#I love all the fic about Dick confronting his issues with Bruce I want to see it from the other side

[lemonandpie]

Bruce gets fear gassed and it starts off as the same old shit. Jason's lifeless body. Tim turning into a husk of a person. All the ways he's failed Damian.

Then it turns into Dick. Bruce expects the usual things that keep him up at night, long spiels about how being Robin ruined Dick's life. But instead Dick just stands there. Hands at his sides. Asks the question Bruce never wants asked:

"Why do you hate me?"

#Bruce resenting Dick because knowing how much he's hurt Dick is tearing him apart #He's buried the punch so deeply inside him that half the time he doesn't remember it but he knows Dick makes him feel sick #and he is repelled by it #I love all the fic about Dick confronting his issues with Bruce I want to see it from the other side #Want Bruce to come back to himself with his hands around Dick's throat while Dick tells him it's alright. He's safe now #Wet mournful sobs as he confronts his own monstrosity while Dick just holds him on a Gotham rooftop #Plot Bunny Corner #Bruce Wayne #Dick Grayson

[sohotthateveryonedied]

Hiii!! I really love your tumblr posts and I'm pretty new to the Batfam (meaning I have only read fics and textposts about them, no comics) and I wanted to ask about the year Bruce/Batman gets "lost in time". I know general things of what the kids have been doing–Dick became batman and fired Tim from robin, giving it to Damian, everyone thinking Tim was crazy for believing Bruce was alive, (don't really know what Jason was up to though, was he still murderous towards Tim? Does the pit still affect him? Also I have no idea about Cass and Duke, were they introduced at this point??) Anyways, my real question was why was Bruce lost in time, what villain put him there? And how did he get out? And how long was he "dead"? Was Bruce in another reality or like just asleep the whole time? Oh! And how soon did this happen after Damian got introduced to the family–a couple months?

I'm so sorry this is so long, but I hope you answer and thank you!!

(I’m going to try and cover all my bases here by going into how exactly Bruce “died,” what went down during the Battle For the Cowl, what the Batkids did while Bruce was gone, and how Bruce came back. Hopefully it all makes sense?? We’ll see how it goes lmao.)

Part 1 - What Happened to Bruce:

So there was this event called Final Crisis (which I won’t go completely into since it would make this post a million times longer than it already is), but the bottom line is that Darkseid wants to overthrow reality and release his Anti-Life Equation, which would overthrow the whole planet and turn everyone into slaves. (If you’re interested in knowing more about the storyline, here’s a Reddit thread that explains it WAY better than I could.) 

What I CAN tell you is that during his final confrontation with Darkseid, Bruce is hit by an Omega Beam and turned into a burnt chicken nugget killed. Poor guy.

Final Crisis #6

Clark and Diana bring the body back to the Batcave and break the news to the Batfamily. Batman #687 covers a good portion of the aftermath such as Bruce’s funeral, the Batfamily grieving, and Dick coming to terms with his new responsibility of becoming Batman.

Batman #687

Part 2 - Battle For the Cowl: 

Musical chairs time, fellas! After word gets out that Batman is gone, Gotham erupts into chaos. Dick doesn’t want to take over the mantle, Tim needs Dick to take over the mantle, and Jason says “fuck it” and takes over the mantle himself because somebody around here has to. He becomes this murderous psychopathic Batman and starts taking out criminals with deadly force because someone’s gotta do the job, so it might as well be him.

Batman: Battle For the Cowl #1

(Okay honestly, this series had some pretty bad characterization overall, which sucks since it’s such an important storyline. Jason is portrayed as this violent psychopath, which...okay, he was kind of insane after the Pit and all, but not to this degree. Personally, I choose to owe the bad characterization to Bruce’s death because as much as Jason resents Bruce for all he’s done, he does still love him and losing him would be devastating, which would exacerbate his already fragile mental health. As for Damian, this happens roughly three years after his first appearance, so we can assume it’s been a few months since he first joined the family. He’s still relatively new at this point, so nobody knows how to write him yet. He ends up being depicted as if his main two personality traits are Bratty and Assassin-Child and that’s it. It’s all just a mess.)

Anyway, Tim tells Dick to become Batman and stop Jason’s reign of terror. Dick says no, so Tim follows Jason’s lead by saying “fuck it” and putting on the cowl himself. He goes to confront Jason, which ends in Jason beating the crap out of him (again) and leaving him for dead after Tim declines his offer to become Jason’s Robin. Dick goes to save Tim and ends up fighting Jason. 

Battle For the Cowl #3

Dick wins, Jason disappears, Tim is fine, and Dick finally gets his head out of his ass and becomes Batman. 

Part 3 - What Happens to Each Batkid While Bruce is “Dead”?:

Dick: 

As I said, Dick becomes the new Batman a month after Bruce’s death. He’s got big shoes to fill, and it takes some time for him to get used to his new role. He and Damian end up flipping around the classic Batman and Robin dynamic, with Batman now as the fun counterpart to Robin’s edginess. Dick, Damian, and Alfred relocate to the penthouse above the Wayne Foundation building, operating out of a secret Bat-Bunker in the basement.

Batman #688

Jason: 

After Battle For the Cowl, Jason is still batshit insane and determined to make Dick’s already stressful life even harder by becoming a supervillain with an ugly costume and an even uglier hairstyle. (I know it’s just because the artist sucked, but still. Jason is horrifying to look at during this time.) He mostly just gets on Dick’s nerves by running around Gotham with his new sidekick Scarlet and killing criminals as Batman and Robin wannabes. Eventually, Dick has Jason committed to Arkham Asylum and he hangs out there until Bruce returns.

Batman and Robin (2009) #5

Tim: 

Tim...doesn’t do great after Bruce’s death, mentally. Dick makes Damian Robin, his reasoning being that Robin is more of a sidekick and he sees Tim as his equal. By making Damian Robin, Dick hopes that it will give him the stability he needs to keep him from straying back toward the “bad” side. (It’s the right move ultimately, although his execution was pretty messed up since he didn’t discuss it with Tim beforehand, but he’s allowed to make mistakes. Dick’s father just died and now he’s in charge of picking up the pieces of their broken family. It’s a lot to handle.) 

Long story short, Tim has a breakdown, realizes that Bruce is alive, dons the Red Robin identity, and cuts ties with his family to travel the world in search of proof. It’s a rough time. 

Red Robin #1

Damian: 

Our little guy becomes Robin! So proud of him! As I explained earlier, Dick makes Damian his Robin with the assumption that it will keep him out of trouble, and he’s right on that account. He mentors Damian, teaching him how to channel his violent instincts into something productive, and it works! Slowly but surely, Damian makes the transition from bratty assassin to actual hero!

Batman and Robin (2009) #22

Cass:

Duke sadly was not introduced at this point in time, so he missed out on all the pandemonium. Cass, however, has been Batgirl for years by now, but she got kind of pushed aside by the writers after Bruce’s death. Bruce disappears shortly after adopting Cass, but once he was “dead,” the writers sort of moved Cass around for a while, not quite knowing what to do with her. First she was with the Outsiders. Then they got disbanded and Cass tried forming a new network of heroes to take over for Batman if needed. Then she helped out in said network during Battle for the Cowl, taking care of a newly ravaged Gotham. Then Cass gave the Batgirl mantle to Stephanie Brown after she became disillusioned with the role, thanks to the loss of her father and mentor. Then Cass picked up and moved to Hong Kong to “follow Bruce’s plans” by continuing whatever work he had set up for her there. It was all very vague and confusing, and Cass more or less got swept under the rug during this time. Thanks, writers.

Batgirl (2009) #1

Part 4 - How Bruce Came Back: 

When the Blackest Night storyline happens, the Justice League realizes that the corpse buried under Bruce’s grave is apparently not the real one and that he’s actually alive out there somewhere! How wild is that! This is further proven by Dick after he places Bruce’s body in a Lazarus Pit to revive, which has the same result because it’s very clearly Not Bruce and they should have listened to Tim from the start.

Batman and Robin (2009) #9

Anyway, what actually happened is that the Omega Beams that Darkseid shot at Bruce didn’t kill him, but rather blasted him back through time to the prehistoric era with his memories wiped. The Omega Energy inside of Bruce ends up catapulting him through various time periods, which is all part of Darkseid’s plan. With each time-hop, Bruce builds up more Omega Energy in his body which, when he gets back to his original time period, will be unleashed and destroy everything.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5

It’s been a little under two years since Final Crisis, though in-universe it’s uncertain exactly how long Bruce has been “dead.” We can assume it’s been a year, give or take. The way he comes back is too scientific and complicated for me to understand, so uhhhh the bottom line is that Tim and a few Leaguers save Bruce at the Vanishing Point and the day is saved! Hooray! 

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6

(If you want to read about how it actually goes down, then I seriously recommend reading Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. It’s only six issues, so it’s a quick read and it explains the situation far better than I ever could.)

Bruce eventually reunites with his family after spying on them for a period of time as Insider to see what has changed in his absence:

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

After that, things quickly settle back into their new normal. Dick and Damian stay on as Batman and Robin. Bruce goes back to being Batman as well, with him handling Batman Incorporated business and Dick continuing as Gotham’s defender. Tim keeps the Red Robin outfit, Steph stays on as Batgirl, and Cass becomes Black Bat. Jason stays in Arkham for a while before filing an appeal to be moved to a regular prison. He kills 82 inmates in less than a week and gets transferred back to Arkham, which he promptly escapes from. It’s a ride, I tell ya.

Aaaaand that’s about it! I hope this answered all of your questions!

#lay it on me papa bob #batman #bruce wayne #batfamily #batfam #dick grayson #nightwing #damian wayne #robin #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #red robin #idiot duckboy #cassandra cain #black bat #batgirl #stephanie brown #alfred pennyworth #darkseid #final crisis #battle for the cowl #dc comics #batman and robin #soho reads comics #get your comic references kids

[ao3feed-jaytim]

Worry

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/36204634

by Cant_Smoke_Eggs

When Titans Tower goes dark and Tim's not responding, of course Bruce and Dick are going to go into panic mode, after all the last Robin that went radio silent... Well, they don't want that again do they?

Meanwhile, Jason's broken into the tower, confronted his Replacement, relayed his practiced monologue and- oh, maybe the kid isn't too bad after all? How else would he explain how he'd gone from murderous rage to sipping tea with the guy and bitching about Dick's fashion choices?

AKA JayTim first meeting, flirting and lots of coffee.

// Day Four of 365 days of One-word-Prompt Fics (and my eternal suffering)

Words: 2642, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 4 of 365 of One Word Prompts (and my Suffering)

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Teen Titans - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Batman (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon

Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson

Additional Tags: Honestly just JayTim flirting nothing further, and it's their first meeting so they're not brothers, Canon Divergence - Jason Todd's Attack on Titans Tower, Lazarus Pit Side Effects (DCU), Jason Todd is Red Hood, Tim Drake is Robin, Tim Drake Has Issues, Coffee Lover Tim Drake, An actual coffee gremlin, I don't like coffee so I project my love of tea onto Jason, Flirting, Resurrected Jason Todd, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Titans Tower au, me pretending i actually read that volume and not just the wiki page, and a shit ton of fanfic under the tag, thanks envy i want my life back lmao, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Sassy Tim Drake, I am lowkey inspired to do Skunk!Jason and Racoon!Tim now?, Crack Treated Seriously, Is this crack idk?, I take it as crack, who knows tho, Tim Drake has the survival Instincts of a Wet Towel, 365 Days of Suffering: The Series, my new favourite tag lmao, this is a mess just like me, Dick Grayson Misses Jason Todd, thats a tag???, i love it shit, Paranoid Bruce Wayne, He's totally more cautious than Dick, Tim Drake Has a Crush, Barbara Gordon is Oracle

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/36204634

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #jaytim #batman (comics) #dcu

[nightwingmyboi]

Dick Grayson and Temper

For whatever reason, Dick’s temper has become one of the main traits that people focus on when looking at Dick’s character. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since he does have quite the temper, but since it has become one of those essential aspects of his personality for a lot of people, I just wanted to clarify a few things I think get misconstrued? 

Certain people take Dick having a temper and equate it with him having anger issues or thin skin. It’s bled into art, text posts, fics...where Dick is described/shown essentially as a petty asshole, someone who has a tendency to overreact and lash out at family and friends, someone who is whiny and always complaining (@bigskydreaming​ goes a little more into this perception here). I don’t think this is a fair interpretation of Dick’s character at all. There are two main things I feel like people need to keep in mind when thinking about Dick’s temper. 

1.) Dick’s infamous temper is, 9 times out of 10, directed at criminals. 

Nightwing (1996) #65

When Dick mentions struggling with his temper, he is almost always talking about the anger he feels towards criminals, not loved ones. When he sees people hurt or in danger, especially those closest to him, he gets pissed and can go too far. He often gets angry in defense of his family and those he protects. 

Titans Vol. 2 #29

Batman and Robin #12

In fact, one of the biggest examples of his temper is him beating the Joker to death, as a result of the Joker killing Jason and Tim. Like many heroes, Dick struggles with not crossing the line when faced with crime; this doesn’t mean that he is the same way with those he loves. 

2.) In most circumstances, Dick has demonstrated excellent control of his anger. So, Dick may have a bad temper...but it usually doesn’t make an appearance unless he is under an immense amount of pressure (and sometimes not even then). 

Injustice Gods Among Us #16

Dick’s not a doormat and he can be confrontational if that’s what is needed to get the job done, but he is also known for keeping a cool head under immense pressure and stress. He’s known in the superhero community for resolving conflict and has often been called “the glue” that keeps various teams together. That wouldn’t mesh with the idea that he is constantly losing his temper. In fact, his middle name might as well be de-escalation, because that’s pretty consistently what he does. Look at how he acts in various arguments: 

Example #1: While Nightwing is off-world with the Titans, Jason dies. Likely struggling with grief, Bruce doesn’t attempt to contact Dick while he is off world or when he returns. Dick is left to find out through a teammate, Danny Chase. Despite being left in the dark, Dick still goes to the cave to try to support Bruce. He puts his feelings to the side, and doesn’t even bring up the fact that he was hurt by Bruce’s exclusion. Unfortunately, the conversation derails regardless, and Bruce ends up hitting Dick and telling him that it was a mistake to invite Dick into his life. 

The New Teen Titans #55

Look at how Dick reacts. Even when Batman hits him and yells extremely harsh things at him, he doesn’t lash out in turn or yell back. He keeps calm and continues to talk to Batman; he likely understands that this is a product of Bruce’s grief and as a result allows his feelings/hurts to go unaddressed. 

Example #2 (inspired by @hood-ex​ post here): Garth loses his temper when he learns that the Titans won’t help him with a problem he’s having. When Robin tries to stop the fight, Garth punches him. 

Teen Titans (1966) #28

After he takes the hit, Dick continues to try to keep people from fighting, and in the end, Dick once again puts his bruised feelings to the side and doesn’t say a word of complaint to keep team unity. He still goes and helps Garth with his problem. 

Example #3: After Donna’s death, Dick was devastated. He spiraled into depression. In the aftermath, he was stricter and quicker to anger than he would normally be. Even his leadership of the Outsiders was effected, and as a result, Anissa, Black Lightning’s daughter, was seriously hurt. Black Lightning is not pleased; he slams Nightwing against a wall and yells at him. 

Outsiders (2003) #16

Even when Dick is emotionally compromised and short tempered, he still isn’t looking for a fight. He doesn’t retaliate when Black Lightning slams him against the wall, and he doesn’t interrupt when Pierce tears into him (for a whole page of the comic). It’s not like Pierce goes easy with his criticism; yet, Dick remains stoic and takes it. He doesn’t say a word of complaint or defense, and he doesn’t lash out. He keeps his temper under control. (Just an fyi for those wondering, but this is definitely one of those times Dick deserved a harsh talking to, lmao, support you Black Lightning!!)

Example #4: The Batfam is fighting a villain known as Mother, who is known for brainwashing people. Anyone could be in her control, so when Tim is acting suspiciously, Dick decides to investigate to ensure that Tim is not a double agent. Dick finds out that Tim secretly kept his family in a hidden location to protect them, and unintentionally brings trouble to their door. On the flip side, Tim gets angry at Dick for sneaking around behind his back and putting his family in danger. Though Dick tries to explain his actions, Tim won’t hear it and instead throws a punch. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #5

Even when Tim punches him out of the blue, ironically because he can’t control his temper, Dick just takes the hit and lets him walk away. He doesn’t ever push Tim for an apology, and Tim never gives one. The rest of the series, people give Dick crap for betraying Tim’s trust, and despite Dick’s reasonable concerns being the impetus for his actions, Dick accepts the other’s criticism without complaint. 

Examples #5-57: Just think of all the times that Damian insulted Dick and told him he couldn’t cut it and generally was acting like a little shit, when Dick was struggling with Batman’s death and with taking on the cowl and with running Bruce’s life, and Dick still never gave up on Damian and gave him Robin. Very patient, very thick skin. 

And I could add even more moments! I don’t mean to go overboard, but the idea is that, over pretty much his entire history, from Robin to Nightwing to Batman and back, there are more times that Dick puts his feelings to the side and lets people yell at him (and basically physically assault him RIP) for the greater good, then times he flies off the handle and loses his temper, especially when compared to other characters in the Batfam. Seeing people say that Dick is secretly an angry asshole when pushed a little or is always blowing things out of proportion and being whiny is just annoying, especially when Dick canonically has worked very hard to keep his cool and mediate in various tense situations, even when he has reason to get offended and retaliate. 

And this isn’t me saying that Dick can’t lash out, cause duh he’s a human being and he’s not perfect. He does have a temper and sometimes can say harsh things to those he loves. But, he doesn’t usually lose his cool, and when he does it is usually a surprise. The rarity of Nightwing giving into his temper is part of the reason it is so impactful when he does fly off the handle. 

A lot of the panels you see floating around about Dick’s temper are 1) from times he was brainwashed or mentally influenced (Dick yelling at Donna, Alfred, and Joey are all from a single time when he was brainwashed by Brotherblood for example), 2) from times he was in great emotional/mental distress from the deaths of those close to him, or 3) examples of times that Dick is standing up for himself, that I don’t really see as him having a temper? And a lot of those fights/arguments that are shown are not as one sided as tumblr makes them seem, lmao. Either way, most of these times aren’t really representative of his normal behavior or attitude.

In conclusion, Dick isn’t some petty jerk with anger management issues; he’s a human being, who sometimes gets angry and upset like every other human being in the world. He has a temper, but I don’t feel like it should define him in the way and to the extent that it currently does. 

P.S. This isn’t me trying to excuse the times that Dick has been nasty and let his temper run away from him, obviously. Like I said, he’s human and he’s made mistakes. But he doesn’t lash out normally or often. I’m just trying to put things in perspective. 

#batman is prob the only one who can really make him lose it #and bruce kind of deserves a little talk back in my opinion lmao #plus his temper has literally vanished into thin air #in these rebirth comics #so for people to be making it so integral #is just trying to make Dick out to be a jerk lmao #nightwing #dick grayson #bruce wayne #batman #tim drake #red robin #teen titans #outsiders #temper #dick grayson temper #character analysis #meta

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

Worthy of Everything (Part 3) - fic

Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne Summary: “I’ve got you, Damian. Now let’s get you home.” A/N: Location is based on that page in TEC 1029 where they show Damian reading the casebook. Also, can’t tell if Damian’s new uni is black or gray based on the three issues it’s been fully seen in so...have fun with my vague guess haha. Dick sends a picture of Damian sleeping with his pets to only Barbara, the only one that I can see in canon who has given a shit about Damian and his emotional state in the last year, to confirm that he actually found him. Damian still spends a lot of his time apologizing for things that aren’t actually his fault and it breaks Dick’s heart, but he helps as best he can. Purposeful parallels to part one huzzah!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

~~

It was an old observation tower, in the historic district. Disused since the 80s, but not run down. Still owned by the city, if he was remembering correctly, and still got annual inspections, just in case it was ever needed to be reopened.

So the building was stable, just empty. And could see all of Gotham City.

Of course Damian would come here. It was so obvious. They touted that they were the family of the world’s greatest detectives, and it didn’t occur to a single one of them. Didn’t occur to Bruce.

They should all be ashamed.

Dick took a deep inhale, ignored the butterflies in his stomach, and the tears already threatening to mist over his vision.

God, he missed this kid. He missed his kid.

The threat of tears was the joy he wanted to feel, the joy he knew was coming. How long did he have that stupid amnesia? How long was he gone? Too long, no matter the actual number.

The butterflies were the fact that he knew Damian. Knew what he heard on that phone call. Knew Damian was a feral cat on a good day, always ready to run, always halfway gone even if he was standing there.

It’d been a few days since they talked, what if Damian changed his mind? What if he already ran? Dick could be walking into an empty building, abandoned again, and he honestly didn’t know if he could take that. Didn’t know if he could take losing Damian again.

To death, to amnesia, to Bruce – how many times has he lost Damian already? How many times could his boy be ripped from his fingers?

He swallowed the lump in his throat and moved forward.

Damian would be here. He had to be.

He walked up to the door, locked by a numbered keypad, and saw that it was propped open. That was a good sign.

He stepped inside, and stood there for a moment, listening. There was nothing, not even the skittering of rodents. No footsteps. No hints of life at all. That was a bad sign.

The stairs were off in the corner and Dick practically ran to them, taking them two at a time. He huffed as he reached the landing, looking both ways down the expanse of the hallway that curved in front of him. There were doors along the outer walls, ones that clearly went to the rooms that could see out to the city. A few doors on the inner walls, probably closets and bathrooms and the like.

That was fine. He’d search every one if he had to.

So he started with the one closest to him.

But the butterflies turned into moths as he walked, as he checked more rooms that ended up empty. More rooms that had no hints that anyone had been there. No beds or clothes or food wrappers.

Turned into birds as he got halfway around the circle, with sharp beaks and talons, ripping at his insides. He’s not here, his mind began to supply giddily. He’s already gone. Doesn’t trust you like he doesn’t trust Bruce.

No, he tried to fight back. He’s here. He knows I would never-

As he caught first sight of the stairs ahead, stomach dropping knowing he’d done a full lap, he heard a door close. A heavy door, like one to the outside.

He ran, believing it to be the door he’d come in, that Damian had just left. But as he reached the landing that overlooked the lobby, he saw the door was still propped open. He glanced to another set of steps nearby. Smaller ones, that went to a rooftop entrance. He was going to check there last.

“Damian?” He finally called. He’d waited on that, in case there were other squatters here, other villains. But now that there was a sign of life, a sign someone was here, he couldn’t hold back.

No answer.

It must have been him going on the roof, Dick decided, so he rushed to the smaller stairs, and took them just as quickly as he’d taken the first set. As he reached the door, he slammed into it, throwing it open.

But…there was nothing.

Again, no signs that anyone had been up here. But almost worse than that, no signs of someone leaving either. There was no claws of a grapple hooked to the roof. No tied off rope. Not even any potential scorch or tire marks from a potential vehicle, or hookup for a glider.

So…was it Damian coming back in?

He’d never left the doorway, so immediately just twirled back around on his toes.

There.

A door on the inner ring, one of the closets that he’d already checked, was open just a crack, but that was all Dick needed. Because he could see the dim light of the hall bouncing off a pair of eyes, the shadow of a face under a hood.

And just like the phone call: “I know you’re there, kiddo.” He smiled as he started back down the stairs, slower this time. “I can see you.”

Damian blinked, and seemed to almost shrink back, just a little.

“I’m not leaving.” Dick promised. “And if you run, I’m chasing you.”

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the door opened just a little, like it was a twitch, or a hesitation, before pulling open completely.

Damian stood there, in an unrecognizable uniform. All dark grays and blacks, save for an almost white chest plate and silver boots.

But Dick didn’t care about that. He cared more about how tall Damian was now, and how he’d missed that growth. How Damian looked a little thinner than he remembered, and there were the starts of dark bags under his eyes.

“…You came?” Damian asked quietly, stepping forward.

“Of course I did.” Dick laughed. Those joyful tears were beginning to form in his eyes now. “You doubted me?”

He wasn’t hurt by the idea, and frankly didn’t blame Damian if he thought so anyway. He’d been hurt by so many people who claimed to love him before, Bruce and Talia number one on that list, why would Dick be any different?

“No.” Damian said simply. “I just…hoped you’d change your mind.”

Dick blinked, stepped forward. His heart broke as Damian took an immediate step back, but not towards the closet. Towards the steps to the outside.

“You shouldn’t see me like this. Shouldn’t want to see me like this.” Damian murmured, dropping his gaze. “Not after what I’ve done.”

“And what did you do?” Dick asked, already knowing. Bruce had told him. The prison under Mercy Hall. Potentially killing Brother Blood. None of it mattered to him.

That wasn’t what Damian confessed to, though.

“I killed Alfred. It was my fault.” Damian said, like it was an actual fact. And Dick instantly wondered how many times he’d been told that, that he believed it. Who told him that, that he believed it.

How many times Bruce told him that, that he believed it?

“No, kiddo. You didn’t.” Dick tried softly. “Bane did, and I know you had to watch. I’m so sorry that those bastards made you watch, but there was nothing you could have done.”

But Damian was shaking his head. “I didn’t try to help you.” He continued. “When…when you rejected us after you woke up, I…I guess I rejected you.”

“Convinced yourself I was gone, so it would hurt less. I get that.” Dick nodded. “I don’t blame you for that. I would have done the same thing. Hell, I did. Or do you forget that after you died, I left the country and pretended to be a spy, instead of confront the fact that you weren’t here and our family was in shambles?”

“I never visited, I never checked in. Even Father did that, in his roundabout way.” Damian sighed, but glanced up. His eyes looked so old. So tired. “I never came after you.”

“So?”

“So why did you come after me?” Damian almost sounded like he was begging, hands laid out in front of him. “Why did you waste your time?”

Dick blinked, then smiled. “Because I love you.”

Damian’s hands instantly balled into fists. “Well, you shouldn’t.”

“And like I told you before, you don’t get to tell me that I can’t.” He took a step forward, and was happily surprised when Damian didn’t step back. “And honestly? At this point, I’m going to love you out of spite. Just to annoy you. Just to be an asshole.”

He took another step forward, and they were only feet apart now. Damian just stared up at him.

“…I don’t deserve it.” Damian whispered. “Not after what I’ve done. I don’t deserve you.”

Dick took another step forward, and now they were chest to chest. Just like he was with Bruce in the kitchen. Only now there was no anger. There was only relief.

“Opposite, actually.” Dick grinned. Damian just stared up at him in wonder. “None of us ever deserved you, Damian.”

Damian blinked, and his eyes were instantly watery, his lip trembling against his will.

“…Grayson?” He breathed. And that was all Dick needed. He reached out and enveloped Damian into his arms. Held him as close and as tightly as physics would allow. Laughed when his tears fell onto Damian’s hood.

“I’m here, kiddo.” He murmured, holding the back of his head as Damian slowly returned the embrace. Squeezed as hard as he could. “I found you.”

Damian nodded, dug his nails into Dick’s back. “Thank you.”

“Titus and your cat are at my apartment waiting for you. So are a warm bed and a hot meal. Probably haven’t seen either of those in a while have you?” Dick asked softly.

“Too busy.” Damian admitted. And that’s why Dick never saw the remnants of food, or a bed. Because he didn’t sleep, didn’t eat. Focused too hard on work that wasn’t his. Just like his goddamn father.

Well, that was going to change.

“Well, not anymore you’re not.” Dick decided. He waited a moment, let them stand in silence for a second, then tightened his grip on Damian’s shoulders, buried his face against his hood. “I’m so glad I found you, kiddo.”

Damian didn’t argue this time. Just locked his hands together behind Dick’s back and repeated, “Thank you.” Another moment, and suddenly Damian tried to lean away. “…Father?”

But Dick didn’t let him. Refused to let go, refused to give Damian even an inch. “Not if you don’t want to.” Dick swore against his head. “We won’t see anyone else, not if you don’t want to.”

And that seemed to be it. Seemed to be the final bit of assurance for Damian to finally accept what was happening, whose arms he was engulfed in. He all but slumped into Dick’s hold then, and let himself cry. Let himself sob like he did on the phone.

Dick only smiled.

“I’ve got you, Damian.” Dick promised. “Now, let’s get you home.” A second, then an amendment. “Let’s get you to our home.”

Dick gathered Damian up in his arms, laughed when Damian grumbled about being carried, relished the feeling of holding his little brother again, of knowing he was never letting go, never losing him again, not this time – and they did.

#dick grayson #Damian Wayne

[primeemeraldheiress]

Can you please recommend some recent good Jason fics? I'm kinda still falling in the fandom, but already finished all the most recommended stuff like Not so outlaw or Retrograde motion

I can give you a few recent bookmarks of mine and I’ll give you a few of my favorites. I assume you know what I write so I’m not gonna warn for the possible types of fics you’re gonna find here. 

Runneth Over and All That Jazz - thenafics

If it weren’t for his chest, Jason would be nearly impossible to recognize as an omega. He’s taller and more muscular than most omegas so with his deep voice, no one would ever guess. If it weren’t for his body’s absolute betrayal. Jason, like pretty much all adult omegas, produces milk. It’s meant to help reinforce pack bonds and keep pups adopted into a pack fed. That’s not the problem, that part of it is manageable with absorbent pads in shirts and semi-regular use of a breast pump. It sucks, but it’s not the problem. The problem is that Jason’s pack bonds are weak, so his body will let down and start producing milk on a hair trigger. He’s peak fertile age and tangentially part of a mostly alpha pack, but not bonded well enough to balance his hormones, so his body has decided to try and tempt his pack into bonds with milk.Is it working?-The finished version of my most asked after WIP from evil author day-

Rescue Night - strikeyourcolors

(AU) Jason is trying to make a food delivery when he stumbles across a hostage situation. The captors claim he’s Nightwing, the guy claims he’s just a stripper, and Jason just wants to go home. Unfortunately, it seems he’s going to have to launch a rescue operation. The night just keeps going downhill.

like falling apples - wajjs

If Gotham’s a force of nature, so much akin to gravity itself, then he is the very apple succumbing to its rules and desires.

Daddy Bats and Mother Hen - River9Noble

Jason Todd is back from the dead and pissed as all hell that Bruce hasn’t killed the Joker. Red Hood wants nothing more than to turn his back on the entire Batfamily - but instead, every time he turns around, they’re watching him. He just wants to be left alone… but that chicken noodle soup does taste delicious.

Keeping Secrets From Yourself - WithTheKeyIsKing

Looking back, the signs are all there. But they never noticed it about themselves.

They never noticed how Bruce did.

No Place In Heaven - DarcySkat

Martha and Thomas talk to Bruce about his son.

Bruce thinks it’s Damian.

Lightweight - taugex (I love this story)

Bruce returns to his office after back to back meetings to find his good brandy opened and his sidekick drunk.

Blanket, I rec anything by Skalidra, firefright, scandalsavage, WithTheKeyIsKing, daemoninwhite, WorkingChemistry, lurkinglurkerwholurks, and Ellegrine. I’m going to stop there because, frankly, there are a lot of authors I’d blanket rec. 

Requiem - scandalsavage

He blinks as his brain takes it’s sweet fucking time processing what his eyes are seeing.

“So you’re me, huh?” the kid says, rocking back and forth from his heels to his toes like he can’t sit still for three god damn seconds.

“That’s pretty cool. You’re huge.”

Jason hates him. He hates those stupid fucking curls. He hates that stupid bubbly energy. He hates that fucking earnestness, that eagerness to please. He hates that goddamn costume.

He hates the way the kid clings to Bruce’s shadow.

He despises that hand Bruce has on his shoulder.

The poisoned apple (far from the tree) - inanhourofdreaming

“I mean, your first mother wasn’t…fuck, how do I say this?” Tim pauses to breathe. “You’ve never met your mother, Jason. Her name was Ophelia Frump.”

Where Jason has blood family after all, but they’re a little, well…weird.

The legends and the myths - Syngaly

Jason Todd is the best liar Bruce’s ever met.

Jason Todd is the worst liar Bruce’s ever met.

It’s a problem.

Unspoken Rule - YukinaZero

In an alternate universe where Jason Todd finishes his training with the League of Assassins and simply returns home, Damian asks him why he has never confronted Bruce on the matters surrounding his death.

Or: Jason and Daimion have a heart to heart, and I fail miserably in an attempt to write angst.

You’re Alone ‘til You’re Not Alone - WorkingChemistry

Dick has moved to Bludhaven to get away from Bruce and is doing his best to establish himself as Nightwing. It’s going well, but it would probably go better if he didn’t come running every time Bruce calls.

This time Bruce needs him on babysitting duty, and it’s not just for Gotham. Bruce has League work, Jason can’t leave the state, and Alfred’s on vacation so that leaves Dick to pick up the slack once again. Jason isn’t pleased with the situation either, so there’s that… Dick’s just hoping he can bribe Jason into spending the weekend in the library so he won’t have to deal with the prickly boy.

Then they find evidence of a prostitution ring sending young children into forced heats and kidnapping them. Can they set aside their issues, or is Roy going to be stuck playing referee the whole time?

Familiar Faces - firefright, Skalidra

A mission to save a group of slaves from auction goes swiftly wrong when Jason, a former slave himself, runs into a familiar face while undercover at the party preceding it. And unfortunately for both him and his partner in crime, Dick, Slade has no intention of letting his property go again.

Want - Take - Have - daemoninwhite

Dick presents as an alpha and eventually leaves. When Bruce takes in Jason, he decides to do everything in his power to stop history from repeating. (Bruce will never be alone again.)

Mutually Beneficial - scandalsavage

Jason knows who Slade Wilson is and that he should stay away from him.

He knows the man is a vicious competitor of his father’s with a business ethic firmly in the dark gray to black side of the spectrum.

He also knows that his older brother drank too much one night, while he was in college, and fell for Wilson’s sweet talk, whatever that could possibly sound like, and that the older man still, years later, finds ways suggestively drop Dick’s name into conversations with their father.

So when he sees the man’s signature white hair and eye patch approaching his position at the bar, Jason makes a real attempt to avoid him.

Take Your Finger Off The Trigger - Skalidra

Jason Todd was Talon, the enforcer and right hand of Owlman, right up until he was killed. But then, when he comes back to life and his killer is still running free, with no sign of mourning by the two people who always claimed he was theirs, his agenda changes. He becomes Red Hood, a mercenary bent on taking down any and all operations run by the Owls. Finally, one of his jobs lands him back in Gotham, and he comes face to face with his two former allies.

Happy Reading.

#Emerald Ask #Fic Recs #Rec #Fic Rec #Rec List #Anon

[bigskydreaming]

tremsing82 replied to your post:

Feeling a mood to write some...

I would love for Jason to find out about Bruce’s abuse to Dick. Like Jason is from a abusive household and after he returned as red hood Bruce didn’t hold back but for Jason to find out the abuse Dick received from Bruce outside of the mask would be interesting to read.

This won’t be a prompt I use for this, solely because this is actually a BIG thing with me, and something that pops up a lot in various of the longer projects I work on off and on in my spare time. Mostly in a series of one-shots that are meant as a BFTC fix-it, that pretty much revolves around the idea of Dick and Jason eventually reconciling in the aftermath of Bruce’s perceived death, and bonding over the idea that they’re pretty much the only two people in the world who knew Bruce the way they did - at both his best and his worst. 

How to grieve for someone who at times you both loved and hated, who helped you and who hurt you, who was everything you wanted to be and everything you never wanted to be, all at the same time, at different times, at the strangest times.

So Jason finding out about the things Bruce has done to Dick, like in NTT #55, is of course a central part of that, as is Dick finding out the specifics of what happened between Bruce and Jason in UTRH (because I firmly and forever believe that Dick has zero idea about the batarang to the neck, just like I have trouble seeing any way in which Dick would have known about RHATO #25 before being shot and not had a serious reaction with Bruce). To me, a huge central part of these two brothers’ conflict in specific, is this perception they both have (with valid reasons) that the other has at various points had a relationship with Bruce that they would kill for.....even while being perfectly aware that at other times, their relationship has been nonexistent. 

But these specific actions of Bruce would inevitably be the cold shock of reality to them both, because I firmly believe this is the thing they could never explain away or justify to themselves.....they can reconcile the idea of Bruce hurting them on specific occasions, and not deem it abuse even as intimately acquainted as they are with the realities of abuse given everything they’ve lived, seen, and fought against in others....because they don’t want to accept that Bruce is capable of that, that they’re capable of....’submitting’ to that, so to speak, without leaving him behind...a huge part of them needs to keep him on a pedestal even when they’re furious at him. He played such a large role in shaping their lives in ways that they are grateful for that they have trouble juggling that with this perception of him too.

And due to their own individual self-esteem issues and negative self-perceptions (as well as desperate need for his approval, even when they vehemently deny they need or want it)....they’ve always been largely able to justify to themselves, or explain away his worst treatment of them.....but only so long as they’ve been able to convince themselves it was just them. That Bruce was only this way with them. 

Because one of Dick and Jason’s commonalities is that their self-deprecation is only the equivalent of their willingness to throw themselves under the knife for someone they care about, and that their negative self-perceptions are constantly being reinforced with what they perceive as additional evidence that various others are better than them. Do deserve more than them. Don’t deserve to suffer the things they’ve suffered. So IMO, my take has always been that Dick and Jason deep down love Bruce and the specific image of him they want and at times even need him to be....to such an extent that they can justify or explain away most anything he does to them at his worst....but I don’t believe for a second that either of them could ever do that if confronted with some of Bruce’s worst behavior with the other, or someone else they cared about.

So, the illusion born of their best memories of Bruce and that has so much to do with their inability to call him out on his shit even when faced with the reality of him in their worst memories of him.....can only hold, so long as they’re both one hundred percent convinced that it was just them. No one else. Because they must have deserved it. But that’s not an argument they’d ever make for anyone else, especially not one of their brothers.

But yeah, so this is a topic that as you can see, I’ve thought a lot about, lol, so its definitely something I’ve written about in depth in various WIPs that will at some point see the light of day (I’m posting WIP-phobic these days, due to uh....several years between updates on various published WIPs). Like I said, mostly the BFTC fix-it fic, but it pops up in various other things as well. There though, it has a super large presence because I personally can’t imagine all of that not coming up in their grieving processes for Bruce, because as much as most of us would like to romanticize deceased loved ones at all times, and never think of them without rose-colored glasses on, I can only draw upon my own experiences and its been mine that this isn’t always true, even when you really, truly and deeply love the person in question. Grief is an ugly, messy process, and it dredges up a lot. You’re often confronted with everything you don’t want to remember every bit as much as the stuff you fight to hold on to. 

So I’ve always really wanted to tackle that, as well as the dichotomy of being an abused kid who loves their abuser as much as he hates them, because with parents its just not as simple as pretending that the good emotions don’t exist, or ignoring the memories that truly are positive and had a positive influence on you and who you became, the parts you’re genuinely grateful to them for and wouldn’t want to imagine being without, even if you could. Its not easy to love some people, but its no easier to hate them, and to me, that’s Bruce and his relationship with his two eldest in particular, to like a T. 

Plus, I’ve always really liked the idea of exploring what kind of relationship Dick and Jason could have if these two brothers whose relationship at so many points has been largely at a distance and based off hearsay or imagined beliefs....like, in the aftermath of a tragedy like this, only finally started to really get to know who the other was, as adults, once the illusions they’d both been clinging to about their varying relationships with Bruce was finally stripped away. Also, I really wanted to explore the family dynamics that would result from the two of them specifically, with their contentious relationships with Bruce at some of his worse moments...like, forming a united front to kind of ‘protect’ Cass, Tim and Damian’s perceptions of Bruce, because for the most part at that point in time Bruce was still their hero, for all intents and purposes. Tim hadn’t yet IMO truly been disillusioned with Bruce at that point, Cass certainly hadn’t, and Damian might not have perceived things in the same way the others had, even if he had been fully aware of everything, but Bruce to him at that point was still kind of...a larger than life, mythic kind of figure. 

And I wanted to delve into the idea of Bruce’s two eldest children, who perhaps deep down wished that they had been left with just their cherished childhood memories of him and never had to remember the times that made them feel disillusioned with their father, like....the two of them acting in concert to kinda...protect their younger siblings’ own various cherished views of their dad, like....I just see that as being something very important to them, for reasons they’re not entirely clear on (or perhaps just don’t want to examine too closely).

Plus, of course, Bruce eventually returns as we all know, so.....holy conflicting emotions, Batfam.

But you’re absolutely right that Jason does and will have a LOT of thoughts and a lot to say on the subject of NTT #55′s events, both to Dick, to Bruce eventually, his therapist, etc.

Because not only does Jason NOT like the idea of his second father having abused his elder brother at all, to any degree, for any reason.....

You better fucking believe it that IMO, Jason Peter Todd has a fucking LOT to say about their dad using HIM, the child he ‘saved’ from an abusive home, as his EXCUSE to abuse his other child.

"Oh, I’m sorry, you were so fucked up about your previously-abused-kid dying that you thought a good way to handle it would be to abuse your other kid so that maybe when one day he died too, he and I would finally have some things to talk about? Yeah I think the fuck not, Pops!”

Anyway. Like I said. I obviously will not be expanding on that particular topic at this point in time.

Obviously.

Not even a little bit.

#abuse cw

[redhoodieone]

Just the Two of Us

A/N: Hey everyone! I’m finally on summer vacation which means I’ll be able to read and write more which is totally fun! This is my first major fic about Damian, and I’m totally excited to share it with you all. Enjoy!

Summary: Damian is nervous and frightened that he’s losing his older adopted sister Y/N and is determined to spend as much time with her, even when Jason and his brothers crash their slumber party.

Warnings: Language, mentions of sexual activities, and too much fluff.

This is a totally random night. What should have been a night all to myself while my boyfriend participates in ‘guys night’, I find myself sitting on a thick pink comforter while we’re hidden underneath sheets in a perfectly created fort.

Because Damian insisted we needed a fort for our “slumber party.”

“There...finally we have privacy for our slumber party. I do not want Grayson, Todd, and Drake interrupting our night. Now, what else do we do on these...nights, sister?” Damian asks. The curiosity and interest in his eyes never fade.

Yes, the thirteen-year-old Damian had overheard me talking to Barbara about how slumber parties were a way to reconnect with friends, share secrets, and just be there for each other. As an adult, I still found slumber parties to be fun, but haven’t had one since I was a teenager but had missed it so much. After my confession, I found out Damian had Alfred put together a slumber party for him and I.

The fort is spectacular; knowing how Alfred and Damian practically used the highest furniture to make it big and sturdy just shows no man in this family does anything half ass.

I unzip my sweater to reveal my tank top and pajama shorts, as Damian sits down after changing into a thin t-shirt and sweatpants. After he settles down, he sits cross legged like me and he smiles.

Just seeing Damian smile warms my heart, after everything that has happened.

I was thrown into the Batfamily at just fifteen-years-old. My parents abandoned me. I was living out on the street and did dirty work for Two-Face just to survive. But on a night that Two-Face was done with me was the night Batman and Robin saved me.

I was not only adopted by Bruce Wayne, but I became the newest superhero, NightBat. Five years of working alongside Bruce, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake, they gave my life meaning and became the light in my former dark life.

But being NightBat was something I couldn’t keep doing since I fell in love.

Yes.

Yes, I fell in love with Jason Todd.

After Jason’s death and resurrection, Jason was on the edge of becoming as dangerous as the Joker. It took the Batfamily and I a very long time to save Jason, but in the process, Jason and I kissed; a kiss that revealed how long we loved each other and how much we meant to each other.

After our confessions, Jason asked me to be his girlfriend and we’ve began dating. We’ve been together for three years now.

But with dating came some cold hard truths. Jason had been a nervous wreck and constantly worried about me fighting alongside them. And after he voiced his concerns, I realized crime fighting wouldn’t exactly help my future goals.

What if I wanted to get pregnant one day?

Although Jason and I never spoke about kids, I always wondered if he wanted them secretly or if he has even thought about having them with me.

But it was settled anyways. I worked behind the computers while Damian’s entrance into the Batfamily made him Robin. But just knowing Damian was enough for me to realize how kind and caring he was underneath the anger and hatred he was bred into believing.

And after a while, Damian and I became close; we’re almost like best friends (Barbara is right behind him).

Although Damian was initially against my relationship with Jason, it took everyone by surprise especially with how overprotective and serious Damian was about my wellbeing. But after serious and heart to heart talks with Bruce and Alfred, I realized Damian really saw me as a sister and wanted to protect me and make sure I’m taken care of because of his newfound brotherly duties.

Which could explain Damian wanting a spontaneous slumber party tonight. Even though Damian’s random thoughts and ideas for us to hang out is not unusual.

What’s unusual is how he’s been clingy these past few days. I haven’t exactly confronted him or tell anyone about my suspicions.

“We can make s’mores outside?” I suggest. The thought of a roasted marshmallow on a piece of milk chocolate and in between two graham crackers makes me lick my lips. “That sounds like fun.”

“Excellent. I’ll go fetch Pennyworth and have him provide us with the supplies,” Damian announces. 

We begin to crawl out of our fort until someone jumps down, pokes their head in, and growls at us. Damian and I scream and fall and crawl back into the corner of the fort. Laughter. Men laughing takes us by surprise. 

Jason Todd.

Dick Grayson.

Tim Drake.

Damian climbs off me and growls himself as we crawl out of the fort. And there were the three brothers, with Jason on the floor holding his stomach while laughing his ass off, as Dick and Tim were standing and laughing hard while covering their mouths and shaking a lot. As Damian and I stand up, Damian kicks Jason in the stomach.

“What the fuck?!” Jason snaps.

“How dare you frighten us, Todd! I should kill you where I stand!” Damian yells.

“I’d like to see you try, fucker!”

Before Jason reaches to grab Damian’s foot, I kneel beside my boyfriend. “Jay, what the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at guys night?” I ask curiously.

“The little shit head never showed up at the movies. He fucking ditched us!” Jason answers, and he’s trying hard to not lose his cool with me. “And why are you here, Y/N? Shouldn’t you be back at home enjoying your ‘masturbating alone’ time?”

“Damian invited me to stay the night so we’re hanging out,” I say.

“Okay…but since Damian never showed up, we came back here to drag his little ass out,” Jason says, glaring at Damian.

“That’s why we came back here,” Tim replies.

“So Little D, you ready to go now? We always hang out every Friday night,” Dick says, offering a hand to help Jason up. Once Jason’s on his feet, Damian scoffs and shakes his head.

“As you idiotic pests can see, I already have plans with Y/LN. You imbeciles can go ahead and leave us alone,” Damian says, not even hiding the fact that he’s pissed off at them. 

Damian grabs my arm and tries to lead me into the backyard, but Jason grabs my other arm. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, demon spawn?! Y/N’s my girlfriend! Don’t you know guys who flirt or try to steal other guys’ girls end up getting their asses handed to them and buried six feet under! Now get your fucking little hands off her!” Jason snaps viciously.

“Jason stop! What is your problem?!” I demand. I pull my arm away from him, shocking not only him but Dick and Tim as well.

“Don’t you see what he’s doing, babe? He’s trying to take you outside and do whatever that little pervert has planned!” Jason claims desperately.

“T-t,” Damian scoffs, and shakes his head at Jason. “You are a very, ignorant, arrogant, fool Todd. Y/LN and I are brother and sister. Father adopted her, which makes her my sister. As her brother, I have the right to spend time with her; one on one time since bonding is appropriate and needed for people to grow, learn, and be content. Whatever sick delusions you have are merely your own issues, not mine. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going outside to make s’mores.”

Dick’s eyes widen and he perks up. “S’mores? I want s’mores!” Dick cries out excitedly.

“Well, too bad Grayson. It’s only for Y/LN and me,” Damian snaps.

Damian manages to get us outside but Jason and the other two just wouldn’t leave us alone. I realize something’s bothering Damian, and I need to get to the bottom of it before he explodes, and we’ll just keep on fighting.

“Damian, something’s bothering you. Please tell me what it is,” I plead. The younger brother continues gripping my arm and I can hear him breathing hard. “If you say we’re as close as you say we are, then you should be able to tell me. I can help you. I want to help you.”

“It’s nothing,” Damian mumbles under his breath. He refuses to look at me or our brothers. “Just forget it. It’s pathetic.”

“Your problems are never pathetic. It’s okay to have problems and to solve them,” I disagree, and I finally am able to pull away from Damian’s grasp. “I don’t think I can continue our slumber party unless you tell me what is wrong. So, tell me what is wrong, Dami.”

Damian finally turns around, and his eyes are teary. Despite his rough and tough exterior, inside is a boy who has never had an innocent and fun childhood. He’s on the verge of breaking down, and just seeing him this upset breaks my heart.

“You’re…never around anymore Y/N,” Damian says to me, as he allows himself to cry and tell me and our brothers what’s been bothering him. “Ever since you and Todd have become…what Grayson says, “exclusive”, you have barely been home. You always spend time with him, and whenever our family gets together, you’re always with him: kissing him, embracing him, holding his hand, and always just touching him while you forget I’m beside you, too. I-I don’t have any serious issues with your relationship with Todd, despite our ongoing brotherly feud, I truly believe he cares about you and loves you as much as you deserve and more. But it always feels like you don’t even speak to me or want to “hang out” with me anymore. When was the last time it was just you and I alone?”

I can’t control my own tears from falling. “Maybe a month ago?” I choke out.

“Two months ago,” Damian corrects me. “You moved out six months ago to move into his apartment, and you’ve only been back home for short visits.”

“Damian…I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t know you felt that way. But you have to know that I still love you and care about you,” I say, hoping he would understand. Damian looks up at me, even our heights are close (because he’s becoming a rather tall boy). His green eyes glisten from his tears and the patio light. I reach out to touch his face, and he closes his eyes and leans into my touch. “I never meant to hurt you like that. I love you, and you’re my little brother and I should be around more because we’re not only family, but we’re friends too. From now on, I’ll be coming home more. Okay? Can you please forgive me and give me another chance?”

Damian’s eyes open, and he smiles at me. That smile is enough to warm my heart again. “I would be a fool to not give you another chance, Y/N. Can we please continue on with our slumber party?” he asks softly.

“Of course, Dami.”

I hug him tightly. As we hug each other, I notice Dick smiling proudly at us for solving our problems. Tim sighs, and looks at Dick and Jason. “Poker night?” Tim asks.

“I’m in. But this time, I’m shuffling the cards,” Dick says, as he and Tim head back inside to give Damian and I privacy for our slumber party. “Jason cheats, and I believe you count cards!”

“I don’t count cards! You don’t have evidence; you can’t prove anything!” Tim shouts.

As Damian and I pull away from each other, Jason clears his throat. He runs a nervous hand through his dark hair, and sighs. 

“I…I’m sorry Damian. I didn’t know you felt that way. I’m obviously fucked up, so in my defense, I tend to get jealous and crazy because I love Y/N so much. And I know you love Y/N as well, so how about we set aside a schedule or something during the week?” Jason suggests.

“Maybe when you want to hang out with Dick, Tim, and Roy, on your ‘guys night’, maybe Damian and I can have our own “siblings’ night” or something. What do you say to that, Dami?” I ask, hoping he’d love the idea.

Damian smiles sincerely. “I would…appreciate and respect that idea. Thank you Y/N. Thank you Jason,” Damian says, before engulfing Jason in a rough hug. Jason chuckles, and hugs Damian back.

“Tell anyone about this Todd, and I’ll castrate you in your sleep,” Damian threatens.

“I was just going to tell you the same thing, Omen. And hey, you called me Jason,” Jason teases.

“Fuck you, Todd!”

“Fuck you, Wayne!”

I roll my eyes at both, as they quickly move away from each other after their hug. I finally make my way to Jason, and he immediately looks down at me with so much love and admiration. His blue eyes steal my attention. 

“I really like what you did back there, Jason. You’re so sweet and caring. You even apologized and helped Damian out,” I say. “I really admire that.”

“Well, he is my…little brother,” Jason says quietly. “Not like I had a choice, right?”

I smirk at him. I stand on my toes to reach up and kiss him. “I love you,” I whisper against his mouth.

“I love you too, doll. I love you so fucking much, Y/N,” Jason whispers back, and kisses me again.

Damian scoffs to get our attention. We stop kissing and look at him. “Now that we solved my problem, I believe it is time for you to leave, Todd,” Damian says seriously.

Jason sighs, and kisses me again. “Maybe all of us can do something tomorrow? Just you, me, Damian, Dick, and Tim?” Jason asks.

“I would like that a lot,” I agree.

“And I agree as well,” Damian agrees with me.

“Well, then I guess I’ll see you in the morning, doll,” Jason says softly. “Goodnight.”

“Yeah, goodnight Jay,” I say.

Jason grins, and kisses me once more despite Damian making gagging noises. As soon as we pull away, Alfred comes outside with a tray of marshmallows, pieces of chocolate bars, and graham crackers. Jason sneaks a handful of chocolate and some marshmallows and waves us off.

“Night Omen!” 

“Night Hellboy!”

“My word! Master Damian, I bring you the items you requested. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Alfred sighs.

I take a seat on one of the patio chairs, as Damian starts a fire into the firepit Bruce and the boys made a while ago. As the fire glows and rises, he smiles at me and I smile back at him. 

Because Damian and I finally fixed our problem, and as siblings, we only have adventures and memories to share and create now.

“No, thank you Pennyworth. My sister and I are set tonight. We’re okay now.”

#dc comics #batfamily #damian wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n

[m00nslippers]

There’s been a lot of Catlad!Jason recently and after reading your meta on Jason and how he needs psychiatric help and the BatFam at the moment can’t give him that, and how a lot of Jason the way Jason is, is because of his trauma I wanted to know how you think a Jason raised by Selina, whether rogue or not, would fair. He responds so well to positive and truly meant care like Roy and Kori that I think he’d thrive under her care and aim to please her academically in school.

Not gonna lie, I love Catlad!Jason and I love the idea of Jason and Selina having a mother-son relationship. I’m actually not super knowledgeable about Selina, but I have a general idea to make some guesses. Feel free to correct me if I say something wrong about her, those who know more.

Now, do I think Jason would have been better off raised by Selina than Bruce? If this is a scenario where both Bruce and Selina would make him a sidekick, then yes, being Catlad with Selina would have been better for him. Aside from the obvious fact that Joker is way less likely to target Jason and brutally murder him if he isn’t Robin, being taught to be Catlad has one thing on being Robin that is obvious to me, and that is that Catwoman and Catlad don’t seek out violence. They can protect themselves very well if they are attacked, but their goal is usually just to get away with their prize.

One of the things that I think can be laid at Bruce’s feet regarding canon!Jason, is the fact that he’s so violent, which is something Bruce taught and encouraged in him. When Bruce first meets Jason trying to steel his tires, Jay throws the tire iron at him and runs. Throughout his time as Red Hood, he often runs when he doesn’t think he can win. Even after being taught to fight, running is still big in his instincts when the chips are down. So I don’t think Jason is an inherently violent person, I feel it’s obvious that using violence to patch over his pain and to solve confrontation is something he was taught, by Bruce and then by the League.

Selina would teach Jason differently. He would still get self-defense, which I think was a good idea to give him confidence so he wasn’t as afraid of someone hurting him, but instead of being asked to hit and attack people first like Robin does, it really would just be for self-defense when he was cornered. Instead he’s taught to run first and be creative in causing distractions and obstacles, and I think Jason would really excel at that, given how good he is at running now, having not been taught by her.

On the other hand though Selina is teaching him/using him to steal which is…a bad thing. Not really healthy or a great long-term courier. But then again being a vigilante isn’t, either, even if the Gotham cops have given up on taking Batman in and don’t even pretend to try anymore.

If this is a hypothetical where neither Bruce nor Selina would make Jason a vigilante, then I don’t think either of them are particularly better than the other, just different. Especially since I think it’s unlikely that Selina would get Jason therapy anymore than Bruce did, because that’s what Jason really needed. Having a stable, loving household where he can focus on being a kid and not where his next meal is going to come from is the foundation, but he still probably needed to see a professional, especially if Jason was sexually assaulted on the streets, which seems likely. Selina could probably relate to that more than Bruce, since she didn’t grow up rich and knows what the streets are like, but Bruce isn’t naive, he wouldn’t be surprised at least.

I also don’t think Selena would stonewall Jason when she was worried or in a corner like Bruce would, but I think there’s a chance she would do something worse: disappear. Selina is a runner. It seems to me that when she’s freaked out she finds ways to be alone. I can see her having an argument with Jason, or maybe someone else entirely and just handing Jay her credit card and disappearing for a few days. And I think that would absolutely freak Jason out. Also being a thief who could be dragged away by police or Batman at any time would add a level of fear and instability to Jason’s life, he could never really be certain the rug wouldn’t be pulled from beneath him. But then again Batman would get hurt and could even die all the time so the issue is there too.

So even thought I think Jason and Selina would probably get along even better than young Jay and Bruce, and they would have a great relationship, I think the downsides actually even out a lot, especially if Jason isn’t going to be a vigilante. I know I rag on Bruce a lot, but the way he treated Jay outside of being Robin was mostly good. Bruce loved him, he really tried his best. I think Bruce helped him a lot. He made some very key mistakes that made things worse in the long run (Robin) but at least when Jason was young, Bruce wasn’t as bad of a parent as maybe it would seem like from the way I accuse him. He really just didn’t know what he was getting into with Jay, especially compared to Dick and himself, which I don’t think is an excuse because visiting a psychiatrist even once to talk about Jason would have corrected that, but…okay I’ll shut up now.

I feel like I need to plug a catlad!Jay and Selina fic that I adore, Stray Cat Strut by @skalidra. Sadly, it’s unfinished and probably won’t ever be finished. Also it’s JayDick but it doesn’t really get too far into it since they are both young (also they aren’t brothers here, so it shouldn’t bother anyone.) If anyone has any Catlad!Jay and Selina fics to rec that would be awesome.

#Jason Todd #Red hood #Selina Kyle #Catwoman #Catlad #Catlad!Jason #meta #headcanon

[incoherentbabblings]

Tim Fanfic Recs

Okay, take two of writing this (since I accidentally closed the flipping tab when I had nearly finished my response for the ask which grrrr sorry anon).  So, Tim fics.  I am picky about Tim fics for lots of reasons that I don’t have the time nor the energy to get into but honestly what kind of Tim stan am I anyway here are my favourite Tim stories for each of my fave bat-centric characters:

Tim and Damian

To Make Me Better Than The Divine by elysean

Family is like a broken bone: if the parts don’t align, then they won’t heal right.  Tim Drake, and a healing process long overdue.

Tim and Damian relationship fics that don’t demonise or woobify one or the other?  In my fandom?  Okay but seriously Elysean’s fics are so well thought out and so well written.  It’s very internally focused and slow but in a really good involving way.  Set after Tim’s return from inter-dimensional space prison, he recovers a bit more than he was allowed in canon, and he and Damian cover things like Dami picking up the TT to honour Tim.  Sweet, soft, gentle.  Like Tim!

Tim and Bruce 

birds all sing (as if they knew) by Anonymous

"How do you spell 'engagement'?" "Who are you texting?" "Tim."

I know I know I plug this fic enough and I’m sure there are tons of delicious angsty fics about these two and like it may only update once a year but what updates they are every sentence every piece of dialogue every thought just shows how incredibly weird these two are and this fic is hilarious.  Laugh out loud anarchical hilarity.  Bruce feels Tim is pulling away and tugs him back, Tim doesn’t understand and pulls back, leading to the most over the top No don’t go I’ll have empty nest syndrome father son relationship.  Selina and Stephanie sitting in the background watching their loved ones have public freakouts like oh boy... I chose that one for some reason.  I cannot wait for the final confrontation.  This fic manages to be heartfelt and hilarious all at once.

Tim and Cassandra

There needs to be more fics about their relationship which doesn’t just revolve around Cassandra being a sounding board for Tim to angst at.  But uh, here are my favourite two.

Disclosure by Runespoor

"Did you try to clone her too?" Cass confronts Tim with a question that's more like a demand. Emotional honesty ensues.

Set between Steph’s death and Cass’ drugging to villainy.  A badly written time for everyone involved, but this fic does such a good job at pulling very ugly raw feelings of grief to the surface.  Cassandra lost her best friend, Tim lost his girlfriend.  They both were presented with resources to bring her back.  Neither took it.  

Seen and Unseen by Molly_Hats

In which the separation between Tim and his second family is metaphorical, and Cassandra helps narrow the gap.

Set in the early days of Tim as Robin and Cass as Batgirl when they weren’t quite sure of each other yet.  I love this fic because Tim - like me - is face blind.  Anyway, this story is sweet and lovely and these two have such an open relationship with each other it makes for really nice reads when it’s focused on.

Tim and Dick

Things That Don't Kill Us by PolsVoice

After the events of Batman #71, Tim finds himself in Bludhaven looking for someone that he used to know.

Having Tim be a presence during the current amnesia arc would have been great but hey this is what good fanfic is for.  These two need more in depth fics that doesn’t revolve around that one time Dick hurt Tim’s feelings in Red Robin so this fic, addressing the lack of meaningful interaction between these since 2011, addressing the horrendous too long amnesia arc, addressing the bizarre use of Tim during the recent Batman run... this is a very, very, very well written fic.  

Tim and His Parents

Shut Eye by audreycritter

It's easy to look at Tim Drake and think that his fistful of issues-- anxiety, insomnia, a worrisome coffee habit-- are the result of his tenure as Robin. But what if they predated that? ...Janet Drake is trying but he's never been an easy kid, exactly. And she'd be the first to tell you that it's not Tim's fault, but that doesn't really change much.

I mean this one is obvious but still.  Janet trying so hard to be a good mother but she just can’t understand her own son not that she’s scared of him she’s just scared for him and she tries more than Jack ever did but she misjudges and loses her temper sometimes and... anyway, this is an excellent fic with a gut punch ending (no prizes for guessing how Janet’s story ends)

Tim and Stephanie

Mine!  Okay not mine (unless...?)

I’ve written a TimSteph fic recommendation post before so please check that out if you want more but honestly my answer remains the same:

Sorry That I Bruced You by quipquipquip

He tied a purple ribbon around a brick and left it on her windowsill with a note that said: Want to catch a movie on Friday? - Alvin. 

Stephanie being a guiding beacon of light?  Stephanie being acknowledged in her growth as a hero and character? Call backs to cute moments in the Dixon and Lewis runs?  Tim growing past his pain and learning to reconnect with people?  Oh god, so good.  So good.  More.  Mm.

#tim drake #batfam #dc #fic rec

[dcubang]

DCU Bang 2019 Summaries

Claiming Form Now open!!!

Claiming Information and Instructions

Summaries after the read more!

1

Title: Fly With Me Word Count: About 14k Genre: Fantasy-Adventure Fandom/Universe: Green Lantern, Flash (comics) Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Hal Jordan/Guy Gardner/John Stewart/Alan Scott Warnings: Mild/implied body dysphoria Rating: PG-ish Summary: When Watchman Barry Allen arrives to a grisly murder scene, the last thing he expects is the enigmatic dragonlords of the realm to arrive and ask for him specifically. They are handsome and charming, but the existence of enormous fire-breathing flying lizards that seem to exert some kind of... Strange emotional aura is more than a little terrifying. He is introduced to the prince of these dragonlords, Hal, and steps up to be taken back to the towering natural fortress of Oa, a massive hollowed out mountain that sits on the edge of the continent. Called the 'weyr', Oa is home to the dragons and their riders, and Barry soon finds himself welcomed inside with all the honours that a prince might receive. In the morning after a restless night's sleep he is bathed and anointed, and taken down deep beneath the mountain to a holy underground sea, where he must confront the mysterious Lord of Oa and receive the prize for which he had been chosen: A dragon egg, rare and precious. The last third of the story will be hatching the dragon, and a montage of sorts with Barry further bonding with the dragon riders and forming a... Tentative proto-romantic relationship with them. He trains in arms with Guy, learns the histories and concepts of the weyr with John, is taught about the running and logistics of Oa from Alan, and finally Hal tutors him on bonding with his dragon, and eventually flying with it. The broad aesthetic of the fic is very much generic medieval fantasy, set mostly in the mountainous fortress/castle of Oa. Characters vary a little bit from canon appearances, mostly in regards to hairstyles and the like, but a few characters are trans, which is mostly going to be a background detail. There are no warnings except for a crime scene early on (which will be edited down) and brief discussions of trans characters being trans, so there's a bit of mild dysphoria but no explicit details or transphobia/homophobia. There is implied polyamory and age difference, but everyone is consenting adults and nothing is properly established in this fic. 

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2 Title: The Case of the Missing Son Word Count: 6,031 of 10k-ish Genre: Mystery, Romance Fandom/Universe: Batman (comics) Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson, Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne Warnings: Minor violence Rating: NC-17 Summary: Bruce Wayne has come to PI Dick Grayson with a problem. His ex-wife, Talia al Ghul, has been sending him letters claiming they have a son. Bruce wants Dick to find the boy and bring him home. Dick gathers information from various sources before running into Talia herself, which only results in him getting beat up. He goes back to Bruce to convince him to confront Talia. Eventually, the son goes to Bruce, and Bruce and Dick get some private time together. The story takes place solely in Gotham, from Dick's office, to Wayne Manor, with one trip down into the caves of Gotham for the showdown.

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3 Title: Forth My Mimic Comes Word Count: 19k Genre: Mystery, Supernatural Fandom/Universe: Batman (mostly comics) Characters/Pairings: Gen; Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake Warnings: past canon character death, non-consensual bodyswap, thoughts that could be construed as non-specific suicidal tendencies (i.e., "I was already dead, if I die again it's no big deal," etc.) Rating: PG/T Summary: Robin saves a boy from being hit by a car, only to discover that the victim is none other than a very alive (if comatose) Jason Todd. An already unusual situation turns even more bizarre when an unfortunate turn of phrase and an errant bit of magic cause Jason and the current Robin to end up in each other's bodies. Knowing it's only a matter of time before Bruce learns of the switch and locks him up in a fit of paranoia, Jason must seek the help of the enigmatic (and familiar) Oracle to fix the problem, all the while learning far more than he ever wanted to know about the boy who replaced him. Takes place immediately following Jason's resurrection in a slightly canon-divergent timeline, primary locations being the clock tower, manor, and cave (and all of Gotham, because patrol).

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4 Title: Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? Word Count: 4,579 of 5k Genre: Mystery Fandom/Universe: Batman (comics) Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle, Tommy Elliot Warnings: Nonconsensual body modification, some torture Rating: PG-13 Summary: Selina Kyle is missing. Bruce finds mannequins and dummies of her around Gotham, each with a modified nursery rhyme about cats. Bruce follows these clues all across Gotham, growing more desperate to find her. Finally, he confronts the villains of Gotham and finds Selina, only to find Hush there as well. They battle and Bruce rescues Selina and takes her back to the Batcave. This takes place solely in Gotham, from the streets and graveyards of Gotham, to beneath Arkham Asylum, to the Batcave.

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5 Title: Daily Gab Word Count: 5776 Genre: Coming Out Fic Fandom/Universe: Batfam Characters/Pairings: Jon/Damian, Damian & Dick Warnings: Bullying Rating: PG-ish Summary: Damian finds a tabloid taped to his locker at school. The headline? "Wayne Kid... Gay?" He endures a day at school listening to the gossip from all the other kids. Dick does the brotherly thing and helps Damian sort through all he's feeling. Damian admits to Jon what the tabloid said and why he's been running scared all day, they talk about the reality of what they want together and Bruce manages to be a real father for once. Summary I'm posting when I post the fic: Damian swallowed against the bile in his throat and carefully took in his next breath, walking himself through the steps of emotional calm. Pretend this was only torture. Pretend it was only a gunshot wound. Pretend it was only his body in pain and not his heart and his mind. Remove himself from the situation and take a few steps backwards from the reality of it.

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6 Title: Stay My Tragedy Word Count: 16k Genre: Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance Fandom/Universe: Batman, Deathstroke, Red Hood Characters/Pairings: Slade/Jason Warnings: explicit sex, angst, descriptions of violence, references to self harm, slight dubcon, problematic relationship Rating: NC-17 Summary:

Soul marks can appear at anytime in one’s life -- a mark of karmic destiny that most people take to mean they’ve met the person they’re meant to fall in love with. Jason knows that’s not true. He knows because his soul mark appeared in the very last moments before he died -- marking his destiny to be murdered by the hands of a madman.

It is a world in which fate is unbelievably cruel, when Jason’s soul mark is of none other than the man who murdered him. Slade has other ideas however, and he might just be the one man who can change Jason's tragic fate into something else.

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7 Title: New Horizons Word Count: 6091 Genre: Action/Adventure Fandom/Universe: Canon Divergence/AU Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake Warnings: Major Character Death, Abusive Parents, Child Trafficking Ring, Drugs Rating: PG Summary: Jason, Tim, and Stephanie meet while Jason still holds the Robin mantle. They band together to take down a child trafficking ring, all while each one is fighting their own personal battles. Stephanie's dad is a small-time crook who is major-times ruining her chances at a better life. Tim's parents are never home--he doubts they could pick him out of a lineup. Jason is suddenly thrust into life with a billionaire (and vigilante), but not everyone might want him there. Story is mostly set in Gotham and Wayne Manor, with a few scenes in Titans Tower. The Major Character Death is Jason, but it happens off screen and in the epilogue. The Abusive Parents is Tim's parents neglecting him. Drugs are a passing mention. The Child Trafficking Ring is a major plot point.

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8 Title: You’re saving Blüdhaven but who saves you? Word Count: 3457 Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Humor Fandom/Universe: Batman/Nightwing comics, Under the Red Hood Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd/JayDick – Jason Todd/Dick Grayson Warnings: child’s death, mentions of rape, canon typical violence, non consensual drug use, incest (pseudo-incest? Jason and Dick were adopted), self esteem issues Rating: T/Teen And Up Audiences /PG14+ Summary: After a kid got killed Dick, already in a bad place, decides that his only option to make a difference is to fight crime in a different way. He decides to partner up with a carefully chosen criminal and Red Hood caught his attention even if some of their morals are on the opposite sides of the scale. This somehow leads to Dick having an elusive roommate he developed an attraction to. It’s a shame no one told him Red Hood is in fact Jason. This story is canon divergence or alternate universe and takes place after the events with Blockbuster and Tarantula in Nightwing comics and intertwines with some happenings from Under the Red Hood. The action is placed mainly in Blüdhaven, but there are trips to Gotham and Wayne Manor. The story has a romantic relationship between adopted brothers. The rape is mentioned several times and one of the character is forcibly drugged. It also contains description of child’s death and violence.

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9 Title: A Bit(e) Wild Word Count: 5-6k total, 4k written Genre: mostly Angst/Fluff but some Action/Adventure Fandom/Universe: Losers/Batfamily, no particular series Characters/Pairings: established Jensen/Cougar, will be Jensen/Cougar/Jason Todd later in series. Background canonical Pooch/Jolene, mention of Clay/Aisha. Warnings: Graphic violence, swearing, maybe sex in the flashback Rating: Explicit. Even if no sex happens yet, it will later, and there's also the violence to consider. Summary: The Losers have just barely taken down Max and cleared their names; Jensen's still cleaning up post-mission but they're all back home. Jason Todd's preparing to move back to Gotham and butt heads with Batman when a bit of pest control ends with him bitten by a wolf shifter. He didn't think the Pit's aftereffects would allow him to be changed, or that he'd call the Losers for backup again, but of all the people Talia had him learning from, Cougar's the only shifter he knows he can trust if this IS the dreaded change coming on. Cue frantic phone call. The Losers load up and head out immediately, but Pooch brings his family just in case, Clay rides up with Roque, and Jensen and Cougar lead the charge because they've already got the shifter genes and being bitten again isn't going to do anything to them (Jake is a recent change; Cougar was born a shifter). By the time the others arrive, they've got Jason settled and all three are in their animal forms. Jensen is a wolf, Cougs is a cougar, Jason is a snow leopard. After the first few lessons, Jason gets impatient--maybe the Pit, maybe new instincts, partly the knowledge that the Losers aren't going to just let him leave until he's got enough control over his shifter side to satisfy Cougar. He tries to slip out in the night, half hoping they won't follow him, subconsciously aware this will be much easier with trusted backup. Every Loser was expecting this, though, and when Jason slinks off to Gotham, they're still mostly packed and ready to head out. It doesn't take them long to follow.

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10 Title: where monsters lie (in dead men's dreams) Word Count: ~75k total, 47.7k written (including unfinished draft) Genre: Drama, Horror, Angst Fandom/Universe: Batman Arkham Games, and a lot of creative liberty taken with comic canon and the traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega AU Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson, Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson Warnings: Non-con, Dub-con, Drugging, Non-traditional ABO Dynamics, Bondage, Descriptions of Torture, Pseudo Incest, Kinky/Rough Sex, Intersexed Characters, Background Polyamory, Angst, Murder Rating: R Summary: Oracle enlists Red Hood's reluctant help to find Batman and Nightwing, who have disappeared during an arms bust deal orchestrated by the Penguin. They've been captured and dosed with a perverted form of the Scarecrow's latest toxin, and the effects of the toxin force the three of them to face their feelings for each other. All Jason wants to do is run away, except Dick won't let him leave. Things grow more complicated when the Penguin re-emerges with a threat none of them had expected, and Jason takes it upon himself to teach the Penguin a permanent lesson. Meanwhile, Dick has been experiencing random bouts of mania and murderous intent, ever since getting dosed with the toxin. By the time he confronts Jason about the Penguin's vicious murder, Jason sees more of the Joker in Dick than he does in his nightmares. Fortunately for them both, there's no mystery in Gotham that Batman can't solve in time. The story is set in Gotham City, 1.5-2 years post the game Batman: Arkham Knight, but also features several flashbacks of bastardized canon scenes from the comics. If you're a stickler for canon, this will probably kill you dead so please bear that in mind. Besides that, there is a single instance of non-con and another instance of molestation. There are also two implied sex scenes which can be considered dub-con. There is pseudo-incest between Jason, Dick and Bruce. The Penguin gets tortured to death but the torture occurs off-screen and only the results are described in graphic detail. The polyamory is mentioned throughout but does not occur on-screen.

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11 Title: The Sacredness of Tears Word Count: 13k Genre: Romance, character study, elements of fantasy and drama/angst Fandom/Universe: Batman comics, set in the future and using events from New Earth and the current continuity Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Tim Drake-centric Warnings: temporary character death, pseudo-incest, canon-typical violence, discussions of mental illness, parental abuse through neglect, swearing Rating: PG-13 (maybe R for swearing?) Summary: Tim Drake Wayne isn’t weak. He can’t be. And now that he can travel through time, he has the perfect tool to make sure he’ll never be vulnerable again. Gradually, Tim’s family, friends, and his slowly blossoming relationship to Jason teach him otherwise. The story is set in Gotham with scenes in Tim’s apartment, the Batcave, a diner and various rooftops. There are scenes with multiple members of the batfamily and Tim’s team. The romantic scenes are focused on cuddling and size difference. The plot spans several years. Tim is eighteen at its beginning and twenty-five at its end. There is one detailed description of a meltdown or anxiety/panic attack. There are discussions of mental illness; some symptoms of depression are shown, especially withdrawing from the world and diminished self-worth, but nothing too bad and absolutely no hint of self-harm or suicide. Jason dies in one scene (not the canonical temporary death), but that is quickly reversed. There are descriptions of injuries. The parental abuse refers to Tim’s and Jason’s canonical backstories, not Bruce (who tries to be a good parent in this).

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12 Title: The Nightingale Word Count: ~14k total, 8.5k written Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe, Drama, Healing Fic (kinda) Fandom/Universe: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Warnings: No Warnings Apply Rating: NC-17 Summary: Crushed by the guilt of Jason's death, Dick quits the vigilante life, gives up Nightwing, begs Bruce for a clean slate, and runs away to New York City. He takes shelter at the Nightingale, a nightclub where Dick works as an exotic dancer, a stripper named Richie. Dick uses the blinding stage lights, Bloody Marys, and a mysterious man named Jay to hide his past. However, Dick's rather painful former life is slowly uncovered by Jay through a series of one night stands. Meanwhile, Dick also has some unconventional run-ins with the Red Hood, a supposed antihero working in the tri-state area and associated with the family Dick has not had any relations with for over five years. Old wounds reappear, and Dick's new life slowly falls apart around him as the truth comes to light. Set primarily in NYC, in the Nightingale nightclub and at the different hotel rooms Jay books. Towards the end, Dick and Jason will eventually move back into Gotham City and Wayne Manor. Story takes place five years after Jason's death. Dick's "new" life is an emotional roller coaster of hurt/comfort, a path of healing, a life built on lies, and identity porn woven all throughout it, until it is all untangled in the end.

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13 Title: Between Flight Word Count: ~15k, 10.8k written Genre: Romance, Drama, Humor, Alternate Universe Fandom/Universe: Batman - All Media Types Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Warnings: No Warnings Apply Rating: PG-13 Summary: Jason is a 15-year-old orphan, living at a crappy orphanage, going to school because it is the only fun in life, and dreaming of the day he becomes eighteen. After a little altercation with a pickpocket, Jason meets Robin, and from that night on, Jason could not get rid of the Boy Wonder. Coincidentally, Dick Grayson starts at Jason's school as well, and decides to befriend him of all people. Jason finds himself being tugged in two directions - towards a charming and talkative circus boy with a past similar to his, and towards Gotham's own hero in scaly panties. Over the course of a couple weeks, Jason is dumped at a school dance, kissed on rooftops, taken on dates a couple times a week, and even glared at by the Batman himself. Needless to say, Jason finds that his life is a lot more interesting after he met both Dick and Robin. But of course things smell fishy to Jason. Especially when Robin knows tricks that only Mr. Circus Boy can do. Or when Dick uses the same girly shampoo as the teen hero. Or when their identical disarming smiles send bursts of happiness straight through Jason's heart. Batman might be the World's Greatest Detective, but Jason Todd is not so shabby either. Set primarily at Jason and Dick's high school, the orphanage, the rooftops of Gotham City, the luxurious halls of Wayne Manor, with special appearances of "date" locations around the city. Jason is 15, while Dick is 17.

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14 Title: Moon Dust On Your Lips Word Count: ~6100 Genre: Romance, First Time, Mutual Pining Fandom/Universe: Batman and Green Lantern, no specific canon Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Hal Jordan Warnings: Mild sub/Dom, explicit sex, biting and bruising, praise kink Rating: NC-17 Summary: The Justice League is trying to expand their potential pool of allies in the known universe, and with the help of their Green Lanterns, they set off to personally negotiate with as many people as they can. Everyone is involved, but it mostly falls to Bruce/Batman and Hal Jordan. The longer Bruce and Hal work together, the more Bruce let's Hal see under the cowl, and the more Hal starts to like what he sees. Bruce even accepts advice from Hal on an issue dealing with his children. Then Hal, returning exhausted from a mission to Oa, loses his temper at the tail end of a League meeting. He says something stupid within Batman's hearing, and then goes off to get decidedly drunk with Barry. Hal confesses that he has a crush on Bruce, but there isn't anyway that he can see it ever happening, so he decides to just ignore it and move on with his life. Bruce doesn't exactly get the memo right away, but as soon as Hal starts physically distancing himself from Bruce as much as possible, their tentative friendship falls to the wayside. Soon, Bruce and Hal are back to being uneasy coworkers. It culminates with Bruce and Hal on the return trip of another successful negotiation, when their escorts decide to up and leave them in the Middle of Nowhere, Spaceville in a small, cramped, one man space pod. There's an argument, confessions, and then sex, before being rescued. The story takes place in a variety of locations, including Wayne Manor, the Watchtower, Barry's apartment, and the space pod. The sex will include Bruce manhandling a very willing Hal, with some rougher edges (biting and bruising, praise kink).

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15 Title: Happy Middles Word Count: ~4600 Genre: PWP Fandom/Universe: Batman and Green Lantern, no specific canon Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Hal Jordan Warnings: Somnophilia, Dirty Talk, Praise Kink, Noise Kink Rating: NC-17 Summary: Basically a slice of life PWP about the time Hal and Bruce make for each other, specifically how Bruce's ends his nights and how Hal starts his days. Bruce comes home early from a shortened patrol and joins Hal in bed a few hours before Hal has to go to work. Hal falls back asleep, and then wakes Bruce up when he starts exhibiting signs of a wet dream. Bruce pleasures Hal until he wakes up, and then gets Hal off. Hal turns the tide on Bruce, teasing him until Hal decides he's ready to ride Bruce to their mutual completion. This takes place solely in Bruce's and Hal's bedroom in the Manor, described as having a darker color scheme with blues, blacks, and grays. All kinks are negotiated prior to the story, as this is a well established, husbands!fic. No noncon here.

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16 Title: Hold Me Tight (or Don't) Word Count: 6055 Genre: Mystery, Angst, possible supernatural elements Fandom/Universe: Batman, no specific universe Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul, Conner Kent, Jason Todd Warnings: Medical experiments, but non-graphic Rating: Teen Summary: Sometimes, a Family is you, your Beloved's dead kid in a coma, and your Beloved's best friend's "clone" who's other gene donor is sort-of kind-of your boss off to play at politics Or There’s been a rash of robberies in Gotham, leaving Batman puzzled as to what the villains are up to, all the while seeing Jason appear to him, even though he’s been dead for a few weeks. Meanwhile. Talia takes care of a comatose Jason, while discovering Lex’s secret project taking a form no one expected. On the other side of bay/river, Clark is investigating a mysterious Cadmus fire, under a building Lex Luthor (who is now the president) owns. Not to mention the mysterious new villain who may be more connected to the robberies in Gotham that it seems.

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17 Title: untitled as of yet! Word Count: 3039 Genre: 5+1 things, fluff, probably eventual smut Fandom/Universe: dc extended universe, films 2013-present Characters/Pairings: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Warnings: none Rating: T at the moment, will likely slide into M/E Summary: After a few months of working together side-by-side as a team while not actively trying to kill each other (even in their spare time), Clark realizes he’s developed Feelings for Bruce. He knows Bruce is stubborn and self-isolating, so he decides the best plan is to figure out a way to make things a little (incidentally) romantic without scaring off Bruce: little notes on rooftops, a dubiously agreed upon makeover by Lois, advice from Barry and Victor and Diana—even Alfred ends up in on the game. Unfortunately for Clark, Bruce is even more slippery (or oblivious) than he ever imagined. Maybe what Clark really needs is a little help from a Higher Authority… or, the five times Clark Kent tried (and failed) to seduce Bruce Wayne, and the one time Bruce Wayne allowed himself to be epically seduced.

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18 Title: the weight of eventuality Word Count: 24,000 Genre: Romance, /Action, Drama Fandom/Universe: CWTV Flash (2014) Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart, Team Flash Warnings: canon typical violence, graphic sex Rating: NC-17 Summary: Life was pretty great for Barry Allen, honestly. Team Flash successfully pulled him out of the Speed Force, he still had his job, and all of his friends and family where there to support him. Eddie and Iris were expecting their first child, and even with everything that happened between Caitlin and Julian, the team worked as well as ever together. Barry didn't want to tell them that he was still slipping backward and forward in time, or that every night the Speed Force made him witness the death of Leonard Snart. Rescuing Leonard was easy. Falling in love with him? not really part of the plan. With Captain Cold back in Central City, it was hard to remember that there were other people out there who wanted to do more than flirt and steal pretty jewelry. It was just a matter of time until they made their move. This story takes place mostly in Central City, with a detour into the Speed Force. There isn't really anything to warn for, I think. There's an explicit consensual sex scene near the end of the story, and canon typical violence and injury. There's some mention of minor medical procedures. There's technically some torture, but that happens off screen and Barry is in the speed force of the entirety of it, so there's no graphic detail.

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19 Title: your continental divides Word Count: 9k Genre: Hurt/Comfort Fandom/Universe: DCU. not set in a specific universe, borrows from several continuities. Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson centric, Batfam and company, Gen Warnings: non-con Rating: PG-13 Summary: After Catalina Flores, Dick is dealing the way Bruce taught him: push it down and carry on. It's not working out very well, and people are starting to catch on. The story is set mostly in Gotham, and guests a few characters besides the batfam (mostly Wally and Roy). It's essentially just an exercise in letting Dick be comforted by the people who love him. This focuses on dealing with the sexual assault from Nightwing #93. The assault is not graphically depicted but is referenced and discussed, in addition to self-destructive behaviors and a variety of coping mechanisms.

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20 Title: Broken Wings and Notched Arrows. Word Count: Around 6-6.5k total. 4,280 written Genre: Action, Romance, Drama. Fandom/Universe: Young Justice, Batman. Characters/Pairings: Will Harper (Roy Harper's clone)/ Jason Todd Warnings: Temporary Character death, mild language, mild violence, small age gape, Rating: NC-17 Summary: The only thing Will Harper wanted to be doing that fine winter morning was to play dress up with his beautiful daughter Lian. What he got however was a surprise visit from the legendary Bruce "Batman" Wayne. And if that wasn't a big enough shock being hired by said legend was icing on the cake. So now instead of spending Christmas with Lian Will is kind of, maybe being held against his will on Infinity Island. Bright side he did find Jason Todd like he was hired to. This story takes place in multiple locations. The main set is in the Caribbeans, mostly Infinity Island and the League of Assassins HQ. It also show cases Will's home in Star City and a major fight screen in Gotham. There is no major warnings. Temporary Character death as Jason Todd doesn't stay dead for long. Some violence but nothing more then a few short details of fight scenes. No gore just a little blood.

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21 Title: Masks Word Count: 7,783 Genre: Action/Adventure and Romance Fandom/Universe: Batman Comics, post-Infinite Crisis Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth Warnings: Incest, canon typical violence, explicit sex Rating: NC-17 Summary: Continuation of pre-new 52 canon. Jason's back in Gotham. All he wants to do is figure out how he can successfully help fix his city, without falling foul of the rest of the Bats and the GCPD again. He's even hung up his red hood in an attempt to stay under the radar. When he discovers that Alfred is in danger from the gang he's investigating, he infiltrates a costume ball at Wayne Manor in disguise as a supervillain. He ends up flirting with Dick to stop him interfering with the rescue plan. Dick doesn't realise who he is and flirts back until they end up making out furiously in a closet. Afterwards neither of them can get the encounter out of their heads, and they start to get to know each other again. Featuring conversations with Alfred, Dick attending a party in a Superman costume, Jason spray painting his red hood grey, everyone rescuing each other and lots and lots of pining. Warning for pseudo-incest between the adopted brothers, Dick and Jason when they reach adulthood.

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22 Title: Sleeping Beauty Syndrome Word Count: 9k written. Genre: Romance, Angst, Fairytale Rewrite Fandom/Universe: Nightwing, Red Hood and the Outlaws Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Warnings: Horror, gore Rating: PG-13 Summary: Dick Grayson and Jason Todd have been living the perfect life. Happily married for more than five years with two perfect sons, they have everything they could possibly need. Unfortunately, good things don't last forever. Struck by a spell during a mission, Jason's mind has been scattered, putting him into a deep sleep and the only way to wake him up is for Dick to put his pieces back together. The task won't be as easy because each part of Jason has been hidden within a fairy tale, a world tempting Dick to make one wrong move and doom his husband and himself forever. The story will take place over multiple locations, including rewrites of fairy tales like Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, The Princess and the Pauper, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

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23 Title: we just now got the feeling that we're meeting (for the first time) Word Count: Around 36K (34K written) Genre: Drama, Romance, Fluff, Angst Fandom/Universe: Superman and Batman, DCEU canon/movie canon Characters/Pairings: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne; Lex Luthor, Diana Prince, Barry Allen, Arthur Curry, Victor Stone Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Rating: Teen Summary: While fighting Lex Luthor for his latest weapon, a time weapon, Bruce Wayne gets hit and sent back twenty years into the past. Meeting Clark Kent on some snowy mountain side in Alaska was not exactly what Bruce thought would happen, but he’s here now and there’s nothing for him to do except wait for his team to pull him back to the future. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite know when that will be, so sticking with Clark is his best option. Of course, it would be much easier if Bruce wasn’t already pining for Clark in the future. How long until Bruce is pulled back into the future, and will he be able to stop himself from falling in love with Clark Kent in the past and potentially creating a time paradox? This story is set in a couple of locations. Most of it is set in the past in Alaska during the beginning of Clark’s pilgrimage, specifically in the Denali National Park. Other locations include the Wayne-Turned-League Manor, Bruce’s Lake-House in Gotham city, and the lake itself! Primarily it involves young versions of Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, although the very beginning section and at the last few parts of the end is focused on the present/older versions of them. There are no Archive Warnings that apply to this story. It is mainly an excuse to just write cute scenes of Bruce and Clark falling in love in the snow with the added bit of dealing with time travel, with a lot of focus on Bruce Wayne's character! The most rated this story goes is the occasional swear word.

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24 Title: Scarlet Tears Word Count: 12,914 Genre: Action Fandom/Universe: AU Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart Warnings: mention mpreg Rating: M+ Summary: Leonard and Mick take a mini vacation from the Legends and head back to Central City. It is there they find out things aren't as them left it. A certain speedster has the attention of Captain Cold when an accident happen will he be able to resist staying away from this particular speedster?

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25 Title: Absent Shadows Word Count: 3487 Genre: Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort Fandom/Universe: Justice League Animated/Teen Titans Characters/Pairings: Robstar & Superbat Warnings: None Rating: NC-17 Summary: Starfire can’t believe her eyes when Robin sends her his resignation from the team, in fact she doesn’t believe it all. As she investigates Robin’s disappearance, she considers his similarities with his father and in the chaos, she meets a fellow traveller to this strange planet she calls home. Whilst they learn about each other, she seeks his experience when falling in love with both Earth and more specifically men from a certain family.

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26 Title: Make an Ass of U and Me Word Count: probably 10k-12k (6k written) Genre: Romance, Comedy Fandom/Universe: DCEU Characters/Pairings: Clark/Bruce, Dick&Bruce Warnings: sort of assumed incest, but no actual incest Rating: Teen Summary: Bruce neglects to tell the newly formed Justice League that he has a son, because he and Dick aren't talking to each other . Until they suddenly are. Unfortunately, he doesn't clarify who exactly Dick is to him, so Clark gets the wrong impression. Or: Five times Clark thought Dick was Bruce's boyfriend, and the one time he found out the truth. Contains lots of unfounded jealousy, misunderstandings, Dick being delightful, and Clark being a mess. Lots of domestic settings, mostly around the lake house and the batcave, with the exception of one battle scene.

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27 Title: Honey Trap Word Count: 7.7k Genre: Porn-with-plot, crime/modern AU Fandom/Universe: DCU (Comics) Characters/Pairings: Slade Wilson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson Warnings: Consent issues (consent is there on both sides, but dubious on one side due to situation), manipulation, some BDSM-style kink Rating: NC17 Summary: Slade's used to dealing with informants. Most get caught in the screening process before they ever get a hold of anything useful, but this one, 'Jason Todd,' gets as far as working in the lower ranks of his organization before Billy drops the file on his desk. Another attempt at an undercover CI from Detective Grayson, this time just some random arrested civilian, instead of a fellow officer. Billy would prefer that he throw him out now, but Todd's not bad looking, and Slade likes the idea of ruining this plant just like he ruined the last one. Modern AU, no-capes. Aside from sex scenes, one character is primarily in part/all of a suit throughout scenes. As Slade is aware from the start that Jason's a plant, the sex has some consent issues. Jason is doing it partly to ingratiate himself, and Slade absolutely manipulates him into it. However, Jason enjoys/consents to everything that happens, it's only the situation that's sketchy.

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28 Title: Don't Let Your Yearnings Get Ahead of Your Earnings Word Count: 7.2k Genre: Western, technically Romance Fandom/Universe: DCU (Comics) Characters/Pairings: Slade Wilson/Jason Todd Warnings: Some non-consensual touching, non-sexual Rating: PG-13 Summary: Slade Wilson is a bounty hunter, one of the best in the business. The contracts that specify 'alive and unharmed' are rarer, but usually worth the extra bonus that comes with. This one is definitely not. Jason Todd was supposed to be just another young outlaw with more balls than brains, not a slippery sharpshooter who Slade would have to chase halfway to the next town. And just to add to everything, he still has to get the damned boy all the way back. That's going to be fun. Western AU with bounty-hunter Slade and an outlaw-ish Jason. Most of the story is traveling, but there will be an inside-mansion scene near the end with Roman Sionis. No real warnings for this. There's some brief non-consensual touching of intimate bits, but it's entirely non-sexual.

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29 Title: [insert song lyric here] Word Count: 8084 Genre: It's a slowburn at its core, with action and drama mixed in Fandom/Universe: DCAU's Justice League/Unlimited Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Wally West, Shayera Hol, J'onn J'onzz, John Stewart, Diana, Clark Kent Warnings: human trafficking, threat of dub/non-con, language, sexual themes Rating: R Summary: Ever since their run in with the Justice Lords, Flash and Batman reached a new stage in their teammates-but-not-quite-friendship. The only problem is Flash is the only one who seems to think that, so he decides to see how far he can push at Batman's annoyance level before the Bat snaps at him. Unfortunately for Flash, their job keeps getting in the way, including but not limited to stumbling upon a human trafficking ring and a worldwide invasion. When the dust settles, Flash finds himself wanting more from the man under the cowl, and the harder Batman pulls away, the harder Flash is drawn to the man and his elusiveness. The Fastest Man Alive needs to rely on his patience if he wants to get anywhere in his quest. This story takes place throughout the entirety of DCAU's Justice League as well as the first two seasons of Justice League Unlimited, with the main locations being the Watchtower and Wayne Manor. The human trafficking and threat of dub/non-con are contained to two scenes in which a main character falls into trouble, but nothing too graphic occurs. Still, the subject matter isn't everyone's cup of tea. The R rating is just to be extra safe.

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30 Title: Anachronistic Crises Crossover Word Count: 8k Genre: Gen, Crossover, Fluff Fandom/Universe: Red Robin, Batman- All Media Types, DC Comics Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd (Post Crisis),Tim Drake, Jason "Jay" Todd (Pre-Crisis)/Rena(Pre- crisis), Jason "Jay" Todd (Pre-Crisis), Rena(Pre- crisis) Warnings: Period Typical homophobia, possible inclusions of bad mental health care later Rating: T (just to be safe) Summary: Coming off of the Search for Ray Palmer, Jason Todd reconciled with his family. Just in time for Batman's apparent death. After an international adventure that led them to finding the batman, said batman in his Hyper-Adapter crazed state seemingly vaporized them with Omega Energy. Jason and Tim wake up to find themselves stranded in Gotham, New Jersey where its somehow the April of 1986. Tim takes the lead and stalks a young person also named Jason Todd- who is very unlike the one he knows. The Alfred Pennyworth with him seems similar enough though. In there efforts to observe this world's Bat-family Tim ends up having to go to high school again- where the shear amount of brightly colored clothes that are either skin tight or falling off makes him want to claw his eyes out. Jason is comparatively having a much better time as a librarian in the Gotham Public Library to fund their tiny studio apartment with money that doesn't look fake for the time period. 

Night work continues as well, with Red Hood and the vigilante named by the media as "Shrike". Their quick and calculated moves on the Gotham drug trade lead them to colliding first with this world's Robin. Jason alone is confronted by the Batman, and nearly has a panic attack though Tim will never be privy to that information. 

Gotham is a not as insane back drop of retro-not-so-chic. Jason enjoys the small pleasures of being legally alive and having a job. Tim doesn't cope well without all his compact gadgetry and hates school- but likes the closeted lesbian couple he meets. A budding bat-detective trying to figure out who these new and weird people are, and who these new sci-fi like vigilantes are. Will the people back home in Tim and Jason's Gotham ever succeed in getting them home?

The entire fic takes place in either version of Gotham, with the exception of the Watchtower being there for like 5 minutes. Post-Crisis Gotham features locations like Oracle's clock-tower Jason is wearing his Under the Red Hood costume, Tim cosplays as knock off Midnighter (red robin), Bruce has blue accents and trunks, and Robin-Jay makes Jason re-live cold nights in hot-pants and pixie boots.

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31 Title: Batsons Be Crazy Word Count: 11,169 words Genre: Fluff With Plot Fandom/Universe: Batfam + Shazam basically DCU leaning towards the comics Characters/Pairings: Damian Wayne/Billy Batson Warnings: None Apply Rating: Teen Summary: The story takes place over a year, a year of Billy and Damian teaming up, falling in love, and meeting family. Damian has never liked anyone before, while Billy sees the best in everyone and will fall in love at the drop of a hat. Their romance isn't a crazy one, it's one built off of trust, comfort, and most importantly, a love of animals. Their romance brings them to many places, including Canada, Dick Grayson's apartment, and the dinner table in the manor. No warning apply except maybe underage because Damian is 17 when he begins to peruse Billy as a romantic interest, but doesn't start seeing him until he's 18.

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32 Title: The Past Still Ties You Down Word Count: 7k Genre: Angst, Romance Fandom/Universe: The Flash (TV) Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart Warnings: implied/referenced violence and abuse, alcohol abuse Rating: NC-17 Summary: On another earth, Barry falls in love with the most hated man in Central City - mob boss Leonard Snart. Only, Central doesn’t know Len like he does. They didn’t grow up with him like Barry did, sleeping in the bed above him, patching up his wounds and crawling under the covers with him when his bullies had been especially cruel. Even as the years go by - where Len is no longer a teenage boy forced into a life he didn't choose and Barry is no longer the child still grieving his mother while hating the father who killed her - they can't seem to let go of each other. Set in multiple locations in Central City, including a foster home, hospital, and the West house. The violence and abuse are not actually shown, but the aftermath is (ie. patching up wounds, some blood, some discussion of specific actions after the fact).

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33 Title: Unfortunate Souls Word Count: around 8-9k total, 4958 written Genre: Dark Fairy Tale Fandom/Universe: Batman, Batfamily Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Jason Todd/Slade Wilson, Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd/Slade Wilson Warnings: dub con (may have a bad ending that pushes it into non con) Rating: Explicit, NC-17 Summary: Based off of The Little Mermaid (Disney film mixed with aspects of the original fairy tale) as well as fandom-type Mer AU’s. With red-headed Jason taking the part of Ariel, Dick as Prince Eric, and Slade as Ursula. Jason, adopted prince of King Bruce’s underwater kingdom, is fascinated by all things human. One night, while stargazing on the surface, he decides to follow a ship out of curiosity. On the ship is a handsome human prince who steals his heart. After an accident, Jason risks his life to save the human, which puts him at odds with Bruce. After inadvertently challenging Bruce during an argument about his ‘hobby’, Jason flees the realm and accepts the offer of octo-mer Deathstroke, a one-time rival of Bruce’s, to turn him human. But Slade’s intentions are murky and hidden. He wants Bruce’s throne, his son, and if he gets a human pet out of the deal, that’s just one more trophy to show that he is the stronger Mer. The story is set in the underwater mer kingdom ruled by Bruce; Slade’s underwater lair; and the idyllic land kingdom of Bludhaven, ruled by Price Richard. I haven’t decided whether I want a happy ending, like the film, where Jason and Dick ride off into the sunset or a bad ending where Slade gets everything he wants. If happy, there will be some dub con between Jason and Slade when they make the agreement and later when Slade is using magic to enthrall Dick. If I go with the bad ending, there will likely be some non con.

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34 Title: You Will See Me Word Count: 6,146 Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Character Analysis, Canon-divergent Fandom/Universe: Young Justice Characters/Pairings: Arsenal (Roy Harper), Artemis Crock, Roy Harper (Will Harper), Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance, Lian Harper || Oliver/Dinah, Arsenal & Artemis Warnings: Trauma, PTSD, Realistic depictions of injury, Physical Disability, Recovery Rating: PG-13 Note: Arsenal, and thus Roy, are trans men in this fic. Summary: After being rescued from the clutches of Lexcorp, a cryochamber, and no future, Arsenal struggles to find his grip on life. Between the vast amounts of anger, fear, and loss, he fights to cling to autonomy. A mentor he feels betrayed him, a clone he isn't sure how to relate to, and a couple of badass women who may not have known him, but are here for him, Arsenal is just learning to live again. A heavy introspection fic on the nature of the trauma Arsenal has been through, and his road to healing. Exploring the relationships he has with Oliver, Dinah, Roy, and Artemis especially, but others as well. The two weeks between his rescue, and his first mission with the team are rife with trouble and struggle, but he has a fire and a determination in him that will get him through. The hell of the War World and the true recovery afterwards. Learning to forgive Oliver, learning to accept Roy for himself, a separate entity than himself, getting to know Artemis and the real and true bond they form. Forgiveness, healing, and his fair share of slips and bumps, Arsenal finds closure, acceptance, and comfort in his life.

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35 Title: Build Me A Place (we'll call it home) Word Count: 6,800 story (+outline of ending) Genre: Fluff, Minor Angst Fandom/Universe: Batman, Superman, Justice League Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Louis Lane, Kara Danvers Warnings: None Rating: PG-13 Summary: Kryptonians are not human. It’s easy to forget, even for Clark. That being an alien means more than his powers. There are traits rooted into the DNA, coming out in the subconscious, until not even Clark notices. Kryptonians, among other things, build Bowers for their mates, beautiful homes to settle into. It’s more than a tradition, it’s a way of life. When Clark begins to redecorate, he doesn't know why it matters so much to him. And why it hurts so badly when Bruce doesn’t even care.

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36 Title: Little Scab Word Count: 6,246 words Genre: gen, family, found family, community Fandom/Universe: DCU, Batfam, Red Hood Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, OFC, Bruce Wayne, Batfam Warnings: violence, descriptions of abuse, non-graphic allusions to sex acts Rating: M for violence, adult themes Summary: Red Hood is not a hero to most. Outlaw, yes. Killer... yes. He and his estranged family all serve some role as self-described protectors, but only Jason Todd delivers his justice in blood. However, following one good deed and the start of a fledgling friendship, Jason finds the Red Hood tasked with leading a self defense class for some of Gotham's most vulnerable—homeless, prostitutes, and runaways. When the Batfamily members start catching on, will they approve? First appears Robin. Then Black Bat. Who next? What will Batman ultimately do about his wayward ward stirring up Crime Alley? Can Jason be trusted to keep Gotham safe? The story is set in Gotham, featuring set pieces like Crime Alley, warehouses, tall buildings, the Bat cave, and more. It features many Batfam characters as well as several OCs all taking part in self defense instruction, with a few action scenes thrown in. The story does contain graphic violence, including allusions to or descriptions of past physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse. It deals with mature themes but is ultimately about forging friendships, building community, and becoming better stewards of Gotham.

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Claiming Form NOW OPEN!!!

#dcu bang

[wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey]

I need more batman media but I don't know what to watch or where to watch it and Netflix took off Young Justice and Justice League :(:( do you have any fic recs or fun facts

A.  Blogsto follow if you haven’t already followed them, the first three write FREAKINGAMAZING fanfic and the fourth creates THE BEST fanart I have literally sat and scrolled through these blogs for hours

@camsthisky (good GOSH I love her she writes so much about Dick Grayson)

@audreycritter

@preciousthingsareprecious

@laquilasse

B.  RandomFics to Read (and honestly there are so many more, I just can’t think of themat the moment):

1. TheAcrobat Series 

by fishfingersandjellybabies http://archiveofourown.org/works/4079917

Look anytime anyone talks about how much Dick loveshis family they’ve won my heart and soul. I especially like the Kori section.

2.  Mori Shej 

bydickiegayson  https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12298375/1/Mori-Shej

OH MY GOSH.  Ilove this story so freaking much.  Ok,imagine if Jason Todd, after coming back from the dead and going through allthat stuff with the Lazarus Pit and training, goes after Dick Grayson to gethis revenge on Bruce.  Except when heshows up at Dick’s apartment, ready to kill the Golden Son, he finds somethingcompletely unexpected.  Jason has a lotof issues, Dick has a lot of issues (courtesy of the Blockbuster incident).  I have read and reread this story countlesstimes, and I can never not cry because I love my broken sons so much.  There is a lot of anger, some cursing, muchregret, and brothers being brothers.  And Dick is the sweetest most protective [redacted because spoiler] and Jason has a mushy heart after all.  Itcan stand as complete but I think the author is writing more?  Also, either before or after, or both, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqeNxdyp5CEand listen to the song.  It is my newfavorite song and CAN YOU IMAGINE DICK SINGING IT OH MY GOSH

3.  the roadwill only be wide (the rain will never stop falling) 

by weird_bird (2weird4) http://archiveofourown.org/works/8610391/chapters/19743343

A collection of Dick and Damian moments.  So very beautiful.

4.  The RobinsUnited Series, first story is Bird by Bird 

by laceymcbain  http://archiveofourown.org/works/2656487/chapters/5936243

…some hurt/comfort, Jason doesn’t know what the hellto do with his family, and they all insist on calling him brother.  *shrugs* family feels are my drug of choice

5.  Penny Lane 

by @jerseydevious  http://archiveofourown.org/works/11757690

Damian wants a horse, and drat I’m crying?  (tbh I cry very easily over my sons…but still)

6.  Sun Spot 

byDawn’sEternalLight (@preciousthingsareprecious) http://archiveofourown.org/works/11748606

This fic is a quiet moment of beauty and rest for Dickand Damian.  Damian draws, and Dickwatches his talented little bro.  Thereis sunlight.  You skin will clear andyour crops will grow and any heartache you have ever had will be healed likemagic!

C.  Abunch of fics by Kieron_O’Duibhir

1.  TheTill-Then From the Ever-Since http://archiveofourown.org/works/3506603/chapters/7707866  

There is a problem in the Batcave, as in, youngerversions of the Batfam keep turning up. It’s absolutely fantastic, and one of my favorite things is youngerJason being SO done with his older self and calling him out on stuff and being all protective of his brothers.  It gets better and better with every chapter.

2.  But a Walking Shadow http://archiveofourown.org/works/4259511/chapters/9641367

 Sothis story is not finished yet and the author takes waaay long to post updateson it but she has promised not to abandon it soo…It is Nightwing-centric, witha whole mess of comic Teen Titans making appearances.  The author has written a lot of stories abouta world where Dick became a Talon, and in this tale Talon-on-the-run winds upon Earth-1 and Nightwing is trying to figure out who this apparent clone of hisis.  Talon Dick has always intrigued me,and it is interesting seeing him and Nightwing face off.

3.  All the Roofs of Uncertainty http://archiveofourown.org/works/2273208/chapters/4994631

HOLY HECK this is one of my favorite Jason Todd fanfics EVER.  I love the description by the author “The onewhere Dick bleeds a lot and Jason argues with everybody.”  Jason is in the wrong spot at the wrong time,ie. He finds Dick bleeding to death and is forced to save him.  Tim and Damian make appearances.  Jason has anger issues.  That doesn’t stop him from caring.  Bruce and Jason hash things out in the mostbeautiful (painful) way.

4.  Wheel and Blade 

http://archiveofourown.org/works/2492957

 Inwhich Dick confronts Damian about his practice of taking weapons to school, andalso gets slightly distracted by the idea of living in a vardo.  I love this story because it shows the bestway to parent Damian—not by telling him no “because I said so” but byexplaining and debating things like he is smart and capable.  

5.  I Pass the Night Watchman on His Beat http://archiveofourown.org/works/2326226

Thisis a cool one-shot of Dick and Amy, his partner on the Bludhaven police force.  I freaking love Dick being a cop.

D.  Okay now if you want something towatch:

 1.     Nightwing—TheSeries 

by ismahawk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o297A1wmys0

This is THE BEST Nightwing fan film I haveever seen.  I love the Dick Grayson in it—he’sgot acrobatics, sounds like Jesse McCartney (Robin/Nightwing’s VA in YJ), and is quite handsome.  He fights, gets the stuffing beat out of himand keeps getting back up, has a bit of a temper, loves Barbara—perfection.  Watch it, you won’t regret it.  (Also Jason is there yay!  I will take him in any capacity I can get. And I kinda really like the actor for Bruce?)

2.     RedHood: The Series—Episode One “Homecoming” 

by tenshunn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BdVSgshgFA&t=136s

My favorite Jason Toddfanfilm!!!  Heavily featuring TimDrake!  Look this adaption is fab, I lovethe actors and the dialogue and the fight between Jason and Tim (spoiler?)  As far as I know they are trying to puttogether a second episode.  Watch thevideo where Jason Todd tries to get people to donate money for it, itsHILARIOUS

3.      Batman The Animated Series is on Netflix tillSeptember 1st.  I’m in thesecond season and love it a lot…Alfred is so freaking sassy!  

4.     DamianWayne: Robins Fly at Night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS30bYjVmL4

 It’s just five minutesand doesn’t have any dialogue, and it doesn’t come close to deserving an Oscar, but dang it it’s hard to find Damian stuff…and also seeing a littlekid running around in the Robin costume made me realize that there is nothing Iwant more than to see Damian Wayne on the big screen, being all angry assassinkid, and Dick Grayson capturing him in a hug…

5. Gotham on Netflix

I am pretty sure you already watch this? But if not, DO!  It is AMAZING.  I love it so much, especially Bruce and Alfred and Selina Kyle

E.  Some things from Batman: Dark Victory

Okay I know he is a talented young acrobat and all but how the FUDGE did Dick get up on that chandelier?!  the kid can truly fly (yeah yeah, the stairs probably lead up to a hallway floor/balcony that Dick leapt off of but still) I wonder how many grey hairs the kid gave Alfred in those first weeks alone

On dark days I like to remember the time bby birb Dick Grayson caved in the Joker’s cheek with a well-placed kick.  My nine or ten year old son then proceeded to smash in the Joker’s teeth with a stick a few minutes later and it was amazing

You think I lied??  Nah my son Dick Grayson was cracking teeth and bones and witty puns from Day 1.  Go Robin!!!

Okay so just look at this picture.  Bby Dick is SO FREAKING TINY!!!  also very intense. OMG Batman’s fists are as big as his first son’s head!  *cue a very many feels in my heart*

F.  Random things I am including because I feel like it, and they all revolve around Dick Grayson mostly because he is my fave so…

1. Apparently some official websites say that Nightwing’s martial arts specialty is Aikido.  I do not think that word means what they think it means

2. “I close my eyes now for a few moments and I can see my parents riding the air current with me. Forever young. Forever strong. Their faces wide with excitement, big smiles on their faces, enjoying the adrenaline surge even more than I do. And there is one thing I am sure of … my parents would be proud of my life.” (Nightwing, Nightwing #141, 2008)  

3.  [Talking about Blüdhaven] “It’s a hopeless case. A lost cause. A town so mired in corruption and sin that it’s drowning … When Batman sent me here, I thought I’d solve one case and book. But then I realized … if I could make a difference here – well, that’d be something. This filthy old town needs me…. Surrounded by a dozen of my worst enemies. No way out. Nowhere to hide. The little brat was right. I do love it. (Nightwing, Nightwing Secret Files #1, 1999)

4.  There once was a dumb writer who thought killing Nightwing for real would be a good idea, and he tried writing toward that end, but everybody else was like hahahaha NO

5.  I used to hate when fic writers would shorten Damian’s name to Dami (kind of like how I majorly dislike when people shorten Sirius Black’s name to Siri, he is not an iPhone gosh).  But then I read a post on tumblr that said something about Dami actually meaning something in Arabic, something like blood or life-blood or heart blood…I can’t exactly remember what and maybe it isn’t even true but I choose to believe it is and that Dick knows exactly what it means and he calls Damian Dami as a way to show how special he is, how much Dick loves him.  Because Damian is his little brother/son and means the absolute world to Dick.  And Damian, though he pretends to despise all nicknames, absolutely LOVES that Dick calls him this

#ummm I hope you haven't read all these fics yet #there are so many good ones out there #there is a tim drake one i can't remember the name of but if I find it I will add it #also I didn't really say anything about the girls #i love them a lot but somehow its the guys who i always talk about more? #sorry #also I talk about nightwing a lot #that I am not sorry about he is the love of my life #gosh def watch the nightwing and red hood films #so good #i need my dc streaming service like NOW #i kept getting distracted while writing this because I kept reading fanfic #batfam

[ncfan-1]

So I’ve been thinking about the fall-out from Lyle Bolton’s actions in Arkham Asylum for a while. From Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, we know that the Asylum was eventually torn down in favor of building a more modern (and more high-security, though I wonder how effective it really was) facility for the inmates’ treatment, and I’ve started to wonder if maybe that was connected to the fall-out from the whole debacle with Bolton. And I do think there was a debacle, and one with massive fall-out, because there really is no way he could have done everything he’s described as having done by himself, with no one else on Arkham’s staff knowing about it.

Bolton is known to have A) electrified the cell doors at Arkham, B) chained the inmates in their cells at night, and C) took away ‘privileges’ even when the inmates are well-behaved. Electrifying the doors and installing the same sort of wall-mounted shackles we see Bolton using on Summer Gleeson, Mayor Hill, Dr. Bartholomew and Commissioner Gordon (if they are the same sort of shackles Bolton used to restrain the inmates) would have required a lot of work, and even if Bolton does have the expertise to do it himself, it strains credulity that he could have done so without anyone else on the staff noticing. As for the third point, whatever it was Bolton was doing to the inmates that involved taking away ‘privileges’, we don’t know (And the fact that it’s kept so vague tends to worry me). We know that Bolton tormented Arnold Wesker by dangling Mr. Scarface over a can full of termites to torment him, but otherwise, we get no details. My guess is, we get no details because it’s the kind of stuff a kid’s show can’t talk about without getting in trouble with the network. Given that Bolton feels that the treatment the inmates deserve is to be beaten to within an inch of their lives, it probably wasn’t pretty. And was probably the sort of thing that would have been difficult to pull off without some level of collusion from at least some of the staff, either from them actively aiding him, or at least turning a blind eye.

And of course Batman would get involved, because DCAU Batman (at least as of BTAS) is not amused by Bolton’s antics, genuinely wants his rogues to get better, and knows full well that inhumane treatment is not going to make them better. And if I can make the connections I’ve made, he certainly can. So have this mess of speculation and not-fic.

--

[TW: Abuse]

He doesn’t jump on it right away. After the hearing ends with Lyle Bolton’s dismissal, Bruce thinks that maybe, maybe he can put his worries to bed. Thinks that maybe the abuses were committed by Bolton alone, and that everything will be put to rights in Arkham Asylum with him gone. He likes to believe, sometimes, that problems like these have clean, simple solutions, and that the solution will make everything better.

Beyond that, there’s that cynical little voice in the back of Bruce’s mind, the one he tries not to listen to too much but can’t help but hear anyways, pointing out there’s a chance the three rogues at the hearing were lying, or exaggerating. Oh, Bruce has no doubt that Bolton should have been dismissed. His outburst at hearing was grounds enough for dismissal, and the fact that he considers violence against the inmates acceptable as anything other than a last resort makes him unsuitable to watch over them; the way he manhandled Crane (who, for God’s sake, typically only weighs about ninety pounds by the time he gets hauled back to Arkham after a breakout that’s lasted any real length of time, because when he goes off his meds he almost completely forgets to eat; once he’s beaten, he rarely actually needs to be manhandled, let alone picked up into the air like a ragdoll) when Bruce and Dick brought him back to the Asylum was definitely not appropriate behavior. But still, Bruce can’t help but wonder if maybe Quinn and Crane and Wesker were exaggerating the way Bolton treated them, or outright lying, because they were afraid the truth wouldn’t be enough to get Bolton fired and they needed to make him blow his top, do—or say—something that couldn’t just be laughed off. (Or maybe, the very cynical voice suggests, they were just trying to get rid of him because he was the only head of security Arkham had ever had who could actually keep the inmates in their cells. But that answer is just a little too simple, a little too easy. Bruce doesn’t think it’s quite right.)

Bolton spends the next six months being very quiet, and Batman has his hands full, not least because Arkham Asylum has gone right back to being about as secure as a soggy cardboard box, and a lot of his rogues are being much more aggressive than usual. Lyle Bolton is a little nagging sensation in the back of his mind, but not a primary concern.

That changes after the Lock-Up incident. After the Lock-Up incident, Batman has incontrovertible proof of what Crane, Quinn and Wesker claimed during the hearing, and his eyes are firmly fixed upon Arkham Asylum, and what went on there during Bolton’s tenure.

Batman wants the inmates of Arkham Asylum to get better. He wants there to be a day when he doesn’t have to worry that someone’s going to try to blow up the city, or poison the water supply, or commit clown, riddle, Lewis Carroll or otherwise-themed crimes. Torture never made a convict want to be a law-abiding citizen again. Torture never made the insane sane.

He knows Bolton couldn’t have been acting alone in the Asylum. The sort of machinery that would have had to have been installed to electrify the cell doors, shackle the inmates to the wall at night, even if he installed all of it by himself, there’s no way the other guards wouldn’t have noticed. There’s no way the guards performing bed checks at lights-out wouldn’t have noticed that the inmates were shackled to the back wall instead of lying on their beds. He had help.

There isn’t much of an outcry regarding what Bolton did at Arkham; there never was. Though most are much quieter about it than Lyle Bolton, most of the residents of Gotham share his opinion of the Asylum’s inhabitants: they are the scum of the earth, and so long as they’re off the street, what becomes of them is of little concern. Most people only have so much patience for supervillains, after all, and are wary even of those who have been rehabilitated.

Though there isn’t much outcry, Bruce Wayne still pushes for an investigation regarding practices at Arkham Asylum. The primary aim is to determine, exactly, the extent of the abuses Lyle Bolton inflicted upon the inmates under his watch. The secondary aim is to determine what the rest of the staff knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it. District Attorney Janet Van Dorn supports his calls for an investigation. Though, after being kidnapped and nearly killed by them, Van Dorn has precious little love for the rogues of Gotham, she agrees with Batman that the best way to ensure that she never has to deal with them again is for them to be successfully rehabilitated, and that torture is unlikely to help in that regard.

A warrant is issued to seize all Arkham Asylum security tapes from the two and a half months that Bolton was head of security, but when police arrive at the Asylum to retrieve them, they find nothing. All of the tapes from the time Bolton worked at Arkham Asylum are missing. Some very uncomfortable questions are asked of the security staff, but all anyone can figure is that they went missing sometime between Bolton’s being fired and re-emerging as Lock-Up. The police question Bolton, and get nothing. Batman questions Bolton, and gets nothing but a disappointed, muttered “We could have worked together,” and sullen silence.

Lyle Bolton is transferred to another facility not long afterwards. He does legitimately belong in a mental institution, but not the one where he victimized so many people. His presence has been… disruptive, in more ways than one. The staff aren’t sure what they’re more afraid will happen—that one of the other inmates will kill Bolton, or that Bolton will kill them.

The police have recovered the shackles from the back walls of the cells, and upon dusting them for fingerprints, find nothing. No tapes, and no fingerprints, and with that, the investigation promptly stalls.

The staff of Arkham Asylum has formed a neat little stone wall. Apparently, no one knows exactly what Bolton did to the inmates; when confronted with the documentation of electrified doors and shackles on the back walls, every single guard, janitor, medical doctor, kitchen worker and psychiatrist claims to have no idea they were there. Beyond that, no one has any idea what else Bolton may or may not have done to the inmates. Batman is stonewalled just as much as the police are, and for the life of him, he can’t figure out who genuinely doesn’t know anything, and who’s lying to conceal their own involvement.

Surprisingly, the inmates are stonewalling the police (and Batman) just as much as the staff are. Batman doesn’t try too hard to get anything out of them; honestly, he doesn’t trust them a lot more than they trust him, and that cynical voice in the back of his head is still pointing out that he can’t be sure that anything they tell him is the truth. Regardless of worries about lying, he knows that if Bolton had active accomplices and they’re still working in the Asylum, having been known to have given information either to the police or to Batman could put them at risk. Batman doesn’t want that. If any of them are hurt, it shouldn’t be because they tried to do the right thing.

But he does pay unscheduled visits to the Asylum on a frequent basis. Over the staff, he looms, making sure they know exactly how he’d feel about any ‘funny business’ starting up again. The inmates, he watches from a distance, listening. They might not be willing to talk to him, or to the police, but they do talk amongst themselves, and there’s always the chance that someone will let slip something that Batman can use as a starting point.

Nothing. No one ever speaks of Lyle Bolton. No one ever references the two and a half months he reigned over Arkham Asylum. The rogues, they seem less… energetic than Batman would have imagined. He’d heard tales of food fights in the cafeteria and the inmates constantly baiting the guards. Constant minor squabbles and reconciliations, little games the bored play to pass the time. Book-swapping, gossip-passing, stealthily sharing the latest contraband food to be smuggled into the Asylum. But instead, they all seem very subdued. They sit huddled together in groups, holding their conversations in hushed tones, and on the occasion when a fight does break out, there is an edge to it that screams desperation rather than the bored and restless simply blowing off steam.

The three from the hearing sit together whenever they end up in the cafeteria at the same time. That strikes Batman as a little… odd. Crane and Quinn are friendly with one another, yes, and so are Quinn and Wesker, but by all accounts Wesker used to avoid Crane like the plague. Batman supposes there’s nothing quite like being threatened with a beating in front of a bunch of doctors and public officials to bring unlikely friends together.

When listening in on the rogues’ conversations proves fruitless, Batman pays more discreet visits and listens in on the psychiatric staff instead. Maybe someone’s confided something in their therapist.

He gets no more about Lyle Bolton than he already knew, but what else he gets can’t help but grab his attention. Apparently, Bolton didn’t allow any of the psychiatric staff into the cell blocks during his stay, for security reasons; if a psychiatrist saw one of the inmates, it was when the inmate was brought to them, rather than the other way around. But they still have stories to tell, if you listen carefully.

There has been a marked change in the behavior of many of the inmates at Arkham Asylum. Oh, for those who were to start with belligerent and uncooperative, it’s not much of a change, but many patients who had been making real progress have not simply stalled out, they’ve actually regressed.

Harvey was never really inclined to think of the psychiatrists of Arkham Asylum as his friends, but in the time before Lyle Bolton came to Arkham, he had become fairly respectful of—and Two-Face docile around—his therapist. Cooperative, even. But now, the spirit of cooperation has been quite obviously burned away. In place of respect and docility, there is now naked hostility, manifesting itself in insults and, occasionally, physical violence. Harvey recently spent the night in solitary after decking a doctor when the hapless man had put his hand on Harvey’s shoulder.

Waylon Jones has turned silent during both one-on-one and group therapy sessions. Before, he’d always been happy to talk his therapist’s ear off, and even if what he revealed was rarely anything of substance, his demeanor towards his doctors—those who treated him like a human being, rather than a sapient crocodile—was nothing but amiable. The bitter, defensive silence the staff gets these days is anything but amiable, and when concerned doctors turn to those inmates Jones might be inclined to listen to, they refuse outright to even try to make him talk. He’s also been doing poorly in his literacy classes—Bolton refused to allow him to attend them, and now that he is able to again, he’s been showing significantly less interest than he used to, though the doctors think (hope) he might be starting to regain interest.

Harley Quinn (it’s hard for Batman to think of her as Harleen Quinzel, for more reasons than one, but the fact that her alias is just a shortened form of her real name certainly doesn’t help) was, just before Bolton arrived, deemed sufficiently rehabilitated to be released. She wound up right back in Arkham not long afterwards, but still, the fact that she was let out at all suggests that she had been making a great deal of progress.

Batman can find no trace of that progress now. Harley is apparently almost uniformly refusing to confide anything in the doctors, not even Dr. Leland, whom she was close to, once. She’s grown aggressive, sometimes outright defiant to the guards. She’s become increasingly clingy towards and emotionally dependent on any of the rogues she considers a friend. And the Joker…

Well. Once upon a time, Dr. Leland (with the unofficial help of fully half the rogues’ gallery; the unanimous opinion is that Harley and the Joker’s relationship is a flaming train wreck, and the half that actually cares about Harley’s wellbeing has been trying to get her to dump him for ages) had actually been making decent strides towards getting Harley to not just acknowledge that her relationship with the Joker is an abusive mess, but to go the extra mile of breaking things off with him, too. Once upon a time, it had looked like Harley might leave the Joker for good. Nowadays, she clings to him even more than before, will do anything he asks her to do, even the sort of thing she would have balked at not so long ago. Her entire world hinges on the Joker’s approval, and if she can’t get it, the whole world might as well be gone, she’s so abjectly miserable.

Batman hears other things, too. Like how patients who had already been prone to panic attacks—Arnold Wesker, Jervis Tetch, and Jonathan Crane, among others—are having them with increased frequency now. Like how patients who’d had panic attacks less frequently, or not at all—Edward Nygma, Maxie Zeus, Mary Dahl and, most noticeably, Pamela Isley—have started having them, too.

Eventually, a warrant will be issued for Arkham’s medical records during Bolton’s tenure. Before that day comes, Batman pays a more discreet visit to the filing room where such records are kept. The medical records, at least, haven’t gone missing the way the surveillance tapes did—an oversight on Bolton’s part, or simple arrogance. Batman starts reading.

Just to get an idea of what the situation in the infirmary is usually like, Batman first reads the medical records from the month leading up to Bolton’s hiring (He spends many a night hiding out in the filing room; maybe it would be easier to make copies of the records, or to take them back to the Batcave while he needed them, but this time, he can’t risk any potential evidence being seen as ‘contaminated’). Most of the files’ contents refer to illness rather than injury—head colds, rashes, the occasional bout of food poisoning or flu. Injuries are mostly minor, and less common than Batman would have expected. Serious fights are more likely to be verbal than physical, and the guards can usually pull fighting inmates off of each other before they can do each other any real harm. Inmates who are suspected to be contemplating suicide are put on suicide watch and handled like something made of glass until its deemed safe to take them off of suicide watch. Rarely does one of the inmates manage to make an attempt beforehand; even the most apathetic of the doctors on the staff take notice when someone makes such an insinuation.

During Bolton’s time as head of security, there’s an uptick in, well, everything. Injuries consistent with the effects of touching an electrified door, with having your arms restrained in an unnatural position for hours at a time, every night. That much, Batman expected, though it still makes him grind his teeth, just a little bit. He reads on, and on, and what he reads makes him want to punch a sizable dent in the nearest filing cabinet.

Many of the inmates were admitted to the infirmary with injuries that, officially, were inflicted after they initiated altercations with the guards. Not just the ones who were known for being belligerent, the ones who were known for picking fights. When Arnold Wesker, who was typically completely non-violent, was admitted for such a reason, the observant mind had to take notice.

Still more were admitted with symptoms of malnourishment, allegedly because the inmates involved had gone on hunger strikes. One of the names that came up for that is Waylon Jones, of all people, which, as far as Batman is concerned, strains credulity far beyond the breaking point. Yes, Waylon Jones, aka Killer Croc, has been known to eat people. However, he is hardly enthusiastic about cannibalism, at least not when he is completely rational. One of the symptoms of his disease is that, after a few days with no food, everything flesh and blood starts looking like a viable food source; back when Jones still talked to any of the doctors, one thing that they had been able to pin down quite definitively is that the single overwhelming feeling Jones associates with his forays into cannibalism is disgust. For Jones to have willingly turned down food for as long as the files say he did beggars belief.

(The medical records also note that Jones spent most of Bolton’s tenure in a muzzle. The urge to punch a filing cabinet rises.)

The rate of suicide attempts sees an increase, with the inmates in question more likely to be placed in solitary confinement than on suicide watch.

The night Batman and Robin brought Crane back to Arkham, he was admitted to the infirmary with a sprained wrist and bruising that, officially, he picked up when he was apprehended. Truth be told, it wouldn’t be the first time Batman had delivered a rogue to Arkham a bit bruised—hell, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d delivered Crane to Arkham a bit bruised, and there were some rogues and some nights where if the only injuries anyone had were bruises and sprains, Batman counted himself fortunate. But he didn’t punch or kick someone who wasn’t fighting, and Crane… hadn’t even tried to fight. He’d tried to run, but when Batman and Robin had caught him, he’d immediately turned to pleading. He hadn’t gotten those injuries from either Batman or Robin.

Isley had spent the entirety of Bolton’s tenure in and out of the infirmary, usually camped out under a UV lamp. Security claimed that she refused to go outside when it was her turn to go out into the yard, which honestly sounded about as likely as Waylon Jones willingly refusing food. A quirk of Pamela Isley’s physiology means that, much like most species of plants, she is dependent on sunlight for her health. A few days without sunlight, and her health begins to deteriorate. Quickly. Luckily, the infirmary already had a UV lamp on hand, for times when Isley isn’t allowed to go outside, and for the winter months, when sunlight is scarce. If not, well, no one knows for certain if it’s possible for Isley to die from lack of sunlight, but that isn’t the sort of thing that should ever be tested.

Other similar incidents can be found without even having to dig for them, and Batman’s question of the hour becomes: how many times can a person plausibly put two and two together and come up with any number but four?

If… If those who had the power to dismiss Bolton saw what was happening and yet did not dismiss him, Batman has a good idea of why. He knows, or thinks he does, why Bolton would have been allowed to stay on even if abuse was suspected.

Very few of the people working at Arkham Asylum truly wanted to work there. Sure, some of the rogues have fans, but anyone who’s obvious about it gets screened out during the hiring process (Especially after what happened with Harley). But most people do not want to spend their days in close proximity with some of Gotham’s most dangerous, most volatile criminals—and the Joker, who’s in a class all by himself as far as danger and volatility goes. Enough of the staff have been killed over the years that Arkham is everyone’s least desirable workplace.

Somebody who’s working in Arkham as a janitor or a cook is probably doing it because they got laid off and they still need to pay the bills as they frantically send their résumé out in every direction. Much the same goes for the non-police security staff—and if the GCPD loans out an officer to work at Arkham for a while, it’s usually as punishment for some infraction.

If you are any kind of doctor working in that place, general practitioner, surgeon or psychiatrist, that is almost invariably a sure sign that your career is just over. Arkham is where a doctor goes when there’s just no one else who’ll take them anymore, especially the psychiatrists. Dr. Leland wound up in Arkham after she blew the whistle on a corrupt superior, and was blacklisted for her troubles. Dr. Bartholomew once worked in an office that was later discovered to be running drugs for the mob; Bartholomew himself was clean, but guilt by association is a powerful thing, and out of everywhere he sent his résumé, Arkham was the only place that ever answered.

Arkham is permanently understaffed and empty positions are incredibly difficult to fill, so when someone comes along looking for a job, unless they’re so unsubtle that they can’t help but send up red flags during the interview, they’re usually hired, with minimal questions asked. Heck, in the intervening months between his being fired from Gotham University and his putting on a costume and joining the ranks of Gotham’s rogues’ gallery, Jonathan Crane had worked at Arkham as a psychiatrist, which should really tell you something about the quality of the background checks the Asylum runs on potential employees. (Batman’s opinion is simply that the Asylum staff should just count themselves lucky that, when he was still rational enough to care, Crane kept the professional and personal parts of his life firmly separate.)

The Asylum’s staff is desperate to retain anyone even slightly competent at their work. The bare-bones definition of Lyle Bolton’s job is ‘keep the inmates from escaping,’ and by that bare-bones, far-too-basic definition, Lyle Bolton was the most successful head of security Arkham’s ever had. But he abused the inmates under his watch. The staff is desperate, and desperation can make people do things they never thought they’d do, but here’s the thing…

…Okay, look. Batman has this thing that he does under certain circumstances, regarding the Arkham rogues. He’s read up on them, researched their histories, and he will think to himself one thing he learned about them from their lives before they turned to crime.

For instance, the Riddler once blew out all the circuits in his first apartment trying to operate several homemade appliances. Much to the horror of his landlord, he kept going until he finally got it right.

When she was a little girl, Poison Ivy loved Snow White. She loved Snow White so much that she would have dressed up as the eponymous princess every year at Halloween if her parents had let her.

Baby Doll got into Shakespeare almost immediately after quitting her sitcom. Her favorite role was Lady Macbeth, and while everyone else thinks her performance was awful, Batman kind of likes it.

The only real consensus his former students can come to regarding the Scarecrow is that he was very easily distracted. Mention ‘fear’ to him, or any other concept in psychology that he felt even a little strongly about, and unless someone stopped him he would completely forget what he was supposed to be talking about, and just talk about that for the rest of the lecture.

Mr. Freeze used to sing karaoke at a bar on the East End. Badly.

Somewhere, there is a home video of an underage Harley Quinn doing beer pong with her sorority sisters until she fell out of her chair and literally could not get up again. She just lied there, giggling, while one of the other girls tried and failed to get her on her feet again.

It would help with the Joker if Batman actually knew anything about his past. But there was that one time he slipped on a fallen pie during a chase and face-planted right onto the sidewalk.

Harvey… Harvey.

When the Arkham rogues are on the loose, causing chaos, Batman tells himself these things to remind himself that they aren’t forces of nature. They are not unstoppable. They are simply human, and they can be beaten.

Afterwards, he tells himself these things to remind himself that they are human. That they’re people. That not a single one of them was always one of Gotham’s fearsome rogues’ gallery. Everyone here was someone else before. Oh, sure, there are plenty who were never perfectly pleasant people, but not a single one of them came into the world cackling and wreaking havoc, any more than he came into the world already a vigilante. Something happened, just like something happened to him, and if they used to be something other than what they are now, then maybe…

Bruce Wayne talks to Harvey. He’d hoped to avoid having to go to his friend for information, knows he could be putting Harvey at risk doing this, but the staff is still sticking to their chorus of “saw nothing, heard nothing, did nothing.” The police need something new to go on.

“Harvey, please.”

“No, Bruce. It’s not going to change anything; we both know that.”

“Yes, it will. I know Bolton couldn’t have pulled off everything by himself. If the police could figure out who helped him, if they had some idea of who to look at and put pressure on—“

“Bruce, they all helped him.” From across the glass, Harvey sounds very tired, and Bruce feels his heart sink. Of course, Harvey doesn’t sound like he used to—the explosion damaged his vocal cords, just as it damaged his face. But every time Bruce goes to see him, Harvey sounds more tired, more worn-out, more hopeless, and less like the man Bruce knew, what feels like an eternity ago. “Whether by actively abetting him or by pretending they weren’t seeing what was going on right in front of them, they all helped him.”

Bruce feels his heart sink even further, but the distinction is an important one—it means the search can be narrowed down a bit for now. “Well, what about the ones who actively aided him. The police can start with them.”

There comes silence, and Bruce wonders if Harvey will refuse again. But then, there comes a shift. Harvey’s jaw clenches, his shoulders hunching, and his eyes grow colder, his gaze more intent.

Bruce stiffens. “I was talking to Harvey,” he says, with an edge to his voice that isn’t really Bruce at all.

“You get me,” comes the growled response. “You want those scum’s names, don’t you?”

It isn’t quite how Bruce would have liked it, but in the end, he gets enough information for Batman to give a few names to Commissioner Gordon, and really get the investigation rolling again.

Once Gordon has those names to go on, the whole thing starts unraveling quickly. Bolton’s most active accomplices aren’t exactly hardened criminals; most of them spill the beans after a few hours in a GCPD interrogation room. It’s more a matter of connecting Bolton to the incidents detailed in the Asylum medical records, confirming that he did indeed have active accomplices (and who those accomplices are), and establishing that really, the rest of the staff should have been able to figure out what was going on, rather than unearthing any other deep, dark secrets. Without the surveillance tapes, there’s no way to precisely determine the true extent of the abuses committed under Bolton’s watch, but the information the GCPD (and Batman) have is enough.

It is at this point that certain of the inmates are interviewed; the risk to them has been deemed low enough now that they might be willing to share a bit more. Truth be told, no one really gets any new information out of them—Harley and Nygma in particular spend their interview time apparently trying to figure out how fast they can turn sober cops to drink—but those willing to talk corroborate, in bits and pieces, the information the GCPD already possesses.

Once replacements can be found, most of the Asylum staff any higher in the hierarchy than the janitors are either invited to resign or outright fired. Every member of the psychiatric staff besides Dr. Leland is forced out, including Dr. Bartholomew. Oh, certainly, he wasn’t allowed in the cell blocks any more than the other psychiatrists, but most agree that it seems impossible that all of this could have been happening under Dr. Bartholomew, the head of psychiatry’s nose, and him completely oblivious.

Officially, Dr. Leland is kept on because it’s felt that there’s a chance that she could have been genuinely oblivious—she was barred from the infirmary as well as the cell blocks—and because she has a record as being a genuinely diligent doctor. Unofficially, there is speculation that she is kept on because having the psychiatric staff be full of personnel new to the Asylum, with no one more experienced available to guide them, is a recipe for disaster. Either way, she goes on being just as dedicated as she ever was.

Bruce can’t help but feel as though the rot in Arkham is something that isn’t going to go away simply because of a change in the faces that work there. This isn’t just a metaphorical thing, either. The building dates back to the nineteenth century, and has been rather poorly maintained over the years; among other things, the roof has a tendency to leak, and mold infestations are a common source of illness among staff and inmates alike. So Bruce does something Batman can’t do; he funds the building of a more modern (and hopefully more secure) facility.

It takes a few years, but the new facility is eventually ready for habitation, and Arkham Asylum is left abandoned and partially demolished. Some of the inmates, surprisingly, express dismay (regardless of what a pain in the ass he is when he’s out and about, Crane referring to Arkham as ‘home’ is just kinda sad; he doesn’t even like it there, for crying out loud), but most seem relieved to leave Arkham behind them, even if they aren’t any more enamored of imprisonment at the new facility.

Slowly, very slowly, things start to get a little better again. But even so, Batman likes to pay unscheduled visits to the new facility sometimes. And loom.

(The rogues still don’t trust him any more than he trusts them. But regardless of whether or not they can be rehabilitated, there must be someone willing to protect them from abuse in the place where they ought to be receiving treatment. If not him, then who?)

#Batman: The Animated Series #Meta #TW Abuse #Written because there HAD to be fallout from all of this

[sweetwriting]

Tim Drake Week 2017 - Day 5 : Injury / Healing

Category : Gen

Genre : Angst / Family

Fandoms : DC Comics, Batman (1940), Detective Comics, Robin v4 (1993), Red Robin (2009), Teen Titans (2003)

Continuity : Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint

Summary : So maybe Tim loved Dick too much, but to be fair Dick was the only person he had to love for a long time.

Author’s notes : This one’s about Tim and Dick’s BROTHERLY relationship Also I try to keep most of the fics for this Week less than 1000 words...I have failed yet again

Word Count : 2827

To read it on AO3

Tim, as can be expected from any non-powered person running around in costume fighting criminals, had received many injuries in the past four years (as proved by his asplenia). Physical, psychological (thank you Scarecrow, Darkseid and Granny Goodness, you've been some of the worse) and emotional, he went through them all. It probably did not help that he was from a rich family (no matter how reckless he could be sometimes, he still lived in as safe an environment Gotham or boarding school for Richie rich (white) kids could be) or that he wasn't very emotionally stable to begin with (he never realized it until he got the chance to open up to his friends and they looked at him as if he was the "saddest little bean" ever -Conner's own words. He hadn't known Bart and Conner were able to feel like this toward anything other than children, women or TV shows and Video Games).

So yeah, lots and lots of bad History there. Still the worse injuries had been the emotional and psychological ones (he still had nightmares about their time on Apokalips, he still sees the nightmares Granny Goodness had created for him, he had nightmares where he didn't "turn down" the Anti-Life Equation and those were often mixed with memories of a future where he became a dictator, where he had managed to clone Conner). The worse ones though were the deaths : Steph, Bart Cass. It didn't matter if some ended up not being real he was still forced to start grieving and psychology hadn't really caught up on how to react to your friends coming back to life. There was also that time he was preparing himself for Dick joining the list (he honestly doesn't know what would have happened to him if Dick had died) and Dana, though not physically wounded was pretty much unable to handle a complete conversation or even take care of herself. His mother and father were special cases themselves as what hurt the most was never knowing what could have been and knowing what never was. Then there were the harshest ones : Conner's and Bruce's. They had both impacted him so deeply he didn't think he would ever truly heal from them. Conner's because, well because he's his best friends, one of the most important people in his life (and hadn't that been an unexpected turn) and Bruce, well, because it's Bruce. Tim became Robin to protect him from himself (and barely lasted four years and a half). But everything that happened because of his death made it worse.

And that's what this is about right ?

Tim loves Dick. He has since he was 3. Dick was his role model, then his big brother, one of the rare people he could confide in (After Conner's death, when they were gone and later on learning Bart's "disappearing act" he became pretty much the only one aside from Cassie sometimes). The tragedy of Dick's childhood shaped his life.

And Dick chose Damian. He knew that he had failed Bruce but he still deserved to be Robin and yet Dick had chosen this homicidal kid for the role. And of course, Dick was the new Batman, the former Robin, of course his vision for the role is what mattered most. But...Tim was the one who had...he had to force Bruce to take on a new Robin, he worked himself almost to the death to be worthy of the mantle and it was taken from him. Dick didn't even have the gut to tell him he just...he was walking in to get changed Damian was wearing a Robin uniform. Was it that hard to tell him? Was it because of his theory that Bruce is alive? Did Dick think he was so mad with grief he really didn't deserve the mantle? What was Tim supposed to do? He just said that it was because he thought he was ready to be his own hero. But then why not talk it through with him? He didn't even have the time to choose a new name and he had to find Bruce. He didn't *have* the time for that. How could Dick do that to him. How could he suggest that Tim was mad when he was the one running away from his grief? Dick was the one who got angry at Bruce Oh so many times because he made decisions without consulting the people concerned and Dick did exactly the same with Tim.

The hypocrisy was daunting. Tim had always known that Dick was more similar to Bruce than either of them would admit. But they were similar and it made Tim so, so sad. he didn't know what to do.

Yes, he did.

He had to find Bruce. Because Bruce has to be alive. Because he needs to not be mad. Because his brother, his model admitted that Tim just wasn't enough. No matter the excuses he tried to give, at the end of the day, Tim lost his second father in a year and his brother took the last thing Tim had from him. Took the last bit of anything right in his life away from him to give it to someone who had tried only a few months prior to kill him in order to become Robin. And well Tim had just lost the two things he had left. Damian had reached his goal even if it wasn't in the way he had expected.

But Tim still had one thing to do and he couldn't actually die until it was done. He had to bring Bruce back home.

Bruce had been back for a year now. Tim…still hadn't really talked with either of them.

The truth is that he spent most of his downtime with Conner, Bart, Cassie, or any of the Titans (it turns out Solstice had actually met his father when he went out on a dig once) rather than try to talk to any of the Bats outside of Barbara, Alfred and Cass.

He and Steph had a truce and they could work together if they had to but it was still awkward. They had, after all always had this on and off relationship which only stopped when she died. Her coming back to life ended up with him being confused about which part he was supposed to be feeling : wanting to start again like they always did ? or just try and be friends ? Because it wasn't like it had been with Ariana, when he had pretty much already moved on when they broke up. His and Steph's break up was sudden to him (even if in retrospect he realized it was bound to happen soon enough) and her death only happened within a few weeks of it. He never had the time to realize a car hit him before a truck hit him harder. And this time it seemed to be truly over but what do you do when you have a history of going back to this person, even if you have realized you only did it because of familiarity? Because you missed having intimacy with someone and it was just easier to fall back into a known situation even if it wasn't an ideal one, even if you knew it was going to end badly but couldn't help hoping it wouldn't simply out of fear of being alone, out of fear of never finding anyone you could get this intimacy with.

Tim wished he had an answer to this question but the truth is that he was still struggling. He was lucky he had his friends back to keep him out of Gotham on a regular basis, to be in a somewhat supportive environment. It wasn't perfect obviously, they all had their own issues and Conner and Cassie's strained relationship wasn't easy especially for him and Bart. Because while they were all best friends Bart and him were better friends with Conner than they were with Cassie and Cassie knew it and even if neither tried to make them chose between them (it wasn't a "who to side with" choice obviously, more of "who gets to keep who" kind of choice) they all knew what that choice would be, especially for Tim (Bart might choose Cassie just to counterbalance Tim's choice, even if it wouldn't be his main choice), and it hurt because they did love Cassie. So even if they didn't talk about it, the elephant was in the room. Or at least it was until Bart couldn't stand it and locked the three of them in a room until they either "killed each other, made up or had a threesome" (the last one had shocked them, both because they didn't understand why Bart would associate the idea of a threesome with them and because, even if they knew Bart had grown up and was knowledgeable about a variety of subjects, some things were still hard to swallow and Bart being aware of sex always managed to surprise them no matter how often it happened). Of course they could have gotten out easily, between the two powerhouses and Tim's own pick locking skills, it was child's play. Only, if Bart hadn't intervened, Tim wouldn't have lasted much longer. So when his friends got ready to destroy the door, he stopped them and forced them to confront their issues (it was so much easier to force other than to do it himself). And sure, just because they talked about it, it didn't mean everything was all and good but it meant that at some point it could be.

And why was he saying this? Because he was avoiding the situation at hand obviously. He was in a coffee shop, sitting across from Dick, a cup of hot chocolate filled with melting whipped cream between his hands. Cass was right, they had to talk things through. Still, she had allowed him a few months because for once in his life he felt he had a right to not forgive right away. Sure it seemed petty but, Tim always forgave people. There were only five instances when he didn't forgive right away: when Bruce had revealed his identity to Steph, when half of Young Justice had admitted to not trusting him (when Kon and Bart had admitted to not trusting him), when he learned that Leslie Thompkins and Steph had lied to them about Steph's death, when Jason had tried to kill him and when Damian had tried to kill him. And even then he had always forgiven in the weeks that followed (it took a lot longer for Leslie, Jason and Bart but the circumstances were different...and he's still struggling with the Damian situation but it's complicated and linked to this one). Simply put, Tim had to live through hell. He hadn't been sure he would survive the emotional strain and at some point he hadn't even been sure he wanted to (actually he was sure he hadn't wanted to). And of course, he wasn't the only one, he knew that but it didn't make his distress go away. So he let himself feel it, acknowledge his feelings for once (which was actively encouraged by his friends) until Cass decided enough was enough (she was right of course it was starting to wring him down, whether he managed to bridge the gap between them or not, he needed to let go).

The thing is, Dick had never apologized.

It may seem stupid but Dick was the biggest influence in his life, along with Bruce, and he had taken everything away from him without even informing him and, and he hadn't even apologized.

This was going to be long.

The whipped cream was completely melted by now. He hadn't been this awkward with Dick since Dick had been his own Batman. It was a lifetime ago (and even then the awkwardness wasn't nearly this bad). He didn't know what to say. Dick seemed to be as lost as he was and he could see Cass hovering nearby. And he couldn't hold it in anymore:

"You never apologized" he blurted out, eyes still lost in his mug.

Dick was obviously taken aback (and why wouldn't he, they had been silent for at least 5 whole minutes before Tim started talking), so he continued.

"You took the Robin mantle from me and gave it to Damian of all people. I had to work at convincing you and Bruce I deserved it and he got it almost right after Bruce's death, you didn't even have the decency to ask me if I was ready, if I was okay for it. I get why he needed it now, but back then you just sprung it on me. You did to me what you're always reproaching to Bruce. I lost my second father in a year, most of my friends were dead and you took away not only the role I had worked so hard to fill and you took my trust in you with it. You even took the trust I had in Cassie when you asked her to come and convince me I was mad. You pretty much called me crazy."

Tim stopped for a second. Taking a deep breathe he looked up from his hot chocolate. Dick seemed to be about to say something but didn't seem to be able to form any words and Tim would have interrupted him anyway. He needed to finish what he had started or he might lose al his courage :

"I know you have emotional issues, we all do, but I thought you could at least manage to apologize. I was alone Dick, I didn't feel safe anywhere because it felt like at any point you were going to send someone new to convince me to go to Arkham. And I get that you had other things to do and that all of a sudden you had other responsibilities on top of having to deal with Bruce's death but it doesn't change the fact that I was one of your responsibilities and you chose to give up on me. You acted as if I had this, big and sudden change, like my emotional instability was somehow new. Like your actions wouldn't, hadn't impacted it. It wasn't Dick and I'm sure you know it, that you knew it, but it was easier to ignore it."

And he knew it was harsh and even a little unfair, that he wasn't perfect either but it felt good to just, lay it out there. And Dick looked horrified and he probably hadn't realized how badly Tim was doing back then. Dick was usually good at pinpointing other's emotional weaknesses but for some reason he had never seemed to really see Tim's. He tried to reach out from across the table, tried to take Tim's hands in his own because, for once, he really needed this bit of contact. But the action surprised Tim who retracted them quickly. They both winced at the reflexive movement which was oh so reflecting of the state of their relationship. Still it seemed to renew Dick's determination and while he didn't try to touch Tim again, he made sure to look him in the eye as he spoke to him :

"You're right I'm sorry. I have no actual excuse for this except that I didn't realize what it was doing to you. I honestly thought you were ready to fly on your own and that Damian needed to be Robin in order to adjust better and I didn't think about how it'd affect you. I said it was because I considered you my equal and still pulled a Bruce and took you out of the decision-making process. And you're right I should have apologized long ago but I didn't really comprehend what had gone wrong until now and I'm so sorry. I promise I'll try to work on it but, I'm not a mind reader. You also have to promise that if I ever do something like that again you will knock some sense into me. Like you usually do with Bruce"

And that was it. Tim didn't really need some long-winded apology. This was enough : acknowledging their faults and promising they'd at least try to get better

And sure, as with Conner and Cassie's resolution, things were far from perfect and wouldn't be for a long while. But as he was suddenly enveloped in his big brother's arms (which was a nice change from Bart, Cassie and Conner, no matter how much he loved the little massaging Conner did around his ears during their half hugs)…as he finally, and for the first time in over a year, truly felt that he was loved by Dick instead of just guessing, thinking, supposing, deducing…Now that he truly felt it, knew it for sure; he had hope that he could really salvage their relationship.

Author’s Note 2 : This work is un-betaed, if you have any advice or anything don't hesitate to tell me (no I'm not fishing for comments I have no idea what you mean)I didn't talk about Tim's suicidal attempts, especially not in the conversation because I don't think either of them are ready to even start thinking about it, much less talking about it.I have put some TimKonCassie again, for a ship that I don't ship it sure comes up often (then again in all of their comics versions Kon and Cassie's relationship almost always only exist through Tim. so if I write about KonCassie it's gonna end up being KonTimCassie...)There's a tiny bit of sexism at the beginning, it's because -sadly- the 90's were a quite sexist time (not that it's much better today) and some, tendencies of the heroes reflect that (except for Kon who was actually not *that* bad, for various reasons I won't get into here until around the 60-70 issues of his first Superboy series and especially Joe Kelly and Dan Didio's run at whichpoint he became a fuckboy and even a tad homophobic (oh I long for the time when he barely batted an eyelash when he learned that his then best friend was gay and thought he and his bf were a cute couple...)), it was a time full of comments that "when cute girl talking to you/you talking to cute girl = flirting even if you're not actually interested"...

#DC comics #Tim Drake #Dick Grayson #BrOTP: Tim & Dick #Bruce Wayne #Stephanie Brown #Bart Allen #Conner Kent #Cassandra Sandsmark #Cassandra Cain #Damian Wayne #Ariana Dzerchenko #BroShip: TimKonCassie #Ship: TimKonCassie #BrOT4: TimKonBartCassie #BrOTP: TimKon #Past #Ship: TimSteph #Ship: KonCassie #Robin v4 (1993) #Batman #Teen Titans v3 #Red Robin #Tim Drake Week

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

Hey, Bee, I loved your last fic, thanks for posting! You know, I am super worried with this villain thing, but I am also very curious (and scared lol) to see what’s going to happen. I accept Dami as a villain or anti-hero if Slade adopts him or something!

I’d rather go the Jason way of anti-hero if he has to go any way. And I haven’t seen Slade around in the comics lately? Though I’m not a big fan of him anyway so keep him away from Damian haha.

Honestly, though, my gut does say that all this ‘oh Damian goes evil!’ thing is all hype and basically lies to get people interested. Because like I’ve been saying, Damian is SAD, and while I haven’t read anything with him in it consistently since Super Sons, the panels I’ve seen seem to portray that, along with the anger and misplaced solutions to crime etc. 

So the fact that they’re really harping on Damian being the cause of Alfred’s death, kind of alienated Jon from him, really pushing that whole angry/sad/lost/misguided kid idea in people’s heads, the fact that the last person he seems to be wanting to go after/kill is the guy who shot Dick, AND the fact that this whole lead up to the Bruce v Damian confrontation does NOT seem to show Bruce as angry or ready to go beat the shit out of Damian as he had in previous confrontations with say Jason, but more in a ‘I’m worried about him as his father’ (80th anniversary special) and the whole ‘What do I do?’ vibes he’s had at the end of the last couple TT issues - this is all leading me to believe that Damian’s going to have a complete and utter mental and/or emotional breakdown. 

I think he and Bruce are going to scream at each other for an entire issue, Damian will have an emotional flood of all he’s been feeling, Bruce will probably not take a lot of responsibility for it, maybe hug it out? But doubtful. I think Damian’s going to internalize the breakdown and remove himself from Robin without really any push from Bruce to do so/believe himself ‘too tainted.’ I think he’s going to push to isolate himself from Bruce and the family in some way to ‘recover’ or to still be convinced of his more violent ways of dealing with criminals is the correct way (thus the ‘Damian goes evil!’ hype).

And lastly I think if/when a proper recovery arc for Damian happens, Dick with his returned memories will be a big part. But for right now, I don’t see him having any part in it.

But that’s just me! Slash, what I hope happens because that would be the only thing that would make sense/I’d accept, beyond, you know, Damian NOT being ruined like this in any way in the first place. 

#Damian Wayne #comics and shit #anon #asks

[victoriousscarf]

For the impression meme : Dick Grayson; Damian Wayne

(I tried to insert this picture later in the post but honestly it makes such a good header for me babbling about Dick so I’m leaving it where it is even tho this was an ACCIDENT) 

Dick Grayson:

First impressionLike, I know I watched the old animated Bats show and watched the movies etc so probably the first real time I went “Dick Grayson is a character” was the Val Kilmer movie which like, kill me. 

But honestly the first time reading comics I remember sitting up and going oh this is a character, this is a person and I’m SO INTERESTED was reading Hush (again, good/terrible comic to read early) which means Jim Lee’s beautiful art (I may disagree with 90% of anything that man says or does and would like him to retire from DC as editor but man I can admit he draws so PRETTY) 

Yeah like that panel. And his snark about maybe this time the Joker won’t break out from Arkham for at least a month this time. 

And I was like yeah okay. This is good. Let me go add Nightwing comics to my massive library request list (All the librarians knew my name pretty fast okay)

Impression now

My FAVORITE. Like no I’m serious, he’s right up there with Luke Skywalker as all time favorite characters. And also this is why I’m so damned picky with him as a character because at his core, I think he’s an inherently optimistic character, not because he’s naive or stupid or sheltered, because he’s not. But despite the terrible things that have happened to him, and in fact despite his own nature (his temper, his distrust, his workaholic tendencies) and despite the terrible things that have happened to him over and over and over again, he still makes the conscious CHOICE to believe in goodness, in kindness and compassion, in the world being a better place. (And honestly he’s a lot like Luke “I am a Jedi like my Father Before me” Skywalker in this way). He’s still flawed, as I said he has such a temper, and is about as distrustful of people as Bruce is. But he can BUILD trust with people (unlike Bruce for like the majority of people) and everyone loves him for it. The superhero community trusts him in ways they don’t trust Bruce Wayne (which is fair considering how often Bruce like causes destruction simply due to his own massive trust issues, like the Tower of Babylon and Brother Eye). And yeah okay he’s my favorite, but there’s also this view of Dick in fandom and even the more recent writers that strips a lot of this complexity and shrewdness and leadership from him. And so like in current pre-Rebirth (I’ve been waiting for rebirth to settle a lot more than venturing in there) my impression is not great. And i dread what’s coming both there and in larger media. Favorite momentAh damn like where would I even start.

Like it’s sad that in some ways my favorite moment dealing with him ever actually doesn’t even feature him in it, and it’s Bruce talked with Earth 2 Superman and Supes saying that their world was so corrupt, so dark, so tainted compared to his and he couldn’t understand why this world survived when his own had been destroyed when it was much gooder and Bruce looks at him and you can tell he’s wondering that too and then he goes okay but what about Dick Grayson and Supes sorta goes eh? and Bruce is like if everything is so much worse here, is Dick Grayson tainted and corrupted compared to yours? And Earth 2 Superman says no, no he’s still good, and Bats goes great and fights him. You get the implication that if that hadn’t been the answer, Bruce might have been as willing to give up on this world as that Supes but no, Dick still was the same shining bright light, still such goodness in a dark world and that made the whole world worth fighting for. LIKE KILL ME. Kill me. 

And honestly I still love Dick being so good that even when all the other teen titans were down and Slade Wilson charges into his apartment even out of costume and with no warning Dick manages to jump out his window and escape where the element of surprise pretty much took down the rest of the team. That’s a classic. 

Idea for a story

I’m a sucker for aus, especially aus where the DCU is more or less the same expect Bruce didn’t raise Dick. There was one scan I found where an alternate Dick was raised by Zucco and honestly that haunts me to this day. Or a novel length exposition of the time he was a vampire hunter and Batman was a vampire who killed his parents and it ends with them being together in the night… forever. LIKE THESE ARE CANON AUS give me more of that weirdness. (A lot of Batman elseworld stories that are canon sorta downplay Dick and what I’m saying is don’t. Upplay him like crazy and how he effects Bruce at ever turn, in every world, how all the Robins exist with him through time)Unpopular opinionI hate him and Barbara. I mean, with caveats but I can’t ship it. Partly because I really got into comics around the time of Infinite Crisis, so when Barbara was blaming him for being sexually assaulted, (And there’s a lot of baggage in there because the author at the time was refusing to acknowledge it was rape so like there’s no way to deal with the aftermath of that if you’re not even saying it happened) he cheated on her (what) and I’m pretty sure they were engaged just in time for shit to totally blow up. And then we fast forwarded to one year later and like this stuff didn’t really come up or get worked through? But yeah it was just a period where i found them really messed up and unhappy with how it was written and all the new 52 stuff makes me want to scream and possibly tear my hair out.

Like okay the one time I really liked them was like in the 70s during Batman Family where like she has a phd and was at a congressional hearing and Dick came along as her assistant? Like, that was fun and cute and I really liked their dynamic. Modern comics? Not so much. Favorite relationship…. Yeah Dick and Bruce man. I’m reading this not as a romantic relationship but in GENERAL of any relationships ever nothing has driven my love for DC quite like Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson and their clusterfuck of emotions about each other, the fact that no matter how or in what manner, they are fucked up in love with each other and it is incredibly destructive to both of them. They can’t like settle down and just care, because of who they are they’re constantly butting into and hurting each other and yet at the end of the day they are still the most important to each other. Favorite headcanonDick is demi sexual fight me. 

Damian Wayne

First impression

Okay I read Batman and Son like when it first came out in trade, having NO CLUE who Damian was gonna be, or how his arc was gonna play out so like my first memory is him kicking Tim through the fucking cases and going WHAT IS THIS. Like, I was pretty peeved when he showed up. I was like ugh, of course Bruce having a biological son had to happen sometime and yeah Talia, because Son of the Demon but uuuugh. That was to change. Impression nowHe is precious and must be protected, 11/10Favorite momentI mean, there’s a lot. But one panel that always sorta stood out to me was the time that Hush got plastic surgery to look like Bruce Wayne and confronted Dick and Damian like that. And there’s just this panel of Damian, barely coming up halfway Dick’s chest, putting himself between Dick and Hush like hell yes I will take you on, how dare you. And how protective of Dick it was, even though Dick was Batman and he was Robin, that didn’t even matter. 

So yeah that one panel stands out because it encompasses so much but I also love every time he loves an animal more than most humans. Idea for a storyIdk, I really like future Batman Damian again, as Morrison introduced him a couple times, including in Multiversity. I’d really be interested in the downright apocalyptic future he becomes Batman in and how the batfam backs him up, and how he creates his own because as much as his father, he cannot really work totally alone.  

Alternatively he and Billy Baston go on a series of misadventures and it’s as terrible as that sounds like it should be but also GREAT

Unpopular opinion… It’s really funny I can instantly pin down things I disagree with fandom on with Dick Grayson but so rarely with other characters. Idk? I love him? 

I guess a thing I’ve seen a lot is people not really exploring how he will change as he gets older and just sorta transpose how he is currently on his future self and obviously he’s going to grow up a lot and change and I don’t see that coming up a lot whereas I’m like super excited to see him grow up/explore him grown up in fics. Favorite relationship*Sigh* Well obviously Dick and Damian. I mean, again, this doesn’t even have to run romantically, I just loved their dynamic under Morrison. I loved the switch of Batman and Robin where Dick, who was the brightest Robin became the dark knight, with a little nugget of rage as his Robin. I still love that comics cares about them together but I feel like a lot of their later interactions misses the edge Morrison gave them. Favorite headcanon

Him and Connor Hawke hang out a lot and go to vegetarian restaurants and bookstores together and have very philosophical conversations about religion and art and literature and faith and how they view being heroes (and Damian coping with his past vs Connor growing up in a monastery) and what their fathers mean to them. 

Damian is very protective of Connor is what I’m saying, he’s the only intelligent conversation he gets sometimes. (Sometimes, way down the road, Jason joins them for bookstore excursions, looking for first editions to send Alfred and Damian is sorta pissy but he’s grown, he can handle this) 

#VS does a meme #VS does a text post #VS does an ask #this is a dcu town