#Unless he’s written by DC

[betterthanbatman1]

bman and jason have a seriously strained relationship as is, and our braindead coma patients at DC have no interest in fixing it because Drama Sells, so what do you think would genuinely help these two get back to something real?

Ooh, great question, Anon! Thank you :)

So, right if the bat (pun intended) we know that Bruce and Jason don’t get along well, specifically because of their dissimilar morals.

In DC comics, Bruce only sees in a black or white, this or that way of thinking. It’s either ‘continue to fight crime and leave the rest to the justice system’ OR ‘focus on controlling crime and killing criminals to protect others’. Jason on the other hand sees both of these as opposing morals, and he also recognizes that there is a middle ground which is ‘get rid of the absolute worst of them’. Because Jason understands Bruce, he knows that nothing will make Bruce take a life or do things differently (I mean, his own death didn’t make a difference to Bruce’s morals), but Jason also believes that Bruce doesn’t have to change who he is, he just needs to accept that Jason’s methods are right for Gotham. Ultimately Bruce killing Joker for Jason would have helped their relationship, because Jason would have known that he was loved and his life was worth more than the clown’s. And in UTRH Jason says “I’m not talking about cobblepot or riddler or Dent… I’m talking about him, just him” Bare with me, I know that Jason says this regarding Bruce killing Joker for a different reason being -Joker’s crime was a lot more personal. However I still feel like regardless if Joker hadn’t killed Jason, Jason would still feel the same way about Joker- meaning he’d still think Joker deserves to die because of the sheer brutality and sadism and absolute power the clown has on Gotham & it’s people. (More than any other Gotham city rogues!)

So back to the point, if Bruce acknowledged (like Jason does!) the middle ground of killing the worst of the worst, then that would bring the two closer together.

Listen, I get that Bruce killing would forever change ‘The Batman’, but Bruce doesn’t have to kill people to accept the ideology because he knows Jason is right, he knows crime is down because of Jason. But NO!, DC has to make him beat the shit out of his son instead of having a fucking conversation.

Which brings me to this point. For some reason DC seems to think that these two have to fight no matter what. If they went to have soup with Alfred they’d still end up punching each other for whatever reason. It’s ridiculous. Is this what they think readers want? I completely agree with you, Anon. Drama sells, unfortunately.

The next point is that Bruce needs to actually have faith in his son because guess what?, Jason needs his father’s support to do good. Actual good. Bruce second guessing Jason and not trusting him with missions is exactly what gets Jason frustrated, causing him to feel inferior, worthless, or unlovable in Bruce’s eyes. From a psychological perspective, if Bruce trusted Jason and told him he trusted him, Jason would feel so much better about himself and their relationship. It’s so much better for a child to prove their parents are right for trusting them (motivating them positively) than having a child strive to prove their parents wrong (motivating them negatively). Bruce needs to stop being so condescending and Jason will finally feel heard. Bruce treats him like a child which is just so wrong and demeaning.

Last point is that Bruce needs to spend more time with Jason as Bruce and not as Batman. Sometimes Jason needs his father and that’s okay. It’s up to Bruce to be there for him. Whether Jason is an adult or not, he should be able to feel like he can call or visit or ask for help from Bruce without Bruce getting angry or telling him he’s off the mission.

At this point DC just needs to get the whole family seeing some therapists.

In conclusion, things that would help mend Bruce and Jason’s relationship:

Finding a common middle ground among their morals

Bruce should not beat his sons regardless if they are ‘criminals’ in his eyes or not

Bruce killing the Joker (this would bring Jason closer to Bruce, but it does cause some changes in Bruce’s character).

COMMUNICATION (this is the first step in therapy probably)

Having them be partners and act like partners. Bruce needs to get off his high horse and stop being so condescending to Jason.

Similar to the above-Bruce needs to trust Jason and make sure Jason knows Bruce trusts him.

Spend more time outside of crime fighting. Idk go watch a baseball game or go fishing. Have some family dinners and talk about the times when things were easy and fun and silly, before everything went to shit. Jason deserves his dad and Bruce deserves his son.

Therapy (The whole family would benefit).

[donnatroyyyy]

Good Talia characterization and good Damian characterization can co-exist easily, they are not mutually exclusive whatsoever. Good Ra’s characterization along with good characterization for either Talia and Damian cannot coexist eight out of ten times, they are mostly mutually exclusive.

[wonderwomanart]

theparadiseproject Pretended before otherwise, but their recent posts have made it very obvious they hate how modern WW comics focus too much on women and gay people. Clearly in it just for the fetish stuff.

Not surprised tbh. I don’t even mind someone being a Marston purist, but they’re acting like everyone else has to be one too otherwise they’re not a ‘true’ Wonder Woman fan

[mischas]

Yesterday I saw this tweet quoting a list of the ‘ao3 ship stats of 2023’ and they were talking about how out of 100 ships, the list only had 27 women total. Then someone said that couldn’t simply be just misogyny, and another person said they had seen others explaining they mostly ship male characters because women are badly written/under developed, and I mean… Please, that’s such bullshit! It made me sad, and also it made me think of these characters we’ve been loving for so long and despite them being written by men, and sometimes being BADLY written or written ooc, they’re still so important and it’s so worth exploring their layers and giving them voice. I just wish female fic writers would step up and write about ourselves, write characters we can relate, flesh them out—we’re in 2024, ffs! How can we blame men for not writing women well and then just dedicate our time and creativity to write this so called interesting fictional men we have love or whatever? Sorry, I know this sounds more angsty than anything but it really pissed me off. We need to stop calling male blorbos “baby girl” and start writing and voicing real baby girls!!! (That obviously includes wlw relationships!) That’s why I love this blog so much, btw. That’s why when I thought of venting about it I thought: oh, she would understand! Thank you for always talking about Marissa’s layers and potential, thanks for making women who relate to her in some level feel understood. 🫶🏻

Oh wow, that's crazy. But also... unsurprising. So that's 27 total women out of 200 characters/individuals? Jesus. I'm not terribly versed in modern fandom (or even, like, old fandom, really) but male characters have historically been babied and loved on more. I don't really get it. A huge chunk of that is they were created and crafted by men and those stories come from a patriarchal perspective. How shows/stories shape and shift can really define how things are written moving forward and it's frankly true that audiences are much more harsh about the fallibility of female characters than they are of their male counterparts. I personally think it stems from men being generally terrible irl so people take male characters and run with them because it's safe and comforting rather than dealing with the reality of dudes irl.

You're right, we need to stand up for the ladies!! And that absolutely includes wlw relationships!

You're very sweet. I love Marissa. I could talk about her all day. It blows my mind that people still misunderstand her in 2024.

[captainsophiestark]

Unexpected Guest

Dick Grayson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: DC

Summary: Dating a vigilante sometimes leads to a few false alarm scares, but Dick Grayson couldn't be happier with how well his partner rolls with his crazy family.

Word Count: 1,410

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Crash!

My eyes shot open at the sound of a noise from the living room of the apartment I shared with my boyfriend, Dick Grayson. The man in question still snored peacefully next to me, annoyingly, but a quick glance at the clock told me why. It wasn't quite 5am, and Dick had been out patrolling until one in the morning. I listened carefully for any other noises in the apartment. I didn't want to wake my poor boyfriend up unless I absolutely had to.

After a few minutes of nothing, I heard another crash followed by a tense voice and what sounded like hushed swearing. This time, I didn't hesitate to roll over and whack Dick on the chest, hard.

His eyes shot open and he was half sitting up when I managed to throw a hand over his mouth to keep him from giving away that we were awake. My wide eyes must've tipped him off to something being wrong, because I immediately saw him shift from sleepy to ready for action.

Slowly, I dropped my hand from his mouth and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"There's someone in our living room. I heard two crashes and someone swearing."

Dick nodded once, then motioned with his hands while mouthing 'stay here'. He hopped off the bed, grabbing his escrima sticks from where he'd thrown them onto the dresser, then stalked towards the door with catlike grace and stealth. After a minute, I decided I couldn't just let him go alone, superhero or no, so I grabbed the bat I kept by my side of the bed and followed after him.

Dick popped out the door, and after a moment without hearing anything, I followed, bat at the ready. I found my boyfriend with one hand on his hip, weapons down, staring into the kitchen. I followed his gaze to find none other than Jason Todd in our kitchen, a mixing bowl and some eggs in front of him and a look with a significant lack of guilt on his face.

"What? I was after somebody and it dragged me all the way to Bludhaven. I needed a place to crash that was closer than Gotham."

Dick and I both shook our heads. As the oldest of a very high number of siblings, his apartment had become a second home base for every single other batkid. When we'd finally moved in together last month, he'd warned me I needed to be prepared for things like this.

"Glad you know to help yourself, Little Wing," said Dick with a sigh, waving one tired hand to Jason before turning and heading back to bed. I squeezed his shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he passed me, then headed into the kitchen with a smile.

"My tax for you making me think I'd have to fight off an assailant with a bat at five in the morning is my own serving of whatever you're making," I said, taking a seat on one of the kitchen island stools. Jason raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're not going back to bed?"

"Nah. Unlike Dick, I got to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour last night, so the adrenaline dump isn't threatening to put me to sleep. I'd rather hang out with you, especially since you're a better cook than Dick and I combined. I'm not missing out on that."

Jason snorted, cracking an egg and resuming his cooking all the same.

"Dick contributes nothing to your combined cooking score," he said. "I'm pretty sure he's burned cereal before."

I laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right. He's gotten better though. We watch the Food Network and look up recipes to make together, and I can trust him with way more than I used to be able to."

"If you could teach him anything it'd be a miracle," said Jason with a snort. I just hummed, trying to pick up some new skills of my own as I watched Jason cook.

"To be totally fair to him, I once forgot what I was doing and strained soup because I was on autopilot for pasta."

Jason barked a laugh, unable to hold himself back, and looked at me with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" I nodded. "That's pathetic."

I just shrugged. "Yeah. But at least there's not a lot of places to go but up, after that."

"I guess so."

Jason and I chatted as he cooked and I watched, keeping our voices low so Dick could sleep—although, after the night he'd had, he'd probably sleep through a train in our living room. After breakfast, Jason decided to go down for a nap on the couch, passing out almost as soon as we'd put the last few dishes in the sink. I just smiled, threw a blanket over him, and wandered back into the bedroom to find Dick.

It was late enough in the morning now that my boyfriend was officially up and about, stretching by the bed with his hair still a little messed up from sleeping. I grinned and flopped down against the headboard as he crossed the room to the dresser to pull out clothes.

"How's Jaybird?" he asked. "Still a good cook?"

"Still a great cook. And he's good. He seems a little wiped out from patrols and stuff, though. He's taking a nap on the couch right now."

Dick smiled and shook his head. "I get up and he goes to sleep. Typical."

"Clearly he's avoiding you."

"Clearly."

Dick and I shared a smile, and then he sighed.

"I'm going to take a shower. Hopefully Jason will be up by the time I'm out, because I actually have things to do today."

I smiled, shifting on the bed to pull the covers over myself. "I'm sure you can be quiet if he's not. Wake me up when you're out of the shower, okay? A post-breakfast nap sounds too good to resist right now."

My boyfriend laughed. "Alright, will do. I'll wake you and Jason up when I'm out."

"Mhm. Good luck with him."

"Thanks, I'm gonna need it."

I closed my eyes, getting comfortable and ready for my nap, but before I drifted off I heard Dick's shuffling footsteps crossing the room to stand by my side of the bed. A second later, he sat down next to me, the bed dipping under his weight. I cracked an eye open to squint at him.

"What do you want?"

He grinned at me and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to interfere with your nap. I just... I wanted to say how much I appreciate you, and how good you are with my family. They mean the world to me, but I know having vigilantes dropping in at all hours of the day and night can be a little much to deal with. So thank you for being so wonderful about it, and about them."

I sighed, sitting all the way up and propping myself up on my hands to look Dick in the eye.

"Dick, I love you. And I love your family. Sure, it took a little getting used to some of the vigilante stuff, but the longer I know them the more I love them. You don't have to thank me for anything. They're my family too."

Dick absolutely beamed at me, wrapping one arm around my back and pulling me in for a kiss. I immediately reciprocated, tangling one hand in the hair at the nape of his neck. I smiled into the kiss and a moment later, Dick deepened it. We were right on the edge of escalating into something more, but both thought better of it at the last moment.

"I should take a shower," he said, still looking a little reluctant as he pulled away.

"Yeah, and you should stop interrupting my nap."

Dick snorted, rolling his eyes as he finally stood and headed for the bathroom. I grinned after him as he went, flopping back down onto my pillow only as Dick closed the bathroom door.

I took a deep breath and sighed, a smile on my face, as I closed my eyes for the second time. I heard the water start in the bathroom, and a faint smell of breakfast still hung in the air. I was surrounded by people I loved dearly, and who loved me right back. No matter the scare Jason had given me when he'd shown up, I couldn't ask for a better start to my morning than this.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

DC Taglist: @luv-ghostie

[buckys-wintersoldier]

Home is where you are | Bucky Barnes

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 -> Boyfriend!Bucky Barnes x Girlfriend!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 -> When you hear someone talking about Bucky you offer them your help to find him.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 -> 1.773

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 -> (T) Bit of violence (punches)

𝐀/𝐍 -> Co-Written with my best friend @imtryingbuck. Thank you so much for listening to my complaining and to write this together with me.❤️❤️

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 -> 10 Years Anniversary CA:TWS | April 3 | Theme: Cap Quartet | Washington DC, Uniform, Found Family, favorite duo | @catws-anniversary

Masterlist | Bucky Barnes Masterlist

You didn’t mean to listen in to the conversation that was going on just to your left but you didn’t have anything better to do then just to sit there with cuffs on your wrist. Sitting in the uncomfortable chair in the hallway of the local police station wasn’t something you were planning on doing on a Friday night but the man who wouldn’t leave you alone as you walked down the street deserved to have his head knocked into the wall.

“He isn’t-“ the blond man started but got cut off by the woman he was standing with.

“Whether you knew him before he’s still the Winter Solider and we need to stop him!”

“We haven’t heard anything about him since we last fought-“

“Regardless, he still needs to be stopped”

“Bucky isn’t a bad person, I know him!”

Hearing that name your head turned to face the three people standing there, the blond man stood tall with his arms crossed over his broad chest, the red headed woman stood in a similar stance whilst the black haired man leant against the wall with his hand in a crisp packet.

“What are staring at?” The woman snapped at you.

“Come here.” You said to the blond, who looked at the two people he was with furrowing his eyebrow he made his way over to you.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes and I can help you. Bucky? I know him.”

“Steve come on we can’t trust her, she’s literally in cuffs” the woman said again.

“Blue eyes, brown hair, dimple chin, silver arm? Yeah I know him.” This Steve guy stood up straighter as you described the man in question, his eyes slanted as he looked you up and down.

“How do you know him?”

“He saved my life.” You shrugged, turning to the redhead “he isn’t a bad person, a bit weird but not bad.” Turning your head back to the blond you smiled up at him. “Steve Rogers, good ole Captain America, you know Bucky has a photo of you in a little book of his?”

“H-how?”

“Took him to the Smithsonian to help him remember, saw photos of you and took one with him”

“Where is he?” Steve asks.

“Who are you?” The other man asks, finally speaking up.

“I’m not going to tell you unless you help me, and I’m Y/n.”

“She’s full of it Steve, we can’t trust her!”

“You are so snappy Miss Romanoff, yeah I know who you are. I can’t be giving my secrets away for free now can I?”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to tell the nice police officers that I didn’t do anything and that I’m an absolute angel” you smiled up at him. Steve thought over what you wanted before nodding and going over to the desk. Whatever he had said to them worked because the officer who had the pleasure of shoving you into a wall and put the cuffs on you very tightly came over and let you go.

Steve grabbed ahold of your arm and dragged you out of the station, putting you in the car and made the other man drive. “What was she arrested for?” Sam asked.

“Assault”

“I barely touched him.” You huffed.

“You cracked his skull open.”

Steve told Sam to pull up at the motel, there they could get some rest and then go to rescue Bucky. You went to the bathroom but not before Natasha checked it out to make sure you couldn’t escape first.

“She’s been in there for ages now.” Sam noticed.

Natasha knocked on the door to check on you, when not getting a response back she kicked in the door. “Shit! Shit!”

“What? God damnit!” Steve saw the window open and couldn’t see you.

All three left the room to go looking for you, they saw you running down the street, Steve ran after you whilst Nat and Sam got in the car.

“Leave me alone! God why are you so fast?” You screamed.

“Just stop!”

“No!”

The car you were in not long ago came speeding past you and cut you off, Sam and Nat jumped straight out as you tried to run past them. You felt a hand on your arm so you stopped, turning around and ducked when Natasha threw a punch to your face. You threw a punch back and began fighting with the black widow. Both of the men stopped dead in their tracks at seeing how Nat was losing against you.

“Stop. Y/n stop it!” Steve shouted.

“Tell her to stop!” He does, the redhead listened and began to take a step back. “I’m-god I’m so unhealthy-I’m not taking you to him!”

“But you said you would?”

“I don’t trust you. Your going to hurt him and I-I can’t let that happen”

“I’m not going to hurt him, I swear. He’s my best friend.”

“Y-you work for SHIELD. They will hurt him.”

“I won’t let anyone hurt him. You have my word”

“He gets hurt and I’ll haunt you down!” Steve nods and promises you that you have his word. You nod back and sigh before lying down on the ground exhausted from the chase and fighting against the black widow.

Sitting in the back of the car the next morning, Steve kept his eye on you as you stared at Nat through the mirror. “You said that Bucky saved you? How?”

“I was at the base they kept him at, he got sent on a mission and when he came back he got me out of my cell. We’ve been on the run ever since.”

After telling him a bit more about you and Bucky, Natasha nodded, while Steve’s eyes were still on you. You had his full attention; he wanted to know all about his friend.

"So, where are we going?” Sam asked suspiciously.

“Smithsonian.”

“A museum?”

“Yeah. We have met there often; he wasn’t there the last time, but maybe now,” you explained.

Steve is the only one who really looked like he trusted you, while Sam and Natasha weren’t pretty sure if they could trust you. But you were mostly focused on how to react when you see Bucky; you have told him about your feelings for him, just like he did. You were dating, but then you needed to escape, and Bucky told you to stay in the apartment he brought. After that, you met a few times at the Smithsonian.

When they parked the car, you immediately got out of it, wanting to rush into it, but Natasha stopped you by holding your arm and pushing you against the car. You gasped, and when Steve stood next to you too, she let go of your arm.

“Don’t dare to run away,” she says.

You rolled your eyes, pushing her softly away, and made your way together with them to the entrance of the Smithsonian.

“You three know that everyone recognizes you even when you wear those caps?”

Natasha ignored you while Sam sighed, and Steve placed his hand around your shoulders.

“Surprisingly, they don’t,” he smirked.

Together, you entered the museum, and no one recognized the other three. You made your way to the place you always met Bucky; it’s a bit hidden behind some of the uniforms the group Steve led wore.

“That was your outfit? Looks like leggings,” Sam laughs and points at Steve’s outfit.

You walked a few steps further when Steve tapped your shoulder, and you turned toward him. Narrowing, while he just put his finger on his lips and shoved you behind him. You saw a man with long brown hair, his metal arm glistening in the slight light of the room, and the butterflies in your stomach went crazy. But Steve showed you to stay in place so he could talk to the man standing just a few meters away.

“Buck?” He asked, walking closer, and the other man turned around.

Bucky’s eyes widened, his jaw dropped slightly, and he prepared himself to push the other man away and get out of the building.

“S— Steve?”

“Hi, pal. Please, we can help you escape Hydra.”

Bucky furrowed his eyebrows, unsure if he could trust Steve, but he nodded. Steve walked slowly closer to his friend, until he reached him and smirked at the brown-haired one.

“Two of my friends are here too, and we brought someone who really wants to see you,” Steve told Bucky.

When Sam and Natasha let you walk closer to them, Bucky immediately recognized your form behind his friend. His eyes widened, and a beautiful smile appeared on his lips. You walked toward him, placing your arms around his neck, and you pressed yourself tight against him. Bucky’s arms were wrapped around your body the moment you reached him, his face buried in the crock of your neck while he inhaled deeply.

“My doll,” he mumbled, pushing you softly away.

He captured your cheeks with his big hands, his thumbs wiping your tears away — those you never knew were rolling down your cheeks. The relief that you felt when you saw the men you loved, that you could just wrap your arms around him, and that you didn’t see any injuries on his body. Bucky leaned closer, looking deeply into your eyes, before he closed his beautiful blue ones and pressed his soft, plumb lips on yours. The kiss was breathtaking; your knees went weak, and you grabbed his arms tightly. He deepened the kiss, sighing softly before he pulled away. Bucky smiled at you; his blue eyes lit up when he saw the same big smile on your pretty lips and the way you looked at him with nothing but pure love.

“I love you so much, doll.”

“I love you, too.”

Steve smirked, while Sam looked at Natasha with an amused face because she was the whole time looking at Steve.

“You should ask him out,” he said.

Then their gazes went back to you; you’re still smirking at one another. You trailed your fingers through Bucky’s soft brown hair, and he had his hand still on your cheeks, pressing his lips against yours once again.

"Bucky, let’s go home, yeah?”

“B— But I am.”

“In the Smithsonian?”

“No,” he chuckles, looking directly into your eyes. “In your arms, my doll, he said, and you blushed.

But he was right. Home isn’t a house; home is the place you are with the people you love the most. People make a house feel like home, and Bucky is doing that. He makes everything feel like home as long as you’re together.

Taglist: @kandis-mom @sergeantbarnessdoll @identity2212 @km-ffluv @lunaalovesyouu @blackhawkfanatic @armystay89 @suz7days @randomawesomeperson102 @rogersbarber @sebastianstanisahotmf @bucky-barnes-lover @felicitylemon @cjand10 @bookishtheaterlover7 @lives-in-midgard @casa-boiardi @futurequeen2018-blog @flstrawberry @capsbestgirl77 @nervouseden

[celaenaeiln]

Nothing in Batman comics is canon because it’s literally 90% fanfiction written after the actual creators stopped writing the characters.

anon it doesn't work that way.

By that logic, practically noone exists because the original writer of Batman, Bob Kane and Bill Finger, only created Bruce, Dick, Alfred, and the villains gallery. That's it.

No Barbara, no Jason, no Tim, no Damian, Steph, Cass, Duke, Lucius, Tim Fox, Kate, Talia - there's no one then.

But suppose we go back on that statement and say 'well actually, the creators of new characters', which still doesn't make sense but let's go with that. Then major plots wouldn't happen. Because Max Allan Collins and Chris Warner created Jason Todd but Judd Winick is the one who brought him back to life. Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick created Tim Drake but Alan Grant wrote a lot of the Robin comic and Batman comic characterization for him.

It's physically impossible to say that just because other people continued the series, the comics can't be taken seriously.

Comics are the source material. Of which fanfics are based on.

The Star Trek and Star Wars book series are written by multiple different authors but that doesn't mean that what's written doesn't happen or isn't true or is wrong. The 39 Clues and Doctor Who series are the same deal.

Batman comics are canon. Because if only the works of the original authors of Batman were to be considered canon, then practically everyone in the Batman universe doesn't exist/doesn't matter. Because they're just fanfic then.

But this idea doesn't just stop at the Batman fandom anymore because every comic was written this way. The people in Superfam? Gone. Flashfam? Gone. Arrowfam? Gone. Like this logic doesn't just apply to Batman, it applies to virutally every character in the existence of DC.

The beauty of comics is seeing how the next writer will continue the story. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they need tweaking, and sometimes they're wrong although that's usually very rare.

The problem with fandom's view on comic writing is the belief that whatever the authors create must match our perspective of the characters. That's wrong. Their characterization is what we should be adding on/building on to our perspective of the characters. Unless there is something so wrong, something so illogical, that it must be noted because that character has never acted that way before, then we must discard or critisize a comic.

Comics develop. Characters develop. Each writer brings something new and adds a layer of depth to each character they write about. That's how we get new interactions, new relationships, new sides that make each character interesting.

Take the original Dick Grayson comic and his intro to Robin

Detective Comics (1937) Issue #38

Dick originally wanted to go to the police. He had no intention of going after Tony Zucco but Bruce is the one who demands they go after him together by themselves!

I love this version created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, but I also love the version created by a completely different author where Dick decides to stake out Zucco on his own. Both versions show different sides of him and authors sometimes even choose which one they want to include. Some have gone with this version where Dick tries to go to the police before being interrupted by Bruce and others have gone with the second, more famous version. But neither of them are bad and you can't say that the one where Dick goes after Tony Zucco is fanfiction. It's canon. If it's written in comics, it happened unless there's some disastrous, glaring contradiction.

You have to understand, these comics - especially Dick and Bruce's - are nearly 100 years old. Dick, and it's wild to think about this, existed before even the Justice League did. Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman were all created after him. If the orginial writers stopped writing, and noone picked it up, there would be no Justice League and that's a problem because the Justice League is one of the foundations of the DC comics.

So much has changed in a century and new writers constantly come in to show that change. That's why comics after the original writers finish writing are still canon and important. The original characterizations of all these major players were all super peppy and cheerful before new writers added angst and drama to their backstories. Bruce and Dick used to laugh and grin when they went crime fighting with no sadness or anger or other emotions. It wasn't until a couple decades later where writers started writing that in which is how we get the grim avenger Batman today.

Here's the third point to why they're relevant even though they're written by new authors: the passage of time in real life, is included in canon comics characterizations.

One comic talks about Dick discussing the Joker and he says, "at the beginning, it was just all fun and games. He would cause problems but at the end of the day it was a game. But one day, things went too far. People got shot. That day, the Joker changed. He was darker and evil. It wasn't games anymore."

This comic panel talks about the Golden Age to now, the progression and development of characters.

The comics and reality are inseparable because reality is literally written in. The works of writers after the orignal ones aren't arbitrary or some whimsical thing.

It's very different from fanfiction because fanfiction has no need to stick to the truth or canon characterization but these comic writers do because they have an obligation to do so. The only problem they might have is accidentally focusing too much on one aspect of a character and neglecting the other parts but almost none of them are way off the mark.

So no, for the sake of characterization, personality development, plot events, and new interactions, all comics are extremely important and definitely canon. Us readers might have different opinions and thoughts on them but it's irrelevant in the face of the fact that the comics are the only truth to which we can base our interpretations on.

[honeysuckleharringtons]

"Star Boy" ~ B. Hargrove

Summary: When Billy and Reader go for a late-night drive, the stars are just too beautiful to not stop and gaze at them.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x GN!Reader (R wears a skirt though)

Word Count: 1,043

Content Warnings: a mild sexual joke, i think that's it? unless you count Billy being very out of character lol

Extra Notes: this is kind of rushed because i simply don't know to write a Billy fic lol, i hope you guys enjoy regardless of my crappy writing!

Originally Written: 10/24/2023 through 10/25/2023

honeysuckleharringtons masterlist can be found here!

halloweek masterlist can be found here!

The windows were down and the radio was cranked up, the cool October breeze surrounding you like the perfect weighted blanket.

Billy's left hand was settled on the steering wheel, the other placed affectionately in yours. He hummed along to the AC/DC track playing in the stereo, a sound that was, quite literally, music to your ears. You'd always told him he should join a band, but he simply insisted that he didn't want to, since you were the only girl he wanted fawning over him.

His fingers tapped against the leather of the steering wheel, the noise bringing a strange sense of comfort to you. It was truly nights like these that you lived for. No matter how many late night drives you and Billy went on, no matter how many ten p.m. trips to 7-Eleven you took together, you'd truly never get your fill.

Billy spoke up abruptly, breaking you from your thoughts as you watched the passing trees. "You wanna do something fun and a little bit illegal?"

You raised an inquisitive brow in his direction. "Are you trying to get Neil to kill me or you?" you questioned, though internally curious about where this was going.

"Don't worry about him. If we play our cards right, he'll never know," he said. He lifted your hand to his lips, leaving a gentle—and somewhat persuasive—kiss over the soft skin of your knuckles.

It didn't take much to have you agreeing, and soon, he'd whipped the car in a different direction, heading toward what you could only assume was the middle of nowhere, given the sheer amount of trees surrounding the vehicle.

A few minutes later, he was putting the car in park and hopping out, jogging over to your side to grab the door. Once again, Billy was taking your hand in his, this time leading you over to what appeared to be a tall, white fence. The moonlight sparkled along the wood and on the fresh green grass, and you soon realized exactly where he was leading you.

"Why are we at the country club?" you whispered, almost anticipating for someone to catch you.

"You'll see," he simply answered before his hands were distracting you, grabbing you by the waist. "Come here, I'll give you a boost up."

"As long as you don't try to look up my skirt," you scolded, a defensive finger pointing at his face.

"I would only look up your skirt if I was given proper consent first."

You mumbled something sarcastic about him clearly being a gentleman before he was hoisting you up on his shoulders. Billy practically tossed you over the fence like a sack of potatoes, leaving you to wonder just how many pounds he was bench pressing at the gym.

The sight on the other side of the fence had you nearly in tears. A blanket was spread across the luscious grass, the moon shining on the lake beside it. Pillows and unlit candles surrounded the area, and your heart flipped at the sight. "Billy," you simply said, a thousand emotions hidden in the word.

"Do you like it?" he asked, joining you behind the fence.

"I love it," you smiled through teary eyes. You all but pulled him toward the blanket, though you were internally curious as to why he was being so romantic all of a sudden.

He moved around a couple of the pillows to make the space more comfy for the both of you, instructing you to lie back on the cushions. "I thought we could go stargazing. You've always told me you wanted to see a shooting star. Air's supposed to be clearer on this side of town."

And so, the two of you lay back on the blanket, your hand in his as he began to point out various constellations and shapes. Though, the beauty of the Big Dipper had nothing on the sparkle in Billy's eyes as he explained the stars to you.

The two of you examined each speck of light for hours, conversation barely ceasing as Billy pointed out every detail of Orion's Belt, every line of Andromeda. Your heart warmed at the sight, remembering how hard of a time he'd had adjusting to his cross-country move. Now, he'd found something about Hawkins that made him happy, and your heart swooned at that.

"Promise me something, Billy?" you said suddenly, rubbing soft lines on the back of his hands where your fingers met.

He turned to face you, messy curls framing his face as the moon shone down on those cerulean eyes you'd fallen in love with. "What's that?"

"Never lose that sparkle you have when you talk about this stuff?"

He snickered before pulling you up for a kiss, the taste of cherry slushie prominent on both of your mouths. "Don't go sappy on me now."

"I can't help it," you huffed in amusement. "You bring it out of me. You're like a puppy or something. I can't help but find you adorable."

His eyes narrowed in on you, clearly not amused at your words. "I don't know what they put in your slushie, but I think you need your eyes checked because I am not as cute as a puppy."

"You keep telling yourself that, you big golden retriever in black cat's clothing," you said, eliciting another deep chuckle from the man. "You still haven't promised, by the way."

In one swift motion, he was grabbing your body and pulling you down on him, eyes filled with love as he looked up at your squealing form. "I promise."

"You have to say the whole thing."

Billy held up a finger, drawing a 't' shape over the pocket of his tee shirt. "I, William Neil Hargrove, will never lose my sparkle. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Now, was that so hard?" you giggled, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Yes, it was," he grumbled. "But I love you, so savor it because I'm not doing it again."

You rested your head on his hard chest, his scent and feel enveloping you like a bubble, made to keep away anyone or anything else from just the two of you. "I suppose I'll take it, star boy."

-> taglist: @ducky-is-dead-inside @awkotaco24 @liberhoe @hereiamhereigo @esoltis280

[auteurdelabre]

Window Dressing: Chapter 1 - Dave York x f!Reader

Window Dressing

pairing: Dave York x F!Reader (NO use of y/n)

Story summary: Resolving to achieve professional success within the CIA you embark on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against your work nemesis Dave York, a rivalry that is complicated by your growing attraction to him.

[AU - Dave is divorced and he still works for the CIA because I want our suburban murder daddy have a nice life. ]

Chapter summary: When the CIA director offers up an opportunity for field work you jump at the chance. Too bad your work nemesis and colleague is just as excited for the position.

Chapter Tags: Enemies to lovers, colleagues, work jargon, nicknames, mentions of divorce, disrespect.

a/n: I just finished my yearly rewatch of The Hating Game (y’all don’t come for me, my job is stressful and I like to decompress with something silly). And all I could think of was an MC and Dave in a similar situation and before I knew it the first chapter was already written. It’s gonna be cute and since its me there’s gonna be smut but unlike me, not a ton of angst. Don’t look to close at the CIA details because your girl don’t know shit about it. Just go with the romantic-comedy vibrations.  

Chapter 1: CodeBook

Codebook: A list of plain language words opposite their codeword or codenumber.

Working at the CIA isn’t that much different from a normal day job as most people think.

You go to work in the subway along with everyone else. You read your paperback of the week sipping overpriced coffee and trying to ignore the stench of unwashed masses that dot the DC metro.

You wear comfortable shoes and pilled sweaters and your hair frizzes in the rain. You don’t look any different from anyone else that walks the terrain on their way to their Monday to Friday job. You start at eight am and end at five, unless a job requires you stay later.

Much like most offices with a lot of moving pieces, a majority of your job involves paperwork, worrying about schedules, IT problems, editing reports and more. It’s not as glamorous as the TV shows make it out to be. You are not Claire Danes in Homeland no matter how much you wish you were.

You wear a lanyard that holds a plastic square with your name and face on it that you scan at the entrance. Every morning you wave and say good morning to Dennis, the head of security at the front before slipping him a donut you got along with your coffee.

“You’re too good to me,” Dennis murmurs as you hand it to him.

You just smile. Dennis was one of the first people you met here at Headquarters and you have nothing but good things to say about him. He was kind and patient when everyone else rolled their eyes murmuring about the new hire.

The similarities to another corporate office might be that the coffee sucks and there are definitely cliques within workers. Considering you’re all in different departments this isn’t really much of a shock. Some of your departments overlap with one another, especially if there’s a potential high profile target.

You nod and smile at colleagues as you pass them on your way to the Operations department, ignoring the way many of them look more anxious than usual. This isn’t a surprise given what you saw on the news this morning.

You take the elevator down several floors before exiting and spotting a familiar slender figure perched on the edge of your desk. His hair is combed to either side of his pinched face and behind his thick framed glasses he looks like he’s analyzing something, as he always is.

“Hey Otis,” you say cheerfully as you lay down your purse at your desk.

Your desk is one of the few places in the world that feels uniquely you. You’ve decorated it with a pink stapler, purple and blue paper clips. Your folders are gold striped. Your desk itself is littered with a collection of tchotchkes from over the years, none more impressive than your rubber duck collection.

Otis pats one of your rubber ducks swiftly before standing and giving you a formal nod.

“Morning. I was just dropping some papers off and couldn’t help but notice you’ve added to your collection.”

You smile, nodding as you motion to your latest acquisition; a rubber duck playing the saxophone and wearing sunglasses. All the way from New Orleans and from a very competitive bidder on Ebay. But it was worth it to have your little jazz quacker sitting proudly with the others that line your desk.

Otis is one of the few people at work that doesn’t seem to be bothered by much. He does his job well and he always has an interesting fact to share. Well, interesting to him anyway.

Otis also likes to hover around your desk in the mornings for a chance to interact with your co-worker Priya. The prettiest girl at the CIA and the nicest. She brings in cupcakes for your entire team during holidays. She loves to laugh at everything you say, which makes you like her even more.  She’s also wickedly smart and even faster than you at translation (which is saying something).  As if on cue, you see her stumbling into the office with a coffee stain on her pale blue blouse.

“Damn potholes,” she mutters angrily, throwing her bag and onto her desk and giving her version of a frown, which is the equivalent to a kitten mewling for the first time.

“Morning Priya,” Otis says, his pale cheekbones pinking. You smirk, trying not to watch as their awkward flirtation commences.

“Morning Otis,” she replies cheerfully before organizing her desk for the day. “You have a good weekend?”

“Very,” Otis nods. You watch one of his long fingers tap along the head of your police officer duck nervously. “Uh, was watching a documentary on Jack the Ripper. Very intriguing.”

“Oh yeah,” Priya nods politely, her eyes on her computer as she boots it up for the day. You’re saved from the uncomfortable interaction by the sound of a female voice ringing out behind you. A voice that makes you sit straighter in your seat as you swivel your chair to face her.

She’s a fierce-looking Asian woman with short cropped hair and deep plum lipstick. All of her black blazers are tailored perfectly to her slender body and despite her diminutive stature you know she could kick anyone’s ass here.

“Meeting in five in Boardroom B,” Mina says to the crowd of arriving staff.  “Don’t be late.”

She strides from you all, heels clicking against the tiled floor and the room seems to exhale in tandem. She’s terrifying. She’s amazing.

Mina Crawford is the Director for field officers and counter intelligence. She’s a former Clandestine Service officer and one of the few living recipients of the Intelligence Star. Basically, she’s your hero. And you want to follow in her footsteps because from what you’ve gathered she used to be in your exact position as a Languages Officer.

“She’s so cool,” you practically swoon.

“Ask her to be your mentor,” Priya insists for the fiftieth time.

“That would be humiliating,” you reply, as you always do. “I’m too old for a mentor.”

“No one is too old for a mentor,” Priya insists.

“You see that stuff on the news last night?”

“The parliament member in Lebanon?” Priya nods, dropping her voice quietly.

“I think they’re going to send someone into the field,” you say trying not to sound excited. “Someone with language experience.”

“You think?”

“Think about it,” you reason. “All the higher profile killings have been in places with very little English. Stands to reason they would send a Language Officer out.”

“Even with no field experience?” Otis asks. He looks doubtful which makes you frustrated. If Otis doesn’t think it’s gonna happen there’s a good chance it won’t. Brenda, a cheerful-looking woman in her fifties takes her seat in the desk next to you.

“Gotta learn somehow,” you shrug. “But maybe they’d team them up with a senior Agent or something.”

Priya is about to reply when her large eyes go over your shoulder and she grimaces. 

 “Here they come.”

You, Priya and Otis glance over to see eyes the crowd of suited men and women murmuring gently to themselves.

The Protective Officers.

If this was highschool they’d be the popular kids. Getting to go on glamorous field missions, being right in the heart of the action. All are good with their weapons, all look like they stepped off the pages of some high end catalogue because their paycheques far outweigh your own. Several of the younger men chuckle loudly, giving off the energy of an American Psycho Fraternity.

“Assholes like that get to go to foreign countries, to experience life all over the globe and we’re stuck here,” you grimace, typing your Algeria field notes later that day. “I can’t stand it.”

 “I would hate to be in the field,” Brenda says with a theatrical shudder from beside you. “I like the safety of the desk.”

“That’s not why I went through basic training with an emphasis on stalk training,” you insist. You worked your ass off in training, making sure that you were as prepared as anyone else.  While officers are rarely trained in weaponry or hand-to-hand combat you’d requested it.  Worked earlier and stayed later if it meant a chance to learn more.

And now these chuckle-fucks come in with swinging dicks and they get all the glory. Two of them walk by you towards the coffee maker.

“And she was high key the best I’ve ever had,” one says to a man with perfect teeth.

“You have no rizz,” the younger man replies with a boisterous laugh. “How the fuck you pull that off?”

Jesus.

“You know I speak Russian, Spanish, Arabic and a handful of others and I will never be able to unravel the elusive bro code of the Protective Officers,” you muse dryly as you roll back in your chair.  Otis smirks and Priya laughs behind her coffee mug, drawing the attention of several of the agents including your bitter work rival: Dave York.

Dave York is the most annoying man you know at the CIA. He is a senior agent well-liked in the office and he gets along with almost everyone. You’re quite the same within your department. But the two of you? There’s no love lost there.

Dave saunters over to your desk and you spin back around to face your computer. You have no desire to be caught up in a verbal sparring match today. You have to be focused for the meeting in case there is the offer of putting newbies into the field. It’s something you’ve dreamed about since you started here five years ago.

“Been to any fun graveyards lately, Parsons?” Dave offers with a touch of humor in his deep, rasping voice. A voice that you find impossibly grating. It’s like having your ears run over by a gravel truck.

“Actually yes,” Otis says with a bracing smile. “One in New Orleans just proved very useful.”

Otis Parsons is a Ghoul which means he parses obits and graveyards for deceased individuals agents can use for aliases. He enjoys his job more than most and with his severe eye contact and strangely chilling manner of speaking you can see why some are put off. You happen to think he’s hilarious in an eerie, Crispin Glover sort of way.

“Parker, I need these tapes from Algeria parsed,” Dave says flatly, tossing a file onto your desk without so much as a hello.

Your name isn’t Parker, neither first nor last. It’s a nickname given to you (unwillingly) by the tall man with dark eyes who looks down at you with a trace of amusement along his full mouth.

It’s what started this whole antagonistic relationship if you’re honest. Your first day on the job being introduced to the agency. Meeting every department head, learning names, faces. When you met Dave you’d been charmed by his winning smile, shaking his hand politely and even thinking distantly that if he weren’t wearing a wedding ring he’d be just your type with his soulful brown eyes and pouty mouth.

But then your eyes had slid to the large board on the wall, the one covered in newspaper clippings and strings and you’d started asking questions about the case. Your excitement had been evident; the questions pelted at a bemused looking Dave who scanned you from head to toe and announced that you were a Nosy Parker before excusing himself.

You hadn’t known what that meant and had offered a weak shrug in return before being whisked into the next department. When you’d returned home that evening and were able to use your phone you saw the definition pulled up on Google and you winced.

noun derogatory•informal noun: nosy parker; plural noun: nosy parkers; noun: nosey parker; plural noun: nosey parkers an overly inquisitive person.

You’d been embarrassed at being called that during your first day on the job in front of your superior. It made the following months tense as you navigated your position, learning from the woman Brenda whose job you were taking over. It made you second guess yourself every time you wanted to ask a question.  It wasn’t until Priya started and she’d asked all the same questions and been answered with level kindness that you’d realized asking questions wasn’t nosy or annoying, it was how everyone learned.

Dave York has called you Parker ever since that day and you have hated him every time.  

And now he stands beside your desk looking like some glorified accountant in his tailored suit shooting a supercilious look your way. He always wears shades of blue; navy, cobalt, baby blue and iceberg just to name a few. The worst part is it’s usually paired with a burgundy tie that clashes hideously. You know he’s not color blind, (you can’t be if you’re an agent), so you can only assume the choice is masculine ambivalence.

You open the file with a weary sigh. “Where in Algeria specifically?”  

“Isn’t that your job, Parker?”

“You have nothing else to go on?” you sneer up at him, opening the folder. “Some agent.”

“Officer,” Dave corrects with a smirk before resting his hands on either side of your desk, bent over so he can capture your eyes with his. You blink rapidly, noting that today he’s missed shaving a small spot on his sharp jaw. It’s barely noticeable and if he wasn’t this close you’d never have known. But he is this close and suddenly that’s all you can focus on.

“You’re right,” Dave says, voice dropping an octave. “It’s much better that I use my considerable talents sitting on my ass going through hours of audio that rarely ever turns out to be useful. My mistake.”

You’re not stupid. You know that those of you in the Language department are seen as lesser agents. Your knowledge in languages makes you an asset in the office, not necessarily in the field. And yet they would be nowhere without you.

“Considerable talents?” you scoff before glaring up at him. “Is that what your wife tells you? Spoiler alert, York, she has to say that since her lapse in judgment at the altar.”

The benign amusement flees from Dave’s face immediately. You wait for the biting retort, the angry reply, but are instead greeted with the sight of Dave clenching his jaw tightly. You see the muscle in his face tic angrily before he turns; broad shoulders rolling as he pushes from your desk and rejoins the other Protective Agents.

What the fuck was that?

You frown at his back, confused before looking back down at the folder. Otis has excused himself as well, likely heading back down to his department. He won’t be needed for the meeting this morning. You feel Priya’s eyes on you and your tilt your head to face her.

“What?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Priya says with a concerned look on her beautiful face. “Him and his wife divorced last year.”

What the fuck? Since when?

For as long as you’ve known Dave York he has worn the same simple gold band on his left hand. You’ve even heard him talking about her in passing with other officers: Catherine or Carol? You know they’ve been married a while.

Since when is he divorced?

“What?” Your eyes blow wide at this, turning to your friend. “B-but he’s still wearing his ring!”

“Yeah,” Priya nods with a wince.

Fuck.

You don’t feel good about that. Dave is an asshole but you both know better than to get personal. You’ve never mentioned his wife until today and it turns out that was a good instinct on your part. Dave never mocks the fact that you go home every night to an empty apartment because even a goldfish was too much commitment for you, too much of a distraction from your work.

When the large group heads into the conference room you try to catch Dave’s eye and mouth an apology. But he’s already at the far side of the room with his agent buddies murmuring something and tapping away at his phone.

Mina stands at the podium waiting for everyone to take a seat and quiet down. Then she does and the briefing is similar to how it is most days lately. The assassin taking down members of parliament all over the world. The team doesn’t know if it’s an individual or an organization based on its sporadic movement.

“He’s targeting all higher profile members of senate across the globe,” Crawford says with a tired roll of her shoulders. “And from what I’ve seen they are extremely organized. Meticulous in knowing how far they can push without being caught.”

You scribble notes into your notebook while most of the group either types away on their phones or laptops. You’ve always found handwritten notes to be the best – they are less likely to be intercepted and written in your shorthand means that only you understand them.

You have a small code book included at the front, code names with numbers attached for people you work with. Priya is FFC0CB because she wears pink lipstick every Friday and that’s the hex code for pink. CG01 is Otis for his resemblance to a paler Crispin Glover. 00DH is Dave York and it stands for Double O Dick Head. You’d been particularly amused when you’d come up with that one.

You catch a pair of eyes on you and glance up down the table to see Dave watching your frenzied writing before giving the smallest shake of his head before he looks back at Mina.

“We’re putting together a team,” Mina says and this makes your head jerk up. “No details as of yet but there will be extensive travel involved so please let that influence your dedication and decision.”

Priya shoots you a look, one that says how did you know? And you try to tamp down the smile building there. It pays to pay attention, that’s how. You watch the patterns, you listen to the important silences that come between what’s said and you watch the news religiously.

“Considering the details on this we encourage individuals from all departments to apply,” Mina says eyes sailing over the crowd. You feel your stomach tighten pleasurably. This is just what you wanted. You just know you’d be an asset on this division.

“Deadline to submit is this Friday at five. That’s all. Good luck.”

The group dissolves and you and Priya make your way back to your desks. You’re on cloud nine, already formatting your CV in your head. Priya is yammering on about something but all you can focus on for that morning is the thought that you are going to be going into the field. You’re sure of it.

Its somewhere after lunch when the earlier conversation with Dave suddenly creeps back into your mind. It makes you feel uncomfortable and distracted. You don’t enjoy being cruel, it’s not in your nature.

It’s this which takes you to the elevator and down two floors to the department Dave works for. You walk through the fairly empty space with ease, jealous at how quiet it is with most of the officers out on jobs or doing field work.

Dave’s office is at the far end of the department and you see the door is ajar which means he’s in. Part of you is relieved, the other half disappointed. You’d half been hoping the room would stand empty and you’d be able to scribble some sad excuse for a note by way of apology. Writing an email would never be an option – too many eyes surveying everything that goes in and out of the office communication hubs.

. Dave is sitting behind his desk with a folder sat in front of him. His dark eyes jot to you as you enter. Unlike you, Dave has an entire office. It’s not massive, but it’s enough. However where you would have taken advantage to brighten up the space, it seems Dave is content enough to leave it looking like an empty shoe box. No family photos line his desk, no colorful knick knacks that give any indication about his personality. Nothing. Just flat, and dark and intimidating like his gaze.

There are two other officers sitting in the chairs across from him and they chat quietly, something you shouldn’t be overhearing and so you give a short knock before stepping into his office. The conversation is immediately dead and they swivel to glance over at you.

“Hey Dave,” you say grimacing. “I just wanted to-“

“You have the Algeria notes yet?”

“No,” you say holding in an eye roll. How did he expect you to have that information so quickly? He’s staring at you now, a file opened on his desk that he closes when you enter more fully into the office. Suddenly you feel wrong-footed, unsure of how to broach what you wanted to say since he’s surrounded by the other agents. He tilts back in his chair, arms crossed. Any mirth he usually reserves for you is gone.

“What do you want then?”

“It’s just… uh,” you say, suddenly aware of all the eyes of the other Protective Officers on you and you falter. You don’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone. “Do you have a sec? To talk in private?”

Dave rights his chair before fixing you with a dark look.

“How about you stop flitting around from department to department distracting people from trying to do real work?” He says sharply, his dark eyes narrowed. “Pretty sure Google translate could do your job and it would be a helluva lot less annoying.”

The other agents sitting near Dave exchange uncomfortable looks as you blink back at him. Irritation floods you, searing heat down the center of your chest. As he continues to glare at you there is the unmistakable sensation of your teeth grinding together angrily.

“You know what York? You can get Priya to do your translating from now on,” you spit, turning from him and heading into the empty hallway. Your cheeks are burning and you feet a pit in your stomach opening up.

Fuck you hate Dave sometimes.

You make your way to the elevator almost spitting. You wish for nothing more than to scrub Dave York from the face of the planet.

“Hey.”

Dave’s voice is a low rumble behind you. You can feel the warmth of his body inches from your back. But you pretend you haven’t heard him. The two of you load onto the elevator.

“Priya doesn’t speak Arabic,” Dave tells you like you’re not already very aware.

You continue to turn from him, not bothering to engage. You don’t have time to fight with Dave, you need to remember the name of your basic training officer to see if he’ll give you a letter of recommendation.

“You better be nice to me, Parker,” Dave says airily when you don’t reply. “Since everyone knows I’m going to be chosen for the mission.”

“You’re not going to be chosen for this one,” you snipe back at him, thankful there’s no one else in the confines of the elevator to witness how petulant you sound. “You have to be a team player for that. Everyone knows you like to fly solo.”

“Maybe I’ve changed,” he taunts, large eyes fixed on the rising numbers glowing above the buttons. “And besides, who do you think Crawford likes better? Me; the decorated field officer? Or you, the Language Officer with too many yellow sweaters?”

You want to snap back at him but you have a moment of concern at his words. You’d never considered this entire thing would be a popularity contest. Dave gets way more face-to-face with Mina than you ever will just by virtue of his job.

And hey, what the fuck? You like your yellow sweaters. In a job that can be dull or depressing having a color like yellow popping around the office makes you happy. It makes you wish more of the officers stopped dressed in drab neutrals.

Without warning your hand reaches out, slapping the emergency stop button. The elevator jerks to a halt with Dave eyeing you from across the small space. He’s a trained officer and you wonder if his instinct to pull a gun is kicking in when you see his fingers twitch at his side.

“I’m tired of you calling me Parker and making fun of my sweaters and my job and everything else,” you snap.

“I’m tired of you pretending like you’re better than everyone in the entire operations department because you can speak a handful of languages.”

“More than a handful,” you bite back, offended. “I’m a goddam polyglot.”

“How amazing for you,” Dave replies dryly. He crosses his muscled arms over his broad chest and you can’t help but observe how wide his shoulders are when they strain under his suit jacket. He fixes you with a look halfway between irritation and amusement.

Everything with Dave is a game of chicken; who will get closest without giving up? He does the same thing with inter office politics, pushing you past your limit until you run off with your tail between your legs, just like earlier in his office.

“I want to make a deal.”

Dave’s interested in this immediately indicated by the small curl of his mouth. “Go on.”

“If I get chosen for this elite squad you need to stop calling me Parker,” you tell him. “You leave off about my clothes and you start treating me with respect.”

“I do respect you,” Dave insists, brows furrowed. “You think I’d let anyone else do my translations?”

“You just said Google Translate would do a better job than me in a room full of other officers.”

Dave gives a crooked smile and a careless half shrug. “Was a joke.”

“Wasn’t funny.”

You bite the inside of your cheek when you feel your eyes getting glossy. You don’t want him to mistake your angry tears for sad ones. It’ll make you look weak when in reality it’s your barely contained rage that boils over, making your face hot and your eyes misty.

Dave’s smile dims and he gives a nod. “Yeah. Fair. Sorry.”

The apology is new though, that’s a nice manipulative touch on his part.

You don’t say anything more, and even though you want to apologize for the joke about his wife something in your stubborn attitude forbids it. Makes it impossible to apologize to Dave’s smug face staring at you.

“Everything okay in there?”

 It’s the elevator repair team.  Dave gives you a look with a raised brow, almost like he’s letting you know that you’re inconveniencing a lot of people today, not just him. You shoulder past him, getting closer to the speakerbox.

“Sorry about that,” you say into it. “I hit the button by accident. All good here.”

The elevator starts up again and the two of you lapse into silence. Soon enough you’re at the right floor and you prepare to exit, your mind still stuck on how to get an edge over your competition when all you have is a CV.

“So what do I get if I win, Parker?” Dave asks, dark eyes scanning your face with bemusement clearly written there. “What if I’m chosen for the team?”

“We don’t need to worry about that,” you say as the elevator dings to a stop. “You won’t be.”

“If I win you get rid of those ridiculous rubber ducks on your desk,” Dave insists watching you exit the elevator. “And you have to do all my translations without complaint for an entire year. Even the boring shit your department makes the grunts do.”

You frown at the possibility of doing all of Dave’s interpretations and translations. That could easily pile up and make your long days even longer. But there is a challenge in his eyes, one that you find you can’t back down from. So as the elevators slowly close on his smirking face you nod.

“Fine. Deal.”

TAG LIST: @morallyinept @yorksgirl @drewharrisonwriter @missladym1981 @lovelvyxxx @getitoutofmymind @mountainsandmayhem @mellymbee @stevie75 @@sarcasm-theotherwhitemeat @sptbear @madnessofadaydreamer @@lola8888673 @angiewatson @kennysbellbottoms @survivingandenduring @pastawench

[rana-temporaria]

DC x DP Fic

To say Amity Park was hard to find was a severe understatement. 

Not many came into the town, and no one ever left; Not that anyone wanted to leave. At least, Bruce couldn’t find any evidence that any one wanted out. Not that he could find much of ANYTHING on the town. It was a tiny blip on the maps, nothing you’d find unless you were looking for it.

The only mentions of the town his sources (Oracle) could find was a series of essays written and published by Jack and Maddie Fenton. (They too had no internet presence) They were self-proclaimed ‘Ghost Hunters’. Bruce couldn’t condemn them for that; After all he was a masked furry walking the streets and arresting criminals, and he’d seen enough weird shit to not bat an eyelash at the possibility of ghosts being real. Of course, He’d call Constantine to confirm. But it just wasn’t hard to believe at this point. 

He sighed.

The Justice league tip-line had gotten a very… Confusing call the previous day. A caller (Rambling from the beginning and neglecting to say their name) had claimed they’d gotten stuck in Amity Park for a night after their car had broken down. The locals, apparently, had been very gracious and polite; Though there’d been something off about them, some more than others, the caller said. The town had no hotel or inn (Strange, but maybe they didn’t get many visitors?) 

The Caller had then yelled at someone on their side, and abruptly ended the call.

Bruce had thought it’d be a simple case to handle. Research the place real quick, find what was wrong with it and possibly a rescue mission.

‘Research real quick’ was where he’d hit a snag.

There was almost nothing about Amity Park on the web. They didn’t even have a damn Wikipedia page (What kinda place was this?) The only mention of the place was the Fentons papers and google maps.

According to the Fentons, Amity Park was haunted as all shit.

Which, of course, meant it would to be investigated in person.

…Fuck.

_

“Absolutely not,” Constantine said over the phone, “I’m not going to that hell-hole again,”

Bruce shifted the phone to left ear, “Again? So you’ve been to Amity Park before?”

“Yup, It sucks ass. So I’ll be staying where I am,”

“Constantine, lives are at stake,”

“Mate, you got one call from one person who said some townspeople seemed weird. Seems a tad early to assume,” 

Bruce leaned forward in his chair, “You said this place is a Hell-hole, The town seems like it’s been scrubbed from the net, plus the call. So do you think something is going on here?”

“...Probably,” Constantine sighed, “But I don’t wanna be involved,”

“I’d prefer a magic expert to help investigate,” Bruce said.

“Call Zatanna,” 

“I did,” He sighed, “She’s busy,” 

“...Fuck,”

“So you’ll help?” 

“...I’ll go with to the town entrance,”

Good enough.

[northoftheroad]

Dick Grayson reading in Rebirth and forward

In the last few years, there have been several comics where Nightwing is guest starring that I haven't picked up, so maybe I have missed some smashing comics in here; just saying. As usual, take this list for what it's worth – my personal interpretations and reflections. (Please note that there is a difference between cover date and when a book is actually published, and I might have mixed these dates in the list. I mostly use them to help my own thought process.)

I gather DC lets their creators play in any sandbox/Earth/continuity they want, which means it's a fool's errand to try to understand what, if any, stories from Dick's past are supposed to have happened in the current continuity. But I never claimed to be quite sane, did I...? Here is me, trying to piece together stories chronologically story-wise:

Nightwing vol 4 # 82. Flashbacks to pre-Dick John and Mary Grayson.

Batman vol 3 # 54. Has some flashbacks from when Dick was new in Wayne Manor. He has nightmares, climbs a chandelier, questions why Bruce took him in, and apparently doesn't know Bruce is Batman: nothing special but a few nice pages.

The Precedent. In Detective Comics # 1000 (2019). Bruce's hesitation before he lets Dick become Robin. Unclear if it's supposed to be in the current continuity.

Robin and Batman # 1–3 (2021-2022). A three-issue story that takes place in the days around Dick's twelfth birthday. It's about how Dick eventually chooses not to be "the dark" like Batman, but something better – the light, Robin. Not in the main continuity, but another version of how Dick became Robin (also a first meeting with the other original Teen Titans - in this version, they already had suits and code names when Dick first became Robin).

Batman: Urban Legends # 23

Hot pursuit. In Batman: Urban Legends # 23 (March 2023). Cute short story; Robin drives the Batmobile for the first time (his second year as Robin).

Batman One bad day: Mr Freeze. (2022) Probably not set in the main continuity, Robin is small and wears a winter suit.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest vol 1 (2022). One of my favourite books from the current era (written by Mark Waid). It has a different tone than other in-continuity books (in a good way), but it is connected; the first story arc is a prequel to Batman vs Robin and the Lazarus Planet event. Dick has been Robin for a few years in the book except for a few panels. My favourite issue is # 6, when Dick is lost in the past, works in a circus and solves a mystery.

Batman/Superman (2019) # 16–21 and Annual 2021 # 1 is an outstanding story with DickRobin, albeit not the main Earth version.

Nightwing vol 4 # 78. There are a few pages of flashbacks, what might be Dick and Barbara's first meeting, fighting bullies at school. The bully, Shelton Lyle, will later turn out to be the villain Heartless – Nightwing fighting him is a story that keeps getting set on hold.

Batgirl vol 5 # 14–17 (October 2017– January 2018). Guest starring Nightwing, including flashbacks to when he was Robin and Dick and Barbara were in High School. Nothing special.

World's Finest: Teen Titans (2023). New book about the Teen Titans (the original five plus Bumblebee) when they're starting, also written by Mark Waid. One issue has been published so far; Robin is struggling with combining Batman's distrust with leading the team.

Nightwing vol 4 # 92. Another couple of flashback pages, from Dick's time as Robin, when he took on more than he could chew and got hurt saving a guy's life. Alfred refuses to let Bruce into Dick's bedroom unless he removes the cowl "and leave your disapproval at the door".

"A little nudge". In Robin 80th Anniversary Special (2020). It's probably not the latest official story about how Dick left Robin to become Nightwing, but I wouldn't mind if it were. Dick leaves Robin by his own choice; Bruce is a bit of a jerk because he's not emotionally mature enough to say, "I know you've grown up and should move on; I'll be fine without you."

Nightwing vol 4 # 79. Flashback page of Dick leaving the Manor, saying, "He fired me, Alfred" (he's eighteen at the time). So evidently, Tom Taylor goes with that version in his writing.

Nightwing vol 4 # 39

Nightwing vol 4 # 39. Flashback to when Dick was a student in Blüdhaven, after leaving Robin and before he became Nightwing. He goes out to look for a murderer dressed in old workout clothes that looks a lot like his original Nightwing suit. Part of the best story arc of Nightwing vol 4, so don't miss it!

Red Hood and the Outlaws vol 2 Annual # 1. A team-up issue with Nightwing with a flashback to when Jason saw the Flying Graysons. And to their first meeting at Wayne Manor, which didn't go well because Alfred decided to give newcomer Jason Dick's bedroom because the Manor evidently suffers from a shortage of beds... <insert rolling eyes emoji here> Eminently skippable issue...

Nightwing Annual 2021

Nightwing Annual 2021 (2022). Part of the book is a flashback story. Dick, who lives at the Titans tower, talks about how Bruce fired him and got a replacement. But when Alfred asks him to visit (calling Bruce his father), he comes to see Jason, who complains about how it's impossible to live up to the standard Dick set as Robin. They take the Batmobile (with Alfred's blessing) and head out. It seems to be their first meeting, which makes RHATO vol Annual 2 # 1 obsolete.

Nightwing vol 4 # 89. A team-up with Jon Kent/Superman, starting with a few pages flashback to their first meeting when Jon was getting his powers. Dick is wearing his red New 52 Nightwing suit.

Titans (2016–2019). I think the series was pretty meh, though Annual # 1 and Special # 1 have badass Nightwing moments.

DC Rebirth Holiday Special (2016) # 1, has a nice Titans story but nothing of further importance.

Rebirth Nightwing # 1. Dick returns to being Nightwing after the Grayson run, all set to pretend to work for the Parliament of Owls (see Robin War, part of New 52).

Nightwing vol 4 # 1 (September 2017) – # 4. Better than Batman. Nightwing is working undercover with the Parliament, partnered with the new character Raptor who, it turns out, loved his mum and has a personal vendetta with Bruce Wayne because he took Dick from his roots.  

Monster men. A storyline with the villain Professor Hugo Strange in Nightwing # 5-6, Batman # 7-8, Detective Comics # 941–942 (and some more books I haven't read). Dick is temporarily transformed into a monster and later saves the day by jumping into a monster to administer some antitherapy. Nothing of future importance but some nice panels regarding how well Dick knows Bruce.

Nightwing vol 4 # 7–8 (January 2017). Rise of Raptor. Nightwing discovers that Raptor has been stalking Dick Grayson since childhood. Raptor abducts Bruce Wayne and puts him in a death trap, but Nightwing saves him when he jumps. I quite enjoy the Raptor stories, I have to say.

Nightwing vol 4 # 9 (January 2017). A team-up with Superman, who was not a guy he knew at the time since this Superman had come from the pre-Flashpoint universe and somehow merged with New 52 Superman (no, I still don't understand it). It mostly takes place in Dick's dreams. Known for a quote from Superman: "Of everyone I've met here, you're the least changed from the version I knew. Always confident, always kind, always cool. Dick Grayson – the multiversal constant."

Nightwing vol 4 # 10 (February 2017) – 14 (April 2017). Dick moves to Blüdhaven (I think people got their memories or stolen time back at some time in Rebirth, which would explain how he was new in the city here, but had lived and been a cop there (as in Nightwing vol 2) later in vol 4.) He volunteers for a program for teens at a community centre, where he meets Shawn Tsang/Defacer, an "art terrorist" Batman and Robin once fought back in the day. Nightwing works to prove she and Gorilla Grim aren't murderers.

Batman vol 3 # 16 (April 2017) Has a fun couple of pages with Bruce and Dick, Jason, Damian and Duke at Bat Burger; Bruce warns the boys to stay out of Gotham and out of Bane's way, which Dick, Jason and Damian, of course, disregard. The issue ends with Batman finding them hanging by their necks in the Batcave. In # 17, we see they survived, and Bruce has left them frozen with Superman at the Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping.

Nightwing vol 4 # 15 (April 2017). Dick and Shawn Tsang/Defacer start dating. Interlude with many guest stars whom Dick talks to about his new life in Blüdhaven.

Nightwing vol 4 # 20

Nightwing vol 4 # 16 – 20 (July 2017). Nightwing Must Die. Nice if you want to see Dick and Damian together again. Shawn is abducted while having a pregnancy scare, and Damian follows Dick to save her. (He went to Blüdhaven because he was upset people counted on Dick to become the Batman after Bruce's retirement, but later confesses he was unsure what his place in Dick's life was now.) Dick is cut with a knife made from the nth metal and see visions of himself from different realities. Villains: Professor Pyg and Doctor Simon Hurt, both from Dick and Damian's time as Batman and Robin.

Nightwing vol 4 # 21 (July 2017). Nightwing and Flash (Wally West) hang out, fights criminals and save each other's lives.

Nightwing vol 4 # 22–25 (August – September 2017). Blockbuster, the villain whose death in Nightwing vol 2 was a huge deal, is suddenly alive and   menacing Blüdhaven and Nightwing again. Dick is job-hunting and ends up taking a job as a blackjack dealer to keep an eye on Blockbuster, who had earlier sold him out to Tiger Shark, a villain Dick fought as Batman in Black Mirror. # 24–25 has a pretty badass fight, Nightwing vs a boatload of villains, and he also saves everyone by hotwiring a contraption to expand a bubble that freezes time. Shawn breaks up with Dick.

Nightwing vol 4 # 26–28 (October – November 2017). Spyral. Huntress/Helena Bertinelli, whom Dick met during the Grayson run (New 52 era), turns up. They work together on a case, ending up at the Spiral headquarter, and start a relationship. 

Batman vol 3 # 33–35 (December 2017 – January 2018). At Wayne Manor, Alfred tells Dick, Jason, Damian and Duke that Bruce intends to marry Selina while the latter two are on some mission in Khadym. Damian is upset because his mother is in Khadym, and Dick accompanies him there in the following issues. Some nice moments here and there, but I've never cared for Tom King's (the writer) grand Batman arc.

Dark Nights: Metal. Storyline 2017–2018. (including Nightwing # 29) where Batman discovers a Dark Multiverse.

Nightwing vol 4 # 30 – 34 (February 2018). Raptor's Revenge. Raptor gets involved in Nightwing’s fight with Blockbuster. Helena/Huntress breaks up with Dick. # 32 has flashback to Dick and Raptor at the circus and the death of his parents. 

Batman vol 3 # 45–47 (June - July 2018). Booster Gold goes back in time to save Bruce's parents as a wedding gift. This completely alters the past, and for some reason, Dick becomes a Batman who fights a city of Jokers with lethal violence. Some amusing wackiness about what has happened to different characters – Selina is a serial killer, Tim has a menial job, and Jason has invented tires that give tire thieves a deadly shock of electricity, but nothing of future importance.

Nightwing vs Hush

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding. Nightwing vs Hush (2018) is a great issue for a Nightwing fan. Nightwing and Superman are taking Batman for a bachelor’s party, but Hush attacks them and he and Dick are transported to another universe (where Hush perishes, which hasn’t stopped him from turning up back in the main universe). Robin vs Ra's al Ghul has a tiny Nightwing as Damian's "good angel" on his shoulder, which is a fun but minor detail.

Batgirl vol 5 # 25. Takes place just after the failed wedding between Bruce and Selina. Barbara needs a friend; Dick takes her to the empty honeymoon suit. They talk as close friends about love, and Dick comes across as quite the romantic. Quite a nice story, in my opinion.

Nightwing vol 4 # 35

Nightwing vol 4 # 35–41 (February – May 2018)The Untouchable. My favourite arc of vol 4 so far, written by Sam Humphries (I'm sure he was supposed to stay longer because he talked in an interview about wanting to bring back Dick's Uncle George from Batman vol 1 # 22, but he only wrote the one arc). Includes some flashbacks to Dick’s time as Robin, and when he was a student post-Robin. He starts a new business, Grayson cross train studio.

Nightwing vol 4 # 42 (June 2018). Enjoyable one-shot. Damian tells his pets about how Dick saved him from capture in Tokyo. They pick up a dragon on the way.

Nightwing vol 4 # 43 (June 2018). Another enjoyable one-shot, with Dick, Damian and Roy Harper/Arsenal, bickering and fighting bad guys.  

Nightwing vol 4 # 44–47 (July – October 2018). The Bleeding Edge, a story arc with malevolent virtual reality and the "dark web". Feel free to skip it.

Nightwing/Magilla Gorilla Special # 1 (October 2018). As a crossover with a Hanna-Barbera character, presumably not set in the usual DC universe... But I rather enjoyed it; it was a nice little murder mystery and lots of thinking about the circus and Dick's parents. Though I wouldn't personally rush to the cinema for a movie about The Flying Graysons with gorillas as actors...

Nightwing vol 4 # 48–49 (November 2018). Harm's way, the conclusion of the Dark Web storyline. If you enjoy Nightwing on a motorbike and being a badass fighter, why not? I can't say the story made an impact or had consequences since Dick would spend the following two years (maybe half a year, in-universe) as Ric.

The Murder Club (in Batman: Urban Legends # 19–23, November 2022 – March 2023 ). Martha and Thomas Wayne turn up in the Batcave, apparently taken from the time before they were killed. The story has Bruce, Dick, Damian and Alfred and is good if one like the family feels. (Not sure if any story in Urban Legends is supposed to be "canon" for the current continuity, but time-wise, Damian is dressed in Robin colours, Alfred is alive etc.)

Batman vol 3 # 51 (September 2018). Dick stands in as Batman while Bruce is called for jury duty.

DC's Crime of Passion # 1 (February 2020), has some Dick/Barbara, nothing you can't miss, in my opinion.

Batman vol 3 # 54–55. # 54 goes between flashbacks from when Dick was new in Wayne Manor and apparently doesn't know Bruce is Batman and Nightwing trying to cheer up Batman after Seline dumped him. In # 55, Dick is shot in the head by KG Beast (just another of Tom King's plot points to make Batman as miserable as possible). In Batman # 56-57, Batman hunts down KG Beast. Again, these issues have some pleasant character moments. Still, I'm not a fan of the overall plot or the result for Dick (I've read that Tom King was open to healing Dick magically pretty much straight away, but someone wanted to "take advantage" of the situation...)

Nightwing vol 4 Annual # 2. Partly set just after Dick was shot. Bruce tries to jog his memory by showing him a video of when he was shot, further traumatizing him and leading to him storming out.

Nightwing vol 4 # 50 (December 2018) – 74 (November 2020). Dick lives in Blüdhave as "Ric" and has forgotten everything for approximately the last 15 years. He wants nothing to do with his former family and starts dating Bea Bennett. Meanwhile, four other people use his old suits to go out as vigilantes since the real Nightwing has disappeared. Besides the shot in the head, he is brainwashed (with the help of a magical crystal, if I understood correctly) to help his Talon grandfather William Cobb make him a Talon (he is, for a few issues). The Joker later gets hold of the crystal and makes Dick believe the Joker fostered him and that he is "Dicky boy". He fights the other bats before it's all over...

Nightwing vol 4 # 74 (November 2020). Dick starts to get his memories back.

Batman vol 3 # 99 (November 2020). Bruce gives Dick his Nightwing suit back after two years of suffering (for us readers) with Ric, Talons and Joker War, but not really worth reading for that.

Dark Nights: Death Metal. Reality-shattering, complicated storyline 2020–2021 with lots of evil Batmen. I have read very little of it, but Dick is newly back from "Ric". In Justice League # 53–57 (Doom Metal parts 1–5), he and some others are physically D&E-transformed while fighting. In Dark Nights: Death Metal The Last Stories of the DC Universe, there are some nice Titans moments (also, Batman performs a one-panel "wedding" with Dick and Barbara...)

Nightwing vol 4 # 78 – > (March 2021 and onward) The current run of Nightwing starts (writer Tom Taylor, art mostly Bruno Redondo). After the relaunch Infinite Frontier, parts of Dick's pre-Flashpoint history in Blüdhaven have been restored. He has, for instance, been a cop and lives in the apartment building he bought during Nightwing vol 2. In my opinion, the run is visually great and full of lovely moments between Dick and his friends and family, but it's overly sweet and kind of boring, though many people seem to love the writing too. 

Nightwing vol 4 # 78 (2021). Dick adopts a three-legged puppy (Haley/Bitewing) and is told he inherited Alfred's billions (he is currently richer than Bruce). He now lives in the block of flats in Blüdhave that was ostensibly destroyed in Nightwing vol 2.

Nightwing vol 4 # 80. Nightwing's first meeting with the villain Heartless, who steals hearts. That was 2021, and Dick still hasn't stopped Heartless or spent a lot of time chasing him because of so many interruptions.

Nightwing vol 4 # 82

Nightwing vol 4 # 81–82. He discovers he has an older half-sister, Melinda Zucco, conceived before John and Mary were married but brought up as the daughter of Tony Zucco. She is sworn in as the new Mayor of Blüdhaven. A big part of # 82 is flashbacks to the Grayson's and Melinda's backstory. Blockbuster, who should already be dead if what happened in Nightwing vol 2 is canon again, turns up as an adversary again (is later killed in # 94)

Nightwing vol 4 # 83. Dick announces The Alfred Pennyworth Foundation to make Blüdhaven a better place for everyone. The first goal is to ensure that no one lives on the streets a month later, "because it's getting colder".

Without a net. Unpublished tales from the DC vault # 2. (2021) One shot that is possibly supposed to take place in the current continuity; there's at least nothing to contradict it. Dick takes on a task because he feels he's the most qualified to dive 30000 feet from a flying castle (?!) into a lagoon.

Robin vol 3 # 5 (2021). The four former Robins chase after Damian, who has temporarily left Lazarus Island and wants to discuss what's happening. He gives them the slip – except Dick, who catches up with Damian and gives him a birthday present. They talk a bit, and Dick lets him go, telling the others that they will tell Batman "That we trust Damian and have faith in him." So a nice issue if you're looking for a few pages of Dick and Damian interaction.

Nightwing vol 4 # 84–86. Part of the crossover Fear State, where Scarecrow wants to control Gotham City using fear gas.

Titans Academy (2021–2022). I was never interested in picking up the book, but I guess it happened parallel to the Nightwing book until the start of Dark Crisis.

Nightwing Annual 2021 (2022). A tale of two brothers, Dick and Jason, now and then (when Jason was Robin). Dick refuses to believe Jason/Red Hood is killing people again and helps him clear it up, combined with a likeable flashback with Nightwing and JasonRobin.

Nightwing vol 4 # 88 (2022). Dick Grayson is targeted at the ceremony for starting to build Haven. It's kind of a nice issue if you like seeing what a great guy Dick is and his friends rushing to his side. Dick gets a new Nightwing suit made by Mr Terrific.

Nightwing vol 4 # 89, Superman: Son of Ka-El # 9. A team-up with Jon Kent/Superman, starting with a flashback to their first meeting when Jon was getting his powers.

"The Director" (in Batman: Urban Legends # 22-23). A story with Dick and Barbara takes place in Blüdhaven; not really my cup of tea, but readable.  

Nightwing vol 4 # 90–91, Dick's building in Blüdhaven is blown up, Barbara is kidnapped, and a master assassain comes after Dick. Guest starring Wally West/The Flash, guest villain KG Beast, the gut who shot Dick back in Batman # 55.

Nightwing vol 4 # 96–97. I think it's fair to say Dick and Barbara are a couple at this stage.

Nightwing vol 3 # 98

Nightwing vol 4 # 98 (2023). Dick gets his own imp from the Fifth Dimension, Nite-Mite. He ships Dick with Starfire but teleports friends and family in to wed Dick and Barbare. (Ok, I thought it was a rather fun issue...) Introducing Olivia, daughter of Blockbuster, who sold her soul to the devil Neron; Neron is on his way to collect her soul. Nightwing & Co save her.

Nightwing vol 4 # 99. Nightwing catches Tony Zucco, who is violating parole with attempted robbery. Melinda changes her last name to Grayson-Lin.

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis # 1, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths # 1–7 (2022). An event where the Justice League is presumed dead (Nightwing is sure they will come back), and super criminals attack en masse. Along the way, "the Great Darkness" tries to take Nightwing as its new host, but he fights it off. At the end of the event, the Justice League disbanded. I'm pretty fed up with big events (great art, though), but Dick is a central character, the first legacy hero, and the light in the dark for Batman. It sets him up as an important leader for the superhero community going forward.

Batman vs Robin # 3 (November 2022). Damian is possessed and recruits the four former Robins to fight Batman for him in this lead-up to the event Lazarus Planet. Dick gets the sword of sin, and Batman, waiting for him to attack, thinks, "Hand-to-hand, the toughest of them all". In the end, Batman pushes Alfred (or rather, some kind of replica of Alfred from the afterlife, as a spy for the demon Nezha) on Dick's sword to get him to hesitate so Batman can knock him out. (I should say I've only read this issue of the book. Damian and Bruce fighting got old a long time ago, IMO.)

Nightwing vol 4 # 100. Heartless stages a mass breakout from Blüdhaven's private prison, which is destroyed. Nightwing talks a lot of the escapees into changing sides. The Titans come to help. Guest villain again, KG Beast. Superman and Wonder Woman asks Dick to lead – not the Justice League, which currently is disbanded – but whatever kind of protection he chooses. Dick buys the destroyed prison to build a new Titans tower there. Dick and Bruce have a heartfelt talk by Alfred's grave, though it's debatable if "I love you, Dad" is in character for Dick to say.

Nightwing vol 4 # 101–104. The Titans work together to save Olivia from Neron. Including Dick getting superpowers like that of Superman, when Neron tries to tempt him. Back-up story of Nightwing and Jon/Superman, working a case at a circus.

Titans (2023). The adult Titans are working from Blüdhaven while the Justice League is (probably very temporarily ) disbanded in this new book. It's only been a couple of issues, but I've been enjoying it so far (though I have a hard time with the pairing Beast Boy/Raven, since I know them well from the NTT ear).

Books clearly set outside the main continuity

Future State: Nightwing # 2

Future State: Nightwing # 1–2 (2021), Future State: Gotham (2021–2022) As far as I'm concerned, DC's Future State titles are stories from possible alternate futures that will never come to pass. But it was nice to see Dick written as competent and tinkering with inventions. The Future State stories continued in Future State Gotham, where Dick used the enhancing drug Brane to gain an edge in the fight against the Magistrate and assorted villains and, in the end, sacrificed himself. It didn't seem worth reading, from what I've seen.

Future State: Teen Titans # 1–2. Another possible future book, it’s not as good as the Nightwing version, IMO.

Batman Beyond (2016) vol 6. Dick is the mayor of Blüdhaven and has a daughter who becomes Batwoman in this version of Batman Beyond. To my knowledge, he is in a number of issues starting with # 25. 

Batman/Catwoman, a 12-issue Black Label miniseries (2021–2022). Yet another book set in a possible future (or maybe an alternate universe). Dick is the Police Commissioner of Gotham. I haven't read the whole series, but Dick has a minor role.

In the Dark Multiverse, you can see Dick as a Talon, die during the Judas contract or be murdered by Damian if you like. (Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Hush, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, and Deathstroke (2016) # 50.)

Titans United (2021) and Titans United: Bloodpact (2022) was two limited series that was probably published to lure in readers that liked the Titans tv show, though it wasn't a tie-in. Pretty entertaining Titans stories with different team members. The digital-first Titans: Titans Together book (2020) also didn't connect to what's going on in other books but was all right reading.

– – –

Posted on July 16, 2023. Time will tell if it will get edited/updated in the future. 

[redlittlebird]

So maybe I just feel like ranting. Tim Drake has been my favorite character for as long as I can remember, he’s the character that I’ve found myself relating to the most my entire life. That includes my bisexuality, when I was coming to terms with my own sexuality I saw myself more and more reading this character I loved as bisexual. It was something I identified with and thought it fit him. So when I saw the DC was making him bi, I got excited. Confirmation! Hurray!

At least that’s what it was like in the beginning, now I just tend to get frustrated. I want it put on record that I don’t hate Timber, I don’t hate Bernard. I hate that I feel like Tim got put with Bernard to check a box. Increasingly I feel like Tim’s relationship with Stephanie Brown was cut short because DC just want to make him date a boy to prove he was bi, and honestly? That’s just such a crushing feeling. When I’ve dated guys, that has not made me any less bisexual. When I’ve dated women THAT HAS NOT MADE ME ANY LESS BISEXUAL. It’s just a trend I feel like I’ve seen over and over again, if a character is bi, they have to be in a same sex pairing to prove it, and it just feels so unbelievably reductive to the bisexual experience. It’s treated so often like if you’re bisexual and dating someone of the opposite sex you’re not being true to yourself, or they’re not what you really want, and that is just so biphobic on so many levels it makes me want to puke. You can say what you want about the rocky road Tim and Steph’s relationship has been across their decades long history, but when they were broken up off screen it was a gut punch. It was such a blow because nothing in their recent writing indicated they were going to breakup, let alone so suddenly. For the answer to why to be shown over and over again by DC as “Tim just couldn’t be himself with her” is just such a shallow take, and terrible reason for me. Maybe it’s just me but I’ve found Bernard while cute and loving to Tim, to be a largely empty character with little substance. This lends to me feeling like Tim was put with him just to prove a point, so DC could say “See? He swings both ways!” doing so at the cost of a relationship that had been written for years at that point to be very loving and supportive.

I love this character, I loved Tim with Steph, I just wish that DC could have had Tim come out without falling back on so many harmful stereotypes with bisexual people, including the most harmful, that we will just drop our partners because they aren’t fulfilling us as bisexuals, that we’re shallow and confused, and can’t be our true selves unless we prove that we’re bi. I’m happy for representation, especially from my favorite character, but damnit I just wish it was treated with more tact and respect for what actually being bisexual is like. It’s not something we need to prove, it’s who we are, and that doesn’t mean we have to be with someone of the same sex and just happen to like the opposite sex as well. It’s not incidental. We don’t hurt the people that love us just to explore, and it’s damaging to frame it that way.

[doraambrose]

What do you think about Jason's relationship (platonic!!! Father and son stuff. Still can't believe this ship exists. ) with Bruce? Should they even interact at all if DC only makes Bruce abusive and cruel towards him? Or do you ignore whatever is on those pages like it was always meant to be and like a lot of the fandom does?

(Personally, Bruce shouldn't be the best dad but he should never have raised his hand against his kids, unless during sparring and fighting off mindcontrol. The only exception I would make is shortly after Jason died and Bruce, out of his mind with grief, hit Dick who had kind of tried to comfort him. But everything else? Laughably out of character.)

Hello! Thanks for the ask friend!

Bruce and Jason's relationship is vastly complicated, but I personally don't think they should be on the best terms.

Bruce is very similar to Jason in that he's been written either okay or horrible by dc writers, but actual good characterization in the last like 10-15 years is pretty rare.

In terms of characterization of Bruce, I'm not as well-versed as I am with Jason, but I have a pretty good idea of how he should be. Bruce is heavily flawed. He has some significant childhood trauma that never got truly dealt with,leading to the creation of the batman. I also sense he has bpd or at least bipolar or something like that, as well as a superiority complex. He's also very stubborn and set in his ways and his instinct is that he's always right and everyone should do what he says. He's controlling and a hypocrite. But he has the best of intentions. He wants to keep everyone safe, he loves his kids and he just wants to protect people, but it has to be his way. I fully believe that Bruce never actually intends to hurt his family, but mental illness mixed with a need for control and a lack of socialization can lead to hurtful actions. In gotham war, Bruce truly believes that what he did to Jason was what was best for him, despite how crazy and abusive it actually was. After Damian died, he loved and grieved so much but didn't know how to handle it. He couldn't live without him so he did everything possible to bring him back, hurting his other kids in the process, but he didn't think he was seriously hurting his kids.

Jason is also very stubborn and a hypocrite. He has some substantial childhood trauma that also didnt get proper attention. he's not as hot-headed as certain characterizations of him like to say, but he is a VERY emotional and emotion-driven person. He thinks with his heart more than his head at times. He has very strong opinions and beliefs. He also loves his family and wants to protect people, mainly children and women, and he also believes that his way is the right way.

Bruce and Jason both think the other is wrong and neither want to compromise. And Bruce has done so much to Jason. And jason doesn't understand Bruce's pov because neither of them can actually communicate with each other in a healthy way and neither of them have healthy ways of executing their beliefs and morals, their actions don't always do their intentions justice.

So I think their relationship is strained. They're too similar and too different at the same time. They both have too many problems and don't take good care of their mental health, leading to some really unhealthy Coping mechanisms. But I do agree that some of things Bruce and jason have done have been super out of character and totally could be erased lol

Thanks for the ask friend!

[thefreakandthehair]

@eddiemonth prompt, oct 21st:  Hellfire | Back in Black - AC/DC | Tenacious a/n: so, I've written about Eddie inheriting Hellfire. now, it's time to write about Eddie founding Hellfire! he's a little shit in this one, and I love him so much it's nearly clinical. wrote this in the car on the way to my in-law's family party so it'll go up on ao3 later 🦇 ao3 collection | tumblr masterlist

“Mr. Munson,” the principal starts, seated opposite Eddie across the desk. “You’re a freshman. Freshmen don’t start clubs here. Why don’t you look around a little, broaden your horizons. There are some wonderful sports and music opportu–”

Eddie’s arms are crossed over his chest and he sits with both legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed. “It’s Eddie, and no. Why can’t I start a club? Why do only upperclassmen get to? Or is this just because it’s a Dungeons and Dragons club?” 

As if I’d wanna go and join the kids who look at me like the spawn of fucking Satan, he wants to say, but he needs to play it cool, hard as that may be. Or at least unless the principal, whose name he hasn’t bothered to commit to memory yet, doubles down on his refusal; then, all bets are off. 

“Of course not, we just encourage our youngest students to expand their interests. You might find that you’re good at something surprising or–”

Eddie knows that interrupting over and over again won’t help his case, but he can’t help himself. Hearing the same bullshit over and over again is infuriating and there’s no good reason that he can’t start a Dungeons and Dragons club for himself and the other kids with wild imaginations and nowhere else to go after that final school bell.

“Or, maybe starting a new club will let students try something new, something that’s been shit on for years that they otherwise may not get the chance to try?” 

The principal levels him with an exasperated look and a heavy sigh before leaning forward on his forearms over the clunky wooden desk. 

“Mr. Munson–”

“It’s Eddie,” Eddie insists for the second time. Mr. Munson is his dad and the name gives him a chill. He may carry a pocketknife and know how to hotwire a car, but he’s still no Al Munson. 

Another sigh. “Eddie. The day’s almost over, can we continue this discussion tomorrow? Buses will be lining up any minute.”

Now or never, he thinks to himself. 

“Well, then you have about a minute to make a decision. Can I start it or not? Maybe even on a, uh, a trial basis?” He shrugs and smiles with pursed lips and a raised eyebrow. 

Principal Whatever His Name Is drops his head for a second before looking back up at Eddie. “You’ve worn me down, Mr. Mun– Eddie. Trial basis only, and you need a faculty member to sponsor it. If you can do your due diligence, I’ll allow it.”

“Great!” Eddie claps once and stands. “Mr. Clarke already agreed, so I think we’re all set here. Good doing business with you.”  

“Wait–” 

The bell rings, saving Eddie like it has so many times in the past. He’s halfway out the door, stepping into the stampede of students running for buses, when he turns back around to see the principal shaking his head and rolling his eyes. 

“You know, my Uncle always says if you roll your eyes too much, they’ll get stuck like that.” 

Without another word, he slips into the tide and loads his bus, taking a seat in the back alone and whipping out his notebook and a black marker. Shades of black and red color the lined pages in the form of devils and demons and the words Hellfire Club hover above each sketch.

Good thing I didn’t tell him the name.

[aalghul]

Nice post about Roy I like how kind your response was. But yeah as a Roy fan I find the idea that he would hate anyone but the man who killed his daughter to be silly. Cause like thing is Roy has a line till he doesn’t. Like you said Roy draws a line for himself with Cheshire but he never ever 100 percent commits. Even after the bombing and her holding a gun to Lian and threatening to shoot her while trying to escape prison, in his time with the League he still is hinted to love her and still lets Lian visit her. Flash forward to now they are still on again off again lovers/enemies. The old Titans ‘Roy breaks up with Cheshire’ story was written like it was the full end of their relationship but DC loves that concept and in comics they will always come back.

With Mia or people hurting his family Roy would not care at the end of the day unless that family member died sorry. Roy forgave a woman who babysat Lian and helped terrorists kidnap her and then broke his leg in an attempt to kill Cheshire. No he didn’t just forgive her he offered to let her keep babysitting Lian saying he didn’t think he had the right to judge anyone.

People other than Roy say he belongs in the light but Roy kind of hates that about himself and actively denies and resists it because he thinks the dirty work is the real important work. He worked in fantasy superhero CIA for years and even killed for them, left and made the Outsiders, initially didn’t want to leave and basically stayed till the last second till his mental health gave in, joined the League and didn’t actually have a great time with the group or ever really believe he belonged, had a horrible ending with that group and became a straight up villain after the ROA fiasco and worked on a team of villains all of whom except Slade he expressed some sort of sympathy for.

Roy just doesn’t give up on people and kind of really wants to do antihero work and tries to again and again. The age/maturity thing kind of gets it but that only matters where you connect Roy and Jason, they are peers and work together in some fashion off screen for a year in Outsiders, put a ROA recovering villain Roy with really any post UTRH Jason save Morrison Jason and you could write an intergenerational friendship arc easy.

People forget but before 52 first started a lot of people wanted a Jason Roy book. It was floated around as an idea for ages and rumor was even Winick made a pitch but can’t confirm. When 52 was first announced a lot of people thought not only that RHATO made sense and only Kory didn’t belong but thought the comic had real potential. And really it might have since Roy and Cheshire at one point would not have made sense for either character and notably everything about their relationship happened off screen. We give things a pass because of how well the stories are written. I think most issues with comics are people moralizing about the characters and saying they would never do this or that when 9 times out of 10 the writer just shat over the execution of a concept and the writing as is was shit.

-- i’m just going to include my thoughts down here --

I agree with everything you said about Roy just not being the person who holds a lot of hatred for people. He comes off as strict and even angry sometimes, but at heart, he’s one of the most understanding characters.

I always took Roy’s failed attempts at being an anti-hero as proof that it’s not what he’s meant to do. He keeps trying because he sees his sympathy and desire to do more as a sign that he needs to get his hands dirtier, but each time leaves him with the realization that he can’t be doing that type of work. He was reluctant to leave the Outsiders because he didn’t want to abandon them, that’s why he does leave as soon as Ollie provides funding for them (which he also does specifically because he knows Roy wouldn’t leave, no matter how much he wanted to, otherwise). The Outsiders did end in Roy himself realizing he couldn’t stay there.

I think Roy has always worked best in the various Titans teams he’s been part of. Unfortunately, Teen Titans (2003) set a new status quo with enough of the original Titans leaving and the team working under the leadership of younger members even when more experienced Titans were present. So we could never really go back to the titans as they were in any of the iterations prior to that.

I don’t think Jason and Roy worked together for a whole year; it was just Jason reaching out to Dick, and then subsequently teaming up with him and Roy to give them information of Black Lightning. Which definitely worked to let Roy know the type of person that Jason is (i.e. not a villain), but it was also very much through Dick, so it would again be a reminder of the time that Jason, as a child, teamed up with Roy and the others. Roy’s affinity to taking a guiding role when he works with team members significantly younger than him is just such an important part of who he is that I can’t get past it. I don’t mean to say that Roy’s going to treat Jason like a child, but that there’s going to be a significant gap between their friendship as compared to the friendship that post-flashpoint gave them. Roy is just at a completely different stage from Jason, who is essentially just beginning to catch up on life as a teenager. That difference can’t be ignored easily.

I didn’t read comics back then (and was also a very little kid lol) so I didn’t know about that being something people wanted back then! It must be disappointing to see how it’s turned out.

At the end of the day, I personally think that Roy and Jason could work together very well short-term, and then it would have to end in them walking their separate ways because Roy can never stay in the dark too long, whether he admits it or not. I get what you’re saying about good execution making all the difference, though! I just want to stay as consistent to Roy’s character as possible, so Jason and Roy as best friends/a long-term anti-hero duo never quite works out.

[millylotus]

DeadLights [Danny x Duke | DP x DC] Masterpost

THE WINNER OF THE POLE IS DEADLIGHTS!!! FUCKING LOVE THAT!!! Here's the masterpost for all the contestants, all of them will be posted in due time :]

So this post is going to have all the AUs in a line, and if you don't wanna be jumping around on Tumblr, I'll be posting these on Ao3 and Wattpad soon.

Spotify Playlist

GENERAL NOTES

Just the things that are gonna be consistent across all the AUs unless I say so.

Pt.2 [Claim Sheets]

THE FICS | AO3 SERIES

I SEE ALL OF YOU & YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT - monster x monster :

Danny and Duke see each other for the first time and are absolutely mesmerized by how gorgeous the other is. They fail to realise that being around another monster has made them both more comfortable letting their glamours fall.

MEMES!!!

WRITTEN IN THE STARS, BEFORE WE WERE EVEN BORN - betrothal au :

Light and Time met at the beginning of existence and made a deal. To make sure the other wouldn't back out and take everything, they invested in a collateral. Two of their kin to be born, will be wed. Betrothal contracts were not what Duke or Danny wanted for breakfast.

MEMES!!!

"YOU TAUNT ME, I CHASE YOU" "YOU CATCH ME, THEN LET ME GO" THEY DO IT AGAIN THE NEXT DAY - bat x cat :

Catwoman has a Kitten following her around, and that Kitten just so happens to like messing around with Batman's Sunshine Birdy. No Duke isn't a furry, Tim shut the fuck up you still haven't confessed to Kon! He and Bruce don't have the same type! Besides, the new kid Danny is much prettier than Selina's nephew. Tucker and Sam say Danny has a "vigilantes who can beat his ass" thing, which is stupid cause it's more of a "people who can beat his ass" thing. Cause like Duke Thomas from Algebra is hot.

MEMES!!!

MESMERIZED BY A BANSHEE'S SCREAMS - rockstar au :

Ember, Johnny, and Danny decided to fuck off to Gotham and start a punk-rock band. The new band that Dax found is fucking amazing, but Duke's eyes keep drifting to the pretty bassist.

No Memes, but there's a Spotify playlist on the post!

RASBERRY & LEMON DELIGHTS - countryboy!danny x emopunk!duke :

Duke and Damian go to the Kents for the summer, just for fun. The cute boy from the farm on the edge of town is definitely making the summer less lonely and more fun, they get to make sweets together. Danny is taking a gap year and has been staying with his Aunt Alicia since last summer. Things are boring until their closets neighbors the Kents get visitors. Hanging out with the pretty punk boy is making farm life fun.

MEMES!!!

THE CORPSE GROOM - corpse bride au :

Duke makes the mistake of playfully preforming wedding vows while playing pretend, and just so happens to put one of his rings on a branch that is not a branch. Now he's stuck in the underworld with a clingy new husband who insists that they're made for each other. TW: KIDNAPPING, NON-CON TOUCHING, OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR, THREATS ON ONES LIFE - when you think about it the Corpse Bride is a fucked up story, this Au doesn't get anywhere near the topic of sex or anything sexual, but Danny is mentioned and stated to be overly touchy with Duke when he doesn't want it

MEMES!!!

What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas - drunk vegas wedding :

It's completely on accident when they wake up in each other's arms thinking they're married. Danny was just so nice to get that creep away from Duke. Duke was happy to have a new friend to hang out with. Neither where all there during the wedding. The dress and suit are very pretty though. TW: DUBIOUS-CONSENT - both Duke & Danny where kinda drunk when they have sex, even though I didn't right the scene it's literally stated as INSERT SEX SCENE

MEMES!!!

"LOVE ME, LOVE ME, LOVE ME, LOV~" - love pollen :

The Everlasting Trio is visiting Gotham for a nature convention/meet up thing. A villain just so happens to attack and Poison Ivy takes great offense to them attack the few humans who care. During the scuffle Danny gets hit with a boat load of experimental pollen Ivy was making. Signal just so happens to be the hero who finds him among the rumble. Also being the first person Danny lays eyes on.

DANI DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY BUT ACCIDENTLY CALLING MR.THOMAS DAD ANYMORE - teacher x single parent :

When Danny & Ellie where traveling around the world, Dani makes the mistake of accidently drinking some Lazarus water. With his daughter rapidly de-aging to a six-year old, Danny runs and finds his sister. Jazz suggests getting Ellie enrolled in a night school, and for Danny to get a job gooning for a bit. It's a plus that Mr.Thomas isn't all that hard on the eyes.

MINI FICS

I WANNA BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, NEVER FEELS LIKE I AM - popular boy!duke x loner new kid!danny :

The portal to the Ghost Zone has finally closed and The Fenton's decided that it's better for them to just start anew and move to Gotham. Danny's never been the new kid, but he can be the weird loner. People have always adored Duke because of the way he shine like no other, and Gothamites had never experienced that before. Duke never got a big head about it, his mother never let that happen. But that doesn't mean he didn't become the most popular boy where ever he went.

MEMES!!!

MESMERIZED BY A BANSHEE'S SCREAMS - rockstar au :

Ember, Johnny, and Danny decided to fuck off to Gotham and start a punk-rock band. The new band that Dax found is fucking amazing, but Duke's eyes keep drifting to the pretty bassist.

No Memes, but there's a Spotify playlist on the post!

GHOSTLIGHTS EVENT FICS - @dcxdp-ghostlights

To See Your Face Again, is to remember you're not really there - 'I thought I knew you' :

Join Me, he beckoned. Stay With Me, he cooed. Love Me, he demanded.

He didn’t need to ask for the last one.

PENDING FICS THAT MIGHT HAPPEN

Myths

Hades x Persephone : Either or really

Eros!Danny x Psyche!Duke

Atalanta!Danny x Meleager!Duke

Noble Boy!Duke x Kitsune Servant!Danny

Dynamics

Rivals to Lovers

Guardian Angel!Duke x Demon!Danny

Bodyguard!Danny x Famous!Duke

Actor!Duke x Techie!Danny

General

Secret Identity Shenanigans

Royalty

Hanahaki Disease

Dancing

Roommates

Neighbors

Coffee Shop

Fairies

Space Things

Fake Relationship

Swapped Phones

Haunted Houese

POV Outsider : Who's your boyfriend? | Those two are so weird | Accused of cheating with your partner's secret identity

Messy Relationship [I like Drama] : Stalking | Kidnapping | Break Ups | Cheating on each other | Cheating on their partners with each other

Soulmates : Timer to meeting | Timer to Death | Death Marks | First Scars | Soul Marks | Red String | Body Swap | Body Doodles | Black & White then Color | Soulmate Goose of Enforcement [I said what I said]

ngl I am so fucking proud of this banner, worked so fucking hard on this bitch MM!

They're free to use with credit btw [with like a few minor nonos]