#YOU try to parent these kids then come back to me clark

[unclewaynemunson]

After Eddie and Max were brought into the hospital, the waiting room was packed with people. But as time passed by, it got quieter. One by one, worried parents came by to pick up their kids.

“Are you sure you don't wanna come with me?” Robin asked Steve when her mother arrived.

Steve nodded. “Go home, Rob, it's okay. Just wanna make sure Max's mom and Eddie's uncle get here.”

She shot him a worried look, but she knew him well enough to recognize when she wouldn't be able to persuade him – and Steve in turn knew that there was no way Mrs. Buckley would leave the hospital without Robin, after all that had happened that night.

So Steve stayed and waited with Lucas in Max's room for Mrs. Mayfield. When she arrived, he decided to give them some privacy and wandered over to Eddie's room a couple of doors down the hall.

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if Eddie would already have returned from the operation room – and if so, if it would be good or bad news waiting for him on the other side of the door.

He swallowed. Waiting motionlessly in the corridor wouldn't change what he'd find. So he raised his hand and slowly pushed the door open.

Eddie was inside, leaning against a pillow in his bed. He was as white as the sheets around him and he had large stitches in one of his cheeks, but other than that, he looked – alive.

“Eddie,” Steve breathed out while an overwhelming wave of relief washed over him.

It was only then that he noticed the other people in the room and stopped in his tracks.

Eddie's uncle was sitting at his bedside, wearing sweatpants and only an undershirt underneath his denim jacket. He looked exhausted, but just as relieved as Steve felt.

But that wasn't what had sparked Steve's surprise. No, the thing that Steve couldn't make sense of, was the man who was sat in the chair next to Wayne Munson. It was Steve's old middle school science teacher, Scott Clarke. He was dressed in a plaid flannel that seemed more Mr. Munson's style than his own, buttoned askew on top of a pair of striped pajama pants.

“Mr. Clarke? What are you doing here?” The question tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

“Who are you?” Mr. Munson asked Steve before Mr. Clarke could say anything. It sounded defensive on the verge of being aggressive, but Steve couldn't really blame him for that, considering what the majority of Hawkins currently thought about Eddie.

“Steve Harrington,” he said, holding out his hand.

The lines on Mr. Munson's forehead deepened.

“He's my friend,” Eddie said. His voice sounded hoarse and weak, but Steve still felt a rush of warmth course through his whole body because of the words he said. “He saved my life.”

“Oh.” Mr. Munson's eyes widened slightly and he finally took Steve's hand. “Wayne Munson. Eddie's uncle. Pleased meetin' ya.”

“It's good to see you again, Steve,” Mr. Clarke remarked. “You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you.”

“I didn't expect to see you here, Mr. Clarke,” Steve noted, still trying to make sense of what exactly his old science teacher was doing in this room.

“Uncle Scott is also my uncle,” Eddie explained.

Steve looked back and forth between Mr. Munson and Mr. Clarke, trying to find any kind of resemblance between the two of them.

“You're brothers?” he couldn't help but ask, unable to keep the astonishment out of his voice. He would never have guessed that those two men were related to each other.

“Steve, no...” Eddie's voice was almost a whisper and had an undertone of something that sounded an awful lot like exasperation. Steve knew that tone all too well; he had never been good at restraining himself from asking stupid questions, after all.

He noticed how the two men exchanged some kind of meaningful glance with each other.

“Um, I think we should go get some coffee, Wayne,” Mr. Clarke said. “Leave the boys to catch up.”

Mr. Munson nodded, but before he got up, he looked at Eddie. "You'll be alright?" he asked, a worried frown on his face.

Eddie nodded. "It's fine, Uncle Wayne." He said it softly, like he was trying to reassure his uncle, and only after Eddie gave him another emphatic nod, Mr. Munson started following Mr. Clarke out of the room.

Just when Steve realized Mr. Clarke must be Eddie's uncle from his mom's side while Mr. Munson had to be his dad's brother, Wayne let his hand linger on the small of Mr. Clarke's back. It was a tiny moment, that only lasted a second right before they went through the door, easy to miss if one weren't paying close attention. But it was still enough for Steve to understand the exasperation in Eddie's voice and the unease on his uncles' faces. That one touch told Steve all he needed to know: there was this casual, easy kind of intimacy behind it that only long-term partners shared. He had seen his parents act like that, and Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair...

“No fucking way,” he breathed out at the moment the door quietly shut behind Mr. Munson. He turned back to Eddie with wide eyes and his jaw dropped.

“Your uncle is – and he's with Scott Clarke?”

Eddie's jaw clenched. “You got a problem with that?”

In his pure astonishment, Steve barely even registered Eddie's question.

“That's impossible!” he all but exclaimed. “Here – in Hawkins? How?!”

Eddie looked slightly past Steve's face, to the bare white wall behind him. “Jesus Christ, Steve,” he said. “You've seen dozens of hell monsters and walked through an alternate dimension to fight an evil sorcerer, and this is what you decide is impossible?”

“Well, it is,” Steve stubbornly said.

He remembered how he once felt about his teammate Thomas, back in his freshman year, remembered the ache in his chest exactly because of how impossible it was. He remembered Robin talking about Tammy Thompson in that bathroom stall filled with the scent of their puke. But Tammy Thompson is a girl, he had said, in his instinctive and perhaps naive confusion - not because he deemed it impossible for Robin to feel that way about a girl, but because up until that point, he had deemed it irrelevant. He knew better than anyone that those kind of feelings would flare up from time to time around certain people, but as far as he was concerned, it didn't matter. There was no way to act on it, no point in lingering on something that was impossible to have anyway.

“They've been together for over a decade,” Eddie said. His voice suddenly lacked its usual warmth; a warmth that Steve had gotten used to over the past few days; a warmth that left a weird feeling of loss behind in Steve's chest now that it wasn't there. “They make each other happy. They don't hurt anyone with it. So don't fucking tell me it's impossible, man. They love each other, and if you're gonna be a dick about that, I'm gonna have to kindly ask you to fuck the hell off.”

“Woah, woah, woah, wait,” Steve hurriedly sputtered. “I'm not – I didn't-” The words got stuck in his throat, somehow. He didn't quite know how to explain the storm that was raging inside of him, the many emotions he felt upon discovering that there were two men happily sharing their lives together, who lived in the same town as he did. Two men who were just like him, who had figured out a way to not hide away, who had somehow found their way to each other, and who had fallen in love without it being something they needed to repress.

“I didn't know – that it could be like that,” he finally managed to stutter. “I never even imagined a future like that for myself. I didn't know – I thought we were just supposed to pretend like those parts of ourselves don't exist and marry a woman. I never met anyone who did it differently.”

Finally, Eddie averted his gaze to look at him again. His eyes were a little bit wider and he was staring at him so intensely that Steve felt something stir deep in his stomach.

“Stevie,” he said, his voice quiet and so much warmer than before in a way that sent a shiver down Steve's spine. “Jesus, I'm sorry, I had no idea. I thought you were saying..." He cut himself off and inhaled deeply, slightly shaking his head. "Listen, man, there's always a choice. I'm not saying it's easy; my uncles have to hide a lot of what they mean to each other when they're in public. They're risking Scott's job, and maybe even a whole lot more if the wrong people find out about them... But there is always a choice. They're much happier together than they would've been if they had chosen to hide and marry a woman, or if they'd spent their whole lives alone.”

Steve had to take a moment to let Eddie's words sink in. Eddie merely kept looking at him, not making a single sound, patiently waiting for him to get his thoughts straight again.

“Are there more people like them, here in Hawkins?” Steve finally asked.

“Not many,” Eddie answered. “Most people who are different move to the bigger cities, where you're a bit more free to be yourself. But they're friends with this lesbian couple who lives a few streets over. And they know some people in Indy, but Wayne refuses to move there. He's too much of a small town boy, he says.” Eddie rolled his eyes at that last part, as if he could in no way comprehend the thought of preferring Hawkins over a big city like Indianapolis.

But Steve did comprehend it. Hawkins was his home. Even after everything that happened to him here, it was where he belonged. It was where everyone he cared about was. He wasn't naive, he knew that that was bound to change at some point, but he had never dared to dream about going someplace else himself. He had never even dared to dream about being someone else. Yet here he was, sitting at the bedside of a boy whose eyes he hadn't stopped thinking about for days.

Maybe it was about time to change his perception of what was possible and what wasn't.

“I know one person who's like – like me,” he admitted. He wanted to tell Eddie about Robin. He knew that there was nothing to worry about – but he also knew it wasn't up to him to share her secret. “I don't know if this is a weird idea," he continued, "but maybe we could all, like, get together sometime. Your uncle, mister Clarke, their lesbian friends...” The idea of it made him feel weirdly excited. He couldn't really imagine what it would be like, to spend a whole evening surrounded by people he had this one thing in common with.

“Not a weird idea,” Eddie told him, that soft look still shining in his big brown eyes. “Sounds awesome, actually.”

“If we do something like that...” Steve hesitated for a moment. “Would you be there too?”

Despite the stitches in his cheek, Eddie managed to smile, dimples and all. He raised a pale hand and pulled a strand of his hair across his face, like he was trying to hide something written on the skin around his lips. “I thought that was obvious,” he said with a chuckle.

Steve chuckled as well. “Just needed to be sure,” he admitted.

He stretched out his hand and put it on top of Eddie's, where it was resting on top of the sheets. It only took a few seconds: he gently squeezed Eddie's hand, then pulled back again, still nervous and not quite knowing what exactly they were headed towards. But no matter how short, the touch still sent sparks through his whole body.

“I'm glad you're alive,” he said, softly.

Eddie's smile became just a little bit wider, and a faint blush colored his pale cheeks. “Me too, big boy. Believe me, me too.”

(I wrote this bc this post by @boldlyvoid refused to leave my brain for literal months)

[giveemhales]

🦇 My Top 25 Batfam Fics of 2023 🦇

I try to maintain an annual tradition of shouting out some of my top fanfics of the year so that new/current writers can get some love and appreciation. This year I got really into Batfam and read literally hundreds of fics, so here is my first ever Batfam fic rec list! I read so many incredible fics, and these are just a few of my fav to come out in 2023. Most of these are Tim Drake-centric because he’s my fav, but there’s also a lot of Jason, Dick, Damian, and Bruce. If you like any of these fics, make sure to show the author some love! And from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all fic writers for making the world a bit more beautiful. Happy new year ❤️

Ordered by word count:

New Traditions by @kgraces (2.3k, tim & bruce, angst with a happy ending, bruce revives a family tradition only tim was unaware of)

Every Letter Counts by @laynaneedstherapy (2.4k, tim & jason, fluff and humor, tim asks robin to help him with his english homework) (i also recommend the rest of the series, which is very angsty but very good)

Owl Song by @ghost-bird (2.5k, dick & jason, fluff, talon!dick decides he’s going to take care of jason) (first part of a very sweet series)

“Thanks, Dad” by @selkienight60 + beautiful art by @ky-landfill (2.6k, tim & bruce, angst with a happy ending, tim accidentally calls bruce dad and it leads to revelations for both of them)

the back corner booth by @tarvek-sturmvoraus (4.1k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending, tim asks the red hood to kill his parents) *READ TAGS FOR WARNINGS

heat-seeking missile by @green-eyedfirework (4.1k, tim & jason (& bruce & dick), a/b/o dynamics, basically all fluff, tim is having a heat when jason comes to attack him at titan’s tower and this changes things)

A New Brother by @sishal01 (4.3k, tim & jason & bruce, angst with a happy ending, jason survives the joker’s attack but tim still joins the batfam) (also has an adorable little sequel)

what’s in a name by @envysparkler (4.5k, dick-centric, angst with a happy ending, dick and jason are kidnapped at a gala)

Maybe with a Shift in Planets by @sunflowersandink (4.5k, cass-centric, tim and cass join the batfam early, mute cass, fluff and angst, cass decides she will protect tim and bruce decides he will protect both of them)

all the small weights by @sparkysomething (6.4k, bruce & jason, hurt/comfort and some humor, bruce is hit with fear toxin and jason is the only one available to help)

Another Mirror by @byrambles (6.5k, damian-centric, reverse robins au, angst with a happy ending, good bruce saves the bat kids from evil bruce in an alternate dimension but mistakenly believes damian is evil) (i also highly recommend the sequel- the whole series is phenomenal and an all time fav) *READ TAGS FOR WARNINGS

Refuge of Last Resort by @wildsofmarch (7.4k, jason & tim, angst with a hopeful ending, tim goes to jason after killing the joker)

fallen angel//risen demon by @call-me-quill (7.6k, tim & bruce, fluff and angst, demon hunter!bruce adopts demon!tim) (i recommend reading the whole series which largely focuses on alfred and the rest of the batfam)

rafter of satin, roof of stone by @sardonic-sprite (8.1k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending, tim is buried alive and only jason can save him)

In Love With Justice by Jedi_Olympian (9.7k, dick & bruce (+ dick/wally and bruce/clark), fluff and humor, misunderstandings, the justice league think batman and nightwing are together)

Forgiveness by L_autore_Passionale (9.9k, jason & dick (& tim & bruce), angst with a happy ending, jason goes to attack tim at titan’s tower not realizing he switched bodies with dick)

Stranger than Fiction by @fox-muldest (11.8k, tim-centric, fluff and humor, tim writes fanfic about batman but wasn’t prepared for the batfam to actually find it) (this fic actually made me cackle)

oh my god are you guys homophobes? by @antebunny (14.3k, tim-centric, angst with a happy ending, jason arrives to save tim from the league of assassins but unfortunately tim has no memory of jason or his past life) (update: the fic has new scenes and is now 26.6k)

Luminous Beings by @banditywrites (15.8k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending, jason can see light surrounding people about to die and tim glows particularly bright)

the butler’s neighbor by @dear-galileo (16.6k, alfred & tim, fluff and angst with a happy ending, alfred begins taking care of the neighbor kid) (also has two very wholesome sequels)

Where sorrows live and raptures die by @dark-nymphs-fanfiction (22.5k, jason & tim, angst with a happy ending, tim is afraid of jason after the titan’s tower attack and jason struggles to forgive himself)

So…Rock, Paper, Scissors? by @misstuesday9 (24.7k, jason & tim & dick & damian, angst with a happy ending, jason is told to pick one of his brothers to kill)

All Things to All Men by @motleyfam (30.8k, tim & jason & dick & bruce, angst and fluff, jason gets sick and tim thinks he hates him but dick is there to save the day) (this is the fifth part of a series where tim joins the batfam early bc his parents suck, this can be read alone but I def recommend reading the whole series)

Signed Red Robin by Xrea354 (46k, tim-centric, angst with a happy ending, tim attempts to resign from the batfam but the bats are not okay with that)

A Stalker on the Rooftop by @stormpilot-obsessed (88.9k, tim & jason (and eventual tim/jason), tim joins the batfam early, fluff and angst, tim and jason become friends before jason goes to ethiopia) (the whole series is great and still ongoing, it is mostly focused on batfam but please be aware that tim and jason start as friends and develop romantic feelings for each other, so don’t read if you don’t like that)

+10 WIPs I hope to see more of in 2024!

Finders Keepers by @taralaurel (12k, tim & jason, fluff and angst, tim gets lost in crime alley and jason takes him home and then ends up staying)

Damian Drake by InkpotSprite (16.5k, damian & tim, mostly fluff and humor, damian is sent to gotham and mistakenly believes his father is jack drake leading to tim becoming his brother)

something just like this by @tarvek-sturmvoraus (19.5k, tim-centric, angst and fluff, tim is bruce and selina’s kid)

Christened by StoriesAreMagic (20.6k, tim-centric, angst with a happy ending, tim is joker junior and is there when the joker tries to kill jason)

To be Loved is to be Known by @loreoftheforgotten (27.2k, tim & jason & dick, tim joins the batfam early, fluff and angst and humor, tim is a wolf shifter kept in captivity until the batfam saves him)

In Gotham, Even The Birds Are Street Rats by @ao3time (57.1k, dick & jason & tim, angst and fluff, the boys live together on the streets until bruce adopts all three of them)

Tangled Web (and how it unraveled) by Covenyt2950 (61.9k, bruce-centric, angst with (presumably) a happy ending, bruce hides from his sons that he’s a vampire and this has dangerous consequences later on)

cards on the table by @wesslan (67k, tim-centric, angst and fluff and humor, tim is a fortune teller scamming the gotham elite when he gets mixed up with the batfam) (there’s only one chapter left to go, so i recommend reading even if you typically avoid WIPs!)

children of the stars by @silk-scarlet-ribbons (93.4k, tim & jason, angst with a happy ending and hurt/comfort, the red hood basically adopts tim) (jason and tim have more of a father-son relationship than brother but it’s so fucking cute i highly recommend)

The Big Road Home by @crumpetz (119.5k, tim & jason, angst and fluff and humor and anything else you could want, tim and jason are homeless together before joining the batfam) (an all time fav)

[kimberly-spirits13]

Growing Up in the Justice League HC

Purely self indulgence cause I've been on this and idk why so bear with me here

I can just easily romanticize growing up in the Justice League too easily and it would be a problem

you're brought in at as a baby to be trained by Diana

Apollo brings you to her and tells her that you are an ancient being that regenerates as a new person when you die and this is the form that you have taken. As you get older, you will remember the skills and memories of your past lives but you will have to be raised with someone who can handle you

Diana just loves babies so she had no problem with that

I'd say the league has been established for some time during this point and everyone knows each other's identities in the core group

You grew up in Paris and New York being raised as a mama's child

Bruce is the closest you get to a dad and he does his best

SPOILS YOU ROTTEN

all the Barbies and Legos and whatever toys you'd want as a child

They know that you've been trained as an assassin, wizard, queen, knight, sorceress, scientist, all of these other things that can be traumatic so they just want you to have a great, decent childhood

when you start remember things they begin training you to be a hero

It's like PE and recess all in one since they're really just trying to figure out what you can do

Clark treats you like a fragile piece of glass up until you're a teen cause teenagers confuse him and he just cannot not see you as an innocent beep boppin child sometimes

Barry keeps up with the culture and knows all the songs from your favorite childhood movies and tv shows that you grew up watching on the massive computer in the watch tower when you were up there

will dance to any Barbie song since he knows them all by heart

Hal makes fun of you two but secretly enjoys the movies and is very emotionally invested in Princess and the Pauper and Diamond Castle

Diana and Bruce make sure that you have a great education and training

They are the mature parents of the group and want to make sure you're a functioning member of society

you've got a bag full of grandparents in the Kents, Allans, Princes, Alfred and they all love you to death

Alfred teaches you to make the best tea and gardening, Ma Kent teaches you to quilt and make bread, Pa Kent teaches you how to drive a tractor and farm, Hippolyta teaches you about the Greek gods and ancient cultures and how to ride horses, the Allans would have loads of board games to play and love having you over

Once Young Justice or Teen Titans comes around you don't join since you're officially a Justice League member and get along better with the adults since you were raised by them

That doesn't mean that you don't like or hang out with the kids, it's just that you have better inside jokes with Hal and Barry

When Superboy comes around and the League disappears, you were the only one not taken by the portal since you were helping out some civilians

You knew that Clark wasn't dead and you knew the League was somewhere

What kept you afloat was humor and Kon attached to that since he just needed someone that wasn't insane in his life

you probably won't develop romantic feelings for each other but it's more of a camaraderie since you were both raised in a really unorthodox way

when the league finally comes back, you say it's the happiest day of your life and rant to them that you were the only one who knew they weren't gone but no one understood it

Hal and Barry are known for having a thing for chicken tenders and make sure to instill an addiction in you for chicken tenders

Arthur (Aquaman) really really really likes them too but he doesn't realize it until he comes to the League

Clark would be the one to take you out for ice cream randomly or if you're having a bad day

the mother hen therapist type

You're America's favorite Justice Leaguer and often go viral for in uniform interactions with the League

Dancing with Flash at a Presidential ceremony because the music is too beep boopin good and you can't help but bop around a little bit

Media also loves you as a civilian and it's been suspected that you are the love child between Diana and Bruce since I mean- that would make the most sense

it's a running joke in the league

[lordgrimoire]

The Goonion would like a Word

Bruce had never had an experience like this before, letters of ransom from any of his rogues? Certainly! But the Goonion only ever left messages when they were paying bail for their own, and he was becoming worried as to why Jason’s Goons had posted a message to him via The Goonion.

“To Batman of Gotham, New Jersey, United States of America, We would like to have a word with you in regards to a pair of Meta Adjacent individuals we would like to harbor here in Gotham, we are only extending the courtesy to you regarding them due to the fact that the United States Government refuses to acknowledge them as people due to their conditions, the Boss said he would tell you himself, if he has not already he likely will soon. Suffice to say a family of three is coming to Gotham as their last chance at a safe harbor and we would prefer it if you did not get on their cases. We hope to receive your response without any broken bones, The Goonion, Gotham, New Jersey Branch.” Tim was staring at the paper, the stationary of The Goonion, with confusion, Dick, Barbara, Cass, and Stephany seemed rather accepting of it, and Damian was confused. 

“What is this, Goonion?” His youngest asked, staring at the paper as Bruce read over the return address, the Iceberg Lounge, a server named Thomas. 

“Ah, we haven’t told you about them yet have we?” Dick began, sitting back. “They’re nice folks, help get the Goons payed and are usually the ones to put their feet down when Rogues get outta hand for normal folks, for instance, the Joker does not have the stamp of approval for, many reasons. But primarily it’s due to his former Henchmen, including Harley, snitching on him to the Goonion.” Dick typed something into his phone, Damian’s own device pinging in his pocket, likely more info. “The Goonion has an odd relationship with us, we don’t go after them and they try to keep things regulated, Jason could probably tell you more, and it seems from the letter we do have to talk to him.” The door to the cave opened, and while Bruce looked up to see his second son come walking down the steps he seemed, tired, run down even.

“The Goonion already got to you? Good on them.” Jason huffed as he sat next to Damian, ruffling the boy’s head much to his exasperation and attempted swatting. “Situations fucked, the letter doesn’t even touch on the bigger parts but it gets, real fucky like, possibly gonna want to get Uncle Clark and Aunt Diana in on it fucky, definitely Constantine as well.” Well Bruce knew his flags rather well and if Jason was advocating for not only a League intervention but one headed by John Constantine? Bruce decided to address the original topic first. 

“They can stay, but they will have to answer questions.” Jason huffed and leaned back. 

“Ground rules then, the two younger kids? Meta Adjacent? They have a similar situation to me, and it turns out Ra’s is playing with not even a tenth of a full puzzle with the Lazarus Pit.” Everyone around the table stiffened, save Alfred who had come in behind Jason with a tea service, as Jason took a sip from the mug placed before him and nodding to Alfred. “Thank you. The details are spotty but the abridged form is this, the Lazarus pit is the remains of a bunch of people from a dimension to which we all go when we die, the residents therein call it the Infinite Realms since it services everyone that means every Person who has a faith or doesn’t has a place there. Furthermore these three’s parents who passed recently in a Government Sanctioned raid made a Portal to the Infinite Realms, and Lazarus Water? Corrupted, dirty, a literally soul eroding form of what makes up matter on that end of the divide, Ectoplasm.” Jason withdrew a vial from his pocket, a bright green and sluggish substances was held within. “This is pure ectoplasm, The Parents, a pair known as Doctors Jack and Madeline Fenton, introduced me to a Doctor from the Infinite Realms, suffice to say I am feeling much less angry and far more at peace with things, though apparently being angry is normal for the type of “Dead but Brought Back” I am.” Jason placed the vial on the table and slowly pushed it to Bruce, taking his hand back when he reached for it.

“Jazz, the eldest, is a student at Gotham University, or she is now, identities and the like will be handled later but for the younger two it’s time for some non starters, because apparenlty if you ask an Ecto Entity or anyone touched by the Infinite Realms how they died it sets off a “I Must Kill You Now” trigger in their head, essentially forcing them to suffer their deaths all over again until they deal with who or whatever asked the question, so no being a little nosey punk about it Tim.” Tim jolted at his name being said instead of Jason’s nickname for him but he nodded when he realized that his elder brother hadn’t looked away from him. Bruce was still proud the two had started to mend things so well, but as he stared at the vial a question swirled in his mind.

“Why did the Goonion send a letter then?” Jason stiffened slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Alrighty, so you know how I’ve been going to College classes since a year ago? I met Jazz at one of them, as Jason Todd, son of Bruce Wayne and card carrying member of Red Hood’s Goonion. This was, sometime around Spring Semester, soooooo” Steph lunged up, mouth open with a squeak until Cass pulled her back down. Jason sighed and continued. “We started dating last year, she wants to be a psychiatrist and maay have started working for The Goonion in Star City when one of their guys ended up on her mentor’s patient bench. Her academics are already transferred to Gotham U but she’s still looking for a new Mentor.” Bruce made an affirmative noise at that, encouraging, Jason was holding something back, the younger siblings hadn’t been named yet. “The Goonion hired her former mentor and Jazz followed them in since they have really good benefits, and she has experience with the whole Capes and Crooks thing already. Though she told me she would rather she and her siblings explain that.” 

So, Jasmine Fenton, after being a student for at least a year in Psychiatry, became a Goonion Psychiatrist, and then when her Parents died she takes her younger siblings, one of whom is rather recently adopted into the family by the looks of it, and flees her hometown, one Amity Park Illinois, which has a disturbingly blank file in the League databanks. “Yeah,” Jason began, looking over at the Batcomputer, scanning the total lack of data from two year ago on. “The Government locked their hometown down quick, they have a branch called the Ghost Investigation Ward, who managed to get a law in before our current Shining Dome of a President, was sworn in, apparenlty old Lex has been trying to rip that law to shredds since he found out about it and there’s something akin to a coup attempt going on from the GIW towards Lex. I looked into those guys already, I think it would be wiser to side with the current President and not a bunch of Loons who would dissect Uncle Clark and his kids if they got the chance.” Damian jerked slightly, turning to face Jason.

“What?” 

“Yeah, Krypton is dead it’s a dead world, by some of the smaller parts of the Anti-Ecto Acts that means that all Kryptonians are ecto-beings and by that law have no sentience, and are just emotions imprinted on ectoplasm, given the fact I died once they would pick me up as well in a heartbeat, for “disposal” as they call it.” The room had become Still, Dick seemed furious, staring at the damning lack of info alongside a pale Tim, Damian who was still staring at Jason realized just why his brother had looked back to him and was also looking at Cass, they had been brought back by the pit, they were by Federal Law non-sentient. Bruce felt the arms of his chair bend slightly under his grip before breathing out his frustration. 

“You have a plan?” Jason nodded, he seemed to be expecting worse, you really didn’t give him a reason not to, and began speaking.

“The Goonion will be dealing with protecting people who fall under the acts, we just need the JL to take this problem and light it on fire, drag it into the public eye and raid a few of the GIW’s bases that may have people, both from our side and theirs, in captivity. I will be going tonight to get Jazz and her Siblings from a bolt hole of theirs, an Aunt in Arkansas whose bound to be investigated is hiding them, I just need to borrow something.” Bruce allowed an eyebrow to climb up his forehead, he wants to borrow the Batplane for it.

“I’ll allow it, go and get them once it starts to become dark out, I’ll expect you back by dawn, do you have a place set up?” Jason blinked at him before nodding. 

“Yeah, one of the safer corners of Crime Alley, closest part to Gotham University, three bedrooms, two bath, someone maaay have helped me pick it out.” Bruce nodded, he would get nowhere in trying to guess which of his other children, Alfred, or any of Jason’s friends, or even some of their own collectively reformed Rogues could have helped Jason in this, but suffice to say it was a safe harbor and one backed by some rather tough figures. The Goonion alone would give anyone trouble, but with them being in Crime Alley that meant that they were essentially in an invaders nightmare. Dead ends, construction, dilapidated or abandoned buildings, it was a natural ambush site. Jason then put a box on the table, it was a scanner of some sort. 

“One of the reasons they’re coming here is this,” he flipped a switch and the machine began to frantically beep, practically sounding a long tone before Jason flipped it off again, “Gotham sits on a similar point to Amity Park, and as such we are LOADED with ambient ectoplasm, constantly stirred up by magic based curses of one sort or another it essentially blinds ectoplasmic tracking devices.” Bruce nodded, accepting the device as it was pushed down the table to him. “Jazz had apparently decided that they would run to Gotham if things went sideways like this anyways, we’re the closest ambiently effected city to Amity not ringed by GIW outposts and scanners.” Bruce paused in his observing of the machine, the GIW had surrounded other cities that had high ambient ectoplasm?

“Where?” Jason pulled out a small notepad.

“Well, Jazz wouldn’t tell us, but the Goonion has it’s ways, The GIW has encircled the following cities, Salem, Boston, and Springfield of Massachusetts, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Gettysburg of Pennsylvania, Chicago Illinois, Savanah Georgia, D.C., and then San Francisco and San Antonio of California and Texas respectively, I asked for this list at 6 this morning, I was handed this current version at Noon, these were just the overt ones. Metropolis, Bludhaven, and Gotham, are currently not surrounded, there are locations between them but not many.” Bruce stood, watching as addresses were placed on the table, each assigned a sticky note and details. 

“You should get ready to go get Jazz and her siblings, we’ll deal with this.” Bruce tapped on the sticky note closest to him. Jason nodded and stood, following Alfred out of the Batcave as Bruce looked to the rest of his family. “We have targets, we have details, Tim, dig up what you can on the GIW, Damian, Dick, Cass, Stephanie, your with me, we’re going to raid as many of these places as we can tonight, Barbara,”

“I’ve got comms, got it.” She interrupted, rolling over to the Bat computer and preparing for daylight operations 

[ijustthinkhesneat]

I feel compelled to expand upon the previous fae/folklore! Batboys headcanons:

-Bruce is just a straight up normal human. I think this provides a great opportunity for angst because unlike his immortal? children Bruce does age and it terrifies them. And Bruce is young he’s in his early 30s but like his knees will crack a little or his back is slightly stiff after a bad patrol and it just sends them into a spiral because they cannot fathom their dad not being around forever. I can definitely imagine them trying to strong arm Bruce into becoming some flavor of unaging. You could go super dark or just more generally emotional angst but damn the possibilities.

-Cass is giving me shadow person. Very cryptid of her. I’m not sure that I have a clear backstory for her worked out yet. Either magic gone wrong or she’s another flavor of undead like Jason and Tim. I like to imagine she just hovers over people at night to be creepy.

-Originally I wanted to say Duke was a Will-o-the-wisp. But I’m not really sure it fits, especially since he’s primarily active during the day. Then it hit me. Mothman. My lamplight boy is a moth creature. I like the idea of him hiding his little antenna under a beany and wearing sunglasses. The wings would be difficult. But my boy is creative.

- I think Steph and Barbara are also human like Bruce they just are extra bad ass.

-Coming back to life as a magical creature warps peoples memories and emotions from both the trauma and changing into something not human. Tim is significantly less effected than Jason, at least outwardly, because he was only a toddler when he died so he didn’t have many memories or experiences to draw from, but Jason was super volatile. His memories surrounding Willis became even more dark while his memories of his mother sort of glossed over her absentee parenting and drug use. Jason can’t help but struggle with associating the negative learned experience he had with his first paternal figure with Bruce. Jason ends up going to live with Talia for a while because he doesn’t want to feel that way about his dad anymore.

-Basically I think Jason, at least mentally, is the most human of Bruce’s kids besides Damian because he actually lived a life as a human, where as Tim changed so young that he doesn’t really know how to be anything but his extremely disturbing self.

-I think Gotham just has major ‘I do not see it’ energy. Like The Batfamily? Demons from hell. The Wayne’s? Hot neurodivergent people. Did you see Dick Grayson unhinge his jaw like a fucking snake at a gala? No you didn’t he just has a really big smile. Jason Todd??? Has scales??? Nope actually he just developed early onset Eczema and he’s really self conscious about it how dare you! Tim Drake sucking the blood of the himbo blonde boy? Everyone knows Tim and Bernard are total freaks. Cassandra Cain is your sleep paralysis demon? Honestly fair.

-It’s totally a coincidence that strange misfortune befalls anyone who threatens the Wayne’s!

-Clark is Bruce’s favorite man to sleep on so he gets a pass. I don’t know why but a midwestern spin on the story of princess kaguya lives in my head rent free. Like Martha Kent is just shucking corn and then boom baby in the corn. We call that children of the corn. I still love to imagine him being like so perfect that it’s high key alien, but his little sharp nails and fangies! Maybe even slightly pointy ears. And like Clark fully thinks he is human, like his parents don’t tell him humans can’t fly until he’s in kindergarten, and even then they just tell him he is special and learned super fast and shouldn’t embarrass the other kids and Clark is such a Good BoyTM that he just never uses his powers in public cause he doesn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. Like bro doesn’t learn he is adopted until he is about to go to college, he is just straight up clueless.

-Clark learns Dick is a Fae creature when Batman brings Robin to the Watchtower cause he couldn’t get a baby sitter and Alfred doing some spooky shit like dusting the mausoleum. Like Batman just slinking around but there is this super colorful child with him. And then Dick turns and smiles and it’s just so wrong, like his mouth just stretching his face like some horror movie shit. Clark almost shots himself cause like what the fuck. Bruce told Dick to just ‘be himself’ so like he just thinks he’s being friendly. Despite being creepy as all hell Clark kinda thinks Dick is super adorable. Like was he spider crawling around the floor with all his limbs bent the wrong way while Bruce and Clark were talking? Yeah but then he just tugged on Bruce’s cape to ask for a juice box, like that’s a baby.

-Jason freaked him out in a different way. Since Jason is undead he doesn’t have a heartbeat and doesn’t need to breath so when he isn’t moving he makes literally zero noise. When he first met Clark he was just watching him from around corners and behind stair banisters and Clark was convinced he was losing his mind and hallucinating the kid from the Grudge. Then Bruce is just like “Oh you met Jason! He’s so sweet, just a little shy. He’s my second oldest! I think he likes you though.” And then a little grey blue slightly webbed hand just reaches around the corner to give a little wave and boom Clark would kill for him.

-Tim is similar in that Clark has trouble pinpointing his location because of a lack of normal bodily functions, but Tim has no idea what a boundary is. So like at first he’s a shy little toddler and then that night he’s crawling all over Clark and pranking him nonstop.

-Damian is a baby but like Clark looked in his eyes and just felt like this infant could see his past present and future and was judging him heavily. Clark was relieved cause at least he had a heartbeat.

-Cass lives to fuck with Clark. She’s Jason’s age but not only has no heartbeat and doesn’t breath, when she is in shadow form he can’t see her with X-ray vision. She can literally make herself undetectable to Superman. He learns this one night sleeping in a guest room at the manor. He gets the feeling he is being watched but can’t find anyone. Then right when he relaxes her arm shoots out from the darkness under his bed and grabs his leg. Clark screams so loud it cracks the window. And then just nearly silent muffled laughter as the arm retreats into the darkness. He X-Ray visions but nothing is there. He demands to stay in Bruce’s room after that. Bruce is just like “Oh that was just Cass. She likes playing practical jokes, she is my little princess!”

[stealingyourbones]

Danny Phantom meets Superman. More accurately I should say that Danny Fenton meets Clark Kent.

Let me make this clear cause people seem to forget this: superman is smart. Clark kent is a very intelligent guy. Hes an INVESTIGATIVE journalist. He works with Lois Lane whos a multiple Pultizer prize winner and you know damn well that Lois wouldn’t work with anyone that cant keep up with her in both wits and smarts. He’s good at his job and in some comics he gets Pulitzer Prizes from some of his articles as well. Dude is dumb but he’s smart if you get what I’m saying. High Int. Low Wis.

With that in mind, During an assignment by Perry White, Lois and Clark meet the Fentons in their Amnesty residence to get some quotes on an article that discusses “Everything we thought didn’t exist is now real. Superheroes, Aliens, even Vampires, so why do we not Believe in Ghosts?”

Clark Kent spots Danny and notices instantly that MANY things are wrong with this child. His shoulders are hunched in a way that is intentional and tensed. Like he doesn’t know if he should fight or flee. His eyes are darting around and constantly taking in their surroundings like he’s waiting for something to barge in. His heart is beating far slower than it should. The kid intentionally makes his chest rise and fall but he’s not breathing in any oxygen. All of those are concerning but they can happen in metas. The thing that isn’t normal is that Clark can’t hear any of Danny’s other organs working. Like the kid is a revitalized corpse and his body only thought to bring back half of its needed functions.

So Clark does some digging. He doesn’t want to tell any of the Justice League because this isn’t a Superman job, this is a job for Clark Kent. He gets some help from Oracle and with her word that she won’t say anything to batman, He agrees to update her regularly about the kids situation.

Oracle sends over some VERY concerning documents from an organization called “The Ghost Investigation Ward”. Oracle tells Clark that she’s working on tipping off the Bats and Birds so they can help dismantle the organization.

While sifting through the documents Clark comes across a profile of a “Danny Phantom”. As I said, Clark isn’t stupid. There is definitely a profile of Danny Fenton as well since he’s the son of two world renown ghost hunters. He puts the two and two together and uncovers just the horrible treatment that Phantom has been receiving from his parents, the government, and his peers. Clark is outraged and can’t just stand aside and let this kid suffer. So he makes another trip to the Fenton residence under the guise of needing another quote and sits Danny and Jazz down and tells him that he knows of the terrible lab safety, the immoral experiments his parents do on the regular, the neglect of the kids in pursuit of scientific discovery. He knows and he wants to help. Clark tells Danny and Jazz that there is an apartment available right nextdoor from his and that he can help them get to a safer location and apply for emancipation.

The Fenton kids are shocked at this guy and his immensely kind heart. Danny knows something is up though. Something is up with Clark Kent. He looks like all his life would be spent in the gym when he isn’t at work and yet Danny can’t find a thing on Clarks interest in working out. His baggy clothes somewhat cover up his muscles but his frame is far too wide to be hidden. Clarks heartbeat is slightly faster than the average persons. No human eyes could be that startlingly sky blue. And Danny knows that he has seen Clarks face somewhere but he cant put a pin on it.

The Fenton kids agree and they get brought to metropolis and the emancipation case is no problem with the evidence Clark managed to collect. The kids get the apartment next to Clarks and Clark helps them grow and get better mentally and situationally. Clark knows that in a way he’s trying to make up for his neglect on Connor but he still knows that helping these kids is the right decision.

After a month or so, Clark and the Fenton kids have a rhythm of meeting at each others apartments, getting doted over to make sure that the fentons are well fed and have everything they need and are getting settled into their new life.

Clark hasn’t told the league. Oracle keeps her promise to keep the Fentons out of Batman and the Justice League’s radar. Clark knows that he will have to tell them soon eventually. He knows that things like this wont last. He tries his best to keep these kids happy and support them how an actual caring parent should act.

A few months into the Fentons stay in Metropolis on a cool autumn afternoon, Danny is sitting on a beanbag chair reading a ratty old book that Clark lent him as Clark is typing away on his computer writing up an article for the Daily Planet when Danny looks over to Clark and says,

“I’m Phantom.”

Clark pauses typing and shoots a small smile towards danny, “I know.”

Danny nods in relieved acceptance as Clark straightens up from his hunced over position on his computer.

He pulls back his shirt collar slightly to show the blue suit and red cape. “I’m Superman.”

Danny looks at him and smiles, “I know.”

They both just sit and continue reading and writing with soft smiles on their faces. Comforted at the exchange and that it’s finally out there and eachother knew.

After a while Danny’s obsession gets to be too much. He tells Clark about it and that he has to find a way to sate his obsession of protecting and Clark accepts that it was only a matter of time and invites him to meet the League.

When Superman brings Danny to the Watchtower, saying that the rest of his fellow superheroes were shocked would be an understatement. The Man of Steel and this ghost kid are talking like a father and son.

To say that Batman was pissed that he wasn’t informed of this child is also an understatement. But there is also some amusement and respect under that frustration. Superman managed to keep this kid under wraps and didn’t even alert Batman. Superman smirking and saying under his breath to him “Looks like the World's Greatest Detective isn’t so great huh?” Makes Batman respect the man even more.

In the Watchtower, Danny meets up with Teen Titans/The Team/Whatever They’re Called Now, and meets Conner. Conner is understandably pissed and spiteful that Danny got to have Superman as a father figure.

Conner knows that Superman treating Danny this way is definitely a way of him trying to make up for the faults and breaks he had with his parental relationship with Conner. he agrees with himself that he shouldn’t hate Danny for having Superman as a Dad and the two get along like tinder and matches. Connor still has a grudge against Superman don’t get me wrong, just not as much as before.

Sometimes while the League is in battle, Superman likes to just look for Danny and watch him hold his own against world ending threats. Danny is now truly confident and it’s no longer a facade. He’s no longer hunching into himself to look smaller. He laughs more often now and seems to be genuinely happy. Superman fondly looks at his son as his kids eyes flicker with green fire as he says a shitty ice pun and freezes Metallo in his tracks with ghostly ice.

[bluespiritshonour]

Oh my God!

I just caught up with World's Finest: Teen Titans and I absolutely have to write this out:

First of all, I love this cover:

The thing that caught my eye: “you're grounded.”

Not the dramatic “you're fired” as if the motherfucker didn't raise that damn kid in his own damn house for YEARS.

(I know. I know. Bar on the ground, but what would you?)

Also, the anger palpable on Bruce's face and Dick's absolute disregard for it. I'm laughing here y'all. This is what teenagers act like. This is what fights between parents and children look like.

Also. Dick Grayson, I've been missing. You're back from war!

I love how curt he is. The “Get lost” hits in all the right places. We love a strongly-principled character that stands for what he believes in. With all the lukewarm Dick Grayson writing floating around I felt like walking into a coffee shop while it's snowing outside.

More of this writing, please.

I'd been waiting for this moment all through this series.

This conversation.

I compare things all the time. It might not be the right thing in every field but I think it serves well when it comes to comic books. We all have personal “canon criteria”—for example, mine are “Darwyn Cooke wrote this Bruce so I'm taking it as valid characterisation ” or “Every version of Bruce played by Kevin Conroy is valid”. (Minus Bruce Timm bullshit!)

Which was what cinched my hatred for Bruce after reading a Robin short story that Cooke wrote and alluded to Robin: Year One in it. I mean, I might not fuck with Dixon, but am I going to call even Cooke's Bruce OOC? No. It means Bruce is a jerk. Full stop.

Waid is one of the writers I respect (excluding Kingdom Come. I hate it and I can't put my finger on the why. But I just do: I hate it. I hate it for Clark. I hate it for Diana. And I'm a professional Bruce-hater so let's not even go there. I hate it for Dick too.)

And Dick and Bruce's relationship has a lot of baggage from the fact that a) Bruce is himself traumatised and fails to meet Dick's emotional needs b) he wasn't ready to be a father when he adopted Dick c) Dick simply suffers from being the eldest—the test child.

And very rarely have I seen writers manage to walk on the thin line of complicated-but-dedicated-and-strong.

Young Justice cartoon did it. Dick and Bruce's relationship is going strong. But they fight and have different values. And Dick can see all that is wrong with Bruce's approach to vigilantism in particular and life in general.

Grimm (Legends of the Dark Knight #149-154) did it right. Where Bruce hurt Dick deeply and made him feel unwanted all the while overthinking about Dick's well-being. Way to go, buddy! You can see the repercussions it has for Dick while simultaneously stare at this man who's tying himself into knots trying to think how best to parent.

I think that's what most Bruce and Dick comics miss: the excessive worrying. They don't show the worry, make them fight for drama, never address it apart from throwing out a “it's because Bruce's worried” (bitch, where?) and have Dick running back to Gotham at the first chance. It sounds an awful lot like “your parents hurt you 'cause they love you” bullshit.

I think World's Finest manages it well because foremost, Bruce says, in words, that he's worried about Dick's well-being. He's taciturn, he's putting constant pressure on Dick all in the hopes of making him quit Titans. All this makes him a jerk. But I don't hate him for it.

It's between Dick's “you don't trust me” and Bruce's “no, I don't trust them.”

Most teenagers clash with their parents. It's normal. That's what Waid has shown here and I love it. It feels very—normal?

Especially when the Bats aren't normal! Bruce sure as fuck ain't a normal parent. But there was something very bitter-sweet coming-of-age in this conversation.

Bruce does all those things that are bad for Dick and his growing independence. You're not supposed to handle teenagers like that.

He's worried and taking desperate measures. “If I punish him, then maybe he'll obey me and quit Titans and then he'll he safe”—lots of parents who don't know how to deal with teenagers do it.

But the sequence of it: Bruce is worried → Bruce wants Dick to quit Titans → for Dick it means proving himself to be better, to not get hurt (as if he can control that beyond a certain point) → Bruce being alarmed at Dick's insistence to stay with the Titans and taking desperate measures like benching him.

At least it makes sense.

Compare it to Dixon's Nightwing origin story, which honestly, personally I think was lazy writing. Drama for drama's sake. “You’re fired because you're spending too much time with the Titans.” The same writer also had Bruce say that he did it because he wanted Dick to strike out on his own. Blah, blah, blah.

And no matter whatever happens he'd never ever say it to Dick's face that he's worried about him because—well, reasons.

Robin: Year One logic:

I'm worried about Dick's health so I fire him. He runs off and can get hurt? He joins a school for assasins? None of my business. He can get hurt on his own, I don't care as long as it is not on my conscience. Peace.

—Bruce “professional narcissist” Wayne.

So, yes. When faced with this book(WF: TT), I'd call Dixon's writing lazy.

I'm also comparing this to several other instances when Bruce verbally says (never to Dick, mind you) that he loves that Dick's a better person and better vigilante than him. But in the same book he'd yell at Dick for exactly the same thing. (I consider that lazy writing, since BTAS made sure to show a shot of Bruce smiling whenever Dick was happy/not like him).

I like this thing here where he says it to Dick's face. He's still grounding him for “discipline's sake” or whatever—very, very IC for Bruce.

But he also lets Dick know that he appreciates his values, that are different—better—than Bruce's own.

I can stomach that.

Honestly Bruce's writing in this book felt like BtAS writing (pre-Bruce Timm fuckery). That's a compliment.

P.S. Waid's a good story-teller overall. His Superman: Birthright was one of the first Superman comics I read and I fell in love with Clark right away.

Peace ✌️😂

[tinkerbelle05]

Stepping Up

Stepdad!Clark Kent headcanons about him stepping up to the plate when it comes to Bruce’s kids.

Inspired by this post:

In order to appeal to Damian, he showed him all the pictures of the farm animals back at home. He saw the small smile on Damian’s face even though he insisted that there wasn't any. After Damian warmed up to him, Clark always gives him updates on the well-being of the animals whenever he gets home.

Lex had made a rather underhand comment on Tim’s handling of the company. Something about how a child has no place in a boardroom controlling men twice his age. And him being Lex also took a dig at Bruce (that man is so miserable). Tim ensured Clark that he didn't have to do anything and that things were being handled which was code for “drag this sorry excuse of a man through the mud and back as salt for the emotional wound he’s about to inflict upon him.”

While Tim was ripping Lex into strides about his empty promises to improve Metropolis, to how he’s a supervillain bc it was obvious he wasn't hugged much as a child, to yelling about his failures as a father to Kon. At the end told him to pick a struggle.

Clark was like, bet. So after Tim’s speech, Clark posts his exposé about the mistreatment of Lex’s workers and how they’ve been going on endless strikes to fight for their rights and to unionize. Let’s just say, Lex had to suspend his Twitter account for 3 months as his PR team scrambled to fix his image.

Clark learned how much Dick is trying to reconnect to his Romani culture: re-learning the language, cooking the food, singing the songs. Clark could relate to that, being one of the last Kryptoians ever. So in solidarity, he asks Dick if he could learn with him. So every Wednesday, Dick and Clark cooked a Romani dish for the family. This week was Mămăligă.

Clark and Duke understood each other. Their powers might’ve been different but the sentiment all the same. They feel different, the odd one out from their family. Clark feels honored that Duke feels comfortable telling him this. He knows how much the bats and birds love their secrets.

There was a practice at Cass’s dance class that was optional but basically, all the parents and guardians attended and participated in. Unfortunately, Bruce took a hard hit as Batman and was unable to attend, which sucks since they’ve both been looking forward to it. Clark, who knows absolutely nothing about ballet, went into it nonetheless. Cass was unsure about this but Clark looked really excited to join so she said yes. He was terrible at it, as expected. Cass was smiling because he tried anyway. He was clumsy and stiff, and probably embarrassed but he still showed up and did all of their moves anyway.

Once they were done, they both recounted the experience all while laughing over greasy food and soda. Cass didn't have to say a word either all was in sign language, something she greatly appreciated.

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[stillfrownyclownlol]

@moonbiine got me with the Aiden bug

I thought a lot about how to start this and none of them were good so, here's this;

Frowny's Thesis on Aiden Clark having Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) based on the DSM-5 criteria, living with people with BPD (hi dad!), being...me!, and general vibes.

What is BPD?

Borderline Personality Disorder is defined by a prolonged disturbance of function marked by depth and variability of mood, pattern of unstable personal relationships, unstable self-image, marked impulsivity, and other symptoms. They can manifest in very different ways (the way it appears between my dad and my grandma for example is not the same), but generally includes this.

1. Fear of Abandonment

Nobody wants to be left behind, that's a given, but for people with BPD this fear can spiral into a paranoid phobia that impacts all their personal relationships. Because BPD is influenced by environmental factors, this often stems from children being abandoned in their youth (ex. My father was the child of a teen pregnancy and his parents couldn't care for him for the first few years of his life, letting him be raised by his grandparents. I also grew up alternatively without my mom and withouty my dad, and once for a time with neither of them)

It's been shown to us before that Aiden's parents are often absent from the house, for even months at a time. He seems very used to this and it's likely he grew up very isolated or passed around between different relatives. And I do think this shows in his attachment style; he is a very clingy and sort of "decides" to hyperfixate on a certain person (Ash *coughs*) in the hopes that they'll become friends, and he does this very quickly. Already so scared of losing Ash on that roof even tho he's only known her for like 3 months at this point. He really can't bear the thought of her not being with him.

On the subject of Ash he's idolized her sooooo bad she's so screwed. Pls the Angelic lighting filter he puts on her?? SHE CANT SAVE YOU AIDEN. YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF. (But i get it its hard) Ties back into how people with BPD see the world in strict black and white, he can't see Ash's flaws and that's how he defends her so much, she's literally like a savior to him and here comes the disciple complex.

He's been forced to move so many times, he's probably made friends who just couldn't keep up the effort of maintaining a long distance friendship and ghosted him, or even him doing the opposite, pushing people away just to avoid the sting of abandonment again. They can't hurt you if you hurt them first.

2. Unstable self-image.

He bleaches his hair end of story /j

No but really, tell me Aiden doesn't put up a persona- he's gone through the phases from quiet gifted kid to an impulsive extroverted mischievous mess. Don't you just look at him and feel the self-hatred coming off in waves?? Dyeing his hair, getting contacts, the ever present grin that must be painful at this point, it's like he can't...look at himself. Like he doesn't want to look at himself.

He can't even face his own problems; he literally paints a clown face on himself after dying cuz he doesn't want to process his feelings about it lol 🫠

Like genuinely, how exactly does Aiden want to be perceived? What is the point of this facade? For himself? For other people? I think he's just trying to shut away his past and start fresh without having to confront it, but...when the root is rotten, nothing healthy can grow, so he needs to get to the source of his issues.

3. Anger regulation problems

Unpopular opinion probably but he seems so angry to me. It's definitely WAY more present in the early chapters like when he goes tf off on Tyler, he was barely controlling himself there asdfghjkl- but I think it manifests more in him attacking the phantoms, it's obviously an adrenaline thing for him but I think he's taking out a lot of anger at the same time too. Even if some of this anger is coming from a righteous place; the desire to protect his loved ones (which ties into the abandonment too, you are still abandoned even when it wasn't their choice), because peope with BPD see the world as smth very...dangerous, I guess is the word? Even if maybe that doesn't apply to themselves

(Fastpass spoilers)

He's also not above taking his anger out on humans either considering he was about to take Alex's eyes out with that paintbrush and was gonna choke the life outta them-

(Done.)

4. Consistent feelings of sadness/worthlessness.

5. Self-injury, suicidal behaviour, suicidal ideation.

Aiden do be a sadboi even with all the smiley faces on his clothes. I think this is probably smth that was way worse when he was younger that led to that depression where he was locked in his room eating junk food and disassociating, and while he's probably coping with it differently it's still smth he struggles with. I mean shiiiiiit, because of his impulsiveness he does kinda cause problems but God he feels SOOOO goddamn bad about it lahdlsj, he was so guilty about the Ash situation, he probably beat himself up so much about that-

Emotions are very extreme, it's 'similar' to bipolar disorder with manic and depressive episodes, except they happen at a much quicker scale (in the same day for ex.) which seems to me how Aiden only lets himself experience positive emotions even tho he's in a deeply stressful situation (even tho there's good parts too like his friends) because he just can't handle having to fully experience those negative emotions.

Check, check, check! Aiden has zero self preservation instincts, he throws himself off walls, gets up close and personal with phantoms that could easily kill him, actually didn't give a fuck about dying?? Actually ENJOYED IT? But didn't wanna do it again because his Favourite person was worried about him and the absolute high of that feeling completely beat out anything else?? Okay man, we get it, you're living for somebody else at this point-

People with BPD suffer from chronic feelings of emptiness and pain is the best kind of distraction for Aiden (cue: him slamming his forehead on the table because he's bored)

6. Impulsive behaviors (aka a bunch of shit which can be summed up as addictions)

Well, for starters, he's an absolute adrenaline junkie, because he feels so constantly empty Aiden wants something to make him feel alive. And adrenaline is the flawless, biological, factual answer to this. Ergo all his octane hobbies and impulsive behaviors. Ties back into his obsessiveness, which, don't get me wrong this doesn't make him a bad guy or anything, we all get a little obsessed with things sometimes, that's just things humans do- but when you have bpd, it's very...difficult to just STAY happy, like an addiction, when the high wears off, they're empty again.

Maybe a bit of a stretch, but considering all the Ramen packets in his room when he was younger I wouldn't be surprised if he had some sort of ED or binge eats (Same bestie.)

Also for sure a reckless driver I'm 99% sure he crashed all those go-karts he drived before.

---

I don't really know where I'm going with this. It's hard to live with somebody who has BPD, it's hard to live with it yourself, it's hard to see other people go through it even when it's hurting yourself. I hate pushing people away, but you get so caught up in your own thoughts, and it just...happens...and when it's done...you really regret it, but it's too late...and you just wonder if things are better like this, being alone and not hurting anybody anymore, cuz they're certainly happy on their own

I don't think anybody who has bpd is automatically a bad person, they just have things harder than normal. People with BPD....they can be amazing artists, or good with animals, or really very kind. They have very big hearts, thats why they feel so deeply. And I think Aiden is a good person, because he has so much love to give, but has never been given an outlet to express that properly, but you can see him making great strides in learning how, with the help of his friends 🧡

Might edit this later when I get my thoughts more clear it's midnight here lol

[cool-lilfella]

🥞・Caregiver Clark Kent headcanons

Banner by @ Bunnelbaby & Art by Carlo Pagulayan

- Loves baking you treats. He uses his Ma's recipes and it's always delicious.

- Extremely EXTREMELY gentle with you. He'd never let anything happen to you.

- A little too lenient sometimes and has a hard time sticking to rules. He just wants to get you everything you want all the time for you to be happy. But he knows that isn't always the best. He's trying to be more strict but you're just too cute sometimes! When it comes down to your health or safety though, he's real serious.

- Heavily values routine, but everythings adjusted to your ability.

- He loves all nick- and pet names you give him. Just don't call him supes/superman in public hehe.

- He loves calling you nick- and petnames too of course!His favorites being buddy, prince(ss), sweetpea, kid/kiddo, sunshine and love. But he's up to call you anything you'd like!

- Always asks questions to make sure your comfortable. "Do you like it when I call you this?", "Do you want me to hug you, love?", "Is it okay when I tease you? Always tell me if I'm being too harsh, okay prince(ss)?", etc...

- Carries you everywhere you want and in anyway you want. On his shoulders, in his arms, on his back, in one hand even!

- Good at taking care of all kiddos, from infant to teen regressors. One of the best at taking care of rowdy littles as well.

- Praise, praise, praise!!! "Amazing, good job!", "Wow! You're so smart buddy!", "Thanks so much sweetpea, couldn't have done it without you!", "You're such a good kid"

- Loves going places with you. Mostly his parents farm where you get to help feed the animals and collect eggs while he's helping with the big work. But you guys also go to parks, malls, aquariums and fairs whenever you can. You're always on an adventure.

- Speaking of his parents. Both Mrs. and Mr. Kent love you. Their house is so cozy and friendly. They babysit you every once in a while when Clark's busy.

- The absolute best at comforting you. After you'd had a bad day, when your sick, after/during meltdowns. He's calm and collected in these situations and he just always seem to know what you need.

- He's the type who wakes up early on weekends to make you a yummy breakfast. He'd greet you with a "Good morning sunshine!" and a "I made your favorite!"

- Good night stories every night. You often visit the library to find what you'll read this week. He also likes showing you books he liked as a kid.

[thatoneluckybee]

School Bus Graveyard Episode 61 Thoughts

Okay thoughts time cause HU!HG?!?Q>?

The logo was altered!! Not by much but I love the detail that some falling rubble was covering the edges of the logo at the beginning of the episode.

Ben holding/protecting Tyler under the (table? desk?) is everything to me. Ben Clark is a golden retriever in all the best ways. I am dealing with the after effects of the Ben Fever we all got a few weeks ago.

Same goes for Taylor protecting Ashlyn! It’s so cute and Taylor has been coming in CLUTCH lately. I’m so excited for this development with her after Tyler’s injury. I just hope she’s able to target her (rightful) anger at the right people and not at the rest of the group. (Also ASHLYN CRYING BABY NO)

“Wanna Know How I Got These Scars?” Aiden, no, we do not, put your eyes back in please. (Also—I LOVE the shading and dramatic effects on this panel.)

Okay, the parents are DEFINITELY being affected by the rift and Phantom Dimension. Mike was dizzy when the kids all came back!! And I love how responsible both of Ashlyn’s parents (as well as everyone else so far) are being—Immediately jumping in to help when it sounds like someone is in trouble. I just hope this serves as a wake-up call for Aiden’s mom and dad.

We’ve seen Ashlyn scared before but… holy cow I don’t think she’s been pictured as this terrified before. And rightfully so! I want to give her a hug and a chocolate milk. Also, I adore how Logan immediately noticed and rushed to help. He’s really grown in his emotional maturity over the series and I’m loving the payoff.

Yes, honey, you are becoming phantoms. Is this confirmation of the theory? I’ll take it as confirmation of the theory.

…The parallels between the earlier panel of Tyler “waking up” vs Aiden now is…. oh my. And the altered text was DEEPLY disturbing. But I had to try not to laugh at imagining what he sounds like right now. Probably like he’s a 40 year old man who’s smoked a six-pack ev’ry night since way back when.

LILY BABY NooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and Aiden IMMEDIATELY being concerned about Ashlyn is everything. In all honestly the ship concerned me at the beginning but I am ALL ABOARD and ready to set sail now. They both have grown so much and while it would have been iffy at the start it’s becoming a really sweet and wholesome relationship, regardless of whether it stays platonic or divulges into romance.

The flashbacks were INSANE. But also, let’s take a moment seeing these to appreciate HOW MUCH THE ART HAS IMPROVED!!! Supersupersuper proud of Red and her entire team. This was like a short montage of the growth and I love that so much. Also…. could this potentially count as an “oh” moment for Ashlyn?? And the immediate jump afterwards to Aiden’s maybe-dead-maybe-not body was such incredibly timed and perfected formatted whiplash!!!!!

Ashlyn initiating the contact was huge for her. We know she isn’t a fan of touchy-feely stuff or close contact so this is big. I thing there was a “some people are worth being uncomfortable for” comic with the BTW and TBH creature that sums up my thoughts on this? But yeah, I loved this. She’s growing more comfortable AND this was entirely respectful of her boundaries while also allowing her to push past her comfort zone? Amazing.

”So this is what it feels like” uhhhhhhhh I need a seperate ramble post for this cause I don’t want to trigger tag this one and have it filtered but I have… a lot to say. Very relatable and makes me appreciate these characters more. I love how this whole short scene was pulled off though. Definitely a lot of emotions for this one, I had to pause for a moment to process.

“I don’t like how much she’s shaking” MY HEART

Aaaaand THANK YOU RED FOR ANOTHER AMAZING EPISODE!!! I’ve got so many longer thoughts and theories and ideas and rambels and AUGHHHHHHH I can’t fit them all!!!

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

At the Watchtower (pt 9)

Hal: I have so many unfulfilled dreams.

Hal: And now that I’m thinking about it, a good 85% or so revolve around Batman.

Clark: I really don’t need to hear about whatever weird dreams you have involving Batman.

Hal: Like, I want to see if I can make his eye twitch so hard he spontaneously transforms into a bat.

Oliver: He’s not actually a bat, you know.

Dinah: Or a vampire.

Oliver: Right. Or a vampire.

Hal: Or maybe that’s just what he wants you to think.

Clark: It really isn’t.

Hal: Another thing? I’d love to get him to yell at me in public when a bunch of other lanterns are there.

Hal: Then I can ignore it entirely.

Clark: Please stop.

Hal: I want one of his kids to ask me how to become a lantern while within his hearing range.

Hal: Just not one of the scary ones.

Dinah: Oh? So which one did you have in mind then.

Hal:

Hal: *raises one finger and opens his mouth*

Hal: I’ll get back to you on that.

Clark: You’re already trying to be the cool parent I can’t take this anymore.

Hal: And then I-

Hal:

Hal: I’m trying to be the WHAT?

Clark: The cool parent?

Hal:

Clark:

Dinah:

Oliver:

Clark: You know, because of all the unresolved sexual tension?

Hal:

Clark: That’s what it’s called, right?

Hal: You think we, as in me and the actual probably-a-vampire-I’ll-show-you-the-PowerPoint-later Batman have sexual tension?

Clark: Uh, yeah? What else would this be?

Hal:

Hal:

Hal: *dawning realization*

Hal: Oh, you know what, look at that. I’ve got to go. Right now. Somewhere not here. Another sector probably. Umm…

Hal: *moving rapidly in another direction*

Dinah: No wait, I’m invested now get back here.

Hal: Nope, sorry, I’ve gotta go. Might take a while, you know. A decade or so. Maybe three. Don’t wait up.

Hal: *takes off again*

Bruce, over the speaker: You’re on monitor duty at eleven.

Clark:

Oliver:

Dinah:

Hal, dying a bit on the inside: *comes to a screeching halt*

Bruce, over the speaker: And also I’m not a vampire.

(prev) (next)

[britcision]

Alright I’m on a Dead On Main kick but I’m also permanently in house “Danny Should Adopt Connor For Proper Clone Parenting”

So let’s combine those for crack purposes!

Timelines are fake and so are trees

Jason and Danny are both technically younger than Connor’s supposed to be, and both actually older than Connor is

There’s some fight in Gotham big enough to justify both Superman and Superboy showing up, Red Hood’s willingly working with the bats, mass hysteria

Jason Todd knows more than enough about forcing a working relationship with shitty parents enough to have Suspicions about how Man and Boy are interacting

He knew them before he died and knew it was a bad relationship then, it’s clearly no better

But it’s shooty shooty guns time so we’ll get to that later

Eventually he has to call in the bf because the JL are getting their asses kicked and Danny shows up and joins the fight

Even he can spot the tension and he and Jason exchange Big Gay Looks

But as the fight goes on, Connor’s pinned

In Big Danger, going down, Superman’s closest and doesn’t even glance twice

Just turns away

In comes Danny with the steel chair and if some flying fragments of goon nearly hit Supes, well, pure coincidence

Danny helps Connor to his feet and they get back into it, Connor gets to be in on the big plan which is Get Danny To The Middle

One ghostly wail later, that’s it that’s the fight

Everyone’s wondering what happened, how all the baddies disappeared, Danny gives Connor a pat on the shoulder

“I’m retired kid, and couldn’t have done it without you, so do me a favour and you take this win”

Danny’s gone, Connor’s confused, Jason INSTANTLY backs him up

If Bats is wondering who the unknown fighting alongside them was, well, Superman’s making his biggest constipated faces about congratulating his clone

Jason promises to explain everything if Connor comes by for coffee, Connor has no social life so post debrief they go and pick up enough for 3

Connor’s a little surprised cuz yeah, Jason’s different from when he was Robin, but way less angry and violent than Dick’s led him to believe

Jason explains it’s because of his new bf Danny, the explainer in this case

They get back to Danny in his human form, he’s all gushy and happy to meet Connor cuz whether he went to space or not Connor is technically an alien

Connor gets very quiet about his dna donors

Danny gets Instantly Suspicious and remembers that moment in the fight

Jason rats out the incidents he knows about where Superman’s been a shit

Connor insists we are Not Talking About This It’s Fine

Danny stares him in the face

“Hey wanna meet my clone? Her name’s Danielle, her creator made her try to murder me to replace me. She’s my sister and best friend and I love her dearly and You’re My Clone Now Too.”

Connor, befuddled, is instantly adopted by Dani as well because Clone Sibling, who cares about genetics

Jason tells Connor they’re always like this, but yeah, if he doesn’t wanna put up with Supes’ shit he can go his own way

He doesn’t even have to go full Red Hood style, but they’ll take care of him if he wants to break off on his own

Connor doesn’t believe Supes would ever allow this and would kill Connor the second he showed any hesitance

Danny goes Full Eldritch Horror

Jason:

“Oh hey I don’t think I formally introduced you, Connor this is my boyfriend Danny, the King of the Infinite Realms, you just watched him melt a guy who was kicking Clark’s ass. What were your concerns again?”

And that’s how Connor ends up adopted by his friend’s baby brother and his eldritch boyfriend, complete with happy family jokes

Jason and Danny both call him their baby incessantly and Connor will never admit he kinda loves it, not least for the faces Dick makes

Superman does predictably kick up a stink about Connor not living on base, Batman can’t control Jason but Jason isn’t a world ending threat

Jason smiles extremely sweetly and demonstrates exactly what a world ending threat looks like by texting Danny, who shows up again in full Eldritch Horror

And then Danny texts JAZZ and the Justice League learn the true meaning of fear from a 6’9 redhead therapist who went to the Harley Quinn school of “Sit Down And Shut Up While I Read You For Filth”

Danny pinky swears not to end the world if the JL leave Jason and Connor alone, they can even still be on call for the league and MAYBE so will Danny

If they’re extremely lucky

Constantine assures them this is The Only Way Fucking Hell Superman What Did You Do

The only hiccup in the happily ever after is Dick deciding this makes him Connor’s uncle and being insufferable about it

Danny agrees and it only makes it worse

[helloalycia]

the Clarks [one] // alicia clark

summary: when you move next door to a new town, you don't expect to befriend the neighbours – the Clarks – so imagine your surprise when they become family, too.

warning/s: mentions of alcoholism, verbal and physical abuse, absent parenting and drugs.

author's note: someone requested this in my asks not long ago and i’ve been working on it as quickly as i can as it was so fun to write! may have gone overboard though and it’s like 5 parts long but you can never have too much alicia so! hope you like it :)

something to note: Y/M/N = your mother's name

two / three / four / five / masterlist / wattpad

9 years old...

I didn't want to move schools. I had my friends and I liked where I was and the teachers were all nice to me, but that didn't matter to my parents. I knew they weren't moving out of spite, they just had to for their jobs, but I didn't like it.

My new school was hard to adjust to, the teachers nice but strangers. My classmates already knew each other, having grown up together no doubt, and I was the new girl who didn't belong. I wasn't a sociable kid, a little anxious and a little nervous to make new friends, so it was hard for me to settle in. But being quiet meant I was quite observant, too.

It was the first week in my new town, at my new school, when I was getting dropped off home by my mum to our new house. The neighbours, a family I'd noticed since moving here because one of their kids – Nick, I think his name was – was in my class, and they always left around the same time as us in the mornings. And just like that, they were pulling into their driveway at the same time as us now.

When my mum and I got out the car, they were doing the same and I caught Nick's eyes as he jumped out the car. His mum noticed us and offered a smile, waving at us.

"Welcome to the neighbourhood!" she said to my mum, already stepping a little closer to the small fence between our front drives.

Nick smiled a little when he saw me, waving his hand. I began to smile too, my first real welcome since arriving here, and just as I lifted my hand to wave it, my mum grabbed it and dragged me up the driveway and into the house, not giving them a response. I didn't understand why she was being so strange, but when she mumbled 'weirdos' under her breath, I figured she was having a bad day. Still, I smiled to myself at how nice they seemed. They weren't all that weird to me.

In fact, they were quite the opposite.

One day, barely a week later, I was playing in the garden, riding my bike around in circles, when I heard some noises coming from the neighbour's garden. Curiosity getting the better of me, I climbed on one of the bins next to the tall fence separating our gardens and tried to find the source of the music and chatter from next door. Peeking my eyes over the top, I realised they were having a barbecue.

A man was flipping burgers on the grill, a drink in his hand, and he was chatting to who I recognised as Nick's mum. His parents. Nick was there too, playing with his little sister, but nobody had noticed me. At least I thought they hadn't, until I looked back to Nick's mum and met her gaze, freezing in place. She didn't seem angry, instead smiling and waving at me, but it freaked me out that I'd been caught spying so I quickly jumped off the bin and back to my bike.

Trying to distract myself, I rode my bike out front and entertained myself by going in circles around the car. My mum was inside having a drink as my dad was out, so I was a little bored and the music next door was still enticing me. I managed to ignore it long enough until I heard someone walking nearby and looked up. Nick's mum was walking out front too, a bin bag in hand as she threw something out. Again, my nosey self couldn't help but watch her.

She caught sight of me as she was about to return to the garden, pausing to smile at me. "Hey, sweetie."

I pressed my lips together, frozen on my bike yet again.

She glanced around, confused, before asking me, "Are you hungry?"

I nodded, unable to stop myself.

"Well, we're grilling some burgers and we might have made too many," she said with a shrug. "We need someone to help us finish it all. D'you wanna come over and have one? You'll be doing us a massive favour!"

I knew what she was doing and yet it still made me smile a little. But then I stopped myself before I could agree, instead saying, "My mum won't like that."

The blonde smiled softly. "Your mum can come, too, hon. The more, the merrier."

I sighed quietly, shaking my head. Glancing at the house, I said, "She's in one of her moods. She won't."

Nick's mum frowned slightly, before asking, "Alright then. One burger to go?"

My smile returned as I looked back to her. Before I could answer however, I heard my name being called and looked over to the front door to see my mum was stood there, glaring at Nick's mum.

"Sorry," I mumbled, before cycling back to the house and leaving my bike by the door before returning inside. The last thing I wanted was to annoy my mum even more – whenever she drank, she got into one of her moods and that always meant she'd yell at me for no reason before passing out on the couch.

I entertained myself in the living room, playing with some toys and also trying not to look outside whenever I heard laughter from the neighbours. Eventually, my dad came home with some groceries, greeting me with a smile and kiss. The happiness was short lived however, as he and my mum erupted into an argument about how she stank of booze. I didn't want to hear it, but I always had to.

He soon went upstairs to have a nap, and my mum seemed to do the same in the living room, though not by choice. I was alone again, bored and hungry and curious once more. With nobody to stop me, I crept outside into the garden and jumped up on the bin to have a look at the neighbours.

Their barbecue was over now, the music having stopped a short while ago. The smell of grilled burgers still lingered though, and it made my stomach rumble instantly. Frowning to myself, I jumped down from the bin and sat in the grass, pulling out some pencils and drawing to cure my boredom. Not long later however, I heard a noise from the fence.

There were voices, kids voices, a boy and a girl. And then when I looked up, I was startled as I saw Nick looking over the fence and down at me.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's Y/N, right? You're in my class."

I glanced inside, not seeing my mum anywhere, before nodding at Nick, cautious.

"I'm Nick," he introduced with a smile.

I cleared my throat. "Hi."

"I'm Alicia!" a small voice shouted from the other side, below Nick.

I smiled as Nick rolled his eyes.

"That's my little sister, Alicia," he added.

"Hi, Alicia!" I called to her.

"Hi!" she shouted back, and I tried not to laugh.

"Mum said you wanted a burger," Nick said to me.

"I can't come over," I told him regretfully, but he was already holding out a foil-wrapped, burger-shaped object.

"Here," he said.

I began to smile, climbing onto the bin to meet his height, and accepted the burger. I also glanced down next to him to see his sister, Alicia, looking up at me curiously, a friendly smile on her face. She was very pretty, the prettiest girl I'd ever seen, with her hair in pigtails and her green eyes so bright I could see stars in them.

"Thank you," I said, looking back to Nick with immense gratitude, before unwrapping the burger and taking a bite.

"Why can't you come over?" he asked curiously, leaning on the fence.

I nodded behind me. "Mum's in a bad mood."

"Oh," was all he said. "That's annoying."

I nodded in agreement, before saying with a mouthful, "Thanks for the burger."

He began to laugh. "There's ketchup on your face, stupid."

Embarrassed, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "Sorry."

Unfazed, his smile remained. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?" I nodded and he jumped down from the boxes he was precariously balanced on. "Bye!"

Alicia waved bye too, and I returned the gesture to them both with a smile on my face before jumping off the bin and finishing my burger. It was really good.

I didn't expect to befriend any of the Clarks, but that was the start of it all. From there, Nick and I would hang out together at school. It started where we'd wave at each other from our driveways in the mornings and afternoons before and after school, and then we'd play together at school. His mum and sister seemed nice, and just like mine, his dad wasn't around that much, instead always working. We were a lot more similar than I thought.

"Dad," I said as I walked into the living room where he was watching TV. "Please can I go play with Nick and Alicia next door?"

My dad lowered the volume and smiled at me, patting his lap. I jumped on top of him as he hugged me tightly.

"Only if I get a kiss right here," he said playfully, patting his cheek.

I grinned as I kissed his cheek before hugging him.

"Go and have fun, Y/N," he said, squeezing me tightly before patting my pack as I jumped off his lap.

As I was going to fill my bag with some toys from the corner of the room, my mum called from kitchen with disapproval.

"Seriously? You're gonna let her go over there? You don't even know them properly!"

My dad sighed. "They're nice people, Y/M/N. Maybe you'd know that if you ever spoke to them."

"I know enough," she said with bitterness. "And I don't feel comfortable with our kid going over there."

I paused, glancing between them as my mum approached my dad in the living room, hands on her hips.

He stood up, giving her a knowing look. "She's going. She needs to be around other kids." Then his expression softened as he looked to me. "Go on, honey. Go over there."

I nodded, glancing at my mum who seemed to disagree, before grabbing my backpack and leaving through the front door. As I left, I heard them both start to argue and tried to ignore it, feeling a little bad that it was my fault.

When I reached the Clarks door, I knocked on, buzzing with both nerves and excitement because it was the first time I was coming over for a play date. Apart from occasionally see them before and after school, or playing with Nick on the playground, I'd never visited their house before. I was surprised I was allowed, but my dad was always nicer with these things than my mum was.

The door opened to reveal Madison, Nick's mum. She said I could call her that when I saw her after school to pick up Nick once, but it felt strange calling her by her name when she was just 'Nick's mum' in my head. That, or Mrs Clark.

"Y/N, hey!" she greeted with a warm smile, before standing to the side to let me in. "How are you, sweetie?"

"I'm good," I said with a shy smile as she closed the door behind us. "I'm excited to see Nick and Alicia. Thank you for letting me come over."

Nick had asked me yesterday after school if I could come, with permission from his mum, so she already knew.

"Of course, and they're excited to see you too!" she said, motioning for me to follow her through the hallway. "How are your parents?"

I shrugged. "They're okay. They're just arguing a lot lately."

She glanced at me, curious. "About what, sweetie?"

I gripped my backpack straps a little tighter as I told her the truth, relieved to let it out, though my child brain didn't understand why I should keep quiet about stuff like this. "Mum keeps getting in her moods. Falling asleep. Having those drinks she's not supposed to. And dad doesn't like it, so they argue a lot."

Madison paused before we could enter the kitchen, sighing. "They don't argue with you though, right?"

"Dad doesn't," I answered. "Mum does, sometimes. It's not fair because I don't think I've done anything wrong. But then she falls asleep and stops."

She frowned slightly. "You know, Y/N, if they're ever arguing or you just don't feel like they're being very nice to you, you're always welcome to come here, okay?"

I looked away, embarrassed. "I don't think my mum likes me being friends with Nick very much."

Or you, I wanted to add, but it wouldn't have been very polite.

"It doesn't matter," Madison said, setting a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "I'm here for you, just like Nick. You're always welcome here."

Admittedly, it felt quite nice to have that support from someone, the support I wanted from my mother. I smiled up at her, grateful.

"Thank you, Mrs Clark."

She smiled before opening the back door to the garden. "C'mon. The others are waiting for you."

When we headed outside, I saw Nick and Alicia swinging on their swing set, clearly trying to outdo one another. But as soon as they saw me, they halted and almost fell over trying to run towards me.

"Y/N!" Nick shouted with a grin, before stopping in front of me, breathless. "Did you bring your race car?"

I nodded, already shoving my bag from my shoulders and pulling out my remote-controlled race car that I'd mentioned to Nick I had at school. As soon as he saw it, his grin widened. Alicia tried to take a look too, so I showed her properly.

"Can I play, too?" she asked hopefully, and I couldn't help but smile as I nodded quickly.

"Of course!"

She returned my smile before the three of us went to have a play with it on the tiles next to the back door.

13 years old...

"Dad, I don't get it. What do you mean, you're going?"

He was throwing his belongings into a suitcases haphazardly. It was completely random – one minute I was in my room and the next I heard doors slamming downstairs before I found him storming into his room and packing.

"Your mum and I can't work together anymore," he said regretfully, pausing from his packing to look me in the eye, as if I understood. And I did, to an extent, but it didn't make sense.

Mum's drinking had gotten worse over the years, to the point where they'd constantly argue about it and never actually have anything nice to say to each other. I was his shoulder to cry on, minus the crying. He'd rant to me and tell me how he felt burdened and I'd have to listen to it all, wanting to help him and relating but unsure what else to offer. I hated it and I wished he treated me more as a kid than a therapist, but it was better to have him like that than not at all. Now though, he'd finally had enough and it was scaring me.

"Stay," I told him as calmly as I could muster. "You have to work it out."

He shook his head. "I've tried for many years, honey. It's too late. I can't take it anymore."

I swallowed hard, eyes tearing up as I realised he was serious. He continued to pack, throwing in whatever he could get his hands on, not even bothering to fold anything up.

"Take me with you," I said, deadly serious, and for a moment I thought he'd actually consider it, but he shook his head.

"I can't," was all he said, before throwing his suitcase close and zipping it up.

I rounded the bed to stand beside him, trying to stop him from doing it. "Dad, don't do this. Please, take me with you. You can't just leave me with her!"

He didn't even bother to meet my eyes as he said, "I'm sorry."

Grabbing his suitcase, he pushed past me and began to go downstairs. My heart felt like it was being squeezed, the life draining from it as I realised just what was about to happen. I ran after him, following him down the steps and to the driveway where he was throwing his suitcase into the backseat.

"Dad!" I shouted after him, ignoring the several curse words my mum was throwing at him as she watched from the front door. "Please!"

He continued to ignore me as he got into the driver's seat, slamming the door. I banged on the window as he started the car, embarrassed at the reflection of my snotty, crying self looking back at me, but I didn't care. He was leaving! He was giving up!

"Dad, please!" I begged, banging on the window some more. "Don't do this! Stay!"

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, considering my words.

"Please," I pleaded, voice breaking. "Dad, it's me. Your daughter. Please, don't leave me. I need you."

He closed his eyes tightly before reversing his car suddenly, forcing me to step back. I felt sick and betrayed and broken when I watched him avoid my eyes and simply drive away. He was gone, just like that. My dad. Gone.

I knew he had problems to face with my mother, his wife, but I always thought that he stayed for me. And now he was gone, leaving me behind. Why would he just leave? Why didn't he take me with him? He knew how much grief she gave me, how much she hated me. Why would he do this? Was I not enough?

"...fucking deadbeat!" my mum was shouting at his retreating car from the doorway, clearly drunk.

I looked over at her, the reality of my life settling in. It was just me and her left. No more dad sticking up for me or jumping in to stop an argument from happening. I was stuck with her.

"He's not worth your tears, hon," she muttered with bitterness, before heading back inside.

I blinked, my face hot with tears and anger and hurt, and then more tears rolled down my cheeks and I covered my face, trying to stop myself from breathing so rapidly.

"Y/N!" a voice called, and I looked up to see Nick running from his front door, stepping over the little fence separating our driveways.

Of course he'd seen or heard what had just happened. With all the shouting, I wouldn't have been surprised if the whole neighbourhood had. It was utterly embarrassing, but Nick was the only other person I had to confide in. We'd grown super close over the years, ours play dates becoming regular and him becoming my best friend. His family were like my own, even though I'd never admit it. Madison loved having me over, treating me like one of her own. It wasn't weird between us, not completely, so I accepted Nick's help as he led me back to his house to comfort me.

I couldn't stop crying though, not when he brought me to the couch in his living room and not when I'd created a giant wet patch on his shirt. The tears wouldn't stop coming and I couldn't stop hiccuping and I truly felt like my heart had shattered into a million pieces.

Why didn't he look me in the eyes? Why did he just leave?

"Y/N, I... I'm so sorry," Nick said, rubbing my back. "I don't know what to do."

He was worried, I knew it, and I wanted to assure him that he didn't need to do a thing, but I couldn't get the words out. I'd never behaved like this in front of him – it was too much.

"Oh my God, Y/N," Alicia's familiar voice was heard from the living room doorway, and now I felt like a spectacle, both embarrassed and ashamed. 

"Go get mum!" Nick told her quickly.

"No!" I said suddenly, breathing shakily and voice hoarse. "I'm fine, I–"

But the words were stuck and my dad driving away was permanently fixed in my mind and hot tears rolled down my cheeks once more. Alicia must have gone to fetch Madison because soon enough, she was present and replacing Nick's seat beside me.  

"Y/N, what happened?" she asked instantly, holding my back gently.

I looked up, meeting her eyes with my blurry ones. "He left. He's not coming back. He–he doesn't want to be my dad anymore, Mrs Clark. He–he's gone."

Madison pulled me close, holding me as I sobbed quietly into her shoulder. She stroked my hair until I finally stopped crying, reduced to sniffles and hiccups. When I found the courage to pull away, I saw Nick and Alicia hiding by the doorway, spying on us both. Hot with embarrassment, I wiped my tears from my face frantically.

"Nick, Alicia?" Madison called for them. "Come here, please."

Embarrassed they'd been caught, they shoved one another before reluctantly stepping inside again and stopping beside her.

"Sorry," Nick said, eyes flickering over to mine. "We were just worried."

"Forget that," Madison said, before nodding to the armchair. "Sit down."

They obeyed, sharing a seat and waiting patiently for her to speak, as was I. To my surprise, she looked to me with conviction, pushing my hair from my eyes.

"You're family, Y/N. We're all here for you, okay? You're not alone. No matter what happens, you need to know that." She paused, before glancing over to her children. "Isn't that right, kids? Tell her."

They both nodded in agreement.

"You're part of our family," Alicia said, green eyes meeting mine with concern.

"Always," Nick agreed.

And even though my heart was in a million little pieces in my chest, I didn't doubt it couldn't be put back together with these three Clarks sat before me. Madison pulled me in for a hug, then the other two joined in, and for a moment, I was safe.

14 years old...

"Can you remind me that I need to buy a new planner on the weekend? My other one is full."

I pretended to cough in my hand as I teased Alicia, "Nerd."

She rolled her eyes, a smile ghosting her lips, then kicked me gently in the leg. I laughed at her reaction, straightening up against the wall and readjusting the pillow behind me.

We were both hanging out in my room, sat in my bed as we listened to music and just chatted. It was nice to have the house to myself sometimes and I always tried to invite her or Nick around when I could, feeling like I needed to return the favour since we always usually hung out at theirs. Of course, there wasn't much of a choice, but the few times my mum was working, it was nice to host.

Ever since my dad had left, mum's moods and drinking had gotten worse. She was even more neglectful and bitter, the worst I'd ever seen her, so it was much easier when she was out working. Then I no longer had to deal with her. Plus, I could just hang around with Nick and Alicia. Like now.

"I'm kidding, I'll remind you," I promised her. "I was taking the piss, but you're a nerd in a good way, Alicia. You're very smart. I'm almost jealous."

She shrugged, though the compliment clearly had her flustered. "I just like learning."

I smiled at how humble she was being. She was literally the smartest person I knew. "You could beat any person in my grade at any exam," I told her knowingly. "They're all idiots compared to you."

Her cheeks dusted pink as she avoided my eyes. "You shouldn't say that. That includes Nick, y'know."

"Yeah, that only proves my point further," I joked. "Nick isn't the brightest bulb in the box."

She snorted to contain her laughter, then met my gaze. "You're not stupid, Y/N."

I tried not to laugh. "Tell that to my grades. I'm currently getting by on C's."

Her expression softened as she tilted her head. "I can help you, if you want."

"Oh, sure," I said sarcastically. "How would that look? Y/N Y/L/N getting tutored by someone in the grade below." I paused, then added, "Actually, that would be the nicest thing people would say about me. Maybe I should."

She frowned, clearly not amused by my joke. "Don't talk like that."

I swallowed hard, smile fading. "What? I'm not blind, nor deaf, Alicia. I know what people say about me at school. Got a drunk mum who doesn't care and a runaway dad, too good to stay with his shitty family or take his shitty daughter with him. I've heard it all before."

"Y/N..."

I closed my eyes, regretting having let that slipped out so suddenly and so randomly. "Sorry," I said to her, shaking my head regretfully. "I just– I've heard it all before. That's all."

She sighed, before suggesting, "You should still study at ours when you can. You basically live there anyway. And if you're there, I don't mind helping you out. Get some of those C's to B's. Nobody at school has to know."

I smiled a little, finally finding the courage to meet her eyes, and she was already watching me with an encouraging one.

"Thank you, Leashy," I said gratefully. "Maybe I will. If I can find the chance."

It would have been easy to accept her help, but I already constantly overstayed my welcome and definitely didn't need to be a burden to Alicia. I appreciated her offer, but I wasn't dumb enough to accept it.

"Hey, d'you wanna get some ice cream?" she asked suddenly. "I've got some pocket money leftover and the store down the street does a tub for a few dollars."

I smiled at her wanting to share with me. "I'd love that."

She grinned before standing up and holding out her hand, pulling me up with her. I grabbed it, letting her, and tried to ignore the butterflies I felt when I did. It was something I was feeling a lot recently, over the past few months, whenever I was around Alicia. I wasn't sure what it was, but I liked it and I found myself admiring Alicia more and more because of it. I'd always known she was pretty, but now that I was beginning to understand the concept of liking someone... Well, I was certain that I liked her.

And I let myself enjoy it before I could realise it was a bad thing.

15 years old...

I was exhausted to say the least, my shift at work draining any energy I had left. All I'd dreamt of in the last hour was going to bed, not even awake enough to have dinner. But of course, as soon as I got home that evening, I was met with the sight of my mum in the kitchen, fumbling through her purse.

"Good, you're back," she acknowledged my presence, looking up at me. "Do me a favour, hon, and go pick me up some beer."

I wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now, especially not when I could see she was a little tipsy already and it wasn't even six o' clock.

"Mum, I don't think you should have anymore," I said as gently as I could, not wanting to startle her, but she was already scowling at me.

"If I wanted your opinion, I would've asked for it," she said bitterly. "Now go and buy me some damn beer. You don't even know the day I've had."

I sighed inwardly. "I've had a long day, too. I just wanted to go to bed."

"For fuck's sake, Y/N!" she shouted suddenly, making me jump. "You're so fucking useless."

I flinched as she shoved past me harshly and left the house, no doubt for a bar. She wasn't violent, not usually, but sometimes she'd get really pissed off and slap me out of anger. She always apologised and I didn't think she meant it, but I was always on edge when she was in this sort of mood. To my relief though, she was gone and therefore not a problem for now. Even if my heart was beating a little too quickly.

Looking around, I began to frown when I saw the state of the kitchen and living room. She'd messed everything up, leaving takeaway boxes out and plates unwashed, and there was no way she was going to clean up after herself. I couldn't just leave it like that, so I groaned quietly before starting to clean everything up.

I just about finished throwing the rubbish out when the doorbell rang and I paused, wondering if she was back and had forgotten something. When I answered the door, it was Nick and I felt a sense of relief upon seeing him.

"Hey, I saw you heading in," he said with a smile, before letting himself inside.

"Hey," I greeted with a tired smile, before closing the door and following him into the living room-kitchen area. "The place is a bit of a mess, sorry."

"Don't apologise," he assured me, but I still felt the need to because it was always a tip in here.

I picked up the cloth and anti-bacterial spray I was using and continued to wipe the surfaces.

"She at the bar again?" he asked softly, and I could only nod in response.

As he always did when he came over, he began to help me by starting on the washing up, and as always, I tried to stop him.

"Nick, you don't need to–"

"Don't bother," he told me with his usual charming smile. "I'm helping."

I sighed, but smiled gratefully.

"So, how was work?" he asked, making conversation.

"Long," I said truthfully, finishing wiping the surfaces. "I smell of food and I just wanna sleep."

He chuckled. "I bet. What if I say I have something that might help?"

I quirked a brow as I glanced at him, wondering what he was talking about.

"Check my back pocket," he said, shaking his butt.

So, curious, I did and pulled out a rolled up joint to my surprise. Groaning with disapproval, I put it back and stepped back.

"What did I say about doing this shit, Nick?" I complained.

"Oh, c'mon, it won't kill you!"

"That's not the point!" I said, fed up and leaning back against the counter.

He'd been experimenting with drugs a lot recently, was messing about at school and just hanging out with some people I definitely didn't approve of. But I couldn't do much about it because he never listened to me, and I had my own problems to worry about so there wasn't enough time for me to bother him when he just ignored me. Still, I worried and scolded him whenever I could.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry," he said when he saw how frustrated I was getting. "I didn't mean to upset you more."

I rubbed my face tiredly, shaking my head. "It's fine, it's just– I'm worried about you, Nick."

He gave me a warm smile, tilting his head down at me. "I'm good."

I gave him a knowing look as I said, "It starts with the light stuff like this, then it gets worse. Addictive."

"Y/N, I promise I'm fine."

"Alicia isn't blind, y'know," I continued, ignoring him. "She knows."

"Not for certain," he assured me.

I pressed my lips together, avoiding his eyes and suddenly going quiet.

"Right?" he questioned. "She doesn't know?"

The longer he eyed me as he washed up, the more I knew I was going to break.

"Y/N?"

I winced as I admitted, "I'm sorry. She asked me one time recently and I couldn't lie–"

"Dude!"

"I can't lie to her!" I told him apologetically. "Look, she promised she wouldn't tell Madison, but most importantly, Nick, she's worried about you. Just like I am."

He sighed deeply, not speaking for a moment, only the sound of the tap to be heard. Once he finished washing the final plate, he sat it on the rack before turning to face me, also leaning against the counter.

"Please, be careful," I said to him quietly, meeting his reluctant eyes. "We worry because we care, Nick."

He nodded slowly, and I wanted to believe him. For now, it would have to do.

Heading into the living room, we both took a seat on the couch and relaxed into it. Personally, I was appreciating being off my feet after such a long day, and I could have fallen asleep there and then, but I also didn't want to be alone and kick Nick out.

"How's your family doing?" I asked, looking over at him.

He was leaning back into the cushions, eyes closed contently as he answered. "Mum's her usual uptight self."

"Nick," I scolded, slapping his knee.

Opening one eye and looking at me, he said, "I fail to see what you see in her."

"Hmm, well she doesn't get pissed after work every evening, so I suppose I have pretty low standards," I said sarcastically.

His expression softened. "Well then."

"Also, she's been good to me," I added, before giving him a disapproving look.

He shook his head before leaning back again. "Alicia is doing good. Been drooling over some new kid at school. Matt or whatever."

I hummed to show I was listening, but a little frown tugged at my lips. It's not that I never expected her to like someone, but it still made me feel a little jealous, especially ever since I realised I liked her last year.

"Dad is okay," he continued, though he was forcing nonchalance. "Been quieter than usual lately. It's a little annoying, especially when I just– I need him, but mum thinks he'll snap out of it."

"Maybe he's stressed out," I offered, but he only shrugged and I knew it wouldn't make a difference.

Nick had always had a strained relationship with his father, especially as of late. And I didn't have much advice for him considering my own dad didn't deem me a good enough daughter to stay behind for. All I could think to do to comfort him was pull him in for a side hug, squeezing him tight.

"Have you eaten?" he asked after a moment of quiet. "There's some dinner leftover at ours."

"I'm pretty tired if I'm being honest," I told him, "but thank you."

"Hmm. Okay." I knew he was debating whether or not to force me to have something, but thankfully he left it and began to stand up. "I'll leave you to rest, Y/N. You do look a bit tired."

I shoved him as I stood up, too. "Arsehole."

Laughing, he pulled me in for a hug once more. "Night, Y/N. I'll see you tomorrow."

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Lost Boys

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Superfam

Summary: After Jonathan Lane Kent wipes himself from existence by canceling his own timeline, he finds himself stuck in the afterlife where he meets Jason Todd. He still wonders about the life un-lived on Earth, and how his parents would've felt about him.

Jason Todd, who is making the most of being dead, struggles with the reality of what he's left behind. He has one wish and one wish only: to send his family one final message.

Chapters: 2/?

Characters: Jonathan Lane Kent (Laney), Jason Todd, Catherine Todd, Boston Brand, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, John Constantine, Raven, Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake

Relationships: Platonic JayLaney

Additional Tags: Angst, Platonic Relationships, Magical Jason Todd, Resurrected Jason Todd, Queerplatonic Relationships, Canon Divergent AU, POV Multiple

Chapter Two: Sunrise (Jason's POV)

Laney was the only person I'd ever met that had to learn how to be a kid. He could be so stern and tense and uptight sometimes, but it didn't bother me much. It was easy to see through the facade. Laney had the biggest heart out of anyone that I knew. He could be sweet. He could be attentive and intelligent and a few other things, but I don't want to get too mushy.

Laney and I spent every day together in heaven, and for several weeks I couldn't manage to get him to laugh like I had the first day we met. I'd almost given up before it dawned on me after breakfast one morning. "Laney, what do you like to do?" I asked. Laney shrugged as he walked along the lake. "Jump in the lake."

"Why?" Laney asked. I took off my cape and jumped in. "Jason, what's the point?" I splashed water at him. He grabbed my hand, and I pulled him in with me.

Once the shock of being pulled into the water subsided, he started to laugh as he splashed around. That's all I wanted was for him to laugh. I wanted him to be happy. It felt good to see Laney laugh. He dove deep into the water before coming back up and pulling me down with him.

After spending what felt like a lifetime in the water, we lay in the sun and dried off. "The point is that I want you to live," I whispered.

"Jason?" Laney whispered back. I turned on my side, facing him. "I'm glad you're dead." I turned back on my back and made a face. It was weird. "I mean—. Jason," Laney sat up and grabbed my wrist. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I was trying to say that I'm glad that you're here," Laney stumbled over his words as he tried to fix what he said. I cracked a smile.

"I know what you meant," I laughed. Laney stood up. "Where are you going?"

"Climb on my back," Laney commanded. I got up and obeyed. "Hold on, I don't want to drop you." I nodded and held on tight. I held my breath without thinking as Laney took me up into the sky. "You don't have to do that." I took a breath, and I sat on his back as his incline slowed, and I rested one hand on his shoulder as I stretched my other arm out. "I know I suck at being a kid, and I know I suck at telling you how I feel, but maybe this speaks for itself..."

"Lane, this is awesome!" I yelled. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was smiling too. Laney would never admit it, but deep down, I think he was more of a softie than I was.

Laney made me hold onto him again on the way down, and he carried me the rest of the way home. "Jason, I—. Before we go in, can I—..." He trailed off, and I jumped off of his back and gave him a hug.

"Thanks for today, Laney. You're the best friend a guy could ask for," I smiled. We went in for dinner, and Ma hugged us both. She really liked Laney. I think he cared about my mom too.

"What'd you boys do today?" Ma asked as she set the basket of muffins out on the table.

"We went swimming, and then we went flying," I replied as I sat down at the table. Laney sat down on the other side of my ma with a smile on his face. It was the happiest that I'd ever seen him.

He didn't say much during dinner. "Are you boys going to the dance?" Ma asked. We blinked hard.

"What dance?" I asked.

"Some of the kids are putting together a dance... It'll be on the beach tomorrow if you both wanna go," Ma answered. Before Laney could answer, I shook my head.

"I don't think so," I mumbled. Laney sank down in his seat. "What?"

Laney shrugged. "Sure you don't wanna go?" he asked. I wished I could've told him I wanted to go, but I was more afraid of dancing in front of people than anything. I shook my head.

"I don't have to go with you. You could go have a great time and tell me about it," I whispered, "And we'll go swimming after." Laney didn't say anything else the whole meal, but I could tell he was upset with me.

After dinner, I followed him outside, but I didn't know what to say. "Do you not wanna go because you don't wanna go with me?" he asked. I shook my head.

"What? No. You're my best friend. I'd go anywhere with you, but I don't-. I've never been to a dance before," I confessed, "So, I don't know how—."

"I don't know how to dance either," Laney replied, "I don't even know how to have fun without you. Jason, you don't have to stay if you don't like it... I just don't want to go without—."

"I'll go with you, but don't think you're gonna get me to dance with anybody," I replied.

Laney lit up and picked me up off of the ground, and he spun me around. I guess it was worth seeing him smile like that. He looked more like a kid than I did. I had an eternity to make him laugh, and that seemed like a blessing in itself. I wanted to hold onto the sound of his laughter forever. Laney was my best friend, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Well, maybe I could ask for one more thing.

[bigfan-fanfic]

So, I always think of batdad as a flawed character in his perfection, like, considering how he was left by his parents and later by Bruce, I assume batdad has some abandonment issues and is always giving his best because he doesn't want anyone to feel how he felt, but also, because he, at least in a subcoucious way, has a people-pleaser mentality of "I have to be the best or they don't have a reason to keep me around" originated from his time as kid in the manor where he felt as an outsider. In this train of thought, you can also assume a kinda toxic relationship coming from Bruce's subcoucious trying to push batdad away and Batdad's subcoucious forcing him to do more in order to get Bruce back.

Also considering one timeline where he divorce Bruce and get together with Clark/Ollie, I can see batdad easily getting overwhelmed when they just make him their priority because of that mentality.

That's exactly what I'm going for! Batdad seems perfect and in charge and always immaculate, but that's because he feels the need to do that so that he's "useful." You can absolutely see a correlation between people leaving and him having to do more to get them to come back being formed in his lil mind from a young age, especially when Bruce leaves him to go train and Batdad has to immediately start running Wayne Enterprises. And really their healthiest point comes when they resolve the toxic current in their relationship of Bruce pushing away and Batdad clinging harder by stopping working at opposites and finally sharing all their burdens.

Because for all that Bruce keeps Batdad away sometimes with his Bat-work, Batdad also keeps Bruce from seeing how much Batdad feels overwhelmed and needs him to help.

Being with Clark or Ollie or both would definitely be overwhelming to Batdad because there's someone willing and able to give him 100% of their attention, and because he's always been doing something for someone else, Batdad hasn't really gotten a chance to figure out what he actually likes to do on his own or how to accept that level of attention and care.

And this is not to say that Bruce and Batdad have an inferior relationship or don't pay attention to each other, just that they're very busy people and sometimes they don't handle it in the best way. But even at their most toxic, they still genuinely and sincerely love each other and at their cores, are supportive of the other.