#poor jason the only one without wings

[raoza]

Got lazy and ended up just drawing them in casual clothes 🥀🥀

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPxDC prompt. Fae!Danny x Jason. Dead on main. Death of a Fairy Tale. or

"Oh no! This tricky hooman stole my heart! What should I do?" *becomes a leader of his court and, just in case, overthrows the tyrant Pariah Dark in order to allow marriages with representatives of other races and live happily ever after with Jay*.

~~~~~

 “You're not allowed to be here. This is not your territory.”

Jason barely had time to catch his breath after escaping from the hot dog vendor when someone noticed him hiding in the bushes.

There were no rides for children or food vans in this park, so Todd didn't understand why anyone would cling to this territory but the guy looked at him with obvious concern. And well, after the morning's adventures, Jay didn't have any energy for another conflict at all. This kid looked pale and thin, so it didn't look like fighting with him would get him anything.

“Calm down, I'm just passing by. What's your problem, dude?”

“I live somewhere ne...here.”

Jason rolled his eyes. It's clear that the guy lived nearby, but it's unlikely that he had a house. The lack of a T-shirt and shoes hinted that in front of him was also a street rat who most likely had not yet learned how to defend his belongings. Poor guy. But this is definitely not Jason's business.

However, did he really spend the night outside in the open air? Sleeping on the bench was a last choice even for Jason. This might be acceptable options in some quiet provincial town, not in Gotham.

“I mean, what are you doing outside?”

Young Phantom checks his glamour, but finds no flaws in it. This man in front of him must be very knowledgeable and experienced, despite his young age, since he immediately recognized him as not a human being. For Danny, who lived with other fairies in Fairyland all his childhood and came to this dimension for the first time, the outside always meant the world of human. Fae shocked and upset that he was discovered so quickly. Haven't people almost forgotten about their existence? The elders would swear a lot if they found out that he had failed. The boy carefully orders the vine and clover to cover the circle of mushrooms, hiding the front door from the human. He was the only one of the entire brood entrusted by Undergrowth to start a practice in a city where there are almost no plants and sunlight, and faeling did not want to let down the mentor who took him under his wing at all.

The old Fairies claim that people are mean and narrow-minded, but Danny himself is intrigued by these creatures and therefore hopes that he will be able to come to an agreement with the boy and to continue his research without obstacles. Danny intends to take the exam for the right to be called an adult fae this decade, which means he has no right to make mistakes. But still, forcing a guy to dance until he drops dead from exhaustion or make him wander along the paths of this small green area without being able to find a way out, as he was taught to get rid of pests at home, seemed too cruel. This boy, just like him, is still a cub and he is here by accident, not to encroach on their possessions. They need not quarrel.

“Don't banish me. I'm just trying to learn.”

“To do what?”

“To steal.” Danny blushes, realizing that such honesty was unnecessary. Stupid, stupid...People know that faeries can take their names, thereby gaining power over them. Now this cub will definitely decide that he has come to cause harm and he will not be able to learn anything useful and interesting. Phantom quickly makes excuses. “Nothing important! I only borrowed trinkets and fruits.”

“You're new to this, aren't you?”

“Is it that noticeable?”

“Pretty noticeable, yes.”

The boy looked at him almost pityingly. And the Phantom didn't like it.

That's how the spirits and other fairies used to look at him when they found out he was only halfa. Because of this fact, his abilities were belittled and not taken seriously too often. What's wrong with that? He's dead just like everyone else, even if not completely.

And now he's screwed up, not even because of his nature, but because of his sluggishness. It was especially unpleasant, as it was deserved. He should have spent his time more productively, but the flowers bred with the help of humans were so interesting and talked about their longing for the sun with such sadness that fae did not dare to interrupt them.

Jason finished both of the stolen hot dogs and leaved the park. The guy still follow him and stares intently, almost without blinking.

“Stop it. What do you want?”

“I study. You seem experienced. “

“People don't really like being stared at like this, in case you didn't know. Back off.”

“Really?”

Jason was ready to be outraged that the kid thought he was an idiot but the tramp from the park looked really puzzled. It seems that if he ever had parents, they didn't care about the boy, since they didn't explain to him that atypical behavior could add him problems. The boy is lucky that Jay is an asshole only when absolutely necessary.

“You're weird. Try to keep your mouth shut near others.”

“Okay.”

Jason took a few minutes to think and sighed. Todd could not leave this strange child alone, because damn conscience would not allow it. He can't survive alone. He will either wander after some other person and become a victim of trafficking or he will be at the beck and call of some assholes in the late afternoon. Jason cursed his bleeding heart once more and promised himself that he would keep the boy by his side no longer than necessary. Jay couldn't afford to be responsible for another mouth to feed. Summer has already come to an end and it was worth starting to save a little money and store things in case of early cold weather.

“If I teach you some of my skills will you promise to stay away from the places where I…work?”

“Maybe. Is this a deal?”

“Yes, if you'll agree, idiot. “

Danny nods and his new acquaintance continues.

“First of all, we'll get you shoes and some clothes. I don't need you to pick up tetanus and some viral crap.”

Danny smiles a little, trying not to make it too noticeable. Great trick.

He nodded to indicate understanding rather than agreeing, and the boy did not ask for verbal confirmation. It seems that he is not completely hopeless at deceiving people. Phantom couldn't wait to tell Clockwork or Frostbite about his success.

They wound through streets and rooftops for a long time until they reached other man's temporary shelter, and Danny had to admit that the man's decision to borrow more clothes was very clever. Strange sharp things and narrow bags of biological fluid were found between the houses disgustingly often. The elders are right about something? Danny must admit. Some people are nasty. They didn't even clean the settlement they live in properly.

A foul-smelling device for carrying things flew into the face of fae while he thoughtfully followed the boy telling him something about removing so-called tires from the iron inanimate horses.

“Dude, stop fighting with a trash bag. You'll stand guard while I give the customer the goods, okay?”

“Fine.” To be honest, the intern was ready to cry from the injustice of life and rush home, and he was only stopped by the desire to visit the observatory, which his new acquaintance mentioned when fae complained that because of the smoke and smog the stars would probably not be visible at night.

Danny realized that he did not regret his decision when, a couple of minutes later, he heard his human quarreling with adult specimen. Judging by the conversation, the man refused to pay the price for the things brought to him and even threatened to hit Phantom's guide. Danny was annoyed by this and decided to intervene a little. To his good fortune, on the balcony of this vile man there was a pot with withering petunias and they did not mind helping lil fae teach their owner manners. A slight whiff of magic and the pot falls on the deceiver's head and human begins to choke on the roots that climb right into his mouth. Danny giggles, congratulating his green comrades on their successful revenge. Other boy doesn't waste any time and grabs the bucks that fell out of the customer's hands and orders new boy to run.

Danny spent several days with human cub and really learned a lot about these creatures. Despite the fact that such a pastime was exciting, he needed to at least create the illusion of practice the fae skills.

It is dangerous to ask a person who knows who he is about this but teachers will be upset if he does not make an attempt. And despite the fact that the people around him seem scary, Nocturn will be much scarier in anger if he finds out that Phantom is such a loser.

“Ma- Can I have your name?” Danny muttered uncertainly and immediately panicked at his own impudence. “Sorry!”

“Jason.”

Todd was in a good mood, as luck had been with him for the last few days, and the new companion was not at all as useless as it seemed to him from the beginning. He was able to hide so well that no one could detect them, and managed to bring fresh fruits, vegetables and mushrooms to their safe house. However, there were problems with the last one, since this strange dude sometimes brought toadstools and satan's boletes to their apartment, which he managed to get from unknown places. Jason thought he was going to have a heart attack the first time he caught child happily eating raw fly agaric. Indeed, if Jay hadn't found him this boy would probably have died of poisoning in that park by now. Todd had to persuade him to bring only chanterelles, which he could confidently identify as edible and not fear for their lives every time the boy tries to help find food. And his padawan really managed to find them. In Gotham. Holy shit. Maybe this park, so fiercely guarded by the boy, was another secret area for Poison Ivy's experiments? However, poisonous specimens will not be wasted either, since you never know when you will need to defend yourself without entering into a fight, but acting more subtly.

“Real name! Real one!” The boy's eyes were as big as saucers and he became very worried and waved his hands as if trying to shake off invisible sticky threads from his fingertips. “You shouldn't say your actual name! Why did you do that? You shouldn't have given it to me.”

“There are a lot of Jason's around. Why do you care about that?”

“You're not just some Jason, you're my Jason, you're important to me. It's dangerous if someone has your name. Then that someone can make you do bad things.”

Tears began pouring down boy's face and Jason was surprised by such a violent reaction. Todd doesn't think there's anything to worry about, since he didn't tell the stranger his last name. He often introduces himself in different ways. Just, for some reason, something made him be honest this time. But how would this guy know that?

“Well…You're not just anyone. We're friends. I don't think you're going to rat on me to the cops or anything. So it's okay. “ Jay tries to calm the newcomer down.

“Friends?”

“Yes. Friends forever?” Jason teasingly holds out his little finger, offering a childish oath that he recently taught his padawan.

“Forever.” The boy supports the oath, and then, after thinking for a second, leans closer to Todd and whispers. "I'm Danny, just so you know."

“Good. I'll remember.”

The young fae is overcome with euphoria. He took the name! He did it! But that was all the other boy had, apart from a rusty tire iron, so it probably wasn't right or friendly to keep it. The human cub helped him. Danny couldn't keep such a gift. He didn't even really try to get his name. “Jason is your name.”

“That's right, buddy.”

“I won't call you that name.” Where I come from, even spouses rarely know each other's names. Danny wanted to assure his friend that he should not be afraid that he would abuse his power. “ I like you so I will take full responsibility for the possession of such a gift, don't worry.”

“Hah, in order to take responsibility, you already need to at least marry me as a moral compensation, given the number of brain cells killed by your antics. “

“Well, if I have to, then I will. When we're older.”

Jason snorts and shakes his head. It's probably not love, since they're just kids, but still, Jason thinks that if all autumn evenings were like this, he wouldn't mind spending his life with Danny, snuggling closer to the boy while they both bask under the same blanket. No matter how many times a day they managed to roll in the mud and fall into the trash can, the boy always gave off a light scent reminiscent of spring greens, which reminded Todd of something warm and cozy. Maybe a home? Although when his father was not in prison yet, his house smelled more like the stench of cigarette smoke and mold.  So Danny was more like a hope for a good home that they write about in books.

On their free evenings Jason usually entertained them by reading. Danny has always been an attentive listener, reacting vividly. After stroking the battered cover of a new book he found, Jason puts it aside. He's too tired today, and  just wants to listen.

Noticing this, Danny begins to chirp about his homeland. His stories are like fairy tales, too bright and colorful for the stone Jungle. Jay realized a long time ago that his friend had something like a defense mechanism. Todd himself snapped and fought when the world was too cruel, this guy escaped to his fictional world, where he was safer and happier. His friend could have been a great writer someday. The descriptions of Princess Dorathea and her cruel brother, pharaoh with an unusual passion for technology and ultra-recyclo vegetarian queen of plants were so detailed and vivid that they seemed true. Danny's imagination contained the whole world.

When the first snowflakes fall to the ground, Danny says that this means that his friend Frostbite will soon come to pick him up. Jason is honestly not ready for such a turn of events. He promised himself that he would not be around another boy for longer than necessary, but he managed to get attached. He hopes that this statement is just another one of his companion's fantasies and forgets about it for a while.

A snowstorm is raging in the city when Danny does not return home. The snowfall does not stop for several days, and Todd realizes that his friend left him, although all his belongings are left in their apartment. He hopes that someone really came for the boy, and not that in the spring his body will be found in one of the melting snowdrifts.  After a few months, when the canned homemade vegetables carefully cooked by Danny are coming to an end, and the mold, sitting alone  in a corner of the ceiling all winter, felt the first the warm rays of the sun, Todd decides not to waste energy on useless worries and hopes.

Soon, as Danny would put it, Batman steals Jason. Todd doesn't really trust the old man at first, but he teaches him to be Robin, and, well, Robin is cool. He's magic. Robin is an urban legend, a spirit worthy of being the hero of Danny's favorite stories. Robin is Jason's connection not only to the city itself, but also to his past. Robin does not need to think about whether he should grieve not only for his mother but also for his friend. Robin is more. There is not only strength and hope in this uniform, but also memories, nostalgia and  humanness. Therefore, Todd is not ready to give up the suit, even if he understands Grayson's displeasure. Because when he goes out on a patrol, the longing becomes less, and he feels that he is getting better and closer to something important. It helps.

No.

It helped.

And then he died.

And things are getting worse by the day, hah.

~~~A few hits with a crowbar later~~~

Jason learns about a new attempt of eco-terrorism relatively late, when he is officially called to help. Even so he stays at the place of the fight before the rest of the family. Firstly, because this time Ivy decided to start destruction from the closest to Crime Alley park, and secondly because Ivy's creations always pay little attention to him. Even the famous pollen has almost no effect on Hood.

Making his way through the furiously writhing vines, Red Hood notices the enemy and realizes that it is not Ivy, but decides that he will analyze the situation during the battle and rushes forward.

“Hey! Don't touch B, you.. “Almost flying into a guy with such a familiar face, the Hood slows down sharply “... pointy-eared.”

A guy with sparkling green energy in his hand and a vigilante with a pistols in each hand freeze looking at each other.

“Man, is it you?”

Snow-white hair, glowing green eyes, transparent dragonfly-like wings and razor-sharp claws are completely unfamiliar to Todd, but facial features, expressions and a bracelet with star pendants that Jay gave Danny for his birthday, adorning one of the impressive polished horns, allow to recognize him.

“Jay! It's been a long time, my friend.” Hearing Todd's voice, despite the sound changed by the helmet, the creature calms down. “You've grown up a lot.”

“And you're still so short. Wow. And, by the way, I can't believe you're still keep it.” Red puts the safety of the guns and then points one of them at the jewellery. “It's from a dollar store, nothing special.”

John says goodbye to the hope of a day off after the mission, cursing the manners of the bat and his offspring. Is a couple of days without the risk of interdimensional conflict really that too much to ask for?

“You gave it to me. That's why it's special.”

The creature smiles and Todd feels his face blushing. It's a good thing he's still wearing his helmet. Danny looks too…magical…in every sense.

“Do you know him, Hood?” Of course, Bat cannot stay out of the conversation when nothing is holds him back.

“No.”

“Yes.”  Danny denies the statement of Hood, proudly puffs out his chest and declares. “He was my first. He calls himself Hood these days? How strange.”

Bat gasps and exhales indignantly.

Jason quickly connects the fact that his friend is definitely not human with the possibility that Danny's stories were true.

“Name!” Trying to fix the chaos that his friend is trying to involve them in, Red Hood hurries to explain. “He's talking about damn name. I'm the first one who gave...”

“Oh, come on, spoilsport. He almost believed me.” The fairy winks playfully and Jason has to do his best to focus on the mission and not on the guy. “You're my betrothed anyway. And, hey, I collected the library as a wedding gift.”

“Hm.” Hood rolls his eyes. This joke about their childhood promise would have been hilarious if he hadn't felt the old man's rising pressure behind his back. So, returning to the problem, he still needs to get these two away from each other as soon as possible. Neither Danny nor Bruce has a calm personality, and Jason didn't want to start Danny's acquaintance with Alfred by giving first aid to these dummies. “So what's all the fuss about? Are you like um.. Ivy's pet-pixie or what?”

Now John Constantine, who carefully watched the meeting from the sidelines, almost feels his blood pressure rising too. Compare faeries with garden pests. What was Batman's son thinking about, showing such disrespect? He wanted them to have more problems or what?

“Hm? Who is Ivy? I've never heard of her. To be honest, I'm only here because our gate was disturbed.” The fairy chirped angrily and, with a nervous flutter of his wings, flew up to the bushes. His finger pointed accusingly at the crushed mushrooms that John and Batsy had landed on when they unsuccessfully attacked Dr. Isley. “But even though your companions' behavior is inexcusable, I don't blame you, of course. I am glad that we met again because of this incident, Tagetes.”

The Faerie circle...John hadn't seen this in years. Damn Gotham. He difenetly doesn't want the problems of this crazy city to fall under his and Shazam's responsibility. Now it is clear why Rogue disappeared so quickly. She probably knew about it and wanted to make them someone else's problem. Damn it twice, John should have sent a message instead of coming to Gotham to discuss business with Wayne. Being uninvited guests of such mischievous and malicious hosts does not bode well.

“You are lucky that the Fright Knight is not on duty today. But someone will have to answer for it. Is it really so hard to look at your feet? Or is this a deliberate provocation? I demand an apology.”

“No, enough games for you. They're a little busy chasing someone, in case you didn't notice.” Jason starts pulling on his friend's hand, intending to take him out of the park. Next to these paranoids, it's better not to ask an old friend about anything. “Only good little fairies are invited to my safe house to taste my signature lasagna today, so stop trying to give my old man a heart attack, okay?”

“Wait. Is this Willis?” The fairy's eyes narrow and he looks at the cloaked dark figure with disapproval.

"No, another jerk. B has a problem with adoptions and that's the reason I'm now part of his brood." Jason reluctantly explains. "He literally dragged me off the streets without consent after I tried to take the tires off his car."

“Oh my Ancients, he did what?! But you're mine! He had no right to steal you.” Danny indignantly rustled the leaves of the closest trees.

“I prefer to be considered as my own man, thank you very much.”

“Riiight…but still, speaking absolutely one hundred percent theoretically, who would you rather stay with, darling? If only you were mine~”

“Ja-..Don't let yourself be fooled, Red Hood. You can't trust him. Ten or even fifty years spent on a prank don't mean anything to this creature.” Bruce doesn't look happy with how at ease Todd is with the threat, but frankly, he rarely looks happy at all, so the crime lord doesn't attach too much importance to it.

"Wow. Rude. This is partially true, but it still hurts. Jason is a friend. I won't do anything to him and I don't demand anything from him. I can't say that about the rest of you. I was preparing for a long-awaited vacation, and because of your fuss I have a new bunch of paperwork to do. What can you say in your defense?"

The boy with the snow-white hair didn't look really upset, but just because there was still a smile on his face, it couldn't be said that he wasn't furious. Next to fairies, all human senses became enemies, not allies.

Despite the deceptive good-naturedness of merrily fluttering his wings guy, John was on high alert. Short-tempered, playful and obnoxious temperament were both a blessing and a curse when working with these creatures. Fairies skillfully searched for loopholes in contracts and in general were the best deceivers among those who could only tell the truth. Faeries prefer to bend victims to their will with words, but they are skilled users of the magic of nature and chaos. They also, despite the business acumen as strong as the alligator's mouth closing strength, were willing to play cat-and-mouse with those who dared to turn to him for help or just walk near their possessions. And this specimen was also clearly not one of the fairies that Morningstar had taken over control, since his energy reeked of Infinite Realms. Unknown territory. John urgently needs to come up with some ingenious plan to get everyone out of this fighting safe and relatively unscathed and…

“Fuck off, B. I told you he already has my name. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it at any time. You should show more respect for your future son-in-law, you know.”

“Jason, honey, since when do street rats hang out with bats?” Danny obviously didn't have much sympathy for the Gotham vigilante before, but because of his story, their chances of getting along tended to zero.

“Oh, come on, don't even start this conversation. What is more important…Who would I rather stay with? Hm…Let's say, um, theoretically, of course…If your fiance was killed by one very very bad cruel clown, what would you do, Stardust?

"I would tear clown molecule by molecule."

“Yes, yes! Right!” Jason pats Danny on the shoulder and turns to Batman. “See, that's how you should have reacted.”

Constantine: …What an Addams family. I'm leaving. I've already seen enough. If you get kidnapped, don't call me. Damn freaks.

Come with me now to see my world

Where there's beauty beyond your dreams

Strangers Like Me - Phil Collins

[yandereduckie]

Please I would like to know, I think your writing and your fanfics on AO3 are wonderful!

— Mister Void, at your pleasure.🖤🗝

(Notice: Mister Void was asking about my AU and/or headcanons, but for some reason Tumblr bugged and it didn't appear)

OH YES PLEASE LET ME!!!😍🤩No one ever wanted to hear about it🥲

I feel like:

I think that's why she's one of my strongest Kins- BUUuuuut going back

It's not exactly an AU, since I didn't write anything anywhere, I just have it all stored in the back of my brain.It's more like a preference and a mix of several Headcanons and concepts that I took from some fanfics I read on AO3.

Like for example, the Batfam being absolute cryptids and scaring the shit out of everyone else in the hero community. For this trope, I usually like to think of the Batfam as having managed to build functional, realistic and beautiful wings.

Oh yeah, and let's not forget the classic bird language. Oh oh and the feline like claws and pads on the gloves too!Also, I like to think that Billy joined the family like, half a week after being invited to the League, seriously, he may be magical and a little more mature, but he's still a kid, and the Bats only need one slip-up from him to put the pieces together.

I also like to think that this Billy doesn't have the others from Shazamily, yet, because I want him, the way he is, to look at this bunch of orphaned street kids(and his lost twin sister of course), and simply give a Batman, taking them to the mansion just to shock everyone that the first one(technically second because of the whole Park Row's children and Jason thing) to start having Bruce's addiction to adoption was not Dick but Billy.

And even though I haven't put this in either of the two fanfics I've written so far, I'd like Bruce's parents(and Alfred) and Clark's parents to meet before the two were even born yet, and for them to grow up as brothers, and for the Kent farm to be an escape from Gotham's overwhelming elite and the spotlight for Bruce.

I want a young, stubborn Bruce to take a young, scared Clark around the farm and find Clark's ship, I want them to find out sooner what Clark is, who he was, his birth name, I want this duo of kids to be the ones to find out that Diana Prince is Wonder Woman and for her to take them as apprentices (References to an AO3 fic called Shadow Demon, it's really good, oh and I'm also getting a little bit of Alternative Heroes, Same Hearts).

I want a good relationship and communication between the Batfam, make Alfred forcefully shove an angry teenage Bruce into a therapy room, and of course, the training with the monks, and make him be very grateful for that now that he has to take care of other traumatized and vengeful little humans.

I want Jason to be caught sooner, that he was trying to steal Batman's tires to buy medicine for his mother, I want Bruce to take this child and feed him and promise to help in the best way possible, I want Bruce to take him to the moldy apartment that the boy calls home, I want him to realize the state of his mother, I want her to have already left, that she took advantage of Jason's departure to be able to get rid of her pain without having to do it in front of him. I want Bruce to comfort a young and hysterical Jason, I want this boy to cry himself to sleep only to wake up wrapped in the softest sheets of his entire life.

I want a Bruce who reveals his identity to Jim before he even considers taking a young, eager Barbara under his wings, okay? I want a responsible Bruce.

And don't make poor Lucius have so much stress.

I want Bruce to notice the little shadow following them (seriously, I think it's cool that Tim managed to do this without getting caught, but not here, Batman, Batwoman [yes, she comes sooner, i want Kate to come visit her cousin and see the shit he's doing and refuse to leave until he includes her] and Robin have wings, with sensors to feel things that normal people don't feel, like changes in the air, or even sensors to smell more specifically.), I want Bruce to notice that the neighbors left, but his son didn't go with them, I want Bruce to pick up this abandoned boy and wrap him in a hug.

I want him to see the daughter of one of the Rougues trying to sabotage her father, I want him to accept the help willingly and try to slowly gain her trust, I want a Bruce who saves Stephanie from her own father, I want a Bruce who couldn't save her mother, I want a Steph who even though she's sad doesn't blame him. I don't want Tim and Steph to date. I want them to be siblings. I want them to be best friends. I want them to be like twins. I want them to be chaos gremilins together!

I want Talia to not be evil, I want her to be essentially kind, I want a Talia who blames herself millions for what she did to Bruce, I want a Talia who looks at this tiny baby in her arms and loves him unconditionally, I want a Talia who can't stand watching the training her father gives to her baby, her son, I want Talia to take a 3-4 year old Damian and take him to Bruce, I want her to get hurt in the escape, I want Bruce to save her, but I also want her to run away, run away far away so that the LoA doesn't get close to her little and adorable Dami, nor her beloved, or the children he took as his. I want them to have a complicated, distant, forbidden, cursed by others, but true and lasting love.

I want the cat and bat game to be between Kate and Selina, I want more lesbian couples!!!Harley and Ivy? Stuning lesbians.

Oh, and the Joker and Jason incident... I want a Jason who feels so loved in a way he's never felt before that he musters up the courage to talk to his father(!), I want him to tell Bruce about Sheila, I want a Bruce who is an unconditionally loving and supportive father who offers to take him to where she is, I want him to warn him about the Joker, I want the bomb to go off with Bruce opening the warehouse doors just in time to just look at his Jaylad and he looks back and neither of them can get any closer.

I don't want a Bruce who kills the Jokerbut I want a Bruce who beats him to the point of paralysis.

I want Clark to be forced to leave the country at top speed to stop Bruce, but not to save the Joker, I want it to be to help his crying brother, to stop him from destroying himself with the clown.

I want that whole thing about or whoever wrote Alfred putting a "Good Soldier" plaque on Jason's grave to go to the fucking hell, I want him to have a proper burial, I want Park Row to mourn the death of one of their own who managed to get out of poverty and still come back to help them, I want Crime Alley to mourn the death of their little bird.

I want Tim to take a lot longer to take up the mantle of Robin, I want a Steph who stays with her no-twin even more, I want a Bruce who after talking to Clark and Diana makes everyone go to therapy, I want Ivy to help Harley recover from that bastard clown, I want Bruce to go see how the two are.

I want Talia to see a revived Jason wandering and take him in, I want her to try to start making amends with Bruce by starting by taking care of his lost boy, I want her to start seeing him as hers too, I want Damian and Jason to be brothers, I want Talia to show the state the Joker is in, I want her to show that it took Clark to get Bruce away from the clown's decrepit body, I want her to show how his family scared the city so much that not only the rougues avoided going out at night, I want Talia to take them both back to Bruce.

I want them to cuddle in a pile of love and affection, I want a Talia still being treated to be in that pile too, I want that even with her away most of the time, the kids see her as a mother.

I want Tim to take up the mantle of Robin with Jason's blessing. And I want Steph to finally come out as Batgirl.

I want a young Cass to be noticed as soon as she sets foot in Gotham, I want it to be during one of Talia's visits, I want my couple to take this girl raised to be a weapon and turn her into a real child, I want everyone in the mansion to learn ASL when she prefers to gesture rather than speak most of the time. I want Steph to hand her over to Batgirl with Barbara's blessing and the two of them to go out together on Cass's first patrol with Tim hot on their heels.

And I want Bruce to find out about the "we are Robin" movement, I want Bruce to take this boy who started a gang under his wing.

I want Bruce to see this city and the heroes who disappeared out of nowhere and came back out of nowhere, I want the trinity to invite Marvel to the League, I want Bruce to discover that the Champion of Magic, Fawcette's main hero, an idol to many (and to Clark, who was very disappointed when he found out that Marvel wasn't Kryptonian), is a homeless child. I want Bruce to gain his trust, I want Bruce to give him a family and promise to find this boy's sister.

I want a Bruce who, after the invasion of Starro, sees this little star in his hands and can't resist his children wanting to keep him (and he himself wanted to too-), I want Jarro to be included in things, I WANT HIM TO HAVE THE LOVE HE DESERVES, OKAYY!?!?!?!

I want the current Justice League to be new, I want Bruce to be the first father and I want no one but Diana, Clark and Billy to know... Oh, and Barry too, since Dick would be best friends with Wally from an early age.

I want a Bruce who doesn't kill, but I also want a Bruce who doesn't force his rules and morals down his children's throats, I want a Bruce who understands that his children are individual beings, I want Bruce to understand that his children can and do have different morals and views.

I want Jon and Damian to be raised like Clark and Bruce were.

I want Clark to see this clone that looks about Tim's age and not think twice about bringing him home. I want Kon and Tim to be Bi best friends.

Oh and Kara!! I want Kara and Babs to be a thing, I want them together!!! I want my third lesbian coupleee!!

I want Kate and Selina, Ivy and Harley to be the cool aunts who take the kids out to cause chaos.

I want Bruce to have less of a Brucie or hooker persona and more of a tired dad thing. Dark circles under his eyes? Oh, Dami couldn't sleep. Hurt? Uh, Dick tried to maneuver the chandelier and would have fallen if I hadn't run to catch him! Am I a mess? The kids started an argument!

And I think that's it for now, I hope I put everything that was in my head.

There are designs for the characters in the AU now

Oh, to add, I've never read any DC comics, okay? Not Marvel either, or anything other than Turma da Monica(in english: Monica's Gang)...

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

[hahjsshnanans772]

I hope this isn't too out of the blue, but maybe, just maybe, I can get Soldier hc?, he's one of the Mafioso boys, the one with the ushanka ^^`. If it's too much to ask maybe John Doe hc?, You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I hope your day/afternoon/evening is wonderful !!

I don’t really know anything about mafioso.. or his gang… but I will gladly write you your john doe headcanons…. I’ll try to learn about mafioso and his gang members so I can get a better idea of their personality’s. To the best of my degree. SORRY!!!!! heart shatter

anyways. John Doetime! Sorry soldier 💔

//

GENERAL ;

- 85% Ler | 15% Lee - now thats crazy! What! Shivers as I look at my keyboard

- A lot of his body can’t really feel anything, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t ticklish!

- actually likes being tickled, but he gets kinda annoyed that only a few spots get a reaction out of him

- considered one of the ‘tickle monsters’ of the killers, but the grand title still belongs to 1x4, devious girl. Give john a turn with the title!

—

LEE ;

- Like I said earlier, not that ticklish because of all that code making some of his body immune to physical feeling

- his knees and tummy are his best ticklish spots, and they are DAMN TICKLISH!!!!!

- literally almost gave 1x4 free headless when she jokingly wiggled her wing under the soft part of his knee. She #pins him before doing that now

- speaking of that, he NEEDS to be restrained in some way when tickled, considering one of his hands has long ass claws, and the other is legit not an arm, so yeah it would definitely hurt if he was. Not pinned

- has an incredibly raspy and loud laugh, if he wasn’t being tickled he’d properly sound like he was in pain. Which he isnt

- squirms, not as bad as Jason or c00lkidd, but not completely stiff like Azure, but he has definitely bucked a killer off of him before. Coughs. 1x4

- sometimes. If he’s really unlucky. Or lucky. His code will malfunction to some really small degree that sends tingle’s throughout his body, and it tickles so bad

- wishes death upon c00lkidd, because the little turd likes to nap in random places, and he kneads like a cat in the process! And apparently c00lkidd kneading on john does stomach while he goes for a nap tickles! Who knew John, who knew!

- aftercare is sleeping. All of his energy gets knocked out of him like a bowling pin when tickled, traps his ler in an awkward half cuddle in the process

—

LER ;

- EVIL. MALICIOUS. MONSTER. all of those titles fit him perfectly!

- targets 1x4 on the regular, the two literally have so many tickle fights it’s crazy

- adding onto that, 1x4 and John wrestle like crazy, they legit have the other killers betting on who’s winning, it’s usually john doe since he’s less ticklish

- his code tickles. Like it tickles so bad it’s not even funny, it sends tingles alll throughout the body and the survivors can’t stand it. He’s evil I say. MEAN!!!

- his claw is the same, it’s similar to his codes glitches, and when he managed to pin guest down without getting punched, he decided that it was better to tickle the poor man with said claw until he was exhausted. Scary

- roughhousing is basically his middle name, will take his lee down with him if they decide to squirm, dog energy I say!

- really rough with his tickles, is only nice or soft when he’s tickling c00lkidd and pr3ttypriincess, bluudud is an exception, the kid annoys him so badly

- he also treats Jason similar to c00lkidd and pr3ttypriincess, because he has respect!

- the aftercare he gives is cuddles. Literally gives the best cuddles EVER!!!! Cuddle monster type dude.

//

Evil John Doe. he’s so evil and I hate him for that. Jk, anyways, I’m jumping up and down in joy also I’m so sorry I was watching gacha cringe comps and I was laughing so hard. I swear I would’ve made better headcanons if I wasn’t laughing my ass off 💔

I’ll probably fix these in the future

[mamawasatesttube]

Sorry, I know you don’t really like people bringing up Jason but I’m very curious. I read Straight on Till Morning several times before really joining Tumblr and I was surprised by how much you seem to dislike him compared to how nicely he was written in said fic. Is it cuz it’s a future fic so he can be more chilled out than in current comics or something?

Feel free to ignore me if you want. Curiosity does not owe me answers.

no worries, i don't mind polite questions! :P

so there's two things. a) sotm was written when the only real comics i'd read were sb94, yj98, tt03, batgirl (2000), and nightwing '96 (iirc - i might be forgetting one or two but the point is, when i was pretty new to comics). at this point wfa had tricked me into thinking jason actually had a consistent character arc that i simply hadn't read yet, and i assumed it would be weird to write a fic where dick, tim, and cass were all around as kon's friends + damian was there being jon's friend in the background, but jason didn't get mentioned, so i worked him in bc i thought that was like. gonna be weird if i didn't, even tho i didn't know what he was doing in postcrisis yet. i mostly just wanted to write about kon and did not yet have the strong "actually i do not care for 99% of post-rebirth comics" feelings i have today. if i were to do the sotm rewrite in my mind, jason would actually still be in his villain to antivillain era because that's my actual favorite era of him. i think it's fun when he's hanging around being like... a vengeful ghost who's just determined to make his problems Everyone's Problem. i'm not really interested in soft angsty daddy's boy jtodd or whatever sdkjfh and that seems to be the most popular version of him i see. it's either soft angsty daddy's boy jason or it's power fantasy cop-adjacent jason who has never done anything wrong in his life and is completely valid in every decision he's ever made. neither of these interests me.

which brings me to b) it's not so much that i dislike jason todd as a character so much as that his fans are so fucking annoying to me. that chapter of sotm? multiple people in the comments were there ONLY to talk about jason, even though the fic is literally about kon and not about jason and he just happens to appear for PART of one scene that chapter. it made me get sick of hearing about him. like theres soooo many jason todd fics out there can you go read those. i want to talk about kon! and i've had people bring him up on my completely unrelated fics too like he doesn't even get MENTIONED like one fic is about clark kon and tim, and someone was in the comments like "omg i bet clark was thinking about jason here" and i was so ... dude. read the room. or the fic even. it is not about him.

but even more than the way a lot of jason fans have this apparently compulsive need to make him the main character of the entire universe, i really can't stand how many of them i've seen spout literal straight up copaganda and/or defense of the death penalty. like they will bend over backwards so hard to defend why he was right to put 8 heads in a duffel bag or why it's morally correct to kill rapists that they start spewing right-wing talking points. and the constant need to make him the perfect imperfect victim ("he's angry and loud unlike GOOD victims--") and all of that just... it really turns me off of 99% of fan content about him that i've seen. it makes me genuinely kind of uncomfortable. like if you think there's a category of criminal that it's okay to execute (without a trial, even) i want nothing to do with you. can you guys just say it's sexy when a man is covered in blood after murdering a room full of people without having to be like "and he was right to do it too!!" because i promise he was not. and if you SAY any of this people will come up with a whole thing about how you must hate victims and/or poor people or some shit. its... really something.

all of that being said - i think there are interesting things you COULD do with his character. i think he can be a fascinating character! with stories worth telling! the family tragedy, the horror story, the vengeful ghost! but at this point with how rancid i find his fanbase i just really only want to see jason takes from people i know will not start spewing copaganda at me + people who i know appreciate tim kicking him in the balls (bc he kicked dick in the balls and tim is a bitch).

anyways. bring back tentatodd 2k25 who's with me

[rutlancecf]

The Batpoors: Bruce, Alfred and the Boys. Introduction.

"In a world darkened by corruption, crime and villains with postgraduate degrees, a figure who watches from the shadows is in charge of bringing them to justice and marking terror in their lives...

-Master Bruce, I think you should get rid of this cape, last time the police mistook you for a beggar."

Several decades ago, the Wayne family had prestige, a fortune built on excellent real estate management; Thomas Wayne was a respected doctor and his wife was a lady of society. They were returning from the cinema with their son Bruce when fate played their cards against them and, not having a will ready to protect the little boy, some relatives and partners took advantage of the situation to fill their pockets and leave the boy and his butler on the street.

With this change of circumstances, Alfred Pennyworth did his part to protect Bruce, helping him with his studies and teaching him to defend himself, to respect life and appreciate art, among other things. But he could not get the little boy to forget the pain for the loss of his parents and the injustice, not only the one that was committed against him, but the one that affected hundreds, if not thousands of people. Someone had to do something.

And there they were, in a small food local store during the day and in the evening, pretending to be ordinary people that nobody would think that at night, without exception, they were the vigilantes who were in charge of facing crime and saving the poor citizens of Gotham City, even if they didn't want to.

-Good afternoon! -Depending on the hour rather, it was common for anyone who entered the door of the small restaurant to be received with a very cheerful tone and a big smile from the oldest of the young people who were under the care of Bruce Wayne. And that his name was Richard John "Dick" Grayson. -How can I help you?

And what many people couldn't imagine was that this young adult with black hair, blue eyes, naturally flirtatious and with a pleasant appearance, was Nightwing himself who served them in person. But what they didn't know wasn't going to hurt them, right? Mainly if some other criminal or goons stayed to see in the restaurant to plan the robbery, coup or crime that they would carry out in hours or days. It was not for nothing that there were microphones hidden under the tables or chairs.

Timothy Jackson Drake, or Tim as the others called him, was a boy with blue eyes and black hair, who if you saw him for the first time or the umpteenth time, you would think that the boy had not been fed well in his entire life, that he required special ... care and cut his daily supply of coffee at least in half, which he wouldn't even do it if his life depended on it. A lot of people liked him because he knew how to get along with others, except for a couple of acquaintances of course. The boy came into the life of Bruce and company thanks to a flyer from the restaurant, which he found lying in several of the scenes where there were sightings of the bat and Robin, discovering their identities by going to the food place one afternoon and confirming it with his own eyes. Bruce agreed to integrate him into both his life and his night job to prevent him from going public with his discovery while serving him a strawberry shortcake and a chocolate milkshake.

Jason Peter Todd was the second of the boys to take refuge under the bat's wings. His short, sometimes on-and-off criminal career worried Bruce so much that he decided to turn him into Robin, thinking it would help set him on the right track. Which was not fully achieved after he was left in a coma from a beating, trying to do things on his own, being prohibited from acting on his own. His personality changed a lot after waking up in the hospital, and realizing that Bruce had not only integrated Drake as the new Robin, but he also turned down the opportunity to get his hands on the boy's fortune, just because he said his money wasn't something he had to handle.

- What a fool. -Thought Todd as he cleaned the floor that he had dirty without letting go of the soda that hadn't finished yet. -Uh?

Damian Thomas Wayne Al Ghul's presence came as a surprise not only to Bruce, but to everyone who knew him. No one could explain it, least of all him, as the 10 years old boy appeared in the restaurant kitchen from one day to the next saying, and confirmed by his mother, that he did not expect his father to not be as tall as he thought, as well as learn about their socio-economic level. Luckily, Alfred made it out of his sleeve that the child's conception possibly occurred during a "vacation" Bruce took a while back.

Talia Al Ghul almost had a fainting fit when she saw that her Beloved was not what she thought he was. Although almost immediately after, to the date, she proposed to him to give him an infinity of riches that no other man could dream of in exchange for him marrying her. Jason to this day still thinks that Bruce should accept, or at least be his "Sugar Baby"

Seriously, Jason.

But back to Damian, the boy with brown skin, black hair and green eyes had a couple of ... difficult days to adjust to what would be his new ... life. Actually, he's still struggling a bit to transition from a life as the heir to the League of Assassins to ... a life as the son of the Night's Vigilant, who sometimes has nowhere to drop dead. At least from day one, he secured his place as the King of the Playground of the public school he currently attends.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45874048/chapters/115904713

[ghost-bxrd]

Howdy!

Hope you’re having a owl-some day!

For your Court of Owls Au, I was wondering at what point does everyone accept Tim as part of the flock?

I saw one post that said Bruce takes him under his wing as soon as he realizes his parents go south for the winter (and fall, and spring, and summer lol) without him

And another that said that Cobb wouldn’t view him as part of the parliament until Jason does

I feel like Cass would probably probably love her little owlet brother pretty quick? He joined the fray before her so she wouldn’t have known a time before so I think she would be less inclined to think of him as a cuckoo. Do you agree?

I’m curious at what point Dick would. Canon Dick was teaching Tim flying patterns pretty soon after he accepted Tim as a mentee but Talon Dick had a stronger connection to Jason so I wonder how that would impact their relationship

I’d love to know what makes Jason accept him as a bird of a feather instead of seeing his presence as fowl play

Also would Cobb immediately accept him after Jason says Tim is a part of his party or would he have to do something that proves his loyalty or be in some sort of danger that makes Cobb begrudgingly view him as part of the family?

I’m also curious, once they do accept him, how protective of Tim are they all? Do they keep him close to the nest or let him fly free with the expectation that he keeps them in the loop?

How would they react to him being in danger after they’ve claimed him as one of their own?

(Sorry for all the bird puns, I made one and then couldn’t help myself and had to make more lol)

Hi! So the Talon!Dick Au (Owl Song) is a different universe than the one where the entire batfam is part of the Court of Owls (Court Family Au).

But to answer your question: Cobb would really only accept Tim after Jason has warmed up to him.

Before that, Cobb would only ever see him as an imposter. A poor substitute for the son ward him and Bruce lost. Him threatening to gut Tim was a very serious threat, and also one Bruce had to put his foot down with and straight up order his (slightly deranged) Talon not to act on.

Tim’s attempt to help stabilize the Court (and Bruce) doesn’t help his case very much, because while it sure improves the over all dire situation Gotham’s found herself in after Jason’s death, Tim unwittingly had to take over a lot of the operations and projects that used to be Jason’s.

Cobb was… very protective of the “little street rat” turned “Heart of the Court”. Having someone else “bully” their way into their lives to insert himself into the achingly vacant place Jason left behind dialed his murderous instincts up to a million.

The only reason Cobb doesn’t ignore the command to not hurt Tim is because he can see that both Bruce and Dick take comfort in his presence. That’s it. The moment he thinks Tim is “obsolete”… well. Timbers should keep himself useful is what I’m saying. There’s a proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over him at every step and turn.

As for Cass, she wouldn’t have very many contact points with Tim. She rarely stays at the manor for long, usually opting to oversee Court operations from the Shadows to make sure there are no unnecessary deaths or civilian casualties happening. When she’s home she usually also stays hidden, choosing to observe the manor’s occupants. And sometimes, when Dick or Bruce look particularly sad, she curls up in the seat next to them and leans her head on their shoulders. That always seems to make them happy.

Once Bruce finds out about Tim’s parents being a no-show most of the time and he moves into the manor… well, I think Cass would be intrigued, but everyone’s body language is sending her a lot of mixed signals in regard to the newcomer’s presence.

Dick doesn’t have an issue with Tim. He’s… less than happy about it at first though. Especially when he thinks Tim really is supposed to be a replacement for Jason. But Bruce clears that one up very quickly.

Regardless, Cobb doesn’t agree (he rarely does)

Jason would eventually, and very grudgingly, realize that Tim is the personification of a sad wet cat and extend an olive branch to him in the form of just— existing with him in the same room without spitting vitriol.

Tim straight up thinks he’s going to be murdered. Right now. (Because he can totally see Cobb staring at him from the shadows, he’s got a sixth sense for that look by now)

It’s a slow going progress, but over time Jason’s animosity towards Tim morphs into a fierce kind of protectiveness

And Cobb doesn’t like it, not at all. But Jason’s claimed the kid as part of the parliament, so he’s bound to accept him into the flock as well now.

I’m not sure yet whether Cobb ever truly ends up becoming protective and fond of Tim, but there would definitely have to be another catalyst for it.

[rokishimizu4]

Arrows and Smoke

(Realized that Bruce and Oliver were married in one past or another, but I love Roy and Jason more)

It wasn’t often that Oliver Queen found himself actually busy at a gala, as it usually him bullshitting his way through the conversation and polite smiles. However, after getting the message from Flash, it was all hands on deck.

Even poor Roy, who usually never goes to any galas, was forced to attend as Cass’s plus one. As, and Oliver would never admit it out loud, but Roy was a better, quiet, shot and Cass’s ability to read people makes for a great duo.

Oliver stood off to the side, surrounded by chatty women with big earrings and even bigger check books, and felt like he rather switch places with Flash, risked bite mark and all, but notices a man entering with his wife and twin, which was someone that he never saw before.

He was not the only one to notice as he could see Jason, damn that kid got tall, do a quick circle once and flashed a polite smile at the family as the father grabbed a glass of champagne. (Aka not familiar but not on the Bat’s hit list)

However, his attention is ripped from the strange family as Bruce strides up to him, and his group of older ladies, and asks if he could “steal” him away for a moment.

”Thank fuck, I thought those ladies wanted to strip me.” He teases as he follows after Bruce, talking nonsense to fool everyone else, but tries to keep any eye on the family-especially on how much the father drinks.

“It seems like a few of your kids couldn’t make it. Who has a gala in the middle of the day anyways?” (Aka has your kids find anything? Reason for the early meeting?) “I can barely keep up with my own business nowadays.”

”Duke and Dick are in an early meeting and Barbara is meeting her father for lunch. Cass and Damian were the only ones that could make it.” (Aka busy as all hell). “It’s been sometime since we were able to have a proper get together.”

”Tell me about it! I can barely sit down to eat without someone in my ear talking about recent events.”

The two men talk and flirt with young women for a few more hours, never drinking more than a glass or two. Keeping eyes out for anyone that could be a target. Until a crash of a metal tray hitting the polished marble.

Eyes turn towards the noise and everyone sees the father, of the small family, raising his hand towards his wife as if to smack her, but Jason got in the middle of it.

Bruce and Oliver rush to the scene, only to find the man crying while his wife stands there indifferent. As if her almost being hit was just another day for her. The twins stand a little ways off to the side with Roy and Cass.

”What is the meaning of this? Security!” Another man, the Host of the Gala, calls but Oliver holds up a hand to stop the guards.

”I believe he just needs some fresh air, I’ll escort him out. Please, continue the party.” Oliver flashes his Ollie smile and helps the man to his feet and politely drags the man out and into the fresh air.

”It’s not what it looks like, I swear.” The man mumbles, clearly having more than a few glasses of champagne but not sure what else he could have drank.

”That.. that woman… don’t let..” The man tries to continue but his eyes begin to droop, and Oliver starts to worry.

However, before Oliver could get more out of him the man starts coughing violently. He tries to keep the man on his feet and tries to call for help. He manages to get the attention of people, and calls 911.

Police and ambulance arrives even before the first ring, signaling that someone else called long before he did. The medics take the man as Oliver rushes back in, almost being trampled by the mob rushing out of the building while screaming bloody murder.

It doesn’t take long for Oliver to figure out why as the windows burst apart around the force of a ice slide rampaging through.

Several people?, burst down the ice slide cackling like children, with the twins in the arms of a red werewolf (Having the time of their lives). A winged girl, with blue and pink hair and a very revealing dress, flies down and snatches the man right out of the medic’s grip and spreads some type of dust as she flies.

A man with a black fedora mumbles spells and chants for all to hear and Oliver starts to feel dizzy as a sudden sleepiness overcomes him.

Then the strangest of all, a black and purple monster of oil follows after, carrying the screaming woman out of the building and drops her violently off at Jim’s police car. Her screaming about her head being ripped off and eaten.

Then, as if nothing happened, the group disappeared in the fedora wearing man’s smoke spell, but not before an arrow shoots through it and hits the man’s fedora.

”Nice shot kid.” Oliver whispered in awe as the police and medics quickly take over the scene, only making way for Signal and Nightwing once they are on scene.

“Commissioner Gordon, please bring this woman in for kidnapping, drug and sex trafficking, and for the murder of Mrs. Bolton, a Metropolis running mate for mayor.” Nightwing orders, and Oliver thinks that he and Roy should have stayed in Central City with the Flash.

[002yb]

Your last ask about the reverse Robin's au was just so interesting . Please, could you tell us more about Tim and Damian in that au. Also, poor baby Jason. Bruce why are you always like that with Damian? 🥺 I just love how both Jason and Tim have this respect for Damian. Oh and what would happen with Dick?

Of course! Thank you for your interest in them. Damian and Tim's relationship in that reverse robin AU is one I'm so happy with, so I'd love to share more. (˵ •̀ ᴗ •́ ˵ ) ✧

Damian + Tim (ft. Superboyfriends)

In that period of time where Tim bounces and Damian is left to mind Jason's becoming of Robin (+ Bruce), he gets a lot of grief from Jon about how Damian went about everything

And Damian is so stubborn about it. Because his feelings might be a bit hurt over Tim abandoning him, but also because in his mind, Damian isn't wrong: Tim is more than Robin; always was.

Jon understanding where Damian was coming from, but insisting there's better ways to go about it

Which Damian refuses to entertain, come off it. Jon does if only for a time; if only because Damian is genuinely sore over how everything fell apart

With time though, Jon dropping in little anecdotes on how Tim is doing at Titans Tower. Because Jon hears about Tim from Kon.

And Damian plays aloof, but he hangs on every word on how Tim's doing, what he's been up to, what amazing feat he's accomplished.

Damian feeling the same pride, but it's tinged by a painful melancholy because he misses the bastard.

With more time and a lot of interference, Damian coming to realize how he should have handled matters. Not that he makes an effort to right them. Damian writes himself off, resigned to reap what he's sown. Not that he was entirely wrong. Jason still proves to be a tremendously capable Robin, it's just...it would be nice for Tim to have been here to be part of it all.

Kon relaying similar stories about Damian to Tim. Who always clicks his tongue and scowls but gives himself away by looking expectantly at Kon whenever he stops talking.

Just two proud boys doing the classic bat brooding and miscommunications. But it's chill because they've got their supers there conspiring to bring them together again.

Because fr Jon and Kon are so over having to schedule around when they sneak over their boyfriends overnight, y'know?

Also idk, just Damian and Tim wanting to reach out but doing the dramatic deleting of a text or dropping their phones to their chests without making a call. Turning away from their phones outright. Good stuff.

These two eventually running into each other on missions that happen to coincide. An initial standoffishness that falls away as they fall back into old habits with each other, only to realize the mistake and get all sulky/broody about it again.

But they do start to talk at some point. It's stilted at first, but soon enough the usual banter returns and it's all quiet shoulder checks and ornery, playful torments.

Damian ultimately eating crow about the whole situation. Tim brushing it off because he knows Damian cares for people in extremes. Not that Damian was right about anything. Just - talk to Tim next time.

Which leads to another step towards proper partnership for these two and it's sweet. ;U;

As for Dick's introduction in this AU... I'm admittedly torn between who seeks him out. It'd be cute if it were Jason reaching out after the tragedy at Haly's, but like... Jason whump opportunity so:

It's Damian who takes Dick under his wing and wants to give him the Robin mantle

Only he's learned from his mistake with Tim, so this time he talks with Jason about it, first.

And the thing is - they were all there to see the tragedy happen. Jason was right there beside Damian as he comforted this inconsolable boy, orphaned by Gotham's turpitude and their family's inability to ever get ahead of it.

So Jason would see in real time as Damian makes this decision and it would be the most devastating thing.

Because months/years later, Jason is still recovering from Ethiopia. He's trying so damn hard, too. He's almost okay, almost ready... but the truth is that he'll never get back to that level he was before he was beaten so terribly. Even if Jason can push himself, there are times his hip still gives out, or his ankle collapses under him. Psychologically he's as sound as the next bat, but physically? Jason can't recover.

Even still, Jason clings to Robin like a lifeline. That's his hope. His connection to Damian and Tim and Bruce; his family.

So to watch as Damian sees Robin's future in someone else is painful. There's nothing Jason can do to stop it, either. Whether Damian asks for his opinion or not, the choice is made.

'He needs this.' Damian would tell him, compassionate and cruel all at once. And Jason would hate him a bit because, 'what about me?'

Just Jason joining the ranks of the middle children with Tim, y'know? ;u;

Something something Jason withdrawing from Damian. A chasm building and all the insecurities and resentment festering. Bargains about how Dick can stay with Bruce, but Jason can be Damian's [Robin].

Jason fighting tooth and nail for his place in the family, but maybe hurting himself because he pushes too hard? Which sparks concern-induced-rage!Damian who snaps at him out of worry, but Jason takes it as a personal attack and it's sadness as they fight and fall out

Meanwhile Dick's out here completely enamored with this boy that tries so hard and fights so viciously and has so much passion. So he follows Jason around and wears him down and soothes the hurt of whatever abandonment/betrayal Jason feels somehow. Something like Dick promising to take care of Robin & Damian until Jason can do it himself. Or wanting to fly beside Jason - two Robins! Ahhhhhh, these two boys finding the essence of Robin in each other and that being their foundation.

[garthim-brooks]

I saw the 9/11 effect happen in real time. I was fresh out of high school and a lifelong country music fan as someone who grew up poor and rural and was introduced to the music by my parents - who, by the way, weren't conservative AT ALL. Some of my earliest memories are of hearing them shit-talking Reagan as working people who knew he was their enemy. My favorite artists at the time were Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, and the Chicks, then known as the Dixie Chicks. If you don't know what happened to them, story time.

It's important to understand that before 9/11, the Chicks were one of the most popular acts in country music, maybe even music in general. They were HUGE. They sold out stadiums and scored #1 hit after #1 hit. If you're Gen Z and don't know them, there's a very big reason for that. Welcome to (real) cancel culture!

After 9/11, the hyper-patriotism surged. Not just in country fandom - it was everywhere. But country artists capitalized on it. Thoughtful songs like Alan Jackson's "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" gave way to Toby Keith singing "we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way." Like the modern-day industry plants sneaking pro-capitalism messages into their lyrics, a lot of it was for show and for money. I read somewhere (citation needed) that Toby Keith is a registered Democrat. But it didn't matter. It stirred up outrage among the kind of rural conservatives who would go on to vote for Trump, the kind the right loves to use as pawns by convincing them that they can make their hard lives better by hating other people.

So bringing this back to the Chicks. At a performance, they spoke out against then-president George W. Bush invading Iraq. The backlash was swift and absolutely crushed them. Country stations blacklisted their music while DJs held public record-burning parties. (Sound familiar?) They received death threats and eventually stopped touring. For YEARS, they basically dropped off the map. They've only recently come back with new music and they're being recognized by the country world for their contributions, but without it really being acknowledged that their cultural impact would have been much bigger had they not been censored.

This doesn't DIRECTLY have a lot to do with Johnny Cash, who was around long before this, but it does explain why the post-9/11 generation might understandably think that country has always been a right-wing echo chamber. It hasn't. We had Johnny, and Dolly, and Willie, and yes even Garth, long before the "I love 'Murrrica and cheap beer and being exploited by my employer" wave took over. Those tides have been turning, too: we have artists now like Jason Isbell, Brandy Clark, Maren Morris, and countless others who are openly left-liberal in their politics and challenge artists like Aldean when they show their ass. There's finally more diversity in mainstream country. There are openly gay country artists who are popular. So nature is healing itself... but I suspect that's WHY we have an obvious plant like Oliver Anthony going on rants about welfare recipients instead of condemning the system that puts people in that position. There are people in the country establishment who don't want the genre to evolve and move left because then they can't use it as a propaganda machine to control poor rural people anymore.

The kids on TikTok think that just because he was a classic country singer, Johnny Cash was conservative??? My babies he covered a Nine Inch Nails song in his seventies.

Classic country singers (the majority of which came from poor roots) were always talking about how much The Man sucked because they were taking money from poor rural folk. You’re gonna tell me that’s conservative?? Get outta here.

[msfcatlover]

Every Monster Can’t Be Your Kid, Bruce.

Inspired really heavily by You, Me, and the Humanity in Between by JUBE514, which I misunderstood the first time I read it and thought they were all going to be different types of monsters. So Dick & Jason are very close to that story in their origins here. You should absolutely read that fic, because it’s fantastic, but the major take away for my AU is that if you pour enough love into something, it can come to life, and the more life & love it carries the more “real” that life becomes.

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

Dick is an antique doll, handed down through generations of Graysons, becoming gradually more alive & aware as time went on. It was John Grayson and eventually his wife Mary who managed to tip Dick over into being animate even when people were watching him. Dick only became more & more real from there, as John & Mary shared their love of flying with him, and eventually shared the spotlight & love of their audience. The circus as a whole saw Dick as a blessing, being fully aware of his inhuman nature but accepting him as a source of good luck… until John & Mary fell, leaving their doll-son behind. Dick could actually see his place in the family he’d been part of turn towards superstitious whispers, as his movements stiffened and his joints became more visible. He wasn’t anyone’s good luck charm anymore.

Bruce also saw how everyone turned on that poor little boy, and rushed to give Dick a place to stay, haunted by the whispers of his own childhood that found ways to blame Bruce for what happened to Thomas & Martha Wayne. Bruce isn’t exactly great at expressing his love, but Dick never needs to doubt it when he can see & feel the evidence right there in his own body. And when Robin met the rest of the hero community, they loved him too, giving Dick the chance to actually grow up for the first time in almost 150yrs.

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

The first thing Jason ever experienced was love, as the city itself brought him to life. The second thing was freedom, as Jason slipped from the rooftop he’d been carved for and for the first time experienced flight. The third was agony, as Jason struck the ground and his wings snapped right off.

Jason’s not technically a gargoyle. Gargoyles are structurally important, directing water away from the building, and basically never come to life. Jason is a grotesque, carved for decoration & to ward off evil spirits. Without any family to go to, Jason stuck to that second job, protecting the people of his neighborhood as best he could. Batman investigated what he thought was a new vigilante, and found a boy carved from solid stone who could almost pass for human if he stayed out of the light. Bruce worried Jason would suffer the same rejection Dick had, and offered Jason a home; it took some convincing to tempt Jason away from his territory, as it is in Jason’s nature to stay in place in order to protect, but eventually Jason agreed in exchange for training.

(The new Robin doesn’t bend or jerk the way the last one did, but he hits the ground like a meteor strike, and rakes gouges in brick with his claws. He doesn’t shatter & grin through any injury, because most weapons glance off or shatter themselves against his stony skin.)

(Joker submerged a boy carved from centuries-old limestone in an acid bath, and by the time it was drained there wasn’t enough left to animate. Bruce still called every magician he knew, hoping to hear someone say Jason was still alive despite that.)

(Talia had a marble sculpture carved, and had what was retrieved from Jason’s coffin sealed at its core. It still took one hell of a ritual to bring him back, now with a tail that lashed & wings that swept the ground behind him to go with the fangs & claws he’d always had. The new body was perfect in the way only sculptures can be, and Jason just kept himself covered up rather than bother painting & repainting color onto his skin every time he went out in public, lacking the love to lock it in.)

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

Tim was the opposite of his brothers. If you love something, anything, you can bring it to life; if something goes unloved & ignored, on the other hand… Tim just slowly faded into the background of his own life. Nobody talked to him at galas. His parents overlooked him at dinner. Other kids avoided him, while staff wouldn’t look him in the eye. Until one day Tim’s teacher was calling attendance and called Tim’s name three times before Tim abruptly stood up, chair screeching across the floor, and snapped, “I said, I’m right here!” The whole class stared wide-eyed, as though Tim has appeared from nowhere.

Tim learned to take advantage of it. He learned what he could do, as something reality itself sometimes ignored (if Tim closes his eyes and has no one else observing him, he can even bypass laws of physics to move through walls or take a few steps out on open air.) Tim tried to convince himself it was just meta-powers manifesting, and it was pure coincidence how closely his condition mirrored mythical Echo (at least people always hear her voice.)

The only time it doesn’t work is if someone wants to notice Tim. A paradox, as first they need to know the true Tim well enough to want to notice him, rather than their own preconceived notion of Tim or one of the masks that Tim puts on. On the plus side, once Tim became Robin that meant he had people he could reach out to who would answer the phone & talk him through it when reality felt especially swimmy or Tim’s own sense of self might waver. Being overlooked is also just one hell of a superpower, and Tim puts it to good use.

(Tim is eternally annoyed once he starts getting close to people and can no longer slip past them. He demands to know why they can see him, and they’re like, “Because we want to? Because we care about you?” and Tim’s like, “Well that’s inconvenient!”)

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

Finding a decapitated teenage girl caught under one of the docks was just an especially depressing day for the Gotham PD. Finding a corpse that grabbed back when the coroner went to move it meant it was time to call in the Batman. Steph didn’t know Morse code and her eyes & ears were currently stuck somewhere in muffled darkness far away from the rest of her, so communication was rough but they eventually got her story out of her. Revenants come back for specific reasons, so it was expected she would be there when her father was apprehended; the words he screamed when he saw her corpse, and the beeline Steph made for the box under his workbench put any remaining doubts to rest. Steph picked the lock by touch, and retrieved her head with a huff of relief.

Then Robin said, “Did you find it?” and Steph jumped, throwing her head at him on instinct. It was very embarrassing for both of them, and when Robin handed Steph her head back and she balanced it back on her neck, she immediately started blushing.

(Bruce buys Steph a whole lot of beautiful “necklaces” to help keep her head balanced. Spoiler is the Headless Horseman of Gotham, and Steph finds it hilarious to play into the image. She no longer experiences true pain, just deep discomfort, and gets very good at lobbing her head like a grisly dodgeball at anyone she dislikes.)

(Steph’s a lot more lively than most people expect of the undead, eating & chattering, even getting sick sometimes. She loudly proclaims that the best part of losing her head is that she no longer has to taste it when she throws up, as long as she’s quick enough removing it—when Steph does puke, it’s mostly bilge-water, no matter what she put in her stomach ahead of time.)

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

Cass is a homunculus, but I have no details. Damian’s got his “mixed DNA clone” origin going on. That’s where I’m at with this one.

[kats-fic-recs]

The Best Batman fics I've read in 2022

As the end of the year comes closer, I've decided to make an Ao3 Wrapped for myself out of the best fics from every fandom I've read this year.

Here we go.....

The Best Batman fics I've read in 2022

Multi Media Marketing Mistakes

Gotham Gazette @gothamgazette

What did Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne get up to in boarding school?! gothamgazette.com/baidguh24h

|

Oliver Queen @queenofficial

no comment

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Bruce Wayne @brucewayne

@queenofficial you know that commenting ‘no comment’ on a tweet kind of defeats the point

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Oliver Queen @queenofficial

@brucewayne shut up im not talking to you anymore

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Bruce Wayne @brucewayne

@queenofficial then stop texting me

games without frontiers

“Pennyworth.”

When he turned, Damian was hesitating at the doorway. His face was white.

He recalled Thomas and Martha’s well-intentioned consolations and chidings -- little snippets of it’s just a bat and it won’t hurt you intermixed with please, just go to sleep, Bruce, I’ve checked all the windows, it’s silly--- and discarded them with a pang.

They hadn’t helped Bruce, after all.

“If the creature is so dangerous,” Alfred said neutrally, surfacing from the memory. “We’ll need to get it out of the house. For the safety of the others.”

“...For safety. Yes,” Damian said. When he turned around, the paleness in the boy’s face had faded. He seemed burgeoned by the impending responsibility. “I will assist you, of course.”

the politics of dancing

After months of silence following his mysterious resurrection from the dead, the prodigal Wayne heir shows up at an unlikely meeting.

“Where is Mr. Wayne?”

Jason crossed his legs, cracking his neck. “He’s not coming.”

“I was assured Mr. Wayne would be here.”

“Tough. Looks like you’ll have to settle for me, huh?”

Comes In Threes

Felicity Smoak has a bad track record with billionaires.

Scrub-A-Dub

Talon's new master has put him in water, and Talon does not know why. This new master, though...Talon thinks he might like this new master.

Frightening, But Not Afraid

When the family is hit by a new strain of fear toxin, safety is in numbers. Unfortunately, three members of the flock are still out there, afraid and alone. Bruce may not be the best at comforting his children, but apparently, he can let his wings do the talking.

((aka, the classic fear toxin hurt/comfort but with a splash of the classic wings-make-u-feel-safe hurt/comfort))

Reclaiming Innocence

Jason Todd was kidnapped at nine-years-old and given two options. Work for his keep, or be forced to to work for his keep.

His life was not pleasant, but Jason was nothing if not a fighter, and dammit if was he going to let the hell around him kill who he was as a person. Or his dreams of growing up and going to college.

Those dreams suddenly came a little more into focus, when his idiot of a pimp accidentally tried to rent him to Bruce Wayne. Poor bastard could have never guessed he was the Batman himself. Heck, not even Jason figured that out, at first. And Batman had practically adopted him.

What would you do, if it all came back to you?

"Still standing, Jason clicked on the folder and opened the first video – Jesus, there were quite a few – and suddenly Bruce was staring at him. He moved the mouse, thinking the video had frozen, but no, Bruce really did spend the first few seconds just staring. (...)

“I… I found the book in your bedside table. “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”” He paused, looked away, then back at the camera. “You were always reading. I can’t remember the last time I just read a book for fun.”"

The Jason Project

Jason had just wanted to see his autopsy report, he had only wanted to know what information Bruce had about his death. And when Bruce hadn't given it to him, he had stolen it. He hadn’t meant to stumble upon the bucket list of a dead child and the footage of a grieving father crossing one item after another off the list.

bad people don't live in our house

Bruce stirred when the bed beside him dipped, and the sheets across his chest were yanked hard.

“What,” Bruce said roughly. A small hand smacked against his face.

“Shh,” said a little voice. The sheets pulled again. “Go back to sleep.”

More Precious Than Gold

Most dragons sleep on their hoards.

Bruce's hoard sleeps on him.

Or: Bruce is a dragon. Predictably, he hoards orphans.

Gifts From the Sea

Bruce, aimless after abandoning his plans to become a special education teacher, takes an internship at Amnesty Bay Aquatic Zoo. His life changes forever when he meets the zoo's orphaned merboy. (AU where the Batkids are merpeople and Bruce is their human adoptive dad.)

I Was Lost For You to Find

Bruce never planned on having kids. After watching his parents die, the idea of starting a family of his own was foolishness at best and an impending disaster at worst. Never in his wildest dreams did Bruce think he'd ever be up to the task of raising a child, and he was okay with that. But when an orphaned acrobat starts weighing on his mind, Bruce makes the (questionable) decision to become a foster father. Everything after that is just dumb luck.

Yesterday's Voices

While trying to take down a drug cartel that deals with memory altering drugs, things go awry, and Batman wakes up with no recollection of the last five years.

As a result, his family must now race against time to find the antidote, while also having to deal with a Bruce who still thinks Jason is Robin. A Bruce who doesn't recognise most of them. A Bruce far less jaded and cynical than the one they're used to. A Bruce who still cares.

Take Care of Business

Summary: Bruce has a conference call with Wayne Enterprises. Having it at the Manor was, in hindsight, a really shitty idea.

“I don’t have your phone!”

The two boys began trading hits, yelling at the top of their lungs. Bruce turned back to the webcam just as Damian leapt on top of Tim’s back, a high-pitched battle cry torn from his lips.

“Mr. Hodges,” he said cheerfully, unflinching as Tim threw Damian into the wet bar sink. “Have you had a chance to examine the chart I pointed out?”

Brother Wanted

Well-behaved boy (10) is looking for big brother (11-15). Must meet up with me three times a week, for at least two hours each. Overall duties include helping me with homework, playing videogames with me, and showing me how to play catch. 10$ per hour.

Tim, lonely and in desperate need of company, decides that if his parents are not going to give him a sibling, he's going to hire one instead. Luckily, Jason Todd-Wayne shows up in the nick of time.

and i'll be two steps on the water

Studying his profile as she pours, the name clicks in her head like she knew it would. Even downturned, that face is unmistakable, and the realization thunders lightly in her mind.

Bruce Wayne.

All the Cups Got Broke

The police officers of metro Detroit had seen a lot of weird over the years, between the violence of the day-to-day, the year with all the freaky clown sightings, and that time with the tiger at the auto plant.

Their newest transfer - pretty-faced, former circus kid, son of a billionaire - might have been the weirdest, though.

his name was king

Everyone knows who the butler is.

The Bachelor: Robin Edition

Gotham loses its Robin and Bruce Wayne loses a son. Tim finds one of these too tragic to bear. In his quest to make sure Bruce Wayne lives to see the next year, he strikes upon the perfect solution: another son.

*

His best bet is, naturally, Crime Alley.

By 8 pm that day, Drake Manor is filled with ten black-haired, blue-eyed boys sitting around the large dining table, looking around the room suspiciously.

Well. Eleven. But Tim doesn’t think he counts.

Empty Graves

Swimming with the Fishes

The Bat rules Gotham with an iron fist. People do not come out of his Manor. They say he has a monster lurking within the building’s walls.

Jason is brought to the Manor as gift to earn the Bat’s favour.

*****

Mob Boss + Mers -> the combination you didn’t know you needed.

How to Train Your Mers

The tank lurched again and he silently begged for any sea god to please let him out of the dizzying, pitch-black hell. His body ached from getting beaten into the box’s side. The water was stale and disgusting in his gills. There wasn’t any light and he couldn’t see anything.

He was so full of fear he was beginning to get numb to it.

He didn’t know what these humans wanted with him, but he knew it couldn’t be good if they started by shoving him into this too-small box and tossing him around like a boat on an angry sea.

-----

Clark is an aquatic mammals trainer at the Metropolis Aquarium and Bruce is their very unruly new resident. Clark doesn't realise that Bruce is only the first of many mers that are going to live in the Aquarium.

Loading and Aspect Ratio

So, it didn’t start out like this.

Alfred would scoff at the statement, about how Bruce was trying to justify the whole situation to himself. It had started out as a simple design, black everything with black outlines and black hood. It got a little more intense as the world went on, got wind of his ghost on the streets, and became scared of The Bat . So Bruce got a little more creative with it, Alfred and him had a good laugh over the name, the scare, and Alfred had a vicious streak of humor that he had passed onto his ward-

So now the suit had a visible bat-theme, an insignia to drape in the shadows and to paint across the streets of Gotham.

It only took a year into the whole charade of heroism for Bruce to overhear a conversation between some goons- some low level thug hired by the Riddler this week- about nothing at all pertaining to what the hell the Riddler was doing in the sewers but instead:

“ The Batman can fly, you know, I’ve seen his wings.”

--

A world where nobody has wings, but people think they do, and that changes everything.

Bonus Superman fics:

Time travelers who plan to kill Superman never account for Martha Kent in their plans. She may not be the World's Finest, but she's a mother with a shotgun, and all told that might be scarier.

darling, so it goes

Clark shows up still wearing his suit—the sixth and final attempt—holding tight onto a little girl’s hand and looking terrified. The same symbol from his ship is displayed onto her odd looking clothes. Martha takes one look at the pair of ‘em and then goes to see if they’ve got any lemonade in the house

[arkhamsrevenge]

Pt 2 @mxsmwndr The Witch of Red

“Shit. Just hold on Y/N ok?”Artemis sneered trying to find a way to free her friend. The call came in 2 hours ago. Mr. Freeze had trapped Y/N in a cave of ice. Y/N couldn’t produce the body heat needed to keep warm AND use her magic. Since her wings were what she used to warm herself, Y/N had been colder than usual. Her body temperature never adapted well to the cold. Poor circulation. Y/N had dialed Artemis with what little strength she had left. Artemis’s own blood froze when she heard the witch’s trembling voice.

“I f-f-fucked u-u-up.” Artemis wasted no time getting Jason and Bizzaro on board. But now, Artemis didn’t know how to melt the ice without collapsing the cave in.

“We’re right here. Fuck, just stay alive! I’m gonna get to you. I swear.” The Amazon said leaning onto the ice. No answer.

“Move!” Jason said in the Red Hood gear. He then used a small torch that he modified specifically to melt the ice Freeze produced . It was working but taking a little longer than Jason would have liked. “Just hold on Spooks.” He whispered.

“Bizzaro don’t like wait. To stressed” the clone said as he punched the rest of the way that Jason had created. The cave began to shake.

“No!” Artemis screamed. Then a S/C hand shakily reached up. Bizzaro took the hand then picked up the person attached to it. Moving them out of the cave the continued to collapse in on itself. Y/N’s lips and fingers were blue. She was shaking violently. Artemis ran to her f friend dropping to her knees. “My gods. Let’s get you outta here.” Y/N eyes were glazed over. She was conscious but didn’t seem to be responsive.

“I got her.” Jason said reaching his other two friends. “My body heat runs higher than normal. I can warm her up on the way back.” He said taking the freezing witch in his arms. She was so cold it was painful. Artemis nodded and lead her two partners back to the ship. The ride back to the safe house was silent. Jason couldn’t warm Y/N up as quickly since he was still in his gear. One back ti the safe house, Artemis took her friend from Jason, allowing him to change into civilian clothes. The Amazon wrapped her friend in a blanket and rubbed her shoulders attempting to warm the witch.

“Thanks…Muscles….” Y/N finally whispered through chattering teeth then closed her eyes and stopped shaking. Artemis felt her eyes well up.

“Jason! JASON NOW!” Jason hearing his friend in distress ran back in now dawning his red sweatshirt and black sweats. “She stopped shaking!” Jason took the cold Y/N from Artemis and held her close to him. Her skin still held a tint of blue.

“She’s ok. She’s alright. Just passed out from exhaustion. She’s starting to warm up.” Artemis exhaled and dropped her head in her hands.

“Fuck. Thanks.” Artemis said grabbing Jason’s hand. Jason squeezed back and nodded.

Sometime later Jason had fallen asleep with Y/N’s back to his front. They were both spread out on the couch, a blanket covering both. Jason was half asleep when he felt movemen6. Immediately his eyes popped open and he sat up straighter. Y/N was trying to get up.

“Hey. Hey! It’s me. Relax.” Y/N turned to face Jason her eyes where still glazed over.

“I gotta go.” She mumbled still trying to get up. It was only when the loss of heat made her shake did she fall back against Jason. Her teeth started to chatter once again.

“You almost froze to death. You gotta take it easy.” Jason whispered softly as Y/N settled back on his chest.

“How pissed is she?” The Witch whispered. Jason chuckled.

“Anger hasn’t set in yet. She’s just happy you’re alive.” Y/N hummed smiling softly.

“Give it till tomorrow.” And with that the witch fell back to sleep. Jason watched Y/N for a minute or two then let himself fall asleep. He felt weird, warm and safe almost peaceful.

“IM GONNA KILL YOU MYSELF!” Jason shot up from a dead sleep. He noticed Y/N was gone but from the roaring Artemis he knew exactly where to find the witch.

“I called you didn’t I? I kept my word!” Jason heard Y/N scream back. He got up and walked toward the kitchen where Artemis and Y/N where having a stand off on either side of th3 island.

“WHEN YOU WERE ALMOST DEAD! THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” Artemis screamed jumping forward. Y/N ducked and ran to the other side of the room.

“ I’m sorry Muscles. Ok? I really am. I thought it could handle it .” Artemis was breathing heavy, nostrils flared when she slowly started to calm down. Jason could help but smile. They both were acting like children playing tag. Y/N looked normal again. Well normal for her. It was as if she didn’t almost freeze to death last night.

“I will kill you if you pull that again.” Artemis said making her way over to her friend. When both where face to face Artemis pulled Y/N into a hug. Y/N new Artemis wouldn’t actually hurt her but was just scared that she would loose another friend. “you’re dumbest smart person I’ve ever met.” Artemis mumbled. Y/N eyes landed on Jason. She mouthed a ‘Thank you’ to him. Jason nodded. “What now?” Y/N asked.

“Pretty Red stay here? Get better like Pup Pup” Bizzaro stated.

Y/N started to pack her bag. She’d been staying with the Outlaws for over 2 months and throughout that time Jason had become almost attached to Y/N as she had become attached to him.

“So, because of the pit, your body runs hotter than most.” Y/N asked Jason. He invited her to read with him once she was done packing. He new she planned to leave soon and wanted as much time with her as possible.

“Yeah. There are a couple other changes that occurred but that one is more noticeable I guess.” Jason said as they were lying down on Y/N’s bed. They had been reading silently for an hour or so before they started talking about Jason’s past as he already knew hers.

“Huh. What’s the most noticeable change? If you don’t mind me asking?” Jason sat up and put his book down. Y/N was wearing a tank top, her massive scars were more visible to Jason but he didn’t mind. His body was also scarred up.

“I guess my eyes are the most noticeable to me. They use to be blue but now their greenish blue.” Y/N looked into his eyes, she still thought they were lovely. Hers would turn green when she used her power. They are usually violet. “I also heal faster than most.” Y/N nodded.

“Me too. The only thing that hurts me is the cold and metal.” Jason raised and eyebrow.

“Metal?”

“Burns. Not to bad but enough. I’ve made myself almost immune.” The two were in close proximity, tension had surrounded them since he warmed her from death. “I never said ‘Thank you’ for helping me.” Jason smiled.

“All good. You’ve had other shit on your mind.” Y/N smirked.

“Still should thank you.” The witch said moving closer. “And for letting me stay here. I know you weren’t my biggest fan. I don’t blame you, I’ve done horrible things and not gonna lie, I've enjoyed it.”

“Listen I get it. I’ve done some shit I’m not proud of. It was always done with good intensions but most people don’t see it that way.” Jason muttered letting the witch get closer. He could feel her breath on his face. His eyes fell on another scar, this one was faint but because he was so close he saw it. It was a small gash on the side of her neck. Someone landed a kill shot on Y/N. The thought of her bleeding out alone somewhere lit something in Jason. He wanted to hunt down the son of a bitch and do the same to them. Jason flickered his eyes to Y/N for a second before lifting his hand and lightly tracing the scar.

“How’d you get this one?” He whispered. To his surprise, Y/N took his hand into hers and brought it down.

“A kid actually. Parents didn’t hide the gun very well and the kid found it, he didn’t know it wasn’t a fake. I knew it would go off and the parents weren’t going to survive it. So I took the hit. Hurt like a bitch but worth it. A family is still together.” Jason shook his head.

“I don’t understand you. Every tale about you id linked to something brutal, yet...” Y/N brow furrowed.

“Yet?” Jason blinked and stared at her, his eyes flickered to her lips then back up at her. Slowly, he moved in closer, his heart quickened. Y/N didn’t pull away or stop him until he was just about to kiss her.

“I can’t Jason.” She whispered. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.” Jason looked at her confused. “Humans use sex and kissing as a release of sort, yes? Witches are the same accept...you’d be bound to me. I can’t do that to you.” Jason held her face between his hands.

“Fuck that.” Jason whispered back before pulling Y/N in for a kiss. To his surprise, her skin started to open up, a bright golden color emulated from it. He could feel her heart race. “I’ll do what I want.” Y/N pulled Jason down and both started to undress.

Y/N lay awake in bed. Jason was fast asleep, her heart swelled and that scared her. These new feelings that she was experiencing scared her so much. She cant do this, not now. Not when she’s done everything she can to lock that part of herself way. Last time she was willing to let her guard down she got mutilated. Jason awoke something in her. Something she didn’t think was possible anymore. Y/N slowly crawled out of bed and grabbed her stuff. She wanted to write Jason a note but didn’t know what to say. How do you tell someone you feel something for them but are to scared and to focused on your revenge to do anything? Y/N bit her lip and started to head towards the door.

“Not even going to say goodbye?”

“FFFFuuck. Muscles you scared the sh-”

“Shut up.” Artemis said, clicking on the light. “You’re leaving? After all that you’re leaving to finish a revenge mission?” Y/N couldn’t believe what her friend was saying.

“You said you understood. Were you lying?” Y/N whispered hurt. How could she? She knows that happened and now all of a sudden she’s against it?

“What? Of course not. You’re running away from this and you know it. Your afraid I get that but-”

“I am not running away from anything. I need to do this. I have dreamt of nothing but this for years. Everyday I was bedridden because of the pain. They took everything from me. They don’t get to get away scott fucking free. I’m a witch remember? Happy endings aren’t for me. It’s bullshit, just like true loves fucking kiss. It doesn’t exist.” Y/N was breathing heavy by the time she was done. Artemis didn’t show any expression.

“This is going to kill you.”

“Then so be it.” Y/N said as she finally walked out the door. Artemis sat in the silence for a second.

“I know you’re there Jason.” On cue, Jason walked out for behind the doorframe.

“Sorry...again for ease dropping.” Artemis shook her head.

“It’s fine. Are you-?” Jason nodded.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I understand her obsession. I get it. Fuck. I get it. She needs to do this...but maybe not alone.”

[absolutely-esme]

I freaking love the idea of Jason gradually learning to believe that he didn't come back wrong. He came back changed. He came back different, but it's okay for him to be who and what he is now. There was never a requirement for him to always stay the same as he was at age 15.

I also love the idea of Sam seeing a bunch of liminals and deciding to take them under her wing.

I think it would be kind of interesting if the Batkids were doing pretty well for having to figure things out mostly on their own, but Bruce was the most strongly in need of immediate intervention. That lock down on his emotions? Not healthy for him or the people around him.

I imagine Sam meets the Batkids first. Once she realizes that they've been figuring things out mostly on their own apart from some advice from full ghosts, she decides to talk to them about it and offer her own wisdom on the liminal experience. They've done pretty good on their own, but having some guidance and information from more experienced liminals would surely make life easier.

She also really wants to introduce Jason to Danny because she knows how hard it was for Danny to figure out the halfa stuff on his own.

For a while, Sam is just working with the Batkids. She's slowly gaining their trust as she helps them. They're opening up more, bit by bit. She tries to be open with her own experiences but makes it clear that she won't share other people's business without their consent. She offers to introduce them to friends who can tell them more and offer their own perspectives, but she also reassures the kids that she won't tell anyone about them unless they okay it.

The kids respond well to her blunt but not cruel way of handling things. She's clear and concise. She gives them good information and lets them make their own choices.

Things are going well.

Then she encounters Bruce. Definitely liminal, but so repressed he could be mistaken for an ectoplasm-powered machine. It's like looking at a massive boulder perched precariously on a crumbling ledge above a village. This is not sustainable. This has the potential to do harm.

That needs to be dealt with right now.

She straight up tells Bruce in no uncertain terms that he needs to properly handle his issues or they will make him a danger to those he cares for. Not might. Will.

She puts together a whole presentation on the dangers of extremely poor emotional regulation in ghosts and liminals and stages an intervention. There are many chilling examples of how bad it can get. (I don't know much about the supernatural big bads in DC, but it's likely there's at least one example the Bats recognize on the list).

Bruce goes pale as he starts to recognize parallels between the early stage signs and some of the more regrettable things he's done. Finally looking at some of his own actions from a perspective not mired in justifications and the mission, Bruce thinks he might just throw up.

The bottom line is B can't keep going on like this.

The only question is how does he fix it? Does he need to go to therapy?

The answer is yes, but there’s more than just that.

They arrange for Danny and Tucker to keep working with the kids while Sam focuses on Bruce. He needs someone who won't take shit from him and can be a hardass if needed.

The first thing Sam does is get him a list of therapists who are equipped to handle the liminal experience. He can vet them and start looking for one that works for him.

The next thing Sam does is take Bruce to a Rage Room in the ghost zone. The rage room prevents individuals from receiving harm within and repairs any damage done to objects or the structure. Anything Bruce breaks will be fixed. He can't hurt anyone or be hurt here.

Before anything else, Bruce needs to get used to deliberately accessing his feelings in any sort of way. He's been shoving them down until the pressure build up causes them to burst out through any available channel at Random. This is bad because it's been hurting people he cares about and because the unpredictable way it fucks with his behavior and decision-making means he can't plan around it. "Know thyself" is one of the most basic strategic principles.

Bruce remembers Dick fleeing the manor when he should have been recovering from a gunshot wound. He remembers unexpectedly encountering Jason abroad because he felt safer traveling out of the country alone than relying on Bruce. He remembers Tim feeling obligated to become a vigilante because Bruce couldn't be left unsupervised.

Bruce decides that he doesn't want to be that man anymore.

So he works on it. He forces himself to think about the distressing things without compartmentalizing. He throws things and smashes things and rants and raves and brawls with Sam. He learns to recognize and observe his feelings and how they impact him the same way he does with the state of his body.

Eventually Bruce gets to a point where he can engage with his emotions without reaching his breaking point or completely losing control of himself. He starts sessions with his liminal therapist, a Latina woman with a gift for seeing through bullshit and knowing where and how far to push.

Bruce learns to understand his thoughts and feeling and process them in a healthy way. Dr Sanchez makes him periodically examine the progress he's made and think about what he wants to work on. (Yes, Bruce's Therapist is Paulina.)

It's all freaking exhausting, but it's working. Bit by bit, Bruce is getting better. His relationships are improving. He's having an easier time just existing in the space between one task and the next.

Meanwhile, the kids are having fun with Danny and Tucker. They have good insights and lots of fun stories. Danny is able to give Jason some uniquely helpful advice and the contact information for a doctor who has experience with treating halfas.

In between all the personal wellness stuff, they also teach them some fun stuff too. Tucker and Tim are working on something that will have oracle either cussing them out or joining in. Maybe both.

Dick now has an additional person he can bug to take him flying.

The Batkids learn Infinite Realms Poker which uses tarot cards for some reason and somehow encorporates physical fights into the game play. It's absurd, and they all love it. Damian especially enjoys launching himself over the table at opponents.

What if Tim was the Ghostliest Bat

Lots of DPxDC crossover writers have Tim Drake being the one non-liminal Bat, or becoming liminal late in the game. This is probably due to the fact that most of them have died and come back and Tim hasn't.

It makes sense, but, hear me out, what if Tim was actually the most liminal and had been liminal for the longest.

The other Bats had a more standard type of death and resurrection. Afterward, they are simply living people.

Tim's parents are archeologists and bring back artifacts from all over the world. At least some of these artifacts are kept in the house. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that some of them have something ghostly to them.

The specifics could vary. Perhaps the artifacts just steadily release ectoplasm into the environment. Perhaps they thin the veil in places and Tim wanders in and out of the Ghost Zone, getting as much socialization from ghosts as from the living, if not more. Heck, maybe one of those artifacts was meant for travel between realms and Tim accidentally opens a portal on himself and becomes a halfa at a young age.

However it happens, Tim grows up exposed to ectoplasm day in and day out. He adapts to the environment he spends his formative years in. He gradually becomes more ghostly. No one notices for a while because no one around him recognizes the signs and Tim is a quick study at keeping up appearances, at least to surface-level observation.

Tim knows how to behave around strangers and distant acquaintances. That said, he doesn't necessarily realize that his more ghostly tendencies are abnormal and not simply something that etiquette dictates is not shared with strangers.

Tim pays relatively little concern to his own safety because some part of his subconscious knows that he's already assured an afterlife that's familiar and comfortable to some part of him, though he is still conscientious and considerate of the health and safety of others.

He obsesses over The Bats, follows them around and takes pictures. Ghosts tend to be fairly intense about what's important to them, so it doesn’t seem wrong to him. After all, he's not trying to force himself into their lives, and he makes a point to be unobtrusive with his photography so as not to impact them at all. By ghostly standards, he's being quite reserved by keeping his distance and taking care not to bother them, and his human social knowledge doesn't extend far beyond surface level.

He doesn't interact with the Bats at all until Batman's mental health becomes a public safety issue, and even then he tries to get them to resolve the matter internally, first. He only begins directly inserting himself into their lives after recieving express permission from a member of the family.

Once he does become one of them, however, he is intense and unreserved about it in the way that ghosts tend to be about everything that's important to them. He pays close attention and remembers everything. He goes above and beyond with anything they might ask of him, and even with some things they don't ask for but seem to need. He cares in a way that's just a bit uncanny.

No one talks to him about some of his more extreme tendencies. Maybe they just don't have the emotional bandwidth because they're still grieving. Maybe the Bats refrain from commenting on Tim's stalking and general over-the-top-ness because stones and glass houses.

Tim doesn't understand what went wrong in his relationship with Steph because human behavior standards and boundaries are not intuitive to him, nor has he been taught about them. Grief-stricken Bats are not a good resource when it comes to behavioral norms. For all that she's certain he'd never intentionally hurt or upset her, Tim is creepy. Sweet and caring, but creepy.

He also doesn't freak out when Steph comes back and pretends to be a hallucination. The deception doesn't work at all because his subconscious ghostliness means that his brain doesn't automatically reject the idea of a dead comrade being back. He just goes straight into "Hooray, you're back!" mode without stopping to question it. Steph doesn't take the deception any further because he's already caught onto it and he's so happy to see her.

They remain friends.

Jason comes back from the dead and Tim immediately latches on. He doesn't care if Jason is attacking him. Jason is one of his, and he's back. He grins and keeps his banter friendly and gushes about how happy he is to have Jason back through the entire beatdown at Titans Tower. He doesn't actually start sounding worried until Jason begins walking away after writing on the wall with his blood. Tim begs him not to go. The whole experience freaks Jason out.

Tim initially has a bit of an issue with Damian, not because of the murder attempts (which Tim doesn't especially care about), but because of Damian's insistence on not allowing Tim to remain in the family, and because his apparent goal of being Batman's only family member makes him register as a threat to others Tim cares about. Eventually, things settle a bit once it's made clear that Damian isn't going after anyone else and will not be allowed to kick him out.

The other Bats are equal parts wary of Tim (because he's creepy and unsettling in ways that are difficult to define) and worried for Tim (because he doesn't seem to have a sense of self preservation).

Lots and lots of Tim being spooky without realizing it and freaking everyone out with no explanation. No one understands what, exactly, is so off about Tim that makes him so unsettling, until Sam Manson gets dragged to a gala in Gotham and immediately clocks him.

Do with this as you will.

[the-void-writes]

[ STRADDLE] : while sparring, sender gains the upper hand and pins the reciever in place, straddling their waist in the porccess.

+

[ AFTER ] : sender has just impulsively and passionately kissed the reciever without and warning nor apprent reason. how does the reciever respond?

+

[ INVITE ] : sender asks reciever into a private room with nobody else present.

Timi thank you so much 🥹 This was an absolute blast to write, and I’m loving this version of events way more than what I first wrote so I owe you a lot! I really hope you all enjoy it 💖

Freaks Of Preston - Our Secret - Jason and Rio

It had been four years since the accident, and though Jason hadn’t truly recovered, he wasn’t the empty mess of a man he had been when he first arrived at Ves Corp. He was respected among his peers, and he had found his purpose taking care of the children that Vesely took in. His friends kept him sane, his dear patients made him proud beyond belief, and Rio— he had become Jason’s closest friend.

They looked forward to their training sessions most of all. Just the two of them, freely using their powers while taking it easy and gossiping about their coworkers. For as often as Rio complained, though, he had a joyous glint in his brown-and-gray eyes that Jason never saw anywhere else in the building. It seemed to him that Rio only ever looked like that when they were alone.

Rio took a training staff from the wall, and with the soft popping noise that came with his powers, a second staff manifested in his other hand. He threw the second staff to Jason, who stumbled as he caught it.

“Still up for this?” Rio asked. “We can always hide out in the breakroom until everyone clocks out. It’s not like they’ll check.”

Jason smiled softly as he tied his hair back. “It sounds like you’re just afraid to lose.”

Rio laughed. “What happened to that ‘all about having fun’ shit?”

“It is fun, but I’d rather like to win for once.”

“Okay then, big-shot.” He raised his staff. “Show me how tough you are.”

It had been hard when they first started, since Jason couldn’t find his balance on his prosthetic leg. Thanks to Rio, though, he had learned a valuable trick. He let his wings unfurl through his shirt, already feeling weightless as the wind brushed through his feathers.

The first blow was simple enough, and the loud slap of the colliding wooden poles echoed through the room. Fighting against Rio was no easy feat, though. His powers meant he had an infinite amount of weapons to create, to the point where he ended up fighting with one staff in each hand. Jason swung again and again, but Rio kept spinning out of the way. He stood at the edge of the mat and waved his hand tauntingly.

“Come on, buddy, I know you’re faster than that.”

Jason grinned and took a step back. With a sudden sweep of his wings, he leapt into the air and raised his staff. Rio shielded himself with the poles as Jason’s staff came down. The crack of the wood was even louder than before.

“Overhead swings are risky, Jay.” Rio pushed his arms up and swung at his stomach, thankfully covered by his training armor. “You’re too exposed.”

Jason stumbled backwards, stepping wider than he had meant to. His prosthetic leg buckled under the unbalanced weight, but before he could fall, Rio dropped his weapons and caught him by his wrist.

“You okay?”

For one moment, they could only stare at each other. Then, Rio was caught off-guard as Jason swung at his chest, knocking him to the floor mat and kneeling over him with a triumphant smile.

“You shouldn’t lower your guard like that, Rio. It’s too risky.”

Jason couldn’t stop smiling and giggling to himself, especially with how Rio was watching him. The poor soldier looked like he was in a trance. His unblinking eyes made Jason more concerned.

“Oh god, I didn’t hurt you too badly, did I—”

His heart skipped as Rio leaned up and kissed him. It was quick, rather sloppy… but so warm and soothing, like the weight of the world had flown from Jason’s shoulders. He stared down at Rio, who bolted upright as he realized what he had done.

“Oh god— Holy shit, I’m sorry. That was so stupid.” He punched the mat. “Fucking— damn it.”

Jason shook his head in disbelief, his mind feeling miles away from his body. Of all the thoughts racing around in his mind, the only one he could properly express was:

“Why?”

Rio leaned his head against his knees. “I don’t know— You’re sweet and funny, and smarter than anyone else in the damn building. I just— I couldn’t keep hiding it, I’m sorry.”

As light as his heart felt, Jason’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “Rio— You know I’m no good. After everything I’ve screwed up in my life, why would you want to hurt yourself by being involved—”

“Hey, relax.” Rio held his shoulder. “Just breathe for me, okay?”

His voice was low and soft, and Jason finally noticed that he only sounded that way around him. Rio hesitantly brought his other hand up, and Jason let him brush a loose, red strand of hair from his face.

“You didn't screw up anything,” he said. “Your parents were assholes— your fiancé, too— and then… Well, no one could possibly blame you for the rest. You’re a good person, Jay. Better than any of us deserve, really.”

Tears threatened to cloud Jason’s icy eyes, but he forced himself to stop. Rio sighed and stared at the floor.

“I’m really sorry. Let’s just forget it and do another round.”

He tried to stand, but Jason grabbed his hand.

“Do it again.”

Rio blinked, trying to process what he had said. “Do— Do what again?”

“If you mean it, and if you don’t regret it—” Jason brushed his lips against the soldier’s mouth as he spoke. “—then please, do it again.”

Rio’s hand met Jason’s head, getting tangled in his long hair as he stared at his lips before finally kissing him again. His own lips were rough and chapped, but so incredibly warm and inviting, in Jason’s mind. It was the first moment in years where either of them had felt their hearts race so wildly. Jason pulled away, breathless and smiling without a care in the world.

“You said they wouldn’t look for us, right?”

Rio nodded, nervous and excited all at once. “Right.”

“Breakroom— Now— Please.”

“Absolutely.”

He jumped up from the floor and carried Jason into the breakroom. They spent the rest of their work day entwined together on the couch, never going any further than a few tender kisses along each other’s lips and wrists and necks. Rio mumbled softly against Jason’s cheek as he kissed him.

“Can I ask one small favor?”

“What’s that?” Jason asked.

“Could we keep this between us, at least for now?”

Jason smiled at him. “You don’t want everyone to tease you?”

“Believe me, I want them to see us like this. I just don’t want Gabe firing me for distracting his favorite caretaker.”

“Favorite?” Jason laughed. “Should I be flattered?”

“Not really, no.”

He laughed again, and Rio kissed him again, mumbling to himself about how adorable Jason was. His shoulders relaxed as Jason ran his hands through his hair, whispering softly to his soldier.

“Don’t worry, then. It can be our secret.”

[mochegato]

Well, Well, Well, If It Isn’t the Consequences of My Actions

Continuation of Truth Be Told

Marinette was still trying to parse through the events of the previous night.  Time, advice from Tikki, sleep, hysterical laughter, and the alcohol she’d drunk as soon as she’d gotten home hadn’t really helped.  To make it worse, Adrien had noticed something was up with her and had followed her to her studio so he could make sure she was okay, so she hadn’t been able to continue her breakdown in peace, because that would mean explaining the previous night to him.  And although Red H… Jason may have issues with secret identities, she did not.

She looked at her notice-free phone again with a sigh.  Maybe she should restart it.  Maybe he had tried calling or texting, but her phone wasn’t working correctly.  That had happened before, right?  That would explain why he hadn’t tried to contact her yet. Or, maybe with a more sober mind, he had decided he really wasn’t that interested.  Or!  Or he didn’t remember her.  Maybe he didn’t remember anything about her and was staring at his own phone right now in utter confusion about why her number was in it.

She was brought out of her spiral by the sound of the bell over the door.  “Sorry we’re…” she started until she saw who it was, “…closed.”  Her breath caught for a second when Jason smiled charmingly at her. “Oh no, no, no, no,” she muttered to herself, glancing over at Adrien nervously.  This could not be happening right now.  He was supposed to call or text.  Not… how did he even know where she would be?  Damned bats.

Adrien perked up from his spot grading students’ papers, an incredulous grin on his lips.  “Oh my God, please tell me that’s Rose’s boy that you told to fuck off. Can I get rid of him, please?  I haven’t gotten to be destructive in a while.”

Marinette wrinkled her face in disgust at the idea of seeing that guy again.  “No! He happened after,” she said getting up to meet Jason.

“You ran into him after your date?  How dare you not tell me about him!” Adrien hissed at her as she walked away.

She turned around to face him as she walked away. “Oh, I dare,” she hissed back.

“Is he why you’ve been so off today?” he whisper yelled.

“Weren’t you going to go get some coffee?  Now?” She called back.

Adrien looked between the two of them and raised an eyebrow at Marinette making sure she really wanted to be left alone with this guy who was easily as big as her dad.  “Yeah.  I need… caffeine apparently.  Something for you too?”  She nodded at him, but kept her eyes on Jason.  “Hey guy I’m suspiciously not allowed to talk to, you want anything from the coffee shop?”

Jason’s eyes flicked over to him for a few seconds to shake his head.  “No, thank you.  I’m fine.”

“Yeah, you are,” Marinette whispered to herself, not anticipating Adrien passing by just then on his way out the door.  

“Heard that,” he grinned before leaving.  

Marinette glared at him but quickly returned her gaze to Jason.  Once she was sure Adrien had gone and couldn’t hear them, Marinette finally broke the silence.  “I was expecting a call or a text,” she said carefully.  “Not that I mind the in-person appearance,” she added quickly.  “It was just… unexpected,” she finished awkwardly.

“I could have sworn you said to meet you at your work,” Jason said a little more innocently than was natural.  Marinette smiled, but quickly schooled her expression and shook her head.  Jason smiled back and shrugged.  “Huh, must be the memory lapses.  Kind of hazy.  Things come in and out.”  He knocked his knuckles against his head lightly.

Marinette raised an eyebrow.  “Is that so?”

“Yep,” he nodded popping the P.  His smile morphed into a smirk.

“Poor you,” she pouted in mock sympathy.  “Then I don't suppose you remember the proposal.”

Jason's smirk dropped. This time his wide eyes looked completely natural and believable. “Proposal?” he asked apprehensively.

“Yeah, the proposal,” she prompted him.  “Don't tell me you forgot about it,” she continued, her own eyes going wide to match his and her voice turning timid.  “You said you didn't have a ring on you, but you couldn't imagine living another day without me.  You wanted to get married as soon as possible.  Oh no.”  She gasped quietly for effect.  “You have forgotten.”

Jason blinked a few times.  He was doing a masterful job of containing any outward signs of his panic.  Marinette could just barely see a few flickers in his eyes that he quickly tamped out.  “What? No!  No, no, no.  That’s just… No, no, not at all,” he stammered.  “It's just, that's so…” he chuckled nervously, “so not like me.  I'm just... impressed how, uh… how bold I was,” he offered.

Marinette watched him closely for a few seconds before she burst out laughing.  Jason's jaw dropped to the floor.  “You were joking,” he observed in awe.  Marinette couldn't answer.  She was gasping too hard for breath, doubled over and grasping her sides.  “Oh thank God.  I want to be mad but I'm just too grateful. Shit, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

Marinette grinned at him when her laughs finally edged down to chuckles.  “Well, that seems fair.  You almost gave me quite a few last night.  And your brother, I think.”

Jason grimaced.  “Was I that bad?”

Marinette quirked her head to the side in thought. “No, not bad.  Just… like when you just kind of stared at me for a few minutes, without saying anything, which apparently was because you were impressed but I thought it was because you were a serial killer.”  Jason chuckled lightly and bobbed his head in apology.  “Or when you revealed your face, no mask.  Or, when you told me your full name and your brother’s first name, and that he was your brother.”  

Jason winced at that revelation.  That would explain the dagger he was almost too sluggish to dodge this morning.  And the glares and lecture on the importance of security and identities.  “Maybe not my finest moment,” he conceded as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Marinette giggled at that.  “Maybe not, but you were extremely drugged and extremely endearing.”  She looked down, a light blush settling on her cheeks.  “And very complimentary.”  

“Well, that’s good at least.  I don’t really remember anything I said.”  He rubbed the back of his neck and shuffled his feet, looking around the store instead of at her.  “So, did you want to talk about last night?” he offered a bit more casually than was natural.

Marinette could see the discomfort in his eyes even if they weren’t pointed at her.  She smiled kindly at him, hoping it would put him at ease.  “Why?  You worried that you said something embarrassing?” she teased lightly.  “You didn’t.”

“Not really,” he shrugged and looked back at her and relaxed into a charming smile.  “I don't embarrass that easily.  And if I said anything I should be embarrassed about, you wouldn't have given me your number.”

Marinette scoffed at him and leaned against the table they were next to.  “I gave you my number, so you’d stop giving me clues to your identity… and your brother’s.  Didn’t work. You were quite determined.”

“I must have thought you were worth it,” Jason smiled. “High me is a very astute me.”  Marinette blushed at the sincerity in his eyes. How was he still this charming even when he wasn’t blitzed out of his mind?  “But,” he continued with renewed vigor, “if I’d done anything too bad, you would have told me already, or kicked me out.”

Marinette laughed lightly.  “Well, you’re not wrong.”  She looked back up after a beat with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.  “So, the background check on me is complete then? You’re allowed to interact with me now.”

Jason rolled his eyes and leaned closer to her over the table.  “I mean, the blood sample results were good.  Your cholesterol is a little high, by the way,” he started thoughtfully.  “It was kind of you to donate though.  Very conscientious.  And you really should call your parents.  It’s been a few days.”  Marinette paled significantly as he continued to speak.  Jason grinned.  “And we have an appointment to talk to your first boyfriend.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and let out a relieved laugh. “You reached for the sun with that one and your wings melted.”  He looked at her questioningly.  “He would have told me if he had an interview with anyone.  We talk a lot.  Not to mention why do that when you could just interview him in person.  He’ll be in town for his tour next week anyway.”

“Wait… really?”

“You didn’t even know who it was?” Marinette laughed.

“I’m sure my family have been doing extensive research on you and they probably know, but I didn’t have anything to do with it. If there was anything bad, they would tell me, otherwise I want to find out from you,” he answered sincerely and taking her hand.  “The only thing I know about you is your name and that’s only because you put it in my phone. I had a vague recollection of what you looked like and being incredibly impressed with you, but that’s pretty much it. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to come down in person, to see if…” he searched for the best way to finish the thought.

Marinette nodded.  “To see if the chemistry was as good as you remember?  To see if it was still good when you weren’t drugged?” she offered nervously.

“Yeah,” Jason agreed.  “You too?”

Marinette took a breath and looked back up at him through her lashes, giving his hand a squeeze.  “Yeah.  I was nervous it was all because of the drugs.”

Jason gave her a relieved smile.  At least he wasn’t the only one nervous about it.  He wasn’t alone in this.  She was navigating it with him.  He squeezed her hand back.  “So,” he started, leaning back to give her a roguish grin, but keeping a grip on her hand, “who is the ex-boyfriend on tour?”

“Luka Couffaine.”

“Guitarist for Jagged Stone!” he exclaimed loudly, his eyes wide in surprise.

“Yeah.  I mean he wasn’t at the time.  But now, yes.”  Her eyes shone with mirth at his awed expression.  “Did you want to meet him?”

“What?  No! That’s… that would be weird, wanting to meet your girlfriend’s ex and his dad.  That’s just…”

“I didn’t mention his dad,” she cut him off knowingly.  “And… girlfriend?”  He gave her a sheepish look and looked down.  He opened his mouth to say something in response but she cut him off with laughter.  “So, that’s a yes then?”

“I mean… if you’re offering,” he tried to say casually.

“I see.  This whole thing was just an elaborate scam so you could meet Jagged Stone,” she pouted in mock offense.  She looked past him and smiled.

Jason rolled his eyes and he leaned onto the counter so he was just a few inches from her.  “You caught me.  I exposed my secret identity just so I could meet a rock star.”  Marinette’s eyes instantly widened and her body went rigid.

“Secret identity?” Adrien asked as he set down her coffee cup next to Marinette.

Jason froze.  “I… didn’t realize he was back.”

“You are shit at secret identities,” Marinette hissed to him.  “Even when you aren’t high you can’t keep one.”

“I…’m still under the effects?” he offered with a wince.  

“And you couldn’t have waited to come see me until it has dissipated?” she groaned.

“No, I couldn’t wait to see you,” he said instantly, looking deeply in her eyes.

“Oh… um… okay,” she stuttered.  Her cheeks flushed deeply.  “I… would have thought it would be gone by now,” she finished quietly.

“Nope.  Still lingering.”  He made a vague motion toward his body.

“Yeah, go with that when your brothers find out.” Marinette sighed.  “Why do they let you go undercover if you’re so bad at hiding your identity?” she asked a bit louder.

Jason’s eyes scrunched in confusion.

“Isn’t that like first day at the academy?” She continued.  She made a subtle rolling motion with her hands so only he could see it.

His eyes widened in realization.  “I think I missed that day.  Police training is pretty boring… and corrupt.”

Adrien scoffed and threw his arm over her shoulder. “Bullshit.  You just don’t want to lose the bet.  Also, backdoor, no bell.”

“Fucking backdoor,” Jason grumbled looking down and shaking his head.  He looked back up at Marinette with a raised eyebrow that she didn’t see because she was glaring at Adrien.  “Bet?”

“There is no bet,” Marinette rushed to assure him.

“That she’d date another hero,” Adrien explained, pointedly ignoring her glare.  “I’m Adrien by the way.  I’m her…” he stopped to think about his next words.  “We really need to come up with a term for it.  I’m her in no way sexual or romantic life partner?”

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “I thought we agreed on pseudo brother.”

“Right, right,” Adrien nodded.  “That puts me above Alya, so I like it.  But I still like mine better.”

“If I can interrupt,” Jason cut in, “Jason, nice to meet you.  And, another?”

“Also, he’s not a hero!” Marinette objected at the same time.

“How many heroes have you dated?  And she’s not wrong, I’m not a hero,” Jason added.

“Ooh, vigilante then.” Adrien nodded.  He started mentally running through all the vigilantes in Gotham.  “I think that counts, but you can always try that.”

“Let’s get back to the dating heroes thing,” Jason tried.

“But it won’t matter anyway, because nobody is going to find out about this,” her voice lowered and became very pointed.  “Right, Adrien?  Because we’re talking about someone else’s identity.  And it doesn’t matter because he isn’t a hero and the terms of the bet, which I didn’t agree to, I might add, were very specific: hero.”

“So how many heroes do you have to date for it to become a bet?” Jason asked.

“It’s more about how many heroes have had a crush on her,” Adrien answered with a smirk.  

Jason raised an eyebrow.  “How many have developed a crush on her?”

“Every hero that’s met her,” Adrien answered with a resolute nod.

“That’s not true!” Marinette exclaimed.

Jason nodded his head as he thought about that. “How many heroes is that? Approximately?” he asked Adrien, ignoring Marinette’s interruption.

“She’s met at least twenty-five.”  Marinette groaned at the glee in Adrien’s voice.

Jason’s eyes widened and turned to her. “Twenty-five?”  He turned back to Adrien.  “And they all liked her?”  

Adrien nodded with a smug smile.  “All of them.”

“No, they don’t,” Marinette insisted.

He blinked a few times.  “My brother met her.”

Marinette stared at him slack jawed until she collapsed her head onto the table.  “You SUCK at secret identities,” she mumbled into the table.  “Okay,” she announced loud enough to stop Jason and Adrien from continuing to talk.  “First,” she turned to Adrien, “that is categorically untrue.”

“You haven’t met twenty-five heroes?” Jason asked.

“Oh no, that’s a low estimate on how many I’ve met. But only like,” she narrowed her eyes and quirked her lips in thought, “three have liked me.”  

Adrien snickered.  “That’s not even close.  There was…”

“Second,” she said cutting him off, “your brother isn’t a hero,” she said pointedly.  “Third, he was a dick.”

“Literally,” Jason snickered.

Marinette smacked his shoulder and looked over at Adrien. “He was overly friendly, but not in a Rose way; in a smarmy, I’m going to manipulate you with my charm way.”

“That’s your opinion of him,” Jason pointed out. “Adrien said heroes get a crush on you so it sounds like I need to watch him around you.”

“Fourth,” she leaned closer to Jason with a hiss, “maybe you just shouldn’t talk.”

“I think we need to up the count too,” Adrien eyed Jason critically.  “Seems like we need to add a few new heroes to the total.”

Marinette stepped in between the two.  “And you won’t try to figure out any more about his identity, because that would be a violation, right Adrien?” she continued even sharper.

Adrien rolled his eyes but nodded.  “Yeah, yeah.  Whatever.  I’ll try but there’s only so many people in the hero adjacent community that fit his dimensions.”  

Marinette slapped him upside the head and he scowled back at her.  “Stop thinking,” she hissed.  “You’re a model it shouldn’t be that hard for you to do.”  Her smirk widened at his exaggerated offended gasp.

Adrien leaned back stared at her eyes slightly narrowed.  “Ex-model, thank you very much.  Which means I've been given a permit to think again.  And just for that, I'm going to.  Day and night.  I'm going to get out charts and diagrams, create association maps, cyberstalk people, all just because I can.”

Marinette groaned and dropped her head in her hands.  “I hate you. You can’t punish him as payback toward me.”

“You’re right,” Adrien nodded thoughtfully.  “I should make it up to Jason.  Say Jason, how many stories has she told you about our teenage years?  Has she told you about the first time we saw a movie together?  How about the first time we were at a sleepover together?”

Marinette’s eyes widened.   “Alright!” Marinette exclaimed loudly.  “I believe it’s time to get you out of here… before… uh… you say anything else embarrassing, Jason,” she insisted.  “Let’s go. Now.”  She pulled Jason out of the room by the elbow.  “You get to lock up Adrien.”

“Your coffee!” he called after her.  But she and Jason were already gone.  Adrien chuckled.  “Like I need to think to know who that is,” he scoffed taking a sip of his coffee and return to grading homework.

Jason waited a block before he spoke up.  “So… you want to tell me about the sleepover or do you want to let blondie tell me later?”

Marinette mock glared at him.  “Look, if we’re going to go over all of my embarrassing moments, we’ll never talk about anything else… ever… There’s a lot,” she stressed.

Jason chuckled and pulled her to a stop.  He picked up her hand and laced their fingers together.  He gently tucked some loose hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger along her jaw. “Is this okay?”

Marinette looked up at him wide eyed, but nodded, a deep blush gracing her cheeks again.  “Ye... um, yeah.  That’s… um, yeah, that’s okay.”

“So… history of dating heroes, huh?  Guess you weren’t that impressed with my skills last night then.”

Marinette groaned playfully.  “Okay, seriously, it was only the one and yes, you were very impressive.  The way you… were able to stand for a prolonged period of time after the amount of drugs that got pumped into your system… very impressive.”

Jason barked out a laugh.  “Why thank you.  I have lots of other impressive qualities I can astound you with.  How would you feel about a date so I can show them to you?”

“Yeah, I like the sound of that,” she grinned up at him swinging their arms between them.

“You know, I might not remember anything else about last night, but there was one thing I thought I remembered and I was definitely right about,” he took a step closer to her until their chests were almost touching and leaned down to gaze adoringly into her eyes, “you’re fucking hot.”

She let out a surprised snort, her face turning bright red and Jason smirked at her.  She buried her face in his chest to hide her blush.  Jason chuckled as he wound his arms around her waist and hugged her close. “Come on,” he whispered into her ear.  “I know a good place to get food right around the corner.”  She looked up at him and nodded, letting him pull her toward the restaurant.

Continued in Night of the Consequences

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