx.

This was Trixx’s magic. Meaning that it could be reversed, but they would need to be the one to do it.

She opened her eyes. Her voice was level, but her voice held authority. "Trixx." Was all she said.

---

Marinette stood so still he could have confused her for a statue. Then her eyes snapped open, her blue eyes almost glowing.

Then she spoke. Dick couldn’t believe her voice, it was eerily level, but held such authority that he stood straight. "Trixx."

A beat passed and nothing happened. Then she repeated the same word.

"Trixx." This time the smallest sliver of anger or was it disappointment lingered on the word. Although he knows she isn’t talking to him, her disappointment weighs on him.

Then an orange ball of light appeared in the center of their little circle. "I’m sorry. I didn’t think that the angry, stabby, bird vigilante was going to be your brother." It then turned around and saw him. "Oh, you are the blue bird." It flew around his head. "Oh, and this now makes a lot more sense. Did you realize that there was a peacock in this house." The mini little fox flew over to Alfred.

"Yes, I realized that Trixx." Marinette answered. "But you being distracted will not distract me."

"But it’s practically fate." The fox, Trixx, exclaimed while flying circles around Alfred’s head.

"Him not realizing you cursed Damian, is what should be considered luck."

"But birds don’t usually turn on foxes."

"Miss Marinette, how is it you have a kwamii with you?"

"Not just one." The fox piped up before Marinette could open her mouth.

"Trixx."

"Sorry I’ll go back."

"Not until you turn him back."

"But Mariiiiii." The fox pleaded. "Fine." They relented. "It isn’t permanent and will completely fade in 72…60 hours."

"Thank you."

"Miss Marinette, do you have multiple kwamii on your person?" Alfred asked her.

She panned for a moment; Dick assumed she was thinking of her response. "Robin." She pointed at Damian still in the carrier. "Nightwing." She pointed at him. "You fit as Red Hood making you Red Robin." She pointed between Jason and Tim respectively. "That would make you Batman himself." She turned to Bruce. "Am I correct Peacock?" She turned to Alfred.

"You are a ladybug." Alfred answered her, but Dick was just confused with this girl.

"I am also the Guardian, not just a ladybug." She returned.

"Okay, wait." He had had to interject. "You just assumed who we were because of a flying fox, you are calling Alfred a Peacock and he is calling you a ladybug. Respectively what does that mean."

"Was I wrong?" She asked in a deadly calm, tilting her head, the only indication of her confusion.

"You are correct, Ladybug." Alfred confirmed, causing everyone to turn to him wondering if he's lost his mind.

She nodded and then once again with resolution. "He calls me ladybug because I am the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, as he is the designated holder for the Miraculous of the Peacock."

"So how does that play into you figuring us out." Was asked by Tim seemingly awake now.

"That was made by a combination of what Trixx said, my basic knowledge of heroes outside of Paris, and my personal ability to recognize people as akumas." She shrugged.

"That's the second time you've mentioned akuma, Marinette." Her father space up. "You know more than you let on."

She chuckled at this. "Of course, I do. I am Lady Scarlet, the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, and heroine of Paris."

"Shit! She didn't need your help to be a hero B." Jason screamed.

"That alone explains so much more than you believe." Bruce sighed walking out of the room, Tim and Alfred following him, Jay following not soon after.

He would have followed, he was just out of the door, if he didn't stop when she spoke.

"Are you going to behave?" He backtracked a few steps and watched her, he leaned against the door frame, in full view.

She held up a single finger then knocked on the air. Held up two fingers then tapped her index and middle finger to her thumb. It took him a moment to recognize the ASL, but Damian picked up on it quickly.

He meowed once and she went and released in from the carrier. Who then jumped on her bed, watching her. His gaze turned to him, and he blinked slowly, before going back to watch Marinette.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

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[northoftheroad]

Up to date with the trends, if you don’t mind!

As opposed to some people, I'm not of the opinion that Dick Grayson is a fashion disaster. I don't imagine I will convince anyone who loves to portray him as the eternal looser... But the thing with fashion is that a lot of it quickly gets dated. Since artists have drawn Dick in contemporary style for decades, it's bound to happen that some outfits get past their best before date.

If we're to put the blame where it belongs, it has to be Greg Land, who drew Dick in a multicoloured polka dot shirt in Nightwing vol 1 # 2. That's the outfit most people reference when they claim that Dick dresses outlandishly. However, in the 90s, polka dot shirts (and long hair on men) were trendy – which is something that we tend to forget some decades later, when another era of fashion surrounds us.

The original Nightwing suit from 1984 also gets a fair amount of flak. Certain artists, like Jim Aparo, drew the collar ridiculously high, unlike how it looked with George Pérez’ art. But on the whole, it's not in a completely different style from other superhero suits that were introduced in the 70s and 80s. High collars and deep v-necks were popular. 

Tales of the Teen Titans # 44, Batman vol 1 # 441.

Tyroc (1976); Black Lightning (1977); Dazzler (1980); Jericho (1984).

Gladiator (1977), Black Cat (1979), Atari Force (1982), Mockingbird (1980), Booster Gold (1986).

Fashion at the time was about crossovers and breaking rules, and using fabrics such as rubber and vinyl. And disco...  Here are some pictures from the 70s and 80s, to remind ourselves what it looked like at the time.

I guess some people might point the finger at the original Robin suit, too? But, seriously, it's a 1940s child superhero costume, designed at a time when the printing process favoured bright primary colours. (Besides, in a fair number of versions, Bruce is the one who designed the Robin suit. Now, if we want to talk ridiculous – take a look at Bob Kane's original sketch of the Bat-Man.)

Without further ado. Let's have a look at some of Dick's outfits over the years, and see what was considered stylish at the time, shall we. 

Dick in civilan garbs in the 1940s and 1950s. The boy's fashion at the time included knitted pullovers and sweaters which were also worn over shirt and tie. Bright solid or patterned sportcoats were worn with dress-shirt and necktie or bowtie. (Knickers, that is short trousers, were, by the way, children's fashion in the 1940s.)

Pictures are fashion illustrations from the 40s and 50s and from Batman # 13 (1942). Star Spangled Comics # 65 (1947), # 75 (1947), # 98 (1949), # 111 (1950).

College teenager Dick in the 1970s dressed in sweaters, vests, long collared shirts. His hair was side-parted. And, you guessed it – vests, long collared shirts and turtleneck sweaters were essential fashion items of the 1970s. Dick-pics from: Batman # 248 (1973). Batman Family # 8 (1976). Detective Comics # 483 (1979). Detective Comics  # 495 (1980).

Dick in a green three piece suit in New Teen Titans Vol 1 # 26 (1982). Picture in Sears Fashion Catalogue 1981. 1980s vintage tweed suit.

Leather jacket, t-shirts and sweaters and jeans were trendy in the 1980s. In Tales of the teen titans 43 (1984), Dick wears jeans and an expensive leather jacket.

"That" outfit in Nightwing vol 1 # 2 (1995). "Seinfeld" from 1991.

Overalls were huge in the 1990s, even when you weren't custom building your own car. Nightwing vol 2 # 16 (1998), and fashion photos from the 1990s.  

In the early 2000s, casual clothing was a big trend. Rugby shirts was a common look, and the leather jacket was still popular. Batman: Gotham Knights # 21 (2001), # 45 (2003), Nightwing vol 2 # 49 (2000), #77 (2003), # 80 (2003).

In the mid-2000s, some trendy things were: Casual, fitted shirt. Casual blazer. Cardigan. V-neck t-shirt. Trucker hat. Tank top. Nightwing vol 2 # 133 (2007), # 141 and # 144 (2008). Fashion photos from 2008, design Diesel, Tony Melillo.

In The New 52 and Rebirth, Dick has mostly dressed casually (unless it's for a funeral, of course). Jeans, t-shirts, shirt without tie, sweaters, hoodie, parka, blazer or leather jacket. Often layer on layer - sweater over shirt, shirt on top of t-shirt...  The 2010s wasn't long ago, and it's not easy to sort through fashion shows and micro-trends and see a bigger picture just yet... But a few of the things that were trendy at least at some time during the 2010s were: the colour grey; one-button suits and blazers; striped sweater; checkered shirt; fitted leather jackets; parka; pastel colours; angular v-neck.  

Nightwing vol 3 # 5 (2012), # 6 (2012), # 10 (2012), # 17 (2013),  # 27 (2014). Nightwing vol 4 # 10 (2017), # 15 (2017). Assorted fashion photos from 2012–2017.  

Today it's 2020, and when it comes to men's hairstyles, crew cut is popular. Nightwing vol 4 # 63, and photo from TheTrendSpotter's post 40 Best Short Hairstyles for Men in 2020.

And hey, superhero apparel were on the catwalk in the 2010s, too. How more fashion forward can Dick Grayson become...? Misel Saban, June 27, 2014 (Batman) and Sarah Dos Santos, December 16, 2013 (Superman); Kyle Towers, February 2, 2013 (Spiderman).

However, I don't see Dick (written) as interested in keeping up with the fashion. But he did live his first years in a small trailer. And since then, he's been accustomed to a life where you never know when your home is going to be obliterated, or your foster father will kick you out. Or when you have to rush away to follow a lead in another city or save the world somewhere. Or the next time you'll be shot and forget that you have a flat to live in... He’s bound to have learned not to have an excessive amount of clothes. 

When he does need to buy something, because his last outfit went up in smoke or something, he'll simply pick from what's in the front inside the shops. Hence, he'll often be dressed up-to-date. New Titans # 76, New Titans # 86, Nightwing vol 2 # 89, Nightwing vol 2 # 20, Nigtwing vol 3 # 19, Nightwing vol 4 # 50 , Robin Year One # 3.

Top pictures from: Batman # 237 (1971), New Teen Titans # 16 (1982), Nightwing vol 2 # 129 (2007), Nightwing vol 4 # 10 (2016).